Secondary News

Welcome to the 2026 School Year. 

A special welcome to families new to Distance Education this year. 

Year 7 students and families, welcome to Secondary. 

To each of you who are new to Secondary Distance Education, we know there can be a feeling of being overwhelmed by information and new platforms. My guidance, as you start, is to work through each onboarding step thoroughly. This means you may need to revisit the Orientation modules to make sure you have all the information you need. New families received Orientation Basic and you will soon receive Orientation Toolkit which will give you further useful information. These modules remain the best source of information as you navigate distance learning. 

For all our students, your Pastoral Care Teacher is your guide and support. As you are settled into pastoral care classes, take the time to reach out to other students in your class and build some connection. This is especially important in our model of learning. 

It was great to see the Student Leaders visiting the ACC Southlands campus in Albany as they started the school year on camp together. They had the opportunity to get to know each other and to make plans for how they will work with teachers to lead within our school this year. You will see them leading in Pastoral Care groups, during our Assemblies, and during the Connect platforms we have for students. 

The commencement of a new school year is an important time to review what leads to successful learning. Some great questions to consider would be: 

• Is the environment I work in conducive to learning?

• Is there a schedule in place so that I complete all that is required each week? 

• Does my supervisor regularly review my learning and task completion? 

• Do I have a healthy balance of learning, socialising, and being active?

Communication and connection between home and school is always an important factor in the success of our learning model. Our Teachers, Pastoral Care Leaders, Chaplains and Leadership are keen to engage with students and parents/guardians. 

At the core of our school ethos is a love of God our Creator. I have had the privilege of being raised with a keen understanding of God and His plan for mankind and the peace this has given me throughout my life has been something of great value. I am praying that each home within our DE community will experience that peace this year as we partner in the educational journey. 

I look forward to a great year together.