Year 8

Welcome to Term 2! I hope you all had a very relaxing Easter break and were able to enjoy the lovely weather. I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs Jo Wood, who worked exceedingly hard during Term 1, relieving me whilst I was recuperating. Her professionalism and support of the students has been wonderful! I am very excited to be back and I am delighted to see how much the students have matured in the time I have been away.

Congratulations to all the students who have been enthusiastically involved in the events during Term 1 and for all the activities and initiatives that will take place in Term 2. Term 1 was a very busy time! It is wonderful to reflect on the number of activities everyone was involved in, including the activities afternoon, SCSA triathlon, swimming, tennis, indoor cricket, Foreshore, ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ and making connections through Art. Additionally, many girls have willingly signed up to be College Ambassadors for open days, tours and events. There are too many names to mention, but please know that participation and representation does not go unnoticed.

Currently, the House Athletics Carnival on Friday is our community focus. Students are very enthusiastic about experiencing their first House Athletics Carnival at secondary level. House spirit is infectious at such events and House colours, athletic excellence and fun will be on show Friday.

‘Second Best Friend’ Presentation

On Wednesday 28 April, our Year 8 students were inspired by the presentation, Second Best Friend’ by Kelly Nash and Cathrine McCallig.

The girls reported that the presentation, which concerned female relational aggression – or ‘Frenemies’, was an overwhelming success. The presentation explored the ways in which females tend to bully in a very subtle and hard to identify way. The presentation used comedic sketches, song and humorous, but honest disclosure by the performers to identify the methods used in relational aggression and strategies for dealing with it. We are doing everything we can to promote awareness and action. 

We want our girls to be ‘upstanders’, not ‘bystanders’ who observe but do not act to redress injustice. Due to COVID 19, students have missed opportunities to develop and sustain new relationships. We are doing everything we can to encourage them to take up opportunities and to establish and sustain new and old connections. It can be complex in junior years, to retain old friendships whilst exploring new ones. Sometimes, old friends can feel hurt if a member of their friendship group wants to ‘branch out’ a bit. Often, a mix of old and new friends can feel threatening and upsetting. This is normal at Year 8, but probably more accentuated because of the loss of social experience due to last year’s lockdown. 

At our College, we are very aware of all the repercussions of last year and are working very hard to educate our students to be resilient, kind and strong. It is accurate to say that COVID 19 has had an indelible effect on students. However, we are aware of this and working to redress the imbalance. Growing up is sometimes painful; for both students and parents who look on. 

I aim to reassure you that we understand that recent times have been challenging and that there are untold effects on our youth. However, despite this, our girls are more resilient than we think. We are forging on with the business of learning in a wholistic sense. We care immensely about the development of each student and will do our very best to care for them and encourage them to reach for their dreams.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy few weeks ahead.

Kath de Bruin

Level Leader: Year 8