Principal's Report
From the Principal
After four weeks of the school year it has been really pleasing to see the application of students to their studies, the energetic yet harmonious mood and actions of the students in the yard during break times, the number of students who are seeking to be involved in the many extra-curricular events and clubs that are available or about to launch, and the increasing sense of community amongst them.
It was also especially pleasing to see so many of our new Year 7 students and families attend our welcoming social function last Monday evening. It was a great opportunity to meet parents new to our College community and to hear their initial impressions of our College.
Our Year 7 students depart next week for their camp at Anglesea that is always one of the highlights of their first year at the College and yet another major element of their successful transition to secondary school. We wish them well!
School Council Update
School Council Election Update:
Due to an administrative error, there were discrepancies noted in the parent nomination statements of our nominating School Council members.
Please see attached for the amended document with all nomination statements listed for your consideration.
We apologise for this error.
A reminder that parent member category ballot forms have been mailed out to all families and must be returned to the secure ballot box placed in the General Office at our College by the designated closing time and date.
In order to participate in this process, voting parents must place their completed ballot paper in a plain sealed envelope with their name and address on the back of the envelope. Ballot may be returned between 8.00am and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday, before the close of ballot. There is only one vote per eligible voter permitted, in their respective category.
If voters wish to return their ballot paper via mail, it must be received by the College by the close of the ballot. Only parents/guardians of current students may vote for the parent member category.
The ballot will close at 4.00pm Tuesday 28 February 2023. Additional ballot papers are available from Reception.
School Council election process
With the tenure of our 2022-23 School Council completed at our School Council meeting held on Wednesday 8 February, we had the following vacancies for School Council membership:
- Four Parent representatives
- Two DET representatives
- Co-opted Community memberships for two students and a PFA representative
Upon the closing of nominations last week, it was very pleasing to receive seven nominations for the four parent position vacancies, hence an election process has been commenced.
Please refer to my extended Compass Newsfeed for updated information on this election process for every family.
We also received seventeen student nominations for the two vacant positions and will be conducting an election with our student body this week at the College.
I will update our College community in upcoming Newsletters on the final composition and office bearers for our 2022-23 School Council.
** Please note, parents are able to attend our General Office in person if they wish to do so in order to cast their vote for Parent School Council Member up until 4.00 pm Tuesday 28 February.
School Council and 2023 Annual General Meeting - Open Meeting
We are extending an invitation to the College Community to attend the March School Council meeting and Annual General Meeting. This will be held at 7.00 pm on Wednesday 8 March. Interested parties are asked to please contact Lisa Bull at Lisa.Bull2@education.vic.gov.au for further details and to register attendance. All attendees must be registered by 4.00pm Monday 6 March.
Retiring School Council President - Stefan Kazakis
With the tenure of our 2022-23 School Council coming to an end following our February meeting, this also marked the end of an era for our School Council with the departure of our School Council President, Stefan Kazakis. Stefan’s youngest son, Harris, our School Captain in 2022, completed his VCE last year.
Stefan had served on School Council since 2015, undertaking the role of President of School Council since 2017.
Upon joining us on Council with the enrolment of Stefan and his wife, Terri’s oldest son, Stephen – himself a College Vice-Captain in 2020, Stefan has made his mark in many ways.
A former student of our College, an astute and successful businessman, Stefan has added immeasurably to the operation and management of our College and has, as President of our Council, overseen a time of significant College growth, in relation to facility upgrades, our financial position and our student outcomes.
Stefan’s stewardship has been marked by his work-ethic, his active involvement, his love of and service to our local community and his considerable skill set as a successful businessman with national and international outreach.
No request has been too difficult for Stefan to assist with – his vision for our College and for our community has been uncompromising and aspirational.
He has been a friend to us, a trusted colleague and a role model for all that have observed his manner and practice.
We sincerely thank Stefan and the whole Kazakis family for their service to our College community.
Keith Wolahan visit to the College
We were delighted to host the new Federal local member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan for a tour of the College last Monday. Keith, who briefly visited our College last year upon being elected and presented a leadership award at our Presentation Night last December, met a number of our students and teachers as we visited classrooms. He took a great interest in discussing our facility needs in these times of strong student enrolment growth and congratulated us for our recent outstanding VCE results.
We look forward to hosting Keith once again at a later stage in the year.
Year 7 Social Evening
It was wonderful to see so many of our parents – especially those new to our College community, attend our annual Year 7 Parents Social evening last week. It was great that so many parents also remained on-site to attend the Instrumental Music Information evening that followed.
We were blessed with great weather for the event and grateful that so many parents attended and displayed such a common interest in understanding the functioning of a new school and investing so readily in the learning journey of their children.
A very special thank-you and acknowledgement to Daryl and the members of the Manningham Rotary club that catered for the evening with one of their special sausage sizzles.
Parent – Teacher - Student Interviews
A reminder that our Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews are to be held on Wednesday 29 March.
We encourage parents to avail themselves of this important opportunity to meet our teachers to discuss student progress. All bookings must be made via Compass.
Interview Times are:
Interviews 1.30pm – 4.45pm
Interviews 6.00pm – 8.30pm
The Parent - Teacher - Student Interview Booking System will be accessible from:
Year 12 Student Bookings - 12.00pm Friday 17 March until 4.00pm Tuesday 28 March 2023.
Year 7 to 11 Student Bookings – 10.00am Monday 20 March until 4.00pm Tuesday 28 March 2023.
We fully acknowledge that the logistics of the afternoon and evening make it difficult for all parents to meet with each teacher, I would therefore advise parents to be selective and prioritise their bookings.
If parents are unable to attend personally on the day or unable to secure an interview with a particular teacher, could I remind all parents that the COMPASS system allows for ongoing communication via email. I would encourage parents to contact any teacher if they have specific concerns/queries regarding the education of their child. Alternatively, parents may contact Year Level Coordinators to arrange meetings and discuss overall performance or other issues.
Please find attached further information regarding Parent – Teacher - Student Interviews and booking information. For further booking instructions please go to https://www.compass.education/guide#section-09
COMPASS Communications at EDSC
The COMPASS Learning Management system in use at East Doncaster Secondary College provides parents an opportunity to monitor many important aspects of their child’s learning and wellbeing.
I hope that parents of our Year 7 students will have already discovered the potential of the Compass system to inform them of College operations, upcoming events, student attendance data and learning outcomes.
Parents are encouraged to maintain regular communication whenever there is a concern via the Compass portal. As mentioned, parents are also able to check daily attendance and can send emails directly to teachers requesting clarification of learning progress or related issues.
We are committed to improving the quality of communications to parents – especially in relation to student learning. The management of Learning Tasks including descriptions, due dates, confirmation of submission and feedback on learning performance are all ways for teachers to engage and inform parents and students within this information feedback loop.
If you are encountering difficulties in accessing and using the COMPASS system, please do not hesitate to contact our General Office.
Parent Contact Details
Whilst on the subject of College communication, a reminder to all parents and guardians to please update their contact details with the College.
Whether this involves a change of residential address, an updated mobile phone or work number, it is essential that we have the latest available information on our data-bases.
You can update your mobile number and email address via 'Update My Details' on Compass, for any other change, please fill in the attached Change of Details form and return to Reception or send via email to east.doncaster.sc@education.vic.gov.au .
If an urgent situation, a medical condition or an emergency was to eventuate, it is critical that we are able to contact parents and guardians as quickly as possible.
John Roberts
Principal
Subject Contributions for students in Year 10-12
Subject Contributions for students in Year 10-12 have now been sent out via Compass and we invite parents to support our extensive electives program which provides options and opportunities for those in our Senior School.
East Doncaster Secondary College provides classroom consumables, materials and equipment for items and activities that students use, or participate in, to access the curriculum and we invite you to make a contribution for the elective subjects that your child is studying.
Please refer to the attached document for instructions on how to do this:-
Your financial assistance enables us to enrich and extend the learning experiences of our students.
We thank you for your generous support.
Parent Payment arrangements for 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Please find attached the Parent Payment arrangements for 2023. They are available for payment via Compass on your home page under “Course Confirmation/Payments”.
Alternatively, payments can be made directly to the College via credit card or cash using the College Payment Envelope. Please ensure you download the attached form for the appropriate 2023 year level. Payment envelopes can be dropped off at the College in the locked drop box at Reception.
Your ongoing support of College allows us to continue to offer a broad range of programs and enhanced curriculum experiences.
Please refer to the attached Parent Payments Policy and further links to information via https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/parent-payment/policy
Advertise in our College Newsletter
Do you have a business or are you part of a community organisation?
Do you want to reach over 1,000 families in the area every fortnight?
Our fortnightly e-newsletter has space available at either A5 or full page and can include direct links to your website (no social media sites).
Pricing:
$25 - A5 size per edition
$50 - A4 full page per edition
$10 – for community groups A5 size per edition
$200 - per term
$700 - per year
Email the attached form to
east.doncaster.sc@education.vic.gov.au or contact us on 9842-2244 for more information.
College Philosophy
At East Doncaster Secondary College we have a strong tradition of academic excellence and we aim to promote and sustain a reflective learning culture. We want students to experience a sense of achievement and growth in their academic, personal, social and emotional development. We have high expectations of our students’ commitment to being mutually supportive and striving for success as learners. We are proudly multicultural with a student population from 43 nationalities including a number of International Students. 68% of our students speak a language other than English at home.
A student’s life at school is full of opportunities, being rich and varied with a range of co-curricular activities in music, sport, productions, debating, clubs as well as camps and international experiences for the educational and personal development of students. Our students are vibrant, energetic, and talented young people. There are many student leadership opportunities and we aim to continue to increase student access to decision-making and self-determination as learners.
We endeavour to create a "Culture of Curiosity" with goals of ensuring learning improvement for every student – every student, every period, every day.
Our school’s purpose is to develop passionate learners who are critical thinkers with the confidence and capability to engage in the global community.
Care and Compassion, Curiosity, Excellence, Fairness, Resilience, Respect and Teamwork are the core values that underpin the culture of our school as we embrace the challenges of 21st Century learning.
We aim to sustain a learning culture that provides every student with a sense of achievement and of being their best in their academic, personal, social and emotional development.
Privacy and Data at East Doncaster Secondary College - Reminder
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.
Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website on the Policy Documents page. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use platforms such as Compass, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese