From the Principal
Ross Pritchard
Hello again,
The long weekend is upon us, and this signals that we are six weeks into the school year. Most classes have reached a point where assessment has occurred and students have been provided with feedback. New topics are underway and the routine of school is fully imbedded. Summer sports days are also a feature of our school weeks now with teams competing in our local division (Mullum). For example, our swimming team competed at Aquanation Ringwood on Friday with distinction with many students winning through to regional finals. Two year level camps have been held as well, with the Year 12s travelling to Cowes, Phillip Island, and our Year 7s attending Camp Rumbug near Foster in Gippsland. Camps are an important part of our program as they stimulate social connections, personal growth, and a sense of belonging in our students.
School leadership – parents and staff on School Council
Currently we are holding our annual School Council elections. School Council members have a tenure of two years, and vacancies have been advertised for three parent and one staff representative position. Information about the candidates, and the voting process have been sent out via students or mail to all families on our database. Please take the time to be part of this process. I will welcome in the new School Council later this month.
Auburn Learner Quality: Citizenship
Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Year 9 students on their City Project. I observed a motivated, engaged, and enthusiastic student cohort fully invested in learning about their city. Students were creating their presentations and I was impressed with the level of research, perspective, and critical thinking that the students showed. Our Auburn Learner Quality of Citizenship was in full flight. This week parents, family members and significant others will have the chance to listen to a range of presentations from the students as they showcase their work. Thank you so much to Greg Leach, Leon Raymond, and the team of teaching staff that coordinated the week.
Community service comment
When our students represent Auburn High in situations like City Cite, sporting events, Rotary Club events, and leadership forums, they overwhelmingly receive glowing praise for their behaviour. Parents, and teachers, sometimes need to hear from other adults that their children/students are impressive and displaying high levels of conduct and community behaviours. Unfortunately, not all people in the world are like this, and our Police Youth Resource Officer and other support agencies have asked us to share the following information with parents. I would like draw parents’ attention to this link, and the document overleaf. The School through community building sessions, E4L and other wellbeing events will continue to educate students of potential situations they may find themselves in and reinforce safe behaviours, and our School values. I ask parents to have, or revisit, conversations that discuss relevant issues, and set agreed behavioural frameworks. Experience tells us that multiple conversations, with a variety of sources, is highly effective in education, and forming positive behaviours. I value the support of all our parents, and offer follow up conversations if there are any situations of concern.
Looking forward on our school calendar, the Parent-Student-Teacher conferences are coming up. This provides the first chance for parents to receive specific feedback on their young person's progress. These five-minute interviews are useful to get a snapshot, however if there are longer conversations required, please contact teachers, or Year Level Leaders to arrange. There are also some conferences that I will report on in my next article. One is the IB Global Conference and a DET network meeting of Principals.
Until next time.
All the best,
Ross Pritchard