Assistant Principal's Report

Saying Farewell

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to the Community of Scoresby Secondary College. I have been a member of the community for nearly seven years and if you have attended Orion Nights, Information Nights or been on a tour with me you would know how proud I am to be the Assistant Principal at Scoresby Secondary College.

From the time I arrived in 2015 I was welcomed into this community with opened arms and felt comfortable from the beginning. From that time, I have witnessed amazing learning and wellbeing growth from our staff and students.

As I walk around the school I do so with excitement as I see students and teachers working together focused on learning growth. Our students are highly engaged in their learning and care for each-other to continually challenge and support one another for improved learning and wellbeing outcomes.

For many students and their families I started working with you before you started at Scoresby Secondary College as I was either involved in your transition from primary school or, for students at other year levels, I directly enrolled you. I am privileged to have met you all and be part of your life at Scoresby Secondary College.

One of my goals in all of the schools I have worked in is to develop sustainable practices that see continuous improvement that will be in place well beyond my time at the school. I’m pleased to be able to witness this community’s continued development and improvement over the years and although staff have come and gone I believe the practices that we have developed will be in place and will continue to support and enhance our students and the community.

It is with great pride that over my time at Scoresby Secondary College we have seen students and staff being acknowledged for outstanding learning growth in NAPLAN as well as VCE improvement with many students achieving well beyond their predicted scores. I’m also pleased to witness students and staff learn and develop new skills and understanding. I’m extremely proud of our students when they receive recognition for their accomplishments such as VCE/VCAL certificates, academic achievement, academic endeavour, learning growth, community service or even 100% attendance to name a few. It’s great to see our young people set goals for themselves and be able to set a path to achieve their goals.

I see myself as a continual learner and feel that this is the right time in my learning journey to experience another school. I will be moving onto Glen Waverley Secondary College as an Assistant Principal.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank:

Mrs Major, our Principal, as she has been a wonderful support of mine and I have learnt a lot from her over the many years
The leadership team (Ms Phibbs, Mr Corrie, Ms de Boer, Mrs Kamfonas as well as past members) – your support and leadership for myself and our students is exceptional
Teaching and Learning Leaders, Year Level Coordinators, teachers – it is remarkable the support you provide to each other and our students and their families
The admin office staff – the life blood of our school – you are incredible and how you have put up with me is a credit to you all
Educational Support staff – you allow the school to function and support our teachers and students to do their best.
College Council – it’s great to see so many parents and students getting involved in College Council, thank you for your commitment in supporting our school.
Our wonderful students – you are all amazing individuals and you make this community what it is. It was always a highlight of mine being able to wonder into your classrooms and the yard and have a chat and see what you were doing.

It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the staff, students and the families and I will cherish the time that I have been at Scoresby Secondary College.

I wish you all the best for your future.

Attendance - Everyday Counts

It was great to see the number of students who are making the most of their learning opportunities by attending every day in Term 1.

The Year 12 students are leading the way with 27% of Year 12 students attended every day in Term 1, followed very closely by the year 11s with 26% of the students attending every day.

I would like to congratulate the following students who attended every school day in Term 1:

Year 7

Adam Du

Bella Foden

Nathan Hamilton

Arwen Isip

Melia Jones

Jackson Voysey

Tina Whitworth-Dodson

Year 8

Jenna Cook

Jack Harper

Baxter Johnson

Addi Jones

Briarna Macleod

Kaela Read

Nethuli Sannasooriya

Sithuli Sannasooriya

Loumari Tatira

Cooper Tudor

Year 9

Alyvia Barbuto

Josh Beech

Zach Bissett

Shaelah Caruana

Ema Foden

Luke Galea

Abi Sathyaseelan

Year 10

Heath Agar

Luke Barton

Imogen Brown

Amber Charles

Madelyn Crennan

Josh Davies

David Grace

Abby Steele

Loren Watson

Year 11

Tommy Bleakney

Karlia Buckley

Lori Franklin

Hunter Russell

Jevan Soh

Logan Sweetnam

Nick Traiforos

William Walai

Madeline Willems

Year 12

Logan Allen

Lachlan Barton

Melissa Butler

Steve Chen

Sam Dhillon

Richard Tang

Cameron Thompson

Direin Weerasooriya

Student Learning Tasks and Reports – via Compass

The College has developed continuous ‘Learning Tasks’ (LT) Reporting for the Scoresby Secondary College community. Continuous LT reporting, through Compass, will enable each student and parent to view assessment grades and feedback as the task is assessed and reported on by the teacher. In most subject areas there will be a minimum of 3 LT per semester that will have specific feedback. This will occur continuously throughout the semester. The grades of the LT’s will be summarised in the Semester report. LT reporting will enable students and parents to see the progress and allow the student to reflect on their learning by reading specific feedback that will allow them to gain an understanding of the next steps with their continual improvement.

Parents and students are encouraged to check Compass regularly.

NAPLAN

Students in Years 7 and 9 will participate in the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Students undertake national testing in areas of Language conventions, writing, reading and numeracy. Students are encouraged to try their best.

NAPLAN will occur during weeks 3 and 4 of Term 2. If you do not wish for your child to undertake NAPLAN testing please speak to myself.

In Term 3 Parents/Carers will receive a copy of their child’s actual results and a pamphlet that explains how to interpret the report.

Attitudes to School Survey

We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of your school.

The AtoSS is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist your child’s school to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. Students will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, bullying and life in general.

There are also some questions about student health and wellbeing. Understanding health and wellbeing needs is important to support students to learn and thrive at school. The Department is providing this addition to the core survey to allow your child’s school to capture this information to support students.

Students will be asked about resilience, family relationships, community connections, health (including mental health), access to health services and physical activity.

This year, the AtoSS will be conducted over the period 9 May to 10 June.

At Scoresby Secondary College we take this survey very seriously and use the results and subsequent student forums to guide our practice in all areas.

End of Semester Exams (Year 9, 10 and 11 students)

Year 10 and Unit 1 exams commence during week 7. All Year 10 and Unit 1 subjects will have an exam. All Year 10 and Year 11 students have been advised to begin their preparation for these exams if they have not already done so. There are a number of purposes of conducting exams at Year 10 and Year 11, all of which aim towards improving student achievement in the Senior School. They include;

Consolidating the learning gained over the semester
Students practicing to manage the workload of exams
Students practicing the skill of exam preparation
Students practicing writing under timed conditions
Decreasing stress experienced in exams by familiarising students with the processes

Year 10 and Unit 1&2 exams are a significant indicator of a student’s ability to cope in that subject in the following year. Exams assess the student’s ability to make connections between and within learned concepts (higher order thinking). Exams are the best opportunity to present students with an assessment where they apply skills over a broader content knowledge.

Students sometimes feel some anxiety as they perform in exams. The first step in managing exam anxiety is to prepare well. Students have been advised to take the following actions;

Take notes during term and review these regularly
Always maintain ordered notes – use trigger words and colour coding
Create mind maps
Use practice questions or practice tests and exams to test your knowledge and skills
Practice the skill of including enough detail in responses under timed conditions
Manage and organise study timetables using the Student Planner

Students in Year 9 will also have the experience of undertaking exams; however these exams will be specific to English and Mathematics only.

Mr Chris Knight

Assistant Principal