Principal's Report

I want to thank the Warrnambool College community for supporting our school last Friday as we engaged in one of our four pupil-free days for the year.  I acknowledge that arranging care for children on a school day can be challenging, but these days are vitally important for our staff as we further explore improvement initiatives at our school.  In my humble opinion, the day was tremendously successful as all our staff (teachers and education support) had numerous opportunities to learn more about how we consistently implement our agreed ‘instructional model’ at Warrnambool College.  This is the way that each 70 minute lesson is structured at school, incorporating ‘engage’ (new learning), ‘explore’ (practicing this learning) and ‘evaluate’ (summarising and providing feedback on learning) segments in each period of instruction.  Consistency is key to ensuring that all students at our school are provided with a learning structure that is evidence based and allows them to learn at their individual capacity.  This doesn’t mean that teachers are robots, simply implementing a framework that is given to them and that they pass onto students without care.  Rather, teachers at our school work hard to develop their own unique ways of breathing life into our instructional model and to positively impact on the learning opportunities and wellbeing of all students.  It is the way in which we live out our vision – ‘Every Warrnambool Student Thrives’.  I am confident that the learning our staff engaged in last Friday will have a sustained impact on how we continue to improve our teaching and learning for all students.

During the last section of our student-free day, all staff engaged in further learning about ‘Positive Education’.  We have done a lot of work around ‘Positive Psychology’ in the past 2 years, providing strategies for staff to focus on the mindsets that we bring with us to school and how we use positivity and optimism to work at our best for the benefit of our students.  Last week the conversation naturally led onto how we can use these positivity strategies in the context of curriculum planning and learning in the classroom.  A lot of global research has gone into this space in the past decade, much of it led out of Victorian schools.  Warrnambool College has recently joined with a number of local schools to learn more about the Positive Education framework and strategies that are proven to work in schools so we can provide our students with skills that build on their character strengths and be at their best.  We look forward to where this journey will take us in the coming months and years.  Again, I am confident and optimistic that our students will certainly benefit from practicing a benefit mindset whilst at school – one where challenges are seen as opportunities to grow and learning is approached with positive intent.

It’s easy at this time of the year, when much of our time at home during the week is spent in darkness, to adopt a negative mindset.  It’s cold and wet outside, your football team’s loosing week after week (or at least my beloved Carlton is!) and colds and coughs seem to be all around.  I know that with the continual building works happening at Warrnambool College, it’s even tricky for our students to access all the places they like to during breaks.  It’s times like this that we need to practice positivity and a benefit mindset.  To aid in this, I thought I’d let you all know that the next wing of classrooms being currently rebuilt will be handed back to the school at the end of the term, in readiness for classes to use from the start of term 3.  The old Library space has been recreated into 7 classroom learning spaces and I know they’ll be very much welcomed by staff and students, in the same way that our new B wing classes have been much loved during this term.  Work will commence on the L wing classrooms from the start of term 3 and we anticipate having them completed for students during November this year.  Certainly our school is being physically transformed and this is something very positive for everyone.

A Principal  colleague mentioned to me last week that I looked tired and asked if everything was OK.  I told him that I was busy and that, whilst I felt a bit exhausted, I was doing fine.  He asked what was in my control – were there things that I could perhaps delay or not do.  I indicated that it was all pretty important work at the moment, but what was in my control was the mindset I brought to everything I’m involved in.  Positivity certainly makes a difference in my life, my work and my love for our great school.  As the rain pelts down and the cold continues I encourage you to likewise smile back at the world and view it through an optimistic lens.

Kind Regards,

Dave Clift

Principal