Headteacher's Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am very pleased to be back in school writing my first bulletin of the year at the end of a very busy and very enjoyable first week welcoming back our students into school. In particular, I want to say welcome to the new Year 7 and new Year 12 students joining us for the first time; we value your addition to our school community.

“If you decide to fight the squid with your spear gun, hoping to scare it off, turn to page 17.

If you try to hitch a ride on the whale, turn to page 83.”

'Journey Under the Sea'
R. A. Montgomery

A highlight of my week was the welcome back assemblies with each year group on Wednesday. The theme of these was ‘choices’, and what better way to start than with a mini choose your own adventure story – staple reading for those of us growing up in the 80s! In the same way the readers of these stories make choices that shape and develop their story, we want our students to think about how their choices – in learning, friendships, and behaviour – shape and develop them and their school journey. Just like in a well written novel, choices shape character, and character shapes choices. We want to encourage our students to make choices that build qualities like integrity and resilience and are rooted in the core values of the school:

Academic Excellence – choosing to do your personal best

Acquiring Knowledge – choosing to be an educated person

Social Justice - choosing to ensure everyone has a place and feels valued

Public Service – choosing to look after our community

Diverse Opportunities – choosing to get involved and make the most of your time here

We will revisit these values repeatedly throughout the year and what they mean for our students and our community.

With the new Year 7 students I also discussed what it meant to join such a large community and that despite all our differences –  be it religion, ethnicity, age, wealth, primary school attended – we have much more in common with each other than ways in which we differ and, as such, we should be kind, respectful and tolerant towards each other.

In a similar vein, I would like to remind parents and carers to please be considerate to our local community particularly when dropping off and picking up your children. Please be mindful of blocking driveways and take care to park safely and legally, especially as this can have an impact on our students’ ability to cross roads safely. We respectfully ask our parents and carers to model the school’s high expectations for courtesy and respect towards our neighbours and also our site staff. We have a zero-tolerance policy on abusive or confrontational behaviour and any such incident may result in action being taken by the school. We are proud of our relationship with both the local community and our parents and carers, and we would appreciate your support in working with us to maintain a positive environment for our students both inside and outside our school gates.

Checking in with our students is always one of the most enjoyable parts of the first week back and I had a slightly surprising encounter with two Year 10 boys on Wednesday. Known for their high spirits, I had anticipated they would be lamenting the end of the summer holidays but in fact it was quite the opposite - they were genuinely delighted to be back. When I asked them why, they lowered their voices and said, "To be honest Miss, the summer was a bit boring and it really nice to be back here doing stuff”. It served as a pleasant reminder that, beyond its academic purpose, school plays a vital role in facilitating friendships, social interaction and provides an important structure for many students.

The atmosphere around the building this week has been one of engagement and excitement and our students have got off to a really great start; they have been a credit to themselves and you, their parents and carers.

Thank you for your support and welcome to the new school year.

Mrs McFadden

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