Principal's Report

Despite the recent lockdown and period of remote learning, it has been great to have the College in full swing earlier this term with students back involved in activities such as productions, camps, interschool sport and excursions. 

I am grateful and proud of the collective efforts of our school community to pivot so quickly to remote learning several weeks ago. Thankfully it was only short lived and fingers crossed, we have a smooth run of onsite activities throughout the remainder of the year. 

Building Progress

Our capital works program has been running full steam ahead, with our new food rooms, canteen and community room due for completion in August. The builders are now beginning works on the new STEM centre which will be due for completion in November this year. 

Visitors to the school may have noticed the removal of some banksia's along our western perimeter. These trees required removal due to a fire services upgrade and new roadway for maintenance and emergency access to the back of the school. 

The College will be planting 15 new trees on our grounds to replace the 5 that were removed for these works. 

Driveway 1 Closed Next Term

Due to building works, the driveway used by students on bikes will be closed for the remainder of the year. Students have been advised to enter the school on their bikes via the laneway at the rear of the school. Students travelling from Eel Race Road can access this by riding down Seabrook Way and Milroy Crescent. 

Traffic Management

I recently met with traffic engineers from Frankston City Council to discuss several ongoing issues for motorists and students along Eel Race Road and entering the school site. These include:

• Pathing that encourages pedestrians to cross Eel Race Rd near the footbridge rather than the crossing.
• Lack of dedicated carparking or drop off areas near the school
• New Carrum bike path stopping at the start of Eel Race Rd

The meeting was productive and the council was able to explain upcoming projects and discuss proposals. Possible future works include:

• New fencing along footpath to encourage pedestrians to use crossing
• Possible kiss and go or turning bay / roundabout in between the crossing and the footbridge
• New bike path along Eel Race Rd connecting the Seaford Wetlands bike path with the Carrum Station bike path
• Upgraded road bridge along Eel Race Rd to include adequate width for bikes and pedestrians
• Potential additional footbridge over the creek between the school and Wells Rd.

In the meantime, it would be great if parents and carers could be mindful of local residents when picking up their children as we have had a number of complaints from residents in Seabrook Way and along Eel Race Rd. The following tips and suggestions can help avoid congestion and minimise risks to pedestrians: 

• Consider picking your child up on the other side of the creek or in Milroy Crescent
• Use the bus bay of a morning to complete a quick drop off
• Wait until 3.10pm before picking up your child
• Encourage your child to ride, walk or catch public transport to school

New Assessment & Reporting Practices

Over the last 12 months, teachers have been developing a consistent approached to rubrics based on the Victorian Curriculum. 

The rubrics will be used on all CAT's 7-10 moving forward, providing students with valuable feedback on their learning. 

As the rubrics involve detailed descriptions of the skills required at each year level, students may find it difficult to demonstrate their learning at levels that they have previously obtained. This means that students and families may see teacher judgements that show little movement since semester 2 2020 and in some cases demonstrate that learning has 'gone backwards'. This is nothing to worry about, it is just a short term consequence of us moving to a new and consistent way of assessing student learning. 

I have provided a detailed explanation in the front of the semester reports which are now available on Compass. 

School Funded Projects 

In addition to the government funded capital works projects underway, our school council has embarked upon additional works which are currently underway or scheduled to start soon. These include: 

• Removal of the antiquated 'boiler' heating system and replaced with new reverse cycle air conditioners
• Air conditioning in rooms with existing gas heaters
• New gymnasium built adjacent to the Stadium
• $250K Solar Panel and Battery Installation to reduce greenhouse emissions and utility bills.
• Relocation of two portables to provide better access from new canteen area to the oval

Further projects have been earmarked by our school council including a new synthetic sporting pitch (soccer/hockey/tennis), cricket nets and major landscaping.  

School Review and Strategic Plan

Following our school review earlier in the year, our College has been provided with a new Strategic Plan which will help the direction of our College. 

The following goals and Key Improvement Strategies have been developed: 

Goal 1: To improve student outcomes.

Key Improvement Strategies: 

• Enhance teacher practice through further development and consistent implementation of an agreed school wide pedagogical approach.
• Implement and embed the Professional Learning Community (PLC) strategy to build data literacy and consistency of teacher practice. Curriculum planning and assessment.
• Further develop the instructional capacity of all leadership roles to establish higher levels of collective accountability for student learning outcomes.

Goal 2: To improve student agency, voice and engagement in their learning.

Key Improvement Strategies:

• Build teacher capacity to activate student voice and agency within the classroom.
• Further develop and implement student learning programs to engage students through curiosity, collaboration and problem solving. 
• Further develop student pride, aspiration and ownership of learning within a culture of high expectations.

Goal 3: To improve the health and wellbeing of all students. 

Key Improvement Strategies:

• Create greater opportunities for schoolcommunity involvement in the college to build stronger partnerships
• Further implementation and embedding of the SWPBS and Respective Relationships programs across the College.
• Further embed effective transition and pathway programs across the school.

2021 Planning 

Senior students have already begun course counselling in preparation for the 2022 school year. 

I have heard positive reports from senior coordinators who have noticed that Year 10 students have a good understanding of their pathway and senior school options. This is not doubt in part, due to the introduction of our new T@SK subject at Year 10, which focuses on goal setting, pathways and study skills. 

Thank you for your continued support of our wonderful school community. I am so proud of the collect persistence in these uncertain times to ensure that we continue to provide a world class education and opportunities to the young people of our community. 

Mr Daniel Dew

College Principal