From the Principal

As we approach the midpoint of Term Three, our students are busy preparing, performing and participating in a wide range of activities and competitions.

In the past fortnight, our Junior School students have competed in inter-school netball and football competitions. Many of our singing ensembles, including our Junior School Performance Choir and Senior School Girton Singers, have placed in competitions in Melbourne and Bendigo. Our groups and ensembles are now finalising preparations for next week’s Ensembles Evenings, which I look forward to attending.

Bump-in for our Middle School production of Spamalot Young@Part has commenced in our Black Box Theatre. The cast and crew are in final stages of rehearsal as they prepare for opening night on Thursday 28 August.

And tomorrow, eight teams across Junior and Senior School will compete in Tournament of Minds, an international problem-solving program for teams of students. After months of preparation and practice, we wish all teams the best of luck.

Last week, our Junior School students celebrated NAIDOC Week, a celebration and recognition of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As National NAIDOC Week falls during our mid-year holidays, we schedule a week of celebration in our Term Three program. To start the week, students experienced a Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and didgeridoo performance by members of the Dja Dja Wurrung community. Throughout the week, they participated in a range of activities, and heard from musician, storyteller and Wamba Wamba man Ron Murray. 

This week is National Science Week, and our Senior School students have been completing science-based quizzes and activities each morning. In a special event on Wednesday celebrating both Science Week and NAIDOC Week, we welcomed Ms Tully Mahr to the school. Tully is a proud Gundungurra woman, STEM advocate and professional speaker, currently studying her Master of Mechanical Engineering (specialising in aerospace) at the University of Melbourne. She recently completed an internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and travelled to Bendigo to speak with our Senior School students and answer their questions. We thank Tully for generously sharing her time, experiences and expertise.

Last week, we also held our Year 10 2026 Information Evening, and Acting Head of Senior School Mr Marcus Smalley expands on the importance of these evenings and subject selections in his update. I would like to thank the students, parents and carers who attended this event, and the students and teachers who presented. We wish our Year 9 students all the best with their subject selections for next year.

In closing, I would like to remind you that our current stakeholder survey will remain open until Wednesday 20 August (next Wednesday). The survey takes just 10 minutes to complete, and can be completed on any device. If you haven’t done so already, please complete the survey – your feedback is important to us and will help us make informed decisions for the school that reflect the needs and desires of our community.

Please refer to my email of Wednesday 6 August for your survey link (as there are different survey links for staff, students, and parents and carers). Thank you in advance for your participation, and thank you to those of you who have already completed the survey for continuing to help shape our school.

Dr Emma O’Rielly

Principal