Student Services
Term 1 of 2026 was a characteristically busy and extremely rewarding time in the Student Services space. Some key highlights from recent weeks (excluding the School Holidays, of course) have included:
ANZAC Assembly
Just this morning (Friday the 24th April), our school community came together to honour the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country during our annual ANZAC Commemorative Service. This solemn event was a poignant reminder of the courage, resilience, and dedication of our servicemen and women, both past and present.
We were honoured to have several special guests join us for the service, including Mrs Helen Pickering from the Applecross RSL and Mrs Tammy Cooper P&C President. Their presence added a profound sense of respect and gratitude to the occasion.
As an additional commemoration of this important event, students across the school used time in Core lessons to create a massive display of paper poppies, which adorned the lawn at the entrance to our school throughout the latter half of the week. It was wonderful to see contributions from all our students that made an impressive display in honour of the occasion.
Our students played a significant role in the service, with the school choir performing as well. We are proud of our students for their respectful participation and for helping to make this year’s ANZAC Commemorative Service a meaningful and memorable event.
CORE Update
Building on the strong foundation established in 2025, the Core program remains a cornerstone of our pastoral care approach at Applecross. This is a whole-school initiative targeting the development of meaningful relationships across the school community, students’ pathways to future careers, and the improvement of our students' overall wellbeing.
A key highlight for this Term has been the Volleyball House Competition, which saw every member of each Core class engaged in an epic battle to keep a giant, inflatable volleyball in the air and over the net. Scores are currently being tallied before we move on to the next round of the House competition: Pickle Ball!
As always, Student Services continues to seek feedback from Staff, Students and Parents on how we can improve this program and achieve its aims of enhancing wellbeing and fostering meaningful relationships. Several changes have already been implemented following student and staff feedback, with the aim of making the program the best it can be and something every member of our school community can look forward to each and every day.
Social Events
As always, a key highlight for Student Services, Term 1 also saw a slew of Social events to help forge connections amongst our cohorts and celebrate the beginning of yet another year. Across Year 7-12, this included the School Ball, River Cruises and a range of other activities. While the planned Outdoor Movie Night unfortunately couldn't go ahead due to an impending cyclone, we are also looking forward to further events across the school year. It is always wonderful to see our students enjoying themselves, making friends and getting the most out of their High School experience.
Lachlan Siberstein, Head of Student Services Year 7-8
