Principal Team Editorial 

I sit down at my desk to write the editorial for this newsletter, having just come back from meeting some of the Year 9 students and staff who attended one of our many outdoor education camps that occurred this week. Many schools cancelled key events like these due to the uncertainty that existed even as recently as a few weeks ago. Our view was that our students have missed so much in the past couple of years, that any effort we could make to provide an experience that would be enjoyable and memorable for our students was worth the time, the effort and the risks. That being said our Year 9 camps that were so successful this week, despite some average weather, only occurred because we had dedicated and committed staff willing to lead them, at very short notice. Not every school is as lucky as we are, to have outstanding teachers who are committed to seeing their students achieve amazing things. The “magic” happens at our school because of our staff, teaching and non-teaching staff, and it would be remiss of me not to thank those who put their hand up to attend the Year 9 outdoor education camps this week. The work doesn’t just get done in a week however, and be it not for the outstanding leadership of Janelle Hillebrand these camps would never have happened, especially given the disruptions and the hurdles that she has had to navigate, throughout the entire year, thank you so much Janelle, on behalf of the approximately. 150 students and 20 staff for 7 different camps.

Events are something we do well and one of our biggest is just around the corner. The 2021 Production of Wicked kicks off with Opening Night on Wednesday 24th November for a two week season. I have had a sneak preview of rehearsals and the elaborate sets and this production is not one that you will want to miss! Again, many other schools made the reasonable decisions to cancel, rather than persisting through the uncertainty. Our production is so integral to our school culture that we were prepared to hold out until the very last minute if needed to make it happen, and I’m glad we did!

Finally, this week I had the pleasure of launching another major event for 2022, the iCan challenge!

Are you ready to walk 50km in one school day and raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital?!?

If you're up for the challenge have a look at the 2022 iCAN Challenge page later in this newsletter.

Kevin Murphy

Principal

Year 9 Camp

We cannot under estimate the impact of the camps on the social recovery of our students. With students fresh out of lockdown, some only having been at school for 2 or 3 days and others not at all, it was a very quiet journey to the camp site.  Students were almost silent for the four hour bus trip only becoming a little vocal as we hit the dirt roads and got closer to the camp site.  It was an interesting phenomenon to observe as the students were forced to abandon their screens (we had no connection) and slowly re-learn how to interact face to face. By Wednesday students were finding their voices and by Thursday we were watching new friendships blossom.  

We are pretty confident each camp would have had a similar pattern of social interactions and this experience will have helped all students in their recovery after the events of the last two years.  We too would like to extend our thanks to all teachers who, at short notice, were able to facilitate these camps.  We would also like to thank the Year 9 parents for putting their faith in us at this uncertain time and the kids for making the most of this opportunity.

Catherine Ford and Carrie Wallis

Assistant Principals