Assistant Principals' Report

Term 4 Report

Congratulations to all of our students for their hard work and dedication to learning this term. Last night was our presentation night and we acknowledged 109 of our students for their excellence in academic studies, music, sport, debating and contribution to the school. These students have distinguished themselves through their application to their studies and contributions school programs. The night was accompanied by three wonderful performances from the Concert Band and the cast of Mamma Mia. Thank you to our 2022 school captains and to Vittoria Trovarelli and Carolyn Gray for their support in the running of the night.

Semester reports were made available via Compass on Monday 12 December. Students and parents/carers can access these via Compass. Each report includes feedback on the student’s assessment tasks, including areas of strength and areas for improvement. These reports are an opportunity for students to discuss their learning and learning behaviours with their parents/carers. I want to acknowledge the hard work of our teachers in the assessment and reporting process. A great deal of effort goes into the creation of quality assessment and to providing students with quality feedback. In addition to the semester reports, a report has been published with each student’s PAT testing results. These are standardised literacy and numeracy assessments that are used by teachers to monitor student learning in these areas and to plan their teaching. These reports should be read together with your child’s school report to get an understanding of your child’s development.

A few weeks ago, our senior students were back at school after their exams to begin their studies for their 2023 subjects. This head start to 2023 provided students with important preparation for success next year. I encourage our students to apply themselves over the summer school break to their holiday homework. The experience of our VCE teachers says that students who apply themselves to preparation for Year 12 are able to engage much more deeply with the knowledge and skills that is taught in Term 1. Our junior students have been participating in their own alternative program over the last two weeks. This program has aimed to support students to develop key skills that they will need for next year. Our current Year 7 students have been developing their writing skills by creating guides for the students who are joining us in Year 7 next year, with many of these highlighting the many extra-curricular activities that are available for students to be involved in in Year 7.

This term, our teachers have been doing significant work reviewing our curriculum planning to continue embedding engaging learning for our students in every class. The early dismissal afternoons have greatly contributed to the excellent progress made on this. Good planning is vital to successful teaching and teachers have expressed their appreciation for having this time. In our curriculum day earlier this term, our staff reviewed the feedback from the student Attitude to Schools Survey to develop school improvement actions for 2023. This survey asks questions about their experiences at school and covers their learning and their wellbeing. Our staff reviewed the data from our students and some additional feedback from focus groups. The ideas from this have informed our planning for new initiatives being introduced in 2023. In the afternoon our staff engaged with the importance of cultural awareness and the importance of taking an active role in reducing racism within the community.

Greg Breese

Assistant Principal