Principal's Report

On behalf of the Epping Secondary College Staff and College Council I would like to welcome all of our students, parents, carers and members of the College Community to the start of the 2022 school year.  The staff began the year with a curriculum day that focussed on the two key priorities for 2022, Student Learning and Student Wellbeing.  Throughout the day staff became familiar with our improvement work, how we are going to utilise student data and evidence of learning to shape our practice and how we are going to focus on student and staff wellbeing efforts around resilience and emotional intelligence.  These strategies will continue to ensure that the education provided at Epping Secondary College is positive, proactive and ensures all students achieve success.

We extend a warm welcome to our 222 Year 7’s and 238 Year 12’s for what is their first and final years respectively at Epping Secondary College.  These are such important years for establishing routines that lead to success and we look forward to working with all of you to ensure you have a great 2022.

New Staff

The College has welcomed a number of new and returning staff for the 2022 school year.  We are delighted to welcome the following staff to our school community:

• Joshua Wolter
• Annette Spence
• Fabiano Nigro
• Fazal Illahee
• Lauret Ragi
• Jemma Cellante
• Thanh Nguyen
• Christian Bettiol
• Nurbanu Istar
• Teresa Wong
• Thien Le
• Simon Burrows
• Natalie Guarino
• Nicole Korbakis

We are very fortunate to have our new staff join our College community and I am sure I speak for all in wishing them the very best for their time at the College and supporting our students to develop their skills and readiness for the world that awaits them.

COVID Safe

Thank you! Our efforts to maintain a COVID safe environment would not be possible without the ongoing support of our students, families, staff and school visitors.

Over our first ten days we have had a number of positive cases throughout the school, effecting both students and staff.  Each day a positive case is on site, all families will receive communication via XUNO to inform them of this exposure and the relevant steps that need to be taken.

Thank you to the many families that have been reporting positive results directly to the school or via the data portal.  It is a good sign that the Rapid Antigen Tests distributed to students are being used. We continue to recommend that students and staff are tested twice a week and the next round of tests will be sent home early next week.  

Parents and carers of 16 and 17 year olds are reminded that booster shots are now available for their children.

Please contact the school with any queries in regards to our COVID Safe practices.

Students bringing personal items to school

It is a requirement for all schools at the beginning of the school year to remind students, parents and carers that any personal property brought to school by students is not insured by the school or covered by school insurance, and that it is not the responsibility of the school or the Department if that property is lost, stolen or damaged. We would suggest that students leave valuables at home, put their bikes and scooters in our bike cage, and consider whether it is necessary to bring important sentimental items to school. 

Uniform

It has been great to see so many of our students in school uniform from the start of 2022.  Support for families requiring assistance is available via Year Level Coordinators and our Student Wellbeing Team.  You will see detailed below our approved College Uniform.

Recently we have had a number of parents inquire and provide feedback in regard to the College Uniform Policy, specifically the Phys Ed Uniform.  Let me assure you that your voice is being heard and that your feedback will be considered by College Council when we meet on February 21st.  In the meantime, I need to remind all families that students are required to wear the standard school uniform to and from school each day and bring their Phys Ed Uniform to change in to when they have scheduled Physical Education classes.

College Council Elections

The Epping Secondary College Council is a fantastic group of people within our community who work together to ensure the College is meeting its requirements in regard to Department processes and achieving the outcomes which provide for student success.  The Council provides strategic support and guidance to the school leadership team and oversees governance issues across the College. 

Nominations for the Epping Secondary College Council will open shortly.  Being a part of the College Council is a fantastic way to be involved in the College and understand our processes and overall goals and targets. I would encourage any members of our community, who are interested in joining the Council to contact me.

Annual Privacy reminder for 2022

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 remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website at https://www.eppingsc.vic.edu.au/about/college-policies/

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.

Feedback

The College Council and Leadership team is committed to ensuring we are working to meet the needs of our students, staff and the College Community.  Your feedback is critical in enabling us to do this.  I would encourage you at any stage if you have a concern, require clarification on issues or would like to discuss ways of improving the College to contact the school office to arrange an appointment to meet with me or a member of our Principal Team.  Alternatively, parents can email feedback to epping.sc@education.vic.gov.au or via our XUNO Portal.