Principal's Report

Welcome

It has been an exceptional commencement to Term 2 with the highlight being our whole school assembly held on Friday 22 April. At the assembly we commemorated ANZAC Day paying homage to those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fought and died at Gallipoli in 1915. We were honoured to have representatives, Pam Rowler Secretary, and John Forster President, from the Red Hill and Dromana RSL, in attendance.

The Student Leaders led the proceedings, David Brackenridge played the Last Post perfectly and all 1200 students stood in absolute silence; a very moving and incredibly respectful moment in the history of our school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following members of staff, students and guests for their organisation and presentations on the day:

Ms Rodden and members of the Choir
Ms Peta McGinley
Mr Liam O’Donnell
Mr Daniel Aubert
Mr Mark White
Abbey Hutchinson
Ben Camm
Mr Haden Lang
Mr David Howell

Open Night

The Dromana College Open Night for prospective Grade 6 families was held on Wednesday 27 April 2016 with all staff and some students in attendance. The night was organised by our Transition Coordinator, Mrs Brooke Mollenkopf. The event was very well attended, and our guest speakers, Tyra Apostolopoulos, Miller Keys and Alan Bounds (President) were well received.

Open Night in my opinion is a fantastic evening designed primarily to share our pride in our students and their teachers with the wider community. We are not a school that needs to increase or compete for enrolment numbers. Open Night is a significant logistical task, and we constantly seek feedback on how the evening can be done better. The community feedback has been very positive, and a would like to especially thank Oscar Wyzyk for providing the welcoming music as our families arrived. Year 7 numbers for 2017 will be available at the August meeting of council.

‘Attitudes to School’ Survey

The annual student survey ‘Attitudes to School’ has recently been completed. This survey assists our school in gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experiences at Dromana College. The Heads of Year have a significant input into the conduct of this survey. Parents will be provided with an opportunity to participate in the Parent Opinion Survey later this year. The College data consistently places us in the top quartile of the state, and we are constantly looking for ways in which we can build on this success.

Anzac Day

Congratulations to Kerstin McGregor, Grace Upton-Jones and Jonathon Christou, for a very memorable historical account of the meaning behind our remembrance and celebration on ANZAC Day to some 200 people at our local ANZAC Day breakfast. Our College leaders Amy Mills, Ashlea Burt, Zac Adie, Miller Keys, Kirra Curnick and Alex Dietzel represented the College at the ANZAC Day ceremony in Dromana which included a march along Point Nepean Road and the laying of a wreath on behalf of the College at the Dromana Memorial. Our Choir, led by Ms Jacque Rodden, sang ‘In Flanders Fields’. I would like to thank Theresa Stelling, Andrew Wynne, Simon Jones, Chad Ambrose and Liam O’Donnell for supporting our students at this important time of remembrance.

Performing Arts

I would like to recognise the work being done in both the senior and junior productions. Our senior students have been working hard with Ms Dare to bring together a magnificent performance of ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. Tickets for the senior production are available at www.trybooking.com or via the Dromana College website www.dsc.vic.edu.au I encourage all members of the college community to take the opportunity to see what will be a fantastic performance.

We have a very strong performing arts program which is a tremendous asset to the college. Mrs Carol Patullo will shortly commence auditioning students for the junior play ‘THE TROLLEYS’ by Sarah West.

Alan Marr

PRINCIPAL