Campus News
Rendall House Fights MND
Rendall House students, ably supported by their Head of House, Mr Marc Vegter, recently raised over $10,000 for their House charity, Fight MND. Their fundraising efforts included selling Fight MND beanies and socks to students from ELC to Year 12 and a fundraising and MND awareness event on Friday, 9 June that included a teacher ice-bucket challenge and BBQ.
The Fight MND movement has a significant link to the Haileybury community. The Foundation was founded by the late Dr Ian Davis (OH 1995) and in 2011, at the age of 33, Ian was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and died in late 2018. In 2019, Ian was posthumously awarded the Old Haileyburians Association Medal, the Association’s highest honour. As a community, we continue his fight.
Berwick Senior School Winter Festa
The inaugural Berwick Senior School Winter Festa was held at lunchtime on Friday, 2 June. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon and all the Years 9–12 students who attended, organised by the Berwick student leaders, were unanimous that it was a great success.
The Twisted Temptations Food Truck was extremely popular and served close to 200 potato spirals. The BBQ was also a big hit, selling out of sausages in record time. Students and staff were entertained by different music ensembles featuring students from the Middle School and Senior School and the activities on the Main Oval were very popular.
Students wore free dress for the day and the proceeds from their gold coin donation plus the profit from the BBQ raised over $750. This will be equally allocated to the chosen charities supported by Edrington (One-Girl) and Sholto Black (Beyond Blue).
We hope the 2023 student leaders have created a legacy for the future with this initiative becoming an annual event at Berwick.
Haileybury Girls College formal
As we approached the end of a very busy Term 2, it was the turn of Year 12 students at Haileybury Girls College to have their night of glamour and fun. Their formal was held at The Glasshouse in the city — a beautiful venue with the Yarra River on one side and the lights of AAMI Park on the other.
The students were impeccably behaved with the DJ working hard all night as the dancefloor became a way to let go of the stresses of Year 12 and to just enjoy each other’s company. The photobooth also had a steady stream of students taking happy snaps to remember the night.
These nights cannot run smoothly without the enthusiastic participation of the students, the generous support of the Senior School leadership team, and the dedication of the Haileybury Girls College Heads of House.
It was a wonderful night for everyone who attended and a lovely welcome from the Year 12s for our new Deputy Principal, Head of Senior Schools, Dr Nicholas Grigsby.
Katrina Alford and Sam Cavnoudias
Heads of Year 12
Memories of Nepal
From Tuesday, 27 June to Saturday, 15 July, 16 Haileybury students embarked on an 18-day trip to Nepal. Their journey consisted of seven days of trekking through the Annapurna region, and five days of community service at the Nagajuna School in Pokhara.
They were accompanied by Ms Tamsin Visick and Mr Eamonn Johnson, who shared their valuable insight into leadership and resilience throughout the trip.
From Day 4 to Day 10, we completed the Poon Hill trek in the Annapurna region, led by our guide, Birsingh, and his incredible World Expeditions team. This involved navigating impressive mountain views, rushing waterfalls and rural villages and meeting the occasional water buffalo along the way. Despite the adversities we faced in rain, leeches and sickness, we persevered and enjoyed a truly extraordinary experience.
The second section of the trip involved community service at the Nagajuna School in Pokhara, which gives rural children access to quality education. Haileybury has been involved in several projects at the school. During this trip, we painted and organised a library that was funded by the recent initiatives of Haileybury Middle School students.
Our other projects included painting the boys’ and girls’ dormitories and the stairwell and teaching two classes each to the Nagajuna students. There was a wide variety of lessons, such as AFL, bracelet making, reading and art. We created murals for the library and stairwell that featured educational material and Australian iconography.
All 1,700 library books were separated into genres and indexed by hand. On the final day of the community service, the library was formally opened, and students were encouraged to borrow their first library book.
Overall, the experience gave us a sense of purpose and accomplishment and encouraged each of us to reflect on ourselves and our values. A key feature of the trip was the new friendships that we made, with our peers and with the people we met in Nepal.
The Nepal trip supports the Adventurous Journey and Gold Residential Project sections of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, an internationally recognised youth program. All Senior School students are welcome to attend the outdoor experiences offered during Terms 1 and 2 and at end of year term breaks. Trips are advertised through Insight and on the Haileybury Duke of Edinburgh Canvas page — In2Adventure.
If you are interested in completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, please contact Tasmin Visick via email.
Dr Nicholas Grigsby
Deputy Principal
Head of Senior Schools
