From the Principal Class Team

Dear Parents/Guardians

The last few weeks have been demanding and busy for senior students and staff alike as they have prepared for, sat, and assessed for exams. And, no doubt, it has also been challenging for you at home, particularly if you have been a first-time VCE parent. We understand the impact this can have on the entire household! We would really like to thank you for the support you have given your children over this time, as it makes such a difference to their success and to our work, as well. Once again, our exam supervisors, led by Jenny Crocker, commended the students on their excellent attitude towards their exams, and on the respect they showed. A huge thank you to Jenny and her team for ensuring the smooth running of the VCE exams.

Meet our 2018 School Captains

On behalf of the school community, we warmly congratulate Ted Lee and Laura Van Keulen, on their election as school captains for 2018; and Darren Tran and Duyen Truong, as our Vice Captains.

Being chosen for these significant roles after a nomination and election process, is a real testament to the standing of Ted, Laura, Darren and Duyen in the eyes of their fellow students, as well as recognition of their contributions to the school in different fields over many years, and of their qualities and skills as leaders.

We know they will approach this role with integrity and commitment, and look forward to working with them as student leaders and advocates.

NSW and SA visit SASC

Through our partnership with Social Ventures Australia, a not for profit organisation that supports social change and equity in education, we hosted a visit last week of staff from schools in New South Wales and South Australia.

They were here to learn about our approach to integrating digital technologies into teaching and learning, and also the work we have done on increasing the voice and role of our students in further improving the teaching and learning experience.

After half a day with our staff and students, the visitors certainly didn’t leave disappointed. In fact they were inspired and really motivated by what they heard and saw as they toured the school. They really appreciated learning about the work being done by our IT support team, led by Geoff Hutchison, by the Digital Learning Team and coaches, led by Louis Turner, and by staff in their use of digital technologies. And, hearing representatives from our Student Learning Action Team, Hannah McIniery, Laura Van Keulen, Gabriel Chan and Daniel Makohon speak so articulately and knowledgeably about teaching and student agency in learning, left them in awe, as well as, motivated to consider options for their own schools. A visit to our fabulous library capped off an excellent day. It was an absolute privilege to be part of such a wonderful celebration of the work being done here, but also to hear our staff and students contributing to educational improvement at a national level.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated in the visit.

Numeracy on the (big) screen

The achievements of our students and staff in the field of Numeracy and Mathematics are being acknowledged and used to support educational improvement at the state level. The Department of Education is developing an online resource including videos, to support schools to further improve practice in a range of areas, including Numeracy. Students and staff were interviewed about programs and teaching approaches, about what works, and how they have achieved such a significant growth in student learning. Congratulations and thank you to Owen McIntyre who coordinated the project at the school, and to our Maths staff for this well deserved recognition of their work.