Campus Principal Report
Another term has rushed by. A quick summary of the ups and downs and ins and outs of life at the Banksia Campus. It is always great, even in the depths of winter, to get out and about and have a real look at what is going on around the campus.
Two initiatives run by the PE faculty and supported by outside coaches are the Afterschool Volleyball program on Mondays and the Basketball program on Thursdays. Both programs are well attended by students and are a great way for our students to improve their skills. Added to this was the District Cross-country where 27 students competed under gruelling conditions. Whilst we may not have won, the event challenged the character of the participants. A big thank you to Mr Wagner for taking these students on their athletics journey.
We had the mobile dentist service attend and see a large number of our students. It is a free service that many families use.
Across the year levels there have been some very interesting things happening:
Year 12
Excursion to Top Designs for VC and Media
Year 11
Sport and Rec – First Aid Training for all VET students
Geography Excursion
Year 10
Exams for all year 10 students
Rite Man continues on a weekly basis
Year 9
Chinese Language Film excursion
Intermediate Badminton and Netball.
No Limits low rope excursion.
Year 8
Netball & Badminton – Interschool Sport
47 Band Students from across the College went to the Carnival of the Animals presented by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Year 7
Band night – every class has a band, and the audience were played some truly amazing renditions of favourite songs.
Interschool Badminton and Netball – We WON!
Our major building program is about to commence, contracts have been signed and monies transferred. We hope to be starting by the holidays.
Mr Richard Hastings
Banksia Campus Principal
I recently received a quote to get the old locker bay area next to the C block toilets converted into a new group Wellbeing space. Luckily (for us) the builders are held up on other job sites due to weather and advised me that they can start earlier than expected! On Tuesday 14th June they commenced clearing the space to start refurbishing it; it will come together quite quickly. Shortly this will be a beautiful new space for Wellbeing group activities. Students, if you are walking past, go check out the latest progress!
Image below of the construction zone. Standby for further updates!
Students from Years 7-11 have engaged in exams recently. As per our College exam policy, “exams are designed to set a culture of high expectations, build learning stamina and develop the student’s ability to progressively demonstrate knowledge and skills under exam conditions thus preparing those students who will be completing VCE exams.” When we hear the word ‘exams’ it can often make us feel nervous, however I am very proud that students took the exam period seriously. Over the past two years, we have scaled back the exams to either no exams in the Junior School or reduced exams in Year 10; therefore, this re-introduction exams once again have been a real challenge for our students, but one that will serve them well in their future years of high school. Students are encouraged to reflect on their exam results as well as their Semester Reports which will be released on Friday 24th June. Students should set some goals for Semester 2; particularly focusing on how they can demonstrate the 5Ps every lesson, every day to ensure they are maximising their learning during class time.
I know some of Year 12s are starting to feel stressed with their workload and deadlines. We have lots of supports in place for our students, including our Wellbeing Team that can be on hand to support students. With the term break coming up, it will be a good opportunity for our Year 12 students to rest, reset, catch up and prepare for their Term 3 studies.
I wish our students and their families all the best for the upcoming term break. Take care and stay safe.
Ms Natalie Fode
Acacia Campus Principal