Principal Report

An introductory video outlining key transition information for students and families can be accessed via this link:

https://woodmanshill.net.au/2020/10/30/woodmans-hill-year-7-2021/

As a community, we have stood strong throughout one of the most challenging years in many of our lives. Certainly, in terms of education, there is little to compare to the two terms of remote learning and the impact this has had on our students’ development. In my phone calls back home to England, I can sense the uncertainty that people feel especially when we talk about how the younger members of my family are coping at school. There is a real sense of fear as to the long term impact that Covid may have on their academic and emotional development. I have said it so many times throughout this year, our strength at Woodmans Hill Secondary College lies in our deep connection and our sole focus on what’s important… our students. This has to shape what we do for the remainder of this year and into next. We have to develop and put programs in place that enable students who have fallen behind to catch up; for those students who are making good growth to continue that upward journey; and we must ensure that those students at the highest level are pushed further. However, of equal importance is that our students feel that they belong and are given every opportunity to reconnect after so long away from face to face interaction. For many, this year will have been a year of isolation and we need to make them feel connected again.

When I reflect upon the adaptations that have occurred throughout the year, it is clear to me that the decisions that we have made have been made together and have been in response to the immediate need. I know I am really fortunate to have a community that communicates as well as we do, is so passionate about our students and does so with complete honesty. Our only aim is to improve year on year: our values of respect, determination and excellence are not just expectations for our students, but have to be equally true to ourselves as the adults who play such an important part in our students’ education. We know from the feedback that we have received from parents, students and teachers that there had been concerns regarding the return to onsite learning. This is natural and this is the reason why we have made a commitment to focus our teaching on improving our ability to reconnect students to each other and to their learning. This is also why we continue to expand our Wellbeing team, so that we are able to provide support that addresses the academic, social and emotional needs of all of our students. As a parent, never underestimate the important role that you have, working with us, to support your child. This is an area that I am keen to develop as we move forward. Current projections for 2021 have us for a third year at 110+ new enrolments and this reflects the trust that we are building together as a community. As we continue to grow, we need to make sure that we don’t lose that thing that makes us special… that we know our students and families and that they feel that they have a part to play in the journey we are on.

As we bid a fond farewell to our senior students, we recognise what a massive achievement it has been to finish Year 12 in such testing times. Throughout this year, they have been an absolute credit to our school and have epitomised our school values. At a time when so many students across Victoria are dropping out of education, our focus on keeping our VCAL & VCE students on track is so incredibly important. For them, these next few months are their Grand Final and they have to put their all into making sure that they leave everything on the pitch and access all the support available. For our VCAL students, they need to take advantage of the expert support and advice that they can receive from Carolyn Gregg and from Bart and George in the Head Start team. And for our VCE students: keep testing your understanding by responding to exam questions, getting feedback, and trying again. I know that all of our students will go on to do amazing things and I would dearly love it if they could keep in contact and share their adventures with us. What they do next is part of our community’s story and stories are important. The bar that is set this year is there to be surpassed by the class of 2021. A belief that we can do great things is built on a foundation of what has gone before and the bravery of others to push themselves and reach for the stars. That’s how a community grows stronger. With that in mind, I would really appreciate any ex-students from Ballarat East to contact me if they would be interested in reconnecting with their peers and to share their story with our community. As we move into an exciting future, we need to stay connected to our past… it’s part of our DNA and part of who we are as Woodmans Hill Secondary College. If we can equip our students with academic, social and emotional support and if we can teach them valuable life lessons to inspire and reimagine how far they can chase their dreams… who knows how high we can set that bar!

If you are interested in being part of a College Alumni, please email me at: stephen.fields@education.vic.gov.au

And through all of this, our students have shown incredible resilience and perseverance. With my own three children, remote and flexible learning yielded three very different results: one thrived; one struggled; and the other one downed his tools and wouldn’t do the work! Whilst this caused a fair bit of stress in our home, it has helped uncover the very different needs of each of my kids. Each student is unique and has very different needs that we must meet. As a community, we have all had experiences that have been tough to deal with. The fact that we have overcome our challenges together through it together is down to the fact that we share the same goal: we want Woodmans Hill Secondary College to provide the best all-round education it can for all of our students. We have made such strides together in such a relatively short period of time: our challenge is to work closely together to strive for the best for every student.

Stephan Fields

Netbooks

Most of the Netbooks have been returned to school, If you still have yours please return it to the IT department to be incorporated back into the school netbook Trolleys as soon as possible.

Country Bus Travellers

Reminder to all country bus travellers that you must catch the bus from the school to the interchange.

This is a Department requirement and students are not allowed to walk to the interchange due to Safety Concerns.

Personal Accident Insurance and Ambulance Cover

Parents and Guardians are reminded that the Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

Parents and guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs. Please note that if First Aid trained staff at Woodmans Hill believe an ambulance to be necessary they will ring for one immediately. Parents and Guardians are not consulted prior to this decision being made.

Student accident insurance/ambulance cover policies are available from some commercial insurers.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.

Headstart