From the Principal Class Team - St Albans Secondary College

Dear Parents and Families

As we mentioned in the last edition of ALBA, we have had a school wide focus on Prepared for Learning (PfL) throughout this semester.

PfL is about the attitudes, effort and behaviours that each student brings to their learning each lesson every day.

PfL relates to 5 key fundamentals that effective learners develop and demonstrate. These are:

Routines at school
Organisation
Positive relationships
Behaviour
Physical and mental readiness

Recently we have had a focus on Behaviour and Positive relationships, in particular. Student forums across all year levels highlighted some aspects of these two fundamentals that we all need to concentrate on in order to maintain high expectations and ensure that everyone feels supported, comfortable, and ready to learn.

Our teaching staff also discussed strategies to further strengthen Routines, Behaviour and Positive relationships.

We know that when we all work together with a common purpose and focus, we are much more likely to see the impact we want to have.

We appreciate the support that you as parents and family members provide in these areas, too. It makes such a difference for everyone.

Service to Education

During Education Week, we celebrated the Years of Service milestones of our teaching and education support staff to St Albans Secondary College, and to Victorian Government school education.

We are proud of each of these staff: of the impact they have had on the learning, pathways and lives of our young people; of their contribution to enriching our school community, and of their influence as educators in and on the government school system.

On behalf of the School Council, students and families, and colleagues, we congratulate and thank the following staff for their combined 613 years of service to the government system, and 255 years with St Albans Secondary College.

NAME	SASC – Length of services
Blum, Judith	10 years 10 months 1 days
Tran Caroline	10 years 10 months 19 days
McIntyre Owen	10 years 10 months 27 days
Le Phuc	10 years 7 months 19 days
Le Doris	15 years 10 months 17 days
Orchard James Anthony	15 years 10 months 26 days
Zelko Milka Emilia	15 years 5 months 1 days
Le Thanh Kim Thi	15 years 5 months 12 days
Brar Atarjit Kaur	15 years 8 months 21 days
Cadzow Lynette Jaye	15 years 9 months 11 days
Panteli Christine Andria	20 years 10 months 22 days
Veith Michelle	20 years 6 months 13 days
Vlasonjic Gloria	20 years 8 months 10 days
Lakovski Robert	25 years 1 months 20 days
Gough Laura J	30 years 0 months 23 days

NAME	DET – Length of services
Tran Caroline	10 years 10 months 19 days
McIntyre Owen	10 years 10 months 27 days
Gatt Leonard	10 years 11 months 20 days
Alexandrescu Andrei	10 years 3 months 5 days
Goldbaum Eli	10 years 7 months 3 days
Papagianopoulos Jennifer	10 years 9 months 8 days
Lynch Simon Gerard	15 years 0 months 20 days
Le Doris	15 years 10 months 17 days
Orchard James Anthony	15 years 10 months 26 days
Zelko Milka Emilia	15 years 5 months 1 days
Le Thanh Kim Thi	15 years 5 months 12 days
Brar Atarjit Kaur	15 years 8 months 21 days
Panteli Christine Andria	20 years 10 months 22 days
Hanley Angela	20 years 11 months 1 days
Hutchison Geoffrey	20 years 5 months 0 days
Lakovski Robert	25 years 4 months 9 days
Gleeson Paul	25 years 5 months 20 days
D’Aglas Nick	30 years 3 months 15 days
Orsini Mario	50 years 2 months 1 days

Farewells

At the end of this term, we reluctantly say farewell to two members of our teaching staff. Both Eli Goldbaum and Ashley O’Dowd are taking positions much closer to home, at McKinnon Secondary College and North Geelong Secondary College, respectively.

Eli commenced at St Albans in 2014 as a teacher of Science and Mathematics, and has taught senior Biology, Literate Practices and the GRIN numeracy program. He is passionate about Science education and has promoted programs to increase girls’ participation and in Science and STEM, in particular. His enthusiasm and commitment to our students and to his colleagues will be missed. But Eli will not miss the long drive to and from work each day, and we wish him all the very best in his new role at McKinnon.

Ashley has been a teacher of Mathematics here since 2018, and has also extended her work to being a Year Level Coordinator in the Middle Sub School. Her calm, compassionate approach to her students was a valued quality in both of these roles, as was her love of Mathematics. More recently Ashley has been on family leave, and is similarly swapping a long commute for something more manageable.

Our best wishes to Ashley for her work in education at North Geelong Secondary College, and heartfelt thanks to both Ashley and Eli for their contributions to our school.

Happy holidays to Carmel Castorina, Administration Office, Judy Blum, Business Manager, and to teaching staff members, Effie Goulas, and Jennifer Papagianopoulos for their leave for Term 3.

Welcome……….

…..to Phuong Le who joins us from the start of next term as a teacher in Biology and Science, replacing Eli Goldbaum. We look forward to welcoming Phuong back (she was formerly a student here) to St Albans as a teacher rather than in her former role as a student here.

…..and to Tom Nguyen who will take Jennifer Papagianopoulos’ classes for Semester 2.

We wish them well for their time here.

Congratulations……….

…..to Craig Jennings who will be appointed Acting Principal from 31 July (Week 4, Term 3) to 28 January 2024. Craig’s knowledge of the school, students and staff, his commitment to our community, and his leadership skills will stand him in good stead to lead the school.

I know you will join me in congratulating Craig and wishing him all the very best for this new role.

School Review – an invitation to have your say

As previously reported, 2023 is our year of self-evaluation and review. This process takes place for all government schools every 4 years. It is an opportunity for schools to evaluate their progress in student learning and wellbeing, to consider where they want to be, and to develop a plan to further improve in these areas.

The Review provides a time for students, staff and parents to have their say about the achievements, areas for improvement, and future directions for their school.

We would love to have you contribute. On Wednesday 10 July from 2:15 to 3:00pm, we will hold a parent focus group for parents who would like to contribute to our Review. If you are able to participate, call the school on 9366 2555, or send an email to st.albans.sc@education.vic.gov.au with the subject line “School Review” to register your attendance.

We hope to see you there.

Year 10 Proactive Programs

During Week 7, the Year 10 students participated in a proactive program which focused on developing personal, protective and social skills. This was a good change for the Year 10 students following exams and before heading off to work experience. Owen McIntyre (Middle Sub School Leader), when addressing the students at the start of the week, encouraged them to embrace the new learning of the week and consider how they could become more resilient and reflective about their choices. Students were encouraged to set personal goals around learning, organisation and communication.

Over the 3 days, students participated in a range of workshops from personal safety to poetry, and it was lovely to see them taking on the challenge and participating so enthusiastically. Thank you to Owen McIntyre and Andrei Alexandrescu for their leadership of the program and to all the staff who assisted by preparing or supervising workshops.

Semester 1 Reports

Years 7-11 semester reports are now available on Compass. If your child is in Years 7-11, you will notice their report now includes an effort goal which was set at the beginning of the term. This is an important step in your child taking responsibility and being proactive about what they need to do to improve their learning. At the start of next term, students will set a new effort goal so we encourage families to have a conversation about what that goal might be considering the feedback from the current reports.

Year 12 Exams

Year 12 VCE students will sit practice exams during the first and second week of the holidays. A timetable for these is available on Compass. All students doing a scored VCE must attend, and those doing an unscored VCE must attend if they are told to by their teachers for authentication purposes.

IDAHOBIT Day

On May 17, the College acknowledged the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT Day). This is a very important part of our school calendar as it is a time where we stop and celebrate diversity and call out discrimination towards members of the LGBTIQ+ community. IDAHOBIT Day is also a time where we publicly stand beside our LGBTIQ+ colleagues, mates and students with a clear message… “We stand with you!” on the day the Wellbeing Team and VCE-VM students orgnaised a lunchtime pride day. Students also explored the importance of IDAHOBIT day and completed activities in their English classes.

Data from the Victorian summary of the Writing Themselves In report (Hill AO, Lyons A, Jones J, McGowan I, Carman M, Parsons M, Power J, Bourne A, 2020) revealed the following in relation to LGBTIQ+ young people in Victoria:

More than three-fifths (62.1%) of participants at secondary school felt unsafe or uncomfortable due to their sexuality, or gender identity in the past 12 months
Approximately two-fifths (38.3%) of secondary school students reported missing day/s at their educational setting in the past 12 months because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable
Approximately three-fifths (59.7%) of participants at secondary school reported that they frequently heard negative remarks regarding sexuality at their educational setting during the past 12 months
Seven-tenths (70.8%) of secondary school participants reported hearing negative language about gender identity or gender expression sometimes or frequently in the past 12 months at their educational setting
Approximately one-quarter (24.1%) of all participants and 23.2% of those aged 16-17 had attempted suicide in their lifetimes. This is more than four times the proportion observed in studies of the general population aged 16–17.
Approximately two-fifths (39.0%) of all participants reported self-harming in the past 12 months, and over three fifths (60.7%) reported having ever self-harmed.

This data reveals that, as a wider community, there are still issues LGBTQ+ young people face and we all have a role in making our school and wider community a safer and more inclusive space.

National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week

The College commemorated National Sorry Day on Friday 26 May by holding a flag raising ceremony. National Sorry Day is a day of commemoration and remembrance for members of the Stolen Generations – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families, communities and cultures between the 1800s and the 1970s.

National Sorry Day also marks the start of National Reconciliation Week. During this week, our students had the opportunity to be involved in a range of activities. In their Humanities and Arts classes, students learned about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and achievements, and explored how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for National Reconciliation Week this year was: “Be a voice for generations.” The theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, act today for a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

100 Days of Success

To celebrate 100 days of VCE success for our Year 11 students, the College held a celebration on 21 June. This was a time for all of our Year 11 students to come together and celebrate the first 100 days of their progress in their Senior school journey. The celebration afternoon was held in the Performing Arts Building and involved the presentation of a number of student awards as well as entertainment and refreshments. It was a fantastic afternoon, worthy of the hard work of these students.

Athletics Carnival

All Years 7 to 9 and many Year 10 students attended our annual Athletics Carnival at the Keilor Athletics Track on Friday 12 May. The weather was lovely and many students participated in the events, including House events throughout the day.

We are delighted to announce Rosewall House as the 2023 Athletics Carnival champions.

While Irwin dominated the track events, Rosewall secured the win with significant points garnered in the field events, demonstrating their well-rounded skills and commitment. Thank you to all who contributed and participated, making it a fantastic and enjoyable day.

Final scores were:

Congratulations to Rosewall House and to Rob Lakovski and the Health and Physical Education Learning Area for organising and running this event.

Work Experience

Year 10 undertook Work Experience from 8 – 16 June. Students secured employment in a wide range of businesses, some local and others further afield. We know that this experience greatly assists students to develop essential skills linked to time management and independence. This year we again ran a program at school for those unable to secure a work placement. This involved resume and cover letter writing, investigating a range of careers, Q and A sessions with alumni, and other activities related to work places and securing employment.

Congratulations to the Careers Team for the running of the onsite program and also for the wonderful job they did in supporting the students to find employment and complete their OHS tasks to enable them to participate in a work placement.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our employers for their support for our students, the students for their efforts to gain a work placement, and the staff for supporting the program and visiting students, or supporting the running of the work experience sessions at school. We also thank Nicole Gurd for organising the alumni presentations, and the alumni who gave up their time to present to students, answer their questions and provide feedback on their resumes and cover letters.

It was a very worthwhile program for all of Year 10 who took part either in a placement at a workplace, or onsite to complete the school based program. This association with businesses helps us to build and maintain these valuable connections and contributes to the building of the broader school community.

Student feedback from the Term 1 Rotary Camp

A little while ago in March, 3 other SASC students and I went on a rotary RYPENS (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) camp to Doxa’s Malmsbury Camp. Going to a strange place without knowing anyone was incredibly daunting. I was totally unaware of what we were in for, but am glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. This camp wasn’t like one I’d previously been on. It wasn’t just a fun weekend to do a bunch of crazy and daring activities, but was a leadership, team building and problem solving camp with interesting and interactive workshops. Being a usually very introverted person, I took this as an opportunity to talk to more people and step outside of my comfort zone. And the camp allowed me to do just that. Here I was also able to meet 26 or so other people from places throughout Victoria that I hadn’t even heard of. Everyone was amazing and after the experience I felt like my confidence had grown a bit and I knew myself better. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true! I would totally recommend the Rotary Doxa camp to any Year 10 or 11s interested in an exciting opportunity to make new friends and grow as a person. By the way, everything was free! – Andrew 10E

We are very grateful to the Rotary Club for sponsoring students from our school to attend such worthwhile events that help build student capacity in so many ways. We advertise these camps via Compass when they are available so students can request to attend.

Year 8 Proactive programs – Man Cave and Flourish Girl

We had two proactive programs that ran in the last week of term for Year 8 students to assist them to navigate the transition to adulthood designed specifically for each gender as a way to share stories and grow as individuals.

The Flourish Girl and Man Cave programs are designed to provide a safe space for students to develop the social and emotional tools they need to connect deeper with themselves and with their friends. It was run by facilitators with support from school staff in groups of around 40 students.

The program provided a timely forum for student connections and provided a guide to have open discussions to work through current issues in a supportive environment.