AddressThe Lakes South Morang College's motto, Aspire to Inspire, along with the values of Learning, Leadership, Teamwork and Respect, underpin all that the College aims to achieve. The College, a dual campus school (primary/secondary) of approximately 700 students, is situated in the outer-northern corridor of the City of Whittlesea, Melbourne, Victoria. Our College recognises the importance of partnership with parents/carers, and through this we acknowledge a shared commitment to, and a responsibility for, supporting student learning, engagement and wellbeing. The College is committed to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all members of our College community, and our teaching and learning programs promote the principles of tolerance, understanding, democracy and inclusion.
The College vision focusses on four key pillars for success: academic rigor; high expectations; school pride; and, a positive climate for change in our community.
Academic Rigor:
- Commitment to every student making 12 months learning growth annually.
- Provision of Learner Coaches who hold a strategic commitment to explicitly focus on individual student growth with parents/carers as key partners in the learning experience, ensuring that learning as a priority is enabled both at school and at home.
- Provision of student leadership opportunities and formal training, including: SRC; Peer Support; College feedback groups; work experience; further studies through VET and Melbourne Polytechnic; local Council initiatives; future careers forums; and excursions and camps.
High Expectations:
- Key performance data and indicators are shared with the College community and are used to identify improvement strategies for each campus, resourced through funding specific to the targets set in the Annual Improvement Plan.
- Individual Education and Pathway Plans are developed for each student, guiding their learning and progression through each year, supported by continuous reporting methods to both students and families, so that they have real-time information and ownership of learning progress.
- Student learning, wellbeing and engagement initiatives are underpinned by an invested College community that owns and drives the programs, affirmed by an active School Council that is the leading voice of the community, advocating: school pride; a positive climate for change; and, upholding protocols and processes that set the standard of high expectation across the College.
School Pride:
- College facilities are regularly upgraded to support high-quality and contemporary learning environments.
- College communications are curated to provide transparency of purpose and process. These include: Principal Newsletters; Aspire Magazine; social media presence; website; Compass; and, College notice boards.
- Celebration and recognition of learner achievement, which include: student and staff achievement awards; Year 6 and Year 12 College Valedictorians; and Alumni.
- Committed College community aligned to our College goals, that believe in our students and want to make a difference to their education.
Positive Climate for Change in our Community:
- Strategic communication of our changing College narrative within our local community to: strengthen College values; celebrate student success and academic rigor; and, build community connections with business, prominent community members and long-standing College partners.
- Increased involvement opportunities for parents/carers in school voice, fundraising, classroom support, facilities maintenance and curriculum program involvement.
- Enhanced transition programs from K-P and Years 6-7 to ensure students at these levels are well equipped and ready for change.
- Advocacy work to actively engage and present the College journey, vision and successes at key events, conferences and workshops organised by DE.
The College community is diverse, with a representative mix of many cultures, comprising 30 language groups and 180 students from EAL backgrounds. The College Student Family Occupation (SFO) index is 0.4472 and the Student Family Occupation & Education (SFOE) index score is 0.4472. In 2023, the College employs 99 staff members, comprised of: three Principal Class Officers; 62 teachers; and 34 Education Support staff. 20 teachers and 17 Education Support staff members worked in a part time capacity. The College employs one staff member who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
Leadership has been strategically devised to cater equally for both campuses, embodying consultative and transparent models of shared responsibility and distributive leadership to enable approaches that provide strong foundations for improving student learning across the College. This includes: a College Principal; two Campus Principals; two Leading Teachers - Teaching & Learning; three Learning Specialists - Learner Agency & Engagement; and, one Learning Specialist - Disability Inclusion. Roles are aligned to DE FISO 2.0 dimensions for effective implementation of human and physical resources. Evolution of the staffing mix has led to increasingly experienced teachers with professional maturity - reflected in the number of teachers who are now in the band two classification range.
