City

Campus News

The mysterious Storium

Everyone loves the magic of City campus and the Storium was a perfect expression of the imagination and creativity that is alive in our vertical campus. The brainchild of Jane Marshall (known as Miss Birdwhistle) and her trusty sidekick, Philippa Bell (Miss Lovejoy), as well as their dedicated colleagues Rebecca Frith, Andrew Weatherill and Ed Schaepman, and with the expert help of Stewart Bell (Mr Peabody), the magic of the Storium existed for two weeks at City campus.

Our ELC to Year 8 City students were immersed in the enchanted world of the Storium — an alternative universe that was an incredible example of how Haileybury City fosters a love of literature and nurtures literacy skills in all students.

A visit to the Storium began with the delivery of a mysterious invitation that magically arrived at each Homeroom on the morning of their visit. Surprised students and staff followed instructions until they reached their destination in a secret location on our Arts floor.

Once inside the enigmatic space, thanks to the turn of a key that revealed a bookcase with a hidden entry, students guessed and hypothesised about what was occurring, allowing their creative thoughts to grow.

Following this interactive experience, students entered a dynamic writing space and, under the guidance of a character from the Storium, began crafting a story. This wonderful interdisciplinary learning opportunity incorporated elements of Drama and English. Students finished their narrative in their English classes, and we look forward to publishing these and putting them on the shelves of the City library.

Every minute counts

The Storium demonstrates our commitment to enriching and extending our students’ learning until the last day of every term and year. We remind our families that leave is best taken in our generous school holidays. Any requests for leave outside these times must be directed to the Head of Campus well in advance. Our staff constantly plan wonderful learning opportunities for our students, as every minute of learning counts. Please ensure you download the Term Dates from the Haileybury website for 2024 before booking your holidays.

Wishing you all a happy holiday and wonderful new year. We look forward to welcoming you back to City campus in 2024.

Early Learning Centre

Art matters in the ELC

With our City campus located at the heart of the Arts capital, it is no wonder children in the ELC love to express themselves creatively. Music and dance are a feature of our outdoor space as children move and play outside on our Terrace, and our beautiful gathering circle is a vibrant example of history and story told through art.

Within each room in ELC, the Arts and the skills these experiences help develop are nurtured and fostered. Reception children are creating insects out of plasticine, while Pre-Prep have been encouraged to incorporate intricate flower patterns using fine lines to create vibrant watercolour backgrounds.

Sharing our learning

As we draw closer to the end of the year, we thank you for joining us at our End of Year Celebration of Learning to showcase our learning journals and a musical performance.

It was wonderful to celebrate the children’s growth and learning and we thank our families for working in partnership with Haileybury City throughout the year.

Junior School

Learning to swim

Junior School students engaged in a memorable Learn to Swim program at the University of Victoria (VU) Footscray campus. This initiative underscored the dedication of City campus to nurture industry partnerships within our distinctive geographical setting.

Expert swim instructors led the lessons which integrated into the Physical Education curriculum. Focused on stroke development, water safety, rescue skills, floatation and pool entry/exit techniques, the program provided a well-rounded aquatic education. This hands-on experience not only honed the students’ swimming abilities but reinforced the importance of water competency as an integral aspect of their overall physical education.

Peace prevails at Haileybury City

The 2023 Peace Pole Ceremony at City Campus was attended by esteemed members of the Rotary Club of North Melbourne, solidifying their strong relationship with our school community and our joint pursuit of recognising and promoting global peace.

The ceremony was held at the Inside Out courts on Batman Street, where our prominent Peace Pole proudly stands. Each Year 3 student delivered a heartfelt statement on the importance of peace, preparing and rehearsing diligently in the lead-up to the ceremony.

More than 250,000 Peace Poles in approximately 200 countries symbolise a shared wish for a peaceful world and the event served as a powerful reminder of our global interconnectedness. The ceremony’s conclusion echoed some profound sentiments including, “If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbours.”

Middle School

Up Day

On Tuesday, 21 November we looked to the future with Up Day. This was an opportunity for our young people to become accustomed to their teachers, classmates and their new school if they are joining Haileybury for the first time in 2024.

Levels 4 and 5 were buzzing as students had fun, developed connections and gained a better understanding of what next year will look like. The boys and girls had a range of experiences which included visiting our Inside Out court, going to Flagstaff Gardens at lunchtime and for Physical Education classes and travelling between floors for specialist classes in Music, Art and Computer Science. They were involved in a Science workshop and participated in core subjects such as English, Humanities, Mathematics and Languages.

A brilliant day was had by all, and the excitement continues to build for the 2024 school year.

Young historians

To wrap up their Humanities studies, our Year 5 students embarked on a journey to Melbourne’s Immigration Museum and the Ian Potter Centre at NGV Australia. At the Immigration Museum, students participated in a hands-on workshop and delved into the stories of settlement and migration through a myriad of objects and artifacts.

At NGV Australia, the students went on an artistic exploration of Australia’s past. Through the lenses of visual analysis and storytelling, the boys and girls interacted with the creative expressions of various periods in Australia’s history. This experience brought valuable historical knowledge and helped foster a deeper sense of empathy and understanding for the diverse narratives and identities that have shaped our history.

Dark Matters

On Thursday, 30 November, Year 8 students attended the Dark Matters exhibition at The University of Melbourne’s Science Gallery as part of their Physics studies in Science. The exhibition, presented in conjunction with CERN and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, explores the mysteries of dark matter, the exploration of the unknown in science, and the limits of human imagination.

Students enjoyed the merging of Science and Art as they were presented with artistic interpretations of subatomic particles, four dimensional spacetime, and CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

Haileybury City Science teacher, Caleb Street, presented a special ‘activation’ of a Mystery Box — an interactive experience where students were invited to intuit the contents of an enigmatic black box before a surprising and miraculous reveal.

Caroline Merrick
Head of City

The most fabulous time of the year...

It feels like yesterday that we were starting the 2023 academic year, and here we are at the end! Thankfully, 2023 has seen the return to academic routines post the COVID-19 disruptions which has resulted in academic growth for all students. It has been a truly remarkable year with fabulous camps, artistic and sporting accomplishments and, most importantly, happy students.

Thank you to Caroline Merrick, Robert Johnson and Haileybury City’s wonderful Exec team. It has been a wonderful 12 months for HPF City to work alongside you on HPF City’s mission of fundraising and community engagement.

A big thank you also to Gabe Di Martino and his team who are behind the set up for each event and do all the heavy lifting. Without this team, many events would not happen. Your help and assistance are very much appreciated.

A huge thank you to the extremely dedicated teaching staff who inspire our children to learn every day. We are truly grateful for the work you do with our children each day.

On behalf of HPF City, we wish all our families, students and the Haileybury City staff a wonderful festive season. We hope everyone gets to have a bit of a break, takes some time to focus on family and enjoys our fabulous Australian summer.

Wishing you a lovely Christmas holiday break and a superb start to 2024.

Melissa Fisher
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends City