Principal's Report

Welcome back to students, staff and families and a special welcome to our Year 7 students and other families new to the College. I hope you were all able to spend some quality time relaxing and enjoying the break.

We have had an extremely successful start to Term 1 with students enjoying year level specific start up programs, and commencement of timetabled classes. Whilst we were unable to hold whole school assemblies with current restrictions, students participated in smaller year level assemblies, and I had an opportunity to attend each.

The program for Year 7 students was organised by the Junior School Team and followed on from the transition programs which commenced last year. It was a great opportunity for all students to develop positive relationships with members of their class, home group teachers and sub-school teams. Based on student engagement and feedback from students, parents, and staff it has been a highly successful start to the year.

New and returning Staff

We welcome the following new staff to Scoresby Secondary College:

Mr Mark Corrie

Head of Senior School, Health Business Management, Health& PE and VCAL

Mrs Ruth Smith

Food Technology

Ms Suzanne Tate

Studio Art, Visual Communication and Art

Ms Maria Theodorakis

Media and VCAL

Ms Kathryn Watt

Integration Aide

We also welcome back Ms Jaqueline Morales who has changed roles in 2022 to teaching Psychology, Humanities and Art.

Student Voice Agency and Leadership

If the quality and enthusiasm of applications for student leadership is any indication, we are looking forward to a great year in student leadership. I look forward to working with our student leaders and hearing and acting on feedback from student voices across all year levels throughout 2022

College Captains for 2022

Aimee Bugeja

Sam Dhillon

College Vice-Captain

Mason Rimmer

Rotary Interact Club Captain

Paige Corvell

VCAL Captain

Lachlan Barton

Junior School Captains

Anna Harper

Alyssa Hodgson

Year 9 Captains

Angie Norton

Mikayla Rogers

Year 8 Captains

Darcy Briscoe

Addi Jones

Junior School Leadership Team Members

Harper Allan

Darcy Briscoe

Shaelah Caruana

Madison Tuck

Lauren Watson

Year 7 Leaders will be determined after their first month in secondary school.

We are fortunate that our college has excellent leaders to represent our students and the College.

2021 Dux

We congratulate our Class of 2021 who achieved some excellent results. We are also proud to report to our community that our College Dux was Aloys Duhamel has chosen to study Food Technology at RMIT.

Keeping our College COVID Safe

I am pleased with how our students and staff, supported by families, were able to maintain a safe learning environment throughout Term 4 with no student cases on site. The Omnicom virus has spread rapidly over the holidays with an escalation in the number of cases within the community; consequently a number of our students, teachers and / or family members contracted the virus over Christmas / New Year period and for some it resulted in a late return to school.

To ensure we help to minimise the risk of cases, we will continue to strongly enforce all Department of Education guidelines. This includes the mandated vaccination requirements for school staff, the strong encouragement for all students to be fully vaccinated, recommending all staff and students undertake the twice weekly rapid antigen testing, mask wearing in all indoor spaces and use of sanitiser.

Air purifiers were delivered and installed in all learning areas before students returned and we have a fortnightly schedule for changing filters.

Knox Australia Day Awards

Thank you to our 2022 College Captain Aimee Bugeja for her work on Knox City Council’s Australia Day Committee. Aimee who won last years Knox Young Citizen of the Year Award, has been actively involved in the development of student voice, agency and leadership at Scoresby Secondary College. Congratulations to all Knox 2022 award winners.

Our College

At the start of the year I revisit the College vision and values with students, staff, parents and the community. These are the key drivers of everything we do and form the foundations for our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) which outlines the key goals and strategies for 2022

Vision Scoresby Secondary College’s vision is to be the College of Choice and to be respected by parents, community, tertiary providers and employers.

Our Purpose

Scoresby Secondary College’s core purpose is to provide a safe, supportive and rigorous learning environment that focuses on nurturing the whole person so that every child gets the opportunity to be their brilliant best.

Underpinning our purpose is our strong desire for our students and school to have strong links to the local community and our genuine care for students’ personal growth. These are embodied in our College values of I.N.S.P.I.R.E.

Integrity
Nurture
Success
Pride
Innovation
Respect
Excellence

Strategic Plan 2023 - 2026

This year is the end of our current strategic plan and we are proud that we were well on track and exceeded many of the goals and targets despite lock downs. In preparation for the establishment of our new strategic plan we will be conducting a self evaluation during Term 1 prior to undertaking a full school review with an external reviewer in Term 2. We will be seeking community feedback and input into the next stage of Scoresby Secondary College's school improvement journey. Look out for opportunities to join one of the consultation groups when they are advertised.

Uniform

We are pleased with the exceptional feedback about how well presented our students are. I thank parents and guardians who have supported us in ensuring our high expectations are met. Blazers are now available for student leaders or any other student wishing to purchase on from the office.

PSW Blazer Flyer for Leaders Orders.pdf

Year 12 Inspire Conference

The COVID restrictions meant our annual Year 12 residential could not be conducted at the University of Melbourne on site this year. Our Senior School redeveloped the program so this valuable part of our Year 12 Program could continue in two parts. Day 1 was held this week on site and renamed the Year 12 Inspire Conference whilst Day 2 will be held at The University of Melbourne when restrictions are lifted. Thanks to Mr Santos, our Year 12 Coordinator, supported by our Head of Senior School, Mr Mark Corrie, for organising a very successful day.

Safer Internet Day

Tuesday was ‘Safer Internet Day ’and students were all provided a copy of the attached poster via Compass. Each year students are reminded about the safe use of technology, provided a copy of our College ICT Policy and participate in programs offered to support student safety online. The poster includes a link to the eSafety website. There are lots of resources and advice that can be accessed by students and families including strategies for supporting students experiencing difficulty online. The following link is a direct link to parent resources www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Online safety poster - Play it Fair Online - Safer Internet Day 2022.pdf

School Council Elections

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council.

They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

There are three possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected Parent category

More than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not employed at the school.

A mandated elected DET employee category.

Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

An optional Community member category.

Its members are appointed by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members. The term of office for all members is two years. Half the members must retire each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections. At Scoresby Secondary College the College Captains are valued members under this category providing a voice for our students

Why is Parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging. How can you become involved? The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might seriously consider

• standing for election as a member of school council

• encouraging another person to stand for election

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

No. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future. What do you need to do to stand for election? The principal will issue a notice and call for nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March. If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not employed are eligible to nominate as parents for the school council where their child is enrolled. Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the notice of election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt following the receipt of your completed nomination. If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember

• Ask at the college for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do

• Consider standing for election to council this year

• Be sure to vote in the elections.

Contact Principal, Gail Major for more information.

The 2022 Council Election Process and Timeline Nomination Forms may now be obtained from Reception at the College and must be lodged at the College no later than Friday by 4pm on 10 March, 2022.

Following the close of nominations, a list of nominations received will be posted at the College. An election will then be conducted (if the number of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies). The terms of office, membership categories and numbers of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Parent Member

Number of Positions: 3

Term of Office:

From the day after the declaration of the poll in 2022 to, and inclusive of, the date of the declaration of the poll in 2024.

DET Employee Member

Number of Positions: 1

Term of Office:

From the day after the declaration of the poll in 2022 to, and inclusive of, the date of the declaration of the poll in 2024.

If you decide to stand for election you will need to arrange to be nominated and seconded by persons who are eligible for the same category as you will stand for.

DET Employee Member

Number of Positions: 1

Term of Office:

From the day after the declaration of the poll in 2022 to, and inclusive of, the date of the declaration of the poll in 2023.

If you decide to stand for election you will need to arrange to be nominated and seconded by persons who are eligible for the same category as you will stand for.

Student Member

Number of Positions: 1

Term of Office:

From the day after the declaration of the poll in 2022 to, and inclusive of, the date of the declaration of the poll in 2023.

If you decide to stand for election you will need to arrange to be nominated and seconded by persons who are eligible for the same category as you will stand for.

Community Member ( non-elected – co-opted by Council Members)

Number of Positions: 4

Term of Office: From the day after the declaration of the poll in 2022 to, and inclusive of, the date of the declaration of the poll in 2022.

If you decide to stand for election you will need to arrange to be nominated and seconded by persons who are eligible for the same category as you will stand for.

Continuing Council Members

The following Members will continue to serve on School Council throughout 2022.

Principal / Executive Officer:

Gail Major

Parent Members: Andrew Bissett, Jo Jones, Peter Mitcham

DET Members:

Emily Phibbs, Michele Rogers

Students:

Aimee Bugeja

Community Members:

Annual Co-option

I look forward to working closely with all members of the College for another successful year.

Mrs Gail Major

Principal