From the Principal's Desk:

Principal's Report

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What an exciting start to the year we’ve had at Woodmans Hill Secondary College and what an amazing experience it has been as a first time principal.

Although we are a new school, we are fortunate to have a culture and sense of belonging that are so strong. I’ve been taken aback by the warm welcome I have received from staff, students, families and our extended community. There is an excitement around the place and a firm belief that - by learning from and with each other - we can achieve great things in the service of our students.

I am very fortunate to join the Woodmans Hill team at a time of great improvement: not just in terms of the bricks and mortar that will make up the structure of our new buildings, but in the educational architecture that teachers are designing to ensure that Woodmans Hill caters for the needs of every child.

We will judge the success of this design by how effective we are at ensuring that all students grow: academically, socially and emotionally, so that they receive the best start to their adult life and an education that challenges and supports them in equal measures. One thing that is unquestionable is the commitment from staff to ensure that we provide the best educational experience possible for our students.

We have a very clear identity at Woodmans Hill and that starts with our high expectations around positive behaviour. Our identity runs through our college values of respect, determination and the striving for personal excellence. When our students put on the Woodmans Hill uniform, we want them to feel a sense of pride and a willingness to go out into our wider community and make a difference. I have been particularly proud of those students who have stepped up into leadership positions. An example of this has been our Year 12 leadership group who have met with me each week to provide a voice for our students so that they can help shape our direction. I have also been impressed by our student ambassadors who have articulated what it means to be a Woodmans Hill student at the Year 6 Information Evening and those sports leaders who have visited primary schools to assist with their sports day. This positive impact of our students across Ballarat will be a crucial element to our work this year and I am keen to find as many opportunities to develop partnerships that benefit our students in order to help them grow.

Our links with our primary school partners is incredibly important to us and it has been great to visit so many schools to discuss with Year 5 & 6 students what their ambitions are for their time at Secondary School. This connection was borne out by the amazing turn out we had for Information Evening and it was impressive to see the passion and commitment from staff and students to showcase the best in teaching and learning at our school. The feedback that we have had from our community has been really encouraging and it helps confirm that we are a school who is on the right track. I loved seeing Year 6 students in school to take part in Science lessons in our new facility and this is something we are keen to extend to all of our primary partner schools.

It has also been a great start for our youngest and our oldest students. Our Year 7's enjoyed an important bonding experience at camp in Port Fairy and a big thanks must go to Year Level Coordinator Jaswinder Kaur and her team for making it such a success. At the Year 7 community BBQ it was great to meet with so many of our students and their families and hear of their hopes for the next 6 years. In order to ensure that our youngest students understand the expectations around putting on a Woodmans Hill uniform, we ran an afternoon session where their voice was heard, defining what type of student they aspire to and what opportunities will be needed to help them achieve this goal. I was inspired by their thinking and my brain has been working overtime with the possibilities that their suggestions presented. Our Year 12 students are working hard and it is exciting to talk to them and hear the exciting dreams that they have for their future.

2019 will be an exciting year full of many changes and I look forward to sharing our successes with our community.

Stephan Fields