Senior School Update

It’s been a busy term in the Senior School, and I am very proud of all the hard work senior students have put in, both in their classes and to make the school a better place. 

At the start of the term, our Year 11s were lucky enough to spend a whole day exploring the VCE and Careers Expo at Caulfield Racecourse and Monash University, where they got to explore university courses, career pathways, and university life.  Thank you to Fiona Fuller and our Careers team, Jen Muller and Kathryn Neuschafer, for organising such a fun day out. 

Our Year 11s were incredibly active this term, with our Business Management students organising a wonderful market day one lunchtime, where they sold a wide variety of delicious items to our school community in the hopes of creating a successful business. Our Year 11 Leaders were also very active in organising IDAHOBIT Day, and they teamed up seamlessly with the Year 12 Prefects to run a bake sale at the house athletics carnival, where they raised nearly $500 for victims of this year’s Turkey-Syria earthquake.  We also had a great turnout for our inaugural Year 11 Skills Booster program – a study skills program designed to help improve students’ study skills and learning confidence in the lead up to exams.  Thank you to our Year 11 Coordinator and our Senior School Assistant Coordinator, Arabella Thompson and Luke Jenner, who organised the program, and to all the teachers who ran sessions, for such a helpful learning experience for our Year 11s. 

The main event for our Year 12s this term has been the Formal.  It was so wonderful to see nearly everyone in the year level dancing the night away at the Lincoln of Toorak.  I hope our Year 12s cherish those memories and remember their night fondly over the coming years, as their lives take different turns.  Congratulations to Luke Jenner, Year 12 Coordinator Eleanor Smith, and the Formal Committee for organising such a fun and successful night.  Their attention to detail was so impressive, and the Great Gatsby theme really tied the evening together. 

We also introduced our new Year 12 Coordinator, Nic Rees.  Although we were all very sad to see Eleanor leave for a new position as Head of Middle School, we are excited to have such a dedicated, hardworking and understanding coordinator in Mr Rees join our Senior team, and I look forward to working with him very much.   

Finally, well done to all our Year 11s and 12s who sat the GAT on 15 June, and to all the Year 11s who made it through their first exam period for the year.  I hope you feel a strong sense of achievement at the end of Unit 1, and that you’re now looking forward to your Unit 2 courses.

Have a wonderful winter break, senior students.  I hope you can spend some quality time with family and friends and that you have time for doing the things that bring you joy.

Jess Sheppard

Head of Senior School