Message from the Principal

A (not so warm 🥶❄️🌨️) welcome back to Term 3! I have only returned myself this week after being hit hard by one of the viruses circulating in the community.  I hope you have fared better!

I have been very impressed by the speed at which our new fencing project has been progressing. The entire perimeter is now complete, and the team is working internally this week on new higher sections around our oval and netball courts that will help keep ball sports within our bounds and further enhance our campus. All going well, gates will be installed next week. The installation of motorised vehicle gates for the staff car park will likely be the final element to be completed.

A number of people have made a point of mentioning to me how neat and 'sleek' the fence looks! I agree, and I am really pleased with the way the school looks. We are already seeing operational improvements.

Some key points about changes that will occur once the fence is complete are:

1. During the school day, the only access point that will remain open and accessible is the pedestrian gate immediately opposite Reception on Edwards Street. All visitors, parents/carers, deliveries and students arriving late must visit Reception and sign in. This is a long-standing and standard expectation to support a safe environment in all schools.
2. A large pedestrian gate will be opened at the bus interchange in the morning and afternoon to allow entry and exit of students. We do not envisage opening any other gates during the day. The gate will be closed around 9.05am each day, and all late arrivals must enter via Edwards Street and sign in at Reception
3. the vehicle and pedestrian gate and Omeara Street will remain closed at all times and is only available for delivery and construction access
4. our on-campus carpark has always been for staff only. New motorised gates will be installed without remote controls,  and these gates will be closed at all times. Please do not enter if they are open as exiting may be problematic. For certain after-school events, the gates will be opened for visitors. Parallel car parking is available on both sides of Edwards Street.

A reminder that you can access our new Subject Hanbook format which we are hosting online to save printing resources. You can always access via our website (under Curriculum) or via Favourites within Compass.

Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES)

I would like to draw your attention to another really special opportunity available exclusively to our students. I encourage all families to have a look at the amazing opportunities available to our students exclusively through CHES (https://ches.vic.edu.au/), whether for enrolment right now (see our Senior staff for help), or for younger students in the future. 

Each year the offering expands with several new universities available for 2024. Plenty of additional information on their website and courses are completely fee free and open only to students in government schools.

Put simply, there are dozens of interesting and varied university subjects on offer in almost any discipline from all universities in Victoria (ie.Anatomy & Physiology for Health Professionals;  Infections, Pandemics and Epidemics;  Critical Thinking and Innovation; Space policy, law and the New Space as a small sample). 

They are full subjects with genuine first-year credit (recognised worldwide) and offered only to students enrolled in Victorian Government Schools. Also of note, is that they are completely fee free with no HECs or STUDY debt incurred by students!

Concurrently, CHES also offers a range of specialist VCE subjects that almost no schools are in a position to offer.

Here is direct access to their full 2024 Handbook with full details.

NAPLAN 2023

Ahead of NAPLAN results for students being released from Monday 17 July 2023 (full reports will be posted to all parents in the coming dates), I’m writing to inform you of some changes to this year’s reporting. These are changes being introduced nationally by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation, but the results will now be presented in 4 proficiency levels:

These are:

· exceeding

· strong

· developing

· needs additional support.

This change will give schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against new proficiency levels.

Students’ NAPLAN reports will continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support your child.

Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone but it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them – these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning.

When we provide you with your results (sent via mail in the coming days), you will also receive information about what the new proficiency levels mean.

As ever, you’re welcome to speak to me, or your child’s teacher with any questions about these changes. Our Learning Specialists katelyn.sheather@education.vic.gov.au and peter.breukers@education.vic.gov.au are an excellent point of contact at the school about NAPLAN.

Dave Armstrong

Executive Principal