Welcome to the start of the 2022 school year.  A special welcome to our new students and their families, especially to those who have joined us for the beginning of their secondary schooling journey.  It has been fantastic to welcome the new Year 7 and 8 students for the last two weeks and now the Year 9, 10 and 11s as they return to face to face classes this week.  Year 12 students have also been back and we wish them well for a successful final year of schooling.

Thank you for the support from our families as we made an unusual start to the year, whether it was supporting students returning in unusual circumstances or to those who were supporting students learning from home, and in many cases, a combination of both! Teachers have worked hard preparing for students at all year levels and I thank them for their efforts in providing quality teaching and learning for both face to face and online learning. 

With the addition of Year 7s and with some staff on leave; Kay Heuzenroeder for the year, Biljana Elliott and Wayne Elliott for Term 1, we welcome a number of new staff to our team.

Welcome to ancillary staff members Sarah Parkyn (Student Inclusion Officer), Leanne Rathbone and Hannah Baker (classroom support), Chloe Shorrock (an additional ASETO with Daniel Giles) and to Maria Dowzard (Pastoral Care Worker).    

We also welcome a number of new teaching staff including Jeremy Blackwell (Maths & Science), Kardinia Caputo (English & HASS), Samuel Birchard (English & HASS), Ting Sun (Maths), Michael Singh (HPE, English & HASS), Chris Blanden (Maths & Science), Kiran James (HASS & English), Erin Pick (English & HASS) and Nathan Phillips (Maths & HASS).

Congratulations also to Jasmine Sotiroulis who is the Literacy and Global Perspectives leader for Term 1. 

Please remember our COVID safe protocols (including staying home if students are unwell). I am really looking forward for us to be able to welcome parents and community members back into our school when restrictions ease.  It will be great for parents to meet our new staff and to check out our ever-evolving school environment, including our welcoming circle fire pit just inside the entrance of the school that was completed in the holidays, and our agility course on the mound which is due to be finished today. 

Some Reminders:

• The standard of the uniform has been terrific on our return to the school, please keep this up.
• Attendance by students is an important factor in their success at school. The beginning of the year is a great time to set in place the habit of being at school on time each and every school day.
• Students are not permitted to leave the school to go down the street during the day.  This is in the interests of the safety and wellbeing of our students. Students who truant from school (or from school off-site activities) put at risk their ability to participate in opportunities such as excursions and camps.
• DAYMAP is an important method of communication with families and we encourage all parents and guardians to make use of this service.  Instructions on accessing the DAYMAP program are attached to this newsletter, are available on our Facebook page and can be collected from the front office.  

This year our newsletters will again be issued every three weeks and we encourage you to access them electronically from the schoolszine app. 

I am looking forward to working with students, staff, families and our community as we continue to make our fantastic school even better throughout this year!

Mat Evans - Principal