Return to School

It has been great to have all of our staff and students back onsite following an extended period in remote learning.

The school grounds have been full of the sounds of staff and students laughing and catching up.

I have been impressed with the way in which students have settled back into the routines and rhythm of being onsite.

Attendance has been very good, in fact over the last two weeks, the attendance rate has been the best for the entire year, including pre-pandemic.

Farewell Year 12 Students

Following a couple of weeks back onsite, we farewelled our Year 12 students last Thursday following their last classes for the year prior to the exams.

Thankfully, we were able to hold an assembly for the Year 12 students which was broadcast into each of the classrooms around the College. We even had Sonya Kilkenny and Peta Murphy join us via MS Teams to speak to the students despite both sitting in parliament .

On Friday, we held a celebration day for the Year 12's. Despite not being able to have contractors onsite to provide activities as we normally do, the students (and staff!) had fun with music, a colour run and a special visit from Mr Whippy. I was really pleased that the students were able to celebrate the completion of their formal schooling following such a challenging year.

End Year 12 Assembly

Year 12 Celebration Day

Changes to School Operations

There has been a number of changes to school operations due to the easing of restrictions. These include:

Use of indoor facilities for sport
Recommencement of singing and instrumental music (conditions apply)
Year level assemblies to recommence
Contact sport to recommence
Grade 6 / 7 transition visits to recommence
Masks can be removed during any exercise or physical activity including PE/ Sport classes. Students must carry a face mask and wear it while not actively participating during the class.
Outdoor contact and non-contact sport will resume.
Outdoor interschool sport can also resume in line with community sport, with health and safety measures in place.
Non-contact indoor sport and recreation can resume with safety measures in place such as a distance of 1.5m between participants
Community use of facilities to resume (subject to strict conditions)

The following restrictions still remain:

No visitors allowed onsite (excluding essential contractors and pre-arranged parent meetings)
Masks to be worn expect for when eating and drinking (teachers may remove mask while teaching a class)

End of Year Arrangements

Year 11 exams delayed by one week.
Year 10 exams will only include English & Maths in order to increase their time in class (assessments for other subjects will be conducted in class)
Academic year extended for current Year 10 and 11 students by one week.
Step up will begin for all students on Monday 30 November (two weeks later than in 2019)
Step up classes conclude Friday 11 December.
Activities for week beginning Monday 14 December to be advised.

Changes to Parent Payments

The Department of Education and Training recently released changes to the parent payment policy. Our school council is currently reviewing these changes and making some amendments to fee structures for 2021. This will result in a delay for the release of the charges to families, which will likely be in December.

The changes will likely result in a reduction in the curriculum and services fees. Materials charges will remain largely as publicised in the course information handbooks earlier in the year.

Second Hand Book Sale

With the current restrictions preventing parents from coming onto school site, we have organised a click and collect style process for the second hand book sale. The sale will be held on Thursday 3 December in the Library. Students will be able to select books and collect once payment has been made. Please see the attached document for further details.

Ex Supplier Uniform Sale

We are in the process of organising the sale of stock from our previous suppliers. This will likely take place in the week 7 -11 December and follow a similar process to the second hand book sale. The stock will be heavily discounted. Confirmed details will be distributed via compass in the coming weeks.

Year 7 Transition

This week, the Victorian Government announced that Grade 6 students can visit their future secondary school for transition activities. We are now awaiting detailed advice from Department of Education and Training so that we can organise activities. Orientation Day is still to be advised.

Online Information Session 16 November
Meet the teacher (partnership meetings) held Wednesday 18 or 25 November
Orientation Day Tuesday 8 December
EXCEL Sport Testing Term 1 2021
School begins Thursday 28 Jan 2021 (Year 7 and 12 only)

Stay safe,

Mr Daniel Dew

College Principal

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