Principal's Report

From the Principal

At the conclusion of week six of term two, it is safe to say that this term has been like no other. It is a blessing that from all the information we can access, our local community and certainly our College community have been largely untouched by the health ramifications associated with the Covid-19 virus. We have all of us, however, had our daily routines severely impacted and we share a uniform anxiety about the current situation and the landscapes that we face for the next few months at least. We can, all of us, exercise our personal responsibilities, by not attending school when unwell, by practising social distancing when possible and by consistently considering and acting upon health and hygiene matters by regularly using hand sanitisers, washing our hands with soap and water and coughing or sneezing into our elbows or a tissue. These elements are crucial to controlling the spread of this virus and protecting our personal and collective wellbeing.

With the Department of Education announcing a staged return to all Victorian Government schools, our Year 11 and 12 students (including Year 10 students undertaking a Unit 1 & 2 VCE subject) will be commencing on Tuesday May 26 and our Year 7-10 students on Tuesday June 9.

A reminder that next Monday 25 May will be a student-free day at our College.

We are certainly looking forward to welcoming back our students next week.

As we seek to support our students reconnecting with the College, our focus will continue to be on ensuring their safety and wellbeing.  In order to so, we have made the following decisions in an attempt to ensure a safe and secure environment;

Communication of the key messages

1. The most important action school communities can take to reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), is to ensure that any unwell staff, children and young people remain at home. 
2. While the risk of transmission of the virus is very low, staff or students most at risk of severe illness should individually assess appropriateness for onsite attendance at this time with support from their medical practitioner.
3. As the main risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the school environment is between adults, it is important that visitors to school grounds are limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and operations.

How does this look at East Doncaster Secondary College?

• All unwell staff and students must stay home.
• Visitors to school grounds will be limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and operations (e.g. student health and wellbeing services, specialist curriculum programs, maintenance workers).
• Additional staff, including parent volunteers, are discouraged from attending school at this time. 
• East Doncaster Secondary College’s preferred methods of communication with parents is via our Compass learning management system or by ringing the College General Office (98422244). We ask that any parents/carers wishing to discuss any matters with a staff member to first use the options of either a phone call or email. If a face-to face meeting is needed, it must meet the physical distancing requirements of 1.5m between adults.
• Bell times will be staggered during the school day to space student movement through the congested spaces of the College grounds.
• All interschool activities that involve onsite attendance by students from other schools e.g. interschool sports or debating will either take place virtually or will be cancelled. 
• School assemblies, excursions, camps and other non-essential large gatherings will be postponed. 

Health and Hygiene

• We have contracted our cleaning services company to provide a significant amount of cleaning throughout the day in all areas of the College with a focus on areas subject to high levels of physical contact. Our students and staff will witness these cleaners at work during the day.
• All staff will be supplied with hygiene kits including hand sanitisers, tissues and wipes.
• Hand sanitizer, tissues and wipes will be made available in all classrooms and office spaces. 
• Students are also encouraged to bring their personal hand sanitizer to the College on a daily basis for frequent use.
• Students must bring their own water bottles to school for use (and refilling). Students are not drink directly from the College drinking fountains at this time. 
• The East Doncaster Secondary College Mobile Devices Policy will remain in place so students will not be handling their mobile phones during the school day. Phones can be turned on and left in lockers with the COVID SAFE app activated immediately before and after school. Schools are managed environments which include records of student, staff and visitor attendance, which can support contact tracing. This decision has been recommended and endorsed by the Department of Education.
• Sharing of food is not permitted. 
• The College Canteen will be open and social distancing measure will be put in place to ensure the safe operations of this space.
• All students will be reminded to practice physical distancing as much as is practicable during recess and lunchtime. Physical distancing through the separation of desks in classrooms and open spaces will occur where possible.

Student Wellbeing Support

The transition back to school will be challenging for some of our students. Our staff are very aware of this and will do all they can to identify students in distress and support student wellbeing and learning. Parents and students are encouraged to reach out to our Wellbeing team, Year Level Coordinators and subject teachers for support and advice during this time.

Confirmation of VCE Examination Schedule for 2020 

The Premier and the Minister for Education have announced the timeline for the 2020 VCE examinations. 

With schools returning to on-site teaching and learning sooner than expected, the Victorian Government has amended the previously announced VCE examination timeline to ensure students can complete their exams and receive results before the end of 2020. 

Importantly, the schedule gives sufficient time for teachers and students to complete adjusted VCE Unit 4 learning and school-based assessments and prepare for VCE examinations. 

Written exams will be conducted between 9 November and 2 December 2020, so that ATAR scores can be calculated and VCE and VCAL students will receive their results before the end of 2020. 

This announcement will give certainty to VCE students whose studies have been interrupted by coronavirus. 

The VCE exam schedule will be published on the VCAA website within the next few days. The date for the General Achievement Test has also now been confirmed as Wednesday 9 September 2020. 

Specific information on the VCE exam timetable will be provided before the start of Term 3. 

Thank you for your continued support and patience during these challenging times. We look forward to seeing all of our students in the near future.

John Roberts

Principal

Updated Anaphylaxis Policy

At our February School Council meeting we updated and amended our College Anaphylaxis Policy.

The amendments (whilst important) were quite minor and related to the provision of epi-pens for students in our Food Technology classroom spaces.

Please see attached for a copy of this policy.

1 to 1 Digital Learning Policy 2020

College Philosophy

At East Doncaster Secondary College we have a strong tradition of academic excellence and we aim to promote and sustain a reflective learning culture. We want students to experience a sense of achievement and growth in their academic, personal, social and emotional development. We have high expectations of our students’ commitment to being mutually supportive and striving for success as learners. We are proudly multicultural with a student population from 43 nationalities including a number of International Students. 68% of our students speak a language other than English at home.

A student’s life at school is full of opportunities, being rich and varied with a range of co-curricular activities in music, sport, productions, debating, clubs as well as camps and international experiences for the educational and personal development of students. Our students are vibrant, energetic, and talented young people. There are many student leadership opportunities and we aim to continue to increase student access to decision-making and self-determination as learners.

We endeavour to create a "Culture of Curiosity" with goals of ensuring learning improvement for every student – every student, every period, every day.

Our school’s purpose is to develop passionate learners who are critical thinkers with the confidence and capability to engage in the global community.

Care and Compassion, Curiosity, Excellence, Fairness, Resilience, Respect and Teamwork are the core values that underpin the culture of our school as we embrace the challenges of 21st Century learning.

We aim to sustain a learning culture that provides every student with a sense of achievement and of being their best in their academic, personal, social and emotional development.