Student Leadership 

This past fortnight, Vermont Secondary College installed a fourth flagpole to proudly support our LGBTIQA+ community. This is a timely and important symbolic action that demonstrates our commitment towards acceptance as a college and to provide a safe and inclusive space for our LGBTIQA+ students and allies.

We should be very proud!

As a student leader I feel empowered when I see this flag flying because it symbolises the safe and inclusive environment that Vermont Secondary College fosters. I feel like it will encourage students to feel more comfortable and confident in expressing who they are. 

The reception by both the staff and student cohort has been incredibly positive – I spoke to some of them in the yard, asking them: “What do you think about seeing the Pride Flag flying?”

• "Great! A fantastic great move forward for the school" - Teacher
• "It's amazing" - Student
• "Really positive" - Student
• "It's really good. A good sign of progress and recognition" - Student
• "There has been lots of positive feedback"- Student

Written by Beau Hesse (Stirling House Captain)

Wominjeka Wall Project

“At Vermont Secondary College, our Student Leadership Team has focussed our attention on a new project we have called the Wominjeka Wall Project. Wominjeka means ‘Welcome – come with purpose’ in the Wurundjeri and Dja Dja Wurrung languages of Melbourne and Central Victoria.  

Our team is a part of the Connecting to Country Working Party that are exploring ways to recognise, acknowledge and respect the history, culture, diversity and value of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands people – and also acknowledge we are a school community rich in cultural diversity. 

The project evolved as we translated the terms ‘Welcome’ and ‘Hello’ into multiple, diverse languages. These languages were identified through enrolment data as languages spoken by students and families at the college. Some of the languages included are Asian languages (such as Mandarin & Cantonese), Indian languages (such as Hindi, Telugu & Malayalam) and European languages (such as Croatian, French & German). We helped come up with ideas and designs to present this masterpiece with all these wonderful terms in those unique languages. 

When we neared the end of the Wominjeka Wall Project, with the help of the wonderful staff and Principal Team, The Student Leadership team was able to print out a big copy of it and stick it onto one of the most prominent walls in the school for everyone to see- in the link corridor.

We received lots of positive feedback from parents and families on Open Night (Thursday 5th May) and look forward to more students, staff and families interacting with the work  inviting us all to find meaning to our and our ancestor’s land. There are many more languages included on the ‘Wall’ at the college, so please have a look at them before, during and after school!

A big thank you to our Staff and the Principal Team for encouraging us to connect to our roots and making this college a safer and more collaborative zone for everyone. 

Written by Akhila G (Social Justice Captain – Hotham)

A final few words….

Student Leadership Projects like these are always a tremendous collaboration – I would like to thank the wonderful student leadership team for working so passionately on the Wominjeka Wall project. This idea was born through discussions our House Captains- Beau, Olivia, Milly, Ben, Zac and Mandela have been having with Koorie Education Coordinator - Arbup Peters. Meeting regularly during Term 1, the students identified a range of initiatives to roll out over the year to build a sense of connection to country and culture for all our students. 

Akhila G, Stephanie M & Caitlin S - thank you for your translation research, your methodical approach was impressive. Ms Wu, thank you for checking some of the nuances in the translations at the 11th hour. 

Thanks to our School Captains Zac and Mandela who did a massive amount of organising behind the scenes – collating data and liaising with alumni Stuart Watkins and his family at Resolution Imaging in Nunawading to get this artwork off to print. 

I think we all learnt a lot about collaborative art projects, and immensely satisfying to see one of our goals for the year accomplished! Well done everyone.

Ms Stals

Head of House - Hotham