Principal's Report

Welcome to Term Three

All students are active participants in a learning culture that promotes academic excellence and personal development through a diversity of challenging experiences.  

VISION

“Working together, learning together” – Working together to enable all students to achieve their potential and become confident, effective learners who contribute productively to society.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Doncaster Secondary College acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which our school is situated, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to elder's past, present and emerging and extend that respect to any and all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. We value the ongoing contribution to the cultural heritage that the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people provide to our school as well as the city of Manningham. We recognise that this land was never ceded and there is no treaty, and we commit to efforts towards reconciliation as a school community. We at Doncaster Secondary College are inclusive of individuals from all backgrounds including the LGBTQIA+, culturally and linguistically diverse as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS UPDATE

Due to the ongoing level of community transmission of coronavirus in Victoria, the current lockdown across Melbourne has been extended until 11:59pm on Thursday 2 September. Under the new strengthened restrictions in place across metropolitan Melbourne, an authorised worker permit will be required for authorised workers to attend a workplace. This also means that from tomorrow, parents and carers in metropolitan Melbourne can only request on-site supervision for their child/ren in the below categories:

Children where both parents and or carers are considered authorised workers who cannot work from home, work for an authorised provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made:

• Where there are two parents/carers, both must be authorised workers, working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.
• For single parents/ carers, the authorised worker must be working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.
• Parents and carers who are authorised workers will need an authorised worker permit from their employers to access on-site supervision for their child/ren in Category A.

On-site supervision continues to be available for the below students:

Children experiencing vulnerability, including:

• in out-of-home care
• deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home
• identified by a school or early childhood service as vulnerable, (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service)
• Where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide on-site supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.

An authorised worker permit is not required for accessing on-site supervision under Category B.

An updated onsite attendance form is now available and was attached to the Compass newsfeed for those who meet the above categories and require on-site learning for their child/ren.

For those requesting on-site learning under Category A, a copy of your authorised worker permit or permits must be submitted to the school as soon as practicable after it is issued. A permit is not required under Category B. 

I know this may well be a challenging time. There are a number of supports available. These include:

• A short video produced by headspace with tips and strategies for parents and carers during lockdown
• Student Mental Health and Wellbeing resources for advice
• Advice for students about how to adapt during COVID-19
• Resources for learning from home
• Translated resources for learning from home

COVID-19 VACCINATION

As part of the phased COVID-19 vaccination rollout, more Victorian parents, carers, and students are now able to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. With more appointments now available, bookings can be made via the  Victorian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine online booking system. 

For more information about eligibility, refer to coronavirus.vic.gov.au or use the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility checker. 

People aged 16 to 39 will be eligible for the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine from 30 August 2021. The Eligibility Checker will be updated and more information about how to make a booking will be available soon. 

Thank you for complying with the restrictions in place and making careful and supportive decisions that limit movement through the community. Thank you for supporting your child’s learning during this time.

PRE-REVIEW SELF-EVALUATION UPDATE

One of the key stages of the school review process is the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) which is completed in the term prior to the review. The constant changes to restrictions and transition in and out of remote learning have made this work quite challenging. However, I can assure you that we are still progressing well, and the information below outlines some of the progress that we are making. As a reminder, development of the PRSE is a collaborative process which engages the whole school community in a reflective analysis of the school’s performance and practices, including:

• the celebration of highlights leading to improved student outcomes.
• a collective view of the school’s performance against our goals
• an assessment of the school’s practices

All staff have participated in a deep and rigorous assessment of our progress towards the goals of our SSP. We have been completing this in a range of forums, however, significant involvement and progress was made on the most recent Curriculum Day. Staff were involved in evaluating academic achievement data, attitudes to school survey results, implementation of our Instructional Model, and progress in the area of student voice and agency. The conversations were rich and group leaders captured the feedback and used the information to assess our College on the Continua of Practice. A key outcome of these sessions was the motivation to engage with the Professional Learning Communities initiative which was launched in term 3.

A number of student focus groups have been held with random samples of students. Hearing from students about their experience has been one of the most joyous experiences that I could have as a Principal. The intellectual and emotional intelligence of our young people has allowed them to clearly articulate their views on their experience as students at Doncaster Secondary College.

I would also like to share two of our highlights which we are including as part of the Pre-Review Self-Evaluation. I am sharing these highlights now as I believe that they are relevant to our current situation and they talk to the strengths within our community which will continue to support our students through lockdown and remote learning.

Highlight 1: VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) Results 2020

Measuring the success of a school is complex and requires evaluation of several dimensions. A key metric that is often publicly used to rank schools is the VCE median study score. In 2020, Doncaster Secondary College celebrated a median score of 30, an important milestone reached by the school. Furthermore, our College demonstrated high academic success across several study areas, as demonstrated in the table below.

The COVID-19 global pandemic placed unprecedented stressors on school communities and students experienced deep concern over academic futures. To achieve strong VCE results under such arduous conditions, our College elevated its commitment to consistent routines, clear student expectations, high-impact teaching practices and Wellbeing programs. 

Success in VCE begins with a positive learning culture. To be a VCE teacher at our College, one must hold high professional standards, have extended subject knowledge and foster an attitude of resilience towards achieving their personal best. Our teachers are motivated and driven to instil this in our senior students. 

The challenges of learning in a COVID-19 era highlighted one of our College’s best attributes: our highly supportive and adaptive culture. With a focus on minimizing student disruption, our school developed high-impact teaching practices that were readily transferable between an onsite classroom and an online environment. Despite the setbacks and restrictions that 2020 presented, our school leadership and Senior School team demonstrated ingenuity in delivering key social milestones, such as the Year 12 Formal and the Valedictory Dinner. Our school can be proud of delivering a social and academically rigorous VCE program.

Highlight 2: Whole-school approach to wellbeing

Everyone at Doncaster Secondary College plays a role in creating a safe and inclusive learning culture. Social and emotional skills programs are taught through our DiSCovery/ Health and PE Learning Areas, and report to the Victorian Curriculum Personal & Social Capabilities. The inclusion of the Rights, Resilience & Respectful Relationships teaching materials in DiSCovery form a part of our whole-school approach to Respectful Relationships. As a Lead School, our whole-school approach to embedding a culture of respect and equality across the community is having a positive impact on our students. School surveys have shown that 93% of students believe that there is a connection between our school values and respectful relationships. 

To provide timely support to those students who need it, we have utilised the DET SAFE Minds advice regarding Noticing, Inquiring and Planning to develop a tiered approach that shares responsibility for student wellbeing across the community. All College staff, families and students are responsible for observing behaviours, inquiring into wellbeing and offering support. Sub schools have been arranged with additional wellbeing resources in the form of Student Engagement and Support Co-ordinators, who intervene where students are at-risk of disengaging from learning. Intervention by the Wellbeing Team aligns with the programs being delivered across the school by supporting students to develop their Personal & Social Capabilities. Consisting of a staff of five, including a new Mental Health Practitioner, they draw on the skills of a team of pre-service counsellors and social workers, who are a strategic resource for the school. Publishing ‘Conversation Menus’ to our community has encouraged meaningful partnerships between the school and parents/ carers, connecting home learning and school learning. A more systematic approach to consent for wellbeing support has increased communication with families and involved them in decision-making.

PLANNING FOR 2022: SUBJECT SELECTIONS

Planning for 2022 is well and truly underway. A key component of this is the completion of subject selections for all Year 8, 9, 10, 11 students and families. Please refer to Mr Gary Rule’s newsfeed for instructions. Please note that with many subjects are already in high demand, students who meet all the due dates will have a higher priority when subjects are allocated. Key dates for subject selections include:

• 2022 Subject Selections – Due August 20
• 2022 Courses Learning task - Due August 22
• 2022 Subject payments open August 25 to September 4 Some subjects have fees these subjects must be paid for by September 4 to give you the best chance of being included in that class. Families with difficulty meeting payment deadlines should contact the office before September 4th.

PLANNING FOR 2022: ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN AND LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE 

What is organisational design?

Organisation design is the deliberate process of configuring structures, processes, reward systems, and people practices and policies to create an effective organisation capable of achieving the business strategy - Jay Galbraith (organisational theorist)  

Organisation design within a school context is the process of aligning organisational elements with your school’s strategic plan* and operational (day-to-day) requirements. It helps to focus your staff and the school towards delivery of the strategic plan. The strategic plan is aligned with the student profile and the number and types of leadership and support roles. Often this is not an easy task. A good organisation design, however, provides a vision to move to over time. As part of the pre-review self-evaluation, the Doncaster Secondary College Leadership team has been undertaking an extensive evaluation of our current organisational and leadership structure. 

In preparation for 2022, Doncaster Secondary College will be transitioning from 2 to 3 sub-schools. The sub-school structure will consist of Junior School (Year 7 and 8), Middle School (Year 9) and Senior School (Year 10-12). Leading teachers will work together to build high performing teams within sub-schools (vertical) and across the College (horizontal). These teams will play a critical role in school improvement by developing the capabilities of staff to implement and sustain change. They will develop structures that support evidence-informed learning. They will build quality relationships that support achievement, engagement and wellbeing. Leaders will be data focused and will collaborate to build a culture of continuous improvement. Leaders within the College will engage in networks and Communities of Practice to share practice, build capacity and learn from their peers. 

The successful applicants for the Leading Teacher: Educational Leadership positions will be allocated to one of the following roles: 

• Leading Teacher: Positive Climate for Learning/Community Engagement in Learning (6 positions aligned with each year level)
• Leading Teacher: Excellence in Teaching and Learning (4 positions aligned with sub-schools)

I believe that this organisational design will ensure that we have the leadership capabilities which will align with the leadership dimensions that deliver high quality teaching and learning to our students.  

Glenn Morris

Principal