Principal's Message

Dear Parents & Families

Welcome back to term 3!

 

The mornings are still quite chilly and the thought of walking my Border Collie dog in the park in the gale force winds makes me want to pull the covers back over my head in the morning!  I am sure that many families and staff are feeling this way with many of you having spent some of your holidays in warmer parts of the world.  I have just returned from an International Student recruitment trip to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia organised by the Department of Education and Training's International Division. The weather was between 30 and 38 degrees every day. The contrast has made it especially difficult to adjust to this blustery and wet weather we are having.

 

I wish to welcome our new international students to the college. Six students from China and Vietnam have joined our College and I am sure that our local students will warmly welcome them. They add to the global perspective of the college and allow our local students to build lasting friendships beyond our shores.  The prospective students that I met with overseas were very impressed by our college culture and hope to join us in the future. 

 

I would like to acknowledge the kind and caring contribution that our homestay parents make in the lives of our international students.  I met with a parent in Thailand who was recalling her time as an international student more than 20 years ago and her eyes welled with tears as she spoke of her homestay mother.  She still keeps in touch with her and visits her every year with her family. Now, with a boy of her own, she is seeking to send him to a Victorian Government school and he will stay for a short while with her homestay mum. It was so heart-warming to hear her talk of the family rituals that she was part of and the connection she still has with the family. Please let us know if you would like to look into being a homestay family as the connection can last a life time.

 

We welcome back the following teachers from extended leave - Greg Wallis, Lisa Kosack, Tina McLeod, Amy Willett and Randy Marshall.  And we welcome these teachers Teagan Dixon and Dusanka Devic (Health and PE), Sarah Edwards (Science), Samantha Wilkins (English and Humanities), Sue Duggan (Humanities)  and Freddie Goldis (French). 

 

The facilities upgrades have continued over the break with additional work being completed in the library, new LED lighting installed in many of the corridors and replacement of the kitchen facilities and furniture in the staff common room. 

 

Course Counselling is about to begin and I encourage students to have discussions with their parents on their subject selection for the following year.  We are also accepting enrolment applications for next year for all year levels as vacancies often occur over the year.  Students do not need to live within the designated neighbourhood area to gain a place at the school.  If you know of any families that would benefit from attending a high performing single-sex government girls school, please direct them to our website and invite them to attend our information evening.

 

Regards

 

Ms Linda Brown