Dear families,

I’d like to introduce myself as your Acting Assistant Principal (Years 7-9) for Term 3. I have had the pleasure of being part of the Auburn High School community since 2019, when I moved to Melbourne from South Australia. During that time I have taught across Years 7 to 11, and served in a range of different roles, from Extra-Curricular Coordinator to Year 9 Year Level Leader, and more recently overseeing the school’s Assessment, Feedback and Data-Driven Practice as a Leading Teacher. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to support our Year 7-9 students this term, and look forward to getting to know these cohorts better in the coming weeks.

Term 3 has begun with a bang and there has been excitement in the air as our Year 8 and 9 students begin to consider what their learning journey will look like next year. This is an exciting time in their school journey as they start to have increased agency in determining what they want to study. Our Year 8 students attended a special assembly on Tuesday afternoon, where they listened attentively and enthusiastically as teachers presented an overview of the different electives open to them in 2025 such as Coaching, Drama, Journalism in French, Social Movements and Positive Ageing Intergenerational Storytelling Project among many others. Teachers passionately shared highlights of each subject and links to interest areas and career pathways, sparking interest and curiosity for students. Thank you to Andrea Ganotis, Leading Teacher Curriculum (7-9) for facilitating this opportunity for our Year 8s.

Additionally, our Year 9 students have commenced with course counselling this week, as they use their subject recommendation letters and our Curriculum Handbook to select their preferences for their 2025 program. This is supported by their attendance at our Senior School Expo last week, and engagement with the My Learning Growth tool, through which they have set an engagement, academic and wellbeing goal designed to support them to prepare for their preferred subjects/pathway. We encourage Year 9 parents to ask their child about their goals and how you may be able to support them from home.

I’d also like to thank Jesse Weymouth, Melinda Roberts, and our team of fabulous teachers for facilitating the Year 8 Camp to Alexandra last week. Activities ranged from laser tag, to a wildlife show, rock climbing, and high ropes initiatives. The campers had a blast and by all reports their participation in activities and support for one another was impressive! Congratulations to all involved.

The remainder of this term continues to be an exciting one in our junior school, with several opportunities to contribute to developing and enhancing our school community. In particular I am excited to attend our upcoming Student Attitudes to School Survey focus groups in Week 4, and look forward to hearing more from students about how we can further support and enhance their experience at school.

Additional key upcoming dates:

Tuesday 13th August: Annual Time & Space Event for Year 7 students and their mums or mother figures. Please register via this link or see this flyer for more information.
Thursday 15th - Saturday 17th August: The Addams Family Production - purchase your tickets here for what will be an incredible show!
Thursday 22nd August: AHS Athletics Carnival - please ensure you have provided consent for your young person to attend via Compass.
Monday 26th August: Annual Time & Space Event for Year 8 and 9 students and their dads or father figures. Please register via this link or see this flyer for more information.
Wednesday 28th August & Thursday 5th September: Parent Student Teacher Conferences - booking information to come.

Interschool Sport on a range of dates throughout the term - see the Compass Calendar

The Arrow

Keeping our school community connected

Edition No. 30 · 02 Aug 2024

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