From The Principal

This term is proving to be very busy with the range of learning and activities that are being made available to students.

Two of our staff have returned from leave including Anna Cocks and Raphael Zadey.

Three of our debating teams have made it through to the semi-finals. It has been a pleasure to see and hear how confident our students are in articulating their views in a debate. The Year 8, 9 and senior teams won their semi finals. This means they will participate in the finals which will be held on 23 September at Parliament House. We wish them well in their endeavours.

The Arts are hosting a number of performances which includes:

• Year 7 music concert
• Senior School drama
• Senior School dance
• Elder Hall Music Showcase

Some of our students will be experiencing rehearsal overload as they prepare to proudly show their skills and abilities including working as an effective team member, communicating effectively and problem solving.

Our Year 12 students are rapidly approaching their last few weeks of their schooling. This brings the pressure of completing assessment tasks and preparing for performances and examinations. It is important that they maintain perspective and strive to get a balance between what can often feel like competing demands. Regular breaks, a good eating plan and plenty of sleep are required to be able to get to the finish line. If students need support they can seek help from their teachers, the senior school team and our wellbeing leaders.

There is an increasing number of international students returning to Australia and enrolling in our school. Please consider becoming a host family. Further details are in this newsletter.

Thank you to the many parents/caregivers who supported their children in the 2024 Course Confirmation meeting held a few weeks ago. The conversations were worthwhile in assisting our students to make decisions about their study next year. Based on student selections, we will start developing the 2024 school timetable. We aim to provide student preferences wherever possible. Whether a class or subject can happen, depends upon the number of students who select the class or subject. We make every effort to try and ensure we have many options for students within the constraints we have to work within.

This term is punctuated by a number of student lead events including:

• Bullying! No Way
• Wear It Purple Day
• RU OK? Day

One of the heartening aspects of working with students and young people is their respect of differences. These event days have enabled our students to lead by example of the important quality of tolerance and respect. We are continuing to look at ways to embed some of the learning about effectively working with students and young people through incorporation of the Berry Street Education Model. One of the underlying principles of our learning is to establish routines which prime for learning. We will continue this work throughout this year and in 2024.

A reminder about some of the expectations as the warmer months approach. Students should be appropriately dressed in school uniform with fully enclosed shoes. This is to protect them in some of our specialist areas of the school. As well wearing school uniform enables us to quickly identify whether a person on school grounds is a student or not.

Since mobile phones have been banned, we have had reduced numbers of incidents of online issues. However, if parents and caregivers become aware that their child is being exposed to harmful online content including cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse and intimate images or videos shared without consent, reports can be made to the eSafety. This link is to the  Australian independent regulator for online safety: 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/report/forms

This action can be taken in addition to reporting matters to the school where we will follow up as appropriate. Posting of inappropriate comments or content can lead to actions taken by the school and may include take home, suspension, and exclusion.