Principal’s Report – June 2021

Welcome to Week 10 and our last newsletter for Term 2. As the end of semester is upon us, I take this opportunity to sincerely thank members of the school community for the outstanding support shown over the first two terms through their involvement in Governing Council, Committees in the school, events and celebrations.

The building program continues in earnest and students and staff are involved in the decision making that is leading change across a range of areas in our school . We have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to as we move into the second half of the year.

For our Year 12 students the semester break should be a time when they have a break from the routine of attending school, but I encourage them to maintain their regular study routine during the holidays in preparation for assessment tasks and final year exams. The feedback from their mid-year examinations should inform their revision program to improve their knowledge, understanding and application of skills and concepts.

I trust and hope that all students and staff enjoy a safe and well-deserved break and return to the School with renewed energy and focus for another busy and productive semester!

Term 3 commences on Monday 19 July 2021.

Reports

Reports will be distributed to students on Friday 2 July and all reports will be uploaded on Daymap to be accessed by students and parents. We encourage families to discuss the report with their child and invite them to share their own reflection on their academic performance, their own attitudes and behaviours. The school reports will provide parents or guardians with information regarding their child’s progress in all subject areas, their attitude and conduct in class. 

Parents and guardians are reminded that they can make contact with individual teachers at any time during the school year, particularly if they have any concerns about their child’s education. The school encourages parents to maintain open communication with teachers, curriculum leaders and year level managers to discuss their child’s progress and achievements. 

Student Leadership

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the 2021 Year 11 Student Captains and Vice Captains:

I congratulate all students who had the courage and confidence to apply for the student leadership positions. During their presentations, they were able to articulate and demonstrate their strong vision, identify challenges and opportunities, and express their commitment to their peers. I am confident they will be great ambassadors for the school and advocates for the student body.

Reconciliation Week

We have just celebrated National Reconciliation Week from Thursday 27 May – Thursday 3 June 2021. This week is a period for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements.

This year’s theme is “More than a word. Reconciliation takes action”. Reconciliation in Australia provides all Australians with the opportunity to listen to, and learn from, our shared histories, cultures and achievements. It is also an opportunity for each of us to look at how we can contribute positively to reconciliation in Australia. The theme encourages us all to act on our understanding that we have a significant role to build and foster communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures and futures. Students have reflected on the message to taking action towards reconciling all Australians to the land and each other, through embracing truth, justice and culture – to bring out the best of themselves, so they can inspire the best in others. At Woodville High School during Reconciliation Week, we have made a commitment as a community to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan. This will invite representatives from our whole community come together to support and guide the Action Plan for our school. Our first steps as a Reconciliation Action Plan Committee will be to look at our students’ responses to the head, heart, and hand questions. The whole school took part in an activity where the students were tasked with questions that provided an opportunity to share their thoughts (Head), their feelings (Heart) and what actions (Hands) they would take to help our communities reconciliation. There is a video within this newsletter that captures the spirit of the day. We thank Jordan Le an old scholar who filmed the day.

Refugee Week

Thank you to Fiona Feetham, Michelle Moore and all the staff and students for making refugee week such a success. Manal Younis’ presentation was inspirational and through the two workshops she and our students created a poem that will be shared with the whole school at the Multicultural Assembly scheduled for next term. This poem shares the plight of refugees and will be published on our website and social media to capture voices that are often unheard. The day was again captured on film by Jordan Le and I will share it with staff and the community once it is published.

During Refugee Week, Joe Szakacs MP moved and passed a motion in the House of Assembly to recognise and honour the stories, challenges, and contributions of 1 million refugees.

It was an honour and privilege to witness this in Parliament House as Joe Szakacs delivered a moving and personal tribute to the refugees, celebrating the cultural differences within society and what we have achieved together. He recognised that we are all migrants in this country and as such acknowledged this and highlighted the commitment to working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In 2021, the aim of Refugee Week is not only to shine a light on the issues that refugees face but to celebrate all that we have achieved as a country and as a state and how we have grown and shaped a unique identity as a result of the arrival of migrants and refugees who have significantly contributed to our state and country.

Shahd Eessa (Syrian) and Amir Rezaee (Afghani) both from refugee background shared their reflections with me once the bill was passed:

It was a great honour for me to be in the Parliament House. Politician Joe Szakacs showed us a lot of respect, love and support throughout his speech, not only for me but for all the people with refugee backgrounds who are living in Australia.  He made me feel proud of who I am and where I come from.  Shahd Eessa

It was an amazing experience to watch Joe Szakacs fight for not only the one million refugees who have found sanctuary in Australia but also the 30 million people worldwide who continue to seek asylum. Amir Rezaee 

On behalf of the community of Woodville we thank Joe Szakacs MP who gave us the opportunity to hear his story and share his commitment to empowering the stories of all refugees who are not able to be heard.

You can watch a video of some of the Labor team talking about their experiences growing up in a refugee background.