PRINCIPALS REPORT

PRINCIPAL REPORT

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Assistant Principal, Micah Davis for his fabulous job as Acting Principal while I was on Long Service Leave last term. It was extremely comforting to know that I was able to totally switch off knowing the college was in such capable hands of Micah, Celeste, and Cassie.

We have hit the ground running this term with the following events.

• Working Bee: We had half a dozen families attend in the woeful drizzle and cold to support staff in clearing the land for the new Bushtucker Garden, creating a retaining wall, putting in a watering system, and placing mulch around the new outdoor table tennis tables. A huge thank you to you, the college community that helped us raise over $2000 to purchase plants for this space. We are so excited to show you the finished product!
• Course Counselling for our years 9 and 10 students has been completed by the Principal team and a number of Leading Teachers. We were all so impressed by the depth of conversations that took place with families and their students, taking this next step of their education journey seriously. This is a timely and complex process, as we try to make sure that the schedule, we develop for 2024 is based on as much student voice as possible. We hope to have subjects out to students in early term 4.

• School of Rock! How amazing was this show!! The time and effort that Sarah Hayes, Laura Zimmerling, Ryan Sewart, and Laura Van Heerwaarden have put in with our students is just incredible, and it showed with the quality of the performance. There were also many families and staff that supported the show behind the scenes and with the café on show nights. As a part of ART WEEK, it was a real treat to walk through the Art Design block prior to the show and experience all the creative pieces developed by our students. I was particularly amazed by the coral installation, signifying the beautiful Barrier Reef while highlighting the issue of coral bleaching.

Parent Opinion Survey

In the coming days, you will receive an email with a link and access code to complete the 2023 Parent Opinion Survey. I can appreciate how busy you all are, but it really means a lot to me to receive feedback from you. It is from this feedback that we review processes, learning, and programs within the school.

Being a recent parent of secondary students myself, I always found it challenging to base my opinion on a continuum as my students were quite different and at different ages. I ask that you decide based on an on-balance judgment across the school year.

From last year’s feedback, we have investigated the communication platforms we use and how they are used by students, staff, and families. We have gone through an inquiry of uniforms and made changes based on student, staff, and family feedback. We continue to investigate and develop a more family friendly approach to Assessment and Reporting and already changed what appears on COMPASS Learning Tasks. We have added a new Assistant Principal to alleviate some of the concerns around Wellbeing and to tighten up processes around student wellbeing and management.

Lateness

As a college, we have noticed a dramatic increase in student lateness to school in the mornings, across all year levels. When your student is late to school, they must go through the front office to sign in. When they get to class, the teacher will mark them late. Can I please ask that you check this data occasionally to ensure your young person is arriving on time? The start of the day and the lesson really sets the students up for a positive day of learning and wellbeing.

NAPLAN 2023

NAPLAN this year has looked very different for young people across the country! It is now online for ALL students and is adaptive in both Literacy and Numeracy. What this means, is that more than ever, we as a college are receiving a data set that is reliable and unique to every student, based on their age-appropriate expected level. This data is another form of evidence we have to ensure we are targeting the teaching to an appropriate standard for individuals and groups of students.

Our Year 7 data is mostly representative of the learning that has taken place in late Primary School. Students are coming to us quite strong, particularly in Reading.

Our year 9 students are also working at or above similar schools and network schools in both Literacy and Numeracy.

• Similar schools are colleges that are similar in size and have the same SFOE (Student Family Occupation & Education Index) The closest schools to us are places like Cheltenham and Mordialloc. 

RECRUITMENT!!

In the coming weeks, the college will be advertising quite a number of jobs, across the college and domains. With the growth n our student body, it is exciting to be welcoming ne staff to our wonderful team. Please let anyone you know in education know that we are looking!!

Jobs can be found on www.recruitmentonline@education.vic.gov.au