Dear Parents and Guardians

This week, at our whole school assembly, we said farewell to the Year 12 class of 2018. It was a lovely occasion, and a fitting tribute to a really delightful, caring and thoughtful group of young people. We also celebrated their individual and collective achievements at their Awards Night last week.

On behalf of all our staff, we would like to acknowledge and thank you, as parents and family members, for the support you have given us over your child’s time at St Albans Secondary College. We value it enormously, and it makes such a difference to what we are able to achieve together. Congratulations to each of you on the graduation of your daughters and sons from secondary school.

We hope you enjoy the articles and photos for both occasions in this edition of Alba News.

Year 12 Awards Night

The Year 12 Awards Night is one of the absolute highlights of the school calendar. And this year’s evening certainly continued this tradition.

Parents, staff and school councillors joined the graduating class of 2018 to recognise their contributions to the school community and their achievements in a range of areas, including leadership, teamwork and citizenship, the arts, and their academic studies.

We were privileged to welcome Professor Marcia Langton, an eminent leader and academic, as our guest speaker for the evening. Marcia’s personal story, one of growing up as an indigenous woman in 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s Australia, was eye opening and compelling. Her message to the Year 12’s was clear and challenging.

She pointed out how fortunate we are to be living in a time where legislation supports diversity in all its forms. When Marcia Langton graduated from school, she and all our first nations people were not recognised as Australian citizens.

But legislation alone isn’t enough, and discrimination still exists in many forms. She urged the Year 12’s to recognise it, to stand up against it, and to stand beside those who experience it.

She also stressed the importance of education in enabling them to create a more socially just, inclusive society.

The Senior School Team, led by Ms Stav Bekiaris and Ms Anna Woods, together with our School Council President, Dr Tracy Nero, presented each graduand with their Graduation Certificate and momentos. The pride felt by each student and their family could be felt throughout the room as they crossed the stage to officially graduate. It was such a special moment for them.

Awards were also presented to the top achieving students in each VCE and VCAL subject.

Congratulations to all of the subject prize winners, and to the following scholarships:

VCAL Excellence Award, Cristina Said

Academic Excellence Award, Shani Nguyen

Caltex All Rounder Award, Thomas Lam

Long Tan Youth Leadership Award, Laura Van Keulen

See the Senior Sub School page for a list of the winners of subject prizes.

The Year 12 Captains, Laura Van Keulen and Ted Lee, spoke beautifully about the friendships, challenges and memories of their 6 years at St Albans Secondary College, and paid tribute to their teachers, coordinators and families for their support. Hoa Di delivered a moving valedictory on behalf of the international students.

Our congratulations and thanks too, to Mr James Orchard and the VET Music Band, Insomnia, Hy Do and Major 6th for their excellent musical performances on the night.

We hope you enjoy the photos of the Awards Night.

Year 12 VCAL portfolio presentations

As part of the process of completing their VCAL studies, the Year 12 VCAL students presented their final portfolios to a panel of staff on Wednesday, 17 October. This was the final component of their assessment and showcased all they had achieved over the year and provided evidence of growth in many of the required capabilities, including numeracy and literacy as well as problem solving, teamwork and leadership. It was impressive to see the body of work carried out by these students who demonstrated maturity and reflective skills when discussing their projects and what they had learned in the process. Congratulations to all our graduating VCAL students, well done on your projects and creating your portfolios.

Farewell to our Year 12 students

On behalf of all the staff at St Albans Secondary College we would like to congratulate out Year 12 cohort on finishing well and supporting one another in this final part of their school journey. The last day was one of celebration, anticipation and reflection. The time capsule letters written by their younger selves when in Year 7 were returned to students as part of our end of school traditions. There was a BBQ lunch provided and students played games and mingled with staff and the rest of the Year level before leaving to focus on finalising their studies, whether this be exam preparation, final VET placements or other tasks needing the final touches before they embark on the next steps in their journey. To the class of 2018, we wish you well and look forward to seeing how you grow further and where each of your individual journeys take you.

Welcome to Ciar Foster, Principal Intern

As part of its commitment to developing educational leaders, the Department of Education provides, through its Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, a range of leadership development programs.

The flagship program, Unlocking Potential (UP), is designed for leaders who would like to become principals. Participants in UP spend between 20 and 60 days in their mentor principal’s school.

We are very pleased to be welcoming Ms Ciar Foster as a Principal Intern at St Albans Secondary College. Ciar will spend two weeks with us this term, commencing on Monday, 5 November, and a further two weeks in Term 1 next year.

Hello St Albans community! I am currently an Assistant Principal at Northcote High School. Before Northcote I was an AP at Sandringham College, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience another new context and part of Melbourne. Teaching is a career change for me: after finishing an Arts degree I completed a chef’s apprenticeship and worked in kitchens around Australia (and in Rome) for ten years. I still love to cook and constantly find that my experiences learning in the kitchen and nurturing young chefs are very transferable to schools, although my actual teaching is now in the English classroom rather than the Food room. I get inspired by the passion and creativity of teachers and love working together on how we can better know our students, be responsive to their learning needs and challenge them to think critically and take ownership of their learning. And if I’m having a bad day, I always know that getting out and having a chat with some young people will cheer me up! I’ve heard great things about your school and am looking forward to getting to know you all and to working alongside you for a while.

Ciar

New arrival

Congratulations to Mr Brendan McFarland and partner, Jules, on the birth of their baby boy, James Stewart who arrived on Sunday, 23 September. The new family is happy and doing very well.

Semester exams and tests

As we approach the end of the year our Year 9 to 12 students are busy preparing for the end of year exams.

Our Year 12 VCE students will sit their first VCAA exam English or EAL, on Wednesday, 31 October. Their exams will continue for the next three weeks and will finish on Wednesday, 21 November. VCE teachers have prepared them very well and we wish each and every student well as they complete these exams.

Year 11 VCE students will start their Semester 2 exam on Friday, 2 November. These will be completed on Tuesday, 13 November.

Year 10 Semester 2 exams will run from Wednesday, 21 November to Wednesday, 28 November.

Year 10, 11 and 12 students are only expected to be at school for their exams. It is expected that students use the times between exams when no classes are running for exam revision and preparation.

Year 9 students will also be completing Semester 2 common tests in English, EAL, Maths, Science, Humanities, LOTE, and Physical Education. These will be held in class time during the week starting Monday, 19 November.

We wish all our students all the very best with their exams. Good luck can be created with good preparation – so ‘happy preparation’ to all our Year 9 – 12 students.

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