FROM THE PRINCIPAL

2020 was another year of growth and development for the College. Our Narre Warren South campus, now in its ninth year of operation, has grown to over 900 students in 2021.

There is no doubt that managing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was an all-consuming focus throughout 2020. We did not imagine the early reports in January of a virus spreading amongst the population of Wuhan, China, would soon become

a reality in Australia and across many nations of the world, with devastating consequences.

Schools were required to shift to a remote learning model in April as a consequence of the government no longer allowing students to attend school. The College quickly established a Pandemic Management Team to consider all aspects of implementing a remote learning program, including how every aspect of the curriculum could be delivered in an online learning environment. Key to this was the professional development of staff in new software platforms that were required to deliver online learning. Staff quickly became proficient in delivering their lessons using Zoom and Teams, as well as becoming competent video casters.

The ICT Support team had the vital task of ensuring that around 2000 staff and student devices were ready for operating in the remote learning environment. Undoubtedly, the move to a one to one device program for staff and students some years earlier, along with the implementation of a learning management system at the same time, meant that the College was well prepared for the shift to remote learning.

‘Learning From Home’ guides were produced for parents, students and staff. The timetable was re-structured to take the remote learning environment into account. A COVID-19 Portal was established as a repository for all communication with the school

community. A ‘Working From Home’ guide was produced for staff. An on-site remote learning program was provided for children of essential workers and vulnerable children. Well-being days were introduced during the year to give students, parents and staff some much needed screen downtime.

As students returned to school, new health and hygiene practices were put into operation including physical distancing, the wearing of face masks, temperature screening, new cleaning protocols, and the frequent use of hand sanitiser throughout the day. Staff were required to carry a work permit when travelling to and from their campus or else face heavy fines. Parents were restricted to the car parks when dropping off or picking up their

children, no longer allowed to walk with their children into and out of the school buildings or gather with other parents.

Many traditional school activities were also required to be cancelled including camps, excursions, assemblies, chapels, sports, school photographs, inter-school competitions, musical productions, and graduation services and dinners. I especially acknowledge the challenges that this year has created for our Year 12 students, including the uncertainty of knowing how the changes to the school year would impact their Year 12 results, as well as the loss of so many of their milestone experiences. We are so proud of their great spirit and the determination that they have shown in the midst of a very difficult year.

I also acknowledge the incredible efforts of our parent community to support their children as they embarked on learning from their homes. This was a huge undertaking for parents and especially for those with younger children. Many parents were also having to work from home and possibly having to deal with financial hardship, health challenges and other family complexities. For many families this year, their children will end up having spent more of the year learning at home than at school. The longer the state of 'lockdown' continued, the greater was its social and emotional impact. For many, a pandemic ‘weariness’ settled in.

The restrictions that were imposed on us as a result of the pandemic have resulted in loss and difficulty for many, especially around the more significant life events of birth, marriage and death. The inability to connect with others to celebrate or mourn these occasions presented some real challenges, as did the general sense of isolation. We are blessed to have a caring team of staff to support students and their families who were struggling with issues resulting from or exacerbated by the isolation.

However, despite all of the loss and adversity experienced, I have simply been amazed by the creativity, adaptability and flexibility of the school community to overcome and find a way through the obstacles that have confronted us all this year. The staff became adept at using technology to provide students with many valuable experiences.

From virtual art and design exhibitions, virtual Chapel services, virtual House competitions, virtual musical productions, and virtual year level camps, staff have sought to keep building the sense of community with their students. The Parents’ Associations have also made wonderful contributions through facilitating family nights early in 2020, and providing morning teas, hampers and face masks for staff, as well as goodie bags full of delightful treats for our Year 12 students. I was delighted to see the involvement of students in our Chapel services, leading worship from their homes, and encouraging the

student body with thoughtful sharing and reflections.

As a result of the remote learning experience, parents commented on being more aware of how teachers practise their craft and interact with students. Students' learning from

home gave parents greater insight into the ‘classroom’ and an increased opportunity to see the school in action. Parents also noted the outstanding efforts of the teachers in transitioning teaching methods to the online environment.

I have also been highly impressed by the problem-solving skills of teachers as they found ‘work around’ solutions to the technical problems they encountered to ensure that students remained connected to their lessons. Particularly exciting was the observation of an increased level of independent learning by students in the remote learning environment.

As I wrote early in 2020, many different adjectives have been used to describe the impact of the pandemic on our lives - words like unprecedented, unique, difficult, challenging, tragic, devastating, isolating, and disruptive come to mind. From a school perspective, a number of these adjectives have applied to many in the WCC community. If there is one lesson to be learned, it is that we do not control our own destiny. God is ultimately in

control and we are called to trust in Him no matter what the circumstances are that we find ourselves in.

Whilst we are not entirely out of the woods yet, there is much to be grateful for. As a nation, we have been spared the ravages of the pandemic that other countries have been experiencing and continue to experience. As a school community, we have been able to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic. Despite the threat of significant upheaval, teaching and learning has continued, enrolments and finances have remained stable, all staff have retained their jobs, and we are now better prepared if schools were again required to close. This is a testimony to the strength of the school community who,

despite the challenges, rose to the occasion and did what was necessary to successfully

navigate the rapidly changing landscape.

I express my deep appreciation and thanks to the school community for its ongoing support throughout a particularly challenging year. I commend our parents for their

patience and perseverance whilst having to supervise their children’s learning from home. I commend our teaching staff for their willingness to go over and above to ensure that the students continued to have positive educational experiences in a new learning environment. I commend our administration and support staff for all their work in supporting families and ‘keeping the ship afloat’. And I commend our students for their resilience and for surviving a particularly difficult year.

Mr Peter Sheahan (Principal)

FROM THE HEAD OF CAMPUS (WANTIRNA SOUTH)

It was such a privilege to attend our first ever 5 Year Alumni Reunion. Held at The Eating House in Rowville, a good number of our graduates from 2016 spent a wonderful night reminiscing of their WCC days. We were greatly encouraged as we heard of their induvial pursuits post their graduation in all areas of their life, work and faith.

A great selection of sumptuous treats were available, provided by The Eating House and sponsored by the College. As the group mingled amongst each other, they rekindled friendships and shared stories of their favourite times, funny anecdotes and sometimes challenges at Waverley. Our Alumni program, whilst fledgling, is growing fast and we look forward to partnering with these outstanding young people in the future through our proposed mentoring, tutoring and career support programs.

Thank you for coming, Class of 2016! Thank you for who you are and who you are continuing to become in Him. May His grace and love be with you.

We appreciate the amazing work of our Alumni Coordinator, Emily Conway. If you missed this event and want to engage with the College or you just want to know more about Alumni in general, please contact her at alumni@wcc.vic.edu.au

If you would like to view more photos from the event, you can do so via this link.

Mr Rod Ramsay (Head of Campus, WS)

FROM THE HEAD OF CAMPUS (NARRE WARREN SOUTH)

It was such a joy to start the Academic year with all our students and staff together onsite, first meeting in Home Groups, then in Assembly, for their first day for 2021. It was a particular blessing for our 160+ new students, who joined for the first time, as they were able to meet the Head of Secondary/Primary, their Home Group Teachers, and their classmates in person. Those of you who were students in the early years of the Narre Warren Campus will be amazed to hear that we have grown to over 900 enrolments this year.

Having experienced many days of schooling and working from home last year, our eyes were opened to the blessings of being able to be together in person as a community. I’m sure many of you are appreciating the same blessings this year in your own lives – at university and at work.

In that same spirit, we have enthusiastically embraced many opportunities for students this first Term. We enjoyed our Primary and Secondary Swimming Carnivals, which were held for the very first time in outdoor pool locations! As well as the usual House Trophy winner, a new House Spirit Trophy was introduced and awarded to the House with the greatest levels of participation and encouragement of team members, including enthusiastic team cheering! CSEN Events, Year 8 Surfing, Year 10 Marine Biology Snorkelling and a Physics trip to Luna Park are just some of many other incursions and excursions that have already occurred.

Our Year 7 students missed the Year 7 Philip Island camp last year because of the lockdown and so this year, for the first time, we are introducing a Year 8 camp. Our Year 9 and 10 students are all looking forward to their school camps; however, travelling to Tasmania for the Year 9 trip is looking unlikely because of the unknown possibility of another instant lockdown which could leave our students stranded in Tasmania for an additional 10 days! We are currently considering more locally based options for our Year 9 and 10 camps.

In the same way, we have felt particularly blessed to invite some excellent speakers to join us for our weekly Chapels, including Paul Orton (Children’s Pastor, Planetshakers), Andrew Groza (State Director, Alphacrucis College), and Lisa McInnes-Smith (International Keynote Speaker and Author), who inspired our students to develop lifelong positive personal, study and spiritual habits. Perhaps some of you might consider coming to the College to share a message of inspiration with our current students at one of our Chapels? I would love to hear from you if this is something you would be interested in.

A new initiative, which started in 2020, was the mentoring of VCE students by past WCC VCE students. Our Year 12 students, as you would remember, face a challenging and sometimes stressful year, and they really appreciate the support, encouragement and advice they receive from a student who has recently traversed these challenges.

Another exciting event we are engaged in this year is our Secondary Production of “Singin’ in the Rain”. As you can imagine, rehearsals are well underway, and I ask that you join us in praying for the students and staff involved in this extraordinary event. I hope to see you all there, in Term 3, for the amazing performances, which I am certainly looking forward to.

In relation to our ongoing building program, we opened our new Music Tuition Hub this year. This features five music tutorial rooms, a central waiting area and a reception space. Private music lessons and other music rehearsals are already taking place in this brand new facility. Next on the building agenda is the construction of a set of traffic lights on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Rd, creating a new main entry for the College. I hope to update you further in our next issue about this.

There are now only a couple of weeks left of Term 1, and we are closing with a Funky Hair Day – I have amassed quite a collection of wigs over the years for this annual WCC fundraiser, which I am sure you have fond memories of!

Students are raising money at the moment for the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave, and this year the aim is to raise $2,000 which would see Mr Woolnough agree to shave off his beard! I wonder if we will reach the target?

I pray the Lord’s guidance and blessing for you and your family as you continue in His love, and trust that your eyes are opened to the wonder of Jesus’ incredible sacrificial love for each of us, as once again, we celebrate his death and resurrection this coming Easter.

Mr Mark Crnkovic (Head of Campus, NWS)

2020 ONLINE PRESENTATION NIGHTS

Due to Victorian Government's Pandemic restrictions still being in place towards the end of Term 4 last year, we held our 2020 Presentation Nights online, streaming them to families at home to watch them together, at the same time. You can watch these videos with the links below.

Wantirna South Junior Primary Presentation Night

Wantirna South Senior Primary Presentation Night

Wantirna South Secondary Presentation Night

Narre Warren South Primary Presentation Night

Narre Warren South Secondary Presentation Night

Waverley Connect

Issue 4 · 19 Mar 2021

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