Principal Report

We held our first Discovery Day since 2019 this week. This day allowed 45 future Year 5 and 6 students from rural schools the opportunity to experience a fun-filled day that has been planned, organised and run by prefects, with the collaborative effort of VCAL students, student leaders, student helpers and staff throughout the day. We were fortunate to have our Corporate Sponsor, Office Choice, support the day by donating lollies for the winning tribe. Next week we have close to 100 students from town schools for our second Discovery Day.  

This busy Discover Days point to the positive energy around our 2023 enrolments, with another large group commencing Year 7 again. We have had significant extra interest in our Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) Program for next year, and we are likely to offer two SEAL classes. This exciting news means that there are a limited number of additional positions available in SEAL across these two classes – if you know someone who did not apply for the first round, please encourage them to visit our website and consider submitting an application as we have further extended the deadline. Make contact with us if you have any questions.  

We also had our annual Corporate Sponsor Morning Tea this week. It was a collaborative effort between Ms Glasgow, the Year 10 Food Technology class, VCAL students and prefects. Thank you to our Year 10 class who prepared and served a delicious spread, while VCAL students Abby, Jack and Meg made and served espresso coffee. Once again, thank you to our Corporate Sponsors, as we really appreciate you supporting our wonderful school. 

Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Wednesday, the 7th of September. Interviews are available from 11 am to 7 pm on this day. The partnership and relationship between you and your child/children’s teachers are a very important determinant of effective learning and progress in all areas of their development, and our staff very much look forward to speaking with you. We encourage all students to accompany parents/carers for the interviews. Bookings are made via Compass. Please note there are no classes on this day, aside from the GAT tests. We keenly encourage students to attend interviews with their parents or carers. 

Forty-six Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 students head to Bright on Sunday evening for two days of skiing at Mount Hotham. It is so exciting to facilitate our students to take full advantage of one the best things about living in North East Victoria. The program is open to all levels, and we are very excited to be taking a number of students who have never seen or touched snow! All students have a daily lesson with professional instructors. I spoke with Year 7 & 8 students earlier in the week about a program just for them – as they had been rightly lobbying for their own opportunity. I am pleased to confirm that the Year 7 & 8 ski trip is open to all, with full details on Compass. It is scheduled on the last 3 days of Term 3 (14th to 16th September). 

I had the pleasure of attending the Annual Conference of the Victorian Association of State School Principals last week. It was a great opportunity to meet other Principals from across the state, especially as I am brand new to the Department. There were many highlights, but the opening address from Sir Peter Cosgrove was a standout for. Sir Cosgrove has been such a significant and respected Australian leader in different roles, including Chief of the Defence Force and our Governor General. Peter had some great messages to share, but this message resonated with me: “Make the call, make the decision and own the decision and outcomes”. 

Have a great weekend and Happy Fathers Day.

Dave Armstrong

Executive Principal