Year 9 Update 

What a magnificent Term 1 the Year 9’s had. It has been my great pleasure to work with the Year 9s after having taught a number of them in Year 7 and Year 8. 

It’s incredible what growth and maturity comes with the Summer break as the Year 9s have approached the start of their year with an appetite for learning and an eagerness to participate in all things Shelford has to offer. 

The Quaerite Wellbeing program for Term 1 had a focus on ‘Resilience and Growth Mindset’. This involved students taking part in a workshop from our school psychologists on ‘Reframing negative thinking’. This was in response to tackling issues around social and emotional wellbeing, giving students an understanding of how to self-manage their emotions with helpful coping strategies. Parents and guardians are welcome to view the workshop content here. 

Another major focus for the term was the students preparing for the City Challenge, which involves a great deal of capacity building around the skills of team work, planning, decision making, independence and maturity. The conclusion of which was a fantastic four days exploring all that Melbourne has to offer. 

There were a number of students who could not participate in the City Challenge as they were off around all parts of the globe doing incredible things. Ava G participated in the FIAC (Flanders International Acrobatics Cup) in Belgium, Eliana R attended an intensive at the Royal Ballet School in London and Anabelle W was in Adelaide playing at The Easter Classic Basketball tournament. 

Students also did a brilliant job of participating in their last ever NAPLAN testing and I am super proud of the way they conducted themselves throughout this process, as they collectively shared a sigh of relief that it is over. I am also really impressed with the way the cohort have welcomed new students into Shelford and likewise the way the new students have demonstrated confidence in making the most of their new school.

Lastly, as a school Shelford commemorated ANZAC day with a number of classroom activities and a whole school assembly last Thursday. As the timing of this aligned with the Year 9 Humanities study of World War One, Year 9 students took the lead in presenting to the school the history of the ANZAC legend, with a focus on the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Vietnam War. A special thanks to Kylie C, Bronte F, Sahej S and Grace E for their incredible work on this.

Monique Sheehy

Year 9 Coordinator