Principal's Message
Mrs Josie Crisara
Open Day
We had many visitors to the College on Open Day. A recurring topic of conversation was how knowledgeable and proud students leading tour groups were of their school. Parent and student feedback often focuses on the range of pathways available to students, the opportunities for involvement in a range of activities and the sense of community.
Year 7 Enrolment 2019 & 2020
Enrolment offers for Year 7 2019 will go out early next week. The College has decided that we will bring forward enrolment offers for Year 7 2020 to when students are at the end of Year 5. Consequently, testing and interviews for 2020 Year 7 enrolments will occur on Monday 20 August and Tuesday 21 August 2018. This will alleviate some of the stresses faced by parents and children regarding secondary schooling options.
Parent Involvement
A dedicated group of parents spent some time receiving Parent Classroom Helper training that focused on how to help students with literacy and numeracy when helping in the classroom. Thank you to those who have volunteered their time. The students respond well to seeing parents helping around the College.
The Parents and Friends Association Social evening for Prep parents and Year 7 parents (where many of our new families are entering the College) was held last week. Although attendance was small it did give parents an opportunity to meet new people in an informal way.
Parents and Friends Association
It appears that our online volunteer form was intermittently not returning the form to the College email address (disappeared into the ether). The Parents and Friends will be contacting volunteers next week acknowledging receipt of your form. If you believe you completed the form but do not receive an email, please download the form, save it and attach it to an email addressed to pandf@aitkencollege.edu.au. In the meantime we are working at developing a form on My Aitken instead.
Petition - Mickleham Road Duplication
Thank you to those who returned petitions to the school, there were over 500 signatures just in these responses. The local member has now received them and hopefully the petition will be tabled in Parliament.
With regards to the traffic incident Wednesday morning blocking Mickleham Road, the College used our SMS messaging system in order to alert parents to a potential problem. Please rest assured that in the event that College access is problematic, we have an emergency management system to keep you informed and to manage access issues to school (for buses for example) and also if students are already on site.
Support Hume City Council’s advocacy to improve roads. Sign their petition (electronic) at https://www.hume.vic.gov.au/About_Us_Contact_Details/Your_Council/Hume_Advocates
The following is information found on the Hume City Council website advocating for Mickleham Road Duplication
What is the issue?
Mickleham Road is a key north-south road link in the Northern Growth Region. It connects established communities in southern Hume (Tullamarine) and Melbourne Airport with the suburbs of Greenvale West and Craigieburn two of the fastest growing communities in Australia.
Mickleham Road is currently duplicated between Melrose Drive, Tullamarine and Somerton Road Greenvale which then reverts to a single carriageway as was the case when the road was constructed when it serviced a rural community in the north of Melbourne. New residential subdivisions are being established on both sides of Mickleham Road which is placing pressure on this section of the road.
Since 2013, there has been a 38% increase in the number of vehicles using Mickleham Road north of Somerton Road, with over 21,000 vehicles per day battling congestion to get throughout the region, often bringing the road to a standstill. Additionally there have been over 20 casualty crashes on Mickleham Road over the last 5-year period.
This impacts on the realibility of travel throughout the area and has the potential to impact the bottom line of businesses travelling along this route - an issue that will be magnified in coming years with the new businesses to be established in the Merrifield Town Centre.
Why is it important to the Hume City community?
The growth taking place in Greenvale (population predicted to double by 2036) and Craigieburn (population predicted to increase by 50% by 2036) is placing pressure on a number of key road links in Hume City’s northern growth corridor.
Compounding this, inadequate public transport provision in Greenvale and Craigieburn West and Craigieburn North has led to an overreliance on cars with over 72% of Greenvale residents, nearly 69% of Craigieburn residents and over 70% of Roxburgh Park residents driving to work by car. The time people spend in their cars on congested roads lessens the time they can spend with their family and friends.
Without duplication of Mickleham Road between Somerton Road and Craigieburn Road, congestion will worsen. Additional capacity on Mickleham Road will result in a diversion of traffic from other major arterial roads in the Hume Corridor, which will benefit the wider network and mitigate the implications of future population growth in this important part of Melbourne’s north.
The Support We Need
Is for the Victorian Government to provide funding to duplicate Mickleham Road between Somerton Road and Craigieburn Road.
Congratulations Liam E, Year 10, 1st Tullapark Scout Group
Liam has achieved the highest award in the scouting section – The Australian Scout Medallion. To attain this award in Scouting reflects initiative in tackling challenges, sustained effort over 3 years plus self-discipline, teamwork and leadership. The scout group had a special presentation and afternoon tea for Liam on Saturday 24 February.
