End of Term 2

After a long and very busy term we have arrived at the Term 2 break. I take this opportunity to thank all staff (teachers and support staff) for their hard work supporting all our students with their learning, wellbeing and social development.

We achieved many things together this term including an exceptional Careers Expo which took place on Wednesday 2 July. This was a great success, and I wish to briefly thank our Careers/Pathways Coordinator Felicia Pellegrino for all of her work, and alongside her Natalie Flint who supported this work to achieve such an outstanding outcome. A big thank you also to all the staff in Senior School and all admin staff who supported the planning and implementation of this venture.

Feedback from our community has been outstandingly positive as well as from the presenters who have already indicated that they look forward to returning next year.

I will recap on this in the first edition of the Community Newsletter for Term 3.

I wish all students and staff a restful and relaxing break. Whilst it is important that our senior students do have a break from their studies, it is also necessary that they maintain a link with their studies. It may be preparing for upcoming SACs or undertaking revision of content already covered. Term 3 is a short term and following that, the year will quickly come to a close for our Year 12 students.

As is customary, on the last day of Term, 4 July school will finish at 2:30 pm. I ask parents to ensure that students have safe travel home.

Have a great break, stay safe and we will see you all on Monday 21 July for the start of Term 3.

Student Achievement: Australian Schools Girls 7’s Rugby Union Championships

Congratulations to Miley Navuni (Year 10, Skipper House) who has been selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Schools Girls U16 7’s Rugby Union Championships. This Competition takes place at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in QLD from 10 -13 July 2025.

This is one of the most prestigious National Schools competitions and serves as a selection trial for the Australian Schoolgirls Sevens team. In 2023 this team went on to win the Global Youth Sevens on the Gold Coast.

This is an amazing achievement for Miley and we wish her and her team all the very best as they engage with the competition. We are hopeful that the 2024 Team will mirror the success of its predecessor.

Diamond Valley Tennis Association Premiers

On Friday 20 June, Quinn Faldon (Year 8, Everard House) and Xavier Stalder (Year 7, Toner House) played in the Diamond Valley Tennis Association Section 5 Singles Finals representing Kangaroo Ground. They were victorious in winning this season’s Premiership flag against Viewbank.

It was an incredibly tight competition, with the boys taking the Premiership by one game! This is an outstanding achievement, and we are very proud of the outcome. The boys fought hard and certainly lived up to the school motto of “Deeds Count” whilst demonstrating the school values of pursuit of excellence and integrity.

Congratulations to both Quinn and Xavier for this amazing outcome and for demonstrating that hard work, effort and persistence does truly pay off.

Eltham High School Choir Performance

Eltham High School Choir participated in the Boroondara Choral Eisteddfod at the Hawthorn Arts Centre.

The choir performed two songs and were conducted by students Charlee Doherty (Year 9, Everard House) and Maeve Lappin (Year 11, Toner House). The judges were very impressed with their performance and awarded them third prize on a score of 80 points finishing behind 2nd place on 82 points and 1st place on 83 points.

They were certainly up there with the best.

I congratulate all members of the choir, their student conductors, their Director Lynlee Williams and their accompanist Assistant Principal, Darren Squires.

We look forward to similar accolades in the months to come.

Year 10 Pathways Day

The Year 10 Pathways Day took place on Monday 23 June. All Year 10 students participated in this very worthwhile experience and were supported to understand the diverse pathways that are available to them as they proceed with their senior secondary education in 2026.

I acknowledge the work that went into the planning and running for this event and congratulate the Senior School Team under the leadership of Orianne Megaloudis as well as all the staff that participated in the day.

The students were fully engaged on the day, and this will be followed by the Careers Expo which will be on Wednesday 2 July and available to all student sand families from 3:10 – 5:00pm. The time between 2:00pm and the end of the school day 3:10pm has been prioritised for our Year 12 and Year 11 students. I take this opportunity to thank our Careers/Pathways Coordinator, Felicia Pellegrino who worked hard to plan the Career Expo event and bring it to fruition. I also than all the staff that have supported her in her work on this event.

Following from these opportunities all Year 10 students will be involved in the career counselling process. Students and families will be informed of when this will take place.

In Term 3 we will be running our family Information Evenings about the options and choices that students and families are at liberty to make in relation to students' 2026 program of study. Information will be provided through various presentations and through direct contact with teachers who will be available on the night. I strongly recommend that parents and students plan ahead to ensure that they are able to attend these information evenings.

Dates for these appear on the school calendar.

Eltham High School Sport

Several of our sports teams have been performing exceptionally well and have been called upon to compete in cross-school competitions. Furthermore, part of the Year 7 and 8 Sports program involves several of our junior sporting teams participating in the Round Robin events throughout the year and across a number of sports. These are great opportunities for our students to develop and strengthen their skills in a specific sport or across a range of sports. Organising events such as these is no easy task. Lots of collaboration between school, organising buses, equipment, making sure that all students have the relevant permissions etc. Our thanks to our Sports Coordinator, Bree Pascoe and other staff taking teams out of the school to engage in physical activity and developing a love for sport.

It has been brought to my attention that on numerous occasion post an event, staff are receiving calls from parents requesting that their child be allowed to leave school on their return to school, at times well before the school day is over. This becomes an administrative nightmare and there is no reason for this to happen.

We want to ensure that every child has a great time in their sport activity, that they return back to school safely and with the group and then engage in any remaining classes for the remainder of the day.

To this end I ask that parents/guardians not ring the school at the request of their child to provide permission for them to leave school on their return from the sport activity. This is starting to become a real concern for the teachers on duty and for the school.

Students will travel to the venue in groups under the direction of their teachers, and will be supported to engage in their sport activity. At the end of the event students will travel back to school with the group and depending on their return time they will be directed to do one of two things.

If they arrive back before the start of the next period they will go to their next scheduled class. If they arrive prior to the end of the lesson, they will be supervised by their teachers in the sports stadium until that period is over. Students will not be allowed to leave school early unless they have a prearranged appointment and the early departure has been organised with the relevant sub school prior to the day.

I ask all parents/carers for your support with this and thank you in anticipation of you discussing this expectation at home with your child(ren).

VINCENT SICARI, Principal

Wednesday 2 July	Year 12 Tertiary Day and Careers Expo
Friday 4 July	End term 2

Monday 21 July	First day of term
Wednesday 23 July	Senior School (Year 9 > Year 10 2026) Information Evening 7:00pm
Friday 25 July	Year 12 Formal 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Tuesday 29 July	VCE (Year 10 > Year 11, 2026) Information Evening 7:00pm
Monday 4 - Wednesday 6 August	Year 10 Course Counselling in Room 420

Senior School

Key Events & Dates