Principal's Report

Congratulations and well done to all students for their effort and hard work throughout this term, especially in the academic program but also for their impressive participation in the extensive co-curricular activities that we offer at Blackburn High School.

Thank you to our dedicated leadership team, mentor teachers, class teachers and education support staff for caring and encouraging our students to thrive and grow academically, socially, and personally. This is underpinned by our unique House System that provides us with a strong connection to each other. Our Mentor Teachers are at the heart of this process, checking in with our students in the mornings and making sure that they have a great start to the school day.

It was a wonderful term of achievements and highlights beginning with the student forum held on 19 July with students across years 7-12 and facilitated by the senior student leadership team. The purpose of this student forum was to enhance the student voice within the school and empower them to provide feedback and insights into the learning experience within the classroom. The results were used on the Curriculum Day 22 August where teachers focused on how they can better meet the needs of their students to ensure that they achieve excellent outcomes.

Well done to Mr Ziino, the students and staff in our amazing music program throughout this term. The students performed at a couple of our local primary schools, Old Orchard PS and Blackburn PS and on the 15 August, 50 students in the symphonic orchestra, mesmerised a packed audience at the live performance of the Wallace & Gromit movie. A number of our music ensembles recently competed at the South Street Festival with excellent results.

Students continued to participate in record numbers in the sports program, and this inevitably resulted in exceptional results and awards within the Region, District and State for both individuals and teams. One team of note was the intermediate Boys Netball team who have been the State champions three years in a row.

Last week’s whole school assembly ably led by our school leaders, was an important occasion where we recognised and celebrated outstanding student effort and achievement across a range of areas. The students who attended the STEM trip to Croatia provided an inspiring review of their experiences at the unique two week expedition that gave them the chance to join in active conservation, and biodiversity field research abroad. They worked alongside the scientists collecting data from both the terrestrial and marine environments, learning to scuba dive and meeting students from Portugal and England. They cherish the life long memories they have made on this trip.

We are very proud of our outstanding school facilities and learning and teaching spaces that inspire and motivate our students and teachers and are considered some of the best in the state. We are waiting in anticipation for the completion of the refurbishment of the Resource Centre for the start of Term 4 with a new Pathways Precinct and new IT offices.

We wish our students, their families and staff a safe and enjoyable holiday break.

Joanna Alexander

Principal