College Newsletter

Principal's Report

Welcome to Term Two

All students are active participants in a learning culture that promotes academic excellence and personal development through a diversity of challenging experiences.  

 

VISION

“Working together, learning together” – Working together to enable all students to achieve their potential and become confident, effective learners who contribute productively to society.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Doncaster Secondary College acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which our school is situated, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to elder's past, present and emerging and extend that respect to any and all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. We value the ongoing contribution to the cultural heritage that the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people provide to our school as well as the city of Manningham. We recognise that this land was never ceded and there is no treaty, and we commit to efforts towards reconciliation as a school community. We at Doncaster Secondary College are inclusive of individuals from all backgrounds including the LGBTQIA+, culturally and linguistically diverse as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

CENTRAL AUSTRALIA TOUR

I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff who were involved in organising the Year 12 Central Australia tour. 

 

During the tour, students were introduced to the landscape of the Northern Territory and were able to explore the national parks, water holes, landmarks and sacred sites. In doing so, students developed their understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture and an appreciation of the land. 

 

They took part in a traditional smoking ceremony which welcomed our tour group to the land, they participated in a language lesson, a dot painting workshop, interpretation of songlines and Dreamtime stories. This was also an opportunity for students to strengthen their connections with each other and between staff and students. Feedback from our families, students, staff and tour operators has been overwhelmingly positive. I have included some of these below:

 

Parent/Carer: 

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to yourself and all the teachers involved with the Central tour this year. All the kids I have spoken to have had nothing but positive feelings and things to say about the tour and the teachers. We are especially grateful that in this environment, the school has managed to successfully complete this trip and give the students a sense of normality and escape from the daily grind of school and COVID-19! Please pass on our thanks and appreciation to all the teachers involved!

 

Students:

I have learned about how amazing our nation is and how we should protect it and the culture. I want to pass on the importance of understanding the aboriginal culture and the events of the past which resulted in segregation.
It has helped me get close with all my teachers by actually getting to know them in a much more deeper way. Being on this trip has helped me bring a lot of my friends closer as well as make new friends with new memories to share. Overall this camp has made so me happy to know that when I go back to school i can call new people my friends as well as my very own teachers.

 

I wish everyone back home could have this experience so when they listen at school to adults saying an acknowledgment of country, they could truly understand it like I do now.

 

It was such an amazing reset for us all, to be able to be submerged into a camp experience after 2020, allows us to reset from that but also prepare us for the year ahead through a cleanse. This gave me the experience to make connections with people from different cultures and places and to also grow closure with people from school that I wouldn’t have otherwise spoken to.

 

Tour Operator: 

The past 12 months have been extremely difficult for tour operators in Central Australia due to COVID, travel restrictions and general fear and uncertainty. I've been in the tourism industry for 30 years and have never experienced business hardship like 2020. Through the operation of my small business, I also support a lot of other local businesses and staff such as local campsite operators and local tour guides. It has been a slow start to 2021, with many of our usual interstate school groups delaying their annual excursions till 2022 due to ongoing uncertainty, but I was extremely pleased to host Doncaster Secondary students to Lilla for the Cultural Discovery session last week. As Government funding support dries up for small businesses, your group was a morale-boosting visit that presented some hope that the year ahead will see visitors return to the Northern Territory and revitalise a decimated local tourism industry. I know planning for large interstate group visits still carries some uncertainty at this time, but I greatly appreciate Doncaster's resolve to continue their travel programs in 2021. I have another group from Doncaster visiting in June 2021, which I look forward to hosting. Once again, thanks for your support.

COLLECTING STUDENT DETAILS FOR CONTACT-TRACING ON EXCURSIONS

It has been wonderful to see school activities and excursions resume in 2021. The recent Year 12 Central Australia and feedback has shown just how impactful the co-curricular program can be on student learning and building connectedness between peers, staff and students. However, we are still working through changing processes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information below was sent to all Victorian Government Schools as part of this week’s updates and has implications for our organisation of camps and excursions.

Most venues are required to use electronic record-keeping that connects with an Application Programming Interface (API) linked provider or a digital system provided by Services Victoria. An electronic or hard copy list of student names and contact numbers should be provided to the venue at the time of the excursion. Students are not required to individually check in at the venue on the day. The Department of Health has strongly recommended that a contact number for each individual student (as per the student’s school file) is provided to venues for recording purposes. Providing individual contact details will expedite contact tracing so that individuals and their families can be contacted if the school is closed. If providing a private contact number for a student poses a serious privacy risk, or the number is unknown, the school’s 24-hour contact number may be used, but this should be the exception.

 

As a result, I need to advise parents and carers that when required, the school will be providing excursion venues with contact details for students. The phone number on the school file for the student will be provided as the nominated contact number. This information will be added to the consent forms for future school events.

 

ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATION 

On Thursday, 22 April, together with our College captains, Jess R. 12I and Ethan J. 12G, I attended the Templestowe RSL ANZAC Day service. Along with representatives from 25 local primary and secondary schools, we participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph at the Templestowe Memorial Reserve. Jess and Ethan laid the wreath on behalf of our College. The dignitaries present included Cr Andrew Conlon, Hon Matthew Guy MLA and Mr Brian Atherton [Past President of Templestowe RSL sub Branch]. The service has been a tradition for the club for more than 30 years and was a very moving tribute to all the Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in wars, conflicts, peacekeeping and operations. 

 

Our College has a long history of commemorating ANZAC Day. On Friday, 23 April, students and staff gathered at the College's flagpole where a commemoration service was held. Two Year 9 students lay a wreath at the base of the flagpole on behalf of our students and a minutes silence was observed by all. The qualities of courage, mateship and sacrifice continue to be as relevant today as it was in Gallipoli in 1915.

 

Lest we forget. 

 

YEAR 9 NAPLAN CERTIFICATES OF ACHIEVEMENTS

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy and over time. The tests provide an important contribution to monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, the areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy. NAPLAN testing will be held on:

  • Tuesday, 11 May – Periods 1 & 2
  • Wednesday, 12 May – Period 1
  • Thursday, 13 May – Period 1

Our Head of Middle School will provide further information to students and families in the lead up to testing dates.

 

A new feature of the NAPLAN assessment is being launched this year, with the award of Year 9 Certificates of Achievement. The new certificates aim to celebrate and recognise the importance of both excellence and learning growth. Beginning in 2021, Year 9 students who achieve outstanding results or who significantly improve their results in NAPLAN tests will receive a NAPLAN Certificate of Achievement. The certificates will be awarded for two categories of achievement:

  • Category one: the achievement of excellence through getting a result in the top band for reading or numeracy, or both.
  • Category two: the achievement of outstanding learning growth through improvement by two or more bands between the NAPLAN Year 7 and Year 9 tests for reading or numeracy, or both.

For more information about the new certificate and measures for learning growth, refer to Year 9 NAPLAN certificates of achievement on the Department’s website.

 

ENSURING STUDENTS ARE READY TO LEARN

This week our students have observed a noticeable shift in the implementation of our Doncaster Secondary College instructional model. Over the past two weeks, staff have participated in professional learning on our entry routine and 5R model for classroom management. Routines in the classroom are defined as daily activities that students are able to complete with little or no teacher assistance. Routines help to simplify a complex environment (the classroom) and inform students exactly what to expect, what is expected of them, and what is acceptable behaviour. When students are expected to complete routine tasks, they have the opportunity to learn greater responsibility and greater self-management. Research shows that the embedding of routines accomplishes the following objectives:

  • Teachers can devote more time to instructions
  • Students have more opportunity to learn

A key driver of school improvement is raising and maintaining the expectations of students. The implementation of the entry routine in all classes establishes high expectations for students as they enter the learning environment. At a minimum, students are expected to arrive on time, in uniform and with the correct materials, including their College planner. These expectations no only prepare students for the learning environment, they also prepare students for the world outside of Doncaster Secondary College. To support your child in understanding the importance of these expectations, please take the time to speak to them about the application of the entry routine, the importance of presenting in full school uniform, arriving on time and with the correct materials.

 

The College expects that the correct College uniform will be worn by all students in Year 7-12. The College uniform is outlined on page 11 of the planner. If your child has grown out of their uniform, we may be able to support them through the provision of donated uniform items. All new school uniform items are available from the PSW Retail Store in Kew East. Additionally, we partner with State Schools’ Relief to support families experiencing financial hardship to purchase a uniform. Please contact Drew Hanna, Student Wellbeing Coordinator, on drew.hanna@education.vic.gov.au regarding State Schools’ Relief.  Please note that non-uniform items are not to be worn at any time. These are outlined on page 4 of the planner and include a reference to jewellery and facial piercings.  

 

Glenn Morris

Principal