From the Principal
Dear Parents, Staff, Students & Friends
The beginning of spring with days of warm weather and our magnificent cherry trees in blossom has certainly helped in providing an uplifting start to Term 4. Many students have told me that they had a great holiday but are pleased to be back at school enjoying the company of their friends and teachers.
RELAY FOR LIFE HAS OUR STUDENTS RAISING MONEY FOR CANCER
Thanks to an outstanding group of teachers and over sixty SLC and sports leaders who generously gave of their first weekend of the holidays to participate in ‘Relay for Life’. They raised in excess of $12000, which was the largest sum of any organization. Funds will be used to support the most important priority of cancer treatment and research. The students were exceptional ambassadors for our school, completing the midnight marathon and many circuits of the Ballam Park Athletics track. I stayed until 1.00am in the morning and I was exhausted, perhaps because I am "old", but the students and their teachers remained bright and full of energy throughout the night. Congratulations and a huge thank you to these amazing young people (teachers and students) we are so fortunate to have at our school.
WELCOME BACK TO OUR INTREPID CENTRAL OZ ADVENTURERS!
Year 11 students have returned from their Central Oz trip that began in the latter part of Term 3, finishing midway during the holidays. Many thanks to staff who sacrificed their personal time, especially their holiday time away from family and friends, to support our students in having a trip they will remember for the rest of their lives. Staff reported on the excellent behaviour of students on this trip, with many travellers in Central Australia commenting on how friendly and courteous our students are. Such positive feedback makes me very proud to be Principal of Frankston High School.
SOUTHERN ZONE ATHLETICS: STUDENTS AND STAFF TO BE PROUD OF! FHS WINNERS!
Last week the students representing Frankston High School at the Southern Zone Sports epitomised our motto of doing their best and showed great sportsmanship throughout the day. Frankston High School are yet again Southern Zone Champions and this is a great achievement, since our competition involved many other schools who regard themselves as elite sporting schools. There has been an extraordinary team of staff who have devoted many early mornings, weekends and school holidays to coaching and enthusing our students as members of Semper Squad. Thanks to Ms Chloe Edwards, Mr Mal Burt, Mr Steven Bonfadini and Ms Carly Douglas who have supported our athletes. Our students are most fortunate to have staff who are prepared to give their all to create such an exemplary sporting culture. We wish our team every success and enjoyment in their participation in the up and coming State Championships.
EVERYONE INSPIRED BY FORMER STUDENT LAURA BIRD AT OUR ANNUAL CHAPLAINCY DINNER
Those who attended our annual Chaplaincy dinner enjoyed a great night of friendship and celebration of our Chaplaincy program. It was great to have a table of parents of Year 7 students and we hope you enjoyed this night so much that you will join our loyal band of supporters who return year after year. Our guest speaker was former student Laura Bird who is pursuing a career as an Acoustic Engineer. Laura spoke about the rewards of giving to others, having established the inaugural Peninsula Rotary Club when in Year 12. She specifically spoke about her epic bike ride from Melbourne to Cairns to raise research funds for a rare form of brain cancer. Laura raised in excess of $100,000.
YEAR 12 HOLIDAY EXAMS PREPARE STUDENTS FOR FINAL EXAMS
A huge thank you to Mr Simon Cameron who sacrificed a week during the holidays to organise and oversee the Year 12 holiday practice exams. Students have commented that this was a great learning experience enabling them to further perfect their exam techniques and to become aware of areas of their course requiring more focus.
The last few weeks of school for Year 12 students and the SWOT VAC period can make all the difference to final subject scores. My suggestion to all Year 12 students is to establish a timetable of study, to practise as many exams as possible under exam conditions, and then to constantly seek teacher feedback about their performance. This is a very demanding study period so it is essential to have an hour off each day apart from meal times to do something that you find relaxing. I look forward to wishing the class of 2017 every success and happiness in the future as we say farewell on Celebration Day and join with parents at our up and coming Valedictory Dinner.
Wishing everyone a Term 4 that is full of fun and challenging learning activities at our great school.
Mr John Albiston
Principal