Welcome back to Term 3. 

Our intrepid East Timor adventurers have returned with amazing stories of encounters that have been eye-opening for them and given them an appreciation for different cultures and life experiences.   We are so proud of the way in which these young people represented the College as ambassadors of poise, maturity and generosity.  We thank the tour leaders, Jen Talbot, Michael McCallum and Carmel Brown for their care of our students and their enthusiasm for the roles they played in the immersion.

We have had a wonderful time with the students from Otsuma High School over the past weeks.  They have experienced life as a Clonard student, engaging with activities and it was lovely to see them in the yard, engaging with our students who again, have the opportunity through these experiences, to come to know the culture of other countries.  We are grateful for their warmth and we thank their teachers for the way in which they cared for their young charges. 

For our Year 12 students this term represents the last full term of the school life and it will be a very busy one for all of them as Unit 4 courses conclude and we move into full swing of revision and exam preparation.  This is the time for all senior students to really concentrate on their studies and be diligent in their submission of work that is their best effort.  Their teachers are ready and willing to do what they can to make sure that every student has the chance to understand the content and skills they must master and exhibit in the SACs and exams that follow in Term 4.  For students who are not undertaking the exams, they have only weeks left of their secondary schooling and we hope that they have a moment to pause and consider what the next stage in their lives will be. 

I would like to acknowledge the work of the Careers practitioners in helping students get ready for their subject selections.  Steph Baulch has been working tirelessly in 1:1 conversations with Year 10 and 11 students in working through their senior pathways and we appreciate her expertise and the way in which she considers each person at a time and what is best for them.  Her breadth of knowledge in this space is impressive.  I would also like to draw your attention to the work of Bek Barry who has joined us this year in the Junior Careers space.  I know many Year 8 and 9 students have reached out for her advice in advance of their subject selections and her advice to them has been greatly appreciated.

All the subject selections have been concluded for 2025 – 2026.  Over the next few weeks we will carefully consider what students have selected from Year 9 – 12 and determine what subjects will be running in 2026.  It is important to note that we run subjects in VCE at low levels, but a few subjects might be too low to run.  If this is the case, I will let parents/students know as early as possible so that they can either choose a different subject or, where necessary, assist them to enrol in Virtual School Victoria to undertake that study.  Where it is possible, we would offer students in VSV subject, support on site as well with a teacher as a tutor.  However, that is subject to staffing availability. 

It is important to note that the 70% attendance requirement has been activated for Semester 2.  This means that any students whose attendance falls below 70% will be given an ‘N’ for the unit at VCE or ‘No Progress’ at Year 7 – 10.  We urge you to monitor your young person’s attendance and ensure that they are here every day at school so that, should something happen that affects their attendance, they have a sufficient buffer to keep them above the 70%.