Principal's Report

Ok… so they didn’t quite cover the 209 different tales attributed to the ‘authors’ (personally, I am glad they didn’t get to ‘Straw, Coal and Bean’), but what the cast of the ‘Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon’ did do was treat a packed Robinson Centre audience, across three nights, to a riotously funny 90-minute take on some well-loved fairy tales. 

Jasper and Kherington brought the requisite anarchic energy as narrators, holding together some impressive comedic turns from the ensemble cast. It was clear how dedicated the cast has been in their rehearsals as the opening night went perfectly with every cue met and every line delivered without a heartbeat’s pause. 

Such is the standard of performance at BHS that you could forget that these are also students who are juggling studies and lives as well as meeting the demands of such an intense rehearsal schedule. To be able to marry so many plot lines whilst controlling audience participation with the skill of conductors, our narrators created the space and structure to allow every single cast member an opportunity to shine. None of this could happen without the support, encouragement and inspiration of our PA team: this time around, Jess Quick, Eleanor Jones and Tyler Smith were at the helm and along with our exceptionally talented set-designer Paul Gerardi brought a total theatre experience to 1726 Sturt Street.

It has been a busy couple of weeks since I welcomed our community back to Term 3. We have welcomed and farewelled our Japanese sister school after an incredibly successful exchange program run by Hwaja Johnston and Simon Coles. Where I grew up, we did not have the opportunity to connect globally with our peers from another continent and seeing the impact that this visit has had on our students just underlines how fortunate we are.

I was lucky to spend time with staff and students to gain a greater understanding of the lasting impact that this exchange has and I am incredibly thankful to our host families for all that they do to make it a success. It is quite something to think that we have built a community of trust with a sister community over 9,000 kilometres away where our students are welcomed and afforded a once in a lifetime experience to live and learn in another culture. In my lifetime, the world seems to have gotten smaller and the importance of our students seeing themselves as global citizens should never be underestimated. 

This is also true of our German exchange program which is in its final stages of preparation. Due to changes in staffing, I had to make the tough decision to drop out of the trip at the last minute. Thanks to Liam Towell who has stepped in and, along with Dani Bjelanovic and Mel Pompe, will be heading to Singen for an exchange that is rich in cultural experiences for our students. I really wanted to see firsthand the impact of this program having heard incredible things about it from all who have been part of it over many years. As a state school, we are fairly unique in our wide range of offerings and having two thriving language programs is part of that. 

But it is not just the big excursions that have an impact: events like the German Café are a celebration of our students’ love of languages and their willingness to explore other cultures. The enrichment that is experienced by our students is significant and this is due to the hours of time spent planning the travel, excursions, hiking training and language acquisition provided by our staff that are integral to our students having the most immersive experience possible. 

We are incredibly lucky to offer what we do at BHS, and all of this only happens through the dedication of our staff and the willingness of our students to step up out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves.

Special thanks to Leah-Anne Reid and Yvonne Benson for taking our students to Energy Breakthrough last weekend. This program, which provides a combination of physical endurance, leadership and camaraderie, is truly going from strength to strength and such is the demand and dedication from our students that Leah-Anne and Yvonne took them to an additional race to the Maryborough event. The Sandown track was unforgiving, with an incredibly steep incline, and though a podium finish escaped our students on this occasion, the muscle-memory and physical exertion will stand them all in good stead when it comes to the big one, later in the year. I know they did us proud in Sandown and will do the same in Maryborough.

And a final shout out to Matt Richardson and Traci Robbins and all of our Business Management students for their Market Day success. Every year, this event goes from strength to strength, and it reflects the amazing potential that our students have and their willingness to seize an opportunity to make something special happen.

Finally, with teams entering into the final phases of so many competitions this term, I know I will have plenty more to write about the endeavours of BHS students in the coming editions of our Newsletter.

Stephan Fields

Ballarat High School's Principal