From the Head of Senior School

We hope that all our families enjoyed a rest over the holidays. For many of our Year 12 students, they were busy attending revision classes with their teachers during the holiday break. Term 4 is traditionally busy, and I encourage families to check the ASTRA homepage to keep updated on upcoming events.

During the last two weeks of Term 3, I was fortunate to attend my first House Dinners. The organisation and effort of the Year 11 House Captains to make a memorable evening for all the students, and particularly the Year 12s, was astonishing. For the students, this was an opportunity to dress up and enjoy the company of their friends with their House Tutors. Each year level performed a short song or dance or hosted a house-themed trivia quiz. After two years without this tradition, it was beautiful to see the joy on the student’s faces as they were finally able to attend a large external event without the restrictions of COVID-19. I would like to also acknowledge Mr. Mark Beever's hard work over the six evenings managing the photo booth for the students. His patience, photography skills, and dedication ensured that all students could take home a souvenir of their evening.

This week the Year 6 students participated in a Testing and Orientation Day as part of their transition to Senior School. The morning consisted of all students sitting three Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading, Numeracy, and General Ability. These tests provide rich data to assist each child's teacher with ensuring that their academic needs are met within the classroom. After lunch, the students could participate in team-building games in the school gymnasium. For new students joining the School next year, this day allowed them to forge friendships and reduce any anxiety associated with starting a new school.

At this time of year, students again begin to feel the pressure of approaching due dates for assessments. Therefore, I advise students to pace themselves, especially in the lead-up to the next round of Effort and Dedication reporting. The value of a ‘to-do’ list should not be underestimated, and I encourage all students to utilise their diaries much more often, especially in Years 7 to 9. As students progress through Years 10, 11, and 12, they will lean more toward their personal choice of an electronic or paper-based diary; it is more important about what works for each individual. Therefore, students should learn to curate their to-do lists by considering their tasks, adding new items, and then prioritising them. Forbes.com has some valuable tips on writing and managing to-do lists which I have summarised below:

1. Work out your priorities by thinking about the bigger picture. Have a clear idea about what goals you are trying to achieve. Your goals should determine your daily priorities.
2. Add structure to your to-do list. You should have your three most important tasks (your priorities) at the top of your to-do list. Resolve to complete your priorities as early in the day or week as possible and not move on to any other tasks before you have done so. 
3. Keep your to-do list to a manageable size. Together with your three priorities, you should never have more than five items on your to-do list at one time. If you have more than this, you risk not completing everything and feeling defeated.
4. Be specific with your tasks. A lack of clarity can make a task virtually impossible to achieve.
5. Schedule your to-do list. Once you have your five tasks for the day, take out your calendar or open whatever electronic calendar you use and schedule your tasks into your day. This can also apply to weekly tasks, especially for students in the younger year levels of Senior School.

The first two weeks of this term are, ironically, the last two weeks for the Year 12s. As their final days of formal schooling approach, they are preparing for their first and final Year 12 examinations with their teachers. With most of the Year 12 cohort starting their first year of education in 2010, reflecting on the significant world events that occurred that year is interesting. There were many significant engineering achievements. An ongoing financial crisis and recession from 2009 with high unemployment continued. In other important events, China launched its second moon probe, the Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver in Canada, the commercial space flight project SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon capsule, the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai with 160 floors, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place in South Africa, with Spain winning the World Cup. 

Similarly, for the Year 12s, their next big transition in their education was entering Senior School in 2017. In contrast, 2017 was a year of much unrest around the world. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, and Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France. There were terrorist attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Manchester Arena, civil unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Grenfell tower block fire. In Australia, perhaps the most momentous event was that same-sex marriage became legal.

As we approach the end of 2022, have world events changed significantly for our Year 12 cohort? China has hosted both the Winter and Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, hosting the events put a worldwide spotlight on their human rights violations, including the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people. Russia and Ukraine are embroiled in a conflict over the sovereignty of their lands. On a more positive note, there have been several highlights as we transition out of pandemic restrictions. Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games, the 2022 Nobel prize in Physics was won by three researchers for their work on quantum mechanics, and NASA's DART mission impacted an asteroid to change its motion in space.

As our Year 12s finish their final celebrations this week, I will leave them with a quote to ponder. This quote was written by Steve Jobs, American entrepreneur and pioneer of the personal computer era that has helped shape our students’ lives. Widely considered a visionary and a genius, he oversaw the launch of such revolutionary products as the iPod and the iPhone. 

"Your time is limited, so do not waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Good luck and best wishes to the Year 12s for your examinations and for whatever path you follow beyond Girton.

Ms Dawn Davis

Head of Senior School