Warrnambool College Newsletter Issuefebruary,2016 5, April 2016 Issue 2
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Warrnambool College Newsletter IssueFebruary,2016 5, April 2016 Issue 2 Upcoming Events check the College Website for all updates & further information I still vividly remember the first day I walked around Warrnambool High School as a student back on www.wblcoll.vic.edu.au orientation day of 1987. I remember looking around at how big everything was in comparison to Noorat IMPORTANT DATES Primary School. I’m sure there were a few times that April 20th Open NIght day when I wondered just how I would navigate this David Clift place over the next 6 years. Ultimately this school was Principal Report the making of me – it set me up for success in so many April 22nd ANZAC Assemblies aspects of my life, professionally and personally. And significantly it supported many of my friends to achieve great things in their lives as well. April 25th ANZAC Day Public It’s been somewhat surreal to return to Warrnambool College, initially Holiday as a teacher, then an Assistant Principal and now as the Principal of this great school. I take on such a role with a great sense of humility. Warrnambool College traces its roots back to Warrnambool April 26th AFL Hampden Cup Agricultural High School, the second oldest government secondary Years 7-9 school in Victoria. A vast array of alumni from this school have gone on to achieve incredible feats in the fields of science, media, sport, technology, languages, the trades and beyond. More recently our April 27th Inter-School Chess students have achieved amazing results in academia and extra- Event curricular pursuits. It has been the greatest school to belong to as a student, teacher and leader. May 2nd Year 12 Outdoor Ed So many people in the wider school community have come up to me in Trip the past month and congratulated me on my appointment to the Principal position. Their comments have been genuine and heart- warming and model the sense of positivity that we strive so hard to May 5th May Races Public build our school culture around. As a school community I know there Holiday are many ways in which we can collaboratively improve the way we offer a challenging, robust, relevant and purposeful education for May 6th Logan’s Out of Warrnambool’s youth. We are a great school now, but we have the Uniform Day opportunity to become consistently remarkable. I look forward to meeting and working with many of you over coming months and years as we achieve this aim and build upon the successes of this incredible May 10th NAPLAN Testing school. Kind Regards, Dave Clift Principal Grafton Road, Warrnambool Vic 3280 Ph: 5564 4444 email: [email protected] www.wblcoll.vic.edu.au Parents please note: Students are supervised between the times of 8.45am until 3.45pm daily Assistant Principal Report Adam Matheson, Emma Miller, Dan Lee Standing Tall This is a very worthy program and one that we are essentially very lucky to be able to run in the College. This year Powercor selected the charity as their major focus organisation for the Tour De Depot. This has meant a major influx of funds into the program, ensuring that it will be able to continue for many years to come. Our students and staff are incredibly grateful for the work of this organisation – all run by volunteers from the community and managed from a school perspective by our Chaplain, Kate Dancey. On Sunday when the ride took place it was so wonderful to see the College represented by a variety of staff and Adam Mathe- students. While the Tour De Depot raised over $60,000 for the charity, they also very generously donated a brand new bike to every College student involved in the Standing Tall program. A fantastic community imitative and we are very proud of their achievements. Visitor Parking At the end of Term 1 we adjusted the available parking outside the main entrance to the office. This parking space now holds 6 carparks that are strictly reserved for visitors to the Emma Miller school. The parking spaces are clearly labeled as either 15 min parking or 30 min parking. This change is in recognition of the number of parents and visitors to the school who were finding it difficult to obtain parking close to the office. We hope that these changes make it easier for you to navigate around the school. Engagement and Wellbeing Committee We are currently seeking students and/ or parents who would like to be part of the Engagement and Well-being committee. This committee meets once per month during a lunch time, 1.30 to 2 pm. You would have an opportunity to make suggestions and have Dan Lee input into all major changes and programs at the College. This committee is made up of students, staff and parents. A free lunch is also provided. All of the uniform changes from the past 3 years have been generated from this committee. If you would like to take part in this committee could you please see Mrs Miller. Additionally, if there are any parents that would like to be involved, you are most welcome to attend. School Uniform Students and parents should by now be aware that we do not condone the wearing of skins as part of the school uniform. The PE uniform includes track pants and shorts but does not include skins. Female students that are wearing this as part of their daily uniform will be given postings and demerits via Compass. If students are wishing to purchase a soft shell jacket, these can be ordered through Joroni or through ouruniform shop. The jacket supplied through the uniform shop is more expensive, but is on the shelf and available for immediate purchase. The jackets sold through Joroni Embroidery, a local business, cost $75. School football socks and hats can also be purchased through the office and worn as part of the everyday school uniform. At Warrnambool College we achieve success through persistence, resilience and mutual respect Page 2 Assistant Principal Report (Continued) Adam Matheson, Emma Miller, Dan Lee Chinese Sister School In February of this year we had the opportunity to host a cultural exchange visit from a school in Shang- hai, China. We have since established a sister school relationship with this school and look forward to a long relationship and understanding between the two schools. Families that hosted a Chinese student learned a lot about cultural differences and bathroom/toilet behavior that is markedly different in West- ern Culture. After this hosting, 17 Warrnambool College students then had the opportunity to participate in a return visit to the school and experience squat toilets all for themselves! The students spent 10 days in Shanghai. 3 nights involved home hosting and the remainder was spent as a group in the school dormitory. All of the students who participated in the trip had an amazing time and formed life long friendships. We extend our sincere thanks to our teaching staff of Colin Payne, Kathy Stacey and Anna Han who gave up their school holidays to chaperone the students. It is our hope that we will be able to offer another cultural exchange trip to the sister school in 2017 for any future students who may like to be involved. NAPLAN All Year 7 and 9 students (including 10G SEAL students) will be sitting the NAPLAN testing from May 10-12. Catch up sessions will be conducted Friday 13th May. Year 9 students will undertake their testing in the School Hall under exam conditions; Year 7 students will undertake their testing in class rooms. All tests will be fully supervised by Warrnambool College staff who have undertaken an information session for administering the tests. There is a process for students to be either exempt or withdrawn from the NAPLAN testing. If you would like your son/daughter to be either exempt or withdrawn please contact Adam Matheson at the school. College Musical The College musical has had a late start this year, but is now well underway with auditions taking place on Friday 15th of April. The auditions ran until well after 5.30pm on the Friday night – testament to how actively involved in the arts our students are. Originally, the College was set to bring Mikado to the stage. After receiving a very well intentioned letter from a student in relation to the choice the Principal class held a meeting and felt it would be an appropriate response to withdraw from this production. There have been concerns raised in the community as to the level of racism that is perpetuated in the Mikado. As a piece of theatre, we would firstly respond that the show is a classic light opera that is considered a portrayal of life some 130 years ago. The sentiments expressed in art are not always those of the opinions of those presenting it. It is a portrayal on the stage of the beliefs and attitudes of that time period. However, Warrnambool is a largely a very mono-cultural community and we recognise that we do not want to condone or be seen to be perpetuating any form of racism against Asian Culture. We are taking many progressive steps to further connections with Asia across our curriculum and in terms of our sister school relations newly established with China. Based on these principles, it was decided to change the musical selection. The production team were very public about these changes and held a meeting to explain this to the potential cast on Tuesday 12th of April.