Acting Principal's Report

As Term 1 draws to a close, I would like to thank all members of our school community for their contributions this term. We held a staff morning tea this morning, and I shared with our colleagues one stat that is quite astounding - Term 1, 2022 is the first term in the past nine which has not been interrupted with a period of remote learning. We have certainly had our fair share of students, staff and their families who have had to endure a period of isolation as either COVID positive cases or close contacts. I would like to thank parents/carers and students for the way in which they have kept us informed of cases as they have occurred. By and large, we have been able to resume and continue 'normal' school operations, with Year 9 and Outdoor Ed camps as well as a host of excursions and incursions occurring. This very full newsletter contains reports of many of these activities, as well as in class fun. We held our Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences face-to-face this past Tuesday, and it was pleasing to be able to have our families come and see the CHS site and learning community in action.

When I first came to the school back in March 2021, I was struck by the ways in which staff supported one another in overcoming challenges. I want to acknowledge that we have only been able to keep full school operations continuing this term by all members of our staff pitching in and stepping in for others when they have been away. Term 1 truly has been a team effort. I know that the efforts of our very tired staff have been appreciated by our parents through some of the lovely messages I have received. I would also like to thank our students for the way in which they have been learning and interacting with one another and with staff this term.

Road Safety - Your chance to have a say

We recently celebrated Ride2School Day, which was great to recognise those students and staff who are keeping fit and helping our environment by riding to and from school.

There is a report later in this newsletter from Chris Bray regarding Moreland Council's plan to make local roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. I would encourage you to make a submission before April 12 - some ideas on how we can make our local roads better are below. 

Masterplan and Facilities Funding

Coburg High School continues to grow (we're at 1225 students this year) and as a result of the tremendous growth in our enrolments since 2015, we are in need of an upgrade and masterplan funds to plan for this thoughtfully. See below for our 2021 Masterplan request document:

Last year we met with our local member of parliament, Lizzie Blanthorn, where we presented our case for a facilities upgrade. With a federal election just around the corner, School Council President Cate Hall and I have invited local Wills candidates to visit the school to understand our facilities needs. This past Monday we had the Liberal candidate, Tom Wright, visit and on Wednesday, Victorian Socialists candidate (and Moreland Councillor) Sue Bolton as well as her recently elected Moreland colleague Monica Harte. Next term we look forward to local Wills Labor MP Peter Khalil and Greens Wills candidate, Sarah Jefford, amongst others, visiting us. We've also taken the opportunity for these candidates to speak to our Year 11 Politics students, which has resulted in some lively Q and As.

Working Bee

There is a report later in this newsletter regarding last Sunday's working bee, which was a great event with many parents, students and staff helping out. Students had asked if there could be more seating for before school, at recess and lunch, and we were able to achieve this, with some beautiful looking benches built and installed. More mulch was spread and maintenance of the greenhouse and getting this space ready for chooks was also undertaken. My thanks to all those who helped but particularly to Gary Vella for his significant efforts in bringing this event to fruition. I hope to see you at a future working bee!

School Council Corner

It was great to welcome our new School Councillors, Sam, Fiona and Selina in person at our recent meeting. I'd like to congratulate our School Council officebearers for 2022-23:

President: Cate Hall

Vice-President: Fiona Villella

Treasurer: Karen Sitte-Meagher

Secretary: Selina Dennis

There was a significant discussion during the meeting about our Council sub-commitees, look out for a newsfeed coming soon for interested students, parents and staff.

Open Day 2022

We are doing things a bit differently this year, with an Open Day happening on the second day of Term 2 - Wednesday 27 April. Spread the word amongst the community and make your bookings for tours here.

Happy Holidays and Iftar invite

Finally, I would like to wish our school community a great break. For those who are celebrating, Happy Easter, Mubarak Ramadan (Happy Ramadan), Happy Orthodox Easter and Happy Pesach (Happy Passover). We look forward to welcoming all members of our community to our Iftar on Thursday 28 April, an opportunity for families of all cultures to mix and learn about Ramadan. Iftar is the evening meal which breaks the daily fast and in many communities around the world it is celebrated communally, with banquets of food to share. Free 'tickets' are here.

Brent Houghton

Acting Principal