Principals' Report

Principal Team Report 

Welcome back, I would like to wish everyone a happy and successful 2019. I trust the Christmas holidays were enjoyable and everyone is recharged for a big year! I would particularly like to welcome all our new students and their families as well as our new staff members. Thank you for choosing Koonung Secondary College.

The staff has been very impressed by the smooth start and the enthusiastic way our students have approached their classes. I am looking forward to another productive and enjoyable year ahead.

I would like to introduce the new and returning staff members:

Joyce Bao – International Student Program

Michael Crocco - Maths

Olivia Foy- Instrumental/Classroom Music/Maths

Sarah Hobson – Psychology/Physical Education

Lauren Hughes – English/Humanities

David Kennedy – Maths/Science

Daniella Nardelli – Physics/Maths, Leading Teacher- Pedagogy and Staff Development

Clive Oldland – Maths

Katrina Pumpa – Student Support

Nicole Robinson – Maths/Science

Georgina Russell – Art/Technology

Kirby Sens – Art/Technology

Conor Sheehan – Commerce, Leading Teacher- Head of Senior School

Linda Su – English

Stephanie Van Ekeris – Japanese/Humanities, Year 10 Level Coordinator

Ning Zhang – Chinese

During the break there was a large amount of work completed to improve our facilities. I would like to thank Stace Kerr, Mat Douglas and the facilities team for their hard work. The school was thoroughly cleaned, there was painting completed and furniture updated. New ovens were installed in the Food Technology area and a number of air conditioners replaced. The VCE locker bay was also refurbished. Extensive maintenance and tidying up was also completed around the grounds. The hockey pitch should be ready for action by the end of next week, which is exciting.

Thank you to our ICT team, who were also very busy during the break upgrading our network and managing the roll out of devices.  It is always pleasing to begin the year in a pleasant and well prepared environment.

Our VCE results from 2018 were extremely pleasing, with improvement in all areas, however data which is as significant as ATARS and median study scores is the destination data for our students when they leave us.  Importantly, almost every student who was seeking to enter tertiary education in 2019 has received an offer to do so.  The class of 2018 are excited to begin the next phase of their education. Essential to this success has been the emphasis, time, and effort placed on careers advice.  Karen Riding and Carole Marcianti, with the support of the Senior Sub School team, provide excellent support and direction for the students as they look to make selections for University courses.

Below is a snapshot of the industry choices our students made for their tertiary studies.

The strength of the school and the education we provide is not just about academic outcomes.  The development of the whole person is fundamental to the success of the students and the school. A well-rounded individual, will always do better academically and in life. This is why all of our students are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of activities, from sport, clubs, performing and visual arts and a myriad of other opportunities. We work very hard to ensure that we offer a wide range of challenging and educational experiences.

It is helpful for parents to make sure that they are logging into Compass regularly to maintain awareness of upcoming events.  Compass also allows you to monitor assessment tasks and topics that students are working through. This is a great way to support students with organisation and to generate productive conversations about progress and identify any issues.  Compass also gives you access to communicate with staff as required too. If there are any issues accessing Compass, please contact the office and support will be provided.

I have received some inquiries about the College policy regarding Mobile Phones, so have provided a brief summary here.

“During school hours, mobile phones must be:

• locked securely in the student’s locker, or
• switched off if carried on the student’s person,

Students should not access their mobile phones, unless authorised by a supervising teacher e.g. where phones may be used for e-learning or other learning activities.

If parents need to contact students during the school day, it is recommended that a call is made through the College Administration and a message will be relayed to the student. Parents should not make direct contact with students during class time as this will cause a disruption to the learning program.”

Again, welcome to what I am sure will be an enjoyable year ahead.

Marianne Lee

Principal