With only a few weeks of Term 1 remaining, there are still many events and activities to experience before the holiday break. This week we celebrate Rosefest - I look forward to seeing what wonderful activities our Year 9 students have in store for us. I attended the Year 7 camp last week - such events provide undoubted benefits for both students and staff. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking to many of the Year 7 students; the ability to engage outside of the school, to get to know a little about your children was terrific - as was my undefeated run at table tennis. Ms Mitic was probably the only person (students, staff and camp staff) that gave me a run for my money 😊.
The photos below show the exceptional teamwork shown by one of the teams Mr Billett and I were working with on camp. Great effort to navigate the initiatives course so successfully!!
Last week I also attended the international student excursion to Puffing Billy. Mr Cogan and I were the designated cooks and we were able to prepare a lovely BBQ for our students. Thank you to Ms Li and Ms Adam for organising such a wonderful day. Many of our international students have not been home to see their families for over two years. Their resilience and strength to navigate these difficult times has been amazing and would not be possible without the support of our caring homestay families and committed school staff.
Staffing continues to be a daily challenge, with many staff away each week due to COVID related issues in addition to the normal absences. Despite these disruptions, I am extremely proud and grateful to our staff who have continued to step up and go above and beyond to cover classes and activities (such as the camp) and provide support to new teachers. Each and every day this term we have had multiple casual relief teachers onsite, this is unheard of for our school in Term 1, so the ability to help casual staff assimilate and understand our processes and expectations is testament to our great systems and support provided by our staff.
Thursday, 7th April is our student parent teacher conference day. This is a pupil free day, but we ask that where possible, your child attends the sessions with you. This day will be a little different this year and detailed information will be sent late on Tuesday, 29th March explaining the process and how to book. The day will be split into two sessions.
- Onsite from 12:00pm – 3:00pm
- Online from 4:00pm – 7.30pm
If you choose to attend onsite, between (12:00pm – 3:00pm), vaccination evidence will be requested at the gate. No parking will be available on the school grounds. Teaching staff will be in three venues, Library, Gym, and the Year 12 VCE Centre. Each interview will be 6 minutes.
Our Careers team have been exceptionally busy finalising the Year 10 Work Experience documentation. I have signed dozens and dozens of forms in the past few weeks, and it is pleasing to see so many Year 10 students sourcing wonderful placements for this invaluable opportunity. Some of the more unique placements involve students travelling interstate, hospital placements and various engineering and architectural companies.
School building programs have not been immune to delays with supplies and logistics. The inclusive school fund grant (external library reading space) which was due to be completed Term 1 has been delayed, but appears that it will commence shortly. We have also commenced the new locker bay build on the end of B wing which will replace the locker bay adjacent to the stairs that lead up to B wing. The Capital Works project appears to be on track and at the time of writing is still due to commence in May. We are awaiting final approval of costings before we can go out to tender.
This week we welcome Cassandra Lo Giudice who is replacing Rhiannon Smith. We wish Rhiannon all the best as she commences maternity leave and we look forward to working with Cassandra who comes to us with several years’ experience teaching English and working with the Student Representative Council at her previous school.
Finally, I leave you with this famous quote from Winston Churchill. Despite the challenges we face, our attitude and perspective is often a vital cog in how we cope.
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Arthur Soumalias
Principal
