Senior School report

We enjoyed excursions, music events, drama, camps and conferences, student led lunchtime clubs and interest groups, whole school assemblies and our full program of House competitions.

The Year 10 Career Readiness program is one program which started in response to the sudden closure of the traditional Year 10 Work Experience program in 2020 and is continuing in its new format. Career Readiness is a three-day conference style program at school, bringing together a keynote speaker drawn from our rich alumnae base, recent Lauriston graduates from a range of professions and offering workshops on interview skills and resume writing. The program also incorporates visits to some of Melbourne’s top universities, for students to see what life is like on campus and to hear from university students about university life. As covid restrictions have eased some workplaces are re-opening their doors to school age work experience students and these opportunities are advertised to students throughout the year. The new Work Shadowing program launched in collaboration with the LPA, adds yet more depth and richness to the Future Pathways program.

The Arts blossomed again last year, with many music events, dramatic arts performances, and visual art exhibitions. We were pleased to hold our Annual Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre. This was a magnificent evening of beautiful music, featuring ensembles from the Junior School and the Senior School. We also enjoyed House Music on the stage in the Irving Hall, instead of on zoom, the annual Jazz Cabaret, and several smaller soirees and concerts featuring different ensembles and soloists.

Our Theatre students went to several live theatre productions as part of their studies, including Fun Home, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Looking for Alibrandi. These excellent educational experiences inspired our students in their own theatre making. Our students also collaborated with Scotch College in two live theatre productions, West Side Story, and Puff. In the Visual Arts the work of three students from Studio Arts and one student from Media was selected for display in the VCE Season of Excellence Exhibition at the NGV.

The SRC developed student voice versions of two new Child Safe Standards policies: the Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy –Student Use; and the Complaints Policy – Student Use. The SRC representatives also worked together to create and deliver education to their peers about these polices during the SHINE wellbeing periods. The SRC representatives created year level PowerPoint presentations and Kahoot quizzes. Year 8 ran a poster competition, with small groups of Year 8 student designing their own Child Safe posters, now displayed around the campus. Student empowerment and student voce has always been a strong component of a Lauriston education and has been strengthened with the implementation of the new Child Safe Standards.

The School Captains launched 2022 with their theme ‘Recreate, Reimagine’ as a celebration of coming out of lockdown and returning to regular, daily school life. A highlight of their leadership was the Whole School Picnic and Wellbeing afternoon held in March. It was perfect autumnal weather and students relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company with a picnic lunch on the oval, followed by a range of different activities led by the student leadership team. Other special student led events included student led assemblies, management of the Dance Festival by the prefect team, and the captains’ beautiful tribute to their own fathers, and all fathers, at the Fathers of Lauriston dinner.

Student leadership opportunities take many forms, from participation in co-curricular activities, listening to and engaging with inspirational leaders both within and outside the school community, through to awarded positions or voluntarily embraced roles. These roles provide students across year levels with authentic experiences in initiating events, collaborating with peers, problem solving and event management. Students may achieve three levels of micro credentials for Student Leadership through embracing responsibility and the development of Leadership skills.

Debating was hugely popular in 2022, with more teams and participants in every year level. Two teams qualified for the state semi-finals in the Debating Association of Victoria competition and many of our Year 12 debaters have gone on to be adjudicators for the DAV

In sport we were thrilled to win the Huntingtower-Heyington Shield AFL match against St Catherine’s. Lauriston also achieved 3rd place in the GSV Cross Country Championships and competed in Division 1 for all GSV carnival sports: Swimming, Cross-Country and Track and Field.