Dear families

The first weeks of term one flew by with secondary school camps and many extracurricular activities offsite. As the term draws to a close, the remaining three weeks see many more planned activities including Harmony Day, interschool sporting competitions and the annual athletics carnivals for our primary and secondary students.

Our term ends on Thursday, April 6th when all students will be dismissed at the earlier time of 2:15pm. Families will need to plan to collect their child / children or make other alternative arrangements for them to return home. I am unable to confirm an early bus and am yet to resolve the current issues. The Out of School Hours provider EXTEND will be available for primary students and parents are able to book care on the EXTEND website if required. A holiday program will also operate onsite over the vacation period with bookings also required via the website.

Today all students participated in sessions facilitated by the Backflips against Bullying team. Each session focus reflected the different stages of learning and understanding of our students. Follow up activities and ideas were provided for teachers and students to further explore the concepts during homeroom sessions. Understanding Bullying and harassment and being empowered to respond are essential skills for our students. We have a zero tolerance of Bullying, and our students tell us through feedback that they are supported when instances occur, and they seek help. The annual Student Attitudes to School Survey positive endorsement of Management of Bullying in the secondary years is significantly higher than both similar schools (based on socio-economic factors) and the state.

On Tuesday the college community will acknowledge Harmony Week with a day of activities planned for student engagement. We will have an inflatable park set up in the gymnasium, food trucks on site and a variety of teacher and student led activities throughout the day to reflect our diverse population. Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.

An integrated multicultural Australia is an integral part of our national identity. All people who migrate to Australia bring with them some of their own cultural and religious traditions, as well as taking on many new traditions. Collectively, these traditions have enriched our nation.

The top 10 countries of birth for our parent community are as follows:

Name	Number	Percent
Australia	730	62.29%
New Zealand	65	5.55%
United Kingdom	63	5.38%
Viet Nam	26	2.22%
Philippines	22	1.88%
India	15	1.28%
Lebanon	12	1.02%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	12	1.02%
Serbia	10	0.85%
Netherlands	10	0.85%

Parent voluntary contributions enable vital extracurricular programs such as Backflips against Bullying and celebrations such as Harmony Day within our school community.

College Council 2023

The College Council met for the first time on Tuesday evening and office bearers were elected for the coming year.

I warmly congratulate and extend my appreciation to the following parent and community representatives who have taken on leadership roles this year.

Kade Dillon College Council President

Belle Jackson College Council Vice President

Kelly Archibald College Council Treasurer

Minute Taker Debra Dorgan

Student Members Christina Stasey and Michael Drozdek

Co-opted Members Casey Aldridge and Sarah Brooker

Parent Members Sarah Prismall and Tania Sinclair Camilleri

DET Members Casey Sperling and Mathew Kelly.

Kade has provided information in this newsletter regarding the college council and the various sub-committees which support the work of the council.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing for 2023 commenced this week, with Wednesday being the first day of formal testing for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The testing period is for two weeks with a schedule in place to ensure that students who are absent have time to complete any missed assessments.

Capital Works

The STEM room has been handed over in the primary area of the college and the new Year 5/6 furniture has also been delivered. The teaching spaces are certainly quiet, comfortable and conducive to learning. Julie Cutelle is utilising the STEM room for primary art and our students are loving their new learning environment. I encourage all our families to join us on the open evening and view their child’s classroom.

The new sensory garden should be operational in the next 2 weeks but we will not be moving the fences until the plants have had a few weeks to establish. Fencing will be removed in the last week of term, prior to our open evening.

The next stage of our capital works program is well underway with the development of our arts precinct. I am hoping it will be handed over late May.

Shade Sails

The holes have been dug, the poles have been installed and the shade sails are finally being installed after two years of delay. It will be great to finally have some additional shaded areas for student usage. The next project will the laying of concrete plinths and awnings so that lockers can be moved outside classrooms where they are more readily available for student use when an item is forgotten for classes.

Grounds

We are in the process of finalising an order for artificial turf to cover the mud areas identified in the survey by the grounds sub committee with our students. The area around the new relocatables adjacent to the senior centre was problematic once some excavation works were completed for the shade sails. The cleaning company were certainly unhappy with the state of the carpets and lino!

Open Evening

Our open evening will take place on Wednesday 5th April there are a number of information sessions scheduled for the evening. Staff are in the process of planning displays and activities to showcase our college.

Information Sessions

5:00 Year 7 presentation (F2/3) Senior Centre
5:30 Prep presentation C4 – Primary STEM
5:45 Year 9/10 (F2/3) – Senior Centre
6:30 Year 7 Presentation (F2/3) - Senior Centre
6:30 VCE presentation (F1) – Senior Centre

Ramadan

What is Ramadan? Ramadan is a holy month of worship, study of the Quran, prayer, and fasting. Ramadan occurs during the month in which Muslims believe the Quran began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a joyous celebration for Muslims. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Ramadan commences on Wednesday March 20th and concludes on Thursday April 20th when many of our staff and students will celebrate Eid al-Fitr or the Festival of Sweets. The religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. We understand that many of our staff and students will be participating Ramadan from the 20th March until the end of term.

Prep Enrolment 2024

There is a new process for prep enrolments for 2024 that follows the one currently in place for Year 6 to 7 enrolment. Prep enrolments for 2024 will commence in term 2. Our information session for Prep will be held at 5:30pm on Wednesday 5th April. Information will be circulated by early childhood education providers and will be available from administration next term.

Bus

I am awaiting a call back form the bus company in regard to the current service and our change of finish time. I have been in discussions with DET (Department of Education) and PTV (Public Transport Victoria) and will advise if I receive further information.

Julie Krause

Principal

School Photo Reminder