Into Darkness

I know that we just completed our Athletics carnival for 2023.  I also know that it had a Star Wars theme. It was a great day for all and my congratulations and thanks go out to all of the staff that worked on the event; no one more so than Erin Carter.  Erin is strong with the Force and did an exemplary job.   So – I know all of that, but I can’t help thinking that the event would have been better with a STAR TREK theme rather than a STAR WARS theme.  As far as space films/TV goes, Star Wars sits fourth on my all-time list, with Star Trek, Dr. Who and Blakes 7 all rating well above the George Lucas mega-franchise.

In 2013, the Star Trek film, Into Darkness, was released.  The show explored themes that tweaked on the heart strings of Trekkers around the world: what if the bad guy wins this time – what if Kirk does not get to fulfil his destiny?  The darkness was more about the possibility of losing things that are comfortable, familiar to us trekkers rather than a direct link to what turned out to be a pretty routine plot.

I think that term 2 can be a bit like that for staff and students.  The academic focus at Holloway Road, as many students head toward the completion of a VCE unit or the summation of a set of competencies in the VM / VCAL courses, can lead to the loss of familiarity as work rates are asked to expand and comfort levels start to diminish.  The days get shorter, the nights colder and the feeling of moving ‘into darkness’ both literally and metaphorically can become quite palpable. 

These are the times where relying on others can help.  We have an amazing student wellbeing team and some incredible Year Level Leads who are all ready to offer support, the occasional much needed extension, a calming voice or to just be there to listen. 

G10 Summit 2023 - 19th June

The G10 summit is set for June 19th this year.  The day is designed to encourage year 10 students to start (or continue) to think about their future both as an individual striving to be at their best but also as a member of the broader community.  The day will start with a Welcome to Country ceremony hosted by a member of the Bunurong  community and will lead into a keynote address and a series of wellbeing based activities.   The day ends with a subject expo where students get to talk with Domain Leads about the different subjects on offer in a VCE setting.

This year's key note speaker is pretty amazing and although I am going to hold you in suspense for a little while longer, I can can tell you that I am over the top excited to have this amazing individual at our school.

Year 10 Mental Health First Aid & Careers sessions

The year 10 students have been working through two amazing programs in the past few weeks.  Sessions focusing on careers, subject selections, university entrance numbers, prerequisites and so much more.  It was great to hear the students talking so vibrantly about their hopes for the future and their master plans to make that happen.  

The other sessions, ran concurrently with the work with careers, looked closely at teenage mental health and how students, as friends and peers, can often find themselves at the front line of some serious mental health based issues.  The course aimed to give students some idea of the warning signs that they might be seeing and encouraged them to, above all else, seek advice and help from the adults in their life.

ANZAC Respect Assembly

While our year 12 students took some time in class to stop and remember the sacrifices of our service men and women, our year 10 and 11 students gathered in the theatre for a student lead ANZAC day assembly. My thanks to the student leaders for making the event, both a tribute to all who have fallen, and a time to remember how important respect and integrity are to our community.   My late father, Roy Hall fought in World War II and my brother is currently serving his country in the Armed Forces.  I was grateful for the respect shown by our amazing students in what was a moving assembly.  Lest we Forget.