Aspire News | May 2026

Once again we have seen a very busy start to the term at Elevation, with lots of great teaching and learning happening in classes and several great opportunities for students in extra curricular activities.

Athletics Carnival

I’m finalising this report having just returned from the College Athletics carnival at Meadowglen Athletics track. Once again this was a fun day with excellent student participation, strong sporting and athletic prowess on display and a whole lot of funny student and staff costumes.

Congratulations to Bunjil House who came away as our winners.

The annual Athletics carnival, alongside our Arts and Technology Show and David Williamson Writing Competition are fantastic whole College events where students get to demonstrate their skills, expertise and passions in a wide variety of activities.

I’d also like to thank our entire PE/Health team – especially Brandon Isaac and Brandon McLarty – for their organisation of the event. These types of activities don’t just happen, they take hours of planning and hard work from our staff – effort which is greatly appreciated.

Improved Traffic and Safety Conditions on Elevation Boulevard

The improved school crossings and safety works on Elevation Boulevard have now been completed. These works were funded and completed by Hume Council after advocacy from the Elevation Secondary College School Council.

The works are definitely an improvement and for the most part – drivers have responded well to the changes and are driving with increased caution and safety near our students.

School Tours and Prospective Year 7 Families

Over the last few weeks we have run a number of tours for prospective families looking to enrol in Year 7 for 2027 and other year levels. So far we have hosted well over 150 people on these tours and still have a couple more to run. It has been great to see such a continued interest in Elevation Secondary College from prospective families.

Sale College Visit

On Monday and Tuesday of next week I will be visiting Sale College in Gippsland to take part in their school review as a challenge partner. As many of you know, former Elevation Assistant Principal Andrew Stock was recently promoted to become Principal of that school. It will be great to visit Mr Stock and Sale College and see how he has introduced pleasantries and other high expectations to that school.

Parliamentarian Visit

Recently Evan Mulholland, Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria and Brad Rowswell Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and Shadow Education Minister visited Elevation to tour the school, discuss our programs and meet some of our student leaders. I’d like to thank Evan and Brad for the great interest they showed in our school and students and really powerful discussions held with two of our School Captains Kade and Danisha.

Year 10, 11 and 12 Students – End of Term 2

The end of Term 2 is always busy for Year 10, 11 and 12 students. Later in this newsletter is clear communication about the requirements and expectations for Year 10 students in the last 2 weeks of term. There are also a range of other senior school related activities and events for Years 11 and 12 which can cause disruption to the regular program. More information will be published on Compass about each of these programs in coming weeks.

Colin Burke
Principal

Uniform

It has been so pleasing to see the student population wearing our uniform with pride and families supporting this process. Now that we’re starting to enter the Winter months, the weather is going to get colder, but our classrooms are toasty warm. The change in temperature can cause a few issues, however, they are easily prevented with some planning.

• Purchase long-sleeve uniform shirts – that way a plain white v-neck t-shirt can be worn underneath the uniform without being seen.
• Purchase the jumper and the jacket. The jacket can be removed in class whilst remaining in uniform.
• Get uniform out the night before to save the morning scramble
• Buy an extra uniform – Elevation has paid the licence fee for sustainableschoolshop.com.au and parents in the community sell second hand uniforms there.
• Wash uniforms every Friday evening, to ensure time to dry.

Lates in the Morning

As the weather gets colder and mornings are dark, it’s tempting to hit snooze one more time. The flow-on from this is that families get delayed and students arrive after the 8:30am arrival time. Our arrival time is important to:

• Get prepared for Mentor Group, Period 1 and Period 2.
• Check for room changes throughout the day.
• Have a chat with your friends before class (to focus on work during class).
• See any teachers before school you may need to.
• Get your locker prepared for the day ahead.

Lockers, Books & Organisation

At Elevation Secondary College, students are required to bring to class their:

• School Diary.
• Pencil-case.
• Separate exercise book for each subject.
• Laptop.
• Any associated text books.

This must happen for every session of every day.

Whilst the vast majority of students are doing this, there are a few students that have started to bring one single book (an “everything” book) for every class. Everything books are highly discouraged. Everything books cause a complete lack of organisation, non-existent revision and, as teachers collect books, a lack of a book in class.

All students need between 7 and 10 exercise books depending on their year level. Now would be a great time to head back to the shops to stock up again. Please label your books clearly with the student’s name, Mentor Group and subject.

Some students have also seemed to have also misplaced their combination lock. These are compulsory and must be replaced if you have misplaced or lost. They are $20 at the front office.

Early Student Pick Up

Whilst some early pick-ups are unable to be avoided, we appreciate families booking appointments after school wherever possible. If an early pick-up must happen, pick up times are at recess (11am) and lunch (1:20pm). Front office staff cannot collect students from class. Thank you for your support.

Wishing everyone a great Term 2.

Sonia Loudon, Alex Mangione, Natalie Conboy, Liam McKenna, Matt Williamson, Gulsen Tankir and Kyle Schutz
Assistant Principals

We are delighted to warmly welcome and celebrate Gulsen Tankir as our new Junior School Assistant Principal. Gulsen is a highly capable and dedicated leader who brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to student wellbeing and academic excellence. She is a fantastic operator, and we are confident she will make a significant and positive impact on our Junior School community.

Our recent College School Athletics Day was a fantastic success, with strong participation and school spirit on display throughout the day. It was wonderful to see so many students getting involved, trying new events, and striving to achieve their personal best. Many Junior School students performed exceptionally well, with some achieving outstanding results on the track and in field events.

Just as impressive was the enthusiasm shown in supporting house teams, with students proudly dressing up in their house colours and cheering each other on. The day was a great celebration of teamwork, resilience, and school pride, and a highlight of the term for our community.

Year 7

We have started Term 2 on a very positive note with a whole-year assembly that recognised and celebrated our students’ achievements. Students were acknowledged for their excellence in academics, Aspire points, and for consistently demonstrating our school values. It was wonderful to see so many students recognised for their efforts and contributions. The assembly was made even more special with a musical performance by Joshua and MJ, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Our Year 7 students also recently attended Camp Rumbug, where they had a fantastic experience. With beautiful weather on our side, students participated in a wide range of activities that challenged them both physically and mentally. It was particularly pleasing to see students demonstrate resilience, courage, and a willingness to step outside their comfort zones. The camp provided a valuable opportunity for students to build friendships, develop independence, and create lasting memories.

As our Year 7 students move into their second term, it is wonderful to see how much more confident and settled they have become. Students are now familiar with the routines, expectations, and layout of the school, and are increasingly demonstrating independence in their learning. With this growing confidence comes greater responsibility. We expect all students to ensure they arrive to every class on time and fully prepared with the required equipment, ready to engage in their learning. Establishing these strong habits now will support their ongoing success throughout the year.

Courtney Gorham
Year 7 Leading Teacher

Year 9

Celebrating Success

Year 9 students have begun Term 2 with enthusiasm and focus, building on the strong foundations established earlier in the year. They are continuing to engage positively in their electives and are embracing the broad range of experiences these subjects offer.

These learning experiences and achievements were celebrated at the recent Year 9 Awards Assembly, where students were recognised for their effort, growth, and commitment. Student success was recognised in the following areas; Aim High, Work Hard, Be Good awards, Coordination Aspire awards, Coordination recognition awards and Mentee of the Term. 

Below you will find a list of our award recipients. 

Congratulations to all students for their outstanding efforts in Term 1. 

Term 1 Award Winners
Aspire Awards
Aim High	Joshua
Work Hard	Sandy
Be Good	Alrianne
Coordination Aspire Awards
Most Improved Attendance	Kavya P
Most Improved Behaviour	Andrew
Most Aspire points	Sandy
Coordination Recognition Awards
Leading Teacher Nominee	Jovan
Coordinator Nominee	Alana
Coordinator Nominee	Emmanuel
Mentee of the Term
9A	Slvar
9B	Amna
9C	Elodie
9D
9E	Sahibdeep
9F	Joshua
9G	Sukhleen
9H	Stella
9I
9J	Alrianne
9K	Khizar

We look forward to our next assembly where we will celebrate academic success in various subject areas, as well as continue the newly formed traditions of Aspire awards and coordination recognition. This will take place in the last week of Term 2. 

We thank our families for their ongoing support.

Nikita Richardson
Year 9 Leading Teacher

Year 10

Year 11 & 12

Our College held their Annual Athletics Day on Wednesday the 13th of May. Our Senior School students were dressed to impress! Below are some snapshots from the day.

Asli Dulger
Year 11 & 12 Leading Teacher

Careers

Directly Applying for TAFE Courses

Students who are unsure about what to study in the future, can still train in TAFE courses, as a direct pathway to university. Furthermore, it can also add credit to 1st year University courses.

TAFE courses offer qualifications ranging from VET Certificate I, II, III & IV to Diploma. These qualifications do lead to jobs in demand from employers. Some qualifications, such as a Certificate II or Certificate III, can be done as part of a traineeship or apprenticeship. 

https://www.skills.vic.gov.au/s/understand-course-types

KEY TAFE INFORMATION

• Eligibility – students will have completed at least Year 10 or a relevant VET school qualification. 
• Duration – courses usually runs from 6 to 12 months (depending on which course you nominate) and up to 4 years whilst undertaking an apprenticeship.
• Costs – Free TAFE for priority courses covers fees for students who are eligible for government-subsidies – https://www.vic.gov.au/free-tafe
• Range – TAFE qualifications lead to a whole range of occupations and careers. Such as: 

Early Childhood	Construction and Infrastructure
Health & Fitness	Disability Services
Community Services	Hospitality and Tourism
Agriculture	Business & Professional Services    AND MORE!!

• Providers – Victoria’s TAFEs deliver high quality training across the state. TAFE graduates have the skills and industry experience required to hit the ground running when they start work. They include: 

Box Hill Institute	Melbourne Polytechnic
Chisholm	RMIT University
Federation University	Swinburne University of Technology
Go TAFE	The Gordon
Holmesglen	Victoria University Polytechnic
Kangan Institute	William Angliss Institute
Richmond Institute	Carlton College of Sports

Ms. M. Watt, Ms. L. Pannuccio & Mr. J. Tikulin
The Careers Team

Dear Parents and Carers,

VCE can be an exciting and demanding time. Your child is managing increased workload, assessment pressure, part-time work, friendships, family commitments, and their own expectations of themselves. Families can make a real difference by providing steady support, encouragement, and a calm environment around study and wellbeing.

A few helpful things to keep in mind at home:

Regular routines around sleep, meals, movement, study, rest, and social connection can support concentration, memory, mood, and motivation.

Families may also notice when their child seems unusually withdrawn, overwhelmed, tired, irritable, disengaged, or is experiencing ongoing changes in sleep, appetite, attendance, motivation, or concentration. These can be signs that extra support may be needed.

To further support young people in building confidence, resilience, and success in VCE, the school is offering two wellbeing and learning programs:

VCE Focus is an evidence-based practice that helps reduce stress and increase focus. It runs weekly on Wednesdays at lunchtime.

VCE Master Your Mind is a 5 week program to support young people to build strengths in diligence, structure, effective learning habits, motivation, organisation, confidence, and success.

Both programs are designed to support VCE success by helping young people strengthen their mindset, manage pressure, and develop practical tools for learning and wellbeing.

We encourage families to talk with their child about these opportunities and support their participation. If you have any concerns about your child’s wellbeing or would like further information, please contact us.   

Elevation Secondary College Wellbeing Team

Year 10 Exams

In June, our Year 10 students will sit their end of semester exams. These exams prepare students for the rigours of VCE and should be taken seriously. These assessments build exam confidence, develop time management, and reinforce study skills. By mirroring senior exam conditions, they help students identify strengths and areas for growth, setting them up for success in their VCE journey.

Students will complete these exams in  Week 9 in the gym. A full timetable will be released shortly on Compass.  The program of Week 9 will be as follows:

• Monday 15th June – Study Day (no Year 10s at school)
• Tuesday 16th June – Study Day (no Year 10s at school)
• Wednesday 17th June – Exams Session 1-4
• Thursday 18th June – Exams Session 1-4
• Friday 19th June – Exams Session 1-4

It is recommended that in the lead up to these exams students try different revision and preparation techniques. Here are some strategies that we recommend all students use to prepare for CATs, SACs and exams:

• Create a study timetable – Plan and prioritise subjects
• Use spaced repetition – Review content over time.
• Use active recall – Test yourself regularly – not just the week before
• Summarise notes – Simplify and condense key points – don’t just read them
• Teach someone else – Explaining helps deepen understanding.
• Study in short bursts – Use the Pomodoro method (25 mins study, 5 mins break).

Students should consider these exams as an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities in preparation for Subject Selection for VCE and VCE-VM in Term 3.

Jessica Smith
Learning Specialist – Curriculum, Data & Assessment

Arts

Visual Arts

We’ve had a great start to Term 2 in the Visual Arts department, and we have had some incredible results across the year levels for our second unit of the semester.

Year 7 students have been working hard to complete their still life paintings of fruit, while Year 8s have been putting their design skills to the test with a cereal box project. In Year 9 Visual Arts, students have created some beautiful bird paintings, and Year 9 Visual Communication students have just begun building house models based on their own architectural designs. Year 10 Visual Arts students have just finished their stunning landscape paintings, deepening their colour theory and mixing skills in the process, and Year 10 Visual Communication students have produced very thoughtful children’s illustration books.

We’re also really happy with how Art Club has been going. All students are welcome to join us on Thursday Week A and Wednesday Week B. Students have been exploring air dry clay, drawing and painting in their own time, and it’s been great to see so many creative minds at work.

A big well done to everyone who has completed their second unit and you should be very proud of what you’ve achieved this term. We can’t wait to see what Term 2 brings next!

Elena Vidiella Lopez
Domain Support – Art

Music

We have had another great start to the term in the music department. Our Year 7 students amazed us with some incredible guitar duo performances for their most recent assessment. It has been amazing to see how far these students have come in just a short amount of time and we applaud their commitment and dedication to starting their time at Elevation College in the right way.

Our Year 8, 9 and 10 students also showed some amazing progress and continue to grow as students and musicians. We look forward to seeing these students finishing the semester strongly and aiming high.

Our Year 11 and 12 students are continuing to work hard as they develop their theoretical and practical skills. This is a very important time for these students, and it is great to see them stepping up to the challenge with the support of Mr. Wilson. We look forward to seeing what they can achieve.

Our instrumental and band program is also continuing to grow and going strong thanks to the hard work of our classroom and instrumental teachers, as well as our dedicated students, who help to make it a productive and fun learning environment.

There are still some spots available in our instrumental music program with lessons being offered in Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Trumpet and Drums.

For more information, please contact your child’s music teacher or email Hugh.Kirne@education.vic.gov.au.

Hugh Kirne
Instrumental Music & Band Coordinator

Student Representative Council

Student Report

This term has been an exciting start for many! Especially within our SRC, with many events being planned and executed in the last few weeks.  

On Saturday April 25^th SRC members Sama and Tamara went to attend the Anzac Day ceremony and laid the wreath at the Craigieburn War Memorial in Anzac Park. We are very proud of our fellow schoolmates for representing the school and playing our part in remembrance of all lives lost in the war. It’s imperative as students to attend events like these and get a wider understanding of the past, and the people that make up history.  

Following this, you might be very familiar with the recent survey that was posted concerning suggestions for bell music. Well, you asked and we heard your answers! Throughout the following weeks you should hear your music requests be approved and blasted on the speakers! Keep your ears open and remember, Term 3 follows a whole new beat so don’t forget to resubmit some songs next term!  

Now, continuing these teenage-led suggestions, recently Council members came to the school to ask the SRC’s opinion on the Highlands Lake Reserve play-place and how to liven it up. Yes! Students at your school advised the council how to make it more teenage friendly. So look out for more updates and expect a few innovative changes to be popping out around that location. Make sure not to let our feedback go to waste! 

Finally, to end this explosive start to term, the SRC has just released their first full group photo of all official members. Keep this in mind, dear audience, and don’t hesitate to greet your proud members of the student representative council. Remember, we are here to voice student concerns directly to the people who can address them. Please engage with us and politely offer some advice! 

2026 is going to be the year for us to flourish, and Elevation Secondary College’s SRC team wants to help all of us do just that. Study hard. Sleep well. Live good. 

Till next time! 

Asra
SRC Member

Library

Melbourne Writers Festival Excursion

On the 7th of May, students in Year 8–10 journeyed to the city to participate in the Melbourne Writers Festival Schools Program. The MWF program is specifically crafted in line with the Victorian curriculum to support students in their studies.

Students attended talks by authors of genres ranging from Fantasy and Dark Academia, to Mystery/Crime, with a guest appearance by The Guardian cartoonist, First Dog on the Moon. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions of each author, engaging in discussions on various topics from how to beat writer’s block to creative reflections on AI data scraping and the responsibility of representation within fiction.

This program was an amazing opportunity for Elevation students to involve themselves in literary discussions and hear real industry perspectives. Our students made the most of this event with one of our students even initiating an impromptu video interview with two of the authors.

Lahana Sexton
Library Literacy Officer

ePlatform Audiobooks: Accounts Avaliable

ePlatform provides students with access to thousands of audiobooks anytime and anywhere. Designed specifically for schools, the platform includes features such as adjustable playback speed, bookmarking, personalised display settings and online access. 

Listening to stories through audiobooks offers a range of literacy and wellbeing benefits. Research shows that audiobooks can strengthen listening comprehension, expand vocabulary and improve focus, while helping students build confidence and enjoyment in reading. Hearing fluent, expressive narration also helps students develop an understanding of pacing, tone and language patterns. For many students, audiobooks provide an engaging way to experience stories and can help foster positive reading habits by making books more accessible. 

There are still spots available for ESC students to sign up for a free account, giving them access to a wide range of titles to enjoy at home, school, at home or on the go. Contact Ellen at ellen.stephens@elevationsc.vic.edu.au to get set up and start listening.

Ellen Stephens
Library Manager

Over the course of the year so far I am so pleased to have seen such a growth of Aspire Points. From 2025 to 2026 the amount of Aspire Points students have achieved has risen by almost 20,000! Term 1 last year as a school we had 6,346 and in Term 1 this year we have amassed 24,687! This is a massive success that all students should be proud of!

With such an increase students have been rewarded for their great efforts in getting more Aspire Points. In each year group the students who have achieved the most aspire points in Aim high, Work Hard, Be good in Term 1 have all been awarded with a $50 Amazon gift card! We hope to see even more students getting more rewards in Term 2 assemblies so that their hard work pays off!

Nico Watkins
House & Lunchtime Activities Coordinator

Term 1 Commences 28th January – Last Day 2nd April (Early Finish 1:20pm)

Term 2 Commences 20th April – Last Day 26th June (Early Finish 1:20pm)

Term 3 Commences 13th July – Last Day 18th September (Early Finish 1:20pm)

Term 4 Commences 5th October – Last Day 18th December (Early Finish 12:30pm)

Curriculum Days

Friday 22nd May

Friday 27th November

Student Free Days

Tuesday 1st September – PPD

Tuesday 8th December – Year 6-7 Orientation Day

Student Learning Conferences

Thursday 13th August & Friday 14th August

Public Holidays

Monday 8th June – King’s Birthday

Tuesday 3rd November – Melbourne Cup