Mr John Eckel – Woodwork Teacher
From the Principal Class Team
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Welcome Back to Term 3
We have some new staff joining us for this term. Welcome to David Logue, Prahkar Verma.
We also have some staff returning from some longer-term leave.
Welcome back to:
- Melrose Tran
- Marlene Cassar
- Tracey D’Elton
- Amila Kalco
- Stella Hunter
- Nicola Le’Toille
- Patrick Bruce
Congratulations to Deniz Daymen (Class of ’24) on his VCE Premier’s Award for Economics.
100 Days of Success – Year 11
At the end of Term Two, we celebrated a significant milestone, our Year 11 students’ 100 days of success in their senior school journey. The event recognised the dedication and achievements of our students with a range of awards, delicious catering, and vibrant entertainment from student bands and the talented illusionist Duck Cameron. Throughout the year, our Year 11 cohort has shown remarkable commitment to developing the skills, mindset, and resilience needed for success in Year 12 and beyond. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and look forward to seeing all they will accomplish in the future.
Celebrating Strong Attendance and a Continued Focus on Success
Congratulations to the 300+ students who achieved 100% attendance in Semester 1! These students were recognised with extra house points and enjoyed a celebratory sausage sizzle and extended lunch break in recognition of their commitment. Students with attendance above 95%, and all those who met our minimum benchmark of 90%, also earned house points for their efforts.
At our school, attendance and punctuality remain key priorities because we know that attending every day and being on time are among the most important factors for student success. Every minute in class matters: being late disrupts learning, impacts others, and undermines the development of strong habits. Just 10 minutes late each day adds up to over 17 days of lost learning across 13 years of school. Missing a day a fortnight (90% attendance) adds up to 1.5 years of missed learning – critical time that can’t be replaced.
Our goal is for every student to exceed 95% attendance, and we know that our most successful VCE and VCE-VM students consistently achieve this benchmark. Families can track attendance through coordinators, semester reports, and regular emails sent home. If your child needs support to improve attendance or punctuality, please contact their Coordinator to discuss tailored strategies that can help.
Improving NAPLAN Results
All Year 7 and Year 9 students have now received their NAPLAN results. We are proud to share that in every area assessed, for both Year 7 and Year 9, our students have outperformed similar and network schools. In fact, in all but one area, our results exceed the state average. Beyond these overall achievements, there are many individual success stories worth celebrating.
At the Year 9 assembly on August 4, numerous students received certificates recognizing their excellent growth since Year 7. This is a significant milestone, as it is the first time the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has issued such certificates.
It is also important to highlight the outstanding 2025 Victorian NAPLAN results, which were the best in the country. Victoria ranked first or second in 18 out of 20 measures, far ahead of any other state or territory. Our school is particularly proud to contribute to these exceptional results.
MAC Production: Spamalot
This year’s production of Spamalot (Monty Python Schools Edition) will take place from August 20 to 22 at the Bowery Theatre. The cast and crew have been working tirelessly to deliver a fantastic show. Tickets are available—please check the details in this newsletter—and we encourage everyone to come along and support our talented students and staff.
Progress Reports
Year 12 progress reports are now available on Compass. Year 11 reports will be published on August 22, and Years 7 to 10 reports on September 5. Students were encouraged during this week’s assemblies to stay on top of their work this semester and to meet all deadlines to ensure continued success.
Work Experience Year 10
Towards the end of Term 2, 23-27 June, we ran a very successful Year 10 Work Experience Program. 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 that provided insights and information about careers 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 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 and answer their questions. We greatly appreciate and value the support of all the businesses, both local and further afield, who support our students with their work placements. These connections contribute to building the broader school community.
It is a very worthwhile program for all of Year 10 whether they complete a placement at a workplace, or the school-based program onsite. Well done to all involved.
Course Counselling and Subject Selection for Students in Years 9 -11
We recently ran the course selection days for Year 11 moving into Year 12 and Year 10 moving into Year 11 for 2026. The Year 9 course counselling day was held on Tuesday 5 August.
These days allow us to provide every student with individual counselling regarding their pathway options so they can finalise subject selection. Students each have individual interviews with a year level coordinator or member of the pathways team. During the information sessions and interviews, students receive information to assist them to make informed decisions about subjects they should study aligned with their interests, course and career aspirations.
The care and thorough approach given to this process is a credit to the Careers/Pathways and Sub School Teams. The intensive work this involves is done with passion and integrity by all staff who support and assist students to make these decisions, in the knowledge they will have the support of all those at the school to achieve success.
We wish all our students well with course selection and thank all the staff and parents involved for their support in this process, in particular the pathways team lead by Ms Cathy Armstrong, for their organisation and the support provided to students and staff during this process.
