Senior School Report
The Senior school team would like to take the opportunity to welcome all parents of Year 11 & 12 students to the Senior School. We have had an excellent start to the new school year and our new VCE and VCAL students have had a smooth transition into the Sub School. This started with one-to-one interviews with all the current Year 11 students at the end of last year after their Orientation program.
Students are already showing excellent promise with the timely completion of the holiday homework, set for all classes during the Orientation Program in 2018. There has been an impressive commitment from students and staff to get right down to business, setting the tone for a solid year’s work.
Our Year 12 Parent Information Evening was held on Monday 4 February and we are proud to announce that we had over 350 parents and students in attendance. Thank you to all parents and students who attended a very informative evening, which focused on strategies available to parents to support their students throughout Year 12. We also had guest presenters from Equal Ed. who will be working with our Year 12s during the year.
The Year 11 Parent Information Evening will be held on Monday 18 February starting at 6.30pm.
The Year 12 Study Camp was held on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 February at University College on the grounds of the University of Melbourne, Parkville. VCE and VCAL students experienced a variety of presentations from some prominent speakers, including Elevate Education, Equal Ed, Headspace and we finished the camp off with a motivational speaker and comedian Declan Fay.
English/EAL and Literacy workshops were run, where students were involved in activities and presentations on the texts they were studying.
The Wellbeing team presented an important session on sexual health. Wellbeing and stress management activities were run by Headspace. The schools MIPs team presented a lecture on pathways for VCE and VCAL students, and the options for further study once students finish their secondary schooling. Information provided included an outline of the university pre-results selection options. Students also visited Melbourne University and RMIT University.
We have a very active and committed group of students working with our SRC this year. The School Captains Habiba Habib and Daniel San-Jose along with Vice Captains Tyler Winter-Boyle, Vicky Le and Sarah Mollica made a presentation at the Whole School assembly.
Our Year 11 SRC representatives yet to be elected.
We will be hosting our traditional ‘Soccer Challenge’ on 8 March. It is an activity that brings all the Senior School students together.
On Friday 29 March, we are having a ‘team building’ day where all the Year 11s go to Lady Northcote and a range of activities are run. Students work in groups and participate in an “amazing race’.
Early next term we also take all our Year 11 students to the Careers Expo.
Study Skills programs for both Year 11 & 12 students will be provided. ‘Elevate Education’ will be running workshops for all our VCE students during the year.
Throughout the year, we will conduct our Case Management Initiative to ensure that the attendance, achievement and individual needs of all our students are monitored closely. Progress Reports for all Year 11 and Year 12 students will be available to parent through ‘Compass’.
Parents will also have the opportunity to speak to teachers on Wednesday 3 April during the Parent Teachers Interviews.
The Coordinators look forward to a fast-paced year in the Senior Sub-School and hope to meet many parents of our senior students as the year progresses.
Please contact us on 9366 2555 if you have any queries or concerns about the progress of your child.
VCAL Report
The year has begun well with students eager to start their new VET courses and finalising work placements.
We have a range of areas being explored this year with students involved in a range of VET placements from Hospitality, Building and Construction, Fashion, Sport and Recreation, Community services, Hair and Beauty and Music to name a few.
Year 11 VCAL students have already started their work with the ‘Young Workers’ Centre. Where a presenter, Carlos Castro, from the centre covers topics about the workplace including:
• Your Rights at Work
• Workplace Safety
• Bullying and Discrimination
The program has been designed to address the issues and problems that young people face when starting work. It is believed that by arming young people with knowledge, we can make workplaces dramatically safer, fairer, and happier places for young people.
The programs run by the Young Workers Centre continues to be available to schools, thanks to support from Worksafe and the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
Year 12 students delighted the school community with a Valentine’s Day lunchtime activity on Wednesday 13 February. Students worked extremely hard over a short time frame to entertain and feed students with Pizza and drinks, cupcakes, fruit salad, chocolate baskets, fresh and chocolate roses were also available. Students also participated in some games to win prizes, listened to music and enjoyed the sunshine and the activities. Well done to the group and we look forward to the next event.
Lots of events are planned for our VCAL students this year and we will keep you informed as activities take place.
Stav Bekiaris
Senior Sub School Leader