Wednesday March 4 – Swimming Carnival (Competitors only)
Friday March 6 – School Photo Day
Monday March 9 – Labour Day Public Holiday (No School)
Wednesday March 11 – Friday March 20 – NAPLAN (Years 7 & 9)
Wednesday March 18 – Athletics Carnival
Tuesday March 24 – 3 Way Conferences (No scheduled classes)
April
Thursday April 2 – Last day of Term 1
Friday April 3 – Good Friday Public Holiday (No School), Term 1 School Holidays begin
Monday April 20 – First Day of Term 2, PAT-M & PAT-R Testing week
Reminder
Please ensure you are checking Compass regularly for notifications and updates to events that are specific to your child, to avoid them missing out. It is how you are able to see, consent and pay for all events that affect your student.
If you miss consent and payment deadlines, your child will not be able to participate in the event.
Welcome Back! Welcome to the 2026 school year here at Wellington Secondary College. I would like to particularly welcome the Year 7 class of 2026, as well as students and families who are newly enrolled at the college in Years 8 to 12. I hope you and your families have had the opportunity to enjoy the summer period and that all new and returning students are feeling refreshed and looking forward to an exciting year ahead.
As we start the new school year we reflect on the previous year. 2025 was a wonderful year in so many ways. Our students’ results indicate that they are learning at a very fast rate when compared to students at similar schools. NAPLAN results were excellent, particularly in student learning growth.
The class of 2025 performed exceptionally well in their study scores and ATARs and we are immensely proud of what they have accomplished in their time at Wellington. Whilst the academic results speak for themselves, with many students achieving high-quality ATARs and securing their place in top universities, it is the personal growth, friendships and memories made along the way that truly define our graduate’s experience at Wellington Secondary College.
Welcome to New and Returning Staff I’m pleased to introduce and welcome nine new staff and four returning staff members for the 2026 school year.
New staff:
Mei Ching Chhen – Maths/Business Management
Fiona Luo – English
Xiaohan Lu – Language – Chinese
Ben Blaikie – Digital Technology
Bianca Kurniawan – Maths
Rosco Lough – English
Catherine Weekes – Instrumental Music – Voice
Daniel Howard – Instrumental Music – Guitar
Harman Singh – English
Returning Staff:
Brooke Moon – Health/PE
Anjana Dwivedi – Maths
Tania Vaz – Science
Elly Dryburgh – Science
High Achievers Assembly On Friday, we welcomed back our high achievers at our Honours Assembly. The focus of the assembly was to honour our highest achieving students from the class of 2025 as we welcomed them into the 90+ club (students who achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher). It was wonderful to have our local Mulgrave member, Ms Eden Foster – MP join us at this event congratulating the students on their success. Another highlight was hearing the College Dux, former College Captain, Chris Doan speaking of his journey from arriving in Australia, to making new friends in a great community, as well as thanking the staff and students at Wellington for making his time so enjoyable.
It was amazing to think we had three students achieve an ATAR of 99 along with 34 students achieving an ATAR above 90.
Student Leadership Announcement The second part of the assembly was announcing and introduce the 2026 student leaders. These students received their leadership badge and in the coming weeks with receive their blazers.
Congratulations to our leadership students. I look forward to working with you all to service and improve our community.
Year 7 Wellington Welcomes You Design Sprint I would like to congratulate the year 7 students as well as the team of staff that have supported them with a fantastic start to the school year. Our new year 7s had a successful Design Sprint as part of the ‘Wellington Welcomes You’ program. Despite being only two days into their journey at Wellington, the students demonstrated remarkable creativity and teamwork in creating many mascots for their house. Congratulations to all participants!
Camp, Sports and Excursion Fund and Wellington Family Support Families are reminded that applications for the Government Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) are now open. To access funding, please ensure your application is lodged with a copy of your Health Care Card as soon as possible. Please speak to the general office staff for further information.
3 Way Conferences – Tuesday 24 March Planning for 3 Way Conferences on Tuesday 24 March is now underway. There will be no scheduled classes on this day, however, it is expected that students participate in the 3 Way Conferences with their parents/guardians. Times and booking information will be released in the coming weeks via Compass.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in making Wellington Secondary College a safe and inclusive learning environment for all.
Compass is the primary source of information for parents/guardians and includes regular news and updates from the College. We encourage families to download the Compass App for convenience. Parents are encouraged to check Compass regularly to keep up to date with what is happening with your child and our school community.
If a student is to be absent from school, parents are required to notify us as to why your child is going to be away. Absences can be advised in the following ways.
Via the Compass app
Via the Phone: Call our Attendance Hotline 9562 4762 (available 24 hours a day) and leave a message with your child’s full name, home group and the reason why your child is absent.
Via Email Send us an email wellington.sc@education.vic.gov.au with your child’s full name, home group and the reason why your child is absent.
It is important that you notify us by 10 am to avoid getting an SMS advising that your child is not at school.
We ask for your support in ensuring that all students are arriving at school on time to ensure valuable class time is not lost. Students who arrive late to school must sign-in at the General Office and provide an explanation for their lateness.
Students will not be able to leave the school during the day unless their parent/guardian has provided prior permission. A note, email or a phone call outlining the reason for the early departure should be provided to General Office.
If your child is unwell during the school day, they are kindly asked to proceed to the First Aid office. If your child needs to be collected, our First Aid Officer will contact you to advise the next steps.
Every lesson is important, and we ask for your support in ensuring that holidays and medical appointments are avoided during the school term and day. We understand that at certain times this may not be possible and in those instances, we kindly ask that you notify the general office or your child’s relevant sub-school.
College Bell Times
Uniform and Appearance
Our uniform forms a distinctive and important part of our identity and who we are and how we are seen as a community. It is expected that all students will present themselves in an exemplary fashion and wear their uniform with pride. Please click here for the Uniform Guide and click here for the updated Uniform Policy.
Please ensure that your child is in the correct uniform every day. The sports uniform is only allowed to be worn on days that your child is timetabled for a practical PE class.
All uniform needs to be purchased from our uniform supplier– Bob Stewart https://www.bobstewart.com.au/ and can’t be substituted with items from other retail stores. Should you require assistance with uniform, please email the College and this will be forwarded to our Wellbeing team.
Mobile Phones
Please be reminded that the Mobile Phone Policy continues to be enforced at all government schools. Students are reminded to leave their phones at home or have them 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 or Sub School and 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.
Parking and Drop-off/Pick-up
A friendly reminder to all parents regarding car parking and drop-off/pick-up procedures.
The staff carpark on Police Road (Gate 3) is available to drive through in the morning to drop off your child. This carpark is locked at 2:00 pm every afternoon and cannot be used to pick up your child at the end of the day. Please make sure that you stop safely and be considerate of other people using the carpark.
Please do not use the staff carpark at the rear of the school on Singleton Drive (Gate 6) for picking up or dropping off your child. This carpark is for staff use only.
We understand that there is a lot of traffic around the school and suggest that you organise a meeting point with your child in the surrounding streets. Please obey all signage and do not park in or across resident driveways. We have teachers on duty at the end of the day to assist students crossing Police Road.
Accident and Personal Property Insurance
Please note that Wellington Secondary College and the Department of Education do not provide accident insurance. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transports costs.
We also do not provide coverage for personal property brought to school and have no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such items. Students should be discouraged from bringing any valuable personal items to school.
Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students policy,found here and available on our website, 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.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in eleven community languages, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Gujarati, Mandarin, Somali, Sudanese, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese
Harper Towers, Year 10, has been singing since she was eight — and she hasn’t stopped since! During lockdown, her dedication never wavered, with her singing teacher Brad continuing lessons online all the way from Malaysia and Singapore.
Harper has performed in a number of youth productions, including Cinderella Jr, Newsies Jr and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. She has also appeared in our school production every year and was thrilled and honoured to play the lead role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz Jr in 2025.
At the same time, Harper performed in Legally Blonde Jr with OnStage Youth Productions — balancing rehearsals for two major productions concurrently. It was a hectic schedule, but Harper wouldn’t have had it any other way.
This year, she is busy rehearsing SIX: Teen Edition with OnStage Youth Productions. Excitingly, this marks the first time SIX has been licensed for performance by a youth group in Australia. Performances will be held on March 6 and 7 at the Rowville Performing Arts Centre.
This year for Valentine’s Day, Wellington celebrated by hosting a bake sale where students sold a variety of different baked treats for people to give to their loved ones. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about showing love to your ‘perfect pair’, it’s also about sharing love with your friends, your family, and even the people around you.
With help from the SRC and the Sustainability team, students could also buy a few special items, like a cuddly capybara, small teddy bears, and clear hearts filled with sweets, along with lots of other things. There were also cookies and brownies made and sold on the 13th of February.
Overall, the day was a huge success, and we managed to raise money that will go towards different events in the future!
The SRC Executive Team Jennifer TER Vathiny LENG Danin LIM
On Wednesday January 28th, the Year 12s returned to school to be surprised to a delicious breakfast of muffins, pancakes, fruit, yoghurt and an assorted variety of juices. Starting Year 12 can be very daunting and stressful for our students, however, the journey is often made easier with amazing student initiatives.
In this case, Year 12 Students: Joyce Thitha, Boramey Khieu, Anastasia So and Linda Chan decorated a ‘Senior’s First Last Day’ banner that swarmed students taking turns with it; bringing laughter, memories and fun in the Senior School space.
Thanking these amazing Year 12’s for their earnest hard-work and dedication. We wish to see the Year 12 cohort have a swift and smooth transition into their studies. Thank you to all the staff who helped make it happen – Mr Jarvis on the BBQ, the coordinators, and all the helpers!
Hosting the International End of Lunar Year luncheon as International Captains was a meaningful experience for both of us. It was special to bring together international and local students to celebrate and share cultures in a warm environment.
Going to Lotus Garden also gave us time to connect more deeply with the international community as leaders. Listening to and acknowledging their struggles strengthened our bond and reminded us of the importance of empathy. These experiences showed us that our role is not just to organise events, but to help students feel understood and at home. It strengthened our commitment to leading with compassion.
Malin Meng & Vitchea Chamreum Year 12 International Student Captains
