From the Principal 

As our Year 8 Campers return from their Camp to the Kurth Kiln regional park, our Music students are heading off on their camp tomorrow. Whilst our Year 8 camp did have its challenges with illness, overall there were definitely successes to celebrate, in particular our students having the opportunity to push themselves in a variety of outdoor activities. The caving experience was certainly the most challenging activity that they had to complete. I was so impressed that students in my group took themselves down into the first part of the cave, to experience being inside and underneath a waterfall. We have some great pictures and a student account to share further on in the newsletter.

Our musicians will have a different focus as they prepare for the upcoming mid-year performances. The Music Camp is a great opportunity for them to have uninterrupted time to play together and enjoy focused rehearsal time. Thanks to the music staff who are heading off with them to share their performance experience and to conduct the various bands, choirs and ensembles. We look forward to hearing perform later in the term. 

Our school works hard to create an inclusive environment for all our students, and this was shown with our celebration of IDAHOBIT day and our Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week activities. Thank you to the staff and students running activities on these days, and encouraging understanding of the issues that many in our community face.

Kat Theophanous has shared her congratulations on our recent funding announcement, and will be attending our School Council meeting in July to hear an update on the planning that is taking place.  We look forward to sharing with you some images of the new building as the plans progress further.

Our students are currently completing their second self-assessment for their Learning Behaviour Reports. It will be interesting for students to note any improvements they have made to their practices since last Term. We will publish these at the end of the week and are very timely for our Year 11 students to consider before they begin their End of Semester Exam period next week.

Our students are also completing the Department’s Attitude to School Survey this week. We thank them for taking their time to give feedback on the school; issues that they face and their own wellbeing. It is an example of students having agency within their school. Aspects of the survey results are shared with everyone in the community through publications such as the Annual Report to the School Community which has been uploaded to the school website.

The School Calendar is looking quite busy as we approach the End of Semester. I hope that families have a chance to enjoy our Mid-year Concerts and find the upcoming Course Expo an informative event. I look forward to seeing you there.

Chris Jones

Principal