Principal's Report

Welcome Back to Term 2

I would like to warmly welcome back all our students and families to Term 2. I hope that everyone had the opportunity over the last few weeks to relax and reenergise.  

I would also like to welcome our new staff members who will be joining us this term at Lilydale Heights College. 

New staff

Ms Emily Clancy – Maths

Mr Josh Conallin – Product Design

Mr Nick King  - AFL Trainee

Ms Azusa Matono - Japanese Language Assistant

I believe that we are extremely fortunate at Lilydale Heights College to have such an incredible staff and it is exciting to welcome Ms Clancy, Mr Conallin, Mr King and Ms Matono to the team.   

Learning Focus 

‘Excellence: Challenging yourself to achieve your best’. 

Our College Value of ‘Excellence’ is our key learning focus for 2023. This requires us all to have a mindset that is focused on consistent improvement, striving to achieve growth in our learning each day. Term 2 is a great opportunity for students to reflect upon their learning progress from Term 1 and establish their own learning goals for Term 2. 

Prior to the school holidays, students and families had the opportunity to meet with teachers at the Parent Student Teacher Conferences and discuss how students were progressing in each of their subjects. Each family was also provided with their child’s Progress Report (via Compass) which indicated how students were progressing with:

• Showing improvement in learning (Excellence)
• Demonstrating effort (Excellence)
• Supporting the learning of others (Respect)
• Displaying positive behaviour (Respect)
• Maximising learning opportunities (Responsibility)

It is important that the focus of the discussions held at the Conferences and the information gained from the Progress Reports continues to inform how students approach their learning in Term 2. 

Consider the positive outcomes from the Conferences/Progress Reports. How can students continue to build in these areas and use their strengths to assist them with their learning?

What were some of the areas that needed additional focus? Have students considered how they could address these this term? Is there someone at the College that students can seek assistance from to help them? If students are finding something challenging, consider approaching the task/skill with a growth mindset. Change your thinking from ‘I can’t do this’ to ‘I can’t do this yet.’

What supports can be put in place at home to support students with their learning?  Do students have a homework schedule which will enable them to complete their CAT’s, homework tasks and revision?

This will look different for every student, however, the key is not to forget what was indicated in the Progress Reports or discussed at the Parent Student Teacher Conferences. Rather, use the information gained from these discussions and reports to set personal learning goals and implement strategies that challenge students to achieve their best. 

Berry Street Education Model

In 2022, staff at Lilydale Heights College started their learning journey of the Berry Street Education Model by completing two days of professional learning. The Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) enables schools to support students’ self-regulation, relationships and wellbeing to increase student engagement and significantly improve academic achievement. The first two days of the BSEM training were extremely successful and resulted in staff implementing a range of new strategies within their classrooms to support the learning and wellbeing of students. 

We will be undertaking the final two days of the BSEM training this year. The first of these days will be on Monday 22nd May.  This will be a Student Free Day to enable staff to be involved in the professional learning module facilitated by Berry Street. We are excited to continue our learning of Berry Street and know that this will have a positive impact on all our students. 

We have another big term ahead full of learning, excursions, incursions, sport, Athletics Carnival, Valleydale Café, Work Experience, National Reconciliation Week, Production rehearsals, Mid-Year Showcase, Exams and the GAT (just to name a few!) 

Have a wonderful Term 2. I am looking forward to continuing to work with students, families and staff to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to achieve their best.