Hello, everyone.

I hope you enjoy this edition of ‘Healesville High Connections’. It highlights as always, the vibrancy of our school. You will see within this publication, just how much happens over a short period of time at Healesville High School. This edition does appear to be especially full of reports on a wide range of quite diverse activities, both in the classroom and beyond. There are reports of classroom endeavours and achievements, staff versus student athletic events, sport, instrumental music and local community successes, student involvement in the Reconciliation Carnival at Worawa College, and an early insight into the upcoming State School’s Spectacular, eagerly anticipated by the 20 students who will perform at the John Cain Arena.

Thank you to our staff members who provide such opportunities to our students, and thanks also to every student who has taken advantage of the opportunities on offer.

Congratulations also to this week’s stars – Brianna (Bee) Macdonald, Ella Deefholts, and Scarlett Gales-Smith. These students exhibit all the qualities of highly achieving students. They are hard-working, good humoured, generous in their support of their peers, and willing to be involved in all aspect of school life. They make the most of every day, enjoy their school experiences, and contribute to the life of the school. Keep up the great work Bee, Ella, and Scarlett.

Whilst acknowledging outstanding achievements I must mention the students and staff members of the Instrumental Music program. They are a dedicated and talented group of students, led capably and with passion by Amanda Morrison and her team – Viv and Andrew. I was fortunate to be invited to witness their participation in the North-East Victoria Region (NEVR) music concert, held this year on May 29 at Hamer Hall in Melbourne. In this year’s concert, 20 of our students were among more than 200 students from schools across the NEVR performing on stage, Grace Howie played guitar in the foyer of the theatre prior to the event and Amanda Morrison conducted a key band on stage in front of an audience of 2000. What wonderful achievements from staff members and students!

I’ll take this opportunity to encourage each of you to consider attending one of the numerous performances planned for this year’s production of Grease. If rehearsals are to be any guide, this show will be entertaining, fun, and not to be missed. Thank you and congratulations to each of the students involved, both on-stage and back-of-house, and a huge thank you to Daniel Glenn and his team who have already dedicated countless hours to this show. Without students, and without the generosity of these staff members there would be no show. I am certain that past students will attest-these are the experiences that students will remember forever. Thank you to those generous staff members and the passionate, talented, and eager students who throw themselves wholeheartedly into such events. However, without an audience there would be no show- please attend and support our students and staff. You’ll have a great time!

Although the past term has been one of achievement, accomplishment, shared successes, and fun times it has also been one of great sadness as we farewelled our wonderful staff member, friend, mentor, and colleague Arienella (Nella) Lithgow, who passed away after a long battle with illness.

Nella’s association with Healesville High School spanned more than 50 years, commencing as a student in the 1970’s, continuing as a passionate, engaging, and caring teacher in the 1980’s and again as a literacy support expert in the early 2000’s. The guidance she provided to students and staff members in this role simply reinforced to all that she was the most remarkably caring, patient, understanding and wonderful person.

Nella was widely known as Ms. Griff (her maiden name being Nella Griffioen) and she was universally known for her vibrant colour choices, her wide, welcoming, friendly smile, as an honest, loyal, and genuine person, and as someone of great substance, someone who could be trusted implicitly. The lovely photograph following this report is the one used at her funeral service and in my view, it was the perfect choice, for its shows the Nella we knew, the Nella we remember, respect, admire and miss greatly. The photograph radiates calm, it shows Nella’s massive and welcoming smile, and I think you can see in the photograph a sensible person, and a practical person, one at peace with herself. Without exception, on every occasion that our paths crossed, Nella made me feel better about myself and better about the world. Her smile, her optimism and her positive manner always had that effect on me.

She meant so much to so many in the Healesville HS community and her passing is deeply felt by those of us who knew her. My thoughts and best wishes continue to be with Nella’s husband Mark and with the people in our school community who were so fortunate to have experienced the pleasure of interacting with Nella. Best wishes to each of you.

Allan Rennick

Staff vs Students