PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents and members of the  Mount Eliza Secondary College  Community

There is much talk about education in the media currently whether that is about funding, educational approaches or the relative success of the Australian system when compared globally. As parents, that can be confusing and possibly even unsettling so I thought it important to put that discussion into the context that matters most and that is our own school.

Mount Eliza Secondary receives the basic funding from the government which is a per student amount designed to cover the cost of staffing, and a very small additional amount for services such as utilities. We are not eligible for significant additional funds for students because we are considered to be mid-range socio-economically and because in terms of performance, our students are doing very well. We are also not eligible for funding for facilities which can appear 'unfair' when other local schools are supported to build impressive new buildings. However the reason for this is actually a positive. Our buildings are in very good condition and we are in the fortunate situation whereby the greatest bulk of our classes run in permanent or semi permanent accommodation rather than the portables that exist in other schools. Also, where schools are funded for a new building, it is usually the case that the rest of the school is in poor and outdated condition. That said, the lack of additional funding is why it is so important to us that we have the financial support of parents to ensure we continue to create 21st century learning spaces under our own steam, as we have been doing in recent years.

 In terms of the way we go about providing education for your children, it is important to understand that if schools operated  the same way that they did when you were at school something would be wrong – the world has changed and if we are to be preparing students for their future, then using approaches that prepared students for life 20 years ago cannot be justified. Some schools have not made this shift, and as people come to understand the vastly different world of work that our young people will be entering at the end of their secondary education, the failure to do so is unjustifiable. Programs such as IDEEA lab, our gradual adoption of the International Baccalaureate methodology and our focus on building general capabilities as well as traditional curriculum skills and knowledge place our students very favourably for their future.

In short, I want to reassure you that our school is in a very strong position and that the combination of opportunities for academic success and preparation for life after school sets us apart from others in both the public and private sectors.

• Educated for excellence
• Prepared for life

​I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Arturo on his recent appointment as Assistant Principal at Rowville Secondary College. Arturo has been a Leading Teacher here at Mount Eliza Secondary for the past three and a half years, and he has been an important part of the work we have done in setting a clear direction for the college, and returning it to a place of high esteem in our local and broader educational communities. The students will remember him as a passionate educator who went out of his way to listen to, and support his students.

We wish Arturo a successful new career phase.

Angela Pollard