Dear Parents/Carers, Staff, Students and Friends

WOW! What a term it has been. To think on our first day this term that we would only have 11 days of face-to-face learning would be quite incredulous. As we came out of and went back into another lockdown, and it was extended, and extended again, and again, we have faced much challenge and adversity.

To each and every parent/carer, student and staff member of Frankston High School, I sincerely thank you for everything you have done during this time. You have completed a large portion of time in a remote learning environment, during a pandemic. That is no mean feat alone. Yet, you have done so much more. You have been a source of inspiration for us, a wellbeing support and connector in bringing us and keeping us sane/happy/laughing. You have also been a loving family member and proved that together we can overcome such large obstacles that are put in front of us. I am so very proud to work with each and every one of you. Please enjoy your holidays, time away from screens and focussed on yourself and your wellbeing along with that of your loved ones.

I wish you all a safe holidays, and look forward to seeing everyone back onsite in Term 4. I will keep you updated with any information received from DET (Department of Education and Training) during the holidays.

VCAA VCE Leadership Award

The 2021 VCE Leadership Awards are coordinated by the VCAA (Victoria Curriculum and Assessment Authority) to recognise VCE students for their leadership, initiative and involvement in extra-curricular and community activities.

Congratulations to Michaela Goggin of Year 12 as a winner of a VCE Leadership Award. The 2021 VCE Leadership Award Ceremony will be held this Friday 17 September where the VCE Leader of the Year will be announced.

Our entire Frankston High School learning community are very proud of Michaela’s efforts over a number of years and she is a deserving winner of such a prestigious award.

Parent Student Teacher Conferences

It was wonderful to have large numbers attend our rescheduled Parent Student Teacher Conferences recently. These provide a great opportunity for students to reflect on where they are at in their learning, and where to next. Thank you to all of our wonderful teachers for providing feedback in this forum to students and their parents/carers. Thank you to all of the parents/carers who made bookings and continue to support your children during what has been a challenging time of remote learning.

R U OK? Day

Last Friday we recognised R U OK? Day to encourage our students and staff to stay connected during these difficult times. A team of staff and students put together some fun activities for all of the Frankston High School community to participate in. This included a fantastic Scavenger Hunt along with a number of lunchtime sessions running. Thank you to Mrs Sarah Bahramis, our SLC students, and our Wellbeing Team for raising awareness and checking with us if we are ok.

GAT (General Achievement Test), Remote SAC Assessments and VCE Examinations

The Victorian Government also announced that the following will be conducted with the health and safety controls in place:

The GAT has been rescheduled and will take place on Tuesday 5 October
Final VCE Examinations will take place on Monday 4 October until Sunday 17 November.

Further information on the GAT and VCE Examinations will be provided directly by the VCAA. Thank you to Ms Helen Wilson, Ms Carla Caminiti, the Senior School Team and all Year 12 teachers for their efforts in organising remote SAC assessments over the coming period.

Debating Success

Congratulations to our Year 10 debating students and Ms Georgie Long, supported by Ms Emily Papadimitriou, on their efforts and recent success. The team this year consists of Abbey Black, Subi Pandey, Alexandra Walters, Noah Sauvola, Bella Dew and Queen Okoronkwo.

The C Grade Team have had significant disruptions to their season this year, and only had the opportunity to participate in two debates in person in the regular season (held at Peninsula Grammar on Tuesday nights in Terms 1 and 2). The team made it through to the playoffs for the state finals, and have debated online on Thursday evenings over the last few weeks.

The students defeated Werribee Secondary College in the first round of the finals, arguing the affirmative side for the topic ‘That the government should prioritise building new roads over new rail projects’. Just recently they beat Geelong College, arguing the negative case for the topic ‘That the government should prioritise funding the arts over sports’ and Subi Pandey and Abbey Black were awarded joint best speaker for the debate. The team is now through to the Octofinals, which means they are one of the top 16 Year 10 debating teams in the whole state – a very impressive feat as the DAV (Debaters Association Victoria) competition is usually dominated by elite private schools.

Acting Success - Darcy Halliday Year 11

Darcy Halliday shot a short film “Sweet Mary, Where Did You Go” just before our first lockdown last year. The film has been selected to screen at the Oscar qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival and will screen in person at the historic Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard next month.

The film premiered at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in Miami this August and has also been selected to screen in official competition at the 27th L'Étrange Festival in Paris, hailed as France's most exciting cultural event of the fall. The film will also be in the running for the Canal+ Grand Prix award.

http://www.etrangefestival.com//2021/en//competition/shorts

Well done to Darcy who has a very bright future in front of him.

Mr Andrew Batchelor

Principal

‘Chill Out and Look About’