Principal's Message

Our 2019 Year 12 class can claim quality over quantity: our small group of five VCE students has outperformed their peers to achieve an above-state all-study mean, while our Year 11 students who undertook Year 12 subjects this year, including Chemistry, PE and Community Services, have performed extremely well also. Congratulations to Jack Helmore (PE), Guy Faber (English) and Jasper Irish (English) who all received a subject score above 40, and to all of our students and teachers for the effort invested to achieve personal best results. Many students have achieved study scores in the mid to high 30s which have contributed to very strong ATAR (tertiary entrance) rankings. All of our Year 12 VCE students have achieved results which should secure them their first preferences in tertiary study, with likely future pathways including ADFA, agricultural science, midwifery, medical radiation and forensics. We are delighted with our students’ individual and collective success.

Another highlight of my week was attending the official opening of our Hands On Learning Centre on Wednesday, celebrating this very special occasion with proud students, families and staff. The official opening was the culmination of many months of hard work from our HOL students and their mentor teachers Warren Attrill, Donna Scott and Dave Wilkinson, to repurpose a previously under-used space into a comfortable and attractive learning centre and home base. The students have learnt many new skills through this renovation project and had a vested interest in ensuring a top quality finish! We were all very proud of our HOL graduates who attended the opening ceremony and made their mark on the wall of fame, and our current HOL students who have seen this project through to completion. Students and families spoke with great enthusiasm and clarity about the positive impact of this program. We can reflect with satisfaction on the evolution of HOL into a first class experience at Camperdown College, giving more than 40 students over three years the opportunity to shine through an applied learning experience.

Mr Bennett and I had the pleasure this week of interviewing our seven Junior School Captain applicants for 2020, with input from current captains Stella Horspole and Finn Tolland. We greatly appreciated the honesty and thoughtfulness of the candidates’ responses to our questions and look forward to announcing the new Junior School Captains at our final Celebration of Learning Assembly on Monday morning. It is a great credit to our Year 5 group that so many students were willing to put themselves forward for consideration.

On a staffing note, I am pleased to confirm that our recruitment for 2020 has concluded with the reappointment of Grace Lee to a Maths/PE position, and the appointment of Hannah Plozza to teach Certificate II in Retail Cosmetics in our Corangamite Trade Training Cluster hair and beauty facility next year. A diverse and stimulating range of programs is on offer for our students next year and I am very grateful to have such a capable and dedicated staff team to deliver this suite to our students.

In concluding my final newsletter column for 2019, I reflect that the year has passed more quickly than any others I can recall, however much has been achieved by a school community united around a common goal of educational excellence. I thank you all for your contributions to our wonderful school and wish you a very happy and safe holiday. I hope you will enjoy this year’s Baltarta and cherish the memories you have made this year.