Principal Report

Welcome to the 2023 school year. It has been extremely pleasing to see the staff and students at both Bayview and Pasco begin the school year in a positive and settled manner. The spirit among students and staff at several events I have attended, such as the Year 12 Camp and Swimming Sports Carnival, has been as positive and healthy as I have seen in all my time at WHS. There has been genuine joy on the faces of our students as they interact with each other in such a supportive manner.

This continued focus on creating an environment where we all enjoy learning, working and socialising will be further enhanced with a new structure in place to support student engagement and wellbeing. We have two Year Level Coordinators at each year level replacing the Student Management Leader system, with increased time and responsibilities. The focus of their roles will be to ensure the “Wellbeing of Learning” is in place for each and every student. What this means is that we want to continue to develop an environment where every student feels they belong, they are engaged, they are attending, and they have control and initiative over their learning.

This year we have decided to purchase a second school bus (currently on order to arrive mid-year) to keep excursion costs down for students as current costs for external buses have exploded. And, of course, this year we launch our new school jumper (at the end of Term 1), which I know our students are quite excited about.

Please enjoy reading about the range of student experiences that have already taken place this year in our first edition of the W-Files for 2023.

Building Projects for 2023

This year, after several delays, we will complete the building of stage two of our performing arts and VCE centre; we will undergo a half-a-million-dollar upgrade to the student toilet facilities at Pasco, both modernising and ensuring inclusivity; a range of court surfaces, including the synthetic and basketball courts, will be upgraded this year, and plans are in place for the rest to be completed in 2024. We are also looking to increase the number of Instrumental Music spaces at Bayview to accommodate the high demand for our IM program. We have also secured government funding to address the foundation movement (leading to cracks in walls, etc) at Pasco Campus’s Q Block, with initial work commencing soon followed by cosmetic repairs once those are completed.

2022 VCE and VCAL Results

The results achieved by our Year 12 students of 2022 were exceptional. We were very pleased to see 38 students achieving ATARs of more than 90 (a record for WHS), with 48% attaining over 80 - also the highest ever percentage over 80 for WHS. We had three students achieve a perfect study score of 50 in the subjects of English Language, Accounting and Media. Our dux, Shirley Lin, achieved an ATAR of 99.70. With 99% of the cohort successfully obtaining their VCE certificate, the Year 12 cohort also achieved our highest ever mean ATAR, placing us among elite schools in terms of VCE outcomes. Our Year 12 VCAL students were also very successful, with all achieving senior certificates and employment placements. Such certificates allow our VCAL students to pursue immediate employment opportunities as well as further study options such as advanced VET certificates. A record 95% of our students received first round offers. It is pleasing to hear many of these individuals with their diverse pursuits attribute their pathways to success - and the fact that doors have been opened for them - to their time at WHS. We wish the Class of 2022 the best of luck with their future endeavours, and we look forward to hearing of their achievements in years to come.

School Council Elections

Please find in this edition of the W-Files information about the upcoming School Council elections. Our School Council is dynamic and plays a key role in policy development and setting the direction of the school. I would encourage any interested parents or guardians to consider nominating for council. Please note, all school councillors are required to have a current Working with Children Check or acquire one once elected (this is free for volunteer categories). Please feel free to contact me regarding any questions you may have in relation to the election process.

Key Staff

Please see below the staff attached to key roles within the school this year:

Campus Principal Teams

Leading Teacher positions for 2023

Learning Specialist positions for 2023

2023 Year Level Coordinator Teams

2023 Student Wellbeing Coordinators

2023 Mental Health Practitioners

New Staff

I am looking forward to working with the following new and returning staff as they join our team in 2023.

Gino Catalano | Principal

Appendix A

Fact Sheet 1. School council elections – Information for parents

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school in accordance with their constituting Order and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership:

• A mandated elected Parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. DET employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school

• A mandated elected DET employee member category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members

• An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members

• A small number of school councils have Nominee members

For all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort, there is an additional category of membership:

• A mandated elected Student member category, two positions

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help inform and shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Why is student membership so important

Students have a unique perspective on learning, teaching and schools. Having student members on school council allows students to have a say in the future direction of their school and ensures student input into decision making.

Student representation on secondary school councils will assist in the development of students’ skills, including leadership skills and communication skills.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

Code of conduct for school councillors

School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct for Directors of Victorian Public Entities issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to:

• act with honesty and integrity (be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty)

• act in good faith in the best interests of the school (work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds)

• act fairly and impartially (consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self interest)

• use information appropriately (respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available)

• exercise due care, diligence and skill (accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school)

• use the position appropriately (not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage)

• act in a financially responsible manner (observe all the above principles when making financial decisions)

• comply with relevant legislation and policies (know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law)

• demonstrate leadership and stewardship (set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable)

Indemnity for school council members

School councillors are indemnified against any liability in respect of any loss or damage suffered by the council or any other person in respect of anything necessarily or reasonably done, or omitted to be done by the councillor in good faith in:

1. the exercise of a power or the performance of a function of a councillor, or

2. the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the exercise of a power or the performance of a function of a council.

In other words, school councillors are not legally liable for any loss or damage suffered by council or others as a result of reasonable actions taken in good faith.

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to participate in and vote in the school council elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might consider:

• standing for election as a member of the school council

• encouraging another person to stand for election

School council induction video

The school council induction video provides a summary of the purpose and responsibilities of school councils as well as the roles and responsibilities of school councillors. The video can be viewed on the Department's website at School Councils. https://www.education.vic.gov....

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March unless the usual timeline has been varied by the Education Minister.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent member category.

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work, are eligible to nominate for Parent membership of the school council at that school.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt via post, email or by hand following the receipt of your completed nomination.

If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember:

• Consider standing for election to school council.

• Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do.

• Be sure to vote if the election goes to ballot.

Contact the principal for further information.

Williamstown High School Council Election Process and Timetable 2023

The following School Council members’ tenure conclude at this election:

Parent Members: Matt Clarkson, Kane Harnden, Jake Mansfield

DET Employees: Jesse Craig

Student Member: Connor De Petro

Seconded Community Member: -

Form 2: Notice of election and call for nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of the school council of Williamstown High School.

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4:00pm on Thursday, 2 March 2023.

The ballot will close at 4:00pm on Thursday, 16 March 2023.

Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school.

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

2023

Dear parents and carers

Commencing the school year and seeing our students begin and continue their secondary schooling has been wonderful. Our staff at Bayview are continuing to work collaboratively in curriculum teams and now also in year level teams to challenge and support all students. We have welcomed parents and carers of each year level to our school at evenings in the last fortnight – each event with a year level appropriate focus. A sincere "thank-you" to all families that attended – we hope it was valuable; it is important to us to meet you in person to continue our work together this year.

At our Year 7 event, we screened a clip of Dan Turnbull, Chief Executive Officer of the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, speaking about the site our school is now on but also about how we need to consider the environment and the way we live. Please let us know if you have recently visited the middens at Point Gellibrand.

I look forward to continuing my work with our students and wider community as Bayview Campus Principal and hope that the commencement of our school year has been successful for you and your family.

Returning to schooling

Our school day commences at 8.50 am and our grounds are supervised from 8.30 am. Please encourage your child to arrive with sufficient time to access their locker and do what is required in readiness for the first two lessons. This term may be challenging for your child, supporting them to get back into a ‘routine’ of daily attendance, being on time and focussing in class and learning. Please contact our engagement and wellbeing team - Alex Robinson, Chrstina Frei and Ann Hyland if you are finding this to be a difficult time.

Our learning environment

I am seeking your support to further provide a safe and clean school and learning environment for our students. Our Homegroup Student Resource 2023 details our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support expectations. Being respectful, safe and a learner will help us to achieve this – please speak with your child in this regard.

Engagement with learning in class continues to be our focus. We are encouraging students to access device support and use the bathrooms during the breaks. Our technician, Vincent Zhang, is available before and after school and at the breaks, as are the bathrooms. Recess is 26 minutes in duration and lunch 48 minutes – please speak with your child about using time in this manner, if required. Students are able to access a bathroom during class time if essential, after receiving permission from their classroom teacher to do so. This involves the teacher signing the Out of Class Permission Form on page 180-181 in the Homegroup Student Resource 2023 and issuing their ‘blue’ lanyard.

On a number of recent occasions, trespassers have entered our grounds during the school day. At the beginning of this term, trespassers refused direction from multiple teachers and entered our grounds and Atrium. After further intervention from staff, the trespassers left the grounds. We contacted Victoria Police, identified the trespassers and are taking the action we deem necessary against them. Teachers are ‘on duty’ in the yard during the breaks (including in A and B wing near student toilets) but not during class time. Classrooms, and currently student toilets in A wing and B wing, are locked when not in use however our external doors remain open. This recent measure in relation to student bathrooms is one we see as necessary at this point in time. Any student requiring immediate toilet access during class time (feel they are not able to wait if the toilet is in use), can report to Reception (with the ‘blue’ lanyard) to ask for a bathroom to be unlocked. Our duty of care to your child is paramount.

Our physical environment

Please support your child to bring food to school without single use packaging so that our school can be as free from waste as possible and where not possible, that waste is recyclable and placed in the appropriate bins we have at school. There is no excuse for littering - put your waste in the bin. We now have, around the school, multiple Mixed Recycling bins from Hobsons Bay City Council. Your children can now make the appropriate choice for their waste as they do so at home with you. We are seeking student interest in establishing the Bayview Environment and Sustainability Team BEST, so we can work on this further.

Mobile Telephone Policy

The State government's mobile telephone policy is entering its fourth year in 2023. I ask that you continue to support us to implement the policy in regards to use of mobile telephones, particularly ‘students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours’ and ‘where students bring a mobile phone to school, the school must provide secure storage’. Our secure storage is our student lockers so please support your child to always use their combination lock.

Communicating

Hopefully you've seen me outside the school entrance each day - please say hello if you can. Contact us via telephone as we no longer need to rely solely on electronic means of communication as may have been necessary this time last year. Re-establishing normality is as important for us as adults as it is for our students now. Communication about important matters is more productive on the telephone or in person, in my view, as two-way conversations can flow.

Staff farewells and welcomes

We have welcomed Maddison McQuade, Reception, and Chris Phillips, Food Technician, to Bayview since the beginning of Term 1. Alice Reid, Librarian, has also returned from leave.

We are currently in the Biderap season of the annual Eastern Kulin Seasonal Calendar, as described by Woiwurrung traditions - Dry Season. This time of the year is evident at Bayview Street with hot, dry weather and the female Common Brown butterfly is flying.

Regards

Karen

Term 1 Week 4

Welcome to the 2023 school year, I am pleased to report that students have made a positive start to their programs and importantly do seem engaged in the learning process. We have a number of new teachers, support staff, students and families to the school and I extend a warm welcome to the newest members of our school community. Please reach out to the school for support as you need.

Parent/Carer Information Evenings

It has been wonderful to meet so many of our families at the Year 10,11 and 12 parent/carer information evenings. They provide a wonderful opportunity for families to make connections with key staff at the school and further understand how best to support their children. All families are encouraged to attend these events to support the three-way partnership between the student, school and home. There will be further opportunities throughout 2023 for families to engage with the school, including the pathway and subject selection information sessions and of course the student/parent/teacher conferences.

Year 12 Camp

I had the pleasure of attending the Year 12 camp, it is a terrific event and I believe the moment our Year 12 cohort really come together as a group and establish themselves as the class of ’23. Lady Northcote Camp as a venue provides a wonderful setting for our students to engage in a range of activities including team building, motivation, time management and goal setting sessions. A lot of fun was had by all and the talent show was truly an event to remember.

Environment & Facilities

A number of building projects will continue this year including the;

- Performing Arts Centre

- Year 12 Study Centre

- Student Toilet Upgrade

- Q-Block Restoration

I look forward to sharing further information as these works commence/continue throughout the year.

We are sure 2023 at Willi High will be exciting, challenging and fun at different times and I encourage all students to embrace the challenge and have a wonderful year.

Daniel Pearce

Pasco Campus Principal

Wyndham Tech School Partnership

The 2023 STEAM year is off to a great start with our Year 9 STEAM Synergy elective students participating in their 10-week intensive experience both at WHS and the Wyndham Tech School. Teacher Daniel Marshall is leading the subject, where students are challenged to build upon their technical, creative and critical thinking skills.

Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix

Due to our association with Wyndham Tech School and the Year 9 STEAM Synergy elective, we will soon be able to offer an excursion to the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix - places will be limited so keep an eye on the Compass newsfeed for more information when it becomes available.

2023 STEM Club readying for launch!

Following on from the great success of the 2022 STEM Club, places for our 2023 Inspire Robotics STEM Club are now available, with Year 10s also now invited in addition to our regular Year 7, 8 and 9 offerings. The club will run on Mondays in Room 1 (in the Bayview Campus Atrium) from 3:20-4:50pm until the end of the semester. Former Willi High student and Australian Robot Soccer Champion Tamas Simonds is again leading the group to build, design and program their robots. If you are at all interested in learning about what kinds of activities and work the club engages in, please visit the Inspire Robotics Website or contact Mr Clifford at the Bayview Campus. Sign-ups for the club should go through the following form (Willi High login required): STEM Club Application Form (Yr 7-10)

Gavin Clifford | Strategic Assistant Principal

The school year is off to a great start, with students experiencing the diverse curriculum offerings at the Bayview Street Campus in 2023. By now, students will have joined their subjects’ Google Classrooms and have started to use their online platforms, as well as having had practical learning opportunities, been involved in group activities and completed written and verbal classwork.

All our subjects directly enhance and promote “Be a Learner”; one of WHS’s three Positive Behaviour Expectations. The teachers at Bayview are always working to offer variety when planning units and delivering courses. They aim to make their lessons engaging and informative and offer something for every student. Our course accreditation process also ensures our subjects are aligned to the current Victorian Curriculum.

Over the next few weeks, your child's Semester 1 Learning Tasks will appear on Compass. This will allow you to see the name and description of the tasks on which your child will be assessed for all their subjects. These can be found by clicking on the Learning Tasks tab in Compass. There will be between one and three Learning Tasks for each subject in Semester 1.

Other ways to keep up to date on your child’s progress in each subject is via the Progress Reports that will appear on Compass before the Parent-Teacher-Student conferences in Term 1 and Term 3. These can be found by clicking on the Reports tab in Compass. And of course, feel free to email your child’s teacher if you have specific questions any time during the semester.

Anita Gatti-Smith

Curriculum Leader Middle Years

The Bayview Student Leadership team would like to welcome all students, staff and families to a new school year. The team has already started the year with high energy and engagement in a range of events, projects and more. Our team is made up of Year 7-9 students who cover roles such as school captains, house captains, curriculum captains, Junior School Council, the events committee and homegroup representatives. I’m looking forward to introducing you all to this team (and their voices) over the year and the fantastic work they do to make a difference to the Bayview campus.

We are so pleased to give all student leaders the opportunity to participate in a two-day Student Leadership Program. This is the first opportunity to meet as a leadership group, plan for the year ahead and form new bonds with their team.

Day 1 included an adventure to the city to work on team building with our new leadership groups. The day began with a team scavenger hunt that challenged groups to navigate around the city, solve clues and use digital technology to move onto the next checkpoint. Students returned to the finish line with smiling faces and very tired feet. Thankfully the afternoon that followed included some tenpin bowling and another opportunity to create new bonds with the wider team.

Day 2 focused on leadership development, team building and planning for 2023. Students were able to explore their leadership skills through many activities, with the highlight being the bridge-building team challenge. Teams also had an opportunity to begin planning for the year ahead, with lots of awesome ideas starting to take shape. Such a rewarding two days for all students and it is exciting to see what the year will bring for these exceptional student leaders.

The WHS Swimming Carnival was also held in Term 1 with the house captains and some additional student leaders playing a major role in the running of the novelty events. Leading up to the carnival, the house captains conducted their first house meetings and did such an amazing job in creating a positive vibe for the event. As a result, many students came dressed in their house colours and wore them proudly throughout the day.

There was also a best dressed competition at the Swimming Carnival and prizes were awarded to one winner from each house. The novelty events were a true team effort, with house captains and student leaders taking on a variety of roles to make sure it ran smoothly. Congratulations to Red House on winning the carnival and to the Red House Captains, Mischa Johnston and Archer Russell. Congratulations team!

A group of Year 9 students have also put their leadership skills to the test by helping run the Williamstown Primary School Swimming Carnival. This group did an amazing job helping with marshalling, allocating places, ribbon presentations and more. Well done!

We’ve also been given the opportunity for our school captains from both campuses to attend the Melbourne Secondary Youth Leadership Conference. We would like to thank Cath Palin and the Parents and Friends Association for funding this amazing experience for our student leaders. Stay tuned for an update on this next term.

Lots of planning and preparations are being made for 2023, so stay tuned for more to come from this amazing group of young people.

Amy Curran

Student Leadership Coordinator (Bayview)

Student Leadership Conference

From 2-3 February, Williamstown High School hosted a Student Leadership Conference for the newly appointed student leaders at the Pacso campus for 2023. The conference aimed to build and strengthen key skills, such as initiative, cooperation and communication, among the student leaders.

Day one of the conference consisted of a range of activities and events run by various groups of students within the leadership team. These activities included physical games, team addresses, brainstorming sessions, and task force groups dedicated to planning future school events.

One of the more competitive activities was a combined game of Marco Polo and dodgeball, which quickly turned into a high octane adrenaline rush as fewer and fewer people were left to hide from all the spotters and throwers. The team address given by us was also well received and helped to motivate the students to work together, and outlined the goals and expectations for the coming year.

Overall, the first day of the conference was deemed successful in its goal of developing key skills and fostering connections among the student leaders. With the knowledge and connections gained from the conference, the student leaders are now poised to tackle the initiatives and events planned for the 2023 school year.

Upcoming events for the student leaders include, but are not limited to, Harmony Week, Anzac Day, World’s Greatest Shave, Clean-Up Australia Day and International Women’s Day. Each of these events have their own assigned task force of student leaders and teacher organisers, all of who are dedicated to their completion and management.

An upcoming event is the World’s Greatest Shave, where a few Willi High students will be sponsored to shave their heads at Athletics Day. All donations will go toward the Leukaemia Foundation, which helps Aussie families beat blood cancer through continued funding of medical research and scientific development of treatments and diagnosis. Currently, Audrey Fullerton Keller and Ryan Keane are a part of the team and can be supported by donating via the link already sent out to all students. It’s not too late to sign up or donate - it closes on Athletics Day (2 March). Please do not hesitate to contact your homegroup teacher or SML with any questions.

The second day of the Student Leadership Conference shifted its focus toward the practical applications of leadership. Students participated in a high-energy citywide scavenger hunt, followed by a hearty meal at Melbourne Central’s food court. In the afternoon, the students further tested their skills during two and a half rounds of tenpin bowling at Strike, with results varying from lane to lane.

These practical activities offered a hands-on learning experience for the student leaders, allowing them to apply their leadership skills in a fun and engaging setting. This opportunity was a great start to the year for the leadership team, enabling us to get to know one another and set a strong agenda for 2023.

Pasco School Captains

Thanh Truong and William Noonan

It has been a wonderful start to the year for our new Year 7 students. They have settled into our campus with ease and are making connections with their peers and staff on our Bayview Campus.

It was wonderful that so many of your families were able to join us for our information evening on 9 February to enjoy some refreshments and beautiful music. We would like to thank the musicians organised by music teacher Lachlan Wyatt and the Bayview Music Captains Thom Woolford, Xavier Cilia, Ty Panone and Ethan Hammon. It is important to us at Williamstown High School that we are a community working together to support all of our students and parent/carer support is key to this.

We have had the pleasure of visiting classes and seeing students attentive in their learning. We have amazing homegroup teachers that support your children and we thank them for taking on this important role. They are Nikki Nguyen, Sarah Barry, Mat Grossman, Jenny Fsadni, Holly Defina, Grace Robertson, Anita Gatti-Smith, Nicholas Madden, Warren Patterson and Kerri Wangemen. We would like to take the opportunity to welcome Sarah, Jenny and Holly to the school and our Year 7 team.

We would also like to thank all of the families that responded to our request and donated board games to us. Much appreciated.

We are heading off to camp next week and look forward to sharing the experience with you in our next article.

Isabella O’Malley and Nicholas Madden

Year 7 Coordinators

What a productive start to the term we have made in Year 8. We’ve hit the ground running in all curriculum areas and are already forming good work habits for the year.

Year 8 homegroup teachers have utilised our 12-minute homegroup sessions so far to complete some Resilience Project lessons from the students’ homegroup resource book. In conjunction with Safer Internet Day, we opened up a conversation about contributing to a safer online environment.

It was also impressive to see lots of Year 8s engaging in the Swimming Carnival competitively - as well as in the novelty events - to gain house points. This even included some new records in the pool. Looking forward to seeing students compete again later this term, this time on the track during the Athletics Carnival.

Year Level Coordinators

Stewart Wilson and Brittany Lukasik

Carmen Wiseman and I would like to welcome all new and returning students and their families to Williamstown High School in 2023. We are very pleased and excited to be the Year 9 Coordinators for what is an action-packed, exciting time in the students’ high school careers.

In Year 9, students participate in a range of interesting and immersive programs that broaden their learning. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Student leadership opportunities

• Year 9 Immersion program and community service

• Immersion Camp

• A broad range of elective subjects

• Morrisby online careers research

• Year 9 exams

Carmen and I have already noticed - as have numerous classroom teachers - the positive start that the students have made and are optimistic about the learning and maturity growth that can be associated with this stage of young people’s lives. It was also terrific to see so many families present at the Year 9 parent/carer information evening, which was held recently.

Carmen and I see our role as being an advocate and moral guide for students - helping them to navigate various situations and to be aware and accountable for their comments and actions. Supporting us as always are the reliable homegroup teachers, who act as the first point of contact for both students and families. We also have a fantastic Wellbeing Team - Ann Hyland, Christina Frei and Alex Robinson - that works in a more individualised capacity, supporting students’ wellbeing needs in the school.

Wishing all our staff, students and families the very best for the school year ahead.

Tyson Hartwig & Carmen Wiseman | Year 9 Coordinators

It has been a very fast paced and exciting transition to Pasco Campus for our 2023 Year 10 students. There has been a lot of excitement, nerves and anticipation for what the senior levels of their education will hold.

We have been busy building relationships, supporting our students in their studies and establishing routines for our newest Pasco members. The homegroup curriculum for Year 10s has been a large focus of their day, where they are exploring the theme of “Who Am I” and engaging in class-building morning circles and interactive discussions with one another.

During this time they have also been preparing for their up-and-coming work experience, which will run in Term 1 from 20-24 March. Students have been working through contacting workplaces, completing forms and modules on workplace safety. Just a friendly reminder that these forms are due on Wednesday, 1 March.

In the coming weeks, students will experience a range of activities covering topics such as study habits and motivation. This seminar will be held on Thursday, 22 February. Year 10 PE classes will also have the opportunity to explore sport technology through an incursion with Wheelchair Basketball Australia, where they will participate in wheelchair basketball during their lesson.

We would like to say a special thank you to all those that attended our Year 10 parent/carer information night on Thursday, 16 February. It was such a fantastic night to meet with all of our Year 10 families and share all that Williamstown High School’s Pasco Campus has to offer.

We continue to look forward to helping support our students with their studies, some of whom will sit their first VCE SAC and CAT assessments in the coming weeks.

As always, it has been a fast-paced start to the year and it has been fantastic to see students returning to school after the summer break with a renewed enthusiasm to work toward their chosen pathway.

Thank you to those who attended the Year 11 parent/carer information evening. Information was presented regarding VCE and VCE-VM study requirements, and the sausage sizzle provided a welcome break from the rain. Please consult your Compass newsfeed for a copy of the PowerPoint slides.

Many school-based programs are running this year to assist students in their academic progress and facilitate improved wellbeing. The Multimodal Approach to Preventing Suicide in Schools (MAPSS) project has already commenced and the first Success Integrated Workshop will be taking place on 16 March focusing on ‘Study Techniques and Strategies’.

In homegroup, students are engaging in programs from the Resilience Project that provide evidence-based and practical wellbeing strategies to build resilience. If you have not already done so, please purchase the ‘Homegroup Student Resource’ to facilitate participation in this program.

Finally, each week homegroups are competing against one another in homegroup challenges and weekly trivia to win the prize of a Hot Wings lunch at the end of the year. 11B has set the early pace in the first couple of weeks, but there is plenty of time for the others to catch up.

We have really hit the ground running this term as we continue our Year 12 marathon. It seems most students have found a good pace that is working for them and have set some meaningful goals to what they want to achieve this year. The Willi High team uniform (Y12 jumpers) arrived and it’s fair to say that the students were ecstatic. There is obviously something pretty special about being recognised as a Year 12, which was clear with the number of jumpers being worn in 30-degree heat!

The clear highlight of our journey so far has to be the Year 12 Camp. Everyone that attended enjoyed the three days away from school and it was a great opportunity for the teachers to get to know their students away from the classroom. Special mentions have to go to everyone who participated in the talent show. It really had it all. From grungy rock bands to talented vocal solos and even a Connect 4 showdown involving Year 12 student Lewis Bannwart and School Principal Gino Catalano (Lewis came out the victor).

We look forward now to the first assessments for the year in VCE, and to finalising and commencing the work placements for students in VCE-VM. The students will be making study planners at school, which will be a great opportunity to discuss and implement at home to stay on top of their work.

Our team is excited to be back in the classroom and seeing students engaged in the always intriguing world of Humanities once more!

This year, we have welcomed a change to our Year 7 Ancient World curriculum and have introduced a new unit: “Introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures”, with a focus on the Kulin nation. This term, our Year 7 students will be diving deep into Australian history and discovering a new-found appreciation for the world’s oldest living culture. With a diverse culture spanning over 65,000 years and continuing, the Year 7s will understand the importance of storytelling, spiritual connection to land and Country, and protecting and conserving Australia’s past.

In our first week of Year 8, students have been exploring the always fascinating yet gory time period of Medieval Europe. See below picture of the Year 8s learning first hand the the ups and downs of the feudal system in a game stimulation where they walk in the shoes of peasants, knights, nobles and the king. The cohort can look forward to a trip to the replica medieval castle, Kryal Castle, at the end of the term.

Part of our Year 9 cohort have been learning about Australia in World War I and understanding how alliances, militarism, imperialism, nationalism and assassination all played a role in sending the world to war. Year 9s will also participate in an excursion this term and will tour the Shrine of Remembrance.

Hannah Erasmus

The 2023 Year 9 Immersion program is in full swing and it’s only Week 3! The Immersion teachers, Rachel Roberts and Tyson Hartwig, would like to welcome 9A and 9B into the M.A.D.ness of Immersion for Term 1.

Students have already formed their Make A Difference (MAD) groups and are in the planning and research phase of their stall for the upcoming expo on Friday, 10 March. Once again, the Year 9 students have selected important issues to showcase such as animal abuse in sports, refugees, endangered Australian marsupials, gender equality and water consumption.

Year 7 and 8 students will be invited to the expo to visit each stall to learn more about these issues and be inspired to make a difference themselves.

The Immersion program continues to build lasting and productive relationships with our community service partners, who welcome our students throughout the year and continue to praise them for their exemplary behaviour, maturity and commitment to helping others.

This term, 9A and 9B students will be visiting four local primary schools over four weeks. They will come prepared with games and activities for the primary school students during their lunchtime. For the first time this year, students will be expected to make their own way to the primary school they have been allocated to - just another way Immersion focuses on building resilience and responsibility in our students.

Another first for Immersion this year is the inclusion of an urban camp. Over two days in March, students will volunteer at Fare Share, cooking and preparing nutritious meals for Victorians struggling to put food on the table; take a tour with the Salvation Army, looking at youth homelessness in the city; and learn about the ‘spooky’ side of Melbourne with a nighttime ghost tour. Students will also have a chance to continue to build solid friendships with classmates by participating in a river cruise and dinner at a CBD restaurant. What an adventure!

Rachel Roberts & Tyson Hartwig

Immersion Teachers 2023

Hello and welcome to the 2023 school year. We are off to a flying start and I am already seeing some fantastic work in the Mathematics classroom. For those who have not yet met me, my name is Cory Duker and I have the role of Mathematics Learning Specialist. Essentially my role is to provide support for both our students and mathematics teachers where I can as we journey through the year. I would also like to take a moment to introduce and welcome to the Mathematics team some new faces across both campuses. They include Emma Huang (Bayview), Oliver Graham (Bayview), Nahtasha Nelson-Miriklis (Bayview), Andre Bernardi (Pasco), Melissa Bui (Pasco) and Nicholas Liubinas (Pasco).

Our first major announcement for the year is that the NAPLAN testing will now be running during Term 1 in Week 7. This is the first time that NAPLAN will be running this early in the year and, similar to last year, it will all be run online. With that in mind, it would be a great idea to check in with your child (Year 7 and Year 9 students) to see whether they have downloaded the 2023 NAPLAN Application. This is what the application looks like:

Most students will have now done this at school, but if your child has not been able to download the browser, then they just need to talk to their Mathematics or English teachers about how they can do that. More information will be provided on your Compass feed across the next couple of weeks.

Finally, I wanted to make a quick mention about our After-School Tutoring programs. These programs are open to all students and are aimed at providing both support and extension for all our subjects (including Mathematics!). These programs are also supported by a number of teachers and alumni student tutors. They run at both campuses at the following times and locations:

• 3:04-4:30pm in the Bayview Library on Wednesday

• 3:04-5pm in the Pasco Library on Monday and Wednesday

As always, please get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Cory Duker - Mathematics Learning Specialist

cory.duker@education.vic.gov.au

2023 is shaping up to be a year of change in the Maths department. We will be introducing a raft of new initiatives across the senior year levels in 2023. New study designs will be implemented in all three streams of VCE maths. And we welcome several new teachers to the department.

VCE students for the first time have access to Maffs Guru, a video tutorial package featuring a large amount of content by topic for both Maths Methods and General Maths with more than 200 students signing up for the low-cost opportunity via JP Books before the school term started. Those who initially chose to not make the purchase very quickly made a u-turn upon hearing reviews from their peers. We expect everyone will have an account shortly.

Mr Craig and Ms Mckeegan will deliver the first Master Class for General Maths Unit 3 on Thursday evening of Week 4. All students in this subject are welcome to sign up for the session. Students will be taken through a selection of past exam questions that cover the trickier content in the study design, with tips and tricks to look out for. Maths Methods teachers are looking to provide a similar opportunity to their students; stay tuned for further information on this. At no cost, these sessions represent ridiculous value (external revision lectures are often $50 per person!) and highlight the lengths our teachers are going to to offer every opportunity to our students.

We welcome new teachers to our maths team this year, including Nicholas Liubinas, Mel Bui and Andre Bernardi. All come to the school having taught in other schools with unique insights. They have been eager to get involved and it has been a joy to have their energy injected into our team.

2023 is shaping to be a great year for senior mathematics.

Brett Russell, Senior School Maths Coordinator

Week 1

It’s been a great start to the year for the Pasco Technology faculty area.

Year 11 Food Studies students started off the year with an excursion to the Williamstown Botanical Gardens to explore plants and vegetation that could have been used in a historical setting in the Hunter/Gatherer civilisations of Victoria (our first topic for the study).

Students found and researched plants that were once used as food, medicine, housing or tools for working. This knowledge will be great to use for our kitchen garden, which has been established outside the Pasco kitchen at Q8. We will look at planting some of these native plants to be used for future prac classes. So far we have planted corn and some herbs, and we wait eagerly for harvest time when we can start cooking with our crop.

Our Year 10 Food students in Make a Meal and Food Styling started off the term revising kitchen basics and were fortunate to have Megan, our kitchen assistant, demonstrate the safe and efficient use of knives for food production. Megan was a professional chef in her past career so it was great to make use of her expertise. The students were in awe of her precision and the speed in her technique. The students later used the same techniques in their first practical lesson for the term.

Geraldine Famularo

The school sporting calendar is jam packed this term, with a number of events for students to participate in. The one that kicked off the year was the Swimming Carnival, and what a wonderful day it was. The weather was perfect and there was a positive atmosphere throughout the whole day.

The Oak Park Sports and Aquatic Centre, where the event is held, is a fabulous facility that provides the opportunity for all students to get involved and support their respective houses. The main event, of course, is the swimming competition in the 50m pool, but coming a close second are the novelty events held in the 20m pool.

Competition was fierce in some races and records were broken throughout the day. A big congratulations goes to the following students who broke some long standing records

Mia Mifsud - Year 8 Girls Backstroke

Mia Mifsud - Year 8 Girls Butterfly

Hunter Mace - Year 9-10 Boys Butterfly

Congratulations goes to Red House for winning the 2023 Swimming Carnival.

The next major event on the sporting calendar is the Athletics Carnival, which will be held at the Newport Athletics Track on Thursday, March 2.

Interschool sport

The interschool sports competition commences early in the term with the following sports on offer. Parents need to pay and consent on Compass in order for their child to be involved in the competition.

• Tennis

• Cricket

• Baseball/Softball

• Volleyball

Next meeting - Tuesday, 21 March, 7:30pm - online/Bayview Campus

Guest speaker - TBC - details via a Compass notification

The Parents and Friends Association held its first meeting for 2023 on Tuesday 21 February, and were pleased to welcome back familiar faces, and to meet some new families to WHS. Karen Anderson, Bayview Campus Principal was our guest speaker and ran very informative Q&A session. A quick summary of the PFA’s activities evolved into an informal chat session with new and existing families sharing opinions and experiences.

The PFA meets twice a term. Meetings are held in-person at the Bayview Campus and online. Dates of meetings are on the PFA page of the school website, and we send reminders via Compass before each meeting.

We regularly invite guest speakers from within the school community to our meetings. It is a great opportunity to learn more about different aspects of Willi High, to meet these leaders and teachers, and to ask any questions or raise concerns that you may have.

The PFA runs a couple of fundraising events throughout the year - our first will be a sausage sizzle at the Millers Road Bunnings store on Sunday, 5 March. There are a couple of shifts still available on the volunteer roster (sign up at https://volunteersignup.org/PHBX3), or please pop by for a sausage on the day.

Please join us at our next meeting on 21 March. The guest speaker is yet to be confirmed - details will be sent via Compass, or email us at presidentwhspfa@gmail.com to receive PFA updates.

STOPIT is a new Victoria Police text notification service enabling commuters, including school students, to report any form of inappropriate behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable, frightened or threatened on the public transport network.

How STOPIT works

The STOPIT service enables commuters to use their mobile phone to promptly, easily and discreetly report inappropriate behaviours.

To use the service, commuters simply text ‘STOPIT’ to 0499 455 455. This triggers an automated response that includes a link to where the commuter can provide more details about what’s just happened.

When people report these types of inappropriate behaviours, police can investigate and identify offenders to improve safety on public transport for everyone.

Parents and carers are encouraged to consider discussing the new service with students who travel on public transport. Students who use mobile phones outside of school hours are encouraged to save the STOPIT number in their mobile phone.

Please note, STOPIT is for reporting non-urgent incidents on public transport. Always phone 000 in an emergency.

For more information, refer to sexual and anti-social behaviour on public transport on the Victoria Police website.

Please click here for 2023 CSEF application form

Student Accident Insurance Arrangements

Main points

• The DET does not provide personal accident insurance OR ambulance cover for students.

• Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.

• Parents/carers can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

• Parents/carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs.

• These costs may be recoverable where an injury is caused by the negligence (carelessness) of the DET, a school council or their employees or volunteers.

• Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

Action required

Parents/carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Reasonably low cost accident insurance policies may be purchased from commercial insurers.

The DET does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property.

Annual privacy reminder

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website.

For more information about privacy, see: Schools' Privacy Policy - information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages.