Principal's Report

Past Student Achievement: Jade McAlear – Sheer Power of Determination

I am sure that some of you will recall Jade McAlear (Class 2017, Everard House) from a past article in the newsletter. 

That article asked you to contribute to a fundraiser to support Jade’s recovery after the trauma she experienced following a horrific road accident.

As a community we rallied and raised some funds to support Jade in her recovery well knowing that the road to recovery would be hard and long.

After being told by her medical team all the things that she would not be able to do, Jade set out to prove them wrong. 

Jade’s bright personality, her resilience and determination have contributed to the level of recovery she has experienced so far. She has reached some enormous goals; being able to stand up, give people hugs and walk with assistance. 

This week the Herald Sun featured Jade in an article entitled: 

“Melbourne woman’s sheer power of determination after horrific car crash.” 

The article speaks of Jade’s resilience and her determination not to give up and keep fighting to reach her next goal of being able to walk unassisted.

Jade’s message to everyone is that when you are told that you can’t do it, you need to think and say to yourself, no …. you can do it!

The support of family and friends has also greatly contributed to Jade’s recovery.

This week Jade will graduate with an Occupational Therapy degree in a private ceremony through ACU as Jade was in an induced coma when the University conducted its graduation ceremony for Jade’s class of graduates. Jade will walk up to receive her degree assisted by her two sisters Tyla (Class of 2019, Everard House) and Shai.

If you wish to donate to support Jade’s ongoing recovery you can do so through the following link. I know that every cent will help, and that Jade is very grateful for the support that she has received and continues to receive from her family, friends, and her community.

https://www.mycause.com.au/p/282702/in-support-of-jade

Student Achievement: Choir Performance at Victorian School Music Festival

On 3 August 2023, the Eltham High School Choir performed at the prestigious "Victorian School Music Festival" with five other choirs from acros Melbourne. 

The format is a little different from most Choir competitions because the process involves a performance of the Choir’s three chosen songs followed by a 20-minute choir tutorial from the adjudicator. 

Our final ranking was graded at the level of 'Silver' and the Choir was given an 'excellent' rating for their overall accuracy, dynamics, interpretation and presentation.  The Choir was also able to witness this process for 2 out of 3 of the other choirs. It was an invaluable experience for our Choir members and our students were brilliant in every way.

The three Choir-Captain Conductors, Scarlett Gill (Year 12, Everard House), Naomi Dique (Year 9, Everard House) and Joshua Wike-Gysen (Year 11, Andrew House) are congratulated on their amazing leadership, and we thank them for the guidance and support they provided during the performances. 

The guitar accompaniment provide by Assistant Principal, Darren Squires deserves a mention as does the support and student supervision provided by Jodie Sutton and Catherine Considine. It would be remiss for me not to mention the amazing talent of our Choir Director, Ms Lynlee Williams and to thank her for all that she provides in supporting the Choir to continuously reach new heights.

The Eltham High School Choir is very much looking forward to its final competition for 2023, which is scheduled for Wednesday 23 August in Ballarat.

We wish them all the very best and every success for this next venture knowing that they will represent our school and out community admirably. 

Volleyball Victoria Schools Cup

I congratulate all our various volleyball teams that competed in the Volleyball Victoria Schools Cup and thank all coaches, team managers, staff, and parents for their continued support of our students as they engage in the sport.

Some excellent results were achieved, and Eltham High School ranked second in the state just below Billanook College.

A full outline of the competition and results is available in the sports section of this newsletter.

A big thank you to all the students that participated and to Anthony Young for his leadership of the program.

Planning for 2024

During last week’s shortened day, the staff worked collaboratively on reviewing and planning curriculum for 2024. With the new structure to the school day and the length of each period and 10-day timetable decided. It is timely for us to get into the work of making sure that all core classes and electives in Years 7 – 10 as well as classes in the VCE and the VM Program are well planned and catered for. This means a good deal of work in the review, plan and rewrite of curriculum in line with the Victorian Curriculum Strands in Years 7 -10 and the relevant study designs in the VCE and VM Programs.

The work was led by the Key Learning Area (KLA) coordinators and I thank them for their leadership. The staff worked in their Planning Teams within their KLA areas. 

A good deal was achieved but there is still much work to be done and time is of the essence. We will certainly look for every opportunity to provide time additional to our published meeting schedule to ensure that as the year comes to a close, we are well prepared and ready to start 2024 from a positive note.  We acknowledge that there will be things that will come up during year that will need some attention. We will review and adjust as we go along and by the start of 2025, we will be in a better place than the start of 2024 and so on. This is what continuous improvement is about.

Thank you for supporting us to prepare for your childrens' education from 2024 onwards. We have an outstanding group of staff who are committed and passionate about their profession and about working to continuously improve student learning. 

Year 10 Work Experience 2023

As communicated previously, Work Experience for Year 10 students is scheduled to take place in week 9 of this term – Monday 4 – Friday 8 September.

As forms have been slow in coming in even after continuous reminders, it has been decided that during this time Year 10 classes and Enhancement classes will continue as normal. Teachers of year 10 will be asked not to schedule assessments during this week. As per the usual practice, students will be able to access details of the lesson via Compass.

For those students who have already organised a placement and returned their paperwork or will organise a placement and return the paperwork by the due date, Tuesday 29 August, work experience will proceed as planned.

Forms can be accessed through our Careers website at www.elthamhighcareers.com

• Use the “Workplace Learning” link and select “Required documents". 

Alternatively, forms are located outside the Careers Office next to the Drama Room. There is the standard Placement Form along with a Transport/Accommodation Form, if necessary.

It is imperative that students and parents/carers understand that if a student is not involved in an officially organised work placement as approved by the school that they are required to attend school during this week. 

I thank all parents/carers for your support with this.

VINCENT SICARI, Principal