Victorian Star Hub Schools
The seven Victorian Star Hub schools are geographically clustered in the South Eastern corridor of Melbourne centred around the Dandenong area.
They are a mix of both Government and Catholic Schools. They have been identified and recommended by the central offices of the Victorian Department of Education and Training and the Catholic Education Office Melbourne.
Dandenong West Primary School
Dandenong West Primary School is home to one of five community hubs in the Greater Dandenong area, and has established relationships with a range of community agencies who offer a range of programs for students and families. These include: Good Beginnings Playgroup, Active Families, and Urban Neighbours of Hope lunchtime activities. There is a strong partnership between parents and staff, with agreed support for the school’s emphasis on academic achievement and good citizenship. The school has 301 students, including 93% students having English as an additional language.
The school’s work in school and community has drawn national attention and was included as a research site for the Mitchell institute research project into High Impact Local Learning Systems. The full report on ‘The shared work of learning: Lifting educational achievement through collaboration’ by Tom Bentley and Ciannon Cazaly can be found here.
Doveton College
The creation of Doveton College is a unique and exemplary project for the Victorian Education System. Doveton College aims to provide a coordinated and more easily accessible system of services to families and children in Doveton and has a school age enrolment of 673 students, including:
- 58% students having English as an additional language
- 6% students from an Indigenous background
The school offers a range of on-site, integrated health and education services including maternal and child health programs, supported playgroups for infants and toddlers, early childhood intervention services, and a visiting doctor from Monash Children’s Hospital.
Hampton Park Secondary College
Hampton Park Secondary College is known for its partnership of students, staff, parents, working together to meet the needs of students and supporting them to develop as effective, respectful and active citizens. The school has around 1200 students, including-
- 35% students having English as an additional language
- 11% of students from an Afghan background, 9% from New Zealander and Pacific Islander backgrounds, and 10% from Indian and Filipino backgrounds
30% of families received the Education Maintenance Allowance in 2014. The school is involved in partnerships with the Beacon Foundation, Reach Foundation and Youth Works amongst others, to improve learning opportunities for students.
St Anthony’s Noble Park
St Anthony’s Noble Park is a Catholic primary school located in the south eastern suburb of Noble Park. The school is committed to building solid partnerships with parents, parish and wider community members, and serves 432 students, including 74% students with English as an additional language. The school maintains collaborative relationships with more than 40 different organizations and successfully ran a crowd funding campaign to raise funds and friends to send Year 5/6 students to Canberra in 2015. The school’s work in school and community has drawn national attention and was included as a research site for the Mitchell institute research project into High Impact Local Learning Systems.
St Gerard’s Dandenong North
St Gerard’s Dandenong North is the parish school of St Gerard’s Parish North Dandenong, serving a vibrant multicultural community. Located on the same site as the parish church, the school is proud of the harmonious links between the school and parish. Within one of the most culturally diverse localities in the state, the school has a strong community focus, characterised by inclusion and parent involvement. The school caters for students’ very diverse educational, emotional and social needs, influenced strongly by EAL and refugee backgrounds.
St Gerard’s strives to be an outward facing school that is a significant community hub for families. Through high expectations St Gerard’s strives to meet all the needs of our students from the spiritual, physical, social and emotional as well the academic. The school is proud that it consistently achieves student performance and growth outcomes that are above the national average and are breaking the pattern of low socio-economic areas giving rise to low learning outcomes. To achieve this the school continues to seek and develop community partnerships that help develop the capacity of our staff, students and parents in our common goal to give our students an exemplary education and begin them on a life long journey of growth and prosperity.
St Mary’s Primary School
St Mary’s is Catholic primary school south-east of Melbourne and has approximately 265 students, including 95% students with English as an additional language. The school has a strong focus on social and emotional learning, which is incorporated in to the curriculum, teaching and learning and all activities across the school and community. The school is prioritising strengthening their approach to school and community partnerships, focusing on family engagement, home-school communication and learning at home.
Wallarano Primary School
Wallarano Primary School services a culturally rich community of 35 nationalities speaking a total of 45 different languages, including –
- 66% students having English as an additional language
- 59% of families who received the Education Maintenance Allowance in 2014
The school has a strong focus on literacy, numeracy, continuous learning, and on understanding how students learn and how teachers facilitate learning. It therefore works to create exciting and stimulating classrooms that are highly focused on providing Powerful Learning, in order to inspire and motivate children about acquiring knowledge and skills.
