Principal’s Message

Every school has its own story – one that tells of its history, its culture and its reason for being.

Principal’s Welcome:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to East Preston Islamic College (EPIC), an independent co-educational Islamic College from Kindergarten to Year 12 situated in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Our College is a passionate, purposeful, and progressive place to study, our pupils discover a deep love for learning and respect for their Islamic traditions, as well as an openness to fresh ideas and innovative ways of thinking.

The opportunity to educate other people’s children is a rare privilege, bringing with it a huge responsibility to provide the best all-round education possible as we aim to prepare young people for happiness and success in their adult lives. At EPIC we take this responsibility extremely seriously. We care about the individual and pride ourselves in the warmth of an Islamic community in which all our students feel valued.

At East Preston Islamic College, we blend in traditional Islamic values – respect your parents, be kind to others, fairness, justice, honesty, the pursuit of knowledge, community spirit and decency with a forward and outward approach to modern education. Your child will experience a first class innovative and dynamic learning environment that will provide them with the academic and personal skills to flourish in the 21st century. Academic ambition matters and it is important that every student is inspired to be the best they can be. We possess a vision for learning that encompasses all aspects of life, not just the intellectual but also the social, cultural, physical, and spiritual dimensions where education is deliberately structured to develop the whole person in a caring, family-oriented Islamic and Australian environment.

EPIC is an open and inclusive community of learners, serving the need of young people and their families. We want our students to develop curiosity, imagination, and confidence in themselves. We want them to be compassionate and caring, thoughtful of others. We want them to think and problem solve, as well as develop independence, and personal and social responsibility. We want them to aspire to be the best they can be.

This generation will be the most highly educated in history. But no longer can we measure education in what we know; information is too vast in the 21^st century to do so. Instead, to be truly well educated, students need to know where to find knowledge, how to process it and how to use it. From Kindergarten to Year 12, we build skills for independent lifelong learning. Constant reviewing of teaching, learning and assessment programmes ensures that we are providing a comprehensive and stimulating Victorian curriculum, relevant to the needs of young people in a modern society.

We have high expectations of our students, and we are committed to meeting our responsibilities to each of these young people: to equip them with skills, knowledge, and values they will need to become young men and women of integrity, with confidence to strive to achieve their best. Our students are taught, nurtured, and inspired by an outstanding team who are dedicated, passionate and committed to their roles as teachers, role models and mentors. We believe that when teachers and students develop strong relationships built on mutual trust and respect then our students will be happy and willing learners.

EPIC offers a healthy environment, with rich opportunities beyond the classroom. Through involvement in sports, debating, creative and performing arts, leadership and service learning, our students discover their creativity, teamwork, work/life balance, and other life lessons they will take with them after graduating. It is our goal that each student will go from strength to strength, develop courage and resilience, and have a strong sense of self, so they can go on to shape their worlds into the future.

This website is merely a glimpse of the richness and diversity of the learning experiences at our College and within our community. I warmly invite you to come and visit us, to meet our staff and students and to experience East Preston Islamic College for yourself.

Mr. Guy Cassarchis

Principal

M.Ed. (Leadership & Management), B.Ed. (PDHPE), Dip. Teach (HPE & Rec. K – 12), MACE, MACEL