Principal's Report

Term 1 2023 concludes

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

As we reach the end of term 1, I thank our community for their commitment in striving to be their best and ensure that as a community we continue to grow and care for each other. You will see from this newsletter that our staff continues to provide outstanding enrichment and co-curricular programs for our students to contribute to the world around them, and strengthen relationships with their peers and staff. To our parents and carers, thank you for your support and commitment to the school and your child’s education. I hope that you enjoy reading this newsletter and that you are able to have some time to relax with family and friends during the term 1 break.

Vision for Learning

The introduction of three mini-schools in 2022, each with a clear vision and understanding of their role in the learning journey of our community, was an important step in ensuring that we had the structure required to improve learning outcomes for all students. As part of the curriculum review and development consultation, all key stakeholders within our community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the mini-school vision statements (see below).

At Junior School, we will shape all our students to be healthy, positive, and resilient learners who have the literacy, numeracy and personal and social capabilities required to be successful in the future.
At Middle School, we will empower learners to have a strong sense of self so that they have the capabilities to become active and engaged members of the community.
At Senior School, we will relentlessly pursue academic and vocational excellence and meaningful pathways for future success.

Each vision statement speaks to the importance of understanding the stage of adolescent development and schooling and laying the foundation for the next step in their education and life.

Questions that have been asked of staff and student focus groups include:

What do you like about the vision and/or what would you modify about the vision?
What do you like about our current program that aligns with this vision?
What do we currently do that we should do more of to align with this vision?
What do we currently do that we should do less of so as our program aligns with this vision?
What is missing from our current program that we should investigate/include to align with this vision?
Where do you see yourself fitting in the vision for learning?

Further opportunities have been scheduled for students, staff, and families to be involved in consultation about our curriculum program for 2024 and beyond.

Student consultation: Period lengths and structure of the school day

Throughout the period of the school strategic plan (SSP), there will be a focus on extending student agency in their learning, leading to improvements in achievement, engagement, and wellbeing. It is important that all students believe that they are capable and valued members of our school community. Students will be pressed to think deeply about their learning and set and monitor learning goals that use reflection strategies and exercise agency relating to their learning experience.

(SSP 2022-25 Goals, Intent and Rationale)

The development of a new industrial agreement between the Australian Education Union and the Department of Education has led to a reduction in timetabled teaching time for teachers. This is good news for students as it means their teachers will have extra time to prepare for the delivery of the curriculum program. However, it also means that in 2024 there will be changes to the period lengths and structure of the school day.

Currently, Doncaster Secondary College runs a 4 x 75-minute period timetable (300 minutes of instruction). In 2024, period lengths will change from 75 minutes, and we are likely to move to a 5 x 60-minute timetable (300 minutes of instruction). This change in period length is necessary to ensure that teacher timetables meet the requirements of the new industrial agreement.

It is also an opportunity for our community to review our current curriculum and lay the foundation for the development of a program that better prepares our students for the future. All students have had the opportunity to be involved in consultation about period lengths and the structure of the school day. From the beginning of term 2, students will have further opportunities to review our current program and contribute to the development of our future program.

Thank you to members of the SRC who met with the principal team on Monday to discuss and provide feedback on the consultative process. The insights from our students have demonstrated their ability to think deeply and as a result, influence the world around them.

Attendance and why we value it

Doncaster Secondary College has been recognised by the Department of Education as an exemplar for our work in reducing student absences.

We are very proud that our Positive Climate for Learning and Community Leaders have been asked to share their response to improving student attendance to schools across the Victorian Government School system. Whilst we have been recognised for our work on reducing absenteeism, we are still striving for improvements, and it is important that all members of our community understand the rationale behind this initiative. Please see below:

Did you know that regular school attendance is essential for your teenager's education and future success? Missing just three or more days in a term puts your child at risk of chronic absenteeism, which is defined as 20 or more days absent in a year.
At Doncaster Secondary College, we believe that "Everyday Counts" and that coming to school every day is the single most important part of your teenager's education. By attending school regularly, students develop good habits that are necessary for success in the workplace or in further study after school.
Missing school can have a significant impact on a student's academic and social life. It can affect their ability to complete VCE successfully, impact their post-school pathways, and affect their relationships with other students, leading to social isolation.
Each missed day of school can contribute to stress, feelings of being overwhelmed, and falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks. Therefore, we encourage all parents and carers to prioritize their child's regular attendance at school.

Please reach out to your mini-school Level Coordinator or a member of the Wellbeing team if you require support in building routines that promote attendance.

Together, let's ensure that our students have the best possible chance for success.

Student-led conferences

Monday’s student-led conferences were an opportunity for our students to showcase their learning, including the development of their personal and social capabilities, and critical and creative thinking skills. Student-led conferences are different from the traditional parent-teacher interviews that many parents/carers have experienced in their own time at school. The major difference is that students are expected to lead the conversation. In doing so, students take an active role where they can present their own ideas, opinions, knowledge and experience. In turn, this provides an opportunity for families and teachers to discuss the information presented by students and provide further feedback.

Thank you to my staff who prepared students for the conferences. Students were supported to reflect on the teacher feedback provided through the common assessment tasks. The feedback that students receive from their teachers is vital however, it can be missed if the focus of students is only on the grade or %.

Educational research highlights the importance of self-assessment and reflection on student achievement. Opportunities for self-assessment and reflection are built into the preparation for student-led conferences, and into the planned review and reflect activities in each lesson. This allows students to build their capacity to:

Identify their current knowledge and skills
Articulate the strategies they will use to progress their learning
Identify the next steps in their learning

The conferences provided our families with an opportunity to celebrate their child's learning journey and strengthened the partnership between home and school.

Open Night 2023

Thank you to members of our community who contributed and attended our Open Night - it was our night to showcase our College to prospective parents, carers, and students. It was also an opportunity to share our vision for learning, our new and unique mini-school teams, and to celebrate what our wonderful school and community can offer those who join us in the future.

A highlight of the evening for our prospective families was the involvement of our current and former students in leading the open night tours. They should be very proud of the way they represented themselves, the College, and their families.

Glenn Morris

Principal