Principal's Report

Just when I thought things were settling down, that all changed and we are thrown back into chaos, so it would seem! Well, not quite chaos, but yet another obstacle to overcome!

Water

The plumbers came in on Wednesday morning to turn all the water off, however, with no resources in place at that stage, it was delayed until a delivery of bottled water and hand washing stations arrived. While most water is now off, we still have flushable toilets, which is a small blessing, as no one likes using portaloos!

A specialised chemist is due today, to undergo water quality testing, and then once they have completed their report back to the Department, we will find out what the next steps are. It sounds like they are looking to fix the problem of the discoloured water, but when, or how, that may happen is still undecided.

Students are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottle, instead of continuously taking new water bottles. There are water filling stations positioned in the Caf for students to refill bottles at and a hot water urn in the library for lunches (noodles/soups).

Progress Reports

Progress reports go out to families twice per term, generally at about Week 5 and Week 10. These reports focus on the learning behaviours of students, not their academic achievement. These reports were introduced last year due to the school wanting students to focus on their learning behaviours; when students have good learning behaviours, generally, academic success (at their level) will follow.

All students are expected to be able to achieve a level 3 on the reports – below this suggests they may not be taking full advantage of their educational opportunities at school.

Progress reports will be accessible in Compass this Friday, after 4pm.

Swimming Sports

Thursday was perfect weather for swimming in, although perhaps a bit too hot for the staff who weren’t in the pool! While not everyone likes swimming, or has to swim to participate, it is always great to see the enthusiastic students who support their house. Student numbers are always down on the swimming sports. It is important to remember that these days are just as valuable for students to attend as a regular school day; building relationships with peers, staff and broadening a student’s focus to be part of our school community – something that scholarships and awards are always looking for.

Congratulations to the winning house, Bogong and to Jenny Farrington for running another smooth event. Thanks also to all the staff who made the event happen and to the family members that came along for support.

Open Door Policy

Sarah and I have an ‘open door policy’, where we invite people with concerns or issues to come and talk to us directly. While we both have a teaching load and are not available at certain times, please reach out, with a call or an email first, so we can organise a time to meet if needed.

We both strongly agree that if we don’t know about a problem, we can’t work towards solving it. There is nothing worse than being the last person to know about something, after it appears on social media, or relayed by a third party, or mentioned in parliament!