From the Principal

Flying By

As I sit at my desk I look at my calendar and, as always, am astounded at the amount of work our students and staff alike achieve.  The past three weeks have flown by with a vast array of things happening around the school.  Twelve students attended the Avalon Air Show, an event organised by Mrs Vincent, our newly accredited Careers teacher –congratulations on completing your studies – for those interested in aviation focused career paths.

We held our school photos with the majority of students having their profile pictures already uploaded in Compass, it was especially nice to see the Year 7’s transform into Baimbridge Students as their previous images were taken in their Primary School uniforms.

Athletics Carnival

Our Athletics carnival was held two weeks ago, unveiling a brilliant day to gather at Pedrina Park and compete in the vast array of athletics events.  Thank you seems inadequate in relation to Mr Phil Sanders who, along with Mr Hill and Mrs Grey, took our Athletics team to Casterton to the GD Aths where we placed third for the day.  Mr Sanders has not only had to learn how we operate as a school, he has had to coordinate Swimming, both House and GD level, Athletics, both house and GD level as well as teach his classes.  Thank you to the staff who supported Mr Sanders in what has been a colossal effort of organisation and logistical planning, we value your efforts greatly.

Mr Hill tells me that six of our Advanced PE elective students have gone to Pedrina Park today to assist Macarthur Primary School in running their Athletics Carnival, well done to those selected, well done students.

Investiture

2019 saw the Investiture move from the East Hall to the West Gym, a move that proved successful.  Parents and students alike came together to celebrate and acknowledge the Leaders of the school in the form of year 12 students, all Captains and SRC members.  Mrs Eales spoke beautifully about her experiences at Baimbridge and her life prior to returning to Hamilton to teach, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on her recent nuptials, she was as stunning as a bride as she is inspirational as a teacher and leader.  We wish her well on her honeymoon, swimming with whale sharks in the holidays – how many Principals have staff who schedule their honeymoons around their students!  Whilst on the subject of weddings, I would also like to congratulate new staff member Ms Kerrie Schultz on her wedding two weeks ago, we are yet to see the photos whilst she is honeymooning.

Staff News

A piece of less positive news is that we have not had any applicants to replace Mrs Lyn Collins to date, we are actively searching for new staff to take her classes but the timing is not in our favour with most available teachers already securing contracts for the year.  In the meantime we are staffing the classes as consistently as possible with qualified relief staff or existing staff who teach the subjects.  I have been in constant contact with our Year 12 HD class, who are doing a brilliant job of being very independent learners, and we hope to arrive at a solution shortly with a few options on the table at present.

Around the School

Last week saw a sea of Hi-Vis tradie gear everywhere.  It was great to see the college community embrace the VCAL students fundraising efforts as part of their studies – they had to conceptualise, plan and implement their fundraising activities for their course so we were treated to 3 point shooting contests, kick the footy in the bin competitions, raffles, cupcake sales and a hotdog day.  The day raised over $900.  Well done VCAL students!

We are busily preparing for Parent teacher Interviews in week 2 and 3 of Term 2, you will be notified when you can book in with staff via compass.  Staff are ensuring you have feedback in all of their classes via Learning Tasks prior to the end of the term.  Parents are reminded that because we provide continual feedback in Compass you no longer receive an interim report at the end of term 1.

Presentation Ball

Next week is a very important date for 55 of our Year 11 cohort who will be putting all of their dance practise into play at the Presentation Ball, I’m told tickets will sell fast and are available to the public on Wednesday.  Thank you to the staff and especially parent helpers who have put in many hours to provide this tradition for our students.  I heard we had many sewing machines running last Sunday creating drops to transform our gym.  I look forward to seeing the kids on the night with their parents.

School Council

We are looking for two parent representatives for School Council, the positions are two years and you would be making a big difference in the school lives of our students and involved in the process of implementing the pledged funding for building.  If you are interested please call our Business Manager, Amanda Hutchins.

Term 2

The first week of Term 2 is a little disjointed but we strongly encourage students to attend on the school days, in particular the 23rd of April for our annual ANZAC service.

I would like to wish all students, families, staff and friends of the school a safe holiday period and an enjoyable break for Easter.