House Competitions

It has been a busy couple of weeks with a variety of House competitions. Senior School House Debating was introduced this year and has been a resounding success. Thanks to this competition, we have many more students interested in joining the school debating team. The House Public Speaking Competition in Senior School is in full swing, and audiences have been impressed by the engaging public speakers who have competed. In Junior School, students are preparing for the House Soccer competition which is very popular amongst participants and spectators.

Year 9 Adventurous Journey

The 2024 Year 9 camp was a great success. Staff and students persevered through some windy and rainy conditions, making the experience truly memorable. Camp plans shifted constantly to accommodate the weather, ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for everyone. From learning how to set up tents and cook meals to embarking on hiking expeditions and enjoying games on the beach, our students showcased incredible resilience, problem solving, adaptability and confidence throughout the journey. A huge thank you to our dedicated staff who accompanied the students: Mr O'Connor, Ms Eden, Mr Chanter, Mr Clutton, Mr Bucknell, Mr Murdock and Ms Blanchard.

R U OK? Day

R U OK? was again celebrated across the school. The idea of R U OK? Day is that taking the time to speak with others can change a life. Giving another person your attention is one of the most precious things we can do. Students were reminded of the importance of taking the time to check in on friends and family through a range of activities and lessons.

Teamkids Parent Afternoon

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Teamkids parent afternoon. Parents were invited to spend some time with their children at Teamkids playing a variety of games and activities. The children loved having adults to play with them and everyone had a lot of fun.

Holidays

Over the September holidays I will be recuperating from surgery on my knee. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has shown care and concern towards me as I have limped my way around the school this term. I am very grateful to be part of such a caring and compassionate school community. The students have lifted my spirits each day as has the company of Buddy, our wellbeing dog.

I wish everyone a safe and very relaxing school holiday. I hope we have some lovely weather to entice us to get out and about with our children. Enjoy this precious time with your family and I look forward to seeing the students refreshed and ready to learn in Term 4.

Fiona Williams

Principal

‘WWW’ – but not the one of which you are thinking

If you were to ask almost anyone what ‘WWW’ stands for they would say ‘world wide web,’ but there is another, wholly different concept associated with these letters: ‘what went well.’ First let me set the scene.

Our school employs a wellbeing framework built on the science of positive psychology called PROSPER. The different elements of this framework are:

• Purpose and meaning
• Relationships
• Outcomes
• Strengths
• Positive emotions
• Engagement
• Resilience

Positive education is a worldwide movement aimed at applying the principles of positive psychology to education. Australia is a world leader in this field.

To put it simply, positive psychology sought to apply scientific methods of study to the things that make humans flourish. One of the findings of this field is that we are all wired, for sound evolutionary reasons, to notice, remember and focus on negative things more than positive things. This has helped to keep us safe as a species, but not necessarily happy.

To return to the alternative meaning of WWW, taking some time to reflect on what went well can improve one’s mood, build resilience and improve life satisfaction. There is an important caveat — mental health is complex and people’s responses to practices such as these are not formulaic. It is never as simple as ‘do this, and this will be the outcome.’ However, it may be worth helping our children to overcome the negativity bias by asking ‘what was the best thing that happened at school today?’ Maybe you will even get more information than you usually do.

Robert Jacob

Deputy Principal