Principal's Report 

There has been a lot of coverage in the media recently regarding the nationwide NAPLAN results and what they say about our young people and education. While these global figures are interesting in themselves, they tend to overlook the success experienced by individual schools and fail to recognise the dedication and hard-work of teachers in supporting students to achieve these results.

At Wheelers Hill this year, our students were above state average of Top 2 Band Students in ‘Numeracy’ and ‘Grammar and Punctuation’ at Year 7 and ‘Writing’ at Year 9. These are results that we are proud of and will continue to build on in the future. We thank all our staff whose efforts have contributed to these results.

The Year 12s are currently in the end stages of their exams and our Year 11s are in full preparation mode for theirs. It is always astounding how quickly the end-of-the-year comes about. While the phrase ‘A year like no other’ has become a little cliched over the past years, I think we can all acknowledge that 2022 has been challenging in many ways.

However, one of the positives to have come out of the ‘COVID’ era has been the increased focus on Wellbeing and the greater appreciation of community. As we approach the end of the year, I’d like to remind the Wheelers Hill community about the importance of looking after ourselves and those close to us. 

In this spirit, here are some tips to maintain physical and mental health:

• Eat well and exercise regularly
• Get enough sleep
• Set aside some time each day to relax
• Put time into activities and relationships that make you feel good
• Set yourself short and long-term goals to look forward to
• Try to deal with problems sooner rather than letting them build up (It’s OK to ask for help!)
• Set boundaries around the use of technology and social media  
• Connect with your family, friends and community.

And some resources you might want to take a look at:

• Visit headspace and explore tips on a healthy headspace including their Health headspace action plan
• Watch the Feeling it - Smiling Mind video series for tips on looking after yourself, managing emotions, and navigating uncertainty
• Learn about positive mindsets, building your mental wellbeing and building a healthy relationship with drugs and alcohol at ReachOut.

Continue to stay safe.

On behalf of the Principal Team: Fern Brisbane, Judy Anderson and Andrew Dixon.