It’s Been a Big Start to the Year

For the first time since Term 1 last year, it began to feel like the School had finally resumed its usual rhythm – and what a hectic pace it was moving at! 

Our Year 3 – 6 students have enjoyed a day of track and field at their House Athletics Carnival, the Debating teams have competed again in the DAV Debaters Association of Victoria competition and NAPLAN tests have concluded.

Year 11 and 12 students have undertaken the Fit to Drive Program, Year 10 Drama students presented their play Nothing But the Truth and Year 11 students have been presented at their Debutante Ball. Meanwhile, Junior School students engaged with their favourite books at the Book Fair.

All these special events were held amidst the usual class excursions, classroom activities, assignments, essays and tests. The School had certainly come back to life! Then suddenly, we found ourselves back in tighter restrictions again. Our Senior School Subject Fair had to be cancelled and the School Production could not go ahead on it's scheduled dates. We were all reminded that COVID remains a very real threat to us all and that social restrictions will continue to be imposed for as long as the virus remains active. 

I would like to remind parents of the importance of making appointments for children out of school hours whenever possible. It is disruptive to children’s learning when they arrive at school late, or leave school early, for appointments. We understand that sometimes there is not much choice regarding appointment times, however, where possible, I urge you to choose appointment times out of school hours.

The following procedures should be followed when collecting students from school before the end of the school day:

Prep - Year 6 students

If you need to collect your child early for an appointment, you must advise the school in the morning, well before the appointment time. This should be done by advising the classroom teacher through a note in your child’s planner or via an email to the classroom teacher. With appropriate notice, we can then ensure your child will be ready and waiting in Reception for you to sign them out at the nominated time.  

Years 7 – 10 students

Parents must advise the school by calling the absentee hotline on 5991 0801 and leaving a message with their child’s name, year level and required pick-up time. Your child will be ready and waiting in Reception for you to sign them out.

Please note: if you do not advise the school or classroom teacher of the pre-arranged pick-up time, you may need to wait while staff locate your child in the school. The wait time could be significant, depending on where the child is located in the school.

Superheroes Appear at Assembly

School assemblies have been a highlight of the week once more. Our 4B students impressed everyone with their Superheros assembly which was not only great fun, but had an important message for everyone about the qualities of real Superheros. Senior School assembly also commenced this week with a number performed from High School Musical. 

Consent, Teen Culture and Resilience

The issue of consent continues to be debated in society and it is a regular point of discussion with our Senior School students. The article below was recently published in The Age and it is a frank and, at times, brutal exploration of prevailing teen culture. It includes quotes from Tom Harkin, founder of the Tomorrow Man and Tomorrow Woman program and workshops that our students in Years 10 and 11 will be participating in commencing this week. You can read The Age article here:

The Age - Sex, schoolkids and where it all goes wrong.

For many girls, the path to womanhood can be difficult and author and researcher Madonna King has produced some excellent work which helps us as parents and teachers understand what our girls and young women are experiencing. I recommend two of her books to you:

• Being 14: Helping fierce teens become awesome women
• Fathers and Daughters: Helping girls and their dads build unbreakable bonds

King’s latest book, Ten-Ager: What your daughter needs you to know about the transition from child to teen, is also a valuable resource for parents of younger girls. This article is an interesting insight into what King has learned about ‘Ten-Age’ girls.

Several years ago, I read Dr Judith Locke’s book The Bonsai Child. It is an eye-opening book which explores ways in which being over-involved as a parent can stunt the social and emotional growth of children. In her latest book, The Bonsai Student, Locke offers parents advice on how to encourage responsible, resilient and school-ready students. This article explores some of the main ideas of these books.

Happy reading!

Mrs Fiona Williams

Principal