It has been a privilege to lead Blackburn High School in 2020 and, in this final week of the school year, I would like to reflect on the amazing resilience and innovation of our students, staff and parents.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled us to use online platforms to communicate and collaborate and it was a steep learning curve for all of us. However, we were up for the challenge and did not miss a beat, ensuring that all the important school events were conducted remotely, such as the Student Progress Conferences, Year 10 Pathways Interviews, VCE Parent Information Sessions, Student Leadership Interviews, 2021 Year 7 Transition Information Presentations, House Assemblies, Webinars, Presentation Day Awards, Virtual School Tours, Staff Meetings and School Council Meetings.

High quality learning and teaching was maintained throughout the remote period as attested by the student and parent feedback. I was impressed by the innovation and creativity demonstrated by the students and staff and it was heartening to hear about the positive remote learning experiences within practical subjects such as Food Studies, Science, Music and PE.

The parent community have always been important partners in ensuring that our students are supported and in 2020, this relationship was enhanced due to the COVID interrupted year. I would like to thank and acknowledge the work of the School Council and the subcommittees, ably led by School Council President Mr Geoff Hugo. Well done too, to the elected student School Council representatives, Ryan Stevens and Kuafia Sindhu for their positive contribution throughout 2020.

This year, we received fantastic news from the Andrews’ State Government, confirming that we had funding for a 10 million-dollar Blackburn High School STEM Centre of Excellence. I would like to acknowledge the local State Member for Box Hill, Mr Paul Hamer for his work behind the scenes to get this building project approved. The STEM Centre will provide state of the art Science and Technology rooms that will excite and motive our students and transform their learning experiences. The architects, Tectura, will complete the schematic design at the end of this year and the building phase will commence in 2021.

Thank you to the dedicated teachers, education support staff and the leadership team who have worked tirelessly to provide a supportive and encouraging school environment throughout the year. I hope that our students, families and staff have a safe Christmas break and return re-energised for the start of the new year in 2021.

Mrs Joanna Alexander
Principal