by Rosina Fotia, Principal

How quickly the term has passed and once again there has been no end of activities that students have undertaken both in and out of the classroom. Students and staff have worked hard to reintegrate into a school routine after many months of uncertainty. I am very proud of the way the school has settled and our renewed focus on teaching and learning.

VALE BARRIE JOHNSON

We were informed last week that the inaugural Principal of Lilydale Heights College (then Lilydale Technical School) Mr Barrie Johnson, passed away recently at the ripe old age of 92. Barry began as Principal of the school in 1970 and continued in that role until his retirement in 1986, when he moved to Queensland to see out the rest of his days.

LEARNING FOCUS

Teacher professional learning and capacity building has been a focus of this month. Staff have been involved in a series of engaging professional development opportunities designed to build confidence and knowledge in their teaching:

• Numeracy, this includes identifying areas where numeracy exists outside the mathematics classroom.
• Literacy, with a particular focus on the teaching of vocabulary specific to certain subject areas.

In addition, the curriculum day held on March 1 had all staff from all 23 schools in the network considering ways to motivate students to write and examining how writing gets harder as students move through school. Misty Adoniou challenged us to consider what we assume students already know, to acknowledge that the language of writing is different to the language of speaking and to identify that language differs across different disciplines in school. We will continue the work Misty has started with us throughout this school year.

BUILDING UPDATES

Stage 1: Works are now complete. The College has access to all new facilities. The defect period is still underway and grounds are yet to return to the reinstatement conditions. VCAL students are also assisting with some final works in the surrounding garden areas. Outdoor seating furniture will arrive in late April and indoor furniture for the Sustainability Hub is now on order. The students have embraced the new space and are treating it very respectfully.

Stage 2: This stage of works sees a refurbishment of C-Wing and a new roof placed on the College Library. Detailed design is well underway and, once finalised, will move to tender stage. It is anticipated that works will begin on this stage in August of this year.

Stage 3: This stage of works sees the refurbishment of the Performing Arts and Technology Wing, as well as a rebuild of the Senior School Wing and Science area. Consultants have been busily assessing latent conditions, ensuring that the design meets VSBA requirements and aligns with the College Master Plan.

COLLEGE COUNCIL

College Council is an important body of community members who work to assist in the efficient governance of the school. It ensures that decisions affecting students of the school are made having regard, as a primary consideration, to the best interest of the students and that they enhance the educational opportunities of students at the school. In addition, the College Council ensures the school and the Council complies with any requirements of the Education and Training Reform Act, the Education and Training Reform Regulations, a Ministerial Order or a direction, a guideline or policy issued under the Education and Training Reform Act.

Thank you very much to outgoing members of College Council. In particular Ms Danielle Burgham, who vacates the College Council President position. Thank you also to Ms Karon Austin, Ms Dorianne Oliver and Ms Rose Lahza for their support and commitment to College Council over recent years.

Congratulations and welcome to the elected representatives of the College Council for 2021:

• President: Ms Cathy Skinner
• Vice President: Mr Douglas Shannon-Palfreyman
• Treasurer: Mr Tim Wright
• Secretary: Ms Tracey Green
• Parent members: Ms Andrea Hindle, Mr Tom DeGraauw, Ms Katherine Emary, Ms Lynda Nel
• Staff members: Ms Rosina Fotia, Ms Isabella Phillips, Ms Emily Gerson
• Student members: Lucy Lamond, Chelsea Morin

HARMONY DAY

Harmony Week is “a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community.” It is about celebrating and recognising diversity in our society. This week students celebrated Harmony Day with a free dress day and a range of lunchtime activities aimed at raising awareness of and celebrating out multicultural society. Congratulations to the SIRC for their vision and commitment to this day.

COVID SAFE PRACTICES UPDATE

The Victorian Government has further relaxed its COVIDSafe settings from 6pm on Friday 26 March 2021. Changes to the COVIDSafe settings include allowing more visitors in the home and changes to mask wearing and updates to density limits in some settings. There are limited operational changes for schools. Visitors continue to be welcomed at our school, however face masks must be carried by individuals aged 12 years and over at all times and worn when physical distancing of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained. Individuals aged 12 years and over must continue to wear a face mask when on public transport, school buses and when in taxis or ride share vehicles – unless they have a lawful exemption. Thank you for your understanding and support throughout this term as we continue to implement COVIDSafe practices at our school.

COLLEGE CAPTAINS ASSEMBLY

Congratulations to the College Captains and Leaders who were formally recognised at a Whole School Assembly earlier this week. Their tireless work around the College and commitment to displaying the College values in our community is outstanding. We look forward to working closely with these students throughout this year.

• College Captains: Jonah Go Maisie Hennessey Taylah- Rae Jacobs

• Vice-Captains: Bella Theophanous–Maddison Aimee Norris

• Y12 Prefects: Tyler Milic Lucy Lamond

• Year 11 Prefects: Bailey Griffiths Trak Buller

• Music Captains: Tayla Anderson Taylah Rae Jacobs

• Sustainability Captain: Lucy Lamond

Sports Captains

Castella

• Captains: Megan Galletti and Jade Mason
• Vice Captains: Cayden Cameron and Sarah Rice

Melba

• Captains: Eliza Jeeves and Jordy Thomas
• Vice Captains: Maddie Amore

OlindaCaptains: Beth Ackroyd and Jackson Butler Vice Captains: Sara Greenhalgh and Lucinda Bowen

Yarra Captains: Aidan Norfolk, Abbey Harrop and Cat D’Couto Vice Captains: Bailey Griffiths, Olivia Ray and Ben Whittle

SIRC 2021

• Year 12: Jonah Go, Maisie Hennessy, Taylah Rae Jacobs, Tyler Milic, Lucy Lamond
• Year 11: Bella Theophanous-Maddison, Aimee Norris, Trak Buller, Hayley Burgess
• Year 10: Laura Dangaard, Milayna de Graaw, Erin Foley, Jess Burgess
• Year 9: Amelia Dangaard
• Year 8: Chelsea Morin Milo Noy

ATTENDANCE…. IT’S NOT OK TO BE AWAY!

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop:

• important skills and knowledge to help them learn
• social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and team work

Children who attend school every day and complete Year 12 have:

• better health
• better job opportunities
• higher income across their lives

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Each day a student misses school puts them behind. If you need support getting your child to school , please do not hesitate to contact us on 9735 1133.

YEAR 7 CAMP

Year 7 Transition Camp to Phillip Island is now complete. The Peer Support students also joined the camp as an additional activity designed to build further connections for senior students. The camp was supported by Teaching and Education Support staff. Thanks must be extended to the organising committee and staff who attended.

CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations to Yarra who were house champions at the cross-country event held last week. Weather conditions were favourable and student participation rates were at an all-time high.

Please note that school resumes for Term 2 on Tuesday April 20.