Delahey Campus Principal Message
Campus Principals’ Report - Delahey
June 2022
Winter has come to Delahey this past week, just as it has come everywhere else. It has been offset by the arrival of our winter concert series with VET Music students performing every recess and providing a great place for our students to come in from the cold. The music room has been packed each time with students spilling out the door and into the corridor. We’ve had a range of music from Musical Theatre performances to some beautiful renditions of up to the minute R&B that have had the whole back row of the room singing along. I believe some students were initially surprised by the size of the weather-enhanced crowds but the enthusiastic reception of the peers quickly warmed them up.
On 23 May, we had our Year 9 and Year 10 Pathways information Evening at Delahey. This was a key date for Year 10 Students in particular to come to the senior campus and consider their choices for senior study. Current Year 10 Students will be choosing between the traditional VCE and the new VCE (Vocational Major) and making this important choice of certificate as well as understanding the requirements of each pathway are a key to determining future careers and tertiary studies.
We had an expanded Pathways meeting on 31 May involving all Campus Principals, and Junior Campus and Team Leaders to talk through the careers counselling process. Each of these school leaders has a short list of around 8-10 Year 10 students who they will meet with multiple times as students work to understand their choices for senior study and eventually confirm their course for study at Delahey. We really love these conversations with students each year especially those moments when parents are handing over the decision-making to their developing young adults and moving more into a ‘wise counsellor’ role of providing advice and support. It is fun to watch them growing up and taking more responsibility for their lives!
Today sees the start of Year 11 VCE Exams. For many students exams through the Coronavirus lockdowns were severely disrupted so this is an opportunity for VCE Students to start to ‘see the finish line’ of the Year 12 VCE exams with this very important practice. Staff have been working hard to prepare students with study guides, revision questions and lots of extra help with the difficult concepts from first semester. Students sat their English or EAL exam today and we were really pleased with the serious way they have put themselves to the task. Year 12 classes continue this week, with their practice exams taking place next week.
It’s not exclusive to Delahey campus but I’ve had a good time this week participating in Unleash Learning Professional Development with our Delahey teachers as well as those from the two junior campuses. A group mostly composed of school leaders of various kinds have recently finished Year 2 of Unleash Learning which involves observing classes and reflecting on how teachers have intentionally planned their lessons and classroom set up to fully engage students in lifting the weights to make learning stick. We are seeing the results in highly engaged students across classrooms at Delahey where staff have taken on this intensive pedagogy professional development.
The Year 1 group, which is a more mixed group of teachers from across the College including experienced classroom practitioners as well as those early in their career, are about halfway through their course at this stage.
Mr Renato Carinci and Mr Dan Sullivan
Campus Principals