Principal's Report

End of Term 2

The end of Term 2 marks the half way point of the year and I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the hard work of all students and teachers throughout the first semester. I personally have really enjoyed Term 1 and 2 and in particular the opportunity to get to meet, engage with and learn from the staff and students at Wantirna College has been a lot of fun. I look forward to this continuing in Semester 2 and I am enthusiastic about experiencing events like the Presentation Ball, College Production and Year 12 Valedictory for the first time. More importantly however I am excited about the opportunity to further improve our teacher practice and classroom experiences for students. This will be the major focus on the Curriculum Day on Monday 16th July with all of our leaders presenting workshops focused on improving teacher practice and student outcomes.

I wish all staff and students a happy and safe break over the holidays so they can return refreshed and ready to tackle Semester 2 head on!

Student members of College Council

During the last week we have completed the election process for the two new student members of College Council.  Fortunately, we had a number of students willing to nominate as a student voice representative indicating a real depth in the number of student leaders at the College.  The work that our teachers and leaders do supporting the development of student leaders is evident not only by the depth of nominations for College Council, but also the quality. The two successful candidates were Samuel Evans (Year 12) and Richard Ha (Year 9) and I congratulate them on their election. I would also like to thank Olivia Bedford, Teagan Kaye and Madilyn Geer for putting their hand up and nominating. The fact that we had 5 students willing to dedicate time to serve on College Council is pleasing. I would also like to thank students who took the time to vote for their representatives. Samuel and Richard will be joining future council meetings from August. It is important that all students use Sam and Richard to communicate issues that matter to students to members of College Council. As with any other Council member, these two representatives will have the opportunity to influence many of the key decisions that will impact not only on the day to day operation of the College, but also to shaping its future. I encourage all students to engage with their representatives.

Staff changes

Recently we employed a new English teacher to start next term, Ben Karwan. Ben will be replacing Alice White who is on leave. Aaron Hawton was replacing Alice in Semester 1, and he will be leaving us to take up another position. I thank Aaron for his hard work and commitment whilst he has been here and wish him well.

Helen Duncan has been on leave during Semester 1 and during that time she has made the decision to retire. Helen has been a long standing and valuable contributor to the College Community over many years. She now gets an opportunity to enjoy the next phase of her life and on behalf of all the students and staff that have worked with her over many years, I thank her for the positive impact she has had on many lives and no doubt her legacy will last long in to the future.

Kevin Murphy

Principal