Principal Update

Chris Quinn

Welcome to our first edition of the ‘THE WESTERN PORT WORD’ which will provide our community with a range of updates at key points throughout the year.

It's hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the school term which has been a busy one for our students and staff, with plenty of exciting events and activities taking place. I have highlighted some reflections from across our college so far this term and trust that our community will find this new communication platform both encouraging and informative.

ANZAC Day:

Thank you to our College Captains and Vice Captains who joined myself and Jack Waller (ADF Mentor) at the Hastings and Crib Point services. This was followed by a whole school assembly where students and staff came together to remember those who served and those who carry their spirit of service forward. This was a very special service for our whole school community and our students were extremely respectful of the day and the service.

Academic Achievements:

We would like to congratulate our students who have achieved academic excellence in Term 1. We have seen significant improvement in overall academic performance as per our Curriculum Architecture guidelines/timelines and we are proud of the hard work and dedication of our students. Our 7-9 Honour Roll for Term 1 is reflected in the Student Achievement section of this newsletter. As a college community, we are cheering on our Year 12 cohort who are now in one of the most crucial terms of the year as they head towards the completion of their Year 12 certificate. Keep up that learning stamina team!

Community Support:

Student Led Conferences were held last week, allowing parents/carers to discuss their child's academic progress with their teachers. We appreciate the participation of students/parents in these conferences and encourage continued communication between parents/carers and our Home Group/classroom teachers. We made the shift to a fully online structure which increased accessibility for families and removed some of the barriers around work and travel. In our review of this, we were really pleased to see double the number of bookings this term as compared to the face-to-face structure last year.

Thank you also to the parents/carers who took part in our Term 1 Pulse Check survey. We received 109 responses which provided us with a great snapshot of your feedback which helped shape conversations with our leadership team and broader staff as we continue to refine our strategic work. We will look to run the Term 2 Pulse Check later this term to gather similar data so please respond to this short survey when it is published.

College Events:

We have several events to look forward to as we approach the middle of the term so please check the Key Dates section within this newsletter which also includes the variety of before/lunch/after school extra-curricular activities on offer. Within the Health and Wellbeing Promotion page you will also find our wellbeing programs on offer this term. We believe that student wellbeing is crucial for academic success and as such, have been implementing various programs to promote wellbeing. We are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all our students and will keep you updated on college activities/events as they approach via Compass and our college website.

Again, thank you to our students, parents and carers for their continued support and encouragement throughout this term. We look forward to our next Term 2 newsletter wrapping up our achievements as we head into the mid-year break.

Yours Sincerely,

Chris Quinn

College Principal