Principal's Report
Dear Families, Students and Community Members,
Two weeks into Term 3 and things are in full swing. Our students have settled back into the swing of things and I must congratulate them for how they have returned and started the term.
As you are aware, there have been changes to mask wearing and isolation requirements which is outlined in more detail later in the newsletter. We appreciate your support with this and remind all families that we have an abundance of RATs and face masks available for collection.
On Monday we held a whole school assembly which was led by our student leadership team. Rather than students sitting in their Year levels, the previous whole school assembly and this one, students have sat in their house groups and we have changed the orientation of assembly which has been very well received. Our student leaders gave an update of all the upcoming events this term and presented the overall house points so far. It is a very tight race between Freestone and Macalister, with Macalister leading by only 34 points.
Our Careers Expo on Wednesday night was a great success. It was wonderful to see so many families attend the information sessions and spend time in the Expo talking to industry and business partners, further education providers and staff about careers, pathways and subjects for 2023. Careers counselling has begun for students in Year 9 upwards, so please book a time through Compass if you would like to attend with your child. Each session is conducted with our Careers and Pathways team, Mrs Marie Clark and Mr Mark Lomas. A massive thank you to Mrs Tanya McIntosh for coordinating the event and all staff who attended on the evening. It was lovely to be able to have this back in person after a two-year hiatus as a result of COVID.
Today our Year 8 students launch into Collabor8 and we are very pleased to have industry partners from Gipps Dairy, Wellington Council, Heyfield Microgrid, Landcare, Racing Victoria, Elders/Maffco and the department of Agriculture for volunteering their time to support our students and develop solutions to real life challenges faced in these industries.
We had quite a few staff movements at the end of last term and this term we are very pleased to welcome the following staff to our College community:
· Mrs Leonie Allen – Business Manager
· Mr Sam Williams – Grounds and Maintenance
· Ms Belinda Stuart – Wellbeing/Counselling
· Mrs Kylie Ruthberg – Education Support
· Charli Chrisp – Education Support
· Ms. Rachel Green – Education Support
We will also have Ms Emma Daymond joining our front office team on the 1st August. And whilst we have been unable to employ a PE teacher, we are extremely grateful that Ms Clancy has returned 3 days a week to assist covering these classes until we can find a replacement.
Throughout the term, we will have some building works occurring across the school to enable our school to be accessible for students with a disability. This work will include concreting to improve surfaces, widen paths and create access to all buildings. There will be an automated door put into the library, a new ramp placed between the senior years building and the gym as well as painting and a range of other work to improve accessibility to toilets. This work will
cause some minor disruptions to movements around the College, but these will be as minimal as possible.
This term we have 4 students attending the School for Student Leadership – Don Valley Campus. This is a new campus that has just been opened and we look forward to hearing how Julia Reti, Ruby Anderson, Jamieson Barton and Samuel Dekkers. All four students will spend the term at Don Valley where they will develop their leadership skills and work on a Community Learning Project which they will bring back to our community when they return.
We also have two Year 10 students, Kasey Svenson and Ruby Wolstenholme who headed off to the John Monash Regional Science Exchange Program last weekend. Open to Year 10 students with a passion, interest and talent for science and mathematics, this exchange is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience hands-on learning in a variety of scientific disciplines in pursuits, including participating in a number of activities on-campus at Monash University in Clayton. During their three-week stay, Ruby and Kasey will be provided with homestay accommodation with a family connected to John Monash Science School and will travel to and from school with their homestay ‘buddy’ who will also help them navigate their way around our school during each day, and de-mystify the procedures that are part of daily life at the school. We look forward to hearing about their experiences when they return.
Finally, a big thank you to our Parents and Friends Association for their fundraising efforts. On the first weekend of the holidays, they ran a raffle at the Greyhounds in Sale. Thank you to all the parents who helped on the night, staff who attended and supported the event and especially to the community organisations and businesses who sponsored a race.
Jennifer Roep
Principal.
