From the Principal Class
Welcome...
We have no doubt that many of you would be aware of what a busy time we have had so far this term. In addition to dealing with all of the covid-safe measures, student absences and staff shortages, we continue to grow stronger when we work together - every student in every classroom. Students and staff have been involved in lots of different activities – Year 7 Discovery and Information Evenings, Careers Expo, Student School for Student Leadership and lots of incursions and excursions across the school. In all of these events, we have been so proud of our students for the leadership they have shown, their sense of community, and the way in which they have modelled the school values. They are a real credit to themselves, their families and their teachers.
School Facilities
Our Sports Facility upgrade continues to progress well despite the pressures placed from Covid19 and the winter weather! The first priority has been the upgrade of the gymnasium and initial progress has shown what a transformation can do to the space. I am confident that staff and students will be very pleased with the outcome when completed. Some of the changes inside include: new roofing, lighting, windows and blinds, doors, basketball rings, scoreboard, screen projector, training room, student storage area etc. The gymnasium is also getting an upgrade on the outside too. It is expected that the gymnasium will come back online at the beginning of Term 3 weather permitting.
In addition to the gymnasium upgrade, plumbing works behind the gymnasium has commenced as well as the new gate on Parmelia Drive to support community sport on the weekends. Once the upgrade of the gymnasium has been completed, the project will then move towards the upgrade of the synthetic futsal courts and the installation of new synthetic basketball/netball courts, as well as additional seating and landscaping around these areas. It's all very exciting.
In addition, new outdoor seating have also been erected in both the science and technology courtyards. These spaces have already been embraced and used by students during lessons and breaks.
Finally, we have created a new learning space in the corridor of the Inclusion Building (The Hub) for the inclusion program. This learning space is available for students and staff from the SDI program or students who are involved in MYLNS or tutoring support (supported by the teacher).
Semester 1 Exams
On May 30th 2022 the College held a online study skills/exam preparation evening for parents and students from Years 10 -12. This is one of the many steps we have in place to support students undertaking exams. All exam results are reported on the mid year reports. Student exam timetables are now available. When students in Years 10 and 11 do not have exams they are not required to be at school, however they are able to use the Library for study should that be desired. All of our work in exam preparation is very much focussed on ultimately preparing students to undertake VCE examinations at a later stage in their schooling.
All students who are studying a VCE, VCAL or VET Unit 3/4 course will sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday September 7th 2022 from 10am – 1:15pm. Students are required to be at school before the exam is due to begin. The GAT provides students the opportunity to show their general ability to construct a piece of writing in response to stimulus material, interpret questions, reason and analyse data. All students will undertake a GAT preparation session in early term 3 from teachers who are GAT assessors. Students have also undertaken preparation for the GAT in the past study of subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and Humanities, where they have built up general knowledge and skills in writing, numeracy and reasoning. In addition to the GAT, Year 12 VCE students will be undertaking Semester 1 Exams from June 9th – June 17th 2022. Year 12 normal classes will not be running during this time. Year 10 and 11 Semester 1 Examinations will commence from June 6th - June 17th 2022. Year 10 and 11 normal classes will not be running during this time. We wish all students the best of luck with the examinations.
Year 7 Discovery Evening
We had a very successful Information Night for new Year 7 students for 2023. Hundreds of people turned up for the tours and presentation. We had both current Year 7 and Year 12 students speak and they were engaging and genuine. It was fantastic to see that Massimo, one of our College Captains speak once again at this evening. Massimo also spoke at the evening when he was in Year 7 in 2017. This shows how quickly time passes in schools.
From the number of people on parent tours and at the Discovery Evening, we are predicting strong interest in Year 7 places for next year. Looking at our overall numbers, we are going to limit Year 7 places to 250 again to keep our overall numbers around 1400.
School Punctuality
We will be closely monitoring student lateness, particularly at the start of the day. Students need to arrive at school no later than 8:45am in order to allow them enough time to get to their lockers and be ready for homegroup at 8:50am. We ask for parents’ support to ensure that your children leave home in time, or are dropped off by 8:45am. Students will also need to ensure that they use their Student ID cards to sign in at the Compass kiosk. All students are expected to carry them at all times. We will be monitoring students who are continually late in the morning and contacting parents where required.
Students Not Feeling Well
If a student is feeling unwell, it is vital that the student initially reports to sick bay. We sometimes have situations where a student contacts the parent and the parent arrives at school to collect the student and the school nurse has no knowledge of the student being unwell. I remind all students and parents that is very important that we follow the accepted procedure where a student sees the school nurse initially. If students are feeling unwell in the morning, they must stay home and notify the school. This will ensure that we all work together to keep the school safe.
Student Success Stories
Congratulations to Cameron Richards of Year 9 who was selected to participate in the Outdoor Education Group student leadership camp that was run across the second week of the school holidays and Week 1 Term 2. Cameron was chosen by the Western Chances committee to participate in this event. Victoria University was involved with this program too.
Cameron is at the School for Student Leadership for the remaining of the term and will back at school in Term 3.
Congratulations to Jake Buhagiar who is the current Australian National Champion in Taekwondo for his division. This is the third year in a row! Jake won gold at the championships at the end of last term. He won all matches in his competition. Last weekend, Jake competed for selections for the World Championships and once again he won gold! Congratulations Jake!
On the evening of Thursday 12th May , Jaala Watkins and I attended a Western Chances event at the Victorian Governor’s residence celebrating the work from this amazing organisation. Reena Kiir from 11E was chosen from Western Chances to attend the event as well as the student representative from our school. The event showcased the outstanding work from this organisation that supports many of our students. Reena was able to attend with her family. The governor’s residence is pretty special too!
and finally....
As the cold weather has begun, please make sure that your child has the warm winter uniform – jumper, jacket, long pants, winter skirt, and long sleeve tops. Please note that tracksuit pants, hoodies and other non uniform tops must not be worn at school, or on the way to or from school. We greatly appreciate your support in ensuring that your child is in full uniform. If you need assistance with this, please contact your child’s Year Level Leader.
A reminder to all parents about displaying respectful behaviours when communicating with staff at the college, even during difficult situations that may arise. Respect is one of the college's core values. It's not acceptable that a staff member needs to deal with disrespectful behaviour when communicating home about their students' learning progress. For any further information on this, please contact a member of the Principal Class.
Danny Dedes
On behalf of the Principal Class
Theresa Burlak, Rick Hudson, Sasha Mildenhall and Louisa Norwood