Assistant Principal's Report 

Course Counselling and 2023 Subject Selection

A large majority of students have undergone course counselling and have completed their selection of subjects and electives for 2023. The College will determine the subjects that will run in 2023 based on the number of students choosing particular subjects. The priority is to try and meet everyone’s learning requirements within a workable framework. Subjects may be deemed no longer viable due to small numbers, in which case, students will be re-counselled to select alternative subject/s. We expect that the process will be finalised by the end of this term.

Thank you to parents who made themselves available to attend course approval interviews with their children; we appreciate your support.

Pathways Preparation Program

With the changes to the Senior Pathways Program, Westall will continue to offer a preparation program in Year 10 to support students who intend to enrol in the VCE Vocational Major pathway in Senior School. An information session is being planned in the next few weeks to provide additional information to the families of students who have indicated their interest to participate. Details will be provided in Compass.

Term 3 Progress Reports and Year 7-10 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Progress reports will be available to parents and students in Week 9, prior to the Parent-Teacher Interviews.

Year 7-10 Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Tuesday 13th September. These interviews provide an important opportunity for you and your child to discuss his/her progress and to build communication between parents and the College. 

No Year 7-10 classes will run on the day. Parents will have the option of attending onsite or via Microsoft Teams, the online platform that students have used for remote learning. Please look out for a Compass notification when the booking portal is open next week, and you can access the online booking system using your Compass Username and Password. 

For assistance with bookings or login issues, please contact the office on 9546 3233.

Victorian High Ability Program

The Victorian High Ability Program is a key initiative of the DET Student Excellence Program, that provides an enriching learning experience to challenge and extend high-ability students, across the state, in English or mathematics over a 10-week course. By offering them the opportunity to engage with like-minded peers, the program also supports students’ confidence and wellbeing.

For every selected student, specifically trained teachers support high-ability students by facilitating their participation and learning in the virtual program. To date, we have had 14 students go through the program, and we are excited to announce that a further 2 students have been selected to participate in the English program for Term 4 - Andrew Eng and Danny Nguyen!

Jade Petersen, a previous participant, had this to say about the program:

Hello, my name is Jade and I'm in Year 7. A few days ago I finished a selective course in English as part of the Victorian High Ability Program. Eight of my peers participated in a similar Maths program. I really enjoyed the course and I learned many things, such as how to plan my writing, and how to incorporate everyday problems into my literature.  

The goal at the end of ten weeks was to write a piece about a dystopian world. Each week I had an online meeting in a class of about 20. Through the course, my teacher really helped us understand what dystopia was and what the effects were of living in one by showing us different authors’ writing. What I enjoyed most about VHAP was interacting with like-minded students in a welcoming environment and working on an aspect that was quite removed from what I was learning in my regular lessons. 

Every Minute Counts

Punctuality and attendance are critically important for student progress and learning; the data in the attached table shows the extent to which students miss out when they are late and/or away from school!

Mrs Sue Simadri

Assistant Principal