PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

The end of Semester One. A semester like no other, in the lives of any of us I am sure. As we head into a break where we will be permitted more opportunities to travel and to see our loved ones, I want to wish all of the College community all the very best for the winter holidays and I hope that it is a time for you and your family to rest up, relax and enjoy some time together.

This week we have hosted many families who are keen to enrol their children in our Junior School. Mrs Kylie Chacon has been very busy meeting with each family to discuss the culture, the education, co-curricular and community opportunities that the new addition to our College will bring. It is an exciting time. Some of our senior students have been working with Mrs Kylie Chacon to meet with the young children and make them feel welcome while Mrs Chacon talks with their parents. I want to thank those students for all of their assistance and their willingness to serve. A big thank you too must go to the Library staff, Mrs Rebecca Loesch and our Registrar Mrs Karen Wilson for all of their guidance and leadership during this session with prospective families.

Our Year 10 students are busy finalising their subject choices for 2021 and this has also been a process that is vastly different to past efforts. Mr Anthony Heffer, Mrs Patricia Humble and Ms Helen Foster have done a wonderful job in ensuring the best communication with our families and the feedback from the students has been wonderful. Thank you to all of the Faculty Heads for their leadership and time in discussing their subjects with our students – it has been great to see such expertise and passion. Finally – to Mrs Karen Wilson for overseeing the quality of what we have produced, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude. The productions were outstanding.

Earlier this week I shared some of my thoughts with Year 12 in regards to the remainder of the year and I want to share this with you as well. For our Year 12 students, this year has been particularly difficult, as it has been for all students across the world. Here is what I had to say:

Hello Year 12.

I had hoped to meet with you in person this morning, but then I realised you were in individual Homerooms.

As you wind down to the end of the penultimate term of your secondary schooling, I must say that you have acquitted yourselves wonderfully in circumstances no one could have possibly foreseen.

The following information was going to be the body of my talk with you this morning:

Graduation and Formal – earlier in the year this was looking doubtful due to the restrictions in place. Over the weekend the government announced further relaxation of the restrictions that will come into place in Term 3. This has allowed me to further consider the final week of your time at the College. At this stage it is my intention that Graduation Week will proceed as normal (mostly). This is great news for all of us. One of the most rewarding events of the year is to see you all graduate and then celebrate. Mr Fuller, Mrs Kjaer and I will be consulting the student leadership team regarding your requests for events in the final week of school so if you have anything you would like me to consider – please speak with Kodi, Marina, Lara or Royce.
Sport – I am in negotiations with the other Wagga schools about all sport. This does not include Friday Sport obviously. Carroll Cup and Tracey Gunson Netball are high on the list of discussions. I am hopeful that these important senior competitions will be able to proceed in Term 3 and Mrs Kjaer and I are working towards this end. Both of these events are key rites of passage for students at TRAC and I am very keen to get this sorted for you.
Finishing well – by my reckoning (after you take out exam weeks and other disruptions to learning) there are approximately 45 school days of lessons left – which adds to approximately 40 lessons left for each HSC subject. So you can see why I titled this point Finishing well. It is time to put most of the distractions behind you and focus on ensuring that you do your very best to ensure that you can perform at your optimum. Study groups, tutorials, holiday sessions with teachers will all be valuable opportunities to do this…but it is more than just the study side of things. Eat well, socialise, talk with your friends and family openly about how you are feeling, talk to Mr Fuller and Mrs Kjaer as much as you need to – as well as any member of staff. There are very strong support networks for you here at school, but also outside as well. Now is the time to not leave anything to chance. Most of you will understand the sporting phrase – “leave it all out on the field”. That is what you need to do. At the end of the year – you need to be able to look back with pride and satisfaction and know that you did all you could to ensure success. We are all here to help you with this.
Mr Heffer will continue to keep you updated on any and all developments regarding the HSC.

As a Year Group, you have shown again and again your resilience, your maturity, your tenacity, your class, your spirit and your heart. You will leave an indelible mark upon the College – simply by the way you have comported yourselves in times of unbelievable challenge, sadness and stress. As a community we are all so very proud of you already, and this will only develop over the next 20 or so weeks as you approach graduation. Your Chill & Chat last week was wonderful and I know for a fact that the students in the years below valued it tremendously. You are all leaders in your own right and this was amply demonstrated throughout the COVID times.

Continue to be there for one another.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Seek support and guidance when you need to.

Focus on the big picture.

Breathe.

As a student community of well over 700 students we are a big school…with multiple young lives to guide, support and educate. Over the next term though – much of our focus will be on helping you to be the best you can be…something we love as educators and something we look forward to each year.

All the best.

Paul Humble | Principal