Junior Assistant Principal

Classes have finished and the school corridors are without their usual buzz as we close up the 2024 academic year! Students can be commended on their attitude and engagement throughout the Headstart period as they transitioned into their 2025 classes. We have observed students embracing the opportunity to make a start on their 2025 learning, working together to build learning partnerships with their teachers and approaching new challenges with a growth mindset. Teachers report that students are demonstrating our DARE values through active participation in engaging lessons, and we thank the teaching team for their commitment to facilitating high-quality learning opportunities for students throughout the Headstart period. 

Over the last two weeks we have celebrated the numerous achievements of junior school students in Semester 2 at year-level DARE Assemblies. Students gathered with their 2024 Year Level Leaders and reflected on their progress throughout the year, led by student leaders who also guided each year level through a celebration of key events from the school calendar. Congratulations to all students who were recognised for their commitment to learning through a DARE Award or for achieving an Extra-Curricular Badge in Semester 2. 

In the Year 7 Assembly, we celebrated successfully completing our first year of high school and all of the things we have achieved along the way, from mastering unlocking our combination locks and learning how to use Compass, to trialling different strategies for remembering our homework and developing stronger skills in collaborating with others and working through conflict. We then used pizza as an analogy for our high school journey, acknowledging that we have finished our first slice and while there might have been some crusts (challenges), we hopefully also tried some new toppings (opportunities - maybe a new sport, extra-curricular club or subject) as well. I left students with a three-part challenge: firstly, to share with an adult in their life something they are proud of achieving in Year 7; to thank one of their classmates for being part of their Year 7 journey and share with them something you appreciate about them; and finally, to commit to trying one new experience, club or opportunity at school when they return in Term 1, Year 8. 

Year 8 students reflected on a recent E4L lesson where they investigated their character strengths. There are a total of 24 Character Strengths identified and led by researchers Martin Seligman and Neal Mayerson. Whether we think we do or don't possess these particular strengths, research shows that we do, in fact, have each of these strengths within us. As discussed in E4L last week, leaning into our strengths can help us to achieve our goals. It’s also important to find a balance of our strengths. If, for example, bravery is one of our strengths, underuse might look to not taking chances, whilst overuse might put us in a dangerous situation. I then shared and celebrated three character strengths I have observed in our Year 8 cohort over the last six months of working with them: Kindness, Fairness, and Teamwork. 

As a Year 9 cohort, we celebrated students’ graduation from the AHS Junior School. This is a significant milestone and we reflected on the changes they have overcome since they walked through the doors three years ago as new Year 7 students. Many researchers consider this transition to mark the evolution out of ‘childhood’ and into ‘young adulthood’. The transition to senior school offers students an opportunity to reflect on who they are, how they present themselves, and what they value - both in what they believe and how they choose to spend their time. I left students with two questions to consider as they prepare for their formal commencement in the senior school next year: Firstly, what are you choosing to leave behind with childhood? Secondly, What are you choosing to take with you into adulthood? 

These assemblies were also an opportunity for students to recognise the work of their 2024 Year Level Leaders, and I thank Jacob Bevacqua & Badi Sheidaee (Year 7), Jesse Weymouth & Melinda Roberts (Year 8) and Leon Raymond & Scott Munday (Year 9) for their commitment to supporting student engagement and connectedness at school this year. 

I leave the AHS Junior School in safe hands in 2025, as we welcome new Assistant Principal Dannielle Gibson to our team. I have been in regular contact with Danni as we work through the handover process to ensure that she is cognisant of the needs and goals of our junior school students. She will oversee our 2025 Year Level Leaders - Badi Sheidaee & Fanny Beck (Year 7), Nicole Marie & Greg Leach (Year 8), and Louisa Phillipson & Craig Carpenter (Year 9). 

I extend my best wishes to students, families and staff for a safe, enjoyable and rejuvenating holiday break.