Teaching and Learning is our Focus

Our College provides opportunities to our students in a number of areas from student leadership to various camps and excursions. We are proud of our co-curricular program here at WHSC.

Our primary focus though is what is happening in the classroom. High quality teaching and learning provides the best outcomes for all of our students.

In Semester Two, there will be a real focus on Differentiation and Student Agency. Differentiation seeks to provide tailored instruction to meet all student needs within the classroom, whilst Student Agency refers to the level of autonomy and power that a student experiences in the learning environment. Student Agency gives students the power to direct and take responsibility for their learning, creating independent and self-regulating learners (Department of Education Resource, 'Amplify', June, 2019).

We are wanting to see more of these pedagogical approaches across all of our classes at WHSC, and we will work with students and families to develop and implement more opportunities in these areas.

WHSC Production - Singing in the Rain : 31/7 to 2/8/19

I repeat this message about our College Production from last week's Newsletter. With the school holidays beginning next week, our College Production will be upon us sooner than what we think:

The College Production of 'Singing in the Rain' promises to be another outstanding performance this year. The Performing Arts Team have been working incredibly hard over recent times with rehearsals, visits to Primary Schools and production meetings being a feature of their work.

The College Production will again be held at the Burrinja Theatre in Upwey this year from Wednesday 31/7 to Friday 2/8/19 inclusive. We again will be working with Primary Schools as part of the Production with Wheelers Hill and Waverley Meadows Primary Schools involved.

The Performing Arts Program continues to be an important part of our school and our College Community can not wait to see another first class Production in 2019.

Tickets will be on sale next term. We hope to see as many families as possible supporting this wonderful event.

Regional Cross Country

We had a number of students compete in the Regional Cross Country event last week (Tue 18/6) with strong performances a feature of our participation on the day.

Ashleigh Mangan of Year 10 was successful in reaching the State Final later in the year - well done Ashleigh! Please see a more detailed report on the Regional Cross Country in this Newsletter. We congratulate all student participants for their involvement, and we thank staff for their supervision of students on the day.

Cycle Two Reports, 2019

Our Cycle Two Reports will be made available to students and their families today (Friday 28th of June) from 3:00pm. We encourage students to carefully read through the feedback provided. The school holiday period is a time for students with their families to reflect and review their learning goals as we transition into the second half of the year. Families who may have queries concerning our Cycle Reporting are encouraged to contact the General Office.

Attendance

Given the half way point in the year, it is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of Student Attendance. The research in this area is obvious - the higher the rates of Student Attendance, the stronger the learning outcomes for students.

It is important that families continue to work with us to support high rates of Student Attendance. Students need to be encouraged at all times to attend school. Families are obliged to contact us immediately with any student absences. If students are away for an extended period of time (eg chronic illness), Student Absence Plans can be used to support students and their learning.

The Department of Education (or DET) support schools in different ways to maintain and further improve Student Attendance rates. The 'It Is Not OK To Be Away' campaign I think speaks to students and families about the importance of strong levels of school attendance.

"Local and international research demonstrates a strong correlation between student's learning longer-term life outcomes and attendance at school and appropriate participation in education programs.

It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance from an early age, as the older a child gets the more difficult it can be to establish new habits. Poor patterns of attendance place students at risk of not achieving their educational, social and future potential as adults. Once learners absent themselves from school, and the initial cause of this remains undetected or unresolved, it is likely that the pattern of absence will continue and escalate through their subsequent schooling and adulthood. Please remember that if you are experiencing difficulty in having your child attend school, discuss the matter with your child's teacher (Home Group Teacher, Year Level Coordinator, Sub School Leader, etc)" (DET, 2019).

Value of the Week - Excellence

Our Work Experience Program concluded this week with Year 10 students engaged in work placements across a range of industries.

Our staff have been busy through the week visiting a number of our students whilst engaged in their work placement.

Our Careers Co-ordinator Voula Jakubicki has lead the way in ensuring that our students had meaningful work placements that could link to their future career aspirations. We thank Voula for her work.

Well done to all of our students involved in the 2019 Work Experience Program.

And finally............

I wish students and families all the very best for the up and coming holiday period. We look forward to another productive Semester of learning after the holiday break encouraging all of our students 'To Be The Best That They Can Be'

Aaron Smith

Principal

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