Principal's Report

“The beginning is always today” Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Welcome back to Term 3. The beginning of a semester 2. Students will switch languages and Create Visual/Performance this semester. Time just seems to be flying by this year. We have achieved so very much and still so much to do before the year is through.

The end of term finished with our Annual Bake off in which 30 students brought in their unique creations which were sold out within the hour. They raised just over $400 for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Semester Reports were finalized and available to families on the last day of term and we hope that this has been received well. Our teachers worked towards providing authentic feedback for each student that they teach. We were also part of a Channel 7 news feature about anonymous messaging apps. It was a very positive story and one that highlighted the great proactive approach to cybersafety at our school. Here is the link to the story through the Cybersafety Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/cybersafetyproject

The term will begin with our Year 8 students starting to make decisions about their Year 9 Specialisms. Our Year 7 students will be choosing their language for Year 8 by the end of the term as well. Please use the calendar on Compass and this newsletter to stay up to date with school events.

I will have an intern principal starting in Week 2. She will be with our school for the rest of the term. Here is a short bio on her:

Katrina has been a leading teacher for 12 years at Carrum Downs Secondary College and currently at Wantirna College. She has led the implementation of a range of applied learning programs including the development of training facilities such as a community cafe, hair and beauty salon and a fitness centre all open to the public. Katrina has a passion for engaging with students and parents and providing high quality learning experiences that connect to real world outcomes. She is very excited to have the opportunity to continue her professional leadership as a principal intern at Beaumaris Secondary College this term.

Building and Grounds

Melbourne Garages has received planning permission for the bike shed. Unfortunately, the rain has hindered the progress of laying the concrete slab which will delay the overall project. The slab has been put down and we will now see the structure put up in the coming weeks.

The MCC have provided us with covered bins for all external areas. This is to manage the ongoing issue of crows and magpies taking out all of the rubbish in the open bins. We are still awaiting a Bunnings order to get the green bins that fit inside. Hopefully, this will resolve our outdoor rubbish issue. It is great to have the ongoing support of the MCC to keep all of our grounds clean and tidy.

Staffing Update

We would like to introduce Ms Camilla Saunders as a part time performing arts teacher to work in a team with Ms. Atma-Gertler. We also welcome Mandy Davids as our new Receptionist.

Intergenerational Storytelling Program

We have been added to the program for 2020. Josh Slocum will be working with the Media Club to develop some short promotional videos for the Intergenerational Project this year which is exciting for those students.

School Review

We have begun our

2019 Parent Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

Approximately 30 per cent of parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 22rd July to Sunday 11th August.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 10-15 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

The survey results will be reported back to the school at the end of September.

Please contact Peter Bartlett if you would like more information.

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