Principal's Report

End of Term

Like many students and staff I am looking forward to the term break after what had been an exciting, but somewhat hectic term 3. We have had everything from school productions and sister school visits to athletics carnivals and interstate camps. Two significant building projects were completed at the start of the term and a number of staff have come and gone in the last ten weeks. This time of year is also heavily influenced by planning for next year and I have been involved in countless meetings with students, staff, college council and representatives from the Department of Education discussing everything from priorities for 2020 to improvements in facilities and changes in policies. I am confident that we will make further significant improvements next year, that will position us as an even better school than we are now!

I would like to wish all our students and staff a safe and enjoyable break and I look forward to the exciting times ahead in term 4. For our Year 12s, use the break as an opportunity to get some rest, but keeping working hard and studying because the end is almost near and your final exams are only weeks away! In particular I would like to thank Gloria Chen, Poly Sofianopolous, Tina Prapas and Charlyn Arulanandum who have been working with us this year. They are finishing up this week and I would like to thank them for the commitment they have demonstrated to their students and colleagues during this time, I wish them all the best! Further, three staff venture off on long service leave at the end of this week for either all of or the majority of the term, so to John Davidson, Andrew Lewis and Michelle Lam, good luck and enjoy your break

Gala Concert

On Wednesday night this week, we held our annual gala concert at the prestigious Melbourne Recital Centre in Southbank. Whilst many school concerts would be held in school halls or theatres, our students and staff deserve a venue that fits their talent and their level of commitment! This piece of feedback reflects the general feeling of those who attended on the night:

“I told you during the interval how fantastic the concert was and now let me say it again! It was an absolute treat to attend this Gala Concert and I cannot speak too highly of the excellence of all the performers. If someone had told me, on the very first day that the school started in 1980, that 40 years later I would be sitting in the Melbourne Recital Centre and listening to the students of 2019, I would not have been able to imagine it. And yet, that is exactly what happened and I am over the moon! As the person who accompanied the musicians in the early years of the school I was obviously very interested in the accompanists. They were all outstanding. Michelle Lam had a particularly busy evening and she was stunning. The world of music awaits her and she will make a big name for herself. The audience too, was very perceptive and highly appreciative. They were warm and generous with their applause but it was clear to me that some items received an even more enthusiastic reception. Warmest congratulations to the teachers, the students are indeed fortunate to have such inspiring mentors. The program informed us that the school values qualities such as excellence, professionalism, dedication and teamwork. All this and more were there in abundance for all of us to see.”

More Exciting Building Projects

This week College Council has agreed to financially support the installation of synthetic grass on the hard-courts (under the COLA) as well as landscaping the surrounding area. The synthetic grass surface will significantly improve the playability and flexibility of use for the space as well as considerably reducing the noise generated during classes. It is anticipated that work can begin on this project within the next 6 weeks or so, and be completed before the end of term. This investment, along with the construction of the COLA and rebuild of the D block toilets is evidence of the College Council strong commitment to ensuring that our students have access to high quality facilities. There are further significant projects in the pipeline and I forward to providing more information soon

Family Statements

The recent school finance committee meeting reviewed the family statements that are generated in the department’s finance system and posted out from time to time. Unfortunately, the formatting is completely inflexible, and with our increasing use of Compass for payments and particularly with the uptake in payment plans, feedback has been that the information shown on the family statements is often unhelpful if not misleading. The finance committee therefore made the decision to cease sending out family statements. This represents a saving of more than $5000 per year, which can now be redirected toward more beneficial outcomes for our students.

Families wanting a copy of their statement at any time are welcome to contact the general office, and that can easily be mailed or emailed.

Sporting Star

Congratulations to Year 7 student Logan Bell who has made the Victorian state hockey team after a very successful SSSV tournament. Well done Logan!