After a busy few weeks it was great to have a mini break this week with the Melbourne Cup public holiday. The teaching staff made the most of the student free day on Monday, with a Literacy session run by Mark Leary, followed by curriculum area discussions.

Today our students participated in a Remembrance Day service in lieu of our usual Friday assembly. Mrs Alderuccio’s Year 9 History class led a very reverent service. I look forward to seeing members of our community at the Swan Hill town service tomorrow, beginning at 10:45am.

With all that is going on in the world today Remembrance Day reminds us of the fragility of life. At any time a country could be threatened, therefore we are grateful to our Government for ensuring that we can continue to live in a peaceful part of the world. We also pray for all those that have been affected by war and lost loved ones in service of our country.

Our Year 11 students have been working hard, finishing assessment tasks and beginning to prepare for exams. Many Year 11 students completed the VET: Sport & Recreation VCAA Unit 3 & 4 exam this morning. The remainder of their exams will begin on Tuesday 21st November.

It is important that all students continue to work hard and put every effort into their learning until classes finish. Year 11s last day of school for 2023 is on Friday 1st December. After Year 10 exams and Year 11 2024 Orientation, the Year 9 and 10 students finish classes on Thursday 7th December and our Year 7 and 8 students last day is Tuesday 12th December.

Our incoming Year 7 students for 2024 will join us for a day of activities on Friday 8th December. Parents are invited to join us for a shared lunch at 1:20pm on this day. Parents will receive a letter from Damien Hirst in the coming days.

I am excited to share that our guest speaker at our annual Presentation Night, held this year on Monday 11th December, is Neane Carter. Neane is an alum of our school having completed Year 12 in 2015. Neane went on to study a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts at Swinburne University and is now a solicitor at the Indigenous award winning company Terri Janke and Company. Neane has always been a proud Indigenous woman. I hope that you can make the time to attend Presentation Night to listen to Neane share her story.

Congratulations to the following students that were elected into Student Leadership positions for 2024. This completes our Student Leadership Team for 2024, and I look forward to working with them next year.

Junior House Captains

Solomon House

Charli Billy

Conway Kentish

Tenison House

Scarlet Emily

Grey Pekin

Woods House

William Minke

Benham Van Coller

Xavier House

Lily Samuel

Scott Scott

Student Committee Captains

Academic Committee

Wentworth Zoe

Mitton White

Activities Committee

Jaya Brooke

Jenkins-Jaiswal Pearson

Arts Committee

Trinity Brooke

Sutton Thomson

Environment Committee

Bella Hugh

Henderson Langley-Sheldrick

Faith & Mission Committee

Evita Anna

Caruso Whiting

LRC Committee

Grace Emily

Doherty Hall

Wellbeing Committee

Remi Charli

Alderuccio Lovell

2024 SENIOR STUDENT TRANSITION INTERVIEWS YEAR 11