Student Leaders
A word from our House Captains
by Tavish Colegrave and Chloe Mackenzie-Mcharg, Gecko House; Samyak Subedi and Tom Hanlon, Glider House; Ravi Singh and Gabe Prohasky, Tawny House; Anastasia Kocovska and Alicia Morgan, Acacia House
Hello Preston Community, we are your House Captains for 2026!
Term 2 was one of the busiest and most exciting terms of the year so far, with plenty of memorable events and outstanding achievements. Our Athletics Carnival was a huge success, with the highest level of participation I have ever seen. It was fantastic to see so many students getting involved, cheering on their teammates, and showing great sportsmanship. Many students qualified for the Division Athletics championships, and several have progressed to the Regional Championships, which are still to come. We wish them the best of luck
Congratulations to Geckos, who were crowned Athletics Carnival champions and proudly took home the House Trophy. To finish the term, we held our annual House Talent Show, where students impressed everyone with an incredible range of performances and talents. Once again, Geckos came out on top, making it a clean sweep for the term.
Overall, Term 2 was packed with exciting events, strong house spirit, and plenty of opportunities for students to get involved. It was a fantastic term that created many great memories, and we can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store. These are the standing for the end of Term 2 house points tally. Get involved in House Debating and House Chess this term!
DaVinci Leaders report
by Charlotte Symonds, Tawny House and Raed Arnaout, Gecko House
Hi, we’re Raed and Charlotte and we are the DaVinci leaders. Last term was very eventful with multiple excursions and lots of fun. In the beginning of the term the Year 8s went down to Altona beach for Geography Class to find out the ways they preserve their beach and what they use. For Food studies some Year 8s also went to CERES where they learnt about sustainable farming and how eating organic foods supports the environment. On the Year 8 wellbeing day students did multiple fun activities such as laser tag, World Cup activities and a Preston Market walk where they were able to get lunch and hang out with friends. To finish off the term in the last week the Year 8 Chinese students went to China town where they went to the museum and learnt about ancient Chinese culture and how the preserve it in modern day times, they were also able to eat a nice Chinese lunch and enjoy some time with friends.
The Year 7s also had a busy term, which started off with an incursion from sexual health Victoria, where they learned about puberty. There was also student led conferences with mentor teachers, where the students looked at their growth habits, set goals, and figured out the steps needed to achieve them. Year 7s celebrated their hard work in Da Vinci by participating in the annual Da Vinci expo. They worked all term across different subjects including Science, Maths, Humanities and DaVinci , and learnt about the design thinking process, and what’s needed create a product, and how their product will help our world. They then showcased this to the families of Preston High School and were able to lead discussions about the product they created.
All in all, the Year 7s and 8s had an engaging term with many different encounters that allowed them to grow and prepare them for the second semester!
Bandler Parks Leader report
by Xavier Riordan, Tawny House
Hi everyone, I’m Xavier the Bandler Parks leader here’s a quick recap for the Year 9s.
In Term 2 there where a plethora of interschool sports including badminton, footy, netball and many others. The Year 9 electives had some incredible excursions, with the Chinese language students going to Box Hill to eat hotpot, and the food studies student going to the immigration museum.
Finally, the Year 9s had an incursion from consent labs, where they taught us about breaking stereotypes and how stereotypes can affect a classroom or workspace.
That’s all from me have a wonderful term!
Ada Leaders report
by Zoe Pavlidis, Alexis Challenger, Ruby Stokes and Escher Barnett
In Term 2, Cohort 2028 had many events that helped us to build character and shape us into who we want to be when we grow older. This term was mainly focused on our future -we had activities like The Victorian Careers Show, a guest speaker talking about Pat Cronin, and probably the most pivotal and beneficial activity of the term, the Ada Industry Connect!
The Ada Industry Connect went for one whole session, where we were listening and asking questions to three speakers of our own individual choice with careers that we might’ve been drawn to, inspired us, or even some that we found fascinating! We had people who worked with Australian Federal Police, Forensics and so much more who attended! The Ada Industry Connect was a fantastic way to broaden our perspectives on future careers and help us with making decisions on what we’re interested in.
The Victorian Careers show was also a very interesting event - we got to travel to the Melbourne Showgrounds! We were able to walk around and look at a variety of different universities and find some that could be the most effective towards our future careers.
Cohort 2027 started term with a cohort assembly and a presentation on Gambling and Financial Literacy by Responsible Gambling Victoria. This gave us a chance to learn and revise financial knowledge and literacy whilst we also considered future financial planning.
In June, we visited Swinburne University’s Hawthorn campus to explore and learn about the opportunities available after high school. Many of our cohort also showed enthusiasm and engagement in our school community through involvement in the student leaders’ planning and running of events for Anti-Racism Week, the Preston Music Festival, Athletics Carnival and House Talent Show. Well done to our entire cohort for their efforts in the first semester of Year 11!
Thank you for reading and have a great day!
Performing Arts Leaders
by Zachary Fisher, Acacia House
Term 2 was an ecstatic term for all things music and performing. We had several events to celebrate the music aspect of Preston High School. The Urinetown performers worked hard in rehearsals for what will be likely Preston High School’s best school production yet. This is taking place in Week 2 of Term 3. We congratulate all of the performers of Urinetown for their extraordinary dedication and for the effort they put into making this the amazing show it will be and we look forward to seeing their hard work paying off on the stage in Term 3.
We also had the Preston Battle of the Bands and the Preston Music festival in Week 10 of Term 2. The Battle of the Bands event was none other than amazing with each and every band showing their amazing talent and teamwork skills through performance. We had a wide range of genres played from classical all the way to grunge, and covers from artists such as Elton John, Silverchair, Tchaikovsky and many more. Congratulations to Hamish Thompson, Zach Fisher, Tyler Fox and Thomas Holloway for winning this event with their cover of Silverchair’s iconic Israel’s Son. This win gets them a spot to perform at the Welcome to Preston event happening in Term 4.
The Preston Music Festival that followed featured acts from people of all different music ensembles across the entire school, from the top of the G building to CO4. Ensembles including string, guitar, jazz band, vocal, choir and many more showcased their amazing talent through performances that they spent two terms pulling together. We look forward to seeing what these students can bring in Term 3 with future musical events.
Debating Leaders
by Mia Mustchin, Saskia Duns and Poppy Logan
On 24 June, Preston High School debating teams visited University High School in Parkville to compete in a friendly day of debating. Our four Year 8 and two Year 10-11 teams competed against UHS on two respective topics, “That animal testing should be banned” and “Tracking apps should be made illegal”. Throughout the day students demonstrated good teamwork, confidence and used critical thinking when presenting their arguments. The event also included a series of workshops that were hosted by University High School, catering to new and experienced debaters. Included in these workshops were opportunities for Preston High School and University High School students to get to know each other and develop helpful debating skills for their future debates. The day was overall a great opportunity to strengthen debating abilities, make new connections, and enjoy a rewarding experience with fellow students.
Diversity Leaders
by Andy Ye, Gecko House
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" - James Baldwin
Throughout Term 2, the Diversity Team has cooperated with assistant principal Jessica James, in a joint development for the introduction of a recurring Standing Up Against Racism Week dedicated to increase awareness, and education that promote non-discriminatory behaviours within our school community. Amongst facilitated discussions, the thought of collaborative engagement from all student inclusion leaders came into play; as the pool of skills and resources collided together for a respective common goal.
Standing Up Against Racism Week (01/06-05/06) had been presented with a kick-start school assembly presentation from Krushnadevisinh (Kano) Ravalji, an award-winning youth advocate, keynote speaker, and CEO of Third Culture Australia. As an Indian migrant, he spoke openly about his personal experiences with racism, and identity crisis's, motivating the student body for systematic change.
Throughout the week, a selection of widespread culturally significant songs were played before school to encourage students to engage with reflection questions, mentor activities, whole-school events and the variety of competitions (photography, poetry) set up by the student leaders. These events included flag colouring, language writing workshops, silent disco, giant games, sports activities and a final all day Cultural Identity Day, which saw students accessorising and dressing up in their cultural attire.
At Preston High School, we acknowledge the multicultural representation we're built on, and constantly aim to commemorate and create the utmost welcoming space in our community.🌻
Newspaper Leaders
by Elsa Antill, Gecko House and Jacinta Kairouz, Acacia House
In week 7 of Term 2, Preston High School hosted Anti-Racism Week, with a special guest appearance of Kano from Third Culture Australia. Kano is the CEO of Third Culture Australia, a company which collaborates with organisations and schools to cultivate inclusive and youth friendly environments and emphasise long term impact. Kano has won many awards including YMCA Youth Premier of Victoria (2023) and Wyndham City’s Young Person of the Year. Kano’s work helps to connect young people and multicultural communities worldwide.
During the week the student’s leadership team organised a wide range of activities including colouring in country flags, cultural sports, photography and poetry competition, whole school assembly, cultural dress up day, and silent disco. Overall the week was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about other cultures and how to stand up to racism.
Social Justice Leaders
by Jessica Clark, Glider House
In Term 2, the Social Justice leaders helped plan and run events for NAIDOC week and Reconciliation week in collaboration with Preston Mob. We ran colouring-in of First Nations art and supported the running of the movie Bran Nue Dae during this time as well as supporting a barbecue. Additionally, for anti-racism week we ran a language writing workshop to teach people how to write welcome in many languages via posters and activities. Our other work for the term included beginning to make posters based on social justice issues we are each passionate about and helping with breakfast club in the mornings.
Visual Arts Leaders
by Bella Badrick, Tawny House
The Visual Arts Leaders have had an incredible start to the year! After restarting our Junior and VCE Art Clubs in early Term 1, Term 2 brought some exciting opportunities. During Preston High School's Anti-Racism Week, the Visual Arts Leaders ran a photography competition celebrating and promoting cultural diversity in our community. Students captured meaningful images that reflected different cultures, identities, and perspectives. The winner, Andy Ye, was announced at our whole school assembly. In Term 3, we look forward to sharing more creative opportunities we've been working on.