Mr Knight presenting the 2024 College Captains, Hemita Chandramoorthy and Paris Tong with their Year 12 Hoodie.
Phone: 9547 6822
Email: wellington.sc@education.vic.gov.au
Attendance: 9562 4762 or 0484 009 562
IT Helpdesk: helpdesk@wellingtonsc.vic.gov.au
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to all staff, students and families! As we embark on the journey of the 2024 school year, I am thrilled to join the Wellington Secondary College community as your new principal. It’s an honour to be part of such a vibrant community.
In my first week at Wellington, I had the pleasure of meeting our dedicated staff and enthusiastic students. I took the opportunity to share a bit about myself, including my connection to the Wellington community. Growing up Noble Park, I have fond memories of playing football at Southern Reserve and competing in athletics at Springvale Athletics Club. My connection to Wellington runs even deeper, with two of my uncles having attended Wellington High School, one of them being among the inaugural class of 1973.
I firmly believe that education is a collaborative effort involving students, families, and staff. Together, we are committed to fostering a student-focused community where learning and well-being are paramount.
Year 7 Design Challenge
I am delighted to share the success of our Year 7 students in the Design Challenge as part of the ‘Wellington Welcomes You’ program. Despite being only two weeks into their journey at Wellington, the students demonstrated remarkable creativity and teamwork in creating merit pins inspired by our school motto.
A special mention to Nathaniel who wrote a great story and created a Mr Knight achievement pin.
Congratulations to all participants!
House Swimming
Congratulations and well done to all the students that participated and contributed to the House Swimming. It was a fantastic event where students represented their house with pride. The enthusiasm demonstrated by the staff and students has a highlight. A special thanks to the staff and student leaders that made the event so successful. Congratulations to the winning house – Dianella!
Lunar New Year Celebrations
Happy Lunar New Year – the year of the Dragon to all of our families that celebrate Lunar New Year. It’s been a great week of celebration this week. We started the week with the VCE-Vocational Major students undertaking a variety of activities at lunchtime for staff and students to participate in. At the end of the week our team of local and international students participated in a variety of traditional Chinese celebration activities. Well done to everyone that got involved and celebrated the diversity of our community.
Strategic Priorities
Our commitment to academic excellence and student well-being is reflected in our 2024 Strategic Priorities:
| Priority 1 | Maximise learning growth for all students including an emphasis on extending students capable of high achievement. |
| Priority 2 | Empower students to be engaged in the co-design of their learning, to establish effective relationships and be connected to their peers, staff and the community. |
| Priority 3 | Strengthen the wellbeing of students, which is necessary to thrive, contribute and respond positively to the challenges of lifelong learning. |
Mobile Phones
Please be reminded that Mobile Phones policy continues to be enforced at all government schools. Students are reminded to leave their phones, switched off and in their lockers as soon as practical from the time they arrive at school until the end of the school day. Parents should only contact their child/ren through the General Office, not via their phones during school hours. Students are not permitted to have wireless earphones, the exception to this rule is if they are listening to something under the direction of their teacher.
Charter Bus Tickets
Well done to many students and families that have successfully navigated the Charter Bus Service. Parents are reminded that payment for your child to access these services for Term 1 should have been made. Parents facing financial difficulty are always welcome to contact the Business Manager or College Cashier, where special arrangements can be discussed. Students are reminded that they will need to have their ticket with them.
Camp, Sports and Excursion Fund and Wellington Daily Support
Families are reminded that applications for the Government Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund are now open. To access funding, please ensure your application is lodged with a copy of your Health Care Card as soon as possible.
Parking and Drop-off/Pick-up
A friendly reminder to all parents regarding car parking and drop-off/pick-up procedures. With the safety of our students and staff in mind, please exercise caution and follow school signage when navigating the campus. Let’s also be mindful of local parking restrictions and respect the rights of residents in the surrounding area.
Accident and Personal Property Insurance
Please note that Wellington Secondary College and the Department of Education do not provide personal accident insurance or coverage for personal property. It is the responsibility of parents and guardians to ensure adequate coverage for personal medical expenses and belongings.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in making Wellington Secondary College a safe and inclusive learning environment for all.
Mr Chris Knight
Principal
Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.
Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.
We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.
Here is a copy of our Digital Learning Policy. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns, please contact the College.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
The annual House Swimming Carnival proved to be a highlight of the school calendar, bringing together students and teachers, and in a day filled with excitement, camaraderie, and impressive displays of aquatic prowess.
The Year 7 and Year 12 students made their way to Pines Aquatic in Frankston for the annual Swimming Carnival. Whilst the weather tested the resolve of the students, they came through with flying colours. The dominant house of the day was Dianella (Blue) who walked away victorious. Amassing 138 points, they marginally beat a competitive Acacia (Yellow) house by 2 points. Eucalyptus (Green) house took third place with 110 points and Waratah (Red) had to settle for fourth with 96 points.
Our Year 12s arrived in great spirits and showed their imaginations with some tremendous fancy dress costumes. It was great to see them supporting all competitors and have a break from their busy academic start to the year.
Congratulations to every student who applied themselves in the pool and collected valuable points for their respected houses. We move on to cross country for our next interschool event with interest to see if Dianella can keep top spot in the carnivals or if another house takes their crown.
Mr Tom Wyldes
Sports Coordinator
A variety of activities took place this week to celebrate the new Lunar Year. Chinese and Vietnamese music, game playing, sausage sizzle and karaoke to name a few. It was great to see staff, local and international students all getting together to sing, dance and eat. On Thursday we continued the celebrations with performances from the Springvale Neighbourhood House – lion and dragon dance, tai chi demonstration and Chinese fan dance.
Ms Connie Tzelepis
Director – International Programs
After settling in to Year 7 life at Wellington Secondary College, our new Year 7 students participated in a ‘Wellington Welcomes You’ Design Challenge running from February 5 to February 8.
The theme for the 4th year of this annual event was “How might we design pins to celebrate the college motto of Wellington Secondary College”. The week started off with an introduction to the challenge, presented by new Principal Mr Chris Knight and various other members of staff and student leaders. The College motto “Caring, Striving, Learning” was at the forefront of all the students’ minds by the end of the introduction and the students were ready to take inspiration from the design thinking process to create the designs for these pins. College culture and House culture has been a strong priority for the school as a whole, and it was great to reinforce the importance of this with our new students.
Students were required to design three pins and bring them to life by utilising various Makerspace resources during the prototyping phase. These prototypes were then presented to Year 10 and Year 8 students during an expo held on the last day. It was a wonderful way to end the program and the designs were truly inspiring. The intention is to utilise the designs, created by the students themselves, to create real pins to reward to all students throughout their time here at Wellington Secondary College.
Well done to all the Year 7 students for a wonderful week of work and special congratulations to the winners.
Ms Teresa La
Director of STEM
After a heavy first day of presentations and classes, the Year 12s continued their return to school in a delicious fashion with the traditional Year 12 Breakfast on Thursday 1 February. Students were provided with a yummy breakfast of pancakes, toast, fruit, yoghurt, and juice which was very well received and very much enjoyed.
Year 12 can be a challenging and stressful year, and our Annual Year 12 Breakfast helps get the year off to a good start. It was great to see Year 12 students connecting and enjoying the morning and enjoying the Senior School space. Members of the Principal class also attended the event, with Mr Knight spending the morning chatting with and getting to know Year 12 students, who welcomed the opportunity to get to know their new Principal.
In all, a very successful event and special thanks are very much due to Mr Jarvis for his cooking skills; Ms Huffer, Mr Feenane, Ms Pillay, Ms Saxton for their help in preparing and organising the event; and Ms Andrews and Ms Roden in the kitchen for ordering the food. Well done all!
Mr Simon Coles
Head of Senior School
The Year 12 Vocational Major (VM) began their year of community projects by planning, organising and running a series of fun and engaging activities to celebrate Lunar New Year. Despite the extremely hot weather, the students joined in at lunchtime and enjoyed making paper lanterns, fortune cookies and origami, placing red envelope wishes on a tree, playing games of Jianzi and Chinese New Year bingo and joined the dots to help create a mural of a Dragon. Congratulations Year 12 VM on a successful first event for 2024.
Ms Jaclyn Jacobs
Learning Specialist: Vocational Education and Pathways
Term 1 fitness testing program has kicked off from Week 1 at Wellington.
The fitness testing caters to students in Years 7 through to Year 11, incorporating a diverse range of assessments designed to capture various facets of physical fitness. Among the array of tests conducted, including the sit and reach, vertical jump, agility run, standing long jump, sit-ups, and push-ups, the newly acquired timing gates for the 20-meter sprint have particularly piqued students’ interest. This addition not only enhances the accuracy of measurement but also injects an element of excitement into the testing process, prompting students to strive for personal bests and fostering a healthy sense of competition.
Following the completion of the fitness testing regimen, students are provided with a comprehensive breakdown of their scores alongside the established norms for their gender and age group. With this valuable feedback, students engage in reflective exercises to assess their current fitness levels and identify areas for improvement. Encouraged to set personal fitness goals based on their performance, students are empowered to take ownership of their health and well-being, fostering a proactive approach towards self-improvement and long-term fitness habits.
The culmination of the fitness testing program at the end of the academic year serves as an opportunity for students to measure their progress and celebrate their achievements. Parents and guardians are encouraged to actively engage in their child’s fitness journey by supporting healthy habits at home and reinforcing the importance of regular physical activity.
Mrs Brooke Moon
HPE Curriculum Leader
On Thursday 8th February, Wellington’s Sustainability Champions conducted a Waste Audit on the recycling and commingled bins found in the Agora locker bay area. This was facilitated by the Eastern Alliance for Sustainability staff who guided them through the rigorous process of sorting the waste into the appropriate streams. The students who attended looked disgusted at the sight of waste but completed the task to find that we need to improve the disposal of waste in our college. General waste (that is aimed for landfill) was found in the commingled bin where there should have been recyclable items such as cardboard, aluminium cans and soft drinks bottles. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of food waste found in both waste streams. The next step is for the Sustainability Champions to produce a slideshow to present during Assembly time.
Ms Bruna Amaral
Science Teacher / Sustainability Coordinator
At Wellington Secondary College, many staff and students have noticed the increase in litter. It was decided (by the school) that our community needs to learn about how we are not being fair to the environment. So, on the February 8, students known as the Sustainable champions met up with Eastern Alliance for Sustainable Learning and held a waste audit.
During the waste audit, we sorted the waste into categories like soft plastics, landfill, food scraps, etc. Then each waste was weighed and given a percentage. 30% of what was found in the red bin could have been given a second life and 50% of what was found in the recycling bin was pure contamination. Each student who partook in the waste audit had a similar response to the question: What are your thoughts on our school’s waste management? It was either a ‘too bad’ or just a simple ‘yes.’.
Overall, the waste audit was a success and quite educational. If you are wondering about how, you can help our school be more sustainable, I have put together a list that will decrease your carbon footprint and increase the lifespan of our only home, Earth.
1. Check the labelling
Sometimes we presume that something belongs in the red bin when it belongs in the yellow bin (vice versa) just because of what materials it has been made from.
2. Start reducing the amount of plastic in your lunchbox
Instead of wrapping your sandwich in gladwrap, putting it in a zip lock bag and keeping it in a lunchbox – what if you used a re-usable lunch box? Like this example, there are many more instances where you can substitute soft plastics for something re-usable.
3. Try not to waste resources
Our planet as we know it is running out of resources. By throwing out a perfectly good apple in the bin, we are cutting down on the Earth’s natural resources.
4. Avoid single use items
By using single use items, we are wasting resources. If instead we used a re-usable item, then maybe we would not see as much waste.
5. Don’t throw it, bin it!
There is always a bin just a couple of steps away, so instead of littering and increasing its likelihood of an animal getting hurt or worse, just walk those extra steps and bin it.
Saanvi Shaker
08J
