Dear Woodleigh Families,

Welcome back to the 2025 school year. It has been a positive start at the Senior Campus. It’s always great to see everyone return refreshed and perhaps a little sun-kissed! Students, teachers and the community appear to have slipped back into a busy and full program at Senior Campus.

I witnessed new and old connections flourish in our school spaces this week. The introduction of the mobile phone Gate-to-Gate Policy has been instrumental in nurturing these connections and creating opportunities for our community to thrive. It hasn’t been without its challenges, but we have been pleasantly surprised with the success of the implementation phase of the new policy and guidelines. Last week, I was saying goodbye to everyone for the day at our crossing in the driveway. Two of our senior students leaving for the day realised they had left their phones in their lockers. The surprise on their faces and the realisation that they hadn’t used their phone for the whole day was priceless. Students are playing cricket, UNO and using the sports facilities in more significant numbers during break times. Classrooms have had a wonderful sense of purpose with less distraction from devices.

It would be wonderful to take on your feedback about the mobile phone policy towards the end of the term. I hope you are just as pleased as we are with the benefits of the restrictions on phone use at Senior Campus.

Best wishes,

NATALIE MCLENNAN
Deputy Principal - Head of Senior Campus