Principal's Report

Performing Arts Showcase

Congratulations to the over 250 students who performed in the Performing Arts Showcase over the last two weeks.  The talent of our students never ceases to amaze me, and across the fields of music, vocal, drama, dance and theatre studies.  There has been a remarkable energy around the school as students rehearsed and put their final touches to performances and costumes.  I know on the nights I attended audiences were really excited about what they were seeing and hearing!

The diversity of types of performance on offer meant there was a real diversity of students performing – some I had never seen on stage before.  And that meant there were a whole group of parents that I hadn’t met before, so it has been a great two weeks to get everyone involved. One thing that keeps blowing me away is the professionalism of the productions.  The lighting of the dancers on the final night matched and complemented their costumes – taking the professionalism to another level.  The slickness of the stage management saw groups moving quickly on and off stage, and on the first night individual ‘vocal segue’s” covered  the gaps.  It made the experience very enjoyable for the audience and fulfilling for the performers.

I would love to mention individual students, but there are so many.  On the first night the Junior Concert Band, with Grade 6 students joining in from Templeton and Regency Park Primary was a great to hear.  The Boy From Oz Medley, played by the Senior Concert Band and arranged by Daniel Van Bergen was a real highlight.   It was great to hear our strings students move from strength to strength.  On the last night the dancers were superb – creative in their choreography and skilled in their execution.  Abby De Laine, Angela Nguyen Ngoc, Olivia Bedford, Courtney Gillingham and Amielle Sims all delighted us with their solos. I didn’t get to see the Year 9 Drama performance, but I believe James Keam played a remarkable Julius Caesar.  That review will come later.

An event such as this couldn’t happen without an incredible drive and passion for performance, and that is certainly the case with our Leader of Performing Arts, Mr Marty Visser.  He certainly has inspired students to excel.  I would like to thank him and all of the instrumental, drama and dance staff who provided such a great opportunity for our students to shine.

Thank you also to Mr Andrew Lewis and the Tech Crew for providing such a professional environment in which the students could shine.  Thank you to Mrs Cathy Rouse who worked on Administration and to all our backstage people.  A special thanks to the Parents of Performing Arts (PoPA) who feed us and organised a great raffle. They were on a bit of a recruitment drive and I think they signed up a lot of new parents to join their group, which will work well for the College into the future.  If you missed seeing the concerts, keep an eye on the website so you don’t miss out on the next big performances – Alice in Wonderland.

NAPLAN

All of Year 7 and Year 9 students sat the NAPLAN tests last week.  It was very pleasing to see they took it quite seriously, but weren’t stressed out by the pressure of examinations.  It is a really good training for when they have to sit exams for Year 12 assessment in not many years from now.  When the results come in we will use the information to fine tune our teaching programs in English and Mathematics, and to take a closer look at the individual learning plans for students.  Thank you to our Leader of Curriculum, Mr Shane Kruger, for his work in organising these tests, and to all the teachers who supervised and made sure students weren’t stressed by them.

Cross Country

The sun shone on the Cross Country day, which was quite remarkable when we had bucketing rain and gale force winds the day before!  It was terrific to see so many students out running and I would like to thank Leader of Sport and PE, Mr Dave Black for all of his organisation of the event.  Teachers and VCAL students were involved in keeping track of the results, and walking, being on checkpoints or riding bikes around the course to make sure students stayed safe – thank you to them as well.

Academic work at the moment

In the lead up to the major reports at the end of this semester  there is a lot of assessment going on in classes.  Students are very engaged in assignments and other assessment tasks, so that teachers will be able to give you a good sense of the learning that has taken place so far this year.  Parents could be of great assistance by looking at student planners and providing support in organising time. 

Sue Bell

Principal