Principal's Reflection - 29 May

Feedback on House Uniform

I hope that students are enjoying the extended long weekend, and perhaps some parents who have organised time off to enjoy it with their children. I’d like to remind everyone that today (Friday 29 May) is provided to staff and students in return for attendance at the Community Fair on Saturday 15 August. Hopefully, this day is already marked in your calendars. 

Throughout the year, the School has been collecting feedback from students, families and staff about the new House uniform, which we anticipate will be available in the Uniform Shop for the commencement of 2027. The feedback provided, including ideas and opinions gathered at the recent ParentConnect session and student forums, has been represented in this collection of designs. 

We are approaching a time when we must decide on the new design so the new shirts are available for purchase before the 2027 school year. As it will be a uniform worn by students over the next 20 years or so, it is important to the School that our community has a significant voice in the chosen design. As such, between now and Thursday 4 June, we are asking all parents, students and staff to give each design a rating, from 1 - 10, with 10 being the highest. Students and staff will receive an email in their school inbox, and parents and carers will receive a survey link in the Parent Facebook groups in addition to a survey link via email. 

Please note that the base navy blue of some designs appears to vary, because the survey includes some designs produced before a colour match was completed. The School's intention is for the base navy blue of the House shirts to match the navy blue of the sports shorts.

Welcome Back Campers

Over the last three weeks, our students in Years 5 to 11 have participated in their annual school camps. There have been some fantastic moments, experiences and activities. One of those was our Year 6 students' participation in a rare and unique ceremony commemorating Sergeant Henry Whitton. The service included tributes to the Hospital Ship Centaur, honouring the tragic torpedoing of the AHS Centaur on 14 May 1943, in which only 64 of the 332 people aboard survived. Students also had the opportunity to meet Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, who was recently appointed as the 42nd Chief of Army - the first woman to lead any branch of the Australian Defence Force. While the Year 6 camp focuses heavily on aspects of the Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum, our other camps focus more on personal challenge, development and resilience building. Some of them, particularly the Years 9, 10 and 11 camps, deliberately include some hardship. As parents, we spend a great deal of time trying to shield our children from hardship, but at the same time, we understand that exposing children to appropriate amounts of difficulty and hardship helps build in them the capacity to flourish without us. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of joyous moments in all our camps, but certainly some ‘Type 2 Fun’ is intended. Type 2 Fun is brought about by doing something hard, uncomfortable or perhaps even scary. It is the sense of satisfaction, pride, and fulfilment you feel later that makes the activity enjoyable. Type 2 Fun is the result of challenging yourself; it's the reward after the fact, and it is so important to the developing brain. It is very much related to ideas of challenge and growth, and to delayed gratification. It helps children become adults. 

Thank you for your support.

Mr Matthew Hughes

Principal

Date Claimers