Principal's Report

Welcome back

Welcome back to all students and staff to the start of Term 2. I trust that everyone has had a restful and relaxing break and that you managed to spend some time with family and friends.

Term 2 is always a busy term as we move towards the end of Semester 1.

We begin this week with welcoming prospective Year 7 students to our Open Morning and Information Night on Thursday 18 April. Next week, on 24 April, students and staff will participate in our ANZAC Day Commemorative Ceremony, which will be led by our Student Leaders.

Our new House System will be celebrated with a number of House Assemblies where we will recognise student achievement and continue to build House Spirit. Our Student House Leaders will lead us through the program.

There are a number of other initiatives that will continue from Term 1. The development of the Eltham High School STEAM Centre, over the break, has moved to the design phase of the building program. We are extremely excited by the initial drawings from the architects and look forward to seeing the more developed designs as the term progresses.

I look forward to our work together over the eleven weeks.

Student Achievement: Montmorency-Eltham RSL Spirit of ANZAC Award

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the Montmorency-Eltham RSL Spirit of ANZAC Award. Many entries were received by the RSL and as expressed by the MERSL Commemorations Officer, Timothy Riley, the entries were all of exceptional quality - so much so, that in addition to the piece selected as the first-place entry, five second places were awarded.

The clear winner was a poem written by one of our Year 9 students, Nova-Rae Lappin-Torrellas (Skipper House). Nova’s Poem 'They Will Live On' was judged to be both beautiful and powerful.

Three of the second-place winners were also from Eltham High School. 'Spirt of ANZAC' by Holly Nicholls (Year 9, Everard House); 'Spirit of ANZAC Poem' by Oliver Westerman (Year 10, Toner House), and 'I Remember the Silence' by Lucas Fox (Year 11, Toner House). These are outstanding results to be proud of.

The winner and second place entries will be stored and later compiled into an anthology. This anthology will then be used to raise money for the RSL Welfare Fund that helps those in our local community who are struggling and need support.

I congratulate all our students on their achievement and alongside them, I also congratulate all students across our community who submitted their work for the competition. Furthermore, a big thank you to all the teachers that supported these young people to develop their skills and confidence in their writing to submit an entry.

The Eltham High School community feels proud and privileged to acknowledge these students' works and the opportunity to be a part of the commemorations that will occur at the RSL. 

Eltham High School Stage Band Performance

Congratulations to all the students in the Stage Band who on Friday evening, 12 April, performed at the Central Club Hotel in Richmond for the Big Band Jazz at the Central, alongside the Blackburn High School and Caulfield Grammar School Stage Bands.

Aside from the obvious fun and social interaction with their peers, this was an amazing opportunity to perform in the lead up to the Generations in Jazz Festival. It is the type of opportunity that promotes the incentive for students to practice, to do their best and realise their true potential.

In congratulating the students, I also want to mention the exceptional support that they receive from their Band Director, Jordan Murray. I thank him for the opportunities that he provides for our students and congratulate him for the amazing performances that he can ascertain from the Band.

Well done everyone!

Department of Education's Secondary School Nurse (SSN) program

As of Term 2, 2024, Eltham High School is now part of the Department of Education's Secondary School Nurse (SSN) program. 

It is with pleasure that I introduce Jessica Manzie to you who is a Registered Nurse. Jessica will work alongside the Student Services and teaching teams within our school.

“My name is Jess. I am a Registered Nurse working with the Department of Education’s Secondary School Nurse (SSN) program. I have worked with the Department for almost 6 years, supporting multiple schools across North East Melbourne. At Eltham High, I will be working with Student Services and school leadership to implement and support health promotion strategies across the school. Students can access my services for individual health consults to obtain further information about a range of health topics. I can be contacted via Student Services.”

Jessica’s role at Eltham High involves implementing and bolstering health promotion initiatives throughout the school. Further, students have access to these services for personalised health consultations covering a wide array of topics. Whether it is information on nutrition, mental health, or general wellbeing. 

A referral can be made through your young person’s Coordinator and through Student Support Services to schedule a consultation.

Changes to the Structure of the School Day

Following consultation with students, staff, and parents during the latter part of Term 1, two areas were raised as concerning: the 2-minute change over time between periods 1 and 2, and periods 3 and 4, and; the length of the recess break. 

After great consideration, it has been decided to do away with the 2-minute change over time between these periods and to increase the recess break by 5 minutes.

Students are still expected to collect all their materials for morning Involve/Tutorial, period 1 and period 2 at the start of the day; for period 3and period 4 at the end of recess, and for period 5 at the end of lunch.

The expectation now is that students and staff move from period 1 directly into period 2 in the shortest time possible and the same for movement between period 3 to period 4.

The class will be deemed as having started when the teacher gives their first instruction for that lesson. Any students arriving after that time will be considered as late and the usual consequences for lateness will apply.

The new bell times are as follows:

We will trial this for Term 2 and continue to review this change throughout the term.

Students were informed of the change on their first day back and more details will be provided to them at the House Assemblies in the coming week.

Open Night and Information Evening 2024

Our 2024 Open Evening and Information Night will take place this coming Thursday, 18 April. This is an evening for prospective parents and students, and in particular, for students moving into Year 7 in 2025. The school will be open from 5:30pm - 7:00pm to explore. The formal part on the evening will begin in the Nalleijerring Performance Centre at 7:00pm.

I extend a warm invitation to all prospective families and ask all current families to bring this information to the attention of any interested families that you may know. 

I thank you for your support.

STEAM Centre Development Update

As mentioned earlier, we are in the Design Phase of our building project. The architects have been working to some tight timelines to move the project along. I met with the architects in the last week of Term 1, and based on the feedback that we provided, they have developed a design that we feel can work for us. However, we are at the nascent stage of this, and the architects will continue to work towards developing the concept design further before we get into the work of the detail.

At present we are pleased with the way that the project is progressing and look forward to the next stage when the design is complete, and the detail work begins.

I will keep you updated as the project progresses. 

VINCENT SICARI, Principal