Dear Parents, Carers and Students,
It has been another busy and positive period at Hampton Park Secondary College, with students involved in a range of learning, sporting and community activities.
Next Week, our Learning Conferences will take place. Wednesday 26th 2.10- 4.10pm and Thursday 27th August 9.00 am to 3.10pm. I encourage all families to take advantage of the bookings and conversations as this information is highly valuable for students and their learning.
House Athletics Carnival
Our House Athletics Carnival was a fantastic day, with students competing enthusiastically across a range of track and field events. It was great to see students supporting their House, encouraging one another and demonstrating our college values of Respect, Learning and Working Together.
Congratulations to all students who participated and contributed points to their House.
The final House results were:
🥇 1st – Mabo House: 694 points
🥈 2nd – Hollows House: 587 points
🥉 3rd – Freeman House: 505 points
4th – Walton House: 477 points
A special congratulations to Mabo House on taking out the overall carnival. Thank you also to our staff who worked behind the scenes to organise and run the day, and to our students who helped make the carnival such a success.
Events such as the House Athletics Carnival are an important part of college life. While competition is certainly part of the day, the opportunity for students to step outside their usual classrooms, try something new and support their peers is equally valuable.
I was particularly pleased to see students encouraging their House teammates and celebrating the efforts of others. These are the moments that help build the strong sense of community we value at Hampton Park Secondary College.
Thank you to our students, staff and families for your continued support. I look forward to sharing more of the achievements and activities of our college community in the coming weeks.
Course Counselling – Making Informed Choices
Course counselling is an important time in the College calendar, as students begin to consider their subjects and the pathways they would like to pursue in the future.
For our junior students, course selection is an opportunity to gain breadth in their learning and experience subjects across different areas. We encourage students to keep their options open, try new things and develop a broad range of skills and knowledge.
For our senior students, subject selection becomes increasingly important in preparing for future pathways. Students should consider their strengths, interests and passions, while also identifying subjects that are required or recommended for their intended career or further study pathway.
I encourage students and families to take the time to have meaningful conversations about these choices. Selecting subjects simply because a friend has chosen them, or because they believe a particular subject will be “easy”, is unlikely to lead to the best outcome. Students are far more likely to be successful when they are engaged in subjects that play to their strengths and that they genuinely enjoy.
Our staff are available to support students through this process and help them make informed decisions about their future.
Domain Weeks- Arts /STEM Week and Science Week
We have also been celebrating the breadth of learning available to our students through Arts/STEM Week and Languages and this week- Science Week.
These weeks provide opportunities for students to experience learning beyond the traditional classroom and to see how creativity, curiosity, experimentation and problem-solving can be applied in different ways.
Science Week has taken place this week, with students engaging in activities designed to encourage curiosity and develop an appreciation of the role science plays in our everyday lives. I would like to thank our Science staff for the work they have put into making the week engaging for students.
Arts Week and Languages Week has similarly provided opportunities for students to explore their creativity and experience the many different forms that the Arts/Languages that take place within our College.
VEX Robotics Competition– Last Friday, during our Curriculum Day we hosted the VEX Robotics competition in our gymnasium. Approximately, 200 students and teams from a range of primary and secondary school took part in this event. Thank you to Mr Russell Beveridge and Ms Christen Barnard for their support and leadership of this engaging event for students.
Echoes of Country
We are also looking forward to Echoes of Country, an important day celebrating First Nations culture, knowledge and connection to Country. Assistant Principal Ms Kelly Krieg has led a team of passionate educators from across Casey Central Network to increase awareness and celebrate indigenous culture.
The day commenced with all students moving into the presentation space, where we heard didgeridoo playing and an Acknowledgement of Country, presented by HPSC student leaders alongside nominated leaders from other schools.
Students then heard from our keynote speaker, Megan Waters, before participating in a series of cultural activities throughout the day. Students will undertake six 30-minute rotations, providing them with opportunities to engage in a range of experiences connected to First Nations culture and perspectives.
The day included music, dancing, face painting and other activities during lunchtime.
I wish to congratulate Ms Krieg and team for their hard work and passion in providing such very valuable learning experiences for our students.
Student Attitudes to School Survey
We have recently received the preliminary results from our Student Attitudes to School Survey.
The survey provides us with important feedback directly from our students about their experiences at Hampton Park Secondary College. We are currently in the process of analysing the results carefully to identify what is working well and where there are opportunities for further support and improvement.
As always, student voice is an important part of our improvement work. The survey results will help inform our thinking about how we can continue to strengthen the learning, wellbeing and overall experience of our students.
Curriculum Day
Last Friday, our staff participated in a Curriculum Day focused on strengthening our teaching and learning practices.
Curriculum Days provide an important opportunity for staff to step away from the day-to-day demands of the classroom and work collaboratively on the practices that have the greatest impact on student learning.
The work undertaken by staff will continue to support our ongoing implementation of Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0, with a focus on consistent, high-quality teaching and learning across the College.
I would like to thank our staff for their continued commitment to improving outcomes for every student.
Multi-cultural evening and 4 C’s
We are excited as it is now not long until the 4Cs showcase takes place at Bunjil. Cultivating, Creative Cultures with Communities is a special event each year on the calendar. On the evening of Tuesday 1st September, our students will perform.
Replay, Rewind– I wish to acknowledge to wonderful work of our students at the recent performance of our school play for 2026. Thank you for our performing Arts Team for their great support and guidance of our students.
Sports Academy- Based on the performance of our soccer academy teams, I am pleased to report that we have received an invitation to attend the competition on the Gold Coast in November.
Courtyard upgrade – Plans to upgrade the Walton Courtyard tender stage have moved to the Tender stage. I am expecting for work to commence on this project during Term 4.
Thank you for your continued support of our learning community.
Wayne Haworth
Principal
Hampton Park Secondary College