College Principal Message 

March, 2022

It has been a very big term and probably worth reflecting on so we can congratulate ourselves. 

Our 2022 AIP was launched on our first day and what makes it different from previous ones is that it is really easy for everyone to recognise our new SSP in it.  The difference is of course that the actions for this year are the initial ones required to launch the work and the targets are a ratio of the four-year targets. The AIP has been endorsed by College Council and is available on our website.

Staff are working towards the AIP targets already and were the focus of our Curriculum Day on March 11.  Staff rotated between groups that dealt with defining an Aspirational Learning Environment, how we might approach enhancing the social and emotional wellbeing of students and drafting the Copperfield Teaching and Learning Framework. 

Student voice and agency is a common thread in all our goals and to that end we will be involved students in focus groups to provide input and test run ideas.  They know full well what works well in classrooms and so their advice will be gratefully received. One such group will be to help us track our Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum by meeting with Key Learning Area Leaders.

Year 8 Students

Also, in line with our AIP, our Year 8 students have recently done practice in NAPLAN Reading.  We did this for a number of reasons, the main one being that Year 8 is when much of the ground work for Year 9 is laid and in line with any educational research, giving Year 8 students an insight into how they will be tested in Year 9 makes sense. Added to this is the support we have received from a regional colleague who has provided us with colour coded results for each student so teachers and the student can identify areas of strength and for growth.

Our Year 8 Maths students’ long term memories are being stimulated by being presented with regular random sample questions from NAPLAN to keep concepts that may have been taught previously, front of mind.

Staff Changes

Staff changes accompanied by a nationwide shortage of teachers are continuing to cause us some difficulties and it is regrettable that some classes are being covered by CRTs; having said that, we endeavour to make them consistent where we can. 

Marketing Team

We have however recently completed recruitment for our marketing and communications team.  Daniel Talevski and Robert Bososvski have joined forces and have begun to work on a strategy to promote the college and college life to current and prospective families using the lens of our values and mission statement. They will do a profile of themselves so the community will know who they are when they are photographing or videoing events. Chronicling everyday school life is also a bit part of their brief so they will be asking staff and students when they can go into classrooms for images demonstrating how we are activating our values of collaboration, inclusiveness and growth. 

Western Chances Scholarships

Last week I attended the presentation of Western Chances scholarships to many of our new recipients at Deakin Edge in Fed Square.  It was a delightful and inspiring event, made even more so by catching up with a number of ex Copperfield students who are Western Chances Alumni.  The event was a clear demonstration of the value of the scholarships.  I would like to conduct some sort of presentation to the students at the college but will consult with them about what they would prefer.

Transition Leaders

Our newly appointed Transition Leaders (Krystal Allison and Tara Causer) have been very busy lately with our wonderful Iron Form Days at each campus and last week, the Discovery Evenings.  We had many student leaders and other volunteers, including staff, at each campus, promoting classes and co-curricular clubs.  The students in particular were engaging, positive and showed a pleasing pride in the school and what they were promoting. 

Athletics

The Athletics ran like clockwork, as usual, on a very warm day.  It is a great day for fun and was embraced with enthusiasm by staff and students alike.

Gala

The Gala was held on Thursday April 31 and Friday April 1.  We hosted primary school students on matinees across the week to showcase our wonderful talents and music and dance programs. 

Family Student and Teacher Interviews

Family, Student and Teacher Interviews were held this week.  The Delahey session was on Tuesday April 5, from 9:20 to 8:00pm and the junior campus' were over two days; Thursday April 7 between 1:40pm and 8:00pm and Friday April 8 between 9:00am and 2:30pm.

Ms Pip Griffiths

College Principal