Principal's Reflection

The Spirit of Olympism

Welcome to term 3. I write today with the slight cloud of fatigue that many of us currently carry, having been lured into late night binge watching of the Olympic Games. Although the time difference makes this years Olympics a little less accessible to everyone, the highlights at least have afforded me a great motivation to wake up in the cold and trawl through the highs and lows of the previous night.

As a sport lover, I am easily engaged by the vast range of events to watch. What excites me more though, is the way the games motivate entire communities to unite in support of our representatives, not to mention the thousands of volunteers and supporters who contribute at their own expense to make the event a success. One of the most fascinating elements of the Aussie culture I know and love, is the attitude we demand of our athletes and how it reflects what truly matters to us most. We love an underdog. The fighting spirit of someone aspiring to be great in the face of overwhelming opposition inspires us. In these cases, the result is not what matters most to us. As a nation, we get behind these athletes and share pride in their commitment, courage and effort. Having aid this, we also love to see our nation win. We ride the highs of their success and they become a common talking point for days, weeks, months and sometimes years after. We value hard work, effort and ultimately success, however this alone is not guaranteed to win our hearts and minds. We will not suffer a tall poppy and I reflect on many occasions when our community feel obliged (often through unfair and inappropriate means – usually in the form of social media) to offer a reality check for anyone who dares to represent their nation with an oversupply of arrogance or ego. In the Olympic context, we celebrate Gold, Silver and Bronze, but a fourth medal is the one I believe best represents what the Olympics are really about. Named after the founder of the modern Olympics, the Pierre de Coubertin medal honors athletes who exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship or exceptional service to the Games. One of the most recent and famous examples occurred at Rio, 2016 when New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin stopped running to help the USA’s Abbey D’Agostino back to her feet after falling. I doubt a single spectator would not have been inspired by that act. Nor would they have celebrated an Aussie had they taken advantage of that moment to claim ‘victory’. Giving your best matters, winning is great, but maintaining the spirit of humanity despite its cost is truly remarkable.

This reflection has prompted my thinking about term 3 for our community. What is the Altona College spirit and how do we speak to it?

The line between success and failure can be a fine one. At school we also love a champion, and we take great pride in celebrating our successes. In true Aussie spirit, we celebrate the effort and the outcome, but dare not get ahead of ourselves. Whether it be in sport, academics, the arts or any other endeavour, it is the hard work, commitment and aspiration that we take pride in. Yet I wonder, how often do we genuinely commit to the spirit of kindness, inclusion and the great purpose of our school. Over recent weeks, I have watched students participate in swimming, performance, academic testing and assessments. I have been heartened by parent committees and volunteers working for the betterment of the school. Exams at the end of last term provided students with challenge, adversity, success and disappointment. Just like our athletes, it was the long-term commitment the preceded these events that ultimately led to the strongest outcomes. The support of families and community also could not be denied. Our school and community are filled with strength, courage, commitment, kindness and ultimately, a spirit that I firmly believe will overwhelm all competition as we continue to feed into it.

Equally, we are at times challenged by acts that would defy these values. The antisocial behaviours that undermine this spirit seem to be unanimously intolerable in the Olympic spirit, yet in moments of weakness, we allow these acts to infiltrate our daily lives. Bullying, conflict, insecurity, frustration and anger undermine our common strength. Even more so when expressed through the weaponisation of social media and gossip. With this, I challenge everyone (myself included) to reflect on the great pride, spirit and solidarity that this Olympic season brings and wield that vision to strengthen our school spirit. See the good and assume best efforts are being made, regardless of any failure and disappointment that might arise. Look to support the underdog, in the classroom, the school yard or even online. Back them to be great at whatever their pursuits may be. Celebrate the champions not only because of their outcomes, but because of the hard work, effort and commitment that came before the victory. Recognise those who dare to aspire… many failures and disappointments precede success, but they should not deter us from daring to be great. Be humble, kind and inclusive and if nothing else, be proud of the community we are both part of and represent.

Christmas in July:

A wish to share a special acknowledgement of the College Fundraising committee, who hosted our first Christmas in July Dinner. Taking on an event such as this for the first time was a significant challenge and I am both thankful and proud of the committed team that pulled the event together and the families who supported. I know the team learned so much from the event and already have ideas about how to keep strengthening our family engagement and school culture. I hope everyone will keep supporting the team and the wonderful effort they put in (voluntarily) to bring our community together. In particular, I thank Sarah Prismal for her leadership of the fundraising committee and Barbara Toal who played a key role in delivering all aspects of the food service on the night.

Special mentions and thanks go to:

Barbara and Garry Toal (please support the Wee Kitchen, especially via Google review if you can!)

Sarah, Barry, Aidan and Tyler Prismall, Amanda, Troy and Emma Ryan, Meabh McAndrew (and her son Harvey) Liz Lazarus, Karen Audley, Tara Shambrook (and children Lincoln and Lana), Anna Horgan & Jason Sullivan, Jessica Zugaro, Laura Newton, Kristen Polglaze

Juanita Foreman.

Thank you to our student servers:Hannah Bolyos-Macmillian, Ava Borg, Zac Cassar, Melisa Cukovic, Jasmine Cutajar, Aubrey Gantalao, Noah Harnden, Aston Lavrack, Jacquelyn Le, Taleea Limbrick, Rachel Neville-Smith, Frank Neilson, Leonie Noel, Wyatt Phelan, Maria Rodrigues, Melodi Spear, Megan Stoneham, Natalee Stoneham.

And last but not least to our year 3 choir Mia Lam, Ella Kretchmar, Ivy Brown, Brooke Irons, and Harper Williams for providing our music.

Timetable feedback and parent forums:

Having closed feedback on our 2025 timetable proposal. I offer the following key learnings:

1. A strong majority of respondents supported the proposal.
2. Criticism and concerns acknowledged the potential challenges regarding parent work commitments and supervision.
3. Interest in extra curricular programs was mixed, though it appears this would likely be an area for us to further explore as a means to support the challenges reflected in point 2.

As a result and in addition to feedback required to continue our strategic review, parent forums will be devised to allow further conversation and input from families to better inform our decision making. Compass notifications will be sent over coming weeks to promote times and dates for parent input on the following topics:

1. Teaching and learning
2. Student wellbeing, safety and support
3. Timetable proposal

Each will be given its own focus group, ensuring they are the sole focus of the time allocated. Feedback will be collated and considered by the College leadership to inform a final decision by the end of term 3.

We look forward to working with families to strengthen our school vision. 

Warmest regards,

Nathan Guthridge

Principal