Principal's Report
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM UPDATE
This is our second year of running Scholarship Programs (Visual Arts, Music, Master Chef, Photography and STEM) and we thought it’s timely to provide a bit of an update. Over the next few weeks, we’ll use the newsletter to provide you with a sense of the work of each scholarship group. I’m pleased to report that all 5 programs are ticking along nicely. The adults leading the programs are doing an excellent job and the kids involved are certainly fully engaged, learning lots and enjoying themselves.
Photography Scholarship – There are 8 students participating in this program from grades 4-6. The program is being led by Paul Shire, a parent at the school and a retired professional photographer. Working alongside Paul at each of the sessions is Isha, one of our teacher aides.
This program runs from 2pm-3:30pm each Wednesday. Paul organises a weekly focus, each with the intent of teaching the students new skills. On occasions Paul brings in a local photographer to share their skills in a particular field of photography and sometimes the group will head out on an excursion, giving the children an opportunity to photograph in a variety of settings.
The program is not just about learning the art of taking great photos, it’s also learning skills relating to photo editing and the art of using photos for particular purposes (eg, marketing, story telling, etc).
Currently the focus is on taking photos of wildlife, which can be challenging at the best of times. Tomorrow the team is heading to the Ballarat Wildlife Park to take photos of the animals in the various enclosures. Then a few weeks later they’ll head to Lake Wendouree to take photos of the birds and other wildlife. On return Paul and Isha will look through the photos with the kids, identifying techniques that are effective and learning from each other.
This year’s team is fully committed and are doing an excellent job. Attached you can see some of the images they have captured and we look forward to watching their progress throughout the remainder of the 2025 school year.
Towards the end of the year, the Photography Scholarship students will come together with the other 4 scholarship teams for a celebratory evening. On this occasion the photography students will present an exhibition of their work.
Over the coming few weeks we look forward to sharing the work of the other 4 scholarship programs.
BIG WEEK OF SPORT
Yesterday I was lucky to accompany 7 of our students (Milla, Annie, Amy, Jack, Lenny, Jake & Oscar) to the regional cross country in Warrnambool. The conditions were quite blustery, and the track had some significant hills, but the kids were undeterred and gave their best. They all left nothing in the tank and should be proud of their efforts. Congratulations to Milla and Lenny, who finished in the top 12 and qualified for the state cross country event later in the year.
Last week we competed in the Division AFL competition, involving government, catholic and independent primary schools from Ballarat and surrounding districts. We had a girls team coached by Miss Middlin, along with 2 boys teams, who were coached by Mr Rodgers and Mr White.
The girls didn’t manage a win but loved the challenge and had great fun. Both boys teams enjoyed some success, particularly the number 1 team did an amazing job. Their approach was spot on, not getting too excited and just getting the job done. After winning their 3 preliminary games, they had a nail-biting win against Clarendon College in the final. That means the team has qualified for the next level of competition on June 25.
Well done to all of the staff and students involved. It was very nice to see the kids do their best, have lots of fun and show great sportsmanship throughout.