Senior School News

Welcome Back

Welcome back to all students, parents, carers, staff and to our Senior School Leadership Team.

I look forward to another successful year working with our teachers and students to further improve the learning outcomes of our senior school students.

Thank you to our School Captains (Lu Yang and Nigel Mathew) and Deputy School Captains (Hayley Semetas and Ryan Zanders) for organising a special “Welcome to your last first day” lolly treat for our Year 12 students on their first day back at school.

Class Of 2021 - Outstanding VCE And VCAL Results

I would like to congratulate the Class of 2021 on their outstanding results. In particular, congratulations to our DUX, Charlotte Thompson with an ATAR of 99.6. This includes a perfect study score of 50 in Biology. Charlotte was very passionate in the Maths and Science area. She is an outstanding student who epitomises the school motto “Best Always”. Charlotte’s teachers are full of praise and admiration for her conscientious approach to her studies. Charlotte was the recipient of the ADF – Future Innovators Award – recognising Charlotte’s Science and Mathematics abilities while highlighting the value the ADF places on STEM skills. We wish Charlotte all the best as she studies a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Melbourne this year.

Congratulations to teachers Ms Annie Griffin, Ms Alarna Summers and Mrs Sally Bredin and our team of Music teachers for inspiring our students to great success. Tess Rogers has been selected into “Top Designs” for her work in Media Studies; Nissi Cai, Sicheng Liu and Finnian McTaggart have been invited to audition for “Top Class Music 2022” and Darcy Halliday (Year 12) has been invited to audition for "Top Acts-Drama".

Congratulations to our VCAL Students Flynn Thornton Heath who won a VCAL Regional Excellence Award and Jaxon Fraser who won a VCAL Regional Encouragement Award.

Our results are a reflection of the excellent teachers at Frankston High School. I am full of admiration for the professionalism, motivation and commitment shown by our teachers in ensuring all students maximise their learning outcomes.

I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding support and opportunities given to our Year 12 students by Mrs Sharon Bourne (Careers Practitioner), Ms Carla Caminiti and Ms Kelly Mitchell (Year 12 Coordinators), Mrs Ellen D'Ambra and Mr Paul Don (Year 12 Coordinators), Ms Olivia Beale (Student Wellbeing Coordinator), Mrs Sharon Koning (International Student Coordinator) and Mrs Carolyn McIver (VET Administrator)

Pathways Of Our Class Of 2021

92% of our Year 12 students who applied via VTAC for tertiary courses have received an offer. Of these offers, 81% were for one of their top three course preferences. This is an amazing statistic given that entry to tertiary study remains very competitive, particularly over the last few years because of federal government caps on course numbers and increased demand as a result of the inability of students to engage in traditional gap year programs, for example. It is important to note that places previously allocated to international students are not re-allocated (different funding model) to domestic students so the application process remains incredibly competitive and our students did a sensational job in constructing and curating their VTAC applications for 2022.

An arts degree from the University of Melbourne was the most sought-after qualification for Victorian school leavers across the state and five of our students received offers for this degree. Two of our students also received offers for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in the fields of Film & Television and Visual Art offered by the University of Melbourne. This is an extraordinary result as there are very few students offered places in these degree programs and the selection process is incredibly rigorous and requires students to submit a folio and then, if their folio is considered worthy, they are required to participate in a very challenging panel interview process.

Where are our students going?

We also have a large number of students who successfully applied directly to Chisholm TAFE, Holmesglen TAFE, Box Hill TAFE and VU Polytechnic and Melbourne Polytechnic for vocational courses. Many students will be taking advantage of the free TAFE priority courses to access a diverse range of career fields from nursing to electrotechnology to early childhood education and care. Students from both Senior School Pathway Programs successfully applied for vocational education placements.

Many of our students secured apprenticeships and traineeships. The trade areas were amongst the most highly sought career pathways amongst the Year 12 cohort outside of the VTAC application process.

What career areas are the Class of 2021 interested in pursuing according to their VTAC applications and offers?

Congratulations To Bethany Yeuong

Frankston Mayor, Nathan Conroy, announced the 2022 Frankston City Citizens of the Year at a special ceremony on Australia Day at the Frankston Arts Centre (FAC). The 2022 Young Citizen of the Year is Bethany Yeuong, who was nominated by Frankston High School Senior Campus Principal, Ms Helen Wilson and Careers Practitioner, Mrs Sharon Bourne.

Bethany is an advocate for social inclusion and diversity, champion for environmental sustainability, accomplished musician and avid fundraiser. She empowers her peers to contribute to the community and improve their wellbeing.

Bethany said receiving the award was an absolute honour.

“Not for the award itself, but for the thought that my time has had a positive imprint on our school and wider community; it makes me more happy than anything to have being able to be a part of lifting somebody’s spirits, and this award only inspires me to do more. I am a big believer in creating the life you want to live, and in a world where we have the power to choose what we put out to others, I choose kindness. I don’t want this award to be about me, but a recognition of all the incredible people in our Frankston community. Our community is truly a community where we help each other out, and I want to acknowledge all the amazing people out there who make it what it is. Especially to all of my incredible parents, teachers and friends who spread nothing but positivity, and never fail to be an inspiration to everyone around them, including me.”

Bethany thanked teachers Mr Brendan McKinnon and Mr Jon Christie for their support with the Eco Team and Interact.

Senior School Quadrangle

Students and staff were very excited to return to school and see the incredible transformation of the senior school quadrangle. A special thank you to Mrs Carolyn Florance and Mr Glenn Davey for overseeing these major works.

Impressive Start To The Year

It has been an excellent start to the 2022 school year. The students were motivated and focused and it is pleasing to hear so many positive comments from teachers on their classes. Teachers have been very impressed with the students’ work ethic in completing homework set during the early commencement week. Students in the Senior School should be completing 2-3 hours of homework each night. Students should also be consistently revising their class notes on a regular basis in preparation for assessments.

Overall, it has been an outstanding commencement to the term and I sincerely thank all teachers, students and parents for all of their efforts. I look forward to the year ahead as we continue on our journey of learning, reflecting the school’s vision “together we become purposeful learners”.