From the Principal

Farewell to our Year 12 students

Over the holidays, our Year 12 students sat practice exams at school, which replicated the conditions they will be sitting in the November end-of-year exams.  This is a very important experience for our students to have, as it helps them reflect on their time management during the exam, on planning and also helps reduce anxiety as they know what to expect.  Teachers have been providing students with extensive feedback on their performance and areas they can further focus on.  The level of support provided by our Year 12 teachers during the holidays has been fabulous.  Next week we are holding our Year 12 farewell assembly and valedictory awards and dinner.  I congratulate our Year 12 class for their hard work and progress so far this year and wish them all the best over the coming exam period.  They need to plan their revision time carefully, access their teachers and maintain a positive perspective.  I would like to thank our Year 12 teachers for all their work throughout the year and particularly at this time of year which is very demanding.

Visit from the French Consulate in Australia

Last week, the newly appointed French Consulate from Sydney, Mr. Martin Juilliard and Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie, French Honorary Consul General in Melbourne, visited our school.  The purpose of the visit was to inform Mr Juilliard of our French specialisation programs, and the achievement our school has made over the past nine years.

The ambassador visited classes and spoke to staff and students about his appreciation of our school immersing students in French language.  He explained that language allows students to have an insight into another culture and helps create a global perspective.  He encouraged students to continue with their French language learning, and even consider studying part of their tertiary education in France.

IB Verification visit

The IB verification school visit occurred on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th October with interviews being held remotely over the two days.  The schedule during this time involved the consultants meeting with:  the Principal class team, IB Coordinator, IB teaching staff, Student Wellbeing Counsellor, Library and Laboratory technicians, School Council President, Treasurer, as well as prospective students and parents.  At the final meeting, the consultants explained they really enjoyed the visit and meeting with members of our school community, and they provided a broad overview of their findings.  These being:

• There is a clear strong alignment with our school values and philosophy and the IB mission statement, which was apparent when speaking with leadership, staff, parents, and students.
• The school governing body and families, strongly support the leadership team in the management and implementation of the IB Diploma Program.
• Our teaching and learning processes are exemplary and in line with IB teaching and learning best practice.
• There is a strong focus on language learning and developing global citizens which is very apparent across all levels in the school (E4L, Careers, City Project, inquiry units) 
• Student voice and agency is very strong, students are well connected and feel they can voice their opinion at school.

Overall, it was a very positive visit with great feedback.  I would like to thank all who were involved in the meetings and thank staff, students and families for all their work in preparing for this visit.  In particular, I would like to thank Peter Ryan, IB Coordinator, for all his work in organising the visit and preparing all documentation.

Jack George and the Bali Ultra Marathon Children Foundation charity run

Jack George is a regular relief teacher at our school teaching Health and PE classes and taking many of our sporting teams out to compete with other schools.  On the 10th of September, Jack completed an 84.4 kilometre run overnight (double marathon) across the island of Bali which took 12 hours to complete.  He personally raised over $8,600 for the Bali Children Foundation and $200,000 was raised from the 24 runners that participated in the run. Jack explained that $220 puts a child through school in Bali for an entire year.  I would like to congratulate Jack on this major achievement. From a personal best perspective, he was able to complete his first marathon during this event as he had not run further than 35 kilometres in the past.  From a philanthropic perspective, congratulations to Jack for his commitment to support students in less fortunate countries than ours, with their schooling.  We are very fortunate to have Jack at our school on a regular basis working with our staff and students and wish him all the best with the fundraising.