School Profile and School Values

School Profile

Cann River is situated 450 kilometres from Melbourne in Far East Gippsland, near the Croajingolong, Errinundra and Coopracambra National Parks. The town has approximately 200 residents.
Cann River P-12 College is a very positive and energised environment, with excellent staff moral and a strong support to the community. The College caters for a population of 45 students from Prep to Year 12. Class groupings in 2022 for students are P-2, 3-5, 6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12. The College offers a broad flexible and inclusive curriculum, including VCE and VET programs. There are opportunities for Year 10 students to undertake VCE and VET units.
There are limited future employment options for students in the immediate area, so transition beyond school is a focus. All students experience a wide range of learning experiences, both in and out of the community: excursions include urban excursions, Outdoor Education, Sport, careers, year level camps, and VCE studies. The school’s strategic plan is built around the continuation of school improvement, with a focus on practice excellence, formative assessment, and individual learning plans. Developing personal and interpersonal learning is core to the school’s vision. The school is still very well resourced with staff for its size, with a teacher in each specialist area: teaching aides are used to support student learning at all year levels. The school has excellent facilities with recently built Science and Art rooms, and a refurbished Woodwork workshop. There is a professional kitchen, and a VET Auto workshop. There is a better than one-to-one ratio with computers to students - in years 7 to 12 students have their own netbooks. The fortnightly newsletter 'Jinga', which is published on the school’s website, effectively conveys the school’s approach.

The School’s Values are:

• Respect Self

• Respect Others

• Respect the School Environment

These values serve as the focus for the school wellbeing and engagement approach which has been revised around a ‘Positive Behaviour and Support’ (PBIS) model; some elements of which are:

  • A continual emphasis on identifying rewarding positive social skills
  • The recognition that social skills are learnt like other aspects of the curriculum: with instruction, practice, feedback, and encouragement.
  • Extra support is given for students who need it.
  • That understanding the reasons for student behaviour will lead towards teachers making more effective responses.
  • Teachers reflecting on their practice leads to more effective outcomes

In the primary level social skills are further explored by teaching a specific value each fortnight; a buddies program is run from prep to grade six.