Picking up where we left off.

As we approach the end of Week 2, there is no doubt that we have experienced a strong and positive start to Term 2 at Epping Secondary College.  Our students and staff have returned refreshed and ready to engage with the teaching and learning that lays ahead of them and our school community have already been involved in a wide array of extra-curricula events that only add to the rich and diverse culture that we have within our school community.

Our school community finished Term 1 with a number of whole school events that gave our students and staff an opportunity to shine but also demonstrate our school mantra of “Learning for Life.”  This mantra, together with decision making that puts students at the centre, underpins the work and learning that occurs at Epping Secondary College.  As Term 1 finished we saw our students athletic abilities shine at our Annual Athletics Carnival.  Despite the initial wet weather we had a large compliment of students and staff engaged in an enjoyable day of competition and collaboration, with a number of students now heading through to represent the school at higher levels.  A big thank you is extended to Donna Thomas our sports coordinator and our staff team for putting this day together.  At the end of Term 1 we also witnessed an amazing week of activities to celebrate the rich culture and diversity that is present at Epping Secondary College as part of Multicultural Week.  Congratulations are extended to student leaders Mariam Mohammad, Madison Sammi and Hitaishi Verma for their leadership, time and effort to lead this wonderful celebration for our school community.  Make sure you check out more information and photos from this event in this edition of the newsletter.

Term 2 has seen students and staff returning to where they left off in Term 1, with a very clear and dedicated focus on making the most of the learning opportunities that are presented each day within our school.  For our senior students this has meant a return to the rigors of our senior school and the continued focus on bringing out their best, equipping them with skills for study and life beyond school and a number of activities to engage students with potential pathways beyond school.  Our middle school students have returned to the routines of school and a number of extra-curricula events to support their learning.  As we progress through the term our Year 7 and 9 students will participate in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and all students will share their views of the school with us through the Annual Student Attitudes to School Survey.

Thursday 22nd April was a big day for our school community as we commemorated ANZAC Day across the College and also welcomed our potential Year 7 cohort for 2022 with our Open Night.  It is an absolute pleasure to share with readers how impressed we have been with our student leaders at all levels during these two significant events in the first week of term.  Our School Captains, Andre and Huda, joined with me to lead our ANZAC Day service and did an amazing job that truly played tribute to our ANZAC history and the special significance of this day.  Our student leadership team, supported by Year 10 Peer Support Leaders and a handful of our current Year 7 students then did our school proud as they acted as tour guides, speakers and helpers for our Open Night.  The way our students represented themselves, their families and our school was amazing and is a real tribute to their leadership, their positive regard for our school and their understanding of the importance of strong student involvement and voice in what we do at Epping Secondary College.  Simply Amazing!

Welcome to new staff

With the commencement of Term 2 we are delighted to welcome a number of new staff to our team at Epping Secondary College.  We have welcomed Kim Gray, as Acting Assistant Principal.  Kim is joining us whilst Frazer Thomas is at Yea Primary School for Term 2 and has leadership responsibilities for our Year 7/8 Team, Student Engagement & Wellbeing Team and our Tutor Learning Program.  We are also delighted to welcome Nora Chong, Nora joins us as a member of our Maths team.

Enrolments for 2022

It’s that time of the year when we know many parents in our local community are considering school choice for Year 7 in 2022.  Last week it was a pleasure to welcome over 270 guests to our school for our Open Night.  As we explained on the night our school zone is available on findmyschool.vic.gov.au which hosts the most up-to-date information about Victorian school zones.

Students residing in our school zone are guaranteed a place at our school, which is determined on the basis of your permanent residential address.

The Department provides guidance through the Enrolment: Placement Policy to ensure that students have access to their designated neighbourhood school and the freedom to choose other schools, subject to facility limitations.

You can find more information and answers to frequently asked questions on the Department’s website under School zones.

If you have a question about school zones call the VSBA Hotline on 1800 896 950 or email: vsba@education.vic.gov.au

Communicating with our school community

As we head further in to Term 2 we will be reviewing and enhancing our school communication processes, in order to better support students, parents/carers and staff.  The first step in this process will be an increase in published newsletters each term.  We will be moving to the publication of a newsletter every two weeks and we hope that this assists our school community in knowing what is happening and in celebrating the wonderful things happening at Epping Secondary College.

We will also be introducing a number of social media platforms as another communication tool and method to share what happens at ESC. Our first platform will be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EppingSecondaryCollege , please have a look over the coming days and follow us to stay up to date with what’s happening around our school.

Mr Brad Moyle

Principal