Principal's Message
"Be The Best That You Can Be"
Welcome Back!
A further "welcome back" to all families! We have started Term 2 incredibly well with many opportunities for our students, both in the classroom and as part of our broader co-curricular program.
I commend our students on how well they have settled into their studies in 2021, particularly after the significant events relating to COVID-19 in 2020. I am very much looking forward to seeing the positive progress and contribution of our students during Term 2 and beyond.
State Swimming and Diving Championships
Congratulations to our students for competing in the recent State Swimming (22/4) and Diving Championships (23/4).
To get to the State titles in any school sporting event is an outstanding achievement. Well done to all involved and for a full report of their outstanding efforts in the State Diving and Swimming Championships, please read on in this Newsletter.
ANZAC Day, 2021
As per our recent Community Update, we held a special ANZAC Day Assembly recently (23.4.21).
The Whole School Assembly went incredibly well, with our students leading the way in how we, as a community, were able to best commemorate this momentous time of the year.
Please read on for photos of this special event.
We again thank our guest speaker, Mr. Sydney Saulter (ex-serviceman, Australian Army), for his time as part of the Assembly.
NAPLAN
The NAPLAN Assessments for our Year 7 and 9 students this year are fast approaching with the Assessment period scheduled for next week, Tuesday 11th May - Friday 14th May.
The NAPLAN Assessments are termed ‘High Stakes Assessments’ which measure student understanding in key areas of Numeracy and Literacy. Year 9 students have the opportunity to receive NAPLAN Certificates based on their performance in the NAPLAN Assessments in 2021.
All students in Year 7 & 9 have been given the opportunity to complete a practice test (electronically) to familiarise themselves with the format of the Assessments this year. The results of the Assessments provide information for students, parents, teachers, and principals which can be used to develop programs to support students.
All Year 7 & 9 students need to ensure that they have the NAPLAN lockdown Browser 2021 installed, and that their laptop is fully charged for the Assessments.
We expect that our Year 7 and 9 students will do the best that they can with the NAPLAN Assessments. We understand too that NAPLAN can create a degree of anxiety causing a certain amount of stress for some students.
If Year 7 and 9 parents / carers have any queries or concerns (including any requests that parents / carers may have for students to be exempt from NAPLAN) they are asked to contact the General Office on pH: 9561 5811.
I am confident that the information you receive as a result of your child’s participation in the NAPLAN tests will be valuable in helping you to assess your child’s progress in literacy and numeracy.
For more information about the tests, please visit the VCAA website at www.vcaa.vic.edu.au or the NAPLAN website atwww.nap.edu.au.
Respectful Relationships
Recent media reporting has highlighted the issues of consent, sexual assault, and gender inequality, and these issues are critically important. Our College, in partnership with parents and carers, has an important role to play in addressing these significant social issue.
We are committed to Respectful Relationships at Wheelers Hill Secondary College. Respectful Relationships is a College Community responsibility where we strive to further embed a culture of respect and gender equality across our entire College Community.
We also teach Respectful Relationships as part of the Victorian Curriculum, which focuses on building students’ social and emotional skills by supporting them to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and build and manage safe and respectful relationships (including understanding consent). Our College provides sexuality education as part of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.
Consent Education is vital, and the State Education Minister, Mr. James Merlino, has made it clear that all schools have a responsibility to cover this area with students. We are working with faculty and other leaders within the College to best address this area with students.
Please contact the College on 9561 5811 should you have any queries. Please contact 1800 RESPECT or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au if you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault and / or violence, and needs support.
Student Attitudes to School Survey, 2021
As per our recent Community Update, the Student Attitudes to School Survey Program will be administered with students on Monday 24th May.
We value student voice as a means to improve student wellbeing, engagement and achievement through quality instruction, programs and support
The Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) is an annual student survey offered by DET to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. Students from our school in Years 7 to 12 will participate in the survey.
Juniors (Years 7 to 9) will complete this survey online. Students will be provided with a unique login to complete the survey. The student login is an assigned identifier that may be used by the Department to combine data for research purposes only. Your child’s privacy and the confidentiality of your child’s survey responses will be protected at all times. No identifiable personal data is included in the survey response file.
The survey results will be reported back to the school in Term 3. No student can be identified in the results reported to schools or in any other report of the data. These results will be communicated to parents through College Council and via the Annual Report.
The survey only takes 20-30 minutes to complete and occurs during your child's class time. For students who may be absent on this day, catch up sessions will be provided to complete the Survey. Please visit the Department of Education and Training (DET) website if you would like more information:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/data-collection-surveys/policy?Redirect=1
WHSC 40th Anniversary Celebrations, Sunday 24th October 2021
This is a very special event where our College Community can come together and help celebrate our 40th Birthday.
If you would like to be involved with our WHSC Parents and Friends Committee in the organisation of this event, please contact General Office and / or Steve Kourtis (Parent and President of our WHSC Parents and Friends Committee),
pH: 0433 428 586 with your interest. The next planning meeting is expected in the coming weeks.
College Open Night, 2021
As per previous Compass posts, our College Open Night was held on the Thursday 29th April.
It was a wonderful night and attendance from prospective families was extraordinarily strong. It was great to be able to welcome back families on site for this sort of community event.
We thank all staff and students involved, particularly Sharon Sharpe (Transition Co-ordinator) for her outstanding leadership of this successful event.
Be sure to have a great weekend everyone!
Kind regards,
Mr. Aaron Smith
Principal, Wheelers Hill Secondary College
Contact Us
Ph: (03) 9561 5811
Email: wheelers.hill.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au
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