PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Relay For Life – Congratulations to Our Year 10 students
We are thrilled to share with you the outstanding achievement of four of our Year 10 students, who recently organised a successful Relay For Life fundraiser for cancer research.
The students, Riley, Lily, Shinay and Nash, took on the ambitious task of organising this event, which was held on March 17 and 18 at Polwarth Oval. They worked tirelessly for several months, gathering volunteers, seeking sponsorship, and coordinating with local businesses to make the event a success.
Their hard work and dedication paid off in a big way, as the fundraiser brought together hundreds of participants and raised over $16,300 for the cancer research charity. The event included a variety of activities, including the relay itself, live music, raffle, and a silent auction.
We are incredibly proud of these four fine young people and all of the hard work they put into this fundraiser. Not only did they successfully raise funds for a fantastic cause, but they also showed what can be achieved when a group of dedicated individuals work together towards a common goal.
These four students attended the School for Student Leadership in term 3 of 2022, and getting the Relay For Life operating in the community again was their community leadership project that they decided to embark on upon their return. We are currently interviewing our current Year 9 students to determine who will be fortunate to attend this opportunity in term 3 of this year. We cannot wait to see what ideas they also bring back from this fabulous experience that our College offers.
This group’s achievement is a true testament to the importance of community involvement and the power of young people to make a real difference in the world. We hope that their efforts will inspire others to take on similar initiatives and make a positive impact in their own communities.
We want to extend a huge congratulations to Ms Georgina Sheens who supported the students through this process and is an excellent role model for all of our students. We also want to thank and all of the participants, volunteers, sponsors and supporters who helped to make this fundraiser a success. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to this important cause.
English Excellence Program Starts
We are excited to announce the launch of the English Excellence Program for Year 12 VCE students at our school. This program aims to support our high-achieving students in striving for their best possible results in English, a key subject for success in tertiary education and beyond.
We are thrilled to have 30 students participating in this program, which commenced this week. We ran this program for the first time in 2022 and had some of our best VCE results during that year.
The program will run over the course of the year and will provide students with additional learning and support from renowned English specialist, Ross Huggard.
We believe that this program will not only benefit our students in achieving their academic goals, but also in developing important skills such as critical thinking, communication, and creativity, which are valuable in all aspects of life.
Whilst not all students can be involved in this program, our English staff have found that their learning through involvement in working with Ross is translating to new skills to be shared with all students.
We are excited to see the progress and achievements of our Year 12 students in English, and we wish them all the best in their studies. We are confident that they will make the most of this opportunity to excel in their academic pursuits.
Respect for each other and school property – safety in the school toilets
Last week I communicated that we had closed the student toilet blocks for one day to support some works to be done to repair some damage and also to enable some quotations to be done for some renovations/changes that are to take place to toilet facilities in the College.
We understand that school toilets can sometimes be a source of frustration for students, with concerns around cleanliness, privacy, and safety. To address these concerns, we have implemented a number of measures to ensure that our toilets are safe, hygienic, and accessible to all students.
It appears that more than has been the case in the past, more students are congregating in toilet areas, possibly where they feel that they are away from teacher supervision. This has resulted in some students feeling reluctant to enter the toilets in case they find a large group of others in there, or we have found litter being left behind in large amounts after groups are asked to vacate a space.
This year, the College has enacted new methods of monitoring the toilets at break times to ensure that they are being used appropriately and respectfully. We have CCTV cameras in most areas where toilets are to ensure that any inappropriate behavior or vandalism can be quickly identified and addressed.
However, we are still spending far too much time addressing behaviour in the toilets than we wish to.
We believe that it is important for our students to understand that our school property, including our toilets, is a shared resource that should be respected and taken care of. We ask that our students take responsibility for their own actions and help us to maintain a safe and clean learning environment for all.
We encourage our students to report any concerns or issues that they may have around our school toilets to their Learning Community Leader, so that we can address them promptly and effectively.
Any student who is caught behaving in an unsafe or disrespectful manner in the toilet facilities will be given a consequence for not meeting College expectations. We are also, as per my communications last week, planning to change the exterior structure of some toilet blocks so that students will still be able to use the toilet cubicles in a private manner but the ability to congregate will be eliminated.
We appreciate the School Council’s support with this decision.
We hope you have a great Easter break!
Erin Wright
College Principal