by Shane Kruger, Principal

LEARNING FOCUS

Over the last few weeks, many of our senior students have been involved in a range of assessment tasks and exams as they finalise their coursework for 2022. Our Year 12 students recently finished their exams and celebrated the end of 13 years of schooling at their Valedictory Dinner at the Karralyka Centre. It was a wonderful evening and a great way to farewell our Class of 2022. Congratulations to all of the award winners and to every student from the Class of 2022. We wish you every success for your future.

Our Year 11 and Year 10 students have also completed their final assessments and have transitioned into their GO Program in preparation for 2023. The GO Program is designed to allow students to begin their 2023 classes early, giving them greater opportunities for success. Our students have attended each of their new classes during the week and have received material to work on over the holidays as they prepare for the new school year.

We have also been heavily preparing the transition process for our new students coming into Year 7 next year. Our Year 7 Team have been visiting our local primary schools to learn about our new students so that we are able to ensure a smooth transition as they begin their learning journey at Lilydale Heights College. We recently hosted an online session for all of our new students to introduce them to key people within the school and to share with them information on the upcoming Orientation Day. Our new students were very engaged in the session, asking a lot of great questions about what high school is like. Sessions such as these are key events in the transition process for students. Many students feel both excited and nervous about their transition to high school and events such as these allow students to alleviate some of those nerves by having their questions answered. I would like to thank the entire panel who were involved in the session and look forward to meeting all of our new students at the Orientation Day on December 13.

PARENT FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

At this time of year, schools and families are making preparations for 2023. Subjects are being released, booklists published and information on Parent Financial Contributions are communicated. I did want to take a moment in this newsletter to share with families the importance of Parent Financial Contributions. Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian Curriculum and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. We want to thank you for all your support, whether that is through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer. The support that we receive through Parent Financial Contributions is always greatly appreciated and allows us to continue to provide materials, equipment and positive learning spaces for our students. Within our school, this support has allowed us to provide a wider offering of subjects and special curriculum experiences; enhanced digital learning opportunities, upgrade of our Apple iMac computer pod and faster WIFI and internet. Families are able to pay their Voluntary Financial Contributions for Curriculum items and/or other curriculum items via Payment Plan instalments, Centrepay or in full to the General Office.

INTENTIONS FOR 2023

As we continue to plan classes for 2023, it is important for us to have accurate student numbers. This allows us to maximise the learning opportunities for all students and to ensure that all students are supported in their transition. If your child is not planning to return to Lilydale Heights College in 2023, can you please contact the General Office to inform us of their exit? Thank you for your support with this.

SCHOOL REVIEW

We completed our school review this term which has been an enormous yet rewarding task. It has allowed us to celebrate the success of our school and to plan the next steps in our improvement journey. Some of the key findings from the review panel highlighted the positive work that we are doing around our agreed instructional model and our focus and development of a documented curriculum and common assessment tasks. They agreed that from the classroom visits that they attended, the focus groups and the data, we have established a calm and orderly learning environment that is supported by positive relationships. Some of the highlights from the review also included our focus on Literacy and Numeracy, our focus on staff collaboration and culture and our First Nations approach. The final report and School Strategic Plan are currently being finalised. Once this is done, we will share this with our community.

CHANGE IN TERM DATES FOR 2026

It may seem like a long time away, however, we wanted to inform our community that there have been changes to Victorian school term dates for 2026. This will provide an opportunity for Victorian communities to participate more broadly in the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place across regional Victoria from Tuesday 17 March to Sunday 29 March 2026, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton hosting a range of activities and events for 20 different sports and 9 para-sports.

The 2026 Victorian school term dates are:

• Term 1: Tuesday 27 January to Friday 13 March 2026
• Term 2: Monday 30 March to Friday 19 June 2026
• Term 3: Monday 6 July to Friday 18 September 2026
• Term 4: Monday 5 October to Friday 18 December 2026.

For the list of school term dates until the end of the 2030, refer to School term dates and holidays in Victoria.