Calamvale is an Independent Public School with a designated catchment for enrolment, providing a valuable education to all students within our community. We are not a selective entry school that chooses which students attend, we are a diverse and proud College that is inclusive of all students representing a broad range of values, cultures and languages. It is our intention to meet the needs of all of our students and we strive to achieve that goal each and every day.

The last few weeks have been difficult for our College and our community. Our 2400+ students have a reputation for being capable, confident, respectful and achievers. This is something we have worked hard on over the last few years, under my leadership, by investing in professional development of staff and student development programs and guidance. I care deeply about our students, staff and our entire community of parents, carers and friends. For the last six years, our College has prioritised the shaping of character, the building of resilience, the learning of courage. These goals are repeatedly modelled and embedded into our school culture and supported by a dedicated team.

It is rarely possible to have binary responses to student behaviour. Adolescents (Year 4-12) require support, understanding, consequences and opportunities to redress their behaviour and have an opportunity to grow.

What does Calamvale currently do?

Every student has access to teacher leader, in addition to their classroom teachers, to whom they may go with any welfare issues or concerns that they may have, including complaints about bullying. In Junior School there are seven people available as Heads of Program (4) and Deputy Principals (3). In Secondary School there are sixteen House Leaders (most of whom are Heads of Program) and three Deputy Principals who will speak with any student who has a concern. All of these people are in regular communication with parents and records of these contacts are retained for future reference.

SUMMIT is a program staffed by a Guidance Councillor Mrs Cath Sander, Head of Program Mrs Alison Jordan and a Youth Support Coordinator Mrs Kelly Hebert, who provide behavioural modification programs, counselling and one-on-one support for students who present with challenging behaviours at school. This service is solely funded by Calamvale Community College and runs from a designated classroom within the school, with staff regularly attending class with students, providing non-penalty withdrawal, liaising with teachers and supporting individual students daily.

Guidance and Support Services: CCC employs four Guidance Officers, two above our allocation of staffing to support our students:
Ms Nerieda Andersen
Mrs Sarah Stubican
Mr Adam Williams (Mrs Julie Dodt on leave)
Mrs Cath Sander (SUMMIT)

CCC also has available to students:
Indigenous Liaison Officer Mr David Swanson
Chaplain Steve Parker
Teacher Aides Student Support: Mrs Xian Haidley and Mrs Sue Bremner
Community Nurse: Ms Alayna Patterson
School to Work Transitions Officer: Mrs Dee Dobbyn

All of these staff are provided to support students and are directly accessible to students and most to parents as well. In addition to these people and resources, we have had a “Wellbeing Program” in place at CCC for five years based on a philosophy of Positive Education which has been taught to all students Prep to 12 in classroom contexts. However reflection and review are important aspects of a growth mindset and so we are currently undertaking a review. The College already had a Mobile Phone Review in place and this will be concluded this term with outcomes to be implemented next term.

What More Will Calamvale Do:

Adopt the STYMIE program enabling autonomous reporting of incidents of bullying or self-harm through a downloadable App which will provide another avenue of support for students. This program will be launched on Tuesday 15 September and be operational for Term 4.

R U OK? Day will see the launch of a Health and Wellbeing page on our website which will include a public interface for student support information that is currently internally available to students on OneNote, as well as mental health checks and links to community agencies that can assist a student in need.

Review the SUMMIT program to ensure that the most needy students are included in the program and that parents are more strongly committed to the program with a partnership of share responsibility

Review the ‘Positive Education’ program based on the Geelong Grammar model and discuss the benefits of the ‘Positive Behaviour for Learning’ program that is currently a feature of schools local to Calamvale, but just outside of our immediate vicinity. We will report to P&C with the outcomes of this investigation.

Our students have achieved some wonderful outcomes in the last six years and they continue to embrace challenges and our College continues to support them in achieving their full potential. We are grateful to so many of our parents who have supported the College and their students through this time and have continued to focus on high achievement and application to the upcoming assessment period. Over the last four weeks we have had APEX excursions, Literature Festivals, Year 5 Exhibition, House Cup celebrations, the launch of the Calamvale Wolves Sporting Program and a dramatic performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Next week, our students Years 6-12 will enjoy a specially commissioned play “The Last Days of Bedlam SHS” and construction will continue on NaturePlay for the Prep to Year 5 students.