Looking ahead: Education in 2022

“The first part of the year will certainly be a ‘settling in’ phase,” Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s executive principal Barbara O’Brien said.

“But at the moment we’re very busy bringing in all our resources and equipment that’s required.”

The expansive new campus is on schedule to welcome students at the start of the school year.

The introduction to the new neighbourhood and house system at the school might take a little while to get used to, according to Ms O’Brien, and staff would focus on providing support for those overwhelmed by the large number of pupils.

“It will be that care for students, making sure that every student is known, that they feel that they’re known and that they know who to go to for any support that they require,” she said.

“For our staff, it will be a similar thing.”

As the only public high school in Shepparton, Ms O’Brien said they wanted to make sure the school was “for the whole of the community”.

“We want to partner with every aspect of the community,” she said.

“The community owns this school.”

For interested community members, tours of the new GSSC campus will be held on January 24 and 25.

Bookings open January 17 through the school’s Compass system.

Among the logistical adjustments to the new campus, the new bus network will be the first transition families will make.

The network consists of 26 bus routes to transport students to and from school and 13 bus bays on Hawdon St.

“There’s a website available that’s been open for some weeks now that we urge travellers to go on,” Ms O’Brien said.

Despite the exciting beginning that the new school year brings for all Goulburn Valley students, the impacts of COVID-19 will likely still be felt when the first bell rings.

Notre Dame Secondary College principal John Cortese said schools would still have to follow public health guidelines as the third year of the pandemic took hold.

Vaccines, indoor masks and density limits are some of the restrictions still in place to keep students and staff safe.

“We believe we’re doing the things that are helping the health and wellbeing of our staff, students and families,” Mr Cortese said.

“And we’ll keep making all of those decisions, and following the rules.”

One of the main things Mr Cortese thinks schools will rely on is students staying home if they feel sick.

“People need to understand that it’s not only your child being impacted, it’s everybody,” he said.

“In other schools, (COVID-19) swept through the school because people have gone to school when they shouldn’t have.”

Mr Cortese doesn’t think remote learning will return to Goulburn Valley schools this year, but he said it was a good tool to fall back on if the need arose.

“People are trying to make sure schools stay operational,” he said.

On the plus side, the shift away from remote learning and back to the classroom means that many excursions and camps that had to be postponed or cancelled during the past two years can return.

Mr Cortese said the college was looking forward to being able to send its Year 9 students to a week-long outdoor education camp in Term 1, something students had not been able to attend since 2019.

“We’re hoping that’s another one of those things that gets in place and gets going again,” he said.

“The kids have already started getting their gear, so that’s really exciting.”

Another thing that has happened during the pandemic is that job opportunities for the Goulburn Valley’s school leavers have skyrocketed.

Mr Cortese said many students at Notre Dame had decided to find a job instead of persevering with remote learning, assisted by the “extraordinary” career opportunities in the Goulburn Valley.

“People have decided to make a career choice a bit earlier,” Mr Cortese said.

Finding a path for all students is a major goal at GSSC as well, according to Ms O’Brien.

“Our end result is that every student at GSSC has a viable pathway,” she said.

“That’s the best outcome we could get.”