Principal's Report

Dear students, teachers, and parents,

Welcome to Term 2. I hope everyone had a restful break and is ready for another term of learning and growth. As we begin this new term, I want to remind everyone of the high expectations we have for ourselves and each other. We expect our students to work hard, be responsible, and strive for excellence in all areas of their lives.

This term, we are excited to offer many learning opportunities to our students. We have planned several educational and fun activities that will challenge and inspire our students, including  Year 7 camp, field trips, guest speakers, and special projects. We believe that by providing these unique experiences, we can help our students develop a love for learning both in and out of the classroom. A reminder to all students of our lunchtime Clubs, these include  Chess, Basketball, Soccer, Badminton to name a few. There is a new Club – Equine Club commencing next week, that has been initiated by Allyssa one of our Year 7 students.

Last week, we commemorated and honoured the sacrifices made by our service members. Our students participate in various activities to learn about the significance of this day and show our respect for those who have served our country. Our student leaders led the assembly they were supported by History Teacher Mr Geoff Shinkfield. Our special guests included Indigenous elder Uncle Eric Edwards, Mr Ray Heathcote from the Berwick RSL and Mr Luke Delutis School Council President.  Thank you to Ms Gabi Phelan for her leadership and to Ms Georgia Riley, Domain Leader for Humanities. 

Recently, students and staff voted on House Mascots. I am pleased to announce the following;

Students are now encouraged to submit Mascot designs.  We hope to unveil the final designs later this term. 

Currently, House Teams are busy calculating the accumulated House points to date. Next Monday 8th May at our House Athletics carnival there are many additional opportunities to add House points and to claim the House Athletics Cup for 2023. I look forward to seeing students striving to be their best and displaying sportsmanship like behaviour and fantastic House spirit. May the best team win! 

This week, many of our senior students sat a practice GAT (General Achievement Tests), all students studying a VCE Unit 3 & 4 and all final year Vocational Major students are required to sit the GAT later this Term.  An exposure to a practice GAT provides students with the opportunity to become familiar with the type and style of questions.  Our Year 9 students participated in the Morrisby Testing. This is an exercise where the students answer a series of questions to gauge their own personal strengths and interest. The Morrisby Report is a very useful tool that is used by career practitioners to help guide discussions with students about potential career pathways.

This week we also hosted the leadership team from Lake Yuggeranong College, Canberra. They have heard of the great work that is happening at our college and have come to see first-hand and to consider ideas  as their design strategies to improve their college. 

Over the holiday break, building work continued.  Work has commenced to complete the under covered walkway that will connect the Walton Building. Excavation work started to address some of the flooding concerns. The Wellbeing Centre and Science building upgrades are all progressing.  In addition, during the break, we have recently installed and will implement from next week, a new toilet system to address safety and damage concerns. This new system has been introduced in other local schools and will provide a safe and hygienic environment for our students, while also reducing the need for costly repairs. 

Our goals for this term are to uphold our school values of Respect, Learning, and Working Together while maintaining high levels of attendance. We believe that by working together, we can create a positive and supportive learning environment that encourages our students to reach their full potential.

I want to thank our parents for their ongoing support and commitment to our school. We look forward to another successful term and continuing our partnership with you in the education of young people.

Finally, I am excited welcome the following new staff to our college.

• Leading Teacher (Literacy Improvement)- Ms Teagan Spence 
• Education Support 
  ( Communication/Marketing/Alumni)- 
  Ms Bec Leahy

Regards

Wayne Haworth

Principal