Campus Principal Report

It is an honour to be able to lead Acacia Campus as the Principal over the next year whilst Natalie Fode is on maternity leave. I have a strong history with the College and this community and have held a number of leadership positions at both Acacia and Banksia Campus’s and have been the Senior School Assistant Principal for the past 6 years. 

I genuinely believe that the measure of a great school like ours,is how responsive we are and how much we enrich our students, each and every day. I am well known as someone who has high expectations for our students and I am proud to be a teacher and a Leader at Keysborough College where we continue to build a learning environment that focuses on excellence. I look forward to being able to share some of the great things we achieve at this school in our newsletters and I hope to be able to meet many of you over the coming year.

It’s hard to believe that we are more than half way through Term 2. Students and Teachers are preparing for mid-semester exams, finalising assessments and mid semester reports. 

We have been able to strengthen learning through connecting to the community again, so there have been many field and research trips, as well as sporting events. Our Year 7’s commenced the term by attending a 3 day camp at Merricks Lodge in Mornington where the students and staff enjoyed a range of outdoor activities that developed students cooperative, team work and problem solving skills. The 

The Year 8 students have been focusing on active reflection and developing the skills they have been learning through the Resilience Project. Students have been keen to demonstrate how they show gratitude, empathy and mindfulness so they can be recognised in the gem reward scheme. The skills they are learning have a strong positive impact on their connections with each other and on their overall wellbeing.

Year 9 students head off to their camp next week to the Alexandra Adventure Resort for 3 days. The camp is near the shores of  Lake Eildon and offers a great range of activities such as rock climbing, high ropes courses and a flying fox. The Year 9’s are looking forward to going away next week ahead of their exams, and I am sure they will make some wonderful memories.

Students in Senior School have commenced the process of exploring Pathway options, with Years 10, 11 and 12 students all attending a range of Career, University and Trade expo’s designed to assist them with career and course choices. 

Year 10 students have had the opportunity to participate in a range of careers and interview skills programs through our connections with the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN). They are an organisation that provides mentoring and partnership programs between schools and business’s. Our students  receive the opportunity to develop their work skills and work experience to help with their pathway choices beyond school.

All students studying a Unit 3/4 VCE subject and students who are studying a Senior VCAL course are preparing for their General Achievement Test (GAT) which is held across the state on Thursday 15th June. Those students will not have any classes on that day as they will be doing the exam in our Campus Gymnasium. The GAT plays an important role in the quality assurance of VCE assessments and also provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate they meet the Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Standards expected at a senior secondary level.

In addition, our talented music students have performed a musical showcase for us at the Year 7 Band level through to our VCE Music students performing independently.

Thank you to our committed teaching and non-teaching staff who continually provide high quality programs, organise opportunities and inspire our students. 

Robyn Hughes

Acacia Campus Principal

I used to train racehorses. It was a hobby, a very successful hobby, which took a lot of time and patience. Believe it or not there are many parallels between racehorse training and teaching and not just the obvious one of preparation for the future. The racehorses I remember most fondly are often those that were not endowed with the most talent. They did not win big races; they may not have looked spectacular and in the history of racing they did not make a huge mark. What they were good at was trying their best no matter what happened during the race. I had horses that on very little talent could win the occasional race if they were placed properly as I knew that every time they competed they gave 100%. They often got beaten but it wasn’t because they weren’t trying it was because they weren’t good enough on the day to win. I knew that they had tried their hardest and achieved the best they could. It was always a good feeling knowing that. At the other end of the scale were the horses who had a natural talent but were not prepared to, or had the desire to, try their best. The only word I can think of to describe training them is FRUSTRATING. They had the ability to win every race in which they competed, but everything had to go their way; travel well to the races, correct barrier, in the right position in the field, no other horses interfering with them and then finally. If they wanted to try on the day! Talent alone does not get you very far, give me a horse that will try its best every time over a horse that has talent but doesn’t try. Talent without effort is wasted! This for me is where the biggest similarity lies. How is this mirrored at school? I see many ex-students, many that had natural talent in subjects and the most common lament is ‘if I had of tried/ worked/concentrated harder I could have been a …..’.  Talent will only get you so far, it is hard work, desire, passion, commitment, effort whatever word you choose from that list for yourself, but unless you are prepared to work hard you will not reach your potential. School is a training ground for your later life; you don’t get to revisit it if you don’t try the first time. There is no rewind button that allows us to go back to year 7 and start it all again and do better. You must make the best effort you can at the time, every time, no putting it off! No excuses!!! The author Stephen King summed it up well: “Talent is cheaper than table salt.” What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. 

At Keysborough College we have a framework that you can follow to be the ‘best’ student you can be, it is the 5 P’s. The five 5’s are: Present, Productive, Prepared, Persistent and Proactive.

BEING Present MEANS: We listen actively. We answer questions and encourage involvement in others. We are mindful —we take action to complete what we need to do right now, we donʼt put things off for later.

BEING Productive MEANS: We use time at home and in class to complete work. We avoid distractions. We stay focused and concentrate.

BEING Prepared MEANS: We have the correct resources and are in class on time ready to learn. We complete homework and revise concepts regularly. We stay organised by keeping reminder checklists.

BEING Persistent MEANS: We learn from our mistakes. We set goals that challenge ourselves to be the best we can be. We believe in ourselves, we don’t give up, and we try more than once.

BEING Proactive MEANS: We accept responsibility for our own learning. We ask for help. We make decisions, take the lead, speak up and contribute to lessons.

I believe that these learning behaviours coupled with our school values of Respect, Excellence and Diversity, will give you the greatest opportunity to be the best you that you can be!

Richard Hastings

Banksia Campus Principal