College Principal's Report

Welcome back to students, staff and families and a special welcome to our Year 7 students, international students and other families new to the College. I look forward to working closely with you all throughout the year.

I hope you had an opportunity to have an enjoyable holiday break and time to relax and renew ahead of the school year. Whilst many of our community have had that opportunity, some have been impacted by the bushfires. Our thoughts are with those families.

We have had a positive start to term 1 with Junior School students enjoying special start up programs, whole school welcome back assembly, commencement of timetabled classes and Year 12 residential study camp at University of Melbourne.

The special program for our new Year 7 students was organised by the Junior School Team and followed on from the transition programs which commenced last year. It was a great opportunity for all students to develop positive relationships with members of their classes, home group teachers and sub-schools. Based on observations of student engagement and feedback from students, parents and staff it has been a highly successful start to the year.

I am looking forward to meeting Year 7 parents and guardians at the information evening on Tuesday 18 February and in March for other year levels.

New and Returning Staff

Our growth in our student enrollments has meant we have had the opportunity to employ a number of new staff. Welcome to:

Mr Tony Stirling

Head of Senior School

Mr Steven Goss

Mathematics

Mr Patrick Dempsey

Chinese, English and EAL

Ms Casey Mayne has left for family leave this week and we wish her all the best for her new arrival in coming weeks.

The arrival of new staff each year – both experienced and new graduate teachers – is always invigorating in our College as fresh faces and new ideas and perspectives provide us all with a sense of renewal. All of the new staff have joined us after rigorous selection processes and I am confident that all of our new staff members will bring great positivity, enthusiasm and commitment to their roles.

2019 Success Publicly Recognised

Our College continues to provide every opportunity for students to experience success. In December the Year 12 results were released followed by tertiary offers. I am proud to report that once again, all students who applied for tertiary study were successful in obtaining places in their courses of choice. I would like to acknowledge the strong commitment and work ethic of our staff and so many of our students who have worked together to be such good ambassadors for our College.

Last year we had six staff selected to assess Year 12 examination papers for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and students had access to an outstanding program throughout the year including residential camp at University of Melbourne, careers advice, holiday study programs, presentations by past high achievers, industry partners and external examiners. The results in not just VCE but also our VCAL program meant that students were able to successfully access courses of choice, apprenticeships, trainee ships or employment. Some of our students were also lucky enough to receive scholarships awarded by University of Melbourne to support their tertiary studies.

On behalf our college community, I would also like to congratulate Erwin Diesta our Dux from our Class of 2019 who obtained outstanding results. Erwin was one of the scholarship recipients and has chosen to continue his studies at The University of Melbourne in Biomedicine.

Anyone who read his story in the magazine or articles in the media would recognise what an inspiring and deserving young man Erwin is, and what an asset he will be to the medical profession in years to come.

Assembly

During our first week of the term, our College Captains led our first whole college assembly. Students had the opportunity to welcome our incoming students, meet new and returning staff and were provided with an overview of what 2020 has install for them. This year our learning values of ‘Rigour, Relevance and Responsibility’ will be a major focus together with continued emphasis on the importance of attendance.

One of the highlights of the assembly was the official presentation of our student leadership team.

College Captains for 2020

Zac Tarquinio

Shannen Toogood

College Vice-Captains

Alex Barnabas

Luke Seedsman

We are fortunate that our College has excellent leaders to represent our students and the College.

In coming weeks student leadership programs and opportunities for student voice and agency will recommence.

Student Presentation National Conference

The world of work is changing. According to the World Economic Forum, 65% of children entering school today will be employed in jobs that do not yet exist. Scoresby Secondary College is leading the way in preparing our students for their futures through co-designed learning projects with business and industry.

In January our students presented at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Annual Conference to an audience from Australia New Zealand and beyond. Thermo Fisher Scientific, for new families to Scoresby Secondary College, is one of Australia’s global leaders in science innovation, providing solutions to make Australia a safer, cleaner and more sustainable environment. Located locally in Caribbean Industry Estate they have been engaging our students in authentic projects and are now providing employment and further training opportunities.

The most recent project has seen the students design logos for the company’s Nalgene bottles which were distributed at January’s Midsumma Carnival between 19 January to 9 February . The designing required our students to create label options that would demonstrate support for the LGBTA Community and ensure they are visible, valued and included.

Six of the student’s designs were selected by a panel by the company and manufactured for the event. The project was so successful that students were invited to present how they came up with the end designs at the conference.

The project provided opportunities for students to develop lateral thinking and use self-direction to become adept problem-solvers. The students were highly motivated and extended their creativity and communication and collaborated with company members.

The following quote highlights the company’s confidence in our ongoing partnership

“It is inspiring and humbling to work in partnership with Scoresby Secondary College, a school dedicated to delivering our leaders of tomorrow” Stephen Pickering Vice President & GM Australia & New Zealand at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

While curriculum may be seen to limit how much leeway some teachers have at present in some schools, by approaching subjects from a different or unexpected angle, our teachers can allow students to develop crucial new skills.