From the Principal

Thought for the week:

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” 

A.A Milne

In the first 2 weeks of this term, Huntingtower has celebrated many individual and team achievements, embracing the Huntingtower spirit of unlimited potential and unleashing their best.

The Huntingtower Early Learning Centre (ELC) was recently reviewed by the Department of Education and Training as part of our ongoing compliance and quality assurance.  Following an extensive and very thorough review, the ELC was given the highest possible rating for quality and service. The ELC was deemed to be exceeding the National Quality Standards in all 7 assessment areas. This rating is testament to the quality of care and education provided by our amazing ELC team and I would like to congratulate and thank Mrs Gill Cutler, Mrs Christine Flood, Ms Honee Aboulhosn and Ms Kelly Eastham for their dedication and work.

The Senior EISM Sport Teams have enjoyed much success. Congratulations to our Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis and Girls Softball teams for being the Senior Premiers for the Eastern Division.  We also had three teams reach the finals in the Southern Conference. The Girls Tennis will play this week in the grand final.  Congratulations to all students and coaches for their efforts and wonderful team spirit throughout the season.

A Year 6 student, Lachlan Zeuschner, competed in the State Swimming Championships and came 1st in freestyle and breaststroke and 2nd in backstroke in his multi class division. This is a tremendous individual result, and we congratulate Lachie for achieving his best.

Last week we had 11 teams competing in round 3 of the debating across A, B, C and D grades. Huntingtower was successful in winning 9 of the 11 debates.  Grade A, B and C experienced their first “secret topic” debate when the topic is released to them on the night. They only get an hour to prepare with the resources they have brought with them and are not allowed to use technology or the internet to research. It was such a pleasure to witness our teams work collaboratively, develop a cohesive argument and give of their best. Congratulations to all the participating students and staff who support them.

Congratulations to our Head of STEM, Mr Greg Hellard, who has been selected for the Space Foundation’s Teacher Liaison program.  Mr Hellard was one of 27 educators selected from around the world. It is wonderful to see his passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) acknowledged and we all benefit from his eagerness to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with the students and staff.

During the course of a week, I endeavour to visit and support as many extra-curricular student activities as possible. This week, after watching the debating, athletics training, sport teams, choirs, and orchestras I was struck by how amazingly talented our students are and was impressed with our culture of participation. Time and time again I witnessed so many students taking part in most, if not all, these activities. Huntingtower has a very strong culture of participation, with our students always striving to reach their unlimited potential. We should all be very proud of this culture and ethos within our wonderful school. 

ANZAC Assembly

The annual ANZAC service held on Friday 23 April was a beautiful and special event. It was also the first time in a long time that we have been able to gather as a community and sing. During the service, we heard the amazing story of Rob Drijver, a past Huntingtower staff member. The story was written by our Junior School Teacher, Mrs Meg Cole, from Rob Drijver’s service records and read by Year 12 students Hugh Perry and Mishen De Silva. I encourage you all to take some time to watch this moving service and hear Rob’s story via the link below.

https://vimeo.com/540502951/f78bc3213c

Parents and Friends

It is wonderful that we can all come together again, and I encourage you to support the P&F Trivia night to be held on Saturday 5 June. It promises to be a fun and entertaining event. Further information about the Trivia Night can be found in this Bulletin.

Andrew Houghton

Principal