A Letter from Keith Herdman, Council President
Dear Parent/Care giver,
It is my pleasure to be able to advise that we have now concluded the extremely comprehensive process for the selection of the new principal of Elwood College. We were extremely fortunate to have attracted an outstanding field of high quality candidates and your selection panel had a very difficult choice to make.
I am delighted to now be able to advise that Ms Rhonda Holt has been appointed to the position of Principal of Elwood College.
Rhonda has been Principal of Elwood Primary School for the past seven years and has led significant improvements and developments ‘across the canal’. Combining her experience in the local community with a wealth of prior experience, your Council is confident that Rhonda will now be able to provide the leadership at Elwood College through the next phase of its development to becoming an outstanding secondary college.
Rhonda’s appointment is provisional for two weeks, pending any appeal being lodged.
I am sure that you will join me in both congratulating Rhonda on this appointment and welcoming her to Elwood College at the commencement of Term 3.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Andrew Nicholls for his tireless efforts as Acting Principal during term 3. Far from being a caretaker principal, Andrew has embraced the opportunity to institute positive changes at the college. We are grateful to Andrew and wish him all the very best in the next stage of his career.
Yours sincerely
Keith Herdman
President
Elwood College Council
10 June 2009
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A Letter from Keith Herdman, Council President
Dear parent/care giver,
By now you will be aware that Keith Muller has been appointed to the role of principal of Cheltenham Secondary College and that today is his last day at Elwood College. On behalf of the college council and the broader college community, I want to acknowledge the very positive contribution that Keith has made to our school over the past 10 years. The college has made significant progress during his stewardship. He leaves with the thanks and very best wishes of us all.
In a period of change of this nature, there is great uncertainty. Your college council recognises the need to move quickly to reduce the uncertainty and associated anxiety amongst students, teachers, support staff, parents and carers. The desire to move quickly needs to be balanced with the fact that this is one of the most critical decisions that our school community will need to make. It is essential for the future of Elwood College that we get this decision right.
Your school council will be actively involved in the selection process.
The procedure for the appointment of the permanent principal is very structured and there are a number of protocols and procedures that must be followed. Council met with a representative of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) on Tuesday evening to commence the selection process.
The selection panel, which will include a strong representation from Elwood College, will comprise:
* one teacher representative from Elwood College, selected by the teaching staff,
* one parent representative, selected by the Elwood College Council,
* the Elwood College Council President, and
* two appointments from DEECD, one of whom is a currently serving school principal.
It is anticipated that the principal's position will be advertised on 24th April with applications to close on 8th May.
Following the standard selection procedures, it would then be anticipated that an appointment will be made by the end of 2nd term and the appointee will commence at Elwood College at the commencement of Term 3.
We have been advised by the southern regional office of DEECD that Andrew Nicholls, who is currently Assistant Principal at Elisabeth Murdoch College, has been appointed as acting principal until the permanent appointment is made. He will be commencing his appointment from the beginning of 2nd term. We welcome Andrew's appointment and offer our congratulations and full support. It is our objective that the transition to Andrew's leadership at the start of 2nd term is as seamless as possible.
Whenever it is possible, we will keep you informed of progress over the coming months. As well using News & Notices, we will also keep you up to date via the new College website www.elwood.vic.edu.au
Yours sincerely
Keith Herdman
President
Elwood College Council
3 April 2009
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The French Exchange Program 2008-09
Woody Miles tells us about his experiences in France over the recent summer holidays.
Over the Christmas holidays, Chris, Claine, Caroline, Jordan, Aidan, Dussy and myself went to live in France for five weeks with our respective host students who stayed with us in May/June last year. Most of us went to Centre International de Valbonne, a large government school in the south of France. Jordan went to another school in Bordeaux. Our plan was to arrive on the morning of the 17th December and go to school in the evening for a welcoming party to be introduced to our French teachers and other Australian students from McKinnon. Unfortunately I didn’t understand that we were supposed to rest until the evening, so I went with my exchange student, Paul, to all of his classes! This was actually a fun way of starting my French exchange because French school is so different. After the first day in France we had two weeks of holidays.
I lived in Boit village, just next to Valbonne, and every morning I would catch the bus to CIV. School in France can start at any time; most of the time school would start at eight in the morning but some days it can start at nine, ten or eleven o’clock. School in France can also finish at any time; some days I would finish at two o’clock but other days I would finish at six o’clock.
School in France is also very different as there is no school uniform and the breaks are totally different. They only have a ten minute break after their first two periods. Then they have a lunch break that lasts for an hour at twelve o’clock. Nobody minds this because they can have two or more periods free a day.
On every Thursday afternoon and Fridays we would have an excursion. On the first Thursday back at school we went on an excursion to Boit village, so I got to show the other Elwood students around where I lived. On the first Friday, we went to Nice, a beautiful beach town on the Cote d’Azur – the French Riviera. We went up to the chateau on the top of the hill to see the fantastic view of the Coast. What we didn’t know was that there is a tradition of firing a cannon at twelve midday; originally done to call the men in from the fields for lunch. We were standing near it when it fired, and you can probably guess what happened!! :) Other excursions were to Monaco with some other students from New Zealand and we also went to the perfumery in Grasse.
My host family were really nice to me and I met many people from all over the world. It was a very cultural experience for all of us and it is something we will never forget. For me this was a learning curve to see the differences between our culture and theirs; especially the schooling system, because in France it’s taken much more seriously and I am sure I will adopt these habits. It was much easier for everyone to learn and with all the friends I have made, I would definitely like to return there to study and travel. For anyone who is unsure about going to France, I would totally recommend you do it.
Woody Miles
Praise for our year 12s from a local resident
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