SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

If you have driven by the school lately or been onsite, you will have noticed that building works are progressing smoothly. The screw piles are in and from next week, the steel and concrete will be laid. Consequently, the front carpark will have to be closed to enable large trucks to manoeuvre in and out. We have all commented, including the builders, on how large our new buildings are, taking up the majority of what used to look like a very large space. We were even asked what we had done to get so much money! A fantastic School Council and dedicated community members, we said!

Next term, I will be on long service leave travelling around Australia. My partner and I are very much looking forward to exploring Australia. As a non-native born Australian, I have seen very little of our beautiful country; I have no doubt this will be a fantastic education for me. Mr John Wilson will be Acting Principal in my absence, and Ms Rebecca Anthony will be Acting Assistant Principal. As Mr Wilson and I currently ‘co-principal’ the school, the school will be in very safe hands. Ms Anthony is also an experienced Assistant Principal, having performed this role for 6 months in 2018. 

I would like to welcome two new staff members – Ms Emily Hill will be covering my Year 7 classes and several others. Ms Hill is an ex-Korumburra student and also undertook placement here at KSC. She is a wonderful teacher and we feel very lucky to have her on board. Ms Hill will teach English and Humanities. After some difficulty, we have also replaced Ms Pinya. Ms Yolanda Deal will be taking on a Maths/Science allotment. Again, we have been very lucky to find a highly experienced and capable teacher who has recently moved to Korumburra. I would also like to thank our community for their patience whilst we filled this position.

In more good news, Ms Naomi Coleman is slowly recovering after suffering a significant back injury. Ms Coleman will return part-time from next week. Her students and the staff have missed her greatly. We are so pleased that she has seen great improvement in the last few weeks. I would like to thank Mr Toby Mahoney (Maths Leader) who has been taking Ms Coleman’s Year 12 Maths class this term. 

Staffing shortages have eased in the last week, however, events such as Sports Excursions and Student Support Group Meetings have meant that a number of classes have still had replacement teachers. We will monitor this situation over the remaining weeks of the term. I hope that we have experienced the worst of the effects of COVID (at the very least for now). I would like to thank our amazing staff who have at times taken two classes, prepared lessons for classes not their own, taught classes above their allocated duties, and generally filled in gaps all over the school. Our replacement staff have also been outstanding. 

From next term, the Admin wing will be out of commission whist the builders remodel and renovate. This will mean that staff and students will be operating out of rooms, buildings etc that they might normally not work out of. The General Office will be moved to the existing Careers space (more information on this to come). Parents will be able to access this from the external doors in the middle of A wing. The General Office will be closed on the last day of this term to enable the removalists to move equipment. Staff will also be moving offices on this day, thus School Council have agreed to a Student Free Day on the last day of Term 1. Once again, I ask that our community be patient with us as we prepare for and grapple with next term’s challenges. It will all be worth it!

Principal - Vaya Dauphin

Assistant Principal  -  John Wilson