Assistant Principals' Report

In late 2017 and early 2018, I experienced a taste of life in the Doncaster Secondary College community through a professional learning program in which I was paired with Eva McMaster as my mentor in a Principal Preparation program run by the Department of Education and Training.  What an experience!

 

I was immediately struck by the learning culture of the staff in the school; teachers, education support staff and school leadership were overtly seeking to improve their practice to achieve better outcomes for students in all areas.  From VCAL to VCE, student wellbeing and community involvement, successful transitions to sporting, arts, musical and academic excellence; across the board, it was incredibly impressive.

 

In previous roles, I have participated in many governments, Catholic and independent schools at the primary and secondary level and I had never come across such a rich, broad and inclusive learning community striving to be even better as I found at Doncaster Secondary College.  I wanted to be a part of it!  It was with utter delight I accepted the role of Assistant Principal commencing at the start of this school year.

 

I am thrilled to find so many incredible parent supporters of the school.  Through committees, school council, events and communication, we enjoy such a high level of participation from wonderful parents and carers.

 

The best part of commencing at Doncaster Secondary College, without a doubt, is sharing in the wonder of learning experienced by our lively student cohort.  The young people in our school are curious, courteous, strive to be their best and are a credit to their families and wider community.  I have found such joy so quickly in my interactions with our students.

 

The interesting thing about being introduced into this high-functioning community is the apparent lack of consciousness about just how wonderful Doncaster Secondary College is!  So whilst the experience is still new to me, I wanted to let you know what a privilege it is to be a part of it.

 

Gina Carroll

Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

Instead of one summary report at the end of a term or semester you will be able to see Learning Tasks with comments and grades on the following dates: 19 March, 14 May, 25 June, 20 August, 15 October, 10 December.

 

Student Led Conferences - 2 April, 27 August

These tasks will be flagged to show there is an indication of the grade and effort as well as a comment.

 

The end of semester reports which are a summary of each subject with Victorian Curriculum levels and grades for key tasks displayed will be published on Compass by 27 June  . There will be no comments on end of semester reports. You will see comments on the dates above by following the instructions attached.

 

What this means for Parents:

Parents will need to log into Compass and look at flagged Learning Tasks on or just after the dates published above. You will be able to regularly monitor student progress and see feedback about specific tasks and how students can improve. There is a file attached which will help you navigate Compass to find this great feedback provided by teachers.

 

What this means for Students:

Students will need to ensure Learning Tasks are submitted on time with maximum effort applied. You will be able to read comments and analyse rubrics to see feedback about specific tasks and how to improve. This allows you the opportunity to regularly monitor progress towards your goals.

 

Would you like some more information about the tasks our students are completing? Open the document attached below to find out how.

 

Gary Rule

Assistant Principal