Principal's Message

Welcome Back! 

Monday 1st November of course marked the return of all of our students to Onsite Teaching and Learning!  The commitment and resilience our students have demonstrated throughout 2021 has been exceptional and they are to be commended for their efforts.  It has been such a long period of learning from home for our students and it is wonderful to now see them all back on-site.  We welcome back all of our students and I thank them for their positive and optimistic approach to their studies. 

We cannot thank our staff enough for their dedicated and caring approach during these unprecedented times.  My colleagues have been outstanding and I know our College Community are incredibly grateful for their work in ensuring the continuity of high-quality teaching and learning throughout the year.  I regularly receive feedback from families that talks to the exceptional work of our staff and this sort of feedback is very affirming.  

Now that we are back on-site, we will continue to prioritise student wellbeing, together with really focusing in on the areas that matter most with our teaching and learning, including assessment.  We want to make sure that we continue to work with families to best support students with their wellbeing, learning and attendance as we move through to the end of the year. 

The End of Lockdown 

The End of the Lockdown is such a relief in so many ways.  More freedoms (especially for those fully vaccinated) and a return to some sort of normality is something that we have all been eagerly anticipating for some time.  Despite the ‘End of the Lockdown’, please continue to be safe and cautious in the community.  Social distancing, face masks and hygiene requirements remain important measures in our ongoing response to the pandemic.  I again encourage our College Community to get vaccinated against COVID-19 where possible.  Vaccinations keep us and others safe. 

The Class of 2021 

Our Year 12 students continue to work their way through their VCE Exam Period and we wish them well with their remaining Exams.  The recent Year 12 Last Day Activities (20 10 21) were very successful and I thank Ms. Michelle Galli (Senior Sub School Leader) and her team for their wonderful work in best recognising this special day with the Class of 2021.  Please read on for a full report in this Newsletter to learn more about our Year 12 students and their Last Day Activities. 

College Captains, 2021 

As per 2020, once again it has been somewhat of a different experience for our College Captains in this year given the impact of COVID-19.  Nevertheless, our 2021 College Captains in Amelia Paterson and Rabi Zaman, and our College Vice Captains in Jack Steele and Chloe Fleming, have been outstanding representatives of our College this year.  They have worked really hard beyond their classroom commitments to best support students, staff and the College Community in so many areas such participation at College Council, helping to plan and run assemblies and much more.  We thank our College Captains and Vice Captains for their wonderful leadership and contribution to our College in 2021. 

College Captains and Vice Captains, 2022! 

The position of College Captain and College Vice Captain is incredibly important to any College Community.  Our College Captains and Vice Captains are expected to represent our College to the highest of standards in their support of students, staff and the community. 

After adopting a rigorous process (for example, written application, video message to staff and students, interview), we are pleased to announce the appointment of our College Captains and Vice Captains for 2022: 

College Captains, 2022: 

Lachlan Palmer 

Jasmine Kleinman 

College Vice Captains, 2022: 

Maryam Asad 

Renae Volk 

We congratulate Lachlan, Jasmine, Maryam and Renae on their appointments.  We are thrilled with the appointment of these students to these important positions for next year.  We look forward to their leadership and ability to best represent the Wheelers Hill Secondary College Community.  Well done to our 2022 College Captains! 

Transition Programs, 2021 – 2022 

Our Transition Programs provide students with an opportunity to learn more about their subjects for the following year.  For example our existing Year 10 and 11 students will be involved in our Transition Programs across a number of days towards the end of 2021.  Our Transition Programs really set the tone for the year ahead and they are invaluable to both students and staff.  Families with any queries about our Transition Programs, 2021 – 2022, are encouraged to contact Ms. Michelle Galli, our Senior Sub School Leader at the College. 

WHSC Annual Implementation Plan, 2021 

The Department of Education and Training (or DET) expect all schools to have an Annual Implementation Plan (or AIP) to guide them in their work to further improve student outcomes. 

In 2021, our goals have been centred on a DET expectation for all schools to develop plans allowing for: 

Learning Catch Up and Extension 

Happy, Active, Healthy Kids and

Connected Schools.  

An additional Goal for our College this year has been to Maximise Student Learning and Achievement Outcomes. 

Due to the impact of COVID–19 again in 2021, we have partially completed our actions against the delivery of the annual actions for key improvement strategies within these goals. 

Whilst we await further data to determine how we may have met our targets in 2021 (eg VCE data), we have met targets in a number of areas concerning NAPLAN and Numeracy and Literacy.  Our ability to meet these targets is a testament to the quality of the teaching and learning experience we are providing our students, despite the pandemic. 

We will spend the coming weeks finalising our 2021 AIP with staff and students.  If families would like to provide some input in to this process, please contact the General Office (9561 5811). 

DET again expect all schools to focus on key areas in 2022.  For example, DET expect that all schools will work on Wellbeing and Teaching and Learning (with a focus on Numeracy) next year.  We will develop our 2022 AIP with these focus areas a central part of our plan, and form a draft by the end of the year.  Again, if families would like to contribute to the development of our 2022 AIP, please contact the General Office. 

Once again, we are thrilled to have all of our students back Onsite and we again thank our families for their ongoing support of our great school.  I am sure you will enjoy the latest edition of our College Newsletter. 

Thank you everyone, 

Aaron Smith 

College Principal  

Wheelers Hill Secondary College