PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Pitsa Binnion
Pitsa Binnion

YEAR 11 FORMAL

A most successful formal was held for our Year 11s at Merrimu on Thursday 5 May. It was our first ever cocktail event and was indeed most enjoyable.

 

I had planned to not have Year 11 formals, but as a result of this successful event, we have booked for next year. 

 

It brought the year level together and the laughter and joy was palpable.  

 

I thank the Year 11 Student Managers, Miss Felmingham and all the staff who were in attendance. Without them this event could not be hosted. 

 

Congratulations to all involved. 

HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

The House Cross Country Carnival was held on Friday 6 May, and was a tremendous success. The theme this year was ‘A splash of pink’ with all money raised donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

 

We raised $1906.80.

 

I would like to acknowledge and thank Mrs Alice Breidahl for organising this wonderful event. This was the first at a dual campus and it ran like clockwork. It took a team to work together and I acknowledge the service of all the staff involved.

 

Congratulations to Gilmore!

 

The Top 10 students from each race will go on represent the school at Kingston Divisions on Wednesday 25 May.

YEAR 12 TRIVIA 

Another very successful Year 12 Trivia Night was held last Friday. 

 

The organising committee, consisting of Ethan Stubbs, Yolanda Yu, Phu An Ta, Sam Potter, Harry Mills, Matt Day, Alice Connolly, Drew Thompson, Gemma Milner, Skyler Ruthven, Sophia Diegelmann and Taya Minin worked tirelessly and I thank them for their efforts.

The incredible ‘dance off’ was a sight for sore eyes! 

 

Congratulations to the best dressed - The Grannies who were absolutely hilarious.

 

Congratulations to the winning trivia team - The Highlander Pigeons.

Dance off
The Grannies
The Highlander Pigeons
Dance off
The Grannies
The Highlander Pigeons

Again the sense of belonging and happiness was evident. 

 

Thank you to all the staff in attendance: Chris Hudd, Alice Breidahl, Grace Greenwood, Charlotte Douglas, Meagan Cross, David Machin, David Graham, Kellie Felmingham, Dan Blackmore, Helen James, Cedric Chamontin, Natalie Little, Nell Henning, Sofija Plavsic, Rachel Walker, Nick Gledhill, Ashleigh Bell, Megan Snell, Rhiannon Parker, Katherine Johnston, Alistair McCooke, Richard Long and Riley Price.

 

A special mention to Raelene Evans, Brock Lynch, Charlotte Robinson and Jane Stott for organising all the food, and also the technical team who are always there to make sure events are a success. 

IDAHOBIT DAY

IDAHOBIT day was celebrated on Tuesday 17 May. This International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia aims to raise awareness of LGBTQI+ rights.

 

Students and staff came together at lunchtime to sell baked goods for a great cause. Our tables were full of delicious homemade baked goods and both campuses were filled with colour and joy. 

 

We raised a total of $1008.80, with all proceeds going to youth LGBTQI+ youth organisation Minus18. I thank Katherine Sip and Jordan Abela for coordinating this inclusive event. 

Events like these keep our campuses connected and in support of each other, all while giving back to the community around us.

NAPLAN

This year NAPLAN moved online and it went extremely well. 

 

I congratulate all the students involved and hope the results reflect tremendous effort. 

 

The entire program went smoothly due to Peter Quinn and his work behind the scenes and his attention to detail.

 

I also wanted to acknowledge the IT department who fixed any issue as it arose to ensure students could undertake the tests.

YEAR 9 PROGRAM 

This week we began a 2-week program for our Year 9s that I hope they will find extremely rewarding.

  

A camp to Warrnambool, a barista course, a first aid course, food handling, and our Reach program. This is all part of getting these students ‘job ready’ and building their empathy and skillsets. 

 

Much effort has been undertaken to ensure this program covers all the essential details.

 

I thank and acknowledge Peter Quinn and Chris Pantelios for their tremendous efforts organising this program.

 

I look forward to sharing photos over the coming days. 

COVID 

Rapid Antigen Tests were distributed to families again last week. 

 

As the cold weather approaches we are expecting greater infection rates. At the moment many staff absences are causing hardship and I thank classes for their understanding as we navigate these difficulties.

 

I ask everyone to please continue to undertake these tests twice a week and to stay away if they have symptoms. We have sanitizer everywhere and also air purifiers in every room. 

I ask students to stay home if unwell and obviously isolate if Covid positive. 

 

We all need to continue to work together to keep infections as low as possible. 

 

I thank the school community for your understanding and support.

BIKE RIDING

Again we have students hurt when car doors are open on McKinnon Road as they are riding their bikes. 

 

I ask the students to please ride carefully and not speed along McKinnon Road - especially when it’s congested. 

 

I ask parents to be very careful. We continue to stagger bell times at the main campus to help the situation.

 

At East campus, I know some students have been spoken to about their riding across the four lanes of East Boundary Road. We ask all students to please walk their bikes across the crossing and then begin riding.

 

I know it’s an inconvenience but for safety reasons, it’s necessary.

THISTLELONIANS

The classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 were invited back to school on Sunday to celebrate 50 years since graduation. This event had to be postponed for the last two years, so it was wonderful to be able to showcase the school to our alumni.

 

Attendees had a wonderful time touring the school and were amazed at how much it has changed and grown.

 

Thank you to Clare Bugeja and the students from the string quintet, Andrew Seamer (Year 12), Jenny Jung (Year 11), Phoebe Rodda (Year 10), Jack Sweeney (Year 10) and Adrian Wan (Year 10) who helped make the day memorable.

Thank you also to Geoff Woolnough, Jenny Cooke, Melanie Lynch and the Thistlelonian committee for their work in making the day successful.