Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Based on advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer, all schools in metropolitan Melbourne will continue with remote and flexible learning until the end of Term 3.

The one important change to the current setting is that all Year 11& 12 VCE/VCAL students and staff are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated and will be given priority appointments. More details on how to book are available in this newsletter.

We recognise what a significant disruption this is for all of us as students, parents, family members and workers; and the impact it can have on learning and wellbeing in our work and personal lives. Our staff are doing everything they can to ensure that our students are prepared for and supported during online learning, including in relation to their wellbeing.

Students are encouraged to reach out to their teachers, coordinators or the Student Wellbeing team if they need support or just a chat about how they're feeling.

Great work, VUSC!

VUSC and students have cause for celebration this term. In the face of the considerable disruptions of the past year, we have recorded our school's highest NAPLAN results in Writing and Spelling which were both above the State Mean. We also made considerable improvement in Reading and Numeracy over the past three years and we are bridging the gap with the State Mean in these factors as well. This news reinforces the crucial role of high-quality teaching and learning – whether it be remote or face-to-face – in attaining positive student outcomes. Our staff at the Junior Campus along with the Campus Principal Mr Leyland, have been tracking and monitoring the progress of our students for some time. Knowing our students and where their point of need is at, has played a significant role in the impressive improvements we have made despite the challenges staff and students have had to face.

R U OK? DAY

Our Year 12 VCAL students undertook peer education of all Year 7 classes on Monday 30th August and Monday 6th September. They taught students strategies on how to recognise if someone is not okay and the importance of asking R U OK and helping someone seek help.

This year like last year the lessons were conducted online via MS Teams. R U OK national day is on Thursday 9th September.

Our VCAL students taught our younger students the need for asking R U OK. They explored and discussed topics such as:

Why do we need to ask someone if they are OK and listen to their answer?
Asking someone if they’re OK can help them cope with stressful times, such as exam periods or when schoolwork is building up.
Asking people around you if they’re OK and demonstrating effective listening skills can help friends feel valued, supported, and connected.
Why do we need to encourage action and check in our mates?
When you need information to support someone, there are people and places in your community that you can turn to for assistance. Encouraging friends to seek help early will enable them to manage the situation and potentially stop the problem growing bigger.
Checking in on our mates assists in letting them know we have been thinking about them, wanting to know how they are and encouraging them to seek support.

Every year our VCAL students do an amazing job teaching our Year 7’s face to face but this year they again took on the challenge and taught the lessons online, and all I can say is that when I attended the classes to watch they did us proud. Well done to all the VCAL students and their teachers.

Year 7 Enrolment 2022

I am pleased to announce that our Year 7 enrolment for 2022 has increased to 230 students which is our highest enrolment ever for Year 7.

Our Year 7 Information Night was held on Monday 6th September online via Microsoft Teams and was well attended by the Grade 6 students who will be joining us next year and their parents/carers. I would especially like to acknowledge and congratulate the campus captains for hosting the evening and doing such a great job.

Essential Assessment for VCE/VCAL

VCAA has confirmed that the Stay-at-Home Directions across Victoria will now enable school based essential assessments and examination preparation, where they cannot be conducted remotely, to be conducted on site from 30 August 2021.

Course Content will not be altered this year, but the Consideration of Educational Disadvantage (CED) process will be employed again this year for all students undertaking a VCE Unit 3/4 Study.

Examinations will run as normal this year – Performance Examinations begin Monday 4th October 2021, and written examinations will run until Wednesday 17th November 2021. The General Achievement Test (GAT) will now take place on Tuesday 5th October 2021 from 10:00am – 1:15pm.

Year 12 VTAC Online Student Interviews

Students currently in Year 12 are undertaking an extensive selection process in choosing their tertiary courses for 2022 through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). VTAC is the central office that administers the application processes for places in tertiary courses, scholarships and special entry access schemes at university, TAFE and independent tertiary colleges in Victoria (and a few outside Victoria).

As we continue with our remote learning program for all our Year 12 students, it is critical that students are further supported with their VTAC selection process and meeting their career aspirations remains a fundamental focus.

In Term 2 Year 12 students had a career appointment with a career advisor to discuss their Career Action Plan and complete the draft VTAC Course Selection spreadsheet. The Careers team then organised a VTAC Online Interview Session for all students with a Careers Advisor. This commenced on Monday 2nd August 2021. This provides students with a great opportunity to talk to the careers team about courses for next year, applying for SEAS and/or scholarships and receiving any additional assistance for the application process. Parents, where possible, were strongly encouraged to attend this online interview session with their child. VTAC submissions close on 30th September.

Progress Reports/Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews for Term 3 will be held on Thursday 16th September via telephone. Interviews will take place between 1pm to 7pm, with a dinner break between 4.30pm to 5.30pm.

Parents and carers are encouraged to book appointments via Compass with their child/ren's teachers to discuss their progress. The teacher will telephone you at your appointed time. Interpreters are also available for these interviews. There will be no online classes on this day so that students can participate in the interviews as well. Term 3 Progress Reports will be published on Compass on Tuesday 14th September.

Annual Concert

The Annual Concert scheduled for 1st of September was unfortunately cancelled. This will now take place as a recorded performance, on Thursday 21st  October. A You Tube link for the performance will be available on 22nd  October.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other. As always parents and carers are welcome to contact the school if they need anything. I look forward to seeing you all when we return on site.

Elaine Hazim

College Principal

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Child Safety at VUSC

Victoria University Secondary College is a child safe organisation committed to protecting students from all forms of abuse.

Our College has stringent protocols in place and endeavours at all times to be fully compliant with the Child Safe Standards set out under Ministerial Order 870.

Our College has the following documents and policies in place to achieve compliance with the Standards. All of these documents are available for downloading on our website or contact the school for a copy.

Commitment to Child Safety
Child Safety Policy
Child Safety Code of Conduct
Child Protection Policy and Procedures