Freeman

2022 has been a fantastic year for Freeman House as we have been able to return to a full year back onsite. The year started with excitement as we welcomed 50 year 7 students to the House, a number of new students from older year levels who wanted to make Blackburn home for their schooling, and 37 Year 12’s starting their final year of secondary education.   Excitement was in the air of the Freeman staffroom during 2022 as we welcomed a range of new staff: Thomas Pearson, Janine Mowat, Matthew Zaccaria, Anthony Carrubba, Vincent Tang, Iris Hang and Maya Hulhall. 

It was great to be able to run the 

extra-curricular activities again and we did not miss a beat. Term 1 kicked off with whole school competitions including House Swimming, House Performing Arts and House Athletics. Freeman was unable to capture a win in these events but the students were fantastic in their engagement in these activities and I am proud of the effort and behaviour demonstrated on those days. 

Year 7 Camp was held for the first time at Kinglake Adventure Camp with Melba and Freeman students attending the camp together. The Year 7 students were provided with a range of opportunities to form friendships with students in their Houses and get to know their teachers. 

If Term 1 was not busy enough, we squeezed our Freeman Fundraiser in where our student leaders ran a range of activities to raise funds for the Community Spirit Foundation (Cathy Freeman Foundation).  

Term 2 and 3 saw a range of activities occurring around the school and we always had great representation from Freeman students. We held the Robotics Competition over the holiday break, began the rehearsals for the school play of Peter Pan, and continued to dominate in the Inter-school sports competitions. 

Our Year 8’s went to Lake Dewar and were able to engage in a range of outdoor activities including Stand-Up Paddle boarding, hiking and mountain-bike riding. It was fantastic to see all the opportunities on offer for students to engage in and it made for another busy middle part of the year.

 Term 4 saw us farewell our Class of 2022, run a City Experience for our Year 9’s and run a number of school excursions to see us through to the end of the year.  

I would like to thank the Freeman staff for their work this year supporting their mentor students, delivering the mentor program, and supporting the house to ensure it runs smoothly. I would like to acknowledge the work of Sam Clifton as House Administration Assistant in ensuring that all students and staff are supported and informed of school and house events. 

We are saying goodbye to a few staff in Freeman again this year. We farewell Natassia Papadopoulos, Courtney Davies-Kildea, Matthew Joyce, and Gaya Vazirani as they continue their teaching careers at new schools. They have been incredible assets to Freeman and will be missed and we wish them all the very best in their teaching journey. We are also saying farewell to Sam Clifton as she begins a new chapter in a new school. I would like to thank ‘Cliffo’ for her tireless work in Freeman as House Admin Assistant. Sam has been the face and voice of Freeman House for a number of years, and we wish her all the best as she finishes up at the end of 2022.  

On behalf of the Freeman House, I would like to wish you all a safe and restful holiday break. We look forward to welcoming students back refreshed to take on the 2023 school year.  

Liam Tobin

Assistant House Leader Entry  

There’s been fundraisers, House Competitions, barbecues, Sports, and Performing Arts. It’s been a magnificent effort from us all and reinforced to me what a unique, special place Blackburn High School is. Nothing but best wishes for the rest of the year and beyond! 

Student Achievements

We celebrated more student achievement in our final house assembly for 2022. Congratulations to the following students on their academic achievements: 

Recognition of outstanding achievement in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA): 

 Lucy Freeman  

Sophie Harry 

Oliver Rhodes 

Zachary Robinson  

Reuben Atkins 

Recognition of participation in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS): 

Samantha Issa 

Nicholas Chan 

Nevan  

Ivan Tan  

Thomas Robertson  

Reuben Johnston 

Sienna Chan 

Student Reflections of 2022 

I had fun this year and it was an interesting journey through Year 7. I enjoyed getting to know new people, being able to attend the different clubs and have fun with them and see the new STEM centre being built throughout the year. – Chloe Liu Year 7FA

My first year at Blackburn was so enjoyable. It felt like last week I was in Year 6, and many other Year 7’s could say the same. My highlight would probably be the camp. It was an amazing time that let me connect with other peers across Houses. We had so many fun activities but if I had to pick one it would be the leap of faith. It was such an exciting experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Blackburn High gave me so many educational and fun journeys which I am grateful for – Caelan Gray Year 7FB  

I very much enjoyed my first year at Blackburn. It was an amazing experience for me as I started when I came out of lockdown. I had many great experiences with my friends in all of the amazing school activities. The best experience I have had this year was the school camp. It was so much fun spending time with friends away from school and learning/doing so many new activities. My whole year 7 experience was great and will always be remembered. – Samara Colleluori Year 7FA  

 My highlights of the year were the many concerts I attended and performed in like the mid-year concert. Something else I enjoyed doing was the many school events the school organised like the swimming and athletics carnivals and other sports, like Soccer in Term 2, and Hockey in Term 3. One final thing I really enjoyed was the excursions we had during the year like the Melbourne Zoo and Yarra Bend. – Joshua Parcesepe Year 7FB  

As a Year 8 in Blackburn High School, I’ve been able to create many memories that I will cherish for years to come. BHS made it easy to make/build strong relationships with people through things like camp, and outside school activities such as swimming, and House Athletics. These activities were held at the start of the year which made it easier for students to make new friends as well as having an amazing day filled with fun things to do and were the highlight of my year. – Chloe Wilkinson Year 8FB 

For our first full year of high school, 2022 has been a fun, exciting, and a fulfilling experience. The Duke of Edinburgh Camp in May was one of the best moments of 2022, with lots of games of Mafia, swimming in the freezing ocean, terrifying encounters with wombats in tents, and experimental cooking feats on the Trangia’s (including pancake scramble and broccoli and cheese and noodle soup). Further along in the year, inter-school sports provided lots of fun competitions against the other local schools, and we managed to progress through to regionals a few times. Earlier in this term, my lovely English teacher took us on an amazing excursion to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at a beautiful theatre in the city where we felt very cultured and were given mince pies by the cast members. 2022 has been a very invigorating year after 2 monotonous years of lockdowns and I think everyone is excited for 2023. – Trixie Kneebone Year 9FC  

My highlight for 2022 would clearly be going to the School for Student Leadership. Blackburn provided one other student and myself with the amazing opportunity to go to the Alpine School, and I wouldn’t trade my Term 4 for anything else. We got to go surfing, mountain climbing, swimming, tandem bike riding and so much more. We took lessons on many core values for life and learnt practical skills such as knot tying and various social skills. The friends I’ve made are wonderful and I recommend the experience to everyone. Enter with an open mind and it is educational in the best way possible. - Charlie Ford Year 9FC 

2022 was an amazing action-packed year full of wonderful opportunities and activities that weren’t available during Covid. In July, the school’s FIRST Robotics Team had the honour of competing in a state-wide robotic competition. I was lucky enough to be a part of this team, and it was incredible to see how quickly we grew. Even though we were a rookie team, we finished 9th out of 18 teams and were given the highest-ranking rookie award. I am incredibly grateful for getting this opportunity to explore an area I would never have had in previous years. Moving into Term 3, I was able to be a part of the school’s play, Peter Pan.  I worked with some incredible people, and it was an experience I will never forget. The night was a complete success, receiving great feedback. To conclude, 2022 was a fun year, offering tonnes of opportunities for the first time that have produced lifelong memories. – Cameron Goddard Year 9FC