Principal's Report
The reflections from our staff and students after visiting the Holocaust Museum were powerful and insightful, with students in particular acknowledging what a rare opportunity this was to understand on a deeper level how this horrific moment in history was experienced by individual people. I urge you to read the reflections by William and Lara in Year 10 included in this newsletter.
As the principal of THS, I was proud to hear the feedback from the Holocaust Museum staff members that our Year 10 students were the most impressive group of students they had met in a long time. Our students respected the seriousness of this visit and engaged deeply with the difficult and haunting material, and in particular valued the chance to meet and talk to a survivor of the Holocaust.
On a very different note, the production of the musical ‘Chicago’ was an outstanding success, with all staff and students involved making an excellent effort to produce a wonderful show. I was thoroughly impressed and entertained by the quality of performances, the superb band, the direction, costume, make-up and lighting. Many parents commented to me afterwards about the very impressive singing on the night, which was a real highlight. Thank you so much to everyone involved, and in particular to the staff members who worked tirelessly to make this happen: Ms Fi Parrey, Mr Sean Nihill, Ms Madi Duyker, Mr Trent Morrison, Ms Rebecca Dowlin, Mr Victor Brincat, and Mr Jules Robinson. So much time, effort and commitment went into making ‘Chicago’ such a spectacular show. Well done everyone!
A focus for us this term has been decision-making for the future for our students, with a Futures Expo evening earlier in the term as well as this week’s Course Counselling day for students in Years 9 and 10. Our team of leaders and coordinators take the time to meet individually with students and their parents to discuss their pathways, future plans and interests. In 2026, we are running a Year 11 Economics class in response to student interest, and for 2027, we are likely to be running a Year 11 English Language class, depending on student interest. Student voice is an important priority for us, and we want to be responsive to what students are passionate about at school. In this instance, we have had a great deal of interest from students wanting to study VCE English Language, which is a linguistics-based alternative to VCE English with a stronger emphasis on learning about how language functions in the world, and how English has evolved over time.
Our Library team members are running a Reading Challenge this term, with a focus on students and staff reading novels from different countries and continents in the world. When I checked the map in the Library this week, it was clear that students had read books from many different parts of the world (including North Korea!). Once I have finished reading The Death of Comrade President by the Congolese author Alain Mabanckou, I will add my pin to that map. Thank you to Ms Lucy Youston and Ms Tanja van Loon in the Library for organising this great Reading Challenge!
Lars Andersson
Principal