The Principal, Mr Blaikie with swim champion, Paris Tong of Year 11 at the 2023 Swimming Carnival
The Principal, Mr Blaikie with the Year 12 ‘Dads’ at the 2023 Swimming Carnival
Smooth Start to 2023
I wish everyone a very happy New Year – especially the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. Welcome back to school and in particular, welcome to new students in Year 7 and all the others across Years 8 to 12. I trust that you will find your choice of Wellington Secondary College a good one. We sincerely hope that 2023 will continue to see our school thrive and prosper, both in and out of the classroom, especially as we adjust to the next phase of the “COVID-normal” world. We continued the “staggered start” to the year, with Years 7 and 12 commencing on Tuesday January 31 and the rest of the school resuming on Wednesday February 1. Feedback, especially from the Junior School, was that in such a large school as ours, this extra “breathing space” for the Year 7s was very much appreciated.
The New 5 Period Day
As I outlined in a previous Compass Newsfeed, the 2023 daily structure has changed – from 6 x 50-minute periods per day, to 5 x 60-minute periods per day. All of us are getting used to the new bell times and later lunchtime, however, by and large, the change has been seamless. Below, I have included a Newsfeed put out last week by Assistant Principal, Marina Stergiou, which outlines in concise detail, the arrangements for Years 10, 11 and 12 on Wednesday afternoons. If parents of our senior students did not read it on Compass, here it is again:
“Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
Following the restructure of our timetable into a five-period day, this year students in Years 10, 11 and 12 will not have a scheduled class on Wednesdays after lunch (that is, period 5). Instead, they will have Flexible Learning Activities or scheduled assessments including SACs and Assessment Tasks.
Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 should plan on the basis that they will be required to attend school all day on a Wednesday unless they are informed in advance that they have no scheduled activity on a specific date.
Some of the activities or assessments scheduled for Wednesday period 5 may finish later than the regular end-of-day time at 3:00 pm. Where an activity will extend beyond the regular school day students will be given prior notice.
Having Wednesday afternoons free of classes for Year 10-12 students will significantly reduce disruption to classes for activities and events that would normally have to take place. Our key priority and aim in running a flexible afternoon program once a week is to provide opportunities for our students to support their learning and wellbeing.
While there will be times where a whole year level will be required to attend planned activities and events, there will be some instances where students will be able to sign out early if they are not involved in any activities. Students in this instance may choose to stay at school and engage in self-directed learning or they may leave school to go home at the beginning of lunchtime.
All activities and events that are scheduled will appear on Compass timetables and students will be informed of these through Microsoft Teams.
Assessment Tasks and SACs will continue be listed on the SAC Calendar as has always been the case. Students are also aware of their assessments through their Unit Overviews and Timelines for each subject.”
Staffing
I am sure you will be hearing through the media the difficulty schools are having in filling all staffing vacancies at the start of 2023. This is a fact; however, I am relieved to report that our school is not facing the critical staffing issues confronting others at this time. At the time of writing, we are still in the process of filling two positions, and I am confident these will be resolved soon. I am delighted to welcome the following new and returning staff members to 2023: I wish them all well on their professional journey at Wellington.
| Staff | Area |
| Ms Kerryn Riddiford | Health and PE |
| Ms Lauren Elverd | Food Technology |
| Ms Erin Daniels | Humanities |
| Ms Michelle Newey-Perumal | Health and PE |
| Mr Christos Liousas | Humanities |
| Ms Paula Johnson | Library |
| Ms Hongyan Le | Maths |
| Ms Mida Carganilla | English |
| Ms Zoe Davies | Art |
| Ms Shannon Pook | Wellbeing – Mental Health |
| Ms Asmaa Awan | Digital Technology |
| Mr Thomas Peenicka | Science |
| Mr Chris Feenane | Science |
| Ms Belinda Horton | English |
| Ms Bronwyn Pratt | Pathways – Head Start |
| Ms Lynda Gotz | Tutor |
Enrolments / First Days
As a result of the limitations placed on us by the DET enrolment policy, our 2023 student enrolment is down on previous years – 1676+ in total (including 1600+ local students and 70+ international students).
There are 241 Year 7 students enrolled and I was delighted to meet them all en-masse on the first morning last Tuesday. All seemed to have settled in well and have embraced all elements of “The Wellington Way” and the Wellington Welcomes You program. By Wednesday of last week, we were back to full strength with Years 8-11 returning.
Despite the DET restrictions, I am delighted that these figures continue to demonstrate that Wellington is the school of choice for most in our local community. Well done to Mr Dwyer, the Student Programs and Attendance teams for their efforts in such a fine result.
Mobile Phones
I remind everyone of the continuation of the State Government’s Mobile Phone Policy that was introduced in 2020. Students are required to leave their phones, switched off in their lockers from 8.30am until 3.05pm. Parents should only contact their children through the General Office, not via their phones during school hours. Students are not permitted to have remote AirPods at school, however, wired headphones that are connected to computers to access educational programs are perfectly OK.
Charter Bus Tickets
Parents are reminded that there is a certain amount of “give and take” in organising payment for a ticket on our Charter Bus service. However, the expectation is that by Monday February 13, payment will have been arranged and students will have received their ticket for Term 1. Parents facing financial difficulty are always welcome to contact the Business Manager or College Cashier, where special arrangements can be discussed. Families need to be aware that from next week – “No Ticket, No Bus”!
Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund and Wellington Family Support
Families are reminded that applications for the Government Camps Sports and Excursions Fund are now open. In order to access funding, please ensure your application is lodged with a copy of your Health Care Card as soon as possible.
Year 12 Jump Start
Our Year 12 cohort have hit the ground running – Jump Start was a great success, with Mr Coles and the team re-enforcing the importance of our “Wellington Way” standards and expectations beyond the COVID years. I remind all students and families that the wearing of hoodies is a privilege, and that other elements of our uniform requirements should not be forgotten or compromised. After the more “relaxed” standards available during lockdown, this will be a focus of our “Wellington Way” in 2023.
The attitude of the Year 12s at the Swimming Carnival was second to none, with the dress ups colourful and, in many instances, very innovative. I give a special shout out to “The Dads” – it was one of the funniest presentations I have seen in my 40 years of education. Well done, lads!
Swimming Carnival
It was great to get back to Noble Park Aquatic Centre last week for our Swimming Sports. The weather was kind – a little chilly in the morning, however, this did not deter our competitors and Year 12 and 7 students from getting involved and having a great day out. The respectful competitiveness and house spirit (displayed by our Year 12s, in particular) simply reinforced how much we have all missed these types of events over the last three COVID-disrupted years. Congratulations to Mr Durrant and his team for the organisation and to all the competitors and students who made this such a memorable day. I trust you will enjoy the photo collage in other parts of the Journal.
Year 7 Design Challenge
We are into the third year of our Year 7 Design Challenge – as well as the usual “getting to know you” activities, our challenge this year is to create a plan for beautifying spaces around the school that the Year 7 classes will utilise this year – the M Block Gallery, the M Block Deck and the Agora. These will become a legacy for the Year 7 cohort of 2023. Students will work collaboratively and prepare a pitch to a panel by the end of the week.
Building Projects
The formal DET project is now complete (as we enter the “defect phase”). We can now turn our attention to several locally sponsored projects. We plan for these to be undertaken and completed over the next 12-18 months:
WSC Strategic Plan (2023-2026) – 2023 AIP
Our 2023 Annual Implementation Plan has been endorsed by Council and the DET, and already we have launched into several of the actions documented in our Plan. The 2023 AIP will be uploaded to the College website.
Child Safe Policies
Each year, it is expected that Council will endorse our commitment to a Child Safe environment at Wellington. At our School Review in 2022, our policies were endorsed by the VRQA as compliant – as each year progresses, the Policy Sub Committee will ensure that any new policy will be Child Safe compliant, before it is presented to Council for ratification. Our policies are all on the College website.
Council Elections
Nominations for the 2023-2024 election of College Council members opened on Friday February 3 and will close today, Friday February 10, at 4.00pm. Should an election be needed, we will inform the community next week. The new Council will convene at the next scheduled meeting in March. Office Bearers will be elected at that meeting. I thank all retiring members of Council and wish them well if they are seeking re-election.
Hugh Blaikie
Principal
Dear Wellington Community,
We are URGENTLY looking for 1 English speaking, Vietnamese background family in the Springvale area to host a female VCE international student who has already started at Wellington.
If you can help, please call Ms Connie Tzelepis on 9547 6822 to discuss.
Homestay provides students with the best possible way to experience Australian culture and rapidly improve their English language. It is full board and accommodation offered by a family or couple, for which a set weekly fee of AUD $310 is paid. All household members over the age of 18 must have a valid Working With Children Check.
Kind Regards,
Ms Connie Tzelepis
Director – International Student Programs
The Wellington Secondary College Swimming Carnival was held at the Noble Park Aquatic Centre last Thursday, February 2. Despite the relatively cool weather conditions, over 500 students and 35 staff attended. This included all the Year 7 and 12 students, as well as over 30 competitors from Years 8-11 who signed up to swim in events. On behalf of all the staff, I would like to congratulate all the students on their fantastic behaviour and attitude, which clearly exemplified ‘The Wellington Way’.
The Year 7 students who were attending their first ever Wellington Swimming Carnival were very enthusiastic and were cheering on their fellow competitors and friends. They thoroughly enjoyed the soccer and volleyball options, as well as the giant waterslide and egg and spoon novelty event after the competitive events had finished. The Year 12s were all dressed up in all sorts of colourful costumes, taking plenty of photos, with numerous students also competing in swimming events.
The overall results of the Swimming Carnival:
| 1st place | Dianella | 393 points |
| 2nd place | Waratah | 368 points |
| Equal 3rd place | Acacia | 292 points |
| Equal 3rd place | Eucalyptus | 292 points |
Congratulations to Dianella for taking out first place in the 2023 Wellington Swimming Carnival! There were a number of outstanding performances on the day with 4 students in particular earning over 90 House points for their House:
Kim Durrant
Coordinator of Interschool Sports & Head of Houses
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