Principal's Report

Honour Roll Assembly

I thought I would share with you my speedc from the Honour Roll Assembly this week.

Welcome to Staff, Parents students and Honour Roll recipients

Today is a celebration of an historic moment in the history of our school.  We are only a relatively young school –we are 36 years old compared to my previous secondary school, Melbourne High School, which is over 160 years old. Imagine you were one of the first students arriving at this school 36 years ago, - the classrooms were mainly portables, dust was everywhere as construction had only begun in December of the year before, and the oval and playing areas had only recently been apple orchards.  In the first newsletter of the school the Principal asked for a parent with a chain saw to help cut down some of the apple trees so they could be used in woodwork and the cleared space could be used for an oval. (And I’ve since heard he asked for a parent who might be a snake catcher to come along and help get rid of them!)

This school grew quickly from the 147 students who were here in the first year, with 16 staff. 

It quickly gained a positive reputation as a strong academic high school that also offered a full range of the trade subjects.  Our results have always been strong and usually were around the average for the state of Victoria – we were a good solid school. 

Teachers over the last few years, however, have been thinking that perhaps our students were more intelligent than average, and that they could achieve at a higher level. 

Teachers set about improving the curriculum and making it more challenging, set about having higher expectations of students and providing higher levels of support for students to succeed. 

The class of 2015 proved that better was possible – they have smashed all previous academic records of the school’s 36 year history.  In 2014 we had 8 students achieve a place in the Honour Roll, which means they received an ATAR score over 90, putting them in the top 10% of student high achievers in the state.  Last year, that number skyrocketed to 19 students with ATARs over 90.  Our median study score moved from the State average of 29 to 30, which means almost every single student in the year level, not just the Honour Roll students, improved their grades – those who were on Cs moved to Bs.  Those who were on Bs moved to As. 

With these sorts of scores you can name just about any university course you wish, and many universities would be calling them to offer scholarships. 

Rohan John, the DUX of the year level received an ATAR score of 97.5, putting him in the top 2.5% of students in the state.  There is great truth to the statement “From Wantirna College you can go on to become whatever you want”.

On behalf of the College I would like to congratulate our Honour Roll recipients. Their hard work, effort, persistence and determination helped them at every step of the way to achieve the success we are here to celebrate. 

We are also here to celebrate the important partnership between students, teachers and parents which have made these results possible.

I would like to congratulate the amazing teachers at Wantirna who supported you and challenged you to think deeply from the moment you walked in the door at Year 7 till you left us in Year 12.

Your supportive parents and family have helped you achieve this great honour, and they are to be congratulated as well.                                                                                                                                               

As many of you already know, the theme of the College for this year is “Life is learnt through our mistakes” – a continuation of the theme last year of building your confidence as learners.  The young people here before us have reached the pinnacle of success at secondary school, and today is all about celebrating their successes and the confidence they had in themselves to reach this success.  If you have the opportunity please ask them about mistakes they made in their learning over their six years with us, and how those mistakes were springboards for an even higher level of learning

Their ability to see their mistakes as a learning opportunity and not be daunted by them worked like a confidence bank, where they have deposited the great feelings of overcoming difficulties and having small successes, and last year when they were faced with the ultimate challenge of VCE they were able to draw on that bank, and use that confidence to strive for what they wanted, and ultimately to excel.  

The other thing I’m pretty certain they would tell you if you had the opportunity is that they started working towards this in Year 7, and Year 8 and Year 9 and year 10 and Year 11 – not only did they do the set work the teacher asked of them, but they let their curiosity be aroused, they followed up on learning that particularly interested them, they read widely and wondered about issues that were happening in the world.  They talked with friends and family about their learning, and put in place study plans to ensure they remembered what they learnt. 

So now, not only have they achieved ATAR scores that allow them to take on University degrees that will lead them to their desired futures – they have also trained their brains to be know the strategies of achieving success in the future, and they have put in place work habits that will lead to even further success. 

May I just finish by saying to our Honour Roll students – we are amazingly proud of you.  There is no doubt you have strived, achieved and excelled and taken Wantirna College to new heights. We wish you even greater success in your futures.

Thank you.

College Council election 2016

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. Our College Council works in the same way.  Council is a legally constituted body that manages the governance of the College and contributes to setting the key directions of a school within statewide guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students, ensuring it is a school for its community.

There are three possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected Parent category - more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child's school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school.

A mandated elected DET employee category - members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

An optional Community member category - members are coopted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Parents on College Council provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of our school. You are the people who know what is happening in the community, who know what sort of school the community aspires to for their children.  This input helps us to shape Wantirna into the great school it is.  Parents who become active on a Council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

You can become involved by:

• Voting in the election, if we receive more nominations than places available
• standing for election as a member of the Council
• encouraging another person to stand for election.