From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends
We held our Year 7 to 10 Assemblies on Friday around the themes of Student Leadership and Road Safety via the Chill Out and Look About team. These were a great opportunity to hear more from our students, staff and special guests which included the Frankston Mayor Cr Kris Bolam, Ms Sarah-Jane Balharry, Mr James Balharry, along with two members of Victoria Police. There was a real sense of the importance of road safety for students and all of us due to the tragic circumstances last year. We are very proud of the Chill Out and Look About team for their efforts, including producing the bumper stickers that were distributed to students and staff. Thank you to Mrs Sarah Bahramis for all of her efforts organising these, supported by our Junior and Middle Sub School teams, along with Mr Adam Carson and Mr Keith Ashton-Bradley for their IT assistance, Ms Peta Laughlin, Ms Sally Bredin and Mr Ben Braithwaite for their support in preparing the incredible musical items, Mr Isaac Bakker and Ms Alarna Summers for their support of the students presenting, Ms Myriam Camilleri and Ms Mel Donegan who presented to our students on the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
YEAR 7 MUSIC RECRUITMENT EVENING
On Wednesday last week we held our Year 7 Music Recruitment Evening for students and parents. Thank you to Mr Peter Sharp for organising this event, well supported by Mr Ben Braithwaite, Ms Peta Laughlin, Ms Sally Bredin and the rest of the Instrumental Music team who were in attendance. It was a very engaging evening resulting in a large number of students participating in our wonderful music band program.
WORKING BEE
On Sunday 21 March we held our Term 1 Working Bee and it was great to see a number of staff, students and parents there lending a hand to assist in beautifying areas of the school grounds. The focus on the day was continuing the setup of the Eco Garden, mulching around the Synthetic Field, weeding and mulching the western embankment of the school oval, and other clean up items around the school. We also had a number of representatives in from the Frankston Susono Friendship Association undertaking work in the Japanese Garden on the Senior Campus. Thank you to Mr Glenn Davey and Ms Anne Thomson for organising, supported by Mr Dale Woolnough and Ms Carolyn Florance. Thank you also to Ms Lorraine Buttery, Ms Courtney Eller and Mr Jack Barbour who worked extremely hard on the completion of the Eco Garden which is looking fantastic! Thank you also to Mrs Helen Wilson, Mrs Cathy Hogg, Mrs Jo Matthews, Ms Kylie Williams and Mr Jacob Givogue for attending.
HARMONY WEEK
Harmony Week is a celebration of multiculturalism in Australia. It’s a week to practise inclusiveness, respect and acceptance for all Australians, regardless of cultural background. As part of our celebration of Harmony Week, students were encouraged to wear an orange accessory to school. We were also playing music from different cultures during bell times on the Junior Campus. Thank you to Mr Isaac Bakker and Mrs Sarah Bahramis for their support of our SLC students.
BIG PICTURE FEST
As part of Big Picture Fest, some of our Middle School students painted a mural in Thompson Lane, Frankston. Thank you to Ms Natalie D’Ambra for organising this fantastic opportunity for our students. How wonderful to be able to contribute to such a mural in the heart of Frankston. Thank you to all of our wonderful students for their involvement. It looks amazing!
PARENT STUDENT TEACHER (PST) CONFERENCES
We held our PST Conferences remotely via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 25 March. This was a great opportunity for parents to meet the teachers of their children and to hear feedback on how they have gone so far this year. Thank you to Mrs Joanna Matthews for her leadership of this opportunity and for all teachers for their efforts during this day and evening.
YEAR 7 CAMPS
Thank you to Mr Darin Joyce, Ms Emily Sykes, Mr Joel McMahon, Ms Kylie Williams and Ms Sharee Dew for organising and participating in our two Year 7 Camps that ran at the end of February. They were very successful in having our students get to know each other better and also form positive relationships with those staff in attendance. Thank you to all of the staff who attended in making the camps such a success.
SLC CAMP
Our SLC Camp ran from Wednesday 24 to Friday 26 February at Phillip Island Adventure Resort and was wonderful! Thank you to Mrs Sarah Bahramis for organising this fantastic opportunity for our students, supported by the other staff who attended and worked closely with our student leaders. We look forward to supporting the SLC groups as they work on various initiatives and ideas this year. This includes the work of our Chill Out and Look About group who delivered a powerful and emotional presentation at the camp.
RESILIENCE PROJECT
On Monday 1 March our Year 7 and 8 students participated in a Resilience Project presentation in the Performing Arts Theatre (PAT). Thank you to Mrs Cathy Hogg and Ms Kirsten Bakker for organising this; Martin Heppell from The Resilience Project was fantastic in his presentation to students.
OUTDOOR EDUCATION CAMPS
We are fortunate to have such a wonderful Outdoor Education program that includes some great learning opportunities for our students. Recently the team have run a number of hugely successful camps aimed at further enhancing student understanding of the East Gippsland region including Indigenous culture, development of the area, and how the environment is used in contemporary society through recreation (like rafting), sustainable farming and conservation. Thank you to Ms Georgia Tierney for her efforts in leading the Outdoor Education team and in attending a camp, along with Mr Jai Block, Mr Rohan Cameron, Ms Chelsea Morris, Ms Sarah Foley, Mr Mal Burt and Mr Dylan Garrett.
LIFESAVING
It has been a whirlwind start to the year for the Advance Lifesavers with 40 and 49 students attending the first two sessions at Frankston Beach. The activities have included a swim test, tube rescues, board paddling technique, CPR and Lifesaving competition. The older students have started brilliantly leading by example with the new Year 7 and 8 students. It is making for the start of an exciting year packed full of different Community Building/Lifesaving activities. Thank you to Mr James Cameron for his efforts in leading this wonderful program, along with the other staff involved including Mr Joshua Smith, Mr Adam Martin, Mr Jai Block and Mr Dylan Garrett.
READING CERTIFICATES
It has been really wonderful in meeting with some of our Year 7 and 8 students to discuss and celebrate their reading efforts. Our students have all shared a passion for reading and real excitement in receiving these certificates from their teachers. Thank you to Ms Emily Johnson and all of our English teachers for their efforts with this fantastic program and in fostering a love of reading and books.
STUDENT RECOGNITION
We have recently had a large number of Frankston High School students competing at the Victorian Track and Field Championships at Lakeside, Albert Park. Our students performed exceptionally well winning 23 state medals between them, many achieving state titles, national qualifiers and personal best performances. Thank you to Mrs Chloe Stevens for her work and support of these students.
There were a number of stand out performances below:
Molly Colgan (Year 7) - a new Victorian Record in the Triple Jump
Elli Symonds (Year 9) - winning 4 State medals
Frank Mazza (Year 11) - winning 4 State medals
Noah Oliver (Year 12) - winning 4 State medals
Michaela Goggin and Brianna May, both of Year 12, recently presented to the Rotary Club of Frankston on their experience at the National Youth Science Forum for which they were sponsored to attend. Michaela also spoke about the Interact Club which has commenced this year. Both students spoke very well and it was fantastic to be involved with all of the wonderful people, including many past Frankston High School staff and students, at the Rotary Club.
It has been a really enjoyable and productive first term of 2021. Thank you to everyone for all of your efforts working in partnership in the Frankston High School community. I feel very positive and privileged to be Principal and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our staff and students better, getting to meet our parents and families, and seeing all of the fantastic opportunities we provide for our students. Thank you for all of your support, I love coming to work each day and having the opportunity to work with and for you. Please enjoy a relaxing break over the holidays with your family and friends. I look forward to welcoming everyone back for the start of Term 2 to continue our work in providing an outstanding education for our students.
Mr Andrew Batchelor
Principal