“INTO THE WOODS” school production for 2016
The College proudly present this years schools production at the Castlemaine Town Hall 7pm shows on Thursday 28 July, Friday 29 July and Saturday 30 July. Bookings Online at TryBooking Tickets Adults $20 Students $15
Principal
For some it is the start of their journey at CSC in either Year 7 or into the Year 9 Steiner program for other it is their last year of school. For our year 12’s we hope that they focus on their learning for this year to create as many options for them at the end of the year and that they can get their preference of University, TAFE or employment pathways. Last year we celebrated with Jordan Furlong our college Dux of 2015 when he achieved his ATAR of 99.25. Over the past weeks I have continued to hear from our other graduates that they have got into their courses and programs or achieved employment. We all wish them well and look forward to hearing from their about their achievements.
If you do know of past students who have achieved in their area of passion, please contact the school and let us know. One of our past school captains, Sayle Johnson of class of 2013 has just been awarded New Colombo Plan Scholarships, this high-profile Federal government initiative sees 100 top Australian undergraduates selected annually for highly prestigious scholarships, designed to increase knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study in the area. Sayle will use his funds to support his learning in Indonesian and we congratulate Sayle on this significant achievement. Congratulations also to Ashley Penrose for winning Mt Alexander Shire Young Citizen of the Year. An amazing achievement as she completed year 12 last year along with all of her leadership and community work.
This is a very exciting year in the history of the school as it will be the last year that we will be located on two sites. The new Engineering Building program has been busy over the holidays with the first half of the slab being poured just prior to Christmas and the other half due to be poured this week. It still looks as if our Technology courses will be operating in the new facility late July. We are about start planning for our Music and Drama spaces at BRC to be updated prior to the move. We are still hoping for further funding for the next two buildings and we should hear about this as part of the State Budget in April.
Each family will be receiving a Calendar of key dates for your reference. It will not have every event on it, just those major events including the dates for the school holidays. More detailed information will be on our XUNO portal and the school website. You will notice this year we will be finishing our school program early as need to provide time and support to our teachers to move from ES and the relocations at Blakeley Road Campus. This has been supported by School Council due to the mammoth task of moving resources and equipment ready for the start of the year to limit the impact on our learning programs, particularly of our VCE classes.
Throughout the year if you do have questions, queries or want to share some good news, please contact the school. You can contact your child’s mentor teacher as a first point or reference. They will generally be able to assist you and can liaise with other teachers on your behalf. If it is a significant concern or if you wish to discuss general issues, you can make a time to meet with any of the Principal Team. Paul Frye is leading our Engagement and Wellbeing issues and Brian Brasher leads our Student Learning and Teaching program. I am also happy to discuss these or other issues. We really do appreciate you letting us know of any concerns sooner rather than later. The relationship between home and school is a critical component of students’ success, whether they are in year 7 through to year 12.
Mary McPherson
College Principal
Castlemaine Secondary College
Our Vision: “Students, Staff and Parents of Castlemaine Secondary College are resilient, responsible, creative and engaged in our local and global community. We are independent learners, striving to reach our potential.”
Castlemaine Secondary College is a multi-campus school which caters for approximately 670 students from Years 7 to 12 by providing a broad range of challenging programs for our diverse student population that is reflective of our broader community. The College has spent considerable time, energy and expertise developing programs which endeavour to best meet the needs of all of our students.
Our College is based around three pillars which underpin all of our goals and learning outcomes for students: Personalisation, Relationships and Community.
Personalisation
Every student has skills and talents that they need support form their families and teachers to develop. We are working to provide curriculum and learning opportunities both in the classroom and in community settings to encourage each student to achieve more than they thought possible. Through a diverse and rich set of curriculum offerings, students have the opportunity to try to identify their future pathways and learn the literacy, numeracy and specialist knowledge and skills they will need for their preferred future.
Relationships
Fro learning to occur, students need to be in a safe and caring environment, and it is also important that students enjoy positive relationships with each other and with their teachers. To enhance relationships between and amongst students, teachers and parents, Castlemaine Secondary College has supportive school structures that are based on our Mentor Group program. All teaching staff work with a small group of students to personally support their overall development to communicate with their families about student learning and wellbeing.’
Community
Castlemaine Secondary College has developed strong links with a range of community partners. Our community partnerships are embedded within the teaching and learning program. They connect the College to the community. For example:
- Castlemaine Hot Rod Club – Vehicle Testing Centre located at our Etty Street Campus with links to VET Automotive and other automotive courses. VASS and VicRoads approved.
- Hand of Hope – Student writing and reflections in the Poly Times published monthly in the Castlemaine Mail, Street Art and wellbeing chatterboxes.
- Castlemaine Community House - Growing Abundance operates the outsourced canteen operations within the College, providing our school community with links to local food producers, education and learning opportunities.
- Castlemaine State Festival - Castlemaine Secondary College is a major sponsor of the Castlemaine State Festival, with extensive student involvement in the The Arts programs.
Student Management Tool
As part of the College’s commitment to ensure our families have informative and up to date information about what is happening at the College and how each student is travelling at school, we are introducing a new communication tool called Student Management Tool (SMT). Parents can log into the SMT with individual log in details using the following link:
