NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 I FEBRUARY 2018
FROM THE PRINCIPAL 2018 is off to an exciting start: the Year 8 Woodhouse challenge, WikEd Wednesdays, new Peer Support leaders, new House and Year Level leaders and new staff. Olivia O'Neill with students at the Year 8 Woodhouse Challenge
IN THIS ISSUE Diary Dates............................................2 Congratulations...................................2 Annual General Meeting....................3 2017 Year 12 SACE Results.............4 Think Bright...........................................6 Scandinavian Music Tour.................8 Music News........................................10 Student Exchange.............................12 Visual Art News.................................13 AVSC Championship........................14 Personal Learning Coordinator.....17
Schools are dynamic places ever developing to keep up with world class standards. By contrast, the beginning of every school year brings the comfortable security of renewal and fresh starts. Alongside the clean, blank exercise books and shiny iPads sits our optimism that we can all do better this year. The new 2018 student leadership model already looks like being a success. The student leaders have embraced the concept of ‘the war on waste’ to guide their action teams. With their teachers, they are designing interdisciplinary activities to address both local and global issues around waste. The word, ‘interdisciplinary’ when applied to education means that their subject teachers build discipline (subject) knowledge through developing and using interdisciplinary activities. The interdisciplinary approaches demonstrate how the subject knowledge is evident and useful in our world. In future, this transfer of subject knowledge to other situations will be at the heart of questions in the SACE examinations. Given
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that we can find information anywhere, anytime and just in time, by using the remarkable technologies at our disposal, the test for understanding will be how well we are able to transfer understanding from one situation (or subject) to another. It is wonderful to showcase our high achievers in the 2017 SACE results – they are deserving after their dedicated commitment to their studies. We are very proud of them. The teachers feel affirmed when their students do well – everyone’s hard work is justified. We must not forget the hundreds of other students who made a similar commitment to their studies and achieved a personal best. We are proud of these students, as we are those who lost their way, but made a comeback and showed improvement. In 2018 our teachers will continue to have unconditional positive regard for all our students. All staff will work with parents and students to value every student and their pathway for a successful life.
CURIOSITY I COURAGE I CITIZENSHIP
Students at the Year 8 Woodhouse Challenge
Olivia O'Neill with students at the Instant French Market
I stand by our motto, “Do All Things Well” and I expect our success to be judged against this criterion. I am anticipating that all our community (parents, students, and staff) will embrace our motto in 2018. Olivia O’Neill Principal
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