From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff, Students & Friends
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday break and kept warm. As usual we are off to a busy term. Our students have returned re-energised to take full advantage of the wonderful varied learning challenges that are on offer. This week some Year 7 and Year 8 students have participated with local primary school students in a ski camp, where they enjoyed plenty of snow, so as you can imagine it is all happening.
IN-TUNE CHOIR AND CLARINET ENSEMBLE ENTHRAL APPRECIATIVE AUDIENCE
Towards the end of last Term, a group of parents, staff and myself had the privilege of being entertained by our choir and clarinet ensemble who performed to a packed house at the High St Uniting Church. Their performances left me speechless: absolutely brilliant!!! These ensembles were supporting the Choir of Hard Knocks, which meant it was a very special experience for all involved. Our school community is indebted to the talents and willingness of our staff to devote countless hours to honing our students’ talents to an exceptional level. Many thanks to Mr Peter Sharp, Ms Sally Bredin, Ms Peta Laughlin & Mr Chris Sutcliffe for their support of this event.
OUR ALPINE STUDENTS ARE A CREDIT TO THEIR TEACHERS
During the second last week of Term 2, I had the pleasure of visiting our six Year 9 students at the School of Leadership: Camp Gnurad Gunji. These students have spent the entire Term living away from their families and learning to work in teams with other selected students from government schools across Victoria. They presented their Community Leadership Project to us which was excellent and, from all reports, have been excellent ambassadors for Frankston High School. The students showed us around the camp and talked about their confronting learning experiences. Consequently, they have grown as leaders and also as people. They return to their families and our school, with a greater strength of character and commitment to help others, knowing that if they persist they will be successful. The school is indebted to Ms Sarah Bahramis and Ms Kate Burgess who secured this terrific opportunity, selected the students and then supported them through this Term away from home. Congratulations to the students involved: Tavishek Sharma, Blake Shaw, Jemimah Wilksch, Audrey Cousins, Abigail Strangward and Will Rear. We are invited by the School of Leadership to nominate students each year because we have a renowned reputation for the calibre of students we are able to provide. We didn’t let them down.
M.E.G.A.R WEEK ENGAGES STUDENTS TO FOCUS ON HEALTH AND WELLBEING
During the last week of Term 2, the Year 10 students were participating in work experience in a range of work placements which provided them with an authentic taste of life at work. Hopefully most have returned to school with an enhanced determination to study to the best of their ability, which will give them greater course options upon graduating from Year 12. Whilst our Year 10 students were off site, our Year 9 students enthusiastically participated in M.E.G.A.R (M= Mindfulness, E=Empathy, G=Gratitude, A=Acceptance, R=Resilience) week. Students were engaged in a whole range of activities including, Mindfulness, Fitness, First Aid, Laughter workshops, Yoga, Pilates, and Health & Happiness workshops. As part of this program we also had 200 of our students working in a volunteer capacity in the local and wider community, where they experienced the great rewards of giving to others. The purpose of M.E.G.A.R week was to further emphasize the importance to all of us of taking responsibility for our health and wellbeing whilst accepting and being kind to others, which also promotes their wellbeing. It was an incredibly successful week as highlighted in the local newspaper. If you follow this link you can read the article.
to read article
Also, the video clip below encapsulates how meaningful this range of experiences was for our students.
To see
M.E.G.A.R
Week Video
RECORD NUMBERS ATTEND VCE EXPO INFORMATION EVENING
Last week record numbers of Year 10 students, with some Year 9 students and their parents, came along to the VCE expo to learn about subject offerings in VCE. Armed with this information, parents and their children are now well prepared to attend course counselling sessions to choose VCE subjects. The huge numbers in attendance is heartening for us all because it reminds us how fortunate we are to be working with a community of parents and students that understand the importance of a good education. The most important elements in a young person’s life are to have a caring family and their health, but I believe the next priority is to have an excellent all round education, and that is what we offer at Frankston High School.
For our Year 12 students and Year 11 students, every moment counts as they prepare for their final exams. This Term will go quickly so ensure you are studying each evening as well as completing the set work. Our teachers make themselves available to provide extra help out of class and it is important that students take up their generous offer to understand more difficult concepts in subjects they find challenging.
Thank you to all those families who are hosting French students and Japanese students from our sister schools who are with us at the moment. Your support is much appreciated. I wish everyone a fulfilling Term of teaching and learning at Frankston High School.
Mr John Albiston
Principal