Freeman

House

It has been another fantastic year for Freeman in 2023. We have welcomed new students and staff, returned to powerhouse status in the house competitions and have continued to build on the inclusive culture that we have in the house. We welcomed several new staff in 2023 with Samara Copley, Narelle McNeill, Shona Perrin and Stephen McDonald joining the Freeman family. 

Term 1 kicked off with whole school competitions including House Swimming, House Performing Arts and House Athletics. Freeman managed to finish second in all these events and the students were fantastic in their engagement in these activities and I am proud of the effort and behaviour demonstrated on those days. We also managed to squeeze in our annual House fundraiser where our student leaders ran a range of activities to raise funds for the Community Spirit Foundation (Cathy Freeman Foundation).  Thank you to all students and staff who assisted in running these activities to provide the school community with such an enjoyable day.  

Year 7 Camp was held for the first time at Camp Toolangi with Hollows and Freeman students attending the camp together. The Year 7 students were provided with a range of opportunities to form friendships with students in their houses and get to know their teachers.  

Term 2 and 3 saw a range of activities occurring around the school and we always had great representation from Freeman students. The student leaders continued the inter-house competition where we faced off against other houses which is always a highlight of the Mentor program.  

Our Year 8s went to Lake Dewar and were able to engage in a range of outdoor activities including Stand-Up Paddleboarding, hiking, and mountain-bike riding. It was fantastic to see all the opportunities on offer for students to engage in and it made for another busy middle part of the year. 

 Term 4  saw us farewell our Class of 2023 in the first week and the resurrection of Blackburn’s Got Talent. We held a number of excursions for our students and celebrated with our Year 9s at Gumbuya World as they head into their senior years at Blackburn in 2024. We rounded out the year with the 2024 Year 7 Orientation Day which saw 75 future Freeman students introduced to the school community. 

I would like to thank the Freeman staff for their work this year supporting their mentor students, delivering the mentor program, and supporting the house to ensure it runs smoothly. I would like to acknowledge the work of Amanda Michell in her first year as House Administration Assistant.  

We are saying goodbye to a few staff in Freeman again this year. We farewell Narelle McNeill and Anthony Carrubba as they continue their teaching careers at new schools, Tom Pearson as he continues study, Di Xue and Maya Mulhall as they head on leave for the first semester and Shona Perrin and Stephen McDonald who have been traded to Dunlop. They have been incredible assets to Freeman and will be missed. We wish them all the very best in their teaching journey. 

We are also saying farewell to Rod Bate who is retiring after 39 years of teaching service at Blackburn. Rod has been a fantastic addition to Freeman when he was poached from Hollows and we are fortunate to have had access to the experience and wisdom that Rod provided to our teaching staff in Freeman. We would like to wish Rod a well deserved retirement and look forward to his frequent visits back to Blackburn as a casual relief teacher.   

On behalf of the Freeman House, I would like to wish you all a safe and restful holiday break. We look forward to welcoming students back refreshed to take on the 2024 school year.