Assistant Principals' Report

Simon Jones

I am looking forward to two important upcoming events on the senior school calendar: the Year 11 Presentation Ball this Friday and the senior college production of Picnic At Hanging Rock in the coming weeks. As in past years the Presentation Ball is to be held at The Grand on Cathies Lane in Wantirna and is sure to be a fantastic evening for all concerned. Much planning and preparation has gone into this event and we are looking forward to it all coming together on the night. Similarly, the students involved have also been rehearsing and working very hard for several months and I am sure that they will continue our tradition of excellence in the performing arts. I wish all students involved in these two events well and congratulate them on their involvement, as aside from the important classroom learning that goes on each day, it is often the extra-curricula activities that help to make school memorable and enjoyable.

All students in the senior school are now in the last few weeks of semester 1 courses and need to continue to work steadily to achieve their best and enjoy success in their chosen studies, whether they be in year 10, 11 or 12. Recent progress reports and parent-teacher interviews should ensure that students and parents are very clear about current progress and what may need to be done to address concerns. Teachers can always be contacted via messaging using the parent portal on Daymap or via email for further updates if required.

Year 12 VCE students and Year 11’s doing a Year 12 VCE subject will undertake the General Achievement Test (GAT) on the 7th of June between 10am and 1.15pm. They will be doing preparation and familiarisation activities at school in readiness. The GAT does not contribute to a student’s VCE or ATAR directly, but is an important mechanism for checking school-based assessment results, externally assessed exam results and in providing Derived Exam Scores in the event that students are unable to sit the final exams due to illness, for example. There are no other externally assessed mid-year exams for year 12’s, however there will again be practice exams for all VCE students. The importance of these practice exams cannot be overstated as authentic exam practice where students are required to work under timed conditions is the best possible preparation for the final VCAA exams at the end of the year. We have clearly conveyed the message to students that end of year exams will be the factor that has by far the greatest bearing on their study scores and hence their ATAR. As such students need to take every opportunity to maximize their exam performance and taking practice exams seriously is a vital step in this direction.

The Year 10 and 11 exam timetable and exam expectations are attached for the information of parents.

Andrew Wynne

Already into week four of the second term! The year is flying past and already so many experiences and events have taken place, and so much more to come! Dromana College is indeed an exciting and dynamic place to work and study.

Camps

Term One finished with the Year 7 camp, and I was delighted to spend a day with the students. I walked with a group to Smiths Beach where the students tried their hand at surfing, then spent a couple of sessions with the canoeing and raft making groups. This visit is always one of the highlights of the Year and the camp is always well organised and a great opportunity for students to develop relationships with their teachers and classmates. It is an important aspect of the college pastoral program and provides a springboard for embracing all that the college offers in the years ahead. The Year 7 students on this camp were indeed a credit to the school and themselves, embracing all activities with enthusiasm and mutual respect. Well done to all the Year 7 team. The Year 8 team have just returned from their camp at Licola.  The college has been impressed with the enthusiasm towards this new adventure camp, and I look forward to hearing about the adventures of the students.

Naplan

While not as eagerly embraced by the students, the Naplan testing is nevertheless an important event on the school calendar. On Tuesday May 10, Wednesday May 11 and Thursday May 12 students undergo testing in Literacy and Numeracy in an annual national assessment at Years 7 and 9. This testing is important to measure whether our students are meeting important educational outcomes. It is also valuable to identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching programs and to set goals in literacy and numeracy. We ask our students to try their best, and to embrace the testing as a good opportunity to see where they are at, to ensure that we continue to improve the learning programs at our college.

Many of Dromana Colleges students perform at a very high level in many different fields and we are always proud of our students as they strive to achieve success in their chosen field. Two such outstanding performers over the first term have been Max Burton of Year 7 and Jett Dickinson of Year 9. Jett won the West Coast round of the Victorian Surfing Series and currently leads the rankings in the Under 16 division. Max took second place in the Under 14 division of the Victorian Surfing series and performed exceptionally in all contests. Max is coached by two previous Dromana College students Angus and Hayden Forrest and continue the great tradition of surfing excellence at Dromana College. Well done to both boys.

Chad Ambrose

Some new and exciting things have started happening at Dromana College in 2016 that are now starting to take shape and build on the culture of the college.

In 2015 we trialled Enhancement classes before and after school and this year we implemented Enhancement classes in the areas of: Dance, Athletics, Basketball and Science and Technology. One exciting feature of the Science and Technology

Enhancement classes is the recent introduction of ‘Sphero’ balls, where students are learning to code these remote controlled balls. For further details please have a look at the ‘Science and Technology Enhancement’ page on the Dromana College website.

Over the remainder of Term Two and early Term Three the Dromana College DayMap Program will undergo a significant upgrade. This upgrade will include the implementation of online excursion permission and payment forms. Whilst more information will be provided as the upgrade progresses, we are encouraging all parents and guardians to make use of the DayMap Parent Portal to track your child’s progress across all subject areas.

We would also like to remind parents/guardians that handwritten permission notes will not be accepted for camps and excursions. Students are issued in advance with a printed indemnity form for all camps and excursions that need to be returned to the office as far in advance of the excursion as possible (not on the day), along with any payment. If students need a replacement indemnity form they can see the teacher in charge of the excursion or ask at the office. We are confident that the aforementioned upgrades to Daymap will also make this process easier and more convenient for parents/guardians.

Another event that deserves a mention is the work of one of our student leaders, Sebastian Melham. Seb has organised a 26km hike across the Two Bays Trail where students in Years 8-10 will be mentored by senior students and teachers as they complete the hike. Seb has already managed to convince twenty of his Year 12 peers to take part in an initial planning hike in June. The idea is that they will use the planning hike to work out the logistics of the trip before finalising the hike with both the mentors and younger students to take place in September / October.