Principal's News

Welcome back for 2023! 

I am enjoying chatting to students about their wonderful summer break and look forward to seeing parents at the information sessions and welcome drinks on Friday. 

VCE results

We are so pleased for the students and families of our Year 12 Class of 2022, who, after two years of remote learning and three years of a pandemic and its impact,  achieved outstanding VCE results. Shelford is placed in the top six girls’ schools in Victoria (taking in to account median study score and percentage of study scores over 40).  

Our median study score of 36, reflects the breadth of achievements across all study domains .  There were two perfect scores of 50 in History, Revolutions for Tahlia Perzuck and Olivia Smyth, under the impeccable leadership of their teacher, Julia Martin. 

• 15% of our students achieved an ATAR over 98.  
• 40% of our students achieved an ATAR over 95, a statistic which places Shelford as the top seventh school in Victoria (Better Education by Percentage over 95%). 

The Median ATAR score of 90.95, reflects the strong ATAR scores across the cohort, which allows for our students to gain entry to tertiary courses of their choice. They have taken up offers in a range of areas at Melbourne University and Monash University, and other tertiary institutions. 

Moreover, our students leave Shelford with a sense of social responsibility, knowing themselves as people and learners and with a strong sense of connection to their peers and school.  We welcome them as Shelfordians and look forward to cheering them on in all of their future endeavors. 

Our focus in 2023

This year, our staff are focusing on curriculum planning, through collaboration and reflection. They are working in professional teams in their Faculty, to focus on what we teach, how we teach it, how we set tasks, assess and give feedback, to enhance the growth and development for every student in every class, every day. 

Year 9 and 10 review

We are launching a review of our Year 9 and 10 curriculum this year, with a view to implementing new programs in 2025. This review will involve analysing what we currently do, accessing literature and research around emerging practice and viewing quality programs in other schools, before creating our own flagship initiatives. 

This is an exciting opportunity to embed an approach in these years that allows for both academic rigour and the development of the skills required for the future, in a way that engages our students at these crucial years. We are excited to be working with our outstanding educators, families and students, in this process.

Opportunities

As always, the beginning of the year offers many opportunities for our students. As I advised our students in our first assemblies this term, “do something every day that scares you.”  Whilst I am not advocating reckless and foolish actions, I am urging students to practice overcoming their fears. In essence, encouraging students to move out of their comfort zone. They will at times fail, of course, but they will also be giving themselves a chance to learn new skills, try different things and develop passions and interests. 

At present, students can join Debating, which this year includes a weekly skills development session; audition for Mama Mia, our Senior School musical; join the Senior School Choir, or other music ensembles; our year 5 and year 7 students are choosing an instrument for the band program; they can train for swimming and in the Senior School participate in the House Swimming carnival; join a club; make new friends, particularly welcoming the many new students to Shelford and they can join a weekly sport for Term 1 GSV.   

There is no shortage of chances to extend themselves in class each day.  

I encourage our students this year to give it a go – you never know what you might learn about yourself along the way!  

Katrina Brennan

Principal