From the Leadership Team

Rob French, Principal

Beyond the classroom

Last week, our Senior School students embarked on their annual camp experience, with groups spread across Victoria on various expeditions.   

I thoroughly enjoyed spending a few days in Lorne and Anglesea with Years 7 and 12 students, respectively. It was inspiring to watch students approach new challenges like surfing and high ropes courses with such positive energy and determination, persevering even in the face of difficulty. Such experiences can test our comfort zones, and as a result, create wonderful opportunities for personal and collective growth. 

During this time, we also had a group of our Years 10 and 11 students visit France as part of our Global Connections program. Students had the opportunity to stay with families from our Sister School in Toulouse and enjoy three days in Paris to conclude their trip. It's wonderful to see these overseas trips being offered once again, especially after being put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Such trips are invaluable for our students as they negotiate the language barrier and a different culture. All students report significant improvements in their spoken French after these trips. Navigating two weeks in a French school is no mean feat, and our students are to be congratulated on the positive manner with which they tackled the many challenges presented to them. 

Upon completion of the camps, this week around 90 of our Senior School students headed to Albert Park to compete in the first division of the EISM Athletics Championships. 

Once again, those involved were challenged both individually and as a team, as they strived to do their best against tough opposition. Competing in Division 1 means that we face schools three times our size, yet our students tackled this challenge with admirable determination and a positive mindset.

Our Year 5 students visited the Shine of Remembrance and proudly represented Kilvington to pay respects to all who have served and continue to serve our country. To see our younger students engage with what can often be confronting material in such a thoughtful and compassionate way is a testament to their maturity and character.

Strategic priorities - an extra pillar

Considering the experiences highlighted in the above article, as well as the multitude of experiences our students encounter throughout their schooling, our executive team revisited our strategic priorities throughout the first term.  

Two of our original five pillars - 'Inspired Learning Culture' and 'Student Character and Care' - deal directly with our students  When our strategic priorities were first created, we agreed that they would continue to evolve, and would not be static for any period of time. 

Upon reflection, we felt that a vital area of student life would be best represented by introducing a third student-focused pillar to the priorities, making six in total.  We have named this new pillar 'Student Experience', which encompasses experiences that our students enjoy beyond the classroom, including camps and trips, excursions, sport, drama, music, debating, involvement in various clubs and other activities that create important learning opportunities outside of the traditional classroom. 

We are currently working on our key priorities under this new pillar and are excited to share these with the Kilvington community in the coming weeks.  Our overall aim is to do the best we possibly can under each of our six strategic priorities, and we continue to challenge ourselves constantly to ensure that this is the case.  

We believe that our priorities now better represent what we ultimately wish to achieve for our students, namely that they achieve their academic potential and are set up for success in their preferred area of further education, that they grow and develop into well-rounded people through a wide range of experiences beyond the classroom, and that we help to nurture young people of character who will have a positive impact wherever they go in the future.

ANZAC Services

We held our Junior and Senior School ANZAC commemoration services this week, and our students are to be commended on the manner with which they participated in these solemn services.  

Both services provided the opportunity for our community to come together to give thanks to those who have served our country in times of war, and indeed those who continue to do so in the present era.  We also prayed for peace at what is an unsettled and troubled time in the world.