Welcome to Term 3!
I trust that you and your children had a lovely break and took some time to bask in creation, allowing the children to refresh for Term 3.
Every year, parents, students and staff are asked to complete an independent satisfaction survey about our school's effectiveness. As your Primary Principal, these surveys provide me with powerful insights that can lead to informed action. While overall satisfaction is very high, we continually strive to improve with God's strength.
Since the last survey in 2023, we have focused on several key areas: Biblical and faith integration, community participation, co-curricular activities, cybersafety, enhancements to our before and after-school programs, and teacher professional development. One area the students identified as lacking was guidance on future career options.
As a College committed to helping students achieve their God-given potential, we believe it is important for every unique individual, made in the image of God, to consider their future purpose. Purpose and success are different concepts; success varies for each person, but the purpose is being at the centre of God's will, obedient to His Word and Spirit.
To address this need, we started a pilot program at the end of Term 3 of 2023, run by our Careers teachers for Year 6 students. The program aims to introduce students to the vast array of career options and encourage them to dream about their future with some blue-sky thinking. The focus is not on ATAR scores or university options but on exploring what their futures could look like.
Here are some quotes from our Year 6 students:
"When we did the career session, it showed me all the paths our amazing school opens up for us." Arnish
"I feel that the Career Day talk was good. It helped students think about the future andwhat they want to be in a realistic way." Daniel
"Our Year 6 career session went well with many fun and interesting activities. We made posters and came up with ideas for life scenarios." Aarush
The pilot program has been enjoyed and successful, and we are hoping to expand on this idea in the near future.
Staffing Updates
As you may be aware, Victoria is currently experiencing a teacher shortage. However, at HCC, we have been blessed to be fully staffed. Occasionally, teachers take long service leave, go on maternity leave or have medical concerns, leading to changes in your children's teachers.
For Term 3, we would like to welcome:
Kerryn Jeffreys: Kerryn will be teaching 1C for 3 days a week as Vanessa Cooper celebrates the birth of a beautiful baby boy.
Cheryl Chea: Cheryl will be teaching 4F full-time as Anna Sgro starts her maternity leave.
Jenae Wilkinson: Jenae will be teaching library specialist lessons while Mary Donnan and Thareta Hendricks complete the 1C teaching.
We praise God for allowing us to employ such high-quality teachers with an active Christian faith.
Term 3 is relatively short at 9 weeks, and as always, there is much to look forward to amongst the general learning, including Book Week in week 5 (start thinking about those costumes now!), Father's Day celebrations, and 100 Days of Prep.
We look forward as always to partnering with you in your child’s learning and continuing the journey.