2026 Early Commencement
Our whole school rolled over to our 2026 timetable on Monday 24 November and our 2025 Year 8 students began classes on the Senior Campus. Early Commencement is a great way for students to get a head start on their studies for next year. I encourage all students to complete set homework and read their texts before returning to school next year. A special thank you to the staff for their efforts in running this program and in particular, the sub school teams, faculty heads and Mr Scott Smith (timetabler) for all their hard work.
Secondhand Uniform/Book Sale
Special thanks to everyone who donated books or uniform items to our second-hand sale which was held on Friday 28 November. We raised over $11,000 which will be used to help support student-led initiatives. I would like to sincerely thank all of our wonderful parent volunteers who ran the sale on this day.
Uniform Shop Volunteers and Community Partners
On Wednesday 3 December we held a brunch to thank our wonderful volunteer parents who run our Second-hand Uniform and Book Shop and other community partners. Having people volunteer to support our learning community is such an important resource. Congratulations to everyone involved and we will be calling for expressions of interest for more parent volunteers to join our team early next year.
Jazz Night
On Thursday 4 December we held our annual Jazz under the Stars Night. The music was superb, and parents, staff and students all enjoyed the evening. Thank you to the parents who manned the sausage sizzle on the night and all the instrumental staff and other staff who supported this event. Special thanks to Mrs Tijtje Keatley – Music Director for overseeing this event along with our 2026 Music Captains – Tai and Nicholas. Funds raised will go towards the Generations in Jazz Tour in 2026.
Semester Two Reports
Teachers have been completing reports and feedback for their students. Year 7 to Year 11 students and parents/carers will receive an end of semester report via Compass on Tuesday 9 December. The reports are a culmination of the written feedback from their teachers with additional information on work behaviours and, for Year 7 to 10 students, Victorian Curriculum levels.
Year End Program (YEP)
The YEP Program will then run from Wednesday 10 December until Friday 12 December for students in Years 7-9 who have enrolled in this program. Students will receive information regarding this program shortly.
Presentation Night
This year, Presentation Night will be held on Tuesday 16 December at The Besen Centre, 7.00pm, 87-89 Station Street, Burwood. Students have been notified if they are to receive an award and were invited to attend a rehearsal at the college on Thursday 4 December. Information regarding how families can purchase tickets for the night has been emailed out.
How to support your child under 16 with the new social media age restrictions
From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:
- prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account
- deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.
Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills. The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions. Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube. Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.
How to help under 16s prepare for the change
Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.
To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.
What the change means for our school
At our school, most age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network. Our school allows student access to YouTube in a logged-out state. However, this access is restricted so mature content cannot be viewed. To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.
Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal