From the Principal
Thought for the week
“Of all the virtues we can learn, no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.” - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Welcome to the start of a new Semester. One that will be full of learning, challenge and opportunity. This quote from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who was a Hungarian-American psychologist, came to mind when I consider all the opportunities already offered to students this Term. Mihaly recognised and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity. I was also listening to interviews with players competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and one of the players, who had a particularly difficult match, commented that she enjoyed the contest enormously and believed “pressure is a privilege” that only helps her become better.
The reason I share this with you is we have already seen students this Term embrace opportunity, challenge and manage the pressure of doing something hard and new. I had the pleasure to join Year 9 at Mt Buller last week and witness first-hand the growth the students made learning a new skill. All students (and staff) progressed to a level where they were able to ski or snowboard safely and independently. The support and encouragement given by all helped the entire group embrace the pressure and adversity and transform the experience into an enjoyable challenge.
Our Year 11 students also enjoyed a transformational trip to the Northern Territory. They camped in tents, walked through Gorges and saw Uluru. The group also got to learn more about Indigenous heritage and culture.
Year 10 students spent the week on Work Experience. We thank all the workplaces who supported our students during the week and provided authentic experiences and gave their time to share what they do. Feedback from the various workplaces was very positive and it was heartening to hear that not only the fierce intelligence of our students was observed, but overwhelmingly our values of kindness, respect and excellence were there in abundance.
I encourage you to speak to students who took part in these activities and hear first-hand how these experiences have helped them. It takes a tremendous amount of organisation and support to provide these invaluable experiences and I thank all our staff who organised, participated in, and supported the students.
Foundation 100 days
The Foundation children have completed their first 100 days of schooling. This was celebrated this week with the children enjoying fun learning games and festivities.
Subject Selection
The Secondary students are finalising their subject and elective choices for 2024. Thank you to Mrs Christensen and Mrs Hender for the work they have done to open new subjects and provide students greater choice. Once we have the selections, we will refine the offering and begin the process of staffing for the students’ selections.
HT Connect
Thank you to all families who have provided such positive feedback to HT Connect. We continue to work hard to populate all areas and streamline our communication for families. Teachers will be using HT Connect for classes with feedback being added for parents and students to see. If you have any feedback or need help learning how to use HT Connect, please watch at the videos created by Mrs Kylie Williams or contact her directly. She is passionate about HT Connect and always happy to assist in any way.
Mr Andrew Houghton
Principal