From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends
As usual the first few weeks of Term 1 have been frantic with many challenging learning activities occurring in and beyond the classroom. Our students are embracing such challenges which will allow them to achieve successful learning outcomes. It is our many staff who give way beyond what is expected, together with students who thrive on doing their best always, that makes Frankston High School such a great place to be.
PAYING TO ZONE IN: A GREAT INVESTMENT-LIVING IN THE FRANKSTON HIGH SCHOOL ZONE
The Herald Sun published an article to reveal that the Frankston High School zone is one of the leading zoned schools in the State in terms of house purchasers paying a premium to purchase in the zone compared to outside the zone. A Frankston High School family, Mr Jason Jun, Mrs Hannah Park and their three boys, were featured in the article. The article stated Jason Jun and Hannah Park were willing to pay more for their Frankston South house to get their three sons into the top school. “ The teachers are great, it offers good sport and camps. It's one of the best state schools” Mr Jun said. Congratulations to all our families who have purchased in the zone. Your children together with our great teachers make our school exceptional and, as a result, you have made a wise investment which is paying far greater dividends compared to investing hundreds of thousands in a private school education. We have a learning culture money can’t buy, not even in the most expensive of private schools. You either have it or you don’t, and it is our students, staff and parents that enables us to have such a priceless learning community.
STUDENTS ON CAMPS: IMPRESS US ALL!
Over the last few weeks I have been very busy visiting students on the Year 7 Camps and Student Leadership (SLC) Camp. I must say, as I am becoming more acquainted with our Year 7 cohort I am even more impressed with what lovely young people we have been entrusted to nurture in partnership with their very supportive parents. It was also most inspiring to meet our student leaders on SLC camp. I was in awe of the already exceptional communication skills of the students on the leadership camps and it was heartwarming to observe the older students mentoring their young peers in building their leadership capacity. Thanks to the many staff who gave time away from family and friends to provide such special learning opportunities for 400+ students.
MOTIVATION DAY: A HUGE SUCCESS!!
Thanks to our team of enthusiastic Year 12 Coordinators: Mr Simon Cameron and Ms Nicole Filippou and our Careers Coordinator Ms Carolyn Walsh as well as Year 12 teachers who contributed to a highly successful Year 12 Motivation Day. The PFA provided morning tea which was most appreciated by our ravenous students. This day provided precious time for our Year 12 students to reflect and set their goals and develop action plans in planning for a successful year, in preparation for an exciting, rewarding life beyond school. It is pleasing to see how the Class of 2018 are using their spares wisely to study and seek help from their teachers. Many are staying behind after classes to use our magnificent Study Centre to revise and complete homework. Well done Class of 2018, you are off to a great start!
VCE INFORMATION NIGHT = PARENTS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The great turnout of parents at our VCE Information evening was a great indicator of how prepared our parents are to stand by their children and support them in achieving their full potential. Recent research indicates that there is no significant difference in learning outcomes between students who attend private and government schools. The difference in learning outcomes between students is determined by the quality of parenting and teaching. Parents who communicate to their children how much they value their education, together with world class teachers which Frankston High School is fortunate to have and students who do their best always, will result in students with the best learning outcomes. The feedback about the evening was very positive, as can be seen from the message below:
"We attended the Frankston High School VCE Information evening yesterday......... And we were very glad we did. The evening was conducted exceptionally well and Mr Cameron did a great job as MC. All the presenters presented their topic well as did Josh & Jo Gardner. It was very enlightening to hear from a past student and a parent’s perspective was also helpful. For parents that were completely ‘in the dark’ of how the VCE years ‘work’, we have come away with a very much improved knowledge and are now confident to assist our son with his VCE plan starting from today! A huge well done to Helen, Simon, the VCE team for providing such an informative evening."
SWIMMING CARNIVAL: A DAY OF PARTICIPATION AND FUN!!!
Congratulations to Mrs Chloe Stevens, Mrs Carly MacDonald, Mrs Kylie Grech and our wonderful team of VET sport and recreation students who organized and energised the students and staff to have a wonderful time at our recent swimming carnival. In terms of student participation, costumes and dancing, it gave us all great cause for celebrating how lucky we are to be part of this exceptional school community. It was a day that was complemented with perfect weather. Well done to our students who reflected the great spirit of Frankston High School by enthusiastically participating throughout the day.
PARENTS OF NEW YEAR 8-12 STUDENTS ENJOY MEETING STAFF AND EACH OTHER
It was wonderful to meet parents of our new Year 8 to 12 students at an evening get together. The overwhelming feedback from parents was how quickly their children had settled into school. Similarly, we were able to commend these parents on how their children are already value- adding to our learning culture of excellence.
FRANKSTON HIGH SCHOOL ELITE ATHLETES CONTINUE TO EXCEL
Many of our elite student athletes competed in the Victorian Championships with 13 being placed amongst the top, if not top, in the State, allowing them to qualify for the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney. We wish them every success in this up and coming event. Also, Oliver Beaumont (Year 11) and Nash Snooks (Year 8) have just competed in the National Mountain Bike Cross Country Championships with both being placed in the top 16 in Australia. A huge thank you to those who give so generously of their own time to support our athletes. Many thanks to Mrs Michelle Snooks, Mrs Chloe Stevens, Mr Mal Burt, Mrs Carly MacDonald and Mr Steven Bonfadini.
ABBY STRANGWARD UP FOR A NATIONAL AWARD IN WRITING
Huge accolades to Abby Strangward (Year 10) who has been informed that she is a finalist from Victoria in the Somerset National Novella Writing Competition for under 18s. Abby will fly to Queensland to attend this prestigious event, where she will have the wonderful opportunity of meeting many authors and publishers. We wish Abby all the very best as a nominee for this National award, and it goes without saying how proud we are of her.
All things are going well at Frankston High School; wishing the same for all members of our supportive community.
Mr John Albiston
Principal