It has been a great start to Term 3, with lots of celebrations and events that showcase the work of the senior students. It has also been a busy term, with students completing their SACs/ATs and starting intense preparation for their end-of-year exams and portfolio presentations.

On Wednesday 17 July, Mr. Jennings and I attended the Premier’s VCE Awards at the Melbourne Convention Centre to support Kelly Lam, who was honoured with a prestigious award for her outstanding results in Unit 3 and 4 Biology. Receiving such an accolade from Premier Jacinta Allan is a testament to Kelly’s dedication and exceptional skills in the subject. Congratulations, Kelly—we are incredibly proud of your achievement!

We would also like to congratulate VCE VM students, Vuk VUJATOVIC and Charli CANTRILL-RYALL, who were selected from their VET class to compete in the statewide VET World Skills Competition in Automotive at Copperfield College. Both students represented the school exceptionally well and received 3^rd and 4^th place, respectively. Congratulations, Vuk and Charli!

Our senior students continued to showcase their hospitality skills at the Community Partners Breakfast on Wednesday 7 August. The Community Partners Breakfast is important event in the College calendar, where we recognise and celebrate the organisations and business who contribute in various ways to our College community. Our Year 11 VET Certificate II in Cookery students put on a delicious banquet and the Year 12 VCE VM students ran the barista and drinks service. Angela (Wren) Truong and Marko Majstorovic spoke eloquently about their experiences in the VCE VM program and the positive impact organisations have on their experience in VCE VM. Well done to all the students involved and thank you to Mr Stammers and Ms Karner for working with our students and running such a successful event. 

 

The CPR theme, “Believe and Succeed,” is especially fitting at this time of the year for our senior students. We will be holding our traditional ‘Motivational lunch’ with our Year 12 students on Wednesday the 14 August. The Year 12 students will reflect on their goals as Year 7 students. We will welcome back a previous St Albans Secondary College student, who will speak to the students about their experiences. Students will be given a pizza lunch, while they enjoy musical performances from our talented music students. Students will also receive “motivation awards” for their effort, enthusiasm, support of their peers and consistent hard work.

The Wellbeing team, in collaboration with the Sub School, has been actively organising workshops to help Year 11 and 12 students build their confidence, manage stress and anxiety during exam preparation, and to aid Year 12 students in their transition to increased independence. A schedule of events and sign-up information will be available on Compass next week. We encourage all students to participate to enhance their toolbox of wellbeing strategies.

Year 12 VCE VM students have been busy preparing for the National Day of Action Against Bullying on 16 August, Youth Day on 21 August, Wear it Purple Day on 30 August, and R U Ok Day? on 13 September. We encourage students to join in the plethora of fun activities they have organised for the school community. They will also be preparing their portfolios for their final interviews in the coming weeks.

Year 12 Term 3 progress reports are now available for viewing on the student and parent portals. Year level coordinators will be meeting with parents or contacting home if there are any concerns. Year 11 progress reports will be available on 16 August.

All Unit 4 coursework will be completed in Week 8. As the VCE exams are just around the corner, we encourage our students to use the skills they have learned in note-making and other study techniques to start preparing for their final exams. As a guide, students should be studying for 3 to 4 hours each night, with short breaks in between study sessions. We request parents/guardians to support their child by providing a quiet space to work, with minimal disruptions where possible.

If students would like support with exam or portfolio preparation, please do not hesitate to speak to your teachers, or see us in the Senior Sub School.

We welcome parents/guardians to contact us on 9366 2555 if they have any queries or concerns about their child. 

 

 

Ms Marlene Cassar – Senior Sub School Leader