New campus on horizon
When new principal Sam Woods took the reins at the Australian Christian College Hume, in January, he had to hit the ground running.
The school had already been expanding for some time with the addition of a high school curriculum last year; and the delivery of several new buildings to accommodate that.
Mr Woods said the entire school community had made him feel welcome and he was keen to get on with the job.
“This year presents its own challenges,” Mr Woods said.
“I think a big part of what I’ll be doing is looking at recruiting staff for our expansion.”
That task will be ongoing for the foreseeable future with the school adding an extra year level each January.
“In 2021 we introduced Year 7, and this year we have introduced Year 8 and 2021’s Year 7s have moved up.
“Then we plan to introduce Year 9 next year.”
That will continue until the school offers a full eduction from Prep to Year 12.
“We will need to hire new staff each year for a number of years before we have a full staff,” Mr Woods said.
“Finding good teachers in regional areas is a very competitive field, so we’re looking at a number of things.
“We are looking at partnering with particular universities and providing options for graduate teachers.
“One area I am looking to expand on is being able to give graduate teachers excellent job opportunities and provide mentoring to a standard you don’t often see in schools.
“It is all well and good to have 250 students, but you need the appropriate staff to be able to provide the excellent service we already do, and want to continue to offer.”
Mr Woods said the plan had always been to move campus with the current site a bit too small for a school offering a Prep to Year 12 program.
“We are in negotiations about a move onto a new campus, which hopefully will take place in the not too distant future,” Mr Woods said.
“That is on the horizon and will increase our ability to provide our services for a larger number of people in our community.
“There are a few option we are looking at and we haven’t reached a decision yet.
“But I am positive that if any of the options that are currently being explored come to fruition nobody will be disappointed.”