Principal's Report
Term 1 Reflection
Principal’s Report
Welcome to 2022, and welcome back to face-to-face learning. For the first time since 2019 we have completed a full term of learning at school, and it has been a genuine pleasure to observe the school returning to a sense of normality. The simple pleasures of students and teachers interacting on a daily basis and the enhancement this brings to both learning and social development cannot be understated. As a school community we have a newfound appreciation for many things we once took for granted; being in a classroom as a group, informal conversations around the school and school life including extra-curricular and practical based learning. It is my sincere hope that we continue both to avoid remote learning, and to appreciate the value that being together at school brings to all members of the school community.
In my first term as Principal of SCHS our focus has been upon ensuring that the return to school life has been as smooth as possible and upon reinstating our school routines and expectations. Our current Year 12 cohort are the only year level to have ever experienced a ‘normal’ year at SCHS and are now the leaders of our student cohort. Punctuality and students bringing all the equipment they need to each class have been a school wide focus. This helps make sure that all the available learning time is used well, so students can reach their full potential. The wearing of the correct uniform (following the new uniform policy) helps create a sense of school pride. These simple things are those that students have been out of the habit of during the last two disrupted years, and so they have to relearn these behaviours. After all it takes a lot longer to get to class on time when you have to go to your locker and walk across the school to the correct room, not just click a zoom link!
Highly capable students such as those at Suzanne Cory High School have innate gifts that can be developed into outstanding talent. The translation of gifts into talents requires a school environment that nurtures, supports, and challenges those students within a framework that focuses upon the crucial principle of constant enrichment of the formal school curriculum, both inside and outside the classroom. It has been wonderful to see this enrichment back in full swing this term, with students engaged in hands on science experiments, playing guitar in the Agora and engaging in debate and classroom discussion all around the school. Outside the classroom we have seen students going on camp, excursions, and incursions as well as a full sport and co-curricular program. There has been much talk of restoring the SCHS culture to what it ‘used to be’ before the pandemic by ensuring we offer a wide range of opportunities for all our students. I believe that the creativity, energy and enthusiasm will actually result in the school coming back better than it ever has been before.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the student, staff and parent/guardians of SCHS for all their support in my first term as Principal. It is truly a privilege to be the Principal of such a wonderful school with such a supportive community. Since joining the school as a Leading Teacher in 2013, I have been committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our students and to continually working to improve our school. It is exciting to look towards the future and see ways to make this an even better place for the students to learn and succeed.
Martha Goodridge-Kelly
Principal
Contact Us
Phone: (03) 8734 2800
Email: suzanne.cory.hs@education.vic.gov.au
School Website: www.suzannecoryhs.vic.edu.au