HEAD OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

Welcome back to another exciting term at The Riverina Anglican College. I hope you were all able to have a restful break and that you enjoyed spending time with your families over the Easter Long weekend. Term 1 was a busy start to the year but it was great that, compared to last year, that we were able to spend the whole time together. A number of important events and developments are happening this term which I will outline below.

It is exciting to see that the House Lockers are ready for use by our students. This has been a process, a long time in the making for the College. All students in the Secondary School have been provided with a locker this term. Lockers have been grouped by years within house groups. The lockers provide a safe and secure place for our students to store their valuables during the school day. The lockers also reduce the risk of WHS Hazards, both in the classroom and around the playground. 

As part of the College’s vision, we want to continue to improve the self-management capacity of our students. Being organised for lessons, knowing what to leave at school and take home for homework, are ways that lockers will grow that capacity. As of Week 3, these lockers will be compulsory for students to use. Please continue to encourage your child to use the lockers, particularly with the mindset of supporting growth in our students.

As in Term 1, this term is also shaping up to be an extremely busy one, filled with a multitude of sporting and co-curricular opportunities outside the already busy school day. Our first week alone has had 16 different activities. Events ranging from da Vinci Decathlon and chess to representative sport and livestock shows. These exciting events provide opportunities for students with a wide range of interests and it is a testament to those staff members involved in those activities that they are so well attended. I would encourage you to speak with your child about cocurricular opportunities that they would be interested in taking up over the course of this term. 

Heads of House and House Mentors will continue to develop wellbeing activities to grow our student capacity. This term, the focus of our wellbeing time will be community, partnerships, and online safety. The purpose of this module is to engage students in thinking about their relationships both in the real world and online. Each week, a Head of House will prepare activities for all our students to engage in. All of these activities relate to our focus for the term. Our Director of College Wellbeing has also organised a presentation from the Police Youth Liaison Officer around online safety. Throughout the term, there will also be an increasing amount of opportunity for parent engagement and feedback regarding the wellbeing program and framework.

I am looking forward to another exciting and busy term here at the College. Hopefully, we will be seeing more parents on campus given the further reduction in Covid restrictions.

Christopher Ingold | Head of Secondary School