From the Principal Class Team
Dear Parents and Families
It has been really lovely this last week to feel some warmth in the air and to see the blossom coming out on the trees. Zahid Hussain, our Groundsperson, is doing a wonderful job of maintaining a beautiful environment for all of us to enjoy, including by planting over one hundred additional plants before the holidays. Thanks, Zahid!
Welcome……
To several staff who have joined us this term: Alishia D’Souza is teaching Mathematics; and Jeffrey Ji has joined the Humanities Department. Ly Tran joins the Individual Needs Team as a Teacher Assistant. Kathy Bunce will continue as a Library Technician for Term 4; and Sophie Pearce is the new Assistant in the Junior Sub School. Dino Camilli will commence his role as Maintenance Officer at the start of Term 4. It is a pleasure to welcome Alisha, Jeffrey Ly, Kathy, Sophie, and Dino. We wish them all the very best for their time at St Albans Secondary College.
Farewell……
At the end of this term, we say farewell to Giuliano Lasco. Giuliano has taught Italian and Science here over the last 4 and a half years, and his students and colleagues, alike, have recognised and valued his expertise in both subject areas.
On behalf of the School Council, our thanks and appreciation to Giuliano for his contribution to our school, and the LOTE and Science programs.
Western Metropolitan Regional Athletics Championships!
The school Athletics team travelled to Keilor Park Athletics Stadium this week to participate in the Western Metroplitan Regional Athletics Championships. The stakes were high – winners of individual and team events qualify for the State Finals at Albert Park in Term 4.
In a fantastic achievement, we had three students qualify in individual events for the State Finals. What makes this even more extraordinary is the fact that the three students were all part of the same family. Faith, Divine and Hope Villi all dominated their Shot Put and Discus events to claim first position. Another notable achievement was the Girls U’14 4 x 100 metre relay team who finished in 2nd place to Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Nifemi Olatunbosun of 9G also impressed claiming third place in the U’14 Girls 100 and 200m. These results helped propel our school into the top ten schools in our region, which is an excellent achievement.
Congratulations to the team members, to Robert Lakovski, and to all the staff involved in training the Athletics Team.
Full results are as follows:
Lisi Faatamala 8E -4th U’15 Girls Discus
Puna Anau 8E -4th U’15 Girls Shot Put
Jackie Dinh 9L -5th U’14 Girls Long Jump
-7th U’14 Girls 400m
Kim Nguyen 8I -8th U’14 Girls 800m
Peter Bui 10 -4th U’16 Boys Long Jump
Rahima Muradi 9J -4th U’15 Girls Javelin
Grace Murray 8A -4th U’14 Girls 200m
Nifemi Olatunbosun 9G –3rd U’14 Girls 100m
-3rd U’14 Girls 200m
Chahat Sidhu 7K -8th U’13 Girls 800m
Divine Villi 9K -1st U’15 Boys Shotput
-4th U’15 Boys Javelin
-1st U’15 Boys Discus
Faith Villi 11F -1st U’17 Girls Discus
-1st U’17 Girls Shot Put
Hope Villi 8A -1st U’14 Girls Shot Put
U’14 Girls 4 x 100m RELAY TEAM: 2nd place. Only beaten by Maribyrnong Secondary College
Jackie Dinh 9L
Tracey Tran 8J
Grace Murray 8A
Nifemi Olatunbosum 9G
MAC is back!
It is impossible to imagine a more spectacular return of MAC after 3 years than The Lion King Jr. What a fabulous show it was! It is equally impossible to do justice to the talent, hard work and sheer delight of the performance in words. Everything about it – the acting, singing, dancing, costumes and make up, music, sets and of course, the technical and back stage suppport, as well as the front of house crew – was beautiful to look at and listen to, and so well executed.
On behalf of the School Council and staff, congratulations and deepest thanks to Janet, McKenzie, Nick D’Aglas, Melrose Tran, and James Orchard for their leadership of this year’s MAC team; to all the staff who supported them and participated in many ways to make the show such a success; and to the talented cast and crew for a stunning MAC, 2022.
Youth Day
Our annual Youth Day activities made a return this year on Friday 19 August. Organised by the Year 12 VCAL class, there was a range of activities and food available for the school. These included face painting, ball toss, fairy floss and ice cream to name a few. Entertainment was provided by the Year 12 VET Music class, who performed outside the Hospitality Centre. Well done to the students for organising and running the event, and to the VCAL staff for their support of the students.
Year 12 VCE Practice Exams
Students completing Unit 3 and 4 VCE exams will be required to sit practice exams during the holidays. Attendance at these exams is compulsory, and will be used by teachers to help authenticate student work. Exams will be held in Nindethana, and a timetable is posted on Compass. If you have any questions please contact the Senior Sub School.
Year 9 City Experience
It was wonderful to have the return of the City Experience this year for Year 9 students. City Experience has not been able to run as a full program over the last couple of years due to restrictions and lockdowns. The success of the week was largely due to the enthusiasm of both staff and the Year 9 students who arrived at Federation Square each morning with a positive energy and openness for what the day would feature. It was a diverse program of events enabling our students to explore some of the features our eclectic city has to offer.
We thank all staff who supported the event, those who attended or assisted with planning, as well as those behind the scenes following up forms and calling parents. We had close to 100% attendance, an amazing effort. Special thanks to Mr Louis Turner for his leadership of this week long event, as well as to the Year 9 Humanities team and Middle Sub School.
The City Experience is one of the many events that are part of our school calendar and assist with building the culture of the school aligned with our theme of Connect, Protect and Respect. Well done to all involved. You can see more on City Experience later in this newsletter.
Year 10 Speed Careering
We also welcomed back our Year 10 Speed Careering event for 2022 after two years of cancellations. Our students were fortunate to have a broad range of presenters attend the day who were able to outline the roles and responsibilities of different careers and provide students the scope to consider potential careers beyond those they may be familiar with.
As well as local businesses and specialised consultants, students gained insights into career opportunities provided by the Defence and Police Forces, local council and community health providers, and organisations such as the Smith Family and ABCN. Having representatives from pathway providers further developed students’ understanding of apprenticeships, traineeships, and tertiary courses that link to a wide range of career options.
There were sessions on creating resumes and cover letters and making a good impression during interviews. These sessions enabled students to gain confidence in applying for positions and knowing what to include in job applications.
We thank all our guests for supporting our students and providing information about their own journeys. The sessions assisted students to recognise the value of networking and establishing contacts to aid career development. Thanks to Mr Adrian McCall and Ms Lynda Vo for their work in putting together a comprehensive guest list and program for the day. The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive and it was clear they appreciated the information they gained from taking part in the sessions.
Wear it Purple Day
On 26 August, the College Celebrated Wear it Purple Day. This day is about showing LGBTIQA+ young people that they have the right to be proud of who they are. It is about creating safe spaces in schools, universities, workplaces and public spaces to show LGBTIQA+ young people that they are seen and supported. At our school this is fundamental to all students feeling Connected Protected and Respected; and we all play a role!
This year the theme for Wear It Purple Day 2022 was ‘still me, still human’; the message being that people tend to focus on labels, the news story, the target or data and forget what we truly are – human.
To celebrate and show support, teachers and staff wore purple for their classes and meetings. Teachers shared with students the importance of this day and its theme with classes and completed class activities. We also held a lunch time celebration with stickers and music.
R U OK? Day
The 8 and 9 of September was R U OK? Day.
R U OK? Day is a national day of action when we remind Australians that every day is the day to ask, ‘are you OK?’ and start a meaningful conversation whenever they spot the signs that someone they care about might be struggling with life. It is also a timely reminder that R U OK Day isn’t just one day. For meaningful change, RUOK Day is also about reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and making R U OK?, part of your everyday.
To acknowledge this day, we held an R U OK? morning tea for staff, had R U OK? dancers at lunchtime as well as an R U OK? market with external providers, sharing their expertise and give ways with students. Finally, our VCAL students created a presentation for classes on how to support each other and ask “R U OK?”
The R U OK? charity inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with those in their world who may be struggling with life. You don’t need to be an expert to reach out – just a good friend and a great listener.
Use these four steps and have a conversation that could change a life:
- Ask R U OK?
- Listen
- Encourage action
- Check in
End of Term Arrangements
Term 3 ends on Friday 16 September and school finishes at 2.30pm on that day. Please note that the start of Term 4 is Monday 3 October.
And finally……
This year has been challenging for us, and for schools, generally. It is fair to say that we underestimated the demands that returning to face to face learning and teaching, particularly with so much illness still in the community, would place on us. We had to learn what it means to be together as a community in a new context; to transition from a more privatised, individual way of working, and learning to being with and accommodating many other peers and colleagues. We have had to cope with significant illness of staff, students and family members, and manage the disruption and impact of that; and we have had to manage uncertainty about our own health. It has been tiring, unrelenting work for everyone. But now, at last, the pressure seems to be easing a little.
We are so proud of the efforts of everyone in our school community to work, learn and lead through this challenge. Several staff have commented recently, for example, on how well their Year 12 classes are applying themselves to their study – such an achievement after the last two years. And the week before last, we hosted a visit of 12 leaders from The University High School interested in learning more about our programs and approaches to teaching and leadership. They toured the school and were very impressed by how focused our students were on their learning in each class they visited. From my own perspective, I meet regularly with the SRC executive members, and am inspired by their commitment to our school, to their peers, and to improving everyone’s experience here. These are just a few examples of the many things we have to be proud of and thankful for about our school.
Thank you for your role in helping us to achieve this.
We wish our students and staff an enjoyable and relaxing break over the holidays and look forward to seeing you next term.
I will be on leave for the first week of Term 4, and Craig Jennings will be Acting Principal for this time.
