Year 7/8
As Term 1 comes to a close, it is amazing to reflect upon the rollercoaster of events, challenges and achievements experienced by students in the Junior Sub-School. Where has the time gone?
Year 7 have settled into the rigours of secondary schooling at CESC with clear displays of strength including zest, perseverance, curiosity and hope. I'm proud of the work, efforts and commitment of staff throughout the transition process, supporting students and their families to become accustomed to our college's high expectations, values (Respect, Responsibility, Growth and Achievement), and mission to support every student exceed their potential.
Students have experienced not only the wide range of learning opportunities, but an array of co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities including:
- Welcome Week
- Camp (or the at-school alternate program)
- Production auditions
- First whole-school assembly
- Inter-school sport, swimming trials and cross country
- Year 7 BBQ and Info Night
- NAPLAN practice
- Harmony Day
Soon added to this list will be their first whole-school carnival, Athletics (Mon 29 March), which is set to be the biggest in CESC history. This is all around a snap-lockdown that involved a little bit of remote learning, and ever-changing Government restrictions. The grit, resilience and growth mindset demonstrated by the cohort has been nothing short of inspiring.
The same can be said for our Year 8 students. After a disrupted 2021 and transition year, most have risen the occasion of role-modelling to our newest students. This is so very much valued as we share the Green Building each and every day. Without always realising, students look up to and are influenced by their older peers.
It is great to see maturity and leadership being displayed, particularly by newly elected Home Group and Cohort Leaders. These students were recently presented their badges at assemblies in front of their respective cohorts. I take this opportunity to congratulate our elected leaders and the work they do to advocate for and represent their peers.
The recent immersion day organised by the Year 8 Leader Team was an incredible highlight to the term. With a focus on building positive connections, developing resilience, growth mindsets and mindfulness was the focus. Students engaged in a range of whole-cohort and elective activities including a scavenger hunt, kickboxing, art, games, challenges, and a BBQ lunch.
The guest speaker, Tammy van Wisse (pronounced Wisser), engaged and inspired both students and staff with tales and anecdotes about her storied life and experiences. Having conquered some of the world’s longest, deepest and coldest waterways, clocking up an astonishing 65,000 kilometres, Tammy has set six World Records in her swimming endeavours.
Whether it was the shark and dolphin encounters, working with Olympian Dawn Fraser, or the sheer achievements Tammy discussed, the messages were clear. The power of perseverance, breaking down goals into chewable chunks, adapting to change, the power of the mind, building our inner strength, growth mindset, risk management and leadership were also takeaways from the moving keynote.
As a reminder, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to your student's Home Group teacher. On behalf of the Year 7 and 8 staff teams, I wish you all a safe and relaxing term break, and look forward to an even more exciting and productive term 2.
I leave you with a quote from Tammy's address to the year 8 cohort:
Once you have the right mindset, whatever your goal, you can get there.
Russell Lee
Assistant Principal - Year 7 & 8
Bruschetta and grilled doughnuts with strawberries.
Ms Jaso
