Heads of Secondary Years' Report
To our wonderful Hazel Glen community,
It's hard to believe the start of the year has flown by this fast and we are less than two weeks to the end of Term 1!
The end of Week 8 draws to a close the NAPLAN testing period for our Year 7 and 9 students. There will be a last opportunity for some final catch up tests on Monday for Year 9 students. We are very proud of how our students have conducted themselves with commitment, responsibility and pride, despite the nation-wide technology disruptions on the first day. For many secondary students, NAPLAN serves as an opportunity to practice working in an exam setting, which is something they will experience in their further senior years of schooling, from semester 2 in Year 9 and onwards. We would also like to recognise that these tests serve as a 'moment-in-time' snapshot of student academic achievement, and do not represent the value or individual achievements of the 'whole' young person.
This week we celebrated Harmony Week as a whole College community. Harmony Week is an annual celebration in Australia that promotes diversity, inclusion and respect for all cultural backgrounds.
Students will be discussed and learned about Harmony Week in their Home Group and iThrive classes. We also encourage you as parents, carers and a community to talk with the young people in your care about what it means to be inclusive and to have respect for all cultural backgrounds.
To show our support as a school, we invited all staff and students to wear a touch of orange on Wednesday. To celebrate, there were activities held in the Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday at lunch time, where students could get involved in a variety of games and enjoy music from many different cultures around the world.
Next week we will have our second Secondary Years assembly for the year, which will be held on Monday in the Gym, where all students will attend and gather to reflect on Term 1 and hear about the exciting upcoming events and happenings around the school.
Lastly, a reminder to Year 7 families that our Year 7 cohort has their camp next week, departing on Monday and returning on Wednesday. Camp is a brilliant opportunity for students to connect with their teachers and peers and continue to build strong interpersonal relationships with each other. Don't forget to check that bags are packed and all necessary items are ready to go the night before. We look forward to sharing some of the highlights in the upcoming newsletter.
We are also looking forward to our Secondary Years Athletics Carnival next Thursday. Please refer to Compass for all of the event details.
Warm regards,
