Principals Report

We are in the middle of Term 2, in a busy period of learning before mid-year exams commence for many of our students, and the weather has noticeably changed over the past fortnight. We have had a few cold, windy days, as well as plenty of rain. This is when our resilience is tested, as we wake up in the dark in the morning, and it’s sometimes challenging to keep going. Our advice to students when facing challenges is to take one step at a time, and gradually move forward step by step. By breaking complex tasks down into small chunks, they become more manageable. Towards the end of his life, Nelson Mandela said ‘do not judge me by my successes - judge me by how many times I fell down and got up again.’ 

One group of students who have clearly demonstrated a great deal of commitment and resilience are our student musicians, whose expertise and creativity were on display in last week’s Mid-year Music Concert. I’m sure I speak for everyone in the sold-out auditorium in saying that this was a wonderful celebration of student achievement, as well as a great night of music. I am enormously grateful to the staff involved in not only organising and running this great event, but also helping our students reach such levels of success over many months of rehearsals, learning and feedback. Thank you in particular to our Head of Music, Mr Sean Nihill, and our Head of Performing Arts, Ms Fi Parrey, for their leadership in this area. 

Last week was the National Reconciliation Week, and the theme of this week was ‘Bridging now to next’. Our First Nations students at THS represented their culture, and the theme of this important week, in a range of events over the course of the week. This included a great dance performance by students from our Deadly Sistaz Girls group, a Marngrook game between staff and students, as well as face painting, badge making and a T-shirt design competition. Thank you to Mr Henry Ralston and Ms Namarra Walsh for supporting our students to organise and run these events. 

In the first half of this term, we have also successfully run our Year 9 City School program, in which students engage with a rich variety of opportunities in the Arts, citizenship, sports and culture, while also developing greater independence and confidence in navigating the city. Thank you so much to our Year 9 team, under the leadership of Mr Kieran McDowell, for all their work to make the Year 9 City School such a great experience for our students.  

All in all, a busy and productive term so far, and many more exciting opportunities coming up later this term and this year. Thank you all for your ongoing support and contributions to making sure our students at Thornbury High School continue to experience success this year. 

Lars Andersson

Principal