On Saturday 2 February we had our large biennial VSL staff conference at University High School. There were over a thousand staff in attendance from all over Victoria, including such country and regional centres such as Shepparton, Traralgon, Wodonga and Ballarat. The conference was opened by Minister of Education James Merlino who made some very positive comments about the school and announced that our distance education courses will now be rolled out to Year 6 and Year 5 students over a four year process. Also in attendance was the Regional Director, Jeanette Nagorcka, and senior DET Officer Nick Beckingsale. The theme of the conference was “Moving Forward: Developing Engaging and Challenging Language Programs”. This is part of the Department and Government strategy to improve teaching and student outcomes in all schools across the State. The Minister was followed by Ms Stephanie Condon a senior DET Acting Directror who spoke on the Education State. After recess there were two sessions on Professional Development for F-10 teachers, VCE teachers, and Centre Supervisory staff.