As we move into the final weeks of the year, there’s a familiar mix of excitement, anticipation, and that end-of-term tiredness we all recognise. The fast-approaching Christmas season brings with it a sense of celebration and togetherness, a time when our school community pauses to reflect on the year that has been and the growth we’ve shared.

In classrooms and corridors, you can feel the energy rising with students finishing projects, preparing for celebrations, and looking forward to a well-earned break. It’s also a moment for us to acknowledge the hard work, commitment, and compassion shown by our students, staff, and families throughout the year.

Our Year 12 cohort are finishing off their final assessments with some completing their exams and others completing their units so that they can fully step into their future pathways. Valedictory is just around the corner and this brings a sense of celebration of the hard work that these young people have put in over the years of their schooling.

Students have started receiving notification of their subject allocations for next year and this process will continue as the college finalises its planning around subject selections, timetables and schedules. Staff too are eagerly awaiting the release of their teaching allocations for next year so that they can begin planning.

This brings us to the celebrations that are an important part of any school calendar. Valedictory is our opportunity to celebrate our graduating class, but we also have opportunities to celebrate with our younger students. This year, we are re-introducing a formal awards ceremony for students in Years 7 – 11. This ceremony will occur on the 8th of December, in the evening, and will be held at the college utilising our Stadium and Performing Arts facilities. Students who will be receiving awards will be invited to attend and families will be invited to participate in this celebration. Please keep an eye out for invitations to this event as they will be sent in the coming weeks.

In addition to this, all students in Years 7 – 9 will have the opportunity to celebrate the end of the year at excursions that have been organised for this date (December 9th). Students can choose to attend either the Gumbaya World, FunFields or Museum/IMAX excursions with friends. All details are on Compass and parents are able to consent and pay for these activities now to secure their child a spot.

Before we get to the celebrations, for the junior students, there are still learning tasks, assessments and activities to be completed and these will inform our reports which will be sent out in the week following the awards ceremony.

It is an exciting (and sometimes exhausting) time of the year at the college and I encourage all students to engage with it positively in order to reap the greatest benefits.

Student shout out

Recently, one of our former school captains, Emma Powell was featured in an ABC News feature on the challenges that many students face just to be able to complete secondary schooling. If you missed the news item or the article that was published following this, you can read the article here.

Emma’s story is one that reminds us that many students face barriers to learning and engagement that are often unseen by the majority however, with support and guidance and a fair amount of personal resilience and grit, these barriers can be overcome and success achieved. We are extremely proud of Emma’s achievements and congratulate her on her courage with sharing her story and experience to enhance awareness of the plight of others. Her story is one that certainly epitomises our school values and demonstrates what is possible when communities work together to support every individual to achieve success. Emma was school captain in her final year and balanced the challenges posed by her personal circumstances with her role as captain, her academic studies and her social connections in a way that was simply extraordinary and we as a school couldn’t be prouder.

Kerryn Sandford

Principal

Heathmont Gazette

Curiosity, Compassion, Community

Issue 17 · 14 Nov 2025

In this issue