Principal Team Editorial

Welcome to 2023!

A very big welcome back to our students and parents who were with us last year, and a very big welcome to our new students and families that have joined us this year. 

We have now completed two full weeks back at school and the feeling of energy and positivity is resonating throughout the school. This is my sixth start to the year as Principal, and our first two weeks have definitely been the smoothest and calmest in my experience, so far. To put it in perspective, last year during the first two weeks, our teachers submitted 832 green chronicle entries (positive notes for students), compared to 1372 this year, a 65% increase! I want to congratulate our students and staff who have worked exceptionally well together to ensure a positive transition in to 2023.

New Staff

In an incredibly challenging and unprecedented time for schools and recruiting, we have been in the fortunate position, unlike many other schools, to secure all of the teachers we required for 2023, before the start of the school year. With a couple of non-teaching positions to be filled in coming weeks, the numbers of new staff beginning this year will be close to 40, too many to list here! 

This situation is replicated in schools across the state, with the decrease in face to face teaching time (a result of the new Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022) resulting in schools needing to hire more teachers. Moreover, the flow-on effects from the pandemic have led to greater movement within our system of teachers moving from school to school. Whilst we said goodbye to colleagues last year that we were sad to lose, fortunately we have recruited a combination of new and experienced teachers who will be wonderful additions in and outside the classroom for our school community. I’m sure you will join with me in welcoming these new staff members and I invite you to meet some of them in person at important upcoming school events such as the Year 7 Family Night and the VCE Information Night.

Building Project

Our building project continues to make steady progress with the architects sharing some render images of the possible design with us last year. As you can see below, the new building (double competition grade Basketball Courts and Performing Arts spaces) promises to be a visual highlight and will improve the aesthetics of our entire school site, particularly our Amesbury Ave side.

The design and plans for our new building project will be completed in coming months and we are still hopeful that construction will commence close to the middle of this year. Our ability to further improve the facility above and beyond its design will be dependent on our future financial position. Parent contributions help us provide enhanced and improved experiences for our students and school community.

Maestro 

This year, parents will notice a distinct change in the level of access students will have to their learning analytics data. Providing greater insights for parents about student learning has been a strong priority for us in recent years and we are almost there! I strongly encourage you to access and engage in the Maestro (learning data and analytics) tool as your access, and the insights included, evolve in coming weeks. 

I’m hoping that as a parent at Wantirna College, you will have greater access to, and more insights into, the learning data of your student than any parent in Victoria! A big promise, but I am confident that we can deliver. 

The question will inevitably be, how can we work with you to ensure access to that data allows you to support learning and improve educational outcomes? The answer is lengthy, but definitely one that we are ready to engage with you about...

Kevin Murphy

Principal