Principal's Report
Student Achievement
Eltham High Student to Represent Australia at Asian U16 Volleyball Championships
Eltham High School is proud to announce that Mayra Pacioni (Year 10, Skipper House) has been selected to represent Australia at the Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championships, taking place in Jordan from 1 – 8 November.
Mayra departed on Sunday 26 October, spending three days training at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra with the national squad. The team will then travel to Jordan on 30 October, where they will complete a final training session before the tournament begins.
The championship features four pools, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the quarterfinals. This competition will bring together some of the best young volleyball talent from across Asia, providing Mayra with an incredible opportunity to test herself against international opposition.
Eltham High School Volleyball Coordinator Anthony Young commended Mayra’s effort and dedication, saying:
“Mayra’s selection is a direct result of her consistent commitment to training and continual improvement. She’s worked extremely hard over many years to develop her skills, and it’s fantastic to see that effort recognised at the national level.”
Everyone at Eltham High School congratulates Mayra on this outstanding achievement and wishes her and the Australian team the very best of luck as they compete in Jordan.
For more information on the tournament, visit the Asian Volleyball Confederation website: 2nd Asian Women’s U16 Championship – Jordan
Pat Cronin Award 2026
In 2016 the Lower Plenty Football Netball Club created the Pat Cronin Award to honour Pat.
Pat played 39 games of football for Lower Plenty and won the Under 19s Best and Fairest award (The Mick Hodges Medal) in his 2 seasons of Under 19s, captaining the side to the finals in his 2nd year.
The award is presented to a player from the Under 19s who displayed the traits that Pat was so well known for - Leadership, Commitment and Respect.
On Wednesday 15 October Robyn and Matt Cronin (Pat’s parents) were thrilled to present this year’s Pat Cronin Award to Jesse Todd (Year 12, Toner House). Like Pat, Jesse played all his junior football at the Research Junior Football Club and has continued his football journey at the Lower Plenty Football Netball Club.
Congratulations to Jesse for displaying the qualities that make him a worthy recipient of this award.
Start of Year 12 Exams
The written Year 12 exams started with English on Tuesday morning 28 October, followed by English Language on Wednesday afternoon. The momentum of exams will pick up as we move into next week and progressively, we will see all of the exams run up to the last exam, French, on 19 November.
Teachers and students seemed pleased with both the English and English Language papers, and we hope that this trend continues across the other exams.
Students have been very diligent in coming into school to spend time with their teachers prior to the start of the exam period. For the remaining exams, I ask parents/guardians/carers to continue to encourage students to come in and see their teachers for additional support.
However, students now need to e-mail their teachers and book in a time to visit as their teachers could be given replacement classes and won’t necessarily be available during their Year 12 timetabled classes or even sitting in the subject’s timetabled room.
We want to see students taking advantage of this additional support, but we also don’t want them to waste their time coming into school and their teachers not being available to see them.
As always students are welcome to take advantage of the facilities of the school to study. The Study Centre, Resource Centre and Common Room are all available for them to use.
I wish all the students the very best for the remainder of the examination period.
Real Industry Job Interviews (RIJI)
Real Industry Job Interviews (RIJI) is a work readiness program that assists Year 9 students in developing important job search, resume writing and interviewing skills.
The program is delivered in Involve class as part of careers curriculum, through a series of guided lesson plans. In Term 3, students applied for a 'mock' job from a list of job descriptions, created a resume and cover letter.
Part 2 of the RIJI program allows students to experience a 'mock' job interview and involves a face-to-face interview with a volunteer employer/industry expert, who will provide each student with feedback, further developing important interview and communication skills. RIJI Interviews took place on 30 October at the Eltham Community and Reception Centre.
Students have been well supported throughout the program, it is a great opportunity to practice and develop necessary interview skills.
I congratulate Felicia Pellegrino (Careers/Pathways Coordinator) supported by Erin Knight (Middle Sub school Team Leader) for their organisation and running of such a valuable event.
I am certain that this year’s students will mirror the positive feelings about the program as expressed by their predecessors.
Centenary Celebrations 2026
In 2026, Eltham High School will celebrate 100 years of service to the Eltham Community and surrounds. 100 years of educating the young people in the area and what a marvellous history we have.
Eltham High School graduates have moved into a variety of fields both within Australia and abroad demonstrating diversity in pathways options and strong commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
Whilst the school has changes somewhat overtime, our vision and our values have remained strong and constant:
The Pursuit of Excellence, Creativity, Individuality, Respect for Diversity, Social and Environmental Responsibility and Integrity have guided our path over many years and continue to do so well into the future.
We certainly want to celebrate this milestone and are currently planning a range of events across the year which I will communicate to you once they are finalised.
Watch this space!
The Voice 2025
It has just been brought to my attention that one of our parents is a finalist on the Voice this coming weekend. Cle Morgan has performed a number of beautiful songs impressing the judges to such a high level that she is now a finalist. Cle’s daughter is in Year 7 at Eltham High School; I will not mention her name as I have not had the opportunity to ask her permission to do so. However, as a community I am sure that you stand behind me when I wish Cle all the very best with her upcoming performance and regardless of the outcome, we hope to be able to invite Cle to perform for us at school on some occasion, perhaps during the school’s centenary celebration coming up in 2026.
All the best Cle!
Should you wish to hear Cle sing the following links will take you there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N00vJPmcVCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fo_lfQQDJo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZQbkx2UCPg
STEAM Centre Build
The STEAM Centre project is taking shape. It is great to see the colour of the building appearing more and more each day. The progress is evident and looks fantastic.
We have ordered the furniture for the building and are awaiting the release of further funds to be able to order some of the more specialised equipment particularly for the Maker Spaces. We are in negotiations with the Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) and hope to hear about the outcome in then next week or so.
To date, all is travelling as expected.
I will keep you updated on the progress.
VINCENT SICARI, Principal