From the Principal

Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends

It is all happening across our community with students and teachers joining together in many varied learning activities.  We constantly have teams of great people doing their best and maintaining high expectations of themselves and others which results in us continuing to celebrate outstanding achievements throughout our school community. 

School Captains for 2019 Announced

It is my pleasure to announce the School Captains for 2019.  They are:

Anzali Nedumaran and Jade Roberts

School Captains

Lily Chapple and Guy Taylor

Deputy Captains

I am confident their leadership will inspire all of us to give of our best, enabling our school to progress from strength to strength.  

Valedictory Dinner

A SPECIAL NIGHT FOR TEACHERS, FAMILY AND THE CLASS OF 2018

The Valedictory dinner was a terrific night of celebration, due to the energy and effort of our staff and enthusiastic support of students and parents.  A special thank you to Ms Nicole Filippou and Mr Simon Cameron who were brilliant in coordinating this event.  Also, thanks to Ms Helen Wilson, Ms Ellen D’Ambra and Ms Clare Challenger who worked throughout the evening to ensure it was flawless.  As you read this newsletter our Year 12 students are diligently studying and sitting exams.  The supervisors have commented that their attendance and behaviour in the exams has been superb.  We wish our graduates every happiness in their future lives and encourage them to come and visit their former school to let us know how they are going and become members of our alumni.

End Of Year Concert: Brilliant!

Congratulations and thanks to our dedicated Instrumental Music teachers and students for providing a sensational End of Year Concert.  The performances were testimony to the great strides our music students have made in developing their talents to an exceptional level.  We now have the largest Instrumental Music Program ever in the history of our great school with phenomenal class sizes in VCE.  I am sure everyone in attendance would agree that the performances were absolutely sublime, with this event being a grand celebration of Music at Frankston High School.  Such an incredible achievement is due to our fantastic Director of Instrumental Music Mr Peter Sharp and his great team Mr Rob Mattessi, Mr Ben Braithwaite, Ms Sally Bredin, Ms Peta Laughlin, Ms Kim Starr and Mr Bob Wijnschenk.  Thank you also to Eilis Peters (Year 12), our excellent emcee on the night.  Our honorary guest Mr Ken Rowe (former Principal) was thrilled to see how Instrumental Music, which he introduced, has developed to become an outstanding program involving hundreds of students, many of whom are proceeding to university to study Music.

Dancing The Night Away At The Year 10 Formal

Whilst we have had the more ceremonial celebratory events as mentioned above, I was able to let my hair down (if only!!!) and dance the night away at the Year 10 formal.  The students looked eye catching in their formal attire and certainly demonstrated what having fun is all about, reminding us that you don’t need alcohol or drugs to have a good time.

I was most impressed with the diversity of students in attendance and everyone was welcomed and accepted, being valued for the individuals they are.  It reminded all of us how fantastic it is to have such a caring, respectful school culture.  Many thanks to Mr Aaron Elias, Ms Lucy Foskett and Ms Leanne Wood, along with a few enthusiastic student leaders, who out did themselves by organising this super fun event. 

State Athletics

FRANKSTON HIGH SCHOOL GETTING CLOSER TO KNOCKING OFF MARIBYRNONG AT STATE ATHLETICS

Recently our athletics team competed in State Athletics and yet again we were runners up.  This was a great achievement against the Maribyrnong multi-million-dollar sports school, that enrol elite athletes from across the State.  The good news is that we are closing in on Maribyrnong: last year we were 200 points behind and this year we ended up 60 points behind.  Many thanks to our wonderful coaches who inspire our athletes throughout the year, Ms Chloe Stevens, Ms Carly MacDonald, Mr Mal Burt and Mr Bonfadini.  We wish all the very best to our impressive athletics team who are off to Cairns to participate in the National Championships in December.

Public Speaking

HIGH FLYING YEAR 11 STUDENTS DISPLAY GREAT COURAGE AS PUBLIC SPEAKERS

We had amazing Year 11 students represent the school at the Lions Youth of the Year event.  Congratulations to Jade Roberts, Zoe Cox, Tandie Banana, Karu Handoyo and Dylan Garrett, who had the courage to participate in a rigorous interview process, followed by an evening of public speaking involving a prepared presentation and two impromptu speeches.  Dylan Garratt was the overall winner with Zoe Cox presented with the Public Speaking Award.  We are indebted to Ms Ellen D’Ambra and Ms Clare Challenger for preparing the students for this event and supporting the Lions Club in running this event at our school.  Also, just a quick mention of our wonderful Year 8 boys debating team who in the last newsletter were preparing for the State finals.  They acquitted themselves perfectly and became State Runners Up.  Over 500 teams had competed at this level in this debating competition; many from elite private schools and all being older in Year 9.  This was a magnificent achievement.

Congratulations to:  James Barratt, Jackson Wylie, Archie Borradate, Orlando Randle and Yoaquim Freeman and a huge thank you to the countless hours devoted by Ms Georgie Long and Ms Emily Pratt in coaching these boys.

Designworks: A Celebration Of Creativity

Each year the culture of Designworks improves thanks to the dedication of Ms April Hinton with more and more parents and students attending this event.  This exhibition was a terrific celebration of the wonderful learning outcomes of students who study Media and Visual Communication subjects.  The high-quality work exhibited was a reflection of the talented dedicated teachers in these subjects, together with the extraordinary skills our students have developed culminating in amazing products.  The folios on display provided an insight with regard to the depth of learning and effort that is involved in producing such incredible pieces of work. 

We Will Miss Ms Smith Leading Our Working Bees

Ms Lee Anne Smith has outdone herself by leading us and enthusing everyone to pitch in at our working bees over many years.  Ms Smith is on leave in 2019 and will be sorely missed by everyone.  Ms Smith’s outstanding contribution and passion for maintaining and improving the grounds has resulted in enhancing the diversity of flora and fauna across our school.  She leaves a great legacy which we are determined to uphold.  Thanks to our loyal band of staff, parents and students who give of their weekend time to keep our gardens looking great.  Much was achieved with many of us candidates for RSI after extensive weeding. 

Early Commencement

ONGOING LEARNING CHALLENGES UP UNTIL END OF YEAR.

In the next few weeks students are beginning their new year level as part of the Early Commencement Program.  This means that we are not winding down for the last few weeks of school, but we will continue to provide challenging learning experiences and assessments for all students for the remainder of the year.  Our reputation for having attendance well above the State average needs to continue for the rest of the year.  This is a time when students can impress upon their new teachers how willing they are to step up and do their best always.  For many, holiday homework will be set and it is essential that it is completed in order for a successful start next year. 

Looking forward to catching up with many parents and students on Presentation Night.

Mr John Albiston

Principal