Glen Waverley Secondary College
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| Name |
Glen Waverley Secondary College (GWSC) |
| Address |
O’Sullivan Rd |
| Suburb |
Glen Waverley, Victoria 3150 |
| Established |
1960 |
| Community |
Urban |
| Type |
State Secondary |
| Religion |
Non-denominational |
| Students |
Approx. 2010 |
| Years |
7 to 12 |
| Houses |
Bradman, Elliott, Fraser, Goolagong |
| Principal |
Gerard Schiller |
| Nickname |
Glenny, GWSC |
| Colours |
Red, White and Blue |
| Motto |
Gain Wisdom |
| School Magazine |
The Glen |
| Website | |
| Phone |
61 3 8805 6700 |
Glen Waverley Secondary College is a public state school situated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The school currently has over 2000 students from years 7 to 12. Growth of this population is limited by the small area that the College is built upon, and also by Government Population Predictions, which hinder the provisioning of more rooms. These Predictions draw upon birth-rate data, and indicate that the school population will dwindle as the school-age population for the area drops over the next decade. This policy does not take into account the movement of families into the area, a strategy specifically employed to ensure that their children can access enrolment into the College.
Glen Waverley Secondary College offers a tertiary-oriented curriculum at senior year levels, and is developing a learning enquiry style curriculum at junior year levels.
The College was one of the Government 'Navigator' schools, which saw it being given the role of exploring the application of ICT (Information Communication Technology) to contemporary classrooms, and then providing in-service programmes to educators around Australia. In addition, the college sports one of the most advanced (and successful) digital learning environments in operation today. The school's Intranet comprises world class assessment and reporting tools, sophisticated student management capabilities, and a digital signage solution (the first of its kind in an Australian secondary college). All of Glen Waverley's technology solutions are developed in-house.
The College produces outstanding VCE results amongst its like schools, and is considered quite successful in this respect for an open-entry government school. Typically, around 30-40% of final year students achieve ENTER scores above 90, and usually around 75% obtain ENTER scores above 70 (the maximum being 99.95).
GWSC is an active participant of the International student and exchange programmes.
[edit] Amalgamation
The current College is a product of three separate secondary schools amalgamating in the early 1990s.
Syndal Secondary College and Lawrence Secondary College (the latter having a 'Technical School' specialisation) joined the existing Glen Waverley Secondary College to form and amalgamated school, sharing students, staff, and resources.
This came at a time when the Government was pursuing a policy of creating 'super' schools, rationalising small schools with dwindling enrolments out of existence. The belief was that larger schools would have a greater ability to offer a broad curriculum.
Lawrence closed first, followed by Syndal. The latter school continued as a junior campus (years 7 and 8) prior to closing.
The buildings on the sites of these former schools were demolished, and the land was used for housing developments.
The school buildings at Syndal were the "C-800" style, popular in Victoria through the late 1960s and early 1970s (a surviving example of this style can be found at Westernport Secondary College). The design consists of a rectangular compound formed from inward-facing classrooms, this compound enclosing a pair of hexagonal-shaped buildings, one a library, and the other a flexible-use cluster of classrooms. The latter 'hexagon' was designed to enable internal walls to be temporarily reconfigured, allowing for team-teaching of larger groups, or other collaborative activities. This functionality has now been reproduced in the current College's Middle School Building, where the reconfigurable classroom design supports Enquiry Learning pedagogies.
[edit] Principals
The revolutionizing principal of the school proved to be Tony Bell, who over a decade spanning from the 80s to mid 1999 brought in new facilities that were beyond what most state schools were able to offer. Under Tony Bell, the school was able to unveil its heralded "Science and Technology Centre" which contained some of the best facilities seen in a state school, and followed on from years of curriculum research and reform. This new facility allowed a far more comprehensive base for teaching technology, especially in the areas of electronics, materials (wood, metal and plastic), textiles as well as information technology. The building also provided new science labs. Tony Bell retired mid-1999.
Vice Principal Darrell Fraser was successful in his bid to take over the role of furthering the vision of the College, his inspirational leadership qualities convincing the selection panel to appoint him rather than any of the other scores of applicants.
Darrell Fraser, in his time as principal between 1999 and 2004, attended Harvard University at one stage in recognition of his great talent as an educational leader. In 2004, due to the respect he commanded in his role and throughout the education community, he was offered the position of Deputy Secretary in School Operations in the Department of Education & Training, Victoria.
Gerry Schiller is the current school Principal, securing the position from within a field of applicants nationwide. Mr Schiller had previously served the College in the role of Head of Middle School; his association with the College has allowed for a continuation of vision and leadership.
[edit] Demographics
The diverse school population comprises over 40 nationalities, speaking more than 50 different languages. As is the case with all Victorians, many students at the school are from migrant backgrounds.
Each year, GWSC students participate in a programme of cultural activities and exhibitions, as part of the Victorian State Government's 'Celebrate Our Cultural Diversity Week'. Within the College community, the programme is designed to recognise and celebrate the successful integration of GWSC's culturally diverse population.
[edit] Houses
The College has a four "House" system. The Houses have heretofore been used mainly for sporting events (note the sporting themes in their naming), but is now slated to form the basis of a reform of the Junior classes into Learning Communities.
[edit] Goolagong
Named for Evonne Goolagong, the famous Australian tennis player. This House's colour is Gold, taken from the colour of the tennis balls Goolagong competed with.
[edit] Bradman
Named for Sir Donald Bradman, the famous Australian Cricketer. This House's colour is Green, taken from the green of the Cricket Grounds Bradman played upon.
[edit] Elliott
Named for Herb Elliott, the famous Australian Athlete. This House's colour is Red, taken from the red of the athletic tracks that Elliott competed upon.
[edit] Fraser
Named for Dawn Fraser, the famous Australian Olympic swimmer. This House's colour is Blue, taken from the blue of the swimming pools Fraser competed in.
[edit] Site Redevelopment
2005 saw the commencement of building works on the O'Sullivan Road site, involving the demolition of both the Art and Central Wing buildings of the school to make way for a state of the art learning facility. The design of the new buildings is intended to both make efficient use of the limited space on the site, and also to facilitate a learning enquiry pedagogy.
Towards the end of the 2006 school year, several buildings had been completed and delivered to the College community, but work continued on completion of the school's new Library which is planned to be complete at the end of term 1. The new entrance to the senior center is now complete, along with a new a locker bay for the senior students.
[edit] Library
The existing school library building was decommissioned as a library and a temporary library space was set up in a former Drama centre. The temporary library building was a converted, oversize portable classroom (a "dismountable"), and provided limited space for books and seating due to its small size in comparison to normal school libraries. Nonetheless, a thriving reading community continued in this space, supported by enthusiastic librarians and a range of engaging programmes.
Once delivered, the new, purpose-built Library will be a large, accommodating space, with light-filled reading niches and en suite computer labs. It is expected to be delivered in January or February of 2007.
[edit] Arts
Once the existing school library building had been decommissioned, the structure was extensively refitted to serve as the College's new Art precinct. Exterior walls were partially 'pushed back', opening the space up and providing for large, studio-style learning spaces. The core structure is of a clear span construction, and was very suited to this conversion. As well as large internal spaces, the Arts building sports an external decking that students use for open air painting and sketching, as well as for socialising during recess and lunchtime.
[edit] Administration
The new administration block was among the first spaces to be delivered, and sits on O'Sullivan Road, providing a clear entrance to the College, and clarifying the layout of the school. Previously, the Administration area was located in the centre of the site, and some visitors experienced difficulty finding it.
The Administration block provides accommodation for the Principal class teachers, as well as the General Office, Business Manager, Daily Organiser, Facilities Manager, and a large Professional Learning suite. Network technical support is also located there.
[edit] Middle School Building
"Middle School" refers to years 7 to 9, following the nomenclature of the "Middle Years Research and Development" project that helped reshape the learning experience for student in years 5 to 9, the so-called "middle years" of schooling.
The MSB is a two-storey building equipped with large science and computer labs, and clusters of reconfigurable learning spaces. The key concept to these reconfigurable spaces is that standard-sized classrooms can be easily opened up (by redeploying operable walls) to facilitate team teaching programmes. These clusters are proximic to small computer-equipped withdrawal spaces, allowing students to access a range of network-based resources, including web resources and computer applications. Interactive whiteboards and projection screens for rich media are also integrated into this space.
The Middle School Office is located in the MSB, as is the school's capacious new drama centre.
The building is fitted with an elevator for the convenience of students with a movement challenge, and for transporting of stage equipment and other heavy materials.
[edit] The N Wing
The N Wing which is a long side the oval is planning to be demolished and is going to be rebuilt. All of this will happen later in 2007, a few months after the New library is going to be finished.
[edit] In the Media
[edit] Cultural Diversity website
The official website for the state government's 'Celebrate Our Cultural Diversity Week' was developed by students from GWSC. At the launch of the website, the students were photographed by the media with various ministers and the Premier, Steve Bracks.
[edit] Principal for a Day
On the morning of Monday, October 27th 2003, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, then CEO of the Telstra Corporation, visited the College as part of the "Principal for a Day" programme. The programme was intended to give significant business leaders insights into the high levels of excellent work being done in shaping the citizens of tomorrow. Due to his high profile, this visit was featured on current affairs programmes on commercial networks.
[edit] School Funding Ad Campaign
In late 2004, Glen Waverley Secondary College was involved in a political advertising campaign in which it was compared to Scotch College Melbourne (an elite private school) over the issue of government funding. GWSC rejected claims that it was involved in the advertising campaign however it should be noted that, when asked by the Age Newspaper, they did not condemn it, which leaves room for speculation.
The aim of the campaign was to highlight the disparity in funding between rich private schools and modest state schools. According to nation-wide newspaper 'The Australian', Scotch College Melbourne responded legally in which an undisclosed remedy was awarded against the political party who made the advertisement.
[edit] Student VCE Results
In December 2006, four students from the College achieved the maximum possible score on the Victorian Certificate of Education. This is an unusual and noteworthy result, as, from the 48,000 state-wide candidates for the 2006 VCE, only 35 achieved this "perfect" score. Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School had five students who achieved the perfect score, but the media concentrated on the four Glen Waverley students, the angle being that it was unusual to have so many perfect scores in any school, let alone a public one. The fact that all four students were from migrant backgrounds was also of interest to the media. Their stories were covered in the Herald-Sun[1], The Age[2], and on HSV-7.
Overall results for Year 12 were above average for this school in 2006.
[edit] Curriculum and Extra-curriculum
[edit] Music Program
GWSC runs a highly successful music program with upwards of three hundred music students distributed across several woodwind, string and vocal ensembles. These ensembles include:
- Junior Band
- Intermediate Band
- Concert Band
- Symphonic Wind
- Junior Strings
- Senior Strings
- Symphony Orchestra
- Junior Choir
- Senior Choir
- Advance Vocal Choir
- Senior Rock Band
- Intermidiate Rock Band
- Stage Band
- Improvisation Stage Band
The director of music is no longer Mr. Bruce Turner, it is currently Ms. J. Bunn.
Every year the students go to Rutherford Park for "Music Camp". For three days they ritualistically practice for seven or eight hours, only stopping for meals, sleep, and short breaks. This is generally in preparation for the Melbourne School Bands Festival held in Robert Blackwood Hall in Monash University.
In 2006 GWSC was one of 100 Australian schools to be invited to the 2007 Cheng Du Youth Music Festival, where they will be joining thousands of music students from all over the world in Cheng Du, China. kelvin's going ;p GO KELVIN!
[edit] Bands Festival Awards
- 2006: Senior Strings - Bronze, Advanced Concert - Merit
- 2005: Advanced Concert Band - Silver
