From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff, Students & Friends
I hope everyone has had a very restful holiday break and that you have all managed to keep warm during the last few weeks of extremely cold, stormy weather. I must congratulate our students who have kept themselves safe and behaved in a very mature manner as they have moved between classes, keeping inside as much as possible and away from trees during such high level wind conditions.
IN EXCESS OF 60 NEW STUDENTS JOIN OUR SCHOOL FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THIS TERM!
We are thrilled to welcome in excess of 60 new students from all corners of the globe to Frankston High School. We have French students from our sister school Lycee Jean Zay and also Japanese Students from our sister schools Linden Hall & Fukuoka Daiichi. A special thank you to all our families who have generously opened their homes to welcome and support these students. We have just hosted a Japanese boy Akira Ishiyama who has been a delight to have in our home. It is a rewarding experience for us all to learn about the culture of our friends from overseas and also it is a great opportunity for our students to practice their French and Japanese, expressive and receptive, language skills.
If you would like to host a student for three weeks or longer please contact Anne Thomson on 9783 7955. In addition we welcome many international students from Italy, Germany, China and Japan just to name a few countries.
“IF YOU DON'T NEED IT, LEAVE IT. IF YOU NEED IT, TAKE IT.”
Year 9 students from our LEAD Academy class are upholding our school values of Empathy and Responsibility by supporting Frankston City Council’s ‘Wall of Kindness’ initiative by establishing a collection centre at our school for donated coats to be passed onto the homeless. Recently I was travelling to the gym at 5.30am in the morning in my nice warm car when I saw a woman steering her trolley full of belongings as she battled with the freezing wind. Our hearts go out to those who haven’t a warm home to shelter in with supportive families and friends. I am pleased to tell you that our bin has been filled many times over with high quality coats that will be delivered to people in need. Well done to Ms Lauren Costanzo, the Year 9 LEAD class especially Riley Jursa, who organized and coordinated the collection of coats, and a big thank you to our caring community.
RECORD NUMBER OF PARENTS ATTEND VCE INFORMATION EXPO EVENING!
For many it was standing room only as parents and Year 10 students were introduced to the VCE years during the VCE Information and Expo evening in the first week of this term. We had a record attendance which demonstrates how highly our parents and students value education being indicative of why we are a school of academic excellence. All VCE subject areas were represented to help students consider the variety of subject choices on offer in preparation for their VCE course counselling interviews. It is imperative parents take the time to attend course counselling interviews if their children are in Years 8, 9 and 10. Parent involvement communicates to young people how much they are supported and value their education. Such attendance and support by parents can make a significant positive difference to your children’s learning outcomes. This is a critical time where Mrs Carolyn Walsh is leading the school to ensure each Year 10 student and their parents are provided with a wealth of information to ensure that the VCE course selected best suits the learning needs of each individual student.
CELEBRATION OF INCREDIBLE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS ALREADY HAPPENS FIRST WEEK BACK!
OUR CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS: STATE CHAMPIONS!
Twenty three of our students represented our school by qualifying for the State Cross Country Championships in the first week of term. All students gave of their best and had a great day. We couldn’t be happier to share with you that two of our teams became state champions.
Congratulations to our Year 17-20 Girls team and our Year 13 Boys team.
We must also thank our incredibly talented coaches Ms Edwards, Mr Burt, Ms Douglas & Mr Bonfadini who are out there inspiring our Semper Squad athletes during these chilly early mornings. All students need to be congratulated for turning up to Semper Squad to have fun and to ensure they are leading a fit and healthy lifestyle in order to make the best of learning and life opportunities.
YET AGAIN STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE STATE ELECT OUR STUDENTS TO REPRESENT THEM AS STATE LEADERS.
Our student leadership program goes from strength to strength in developing extremely high calibre young leaders that we are all be proud of. I have just been informed that during the holidays Samuel Ilobuchi (Year 10) and Gerard Felipe (Year 11) were nominated and elected to be members of the VICSRC Executive team. As members of this team they are responsible for representing student needs from across the state in consulting with VIPs such as the Minister for Education. I would also like to thank our other exceptional student leaders who attended and also helped out at the VICSRC Congress over the school holidays. They were: Tyler Goodridge (Year 10), Ruvimbo Gambiza (Year 9), Danai Harawa (Year 11), Lizette Gerryts (Year 11), and Bridin Walker (Year 11, volunteer).
Looking forward to catching up with many students and their parents at Middle School and Year 10 into VCE Course Counselling sessions over the next few weeks. Wishing everyone a terrific Term 3.
Mr John Albiston
Principal