From the Principal 

It is amazing how time flies, our Year 12 students will finish their course work in the coming weeks and begin their final exam preparation. I first met this cohort in early December of 2017, almost five years ago. I have reflected on my time at Cheltenham, especially as the Class of 2022 draws to a close.

I continue to be impressed with our students, our staff, and our community. Our collective message is clear, that every student is important and students have the right to learn and be safe. We believe in providing genuine opportunities for our students to develop essential knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable them to be informed members of our community and that allows them to make the right decisions about their future endeavours. This involves the need to work collaboratively, to reinforce community expectations while recognising the importance of individuality.

As educators, our simple goal (or wish) is to support the growth of the whole person, helping them to explore the rich opportunities for their future, encourage and support their personal desires for life beyond secondary school, and ensure they have the right mindset and skill to tackle life's challenges.

We recognise that all students have the right to an environment which contributes to students’ feeling connected to the school and their schooling. An environment conducive to enhancing their learning, and the importance of providing an array of opportunities to challenge the individual.

At Cheltenham, our vision encompasses a sense of belonging for the whole community.

A vision, which recognises the similarities between students, while embracing the diversity of the individual. A vision that reflects the values and expectations of the community while continuing to explore opportunities for improvement in educational outcomes and standards. 

As a member of the community,  I am proud of Cheltenham Secondary College, our young people, our staff and the community to which we belong. 

But, there are challenges that our young people face every day; friendships, being influenced by those around them, and the negative impact of social media. Many of these challenges occur outside of school hours, while at home, on social media platforms, while playing community sports, at parties, and at locations such as train stations and shopping centres. 

Our young people are dealing with more complex issues, more often than ever before and there is an expectation that schools are able to solve these issues. The difficulty is managing a situation where the issue or conflict has not occurred at school, or when our young people (and parents) justify the behaviour because the other person involved was the instigator and they were just retaliating.   

Naturally, we are all protective of our children, but as a strong educational environment, our response to these situations is to ensure the negative behaviour is discussed and the impact is understood so as not to occur again. It is important for parents to know and understand our young people will make mistakes, however, our role is to support them and ensure that they learn from these mistakes. 

The majority of issues the college is managing are low-level, such as unnecessary comments to their peers, not following teacher directions, inappropriate behaviour in the classroom, not wearing appropriate uniform, using mobile phones during school time, and arriving late to school or class without a reasonable explanation. 

It is when there is repeated behaviour that it becomes more serious, the unnecessary comments or unnecessary attention towards an individual or group of students, especially when they have already been asked to stop. This repeated behaviour is bullying, no matter how minor a young person or parents perceive it to be. This repeated behaviour has lasting effects on others, and will not be tolerated.

There is no permanent record that follows students around for the rest of their lives, but hopefully, a learning that will assist in making positive choices in the future. If the behaviour does not change, we continue to work with each and every individual throughout their time at the College. 

I urge parents to support the college, and our teachers to work in partnership to support all of our young people. As they say, it takes a village.

Karl Russell

Principal