Marina Walsh Acting College Principal's Report

Dear families and community members,

Welcome back for another term where we have planned weeks and weeks of activities and events.  We finished off Term 2 with a whole college assembly in the hall, and despite the weather, it was wonderful to see many of our parents and carers attend.  It was a great way to finish up mid-year with families, students and staff together.

Year 3/ 4 Camp Kookaburra

It is with the support of our parents and carers that we can run extra events and activities.  Our Year 3/ 4 Camps during Monday and Tuesday (Group 1) and then Wednesday and Thursday (Group 2) of the last week of Term 2 were very successful and enjoyable for all that attended.  I would like to acknowledge the parents that attended the camps, allowing our students and staff to maximise their experiences. 

The wonderful leaders of Years 3 and 4 have included a photos and further description of what happened on the camp.  Please take the time to look through the fun photos further in the newsletter.

Welcome new staff 

It is my pleasure to announce to our school community several new staff members that have joined us this term.

• Carmel Wild will be teaching across several primary year levels this term. Some people may remember Carmel from 2022 when she last taught with us.  Her connection to the school was so strong, she couldn’t stay away for too long. 
• Sarah Halliwell will be joining the Health/ PE team at the secondary year levels.  Sarah is very excited to be joining us and working with our students and staff. Sarah will be working on Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays.  Sarah will start with us on Monday 24 July.
• Nicole Heffer might be a familiar face to many students, previously working (and still does) as a casual relief teacher.  Nikki will be taking PE lessons for primary year levels this term whilst Eesha Clarke is on study leave. 
• Michael Lindeback is also new this term and will be teaching one of our Year 5/ 6 classes.  He is replacing Emma Parkinson whilst she too takes leave this term.  Michael is timetabled to be in with this class full time. 

Course Counselling for Year 9 students going into Year 10 for 2024

During late Term 2, our current Year 10 and 11 students participated in Course Counselling to discuss their future pathways and to select their preferred subjects for 2024.  If there are any students yet to complete this process, they are encouraged to follow up with their respective year level coordinators and/ or our Careers Practitioner, Donna Campbell. 

Our current Year 9 students will commence the course counselling process next week.  For families of Year 9, please note the following key dates for course counselling.

• Tuesday 18 July for form groups 9A, 9B, and 9C 
• Wednesday 19 July for form groups 9D and 9E

Parents/ Carers are to book in their counselling sessions via Compass.  The process is like how one books a meeting for Parent/ Student/ Teacher Interviews. If you have any questions and/ or need assistance with booking a time, please contact the college.

Policies

We have several policies that have been recently updated in relation to Child Safe Standards.  As a Child Safe School, it is important to communicate these to our school community on an annual basis.  Please note the following policies have been updated. Click to open. These have also been added to our college website.

Year 7 and 12 spaces 

We have made an exciting change for our Year 7 and 12 students as a trial for this term.  The Year 7 students have moved across to the double storey building at the front of the college grounds.  Their lockers and classrooms are situated mainly downstairs with specialist classes in other parts of the school as per previously timetabled.  This has been a smooth transition for our Year 7 students. 

Our Year 12 students have moved over to the Learning Studio where they will be able to make this centre their own.  It is a location for these students to attend classes, study and have their breaks. With new furniture including larger tables, booths, fridge, and a large colour photocopier, students have access to everything they need.  A new hot water system has been installed and the desktop computers that they previously had access to have been set up in the study space. 

We will be seeking student feedback again to see if there is anything else that they need as the weeks progressed. 

With the change of locations and the purchase of some new furniture, we now have some tables that we are happy to give away to those they need it.  We have small tables that combine to form a hexagon. Here is a photo to see what they look like as a hexagon.  Some may want just a few tables; they can be rearranged to form a straight line as well. 

If you are interested in having them in your home, please contact our General Office

 (5851 2100) to arrange pick up. 

On behalf of the Principal Team, thank you for your support with the commencement of this term. 

Marina Walsh

Acting College Principal