Principal's Reflection

Dear families,

Spring has sprung, the magpies have started swooping everywhere except the MCG and I am still grieving! The excitement of finals always coincides with a big finish to term 3 and increasing opportunities to get outside and active.

We also remind everyone to ensure SunSmart preparations are made and hats are ready to go for the first day of term 4! We are also exploring the trial of some sunscreen stations around the school as well and more and more long sleeve uniform items are being used as a flexible option for both warmth and sub protection. I was reminded of the importance of Sunsmart last week on the senior snow trip where unusually warm conditions meant many of us removed our bulky jackets and enjoyed spring conditions. At the same time, the whole resort sold out of sunscreen and we all shared our rations to avoid some wild goggle tans! The conditions caught us off guard, but it was great to get a gentle reminder of what is ahead of us as summer approaches.

The trip itself was a huge success and the skills that some of our students developed were very impressive! Thank you to Ms Harrison, Mr Salisbury, Mrs Hammond, Mr McGee and all of the students for making it such a brilliant experience.

I also had the pleasure of attending the primary school disco and winter formals this term. My two left feet stayed well away from the dancefloor on both occasions, but I was thrilled to see the enjoyment across all ages of our College as the students socialised in such a supportive and inclusive way. The mix of ages, friendship groups abilities and interests were on full display and highlighted how harmonious our community can be when the right mindset is applied. Well done to all of the students for their excellent behaviour and thankyou to the staff and parents who supported those events.

There have also been a number of achievements across volleyball, netball, table tennis, athletics and more! The pennants keep rolling in. A slight speedbump included the re-scheduling of our Frozen production which was another victim of the winter flu season. The irony of Elsa and friends catching a cold was not lost, but I am sure they have all let the grief go and will put on a fabulous show in term 4.

Among so many other exciting opportunities, I am also pleased to confirm that we will again have two Prep classes and six Year 7 classes with the need for more facilities along the journey. I will continue to work with our regional and central offices to ensure we can keep upgrading our environment to cater for our thriving cohorts. Keep getting the message out there that this is a school on the march toward great things! In addition, after a very long wait, I am expecting our playground to break ground over this September Holidays with one final compliance hurdle to tick off before the excavation can commence. I have met with trades and expect a 6-8 week process, meaning it should be open for play before the end of the school year!

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and comes back for a huge term 4!

Warmest regards,

Nathan Guthridge

Principal

Altona College