Dear parents, students and families. Welcome to 2023!

I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer and a positive start to the school year.

Our start to the year has been fantastic with students settling into classes and our new daily routines very well.

This year will again be an exciting and busy year for the College. There are a number of changes that were developed in 2022 and will be put into place for 2023. Thank you to our staff, students, parents and school council members in 2022 who worked with us to make improvements to our school. A snapshot of these include:

Launching of the new VCE Vocational Major
Year 9 program changes and the opening of our new Year 9 Learning Centre
Improved access to VCE subjects and VET certificates for our Year 10 students
Changes to the Life Skills program across years 7 to 10 (see below)
New uniform items to be launched at mid-year
Expansion of our Year Level Leadership team
$9 million capital works program - design phase to begin

We will also be continuing with the launch of our new school values of Learning, Care, Contribution and Community, guided by our approach of High Expectations matched with High Support.

Our high expectations for learning and behaviour are matched by our commitment to provide broad-ranging and tailored support for student learning, resourcing and a wide range of student wellbeing programs and opportunities.

Principal and Year Level Leaders in 2023

During Term 1 our Principal team is as follows:

Marney McLean – Year 10-12
Michelle Lynch – Year 7-9
Mila Milenkovich – Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
George Massouris – School Operations

Our Leaders of Learning Team

Year Level Leaders

Year 7 – Samantha Halm
Year 8 - Max Smith
Year 9 – Mitchell Pugh
Year 10 – Karlene Morgan
Year 11 and 12 – Rick Taig

Learning Areas

Kim Bowker - Engagement curriculum (Discovery, Explore, Connect and STEP)
Brittany Foon - Science and STEAM
Linda McGloin - Arts and Technology
Corey O’Shea – Mathematics and Numeracy
Ashley Fitzpatrick - English
Katherine Seyler - Languages (German) and English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Erica Sherlock - Humanities
Ben Clements - Health and Physical Education

School Improvement Priorities

Olivia Grant - Literacy
Amy Johnson - Data literacy
Karie Hullin - School Wide Positive Behaviour Support
Sarah Carr - Student voice, Agency and Leadership

If you have any questions or concerns I would encourage you to make contact with the appropriate Leader and/or relevant member of our Principal team.

Life Skills program changes

Our Life Skills program from previous years has been undergoing some exciting development through 2021 and 2022 and this year sees the launch of some variations to this subject according to the needs of our students at different year levels.

Students in years 7-9 will remain in form groups with each group assigned a staff member who will teach them for at least two classes. One of these classes builds on our Life Skills program from previous years and is steadfastly focused on wellbeing, connection and pathways education. The staff assigned to these classes remain as the first port of call for parents and student support.

The new names of these subjects are as follows:

Year 7 - Discovery
Year 8 - Explore
Year 9 - Connect
Year 10-12 – Senior Transitions into Education and Pathways (STEP)

All of the above programs build on our previous Life Skills subject and incorporate a range of learning experiences across pathways, School Wide Positive Behaviour Support, Design Thinking and Respectful Relationships. The pathways components of these classes links to the Victorian Pathways education framework.

The Year 9 Connect program also extends to additional elective areas for students in Semester 2 aimed at providing more real-world learning experiences as well as expanding student aspiration and horizons in preparation for their senior years.

Starting the day

It is recommended that students arrive at school no later than 8.40 am. Our period 1 classes commence at 8.55 am. Our leadership team will continue to warmly welcome all students at various gates in the morning. There are some slight changes to entry gates and times in 2023. The main gate near the administration building will be open from 8 am. All other pedestrian gates will not be open at this time. From 8.30 am until the preparation bell at 8.50 am the following year level gates will be opened.

Year 7 and 8 - corner of Stawell Street and Russell Street
Year 9 and 12 - Brunt Street gate
Year 10 and 11 - Stawell Street near corner of Codrington Street.

At 8.50 am the above gates will close and the administration gate will be the only student entrance point. As part of welcoming our students each morning, we will also be checking student uniform and working with students accordingly regarding supportive measures that align with our College student dress code policy. Period 1 will commence at 8.55 am. Form Assembly will not be operating in 2023. While this has been removed our commitment to student learning, wellbeing and overall support and connection remains very strong and is reflected in the improvements to our Life Skills program detailed above.

I would like to thank our parents and students for their commitment and support of our morning routines. The improvement in student uniform was very good in 2022 and I am looking for even further improvement in 2023.

School Council Elections

Each year all schools are required to follow the governance processes mandated by the Department of Education and Training. While the College has a fantastic School Council we are required to advertise for positions annually. If any parents are interested in joining this group please complete the nomination form available at the College. If you would like to know more please do not hesitate to call the school and make an appointment to see me to find out more about the role.

Many thanks and I look forward to working with you all this year.

David Caughey

College Principal

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