From the Principal

End of Term Assemblies and Gratitude Tree

At the end of each term, we hold our Year Level assemblies where we celebrate the achievements of students.  These assemblies are run by student Year Level House Captains where they highlight the events for the term.  It was great to have all our scheduled camps, excursions and sporting events go ahead this term, and our students were so grateful for this.  We also celebrated our student achievements; their positive behaviours and modelling of our school DARE values within our school and the wider community.  A highlight for me was the Gratitude Tree that was established in the school entry foyer.  Here students could select a leaf and write something they were grateful for and attach it to the tree.  Some of the comments for “I’m grateful for” included “I’m grateful for friends and family because they make me happy”, “My family, my dog, my house”, and “the opportunities I have at AHS”.

What a lovely way to end our first term back face-to-face at school and to be grateful for what we have.

Relay for Life

Last weekend we participated in the “Relay for Life” fundraiser for the Cancer Council.  The event was held on our lower oval and due to COVID-safe regulations there was no overnight camping.  Our school raised $1247 for the Cancer Council, which is a great effort, and the total amount raised was $144, 072.  Students who participated have gained points towards obtaining a school Philanthropic badge.  Thank you to all students, staff and families that supported the Relay for Life fundraiser, either through direct participation or assisting with fundraising.  Thank you to Ella Price – Leading Teacher Student Voice, Agency and Leadership, for all her work in coordinating the AHS teams.  We look forward to participating in this philanthropic event next year as well.

Teach the Teacher

Last week we held a Teach the Teacher forum where a group of students ran a session with all teachers on selected strategies that help them learn.  We run these sessions twice a year where students use data and conduct research to facilitate a workshop session with the teachers.  It is so powerful to hear students speak about their classroom learning experiences and important for educators to hear this.  The students examined our student feedback data from our recent PIVOT surveys and workshopped the session focusing on student choice in learning tasks, assessment and homework or revision, giving examples of effective strategies.  I would like to congratulate all students for running such an engaging session, and for speaking so clearly and confidently.

As this is our last newsletter for the term, I would like to wish all families and staff a safe and relaxing break.  School will finish at 1:15pm on Friday 8th April and we will be resuming school for Term 2 on Tuesday 26th April.