Principal's Report
From the Principal
Opening of Wellbeing Centre
On Monday afternoon we were delighted that the Mayor of Manningham Council, Michelle Kleinert, joined us for a brief ceremony to officially open our Wellbeing Centre – the Philip Gardner Wellbeing Centre.
With its central location to all students and staff, this Centre will house our dedicated and professional wellbeing team, who provide a variety of supports to students and their families, including among other things:
Case management, counselling and, referral to our community support partners; as well as
the dissemination of material and financial aid including uniform, food, books, laptops and learning resources to students in need.
The ‘Wellbeing Hub’ - a central feature of the facility will also be used to deliver a variety of positive mental health promotion programs and other initiatives, including our weekly Breakfast Club, PRIDE Club and our Student Leadership venue.
Our hope is that the Philip Gardner Wellbeing Centre will be the ‘heart’ of our school – both geographically and symbolically. As educators and health care professionals we intuitively know the undeniable link between student learning and student wellbeing. We match this belief with a desire to provide all students with a safe, supportive, connected environment so that they can develop to the best versions of themselves.
Moving forward as a College, our focus is on building community partnerships to be able to best support our students and their families with a collaborative and holistic approach that involves multiple external agencies and support resources.
Councillor Kleinert, herself a former student of our College, delivered a wonderful address to our assembled guests and spoke passionately about her personal interest and commitment to the wellbeing and mental health concerns of the young people of Manningham.
The opening ceremony and naming of the new facility also allowed us an opportunity to pay tribute to our former Principal, Philip Gardner.
In January 2019 our College was immensely saddened to learn of the passing of Philip Gardner.
His link to our College was strong, his impact was and is still felt. Although there has been a passage of time in between 2008 when Philip retired as the College Principal, after holding that position since 2001, there are still several teaching and non-teaching staff at our College who worked closely with and under the leadership of Philip. Philip had a considerable impact on our school community. He was a friend, teacher, colleague, mentor and leader to many at East Doncaster Secondary College.
We sincerely believe that in naming this facility the Philip Gardner Wellbeing Centre, we have provided a fitting tribute to a great and caring educator whilst ensuring, as we look to our future, we can endeavour to keep supporting our young people to the very best of our ability.
It was wonderful that Philip’s wife, Gaby, was able to attend the ceremony and, along with Councillor Kleinert, was able to cut the ribbon to officially open the facility.
School Council 2022/23
After sharing the composition of our new College School Council in our previous newsletter, I am pleased to be able to announce the School Council Office Bearers for 2022/23.
Following our School Council Annual General Meeting conducted on Wednesday evening, our office bearers for our current Council are:
School Council President - Stefan Kazakis
School Council Vice President – Cyrus Tendra
Recent School Councils have been very collaborative, supportive and focused on improving all aspects of the College. I am confident that our current School Council will continue to work on behalf of our entire College community to help us meet the challenges of our quest to continually improve all aspects of College operations. I would like to personally thank all Council members for being so willing to be involved and generous with giving of their time.
Parent – Teacher - Student Interviews
A reminder that our Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews are to be held on Wednesday 30 March.
We encourage parents to avail themselves of this important opportunity to meet our teachers to discuss student progress. All bookings must be made via Compass.
Interview Times on Wednesday are as follows:
Afternoon session 1.30pm – 4.45pm
Evening session 6.00pm – 8.30pm
Students are not required to attend school on Wednesday 30 March but are encouraged to attend interviews with parents and teachers. Location map will be posted with entrance instructions once confirmed.
As a College, we are required to have lodged a COVID-Safe plan for this event. Proof of vaccination status will be required before attending interviews. All access to interview rooms will be from external entries where possible. Due to current density limits, there will not be a facility for waiting areas inside rooms or Open Areas.
We fully acknowledge that the logistics of the afternoon and evening make it difficult for all parents to meet with each teacher, I would therefore advise parents to be selective and prioritise their bookings.
If parents are unable to attend personally on the day or are unable to secure an interview with particular teachers, could I remind all parents that the COMPASS system allows for ongoing communication via email. I would encourage parents to contact any teacher if they have specific concerns/queries regarding the education of their child. Alternatively, parents may contact Year Level Coordinators to arrange meetings and discuss overall performance or other issues.
Parents and Friends – Annual General Meeting - Monday 28 March
Although detailed information will be posted in another section of this Newsletter, I wanted to take the opportunity to remind our College community that the Annual General Meeting of our wonderful Parents and Friends Association will held at our College in the The John Landy Centre at 7.00pm next Monday evening (28 March).
The Parents and Friends Committee is a friendly group of interested parents who provide assistance at various school functions throughout the year such as information nights, school production, parent/teacher interview days etc. Our PFA also undertake fundraising activities to raise extra funds to use on worthwhile projects that will benefit the College community.
I would invite any parents, especially those new to the College in 2022, to consider involvement with our vibrant and energetic PFA.
Harmony Week
The tone of the College this week has been energetic and engaging as we celebrated 2022 Harmony Week. The week has been filled with music, events and rich cultural diversity in an effort to acknowledge, celebrate and promote harmony in our College. Given the disruption and challenges of the past two years, the connection and friendly atmosphere experienced over the course of this week has been noticeable and warmly welcomed.
On Monday we had several students and staff participate in the World’s Greatest Shave to raise a significant amount of money for charity. We also, as mentioned earlier, celebrated the official opening of our Wellbeing Centre – The Philip Gardner Wellbeing Centre. On Tuesday we had our out of uniform day that was marked by a very engaging and well planned mixed and minor games challenges organised and delivered by our VCAL students during our lunch break. On Wednesday we conducted our World Music expo in the middle courtyard space during the lunch break. On Thursday our lunch break was once again occupied by another engaging array of LOTE activities based on our themed Chinese and Italian Day. This was highlighted by Italian food sale at our canteen, a Gelato Truck in our courtyard space in the lunch break, a Waiters' Race, a Spaghetti Eating Competition, a Chinese Calligraphy Demonstrating and a Chopsticks Challenge.
Finally, today we conducted Friday a Harmony Day Performing Arts Multicultural Show in our PAC that presented a range of performances to showcase the talent of our students and the magnitude of cultural diversity that is found within our College.
We are a College with students from over forty nationalities, from six continents, and from many different languages and cultures, yet the level of harmony between students and between families across our community is something of which to be proud.
Our College proudly embraces and seeks to foster inclusion, respect and dignity for all.
Outstanding Student Achievement – an invitation
Can I take this opportunity to remind the families of our school community that we are always willing to hear of and share the deeds of our students in their sporting, academic, performing arts or community-based pursuits external to our College. We have, on a regular basis, students who are involved in a quite extraordinary array of activities and it is always a pleasure and with great pride that we seek to share those outcomes with our wider school community.
John Roberts
Principal
Parent Payment arrangements for 2022
The Parent Payment arrangements for 2022 are available via Compass on your home page under “Course Confirmation/Payments”.
Payments can be made through Compass or directly to the College via credit card or cash using the College Payment Envelope (when the General Office re-opens to parents).
If you do not wish to pay via Compass, please ensure you return a copy of the completed form to the General Office, available under “pay in person at the school” link at the bottom of the page in Course Confirmations/Payments, or you can request a copy from the College via
parentpayments@eastdonsc.vic.edu.au
Payments were due by Tuesday 23 November 2021
Your ongoing support of the College allows us to continue to offer a broad range of programs and enhanced curriculum experiences.
Please refer to the attached Parent Payments Policy and further links to information via
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/parent-payment/policy
College Philosophy
At East Doncaster Secondary College we have a strong tradition of academic excellence and we aim to promote and sustain a reflective learning culture. We want students to experience a sense of achievement and growth in their academic, personal, social and emotional development. We have high expectations of our students’ commitment to being mutually supportive and striving for success as learners. We are proudly multicultural with a student population from 43 nationalities including a number of International Students. 68% of our students speak a language other than English at home.
A student’s life at school is full of opportunities, being rich and varied with a range of co-curricular activities in music, sport, productions, debating, clubs as well as camps and international experiences for the educational and personal development of students. Our students are vibrant, energetic, and talented young people. There are many student leadership opportunities and we aim to continue to increase student access to decision-making and self-determination as learners.
We endeavour to create a "Culture of Curiosity" with goals of ensuring learning improvement for every student – every student, every period, every day.
Our school’s purpose is to develop passionate learners who are critical thinkers with the confidence and capability to engage in the global community.
Care and Compassion, Curiosity, Excellence, Fairness, Resilience, Respect and Teamwork are the core values that underpin the culture of our school as we embrace the challenges of 21st Century learning.
We aim to sustain a learning culture that provides every student with a sense of achievement and of being their best in their academic, personal, social and emotional development.
Privacy and Data at East Doncaster Secondary College
East Doncaster Secondary College uses a number of digital platforms to support your child’s education, such as Compass, Google Drive and Office 365.
The College has an Information Security Policy and complies with the Department of Education and Training Privacy Policy. Click on the below link to access these documents.