Mini School Updates

Junior School 

I would like to start by congratulating our Junior Students on making such a positive start to the year. In what has been our longest time at school for a few years students have maintained focus, settled into routines, and finished off the term strongly.  

It is really pleasing to see that many students have either maintained their GPA’s or improved them over the last 5 weeks. I would again ask families to discuss this current GPA with their children and set some goals for improvement in Term 2.  

We have completed the process of electing our student leaders and would like to congratulate: 

Year 7 Homegroup Leaders: Kye Micallef, Sam Bodak, Makayla Turner, Oricle Ling, Jake Keily, Renee Jones-Penfold, Brenton Powell and Stephanie Mason.  

Year 8 Homegroup Leaders: Wyatt Addison. Bailey Beecher, Bella Taylor, Noah Smith, Cooper Coulthard, Lin Htet, Connor Jones and Declan Osborne. 

Junior School Captains:  

Year 7 – Oricle Ling and Jake Keily 

Year 8 – Bella Taylor and Bailey Beecher 

Year 7 students attended an excursion to Gippsland Tech School, taking part in a program designed to highlight the importance of Cyber Safety.  Topic areas explored during our visit included: 

• Understanding the permanence of online data 
• Developing and understanding the purpose of secure passwords/phrases 
• Learning to protect their information online  
• Recognising and protecting against online threats  

Whilst all the activities proved to be very informative and engaging, the highlight for students on the day was trying to crack the codes in the breakout room.  

It was very pleasing to see all our students interacting/participating in the broader community and upholding our college values to the highest degree.  

We continue to work with our students on how to demonstrate our college values. We have had some fabulous feedback on how well students have demonstrated these values during our year 7 excursions, on athletics carnival day as well as when participating in school sports. The Junior Team is thrilled to see so many students regularly receiving posi slips. The second round of RIDGE awards has been presented to students this week.  

The Junior Team would like to wish all our students and families a happy and safe easter and holiday break.  

Kristy Bannister

Junior School Manager

Middle School

It is great to have a full term back on site with everyone settling in well. I would like to congratulate the Year 9 for the way they have settled into Middle School and the Year 10’s for their continued efforts.

The Athletics Carnival Day was a great success with many students taking part; it was a terrific day with success going to the Blue Sharks winning the overall points' championship.

We would like to congratulate our RIDGE awardees. These awards are given to students who uphold the values of the school, Respect, Integrity, Determination, Growth and Excellence.

We would also like to congratulate Harry Pepper who will be taking over the roll of Student Support officer. Harry is an ex-student and has been filling in after the departure of Ross Magnuson.

It has been pleasing to see a very high percentage of students in full uniform with very few having to go to Uniform Exchange. Please note out of uniform notes will not be accepted; if a student is out of uniform for any reason they are required to go to the uniform exchange where correct uniform will be provided for them.

The Queensland Camp has been very popular with over 60 students putting their names down to attend. Please be aware that while we have increased the number of students from 40 to the maximum of 50, there are some students relegated to the standby list with the preference to students with high attendance and exemplary behaviour. Students who are attending will be notified in the first week of Term 2.

The Middle School team would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday.

Darren Mitchell

Middle School Manager

Senior School

Somehow, we find ourselves with the end of term busy period upon us again. Our senior students have been busy learning to negotiate and balance the increasing work demands and the first round of SACs across all subjects. As well as the excitement up of an upcoming period of rest and refreshment, there is the stress of finalizing assessment pieces, demonstrating the required skills and knowledge for different subjects. This is not to mention all the other aspects of life including work, socializing and sports, musical or other extracurricular activities. 

It is our hope that the opportunity to meet as a partnership between student, parent and school at the end of term PST interviews was a valuable experience for all who attended. Purposeful feedback is invaluable to the ongoing learning and success of students in their studies. From these conversations, hopefully some follow up thinking and discussions have occurred that will form the basis of some goal setting for students coming into Term 2. Setting explicit goals for success and tracking progress towards achieving them is a great way to ensure that we are committed to achieving excellence. For anyone who was unable to attend on Thursday evening or Friday morning, please don’t hesitate to contact the College if you would like to arrange a time to discuss your child’s progress on the phone. Contact with your child’s teachers can also be made using the email function in the Compass portal. 

We would like to acknowledge and congratulate those students in both Year 11 and Year 12 who have received RIDGE Awards recognizing their embodiment and practice of the College values – Respect, Integrity, Determination, Growth and Excellence. Several students have received these awards in both rounds that have occurred this year. Well done to the following students: 

Year 11

Year 12 

Yesterday, a group of 30 VCAL students and staff attended the Driving Learning Program at the Australian Grand Prix on Thursday 7 April. As part of the program, students completed activities designed by a range of exciting and innovative exhibitors, as well as attended interactive workshops and informative career seminars. These allowed students insight into how the skills and knowledge used in the classroom can be transferred into the real world. 

At the beginning of Term 2, 50 of our Year 12 VCE students along with 5 staff will be heading to Melbourne on an overnight camp to visit 3 Universities and attend the 2022 VCE Careers Expo to explore, discover and learn more about the different options for potential course selections as they move towards the end of their schooling. The universities will be conducting detailed presentations about courses, benefits and supports they offer. Students will also take part in campus tours and briefings about entry requirements. The VCE Careers Expos has 150 exhibitors and students will be able to research and gain resources from the stalls. This is a really exciting event that we are ecstatic to be able to offer students again after Covid impacts in the previous years.  

The Senior School team wish you all a happy, healthy and positive Easter break with family and friends. We look forward to seeing you return rejuvenated and revitalised for a strong Term 2.  

Nicole Taylor 

Senior School Leader