Principal's Report

Term 1: Principal Report

Acknowledgement of Country

South Oakleigh College acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is situated, the Bunurong & Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to any and all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.

It is always an exciting time for members of our school community as we return to a new year and 2022 is no exception. However, I appreciate there is a sense of some nervousness that comes with a level of uncertainty.

At this time, I once again extend a warm welcome to our Year 7 students and their parents, our International students from China and Vietnam who have been studying offshore for the last 18 months, and the new students who have joined us across Years 8 - 11. It was also wonderful to be able to meet many of our new families at our Year 7 Welcome BBQ last week, providing an opportunity for parents to meet their children’s peers, teachers and other parents. This year all of our work will be aligned to and reflected through our core values, in particular, High Expectations of self and others to ensure we achieve the best we can every single day. We have already introduced the theme at our welcoming assemblies and will continue in all future Year Level and House Assemblies. It is also about setting personal goals to achieve the best you can and setting the bar high for you as well as Resilience and ensuring that everything is approached with commitment and the optimism to succeed.

Looking forward to the year ahead, our hope for 2022 is that it is as close to a normal year as possible and our return reflects an opportunity for all our community to embrace a vibrant, safe, engaging and connected learning environment. To ensure this, the Department of Education guidelines will be enforced and implemented throughout – including the mandated vaccination requirements for school staff, the strong encouragement for all students to be fully vaccinated, twice-weekly Rapid Antigen testing highly recommended for staff and students, mask-wearing in all indoor spaces, physical distancing and the provision of hand sanitisers and air purifiers throughout the school. Where the community has been impacted by COVID-19 related absences, we will also make every effort to provide support to families and to ensure continuity of learning for our students.

2022 will also see South Oakleigh College enter into a new School Strategic Plan (SSP), completed after a thorough evaluation and diagnosis of our school against the FISO continua which was undertaken in our school review last year. The SSP provides us with an opportunity to build on our previous achievements while at the same time reflecting on areas of continuous improvement for improved student learning outcomes. The key directions for the SSP 2022-25 will be to:

increase student learning outcomes
maximise student engagement and wellbeing

At South Oakleigh College 'we are committed to developing the whole child'. Our mission is to inspire all students to love learning; to be active and engaged in all aspects of their education; to aim for academic excellence while developing and learning about themselves. Each of our students has different talents and abilities, and we offer a range of opportunities so that each individual can achieve their potential and become confident, respectful and effective learners who can contribute productively as global citizens.

Our College motto ‘knowledge conquers all’ is reflected in all members of our community to understand the learning and each other respecting our differences and abilities. Our core purpose - our mission, is underpinned by the following shared values which are woven through all facets of school life:

High Expectations of self and others by challenging ourselves and the status quo to become better every single day by always 'being the best we can be every day'
Respect for ourselves, each other, and the environment. This includes treating others how you want to be treated, actively listening to others, having a high regard for yourself and others in the learning environment, and understanding and responding appropriately to differences.
Responsibility for our own actions and our community, including attending school on time with correct uniform and learning materials, understanding learning intentions and how these can be achieved, submitting work on time, and accepting consequences for your actions.
Resilience to embrace challenges with optimism and perseverance, taking realistic steps when facing adversity while using feedback to grow and improve, exploring different ways to learn and achieve your goals, and using initiative to ask for help if you need it.
Teamwork is working cooperatively and constructively with others while valuing feedback and utilising your own strengths to encourage and enable those around you.

We appreciate that when schools and families work together, our students are more engaged with their schoolwork, achieve better academically, stay in school longer and develop better social skills. Effective partnerships enrich wellbeing, achievement, and engagement by focusing on student needs. This learning partnership will enable and support all our students to achieve their potential and become confident, effective learners who contribute productively to society. I look forward to working with you all to continue to build on a culture of High Expectations, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, and Teamwork where all our students achieve their personal best both academically, socially and emotionally.

Helen Koziaris

College Principal