Junior Assistant Principal

It is a pleasure to bring you our last junior school update for the 2024 academic year. Our students and staff are in the throes of closing up their subject programs and completing final assessments as we look towards the impending commencement of the 2025 academic year at AHS. 

Our school community has been rocked by the tragic event that took place at Auburn South Primary School last week. We are saddened by the heartbreaking news of the passing of Jack Davey, and our thoughts are with the other injured students, affected families and the wider ASPS community at this difficult time.  As younger member of our school community, we know junior school students may need help in processing and responding to significant events such as this. We have taken various steps to support our junior school students in processing this news, with targeted interventions at Years 7, 8, and 9. This has taken the form of supporting students to process these events on an individual basis, with wellbeing staff onsite and available for support sessions and regular check-ins with their teachers, as well as supporting Year 7 and 8 students to come together as tutor group communities to participate in a three-step restorative activity in which they understand and co-construct shared agreements as to how they will move forward together. Year 9 students have embraced the opportunity to apply their Auburn Learner Quality of Citizenship in practice, demonstrating empathy and embracing the range of experiences and perspectives within our community at this time. They will also participate in a range of morning Tutor Group activities this week and next, prompting them to consider how they can foster Auburn’s Pillars of Wellbeing to support themselves and others in challenging circumstances. As I have already stated in various parent/carer updates, I am incredibly proud of the way in which students have conducted themselves over the last week, both in remaining calm and following instructions during the initial incident and in caring for one another in the days following. They have been exemplary models of our DARE values, and I know they will continue to look out for and support our community in the difficult weeks ahead. 

Year 9 students are preparing for their inaugural AHS exam experience during Weeks 6 and 7. These short exams are designed to offer students insight into what an exam period at AHS is like in a manageable and controlled way. The exams are 50 minutes in duration, and their primary purpose is to provide students with the opportunity to experience sitting an exam and the logistics that come with it; arriving early, finding their seat, following invigilator instructions and practising exam etiquette. They are a fantastic opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learnt over the last semester, and give their new Year 10 teachers insight into the learning needs of each student as they enter senior school. Good luck, Year 9s! We also wish all the best to 8F, who will sit the Brevet Blanc in Week 7 as a trial to support their preparation for next year’s Brevet examinations in June. For further advice on how to support your young person through their first exam experience, see the article later in this newsletter. 

Alongside classroom learning, a host of extra-curricular opportunities continue to be offered for our junior school students, with Region Tennis Carnivals taking place across Week 6, and the Year 7 & 8 Sport Gala Day running in Week 7. The incredible achievements of students in our Arts classes will also be celebrated at our annual ARRAY Art Exhibition in Week 7 - Opening Night on Tuesday 19th November. Parents and carers are warmly invited to attend. 

Our 2025 Headstart program will commence on Monday 25th November, Week 8. The timetable rolls over on this date for Year 8-11 classes, and students will work with their 2025 class groups and teachers (as much as possible) on next year’s skills and content. They may also receive some homework to complete over the holidays, so we can all hit the ground running when school resumes in the new year. Teachers will meet in the coming weeks to finetune the program, ensuring students have the opportunity to demonstrate our Auburn Learner Qualities and get excited about what lies ahead. No textbooks are required for Headstart, but we ask that students bring along a new set of exercise books that they will continue to use into the new year. 

Headstart is only two weeks away, and teachers and Year Level Leaders are supporting students to finish their 2024 program on a high note. Now is an excellent time to set some goals for improving Learning Behaviours and academic achievement targets for the next few weeks in readiness for the increased expectations of their next year level. Students are very welcome to ask their teachers for specific advice on improvements they can make to reach these goals in time for Headstart.