PRINCIPAL

In this final week I thank our whole College community for a busy and productive term. Together we have inducted and settled into the College routine 6 new staff plus 70 new students and their families, managed through a gastro outbreak affecting over a third of our students, conducted over 18 excursions and interviewed 56 prospective students for 2023. 

Whilst there are some students who continue to think they have special consideration, our ban on mobile phones has been a success with students and staff reporting greater engagement and less distractions. 

Further to my Wrap article last week, I need to again draw parent attention to a social media phenomena which some of our students have been getting involved in. It is called the “choking challenge” or “blackout challenge” and involves students restricting their own or other’s airways until they blackout through lack of oxygen. A search of the internet will result in numerous references and I urge parents to make themselves aware and reinforce with their child that such behaviours are highly dangerous and irresponsible. 

Year 12’s are a third of the way through their final year of schooling and we have identified those at risk of not completing elements of their program and hence at risk of not achieving our target qualifications. A specific intervention and plan has been set up with each of those at risk and I thank Jennie Stringer for her work in this. The rapid pace of this term is an illustration of how quickly the rest of the year will progress for our 12’s and I urge them to make every moment count to ensure success in their final year in the schooling system. The interim reports and parent-teacher interviews provide parents with prompts for discussion with their child.

Next term we look forward to Open Day which falls on the 27th of May and is an important opportunity for us to showcase our College, students, staff and programs of which we have so much to be proud. The expectation is that all students and staff contribute and are present on the day and in return we take an extra day on the following closed weekend. 

Also next term, we look forward to Country Week in the final week which creates a training focus for the term and a highlight at the end of term. Students must be on Good Standing to attend Country Week. Those students not attending Country Week take part in an alternative program back at the College.

I hope all of our College community have a safe and enjoyable Easter break. Please stay safe on the roads.