Student Leadership and Extension Opportunities
As part of our support for our students’ leaders, a number of them participated in a Leadership conference at Overnewton College. Feedback from the students was very positive, and they developed their skills and knowledge to contribute to our student leadership team. Thank you to Mr Nguyen for his organisation of this opportunity.
A number of students also participated in the Mondel United Nations event at the Centre for Higher Education Studies in South Yarra. Thank you to Mr Uhl for organising this event.
Brimbank-Melton Principal Forum
The Principal Team attended the Brimbank-Melton Principal Forum on Tuesday 17 March and there was a presentation by a student panel who had attended the ‘Igniting Ambitions’ days run by the Koorie Education Support Office. The session was mediated by Michael McCartney our Koorie Education Support Officer and we were represented on this panel by one of our First nations students, Kendra Batty-Mowlam in Year 11. You can see more about Kendra’s participation in this event in the Senior Sub School page of this newsletter. Congratulations to Kendra for her representation in both the Igniting Ambitions program and participation in this panel, presenting to approximately 300 Principal Class staff. A great achievement.
Grade 6 Information Night
We recently held our annual Grade 6 Parent Information Night at the College for prospective 2027 students.
It was a great turn out, with approximately 350 people in attendance. Parents were provided with information about the school, then led on tours by student leaders where they got to experience activities run by different Key Learnings, as well look around at the facilities. Feedback from participants was very positive.
Thank you to the organisers of the night, Mr Brown and Mr Rowland. Thank you also to all the of the staff who attended and supported the evening in many ways.
Parent-Teacher Interviews – Wednesday 1 April
Please book now on the Compass parent portal for Parent-Teacher Interviews, which are happening on Wednesday 1 April.
Important Information:
- No regular classes – students attend with their parent/guardian.
Interview Sessions:
- 1:00pm – 3:30pm
- 4:30pm – 7:00pm
Interpreter Support:
- Available at the library on arrival.
- Limited availability – if possible, bring a family member or friend to assist.
Booking Info:
- Opens: 3:30pm Friday 13 March
- Closes: 3:30pm Tuesday 31 March
- See attached document for staff list, room locations, and map to plan your interviews.
Need help? Call the school office: 9366 2555 (8:15am–4:15pm)
More information including maps are available on Compass. We look forward to seeing you and celebrating your child’s progress!
Year 9 Excursion Success at Funfields
We would like to congratulate our Year 9 students on a fantastic excursion to Funfields. Throughout the day, students demonstrated excellent behaviour, representing the school with pride. They showed respect, responsibility, and maturity in all aspects of the trip. It was especially pleasing to see the way students supported and encouraged one another, ensuring everyone had an enjoyable and inclusive experience. Their positive attitude and teamwork made the day a great success for all involved. Well done to our Year 9 cohort, you should be very proud of the way you conducted yourselves. We look forward to many more successful excursions in the future.
Curriculum Day
We held our first Curriculum Day for the year on Wednesday 25th March, with a strong focus on the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0). This updated model places student learning at the centre, emphasising how students acquire, process and retain knowledge, and how teaching practices can be intentionally designed to support this.
A key feature of VTLM 2.0 is its alignment to evidence-based understandings of how students learn. It recognises that learning occurs most effectively when new knowledge is explicitly taught, carefully sequenced, and reinforced over time. Students benefit from clear explanations, modelling, guided practice, and timely feedback, which help reduce cognitive overload and support the transfer of knowledge into long-term memory. The model also highlights the importance of creating safe, orderly and supportive classroom environments, where positive relationships and consistent routines enable students to focus on learning.
We were pleased to welcome back Glen Pearsall, who works across Australia as an educational consultant specialising in feedback and assessment, reducing teacher workload, and improving instructional practice. Glen’s presentations focused on explicit teaching strategies and positive classroom management—both key pillars of VTLM 2.0. He emphasised how clear instruction, well-structured lessons, and purposeful practice directly support student learning, while effective classroom management maximises learning time and student engagement.
Throughout the day, teachers engaged in a range of workshops led by colleagues, allowing them to explore specific, practical teaching strategies aligned to the model. These sessions reinforced the idea that when teachers understand how students learn, they can make more deliberate decisions about how they teach—such as breaking content into manageable steps, checking for understanding, and providing targeted feedback.
To further embed these practices, teachers set individual and team goals, developed action plans, and engaged in professional discussions about how to implement and sustain these approaches in their classrooms. This collaborative focus ensures that the principles of VTLM 2.0 are not only understood but consistently applied to improve student learning outcomes across the school.
Importantly, much of this work is not new for our staff. We are well placed to implement VTLM 2.0, having already established a strong pedagogical model and a clear Teaching and Learning Guarantee that underpins our practice. Our recent work in School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) has also strengthened our focus on consistent expectations, positive classroom environments, and student engagement. Together, these foundations mean we are building on existing strengths, ensuring a smooth and purposeful transition to this updated model.
Senior School Parent Information Evenings
Thank you to all families who attended the Year 11 and Year 12 Parent Information Evening. There is a great deal to understand about the VCE VM, particularly in relation to expectations and satisfactory completion. These sessions covered important information regarding VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) requirements and provided practical tips on how best to support your child during their final years of schooling.
Progress Reports
Progress Reports have now been published on Compass. We encourage you to review these with your child and bring any questions you may have to the Parent/Teacher interviews on Wednesday 1 April.
Year 7 Expo
It was lovely to see so many parents and families attend our annual Year 7 Expo held on the evening of Tuesday 24 February.
Families were treated to classroom experiences and samples of student work from their core subjects of English, Humanities, Mathematics, Science and LOTE (Japanese or Italian). Thank you to the Junior Sub School for organising the evening and for the Year 7 students who came with their families to showcase what they have been doing so far this year. We also thank the classroom teachers for overseeing the room decorations and presentations on the evening. We thank all the families who provided feedback, this is collected to make improvements for the future. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive and supportive with parents appreciating the opportunity to see their child’s home room and the work they have completed on display and to hear about the work they take part in for their classes.
These parent information sessions are run across the year for each Year Level, and it is wonderful that so many families support these events as it is an opportunity for us to build connections as a school community. It also provides an opportunity to gain parent perspectives and for students to share experiences that support their learning with their parents.
