CEO | Principal's Report
Results of the 2021 LEAD surveys (Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver) from families and students.
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Results of the 2021 LEAD surveys (Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver) from families and students.
The past two years have thrown extraordinary challenges at everyone in Haileybury’s community of students, families and staff.
It is pleasing therefore to see the strong results of the 2021 LEAD surveys (Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver) from families and students.
The LEAD surveys are conducted by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV). Haileybury has done them on a biennial basis since 2009 and they provide a great benchmark against the independent school sector and also provide excellent data across time.
I am pleased that the Parent Overall Satisfaction rate of 8.98/10 was the equal best achieved in the 12-year history of the surveys and was well above the ISV mean of 8.44. The major factor for this has been the brilliant work of Haileybury teachers and it was a great boost to them to see the Parent Quality of Teaching result at 8.73/10 (ISV mean 8.06).
I was also pleased with the student surveys that showed very strong results. Students from Years 5 to 11 rated Quality of Teaching as 8.60/10 (ISV mean 7.46) and the Year 12 students rated Quality of Teaching as 8.37/10 (ISV mean 7.62).
The graduating Year 12s have had a particularly challenging time working their way through their last two years of school in a way they would not have anticipated as they entered Year 11. I thank them for their strength, support for each other and resilience and I was really delighted that they gave an Overall Satisfaction rating of 8.23/10 (ISV mean 7.72).
I am very appreciative of the high completion rate for parent surveys. There is much for us to learn from our detailed analysis of the data and from your comments. We will take this on board and incorporate it into our improvement planning.
There are many challenges still to be met as we work our way through the rest of this year. The return-to-school roadmap announcement by the Government is very complicated to implement. Of necessity, we will need to keep adjusting things as the regulations change.
We will continue to be as open, timely and transparent in our decision-making and communications as we can be and we appreciate the strong community support.
Derek Scott
CEO | Principal
We are super proud of how our Junior and Middle School students and staff moved so seamlessly as lessons across the timetable swiftly reverted to an online forum. Congratulations and thank you to our Castlefield community that reached out and supported each other and the learning programs we delivered.
Meanwhile, our Early Learning Centre (ELC) students and staff remained onsite, delighting in their new fire pit and the joys of storytelling and connectedness. Marshmallow toasting was certainly a hit on Pyjama Day, too.
Community and social justice are particularly important to the ELC. We spend time valuing our families, connecting with one another as an ELC community, enjoying being part of the whole School and getting out and about in the wider community.
We also support several social justice initiatives—most recently the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) St Kilda Mums and Take 3 for the Sea.
This year, the National Reconciliation Week theme was about taking action. The ELC took action by participating in The Great Book Swap to support the ILF and the Northern Territory’s Binjari community.
Some of the ELC students shared their thoughts on supporting the Binjari community:
“We have 150 schools in Melbourne.”Maddie
Pyjama Day was a highlight and we all excitedly arrived at school in our PJs, dressing gowns and slippers. Families sent in donations of children’s socks and underpants to support St Kilda Mums and the charity’s vision of a future where we share more and care for every baby and child.
Ian Green
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Castlefield
Over the past few weeks, the Gao Kao Senior School and the International Senior School students have participated in some very important lectures given by the police, legal and fire departments of Tianjin and Wuqing.
These lectures are an important part of our external community links within our province and ensure our students have clear direction as they develop key life skills. The lectures focused on real cases and introduced students to some of the dangers they can face and how best to deal with such scenarios. It was pleasing to see our students engage proactively in all the lectures and ask some very intelligent questions.
As is traditional in China, after 26 days of their first school year, Junior School held a Year 1 Initiation Ceremony organised by the Chinese Department, Year 1 teachers and the Calligraphy staff. The main aim of the ceremony was to lead the students onto the path of learning and enlightenment. The students performed a traditional dance and recited a famous education oath.
Under blue skies and with warm weather, the Houses competed in their Athletics and Fun Sport Competition recently. Representatives from each House began the day and started the competition by marching with banners. This was followed by athletics races for boys and girls, however, with extra points on offer for any staff competing, it was great to see each House have several teachers involved in the events. Other events included a power train race, big ball soccer and caterpillar races.
The Chinese Department held an activity to celebrate the philosopher Confucius' birthday anniversary last week. Staff and students joined together to participate in activities such as calligraphy, archery, pitch pot and a knowledge quiz. There was a wonderful atmosphere, much fun was had and many prizes were won by staff and students.
Yanni Galanis
International Principal, HIST
We thank all families for their generosity and kind messages of support to celebrate International Teachers’ Day. Our staff felt incredibly valued by our Haileybury Parents & Friends (HPF) community. It is a privilege to work with your children and young people and they continue to astound us with their resilience and commitment to their own learning in challenging times.
The smiles and kind messages from students and the invisible support from families behind the cameras has been inspiring. We are so grateful to be in partnership with our City families. Our staff returned the appreciation with a beautiful collection of messages to our parents that were uploaded to read over a virtual coffee.
The challenges of lockdowns have meant families interested in learning more about Haileybury City have been doing so online through our Virtual School Tours.
Our City Leadership Team and I showcased our ELC, Junior, Middle and Senior School programs to the many hundreds of people who visited our Online School Tours and also the thousand-plus people who viewed our Haileybury page.
At Haileybury City, we continue to run enrolment interviews on Zoom for families for 2022, 2023 and beyond. If you have friends waiting to see our campus in person, please encourage them to complete an application form so they are on the list and don’t miss out.
I am always delighted to show people around our campus—even virtually, as the view from the rooftop is still just as good!
Children’s interests guide our emergent curriculum in the ELC and, following recent events in Melbourne, our investigations have shifted to natural phenomena, including earthquakes. Discussions have focused on what causes earthquakes and what we can do to keep safe during an earthquake.
Our ELC educators are incredibly skilled in discussing emergency evacuation procedures with children in a calm and age-appropriate way. They have introduced new language to explain procedures for ‘tucking under a table’ or ‘tucking like a turtle’ in the event of an earthquake and you may hear this language coming home.
The ELC children have transitioned well with the change to drop-off and pick-up procedures. There is an element of excitement from children who are now arriving and departing from our Basement and King Street entrances.
Each child’s independence has been highlighted as they pack, prepare and carry their bags to and from the ELC each day. The adaptability and growth seen throughout this year are extraordinary and something we celebrate and recognise each day as we reinforce these important skills.
Each Wednesday from 2.00 to 3.00 pm, students are given agency to carefully select a learning experience from our extensive list of options. From wellbeing and mindfulness activities to growth mindset and communication tasks, our students have a vast array of engaging and meaningful experiences to choose from.
‘Bucket filling’ and ‘Love Your Selfie’, where students drew a self-portrait and added positive hashtags to describe themselves, have been popular. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires allows students to focus on the concept of resilience and identify it in the story.
In another activity, creative minds were unlocked when the children chose and then explored what that key unlocked. Our students are demonstrating their ability to be independent and to build on their creativity each Wednesday afternoon.
We love the Arts at Haileybury City and on Monday in Week 4, Junior School students will be able to excel in one aspect of the Arts while also collaborating as a House. From 2.00 pm on that Monday, students will join their fellow peers in the House groups of Elliot, Main, Na and Newton. Each House will complete a creative task in either Art, Dance, Drama or Music.
The theme for the event will be based on the book Respect by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson. We look forward to our students’ creativity shining throughout the Junior School.
We have many exciting events planned for our students and wider community over the coming months and we are thrilled that many of these will be held face-to-face with our students.
Our Music Ensembles are looking forward to coming together and rehearsing in person in preparation for Speech Night, our young artists are getting their works ready for the upcoming City Exhibition, and all students are looking forward to Sport training and competing once more.
Our Middle School exams are coming up soon. The timetable has now been shared with students and revision material will be released on Monday, 18 October. We encourage our young people to set goals and to work hard on preparing for their Years 7 and 8 examinations.
As recognition of the completion of exams and everyone being back on campus, our Boys and Girls Middle School ‘Nights In’ will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, 9 November. This will be followed by two days of special activities for Years 7 and 8 students to celebrate our Middle School community being together again.
Further information regarding these special Middle School events will be distributed to families on the myHaileybury app.
"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.
Caroline Merrick
Head of City
International Teachers’ Day provided an opportunity for our City parents and carers to show their gratitude to all our wonderful teaching and support staff. Many families took time to express their thanks for the hard work and dedication in providing a positive, engaging and purposeful online education for our children. On behalf of the HPF City, we cannot thank our teachers enough.
We wish all our Year 12 students the very best in the lead-up to their final examinations. Your resilience and determination over the last two years of schooling is inspirational. No doubt this experience has developed your grit and ability to focus on the task at hand and to achieve your best and reach your goals now and in the future, despite external circumstances.
As a token of support, HPF City provided a small gift and card to each Year 12 student on the day of their General Achievement Test (GAT) on Tuesday, 5 October. We hope this brought you some comfort and helped you smile.
The HPF City Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 9 November from 7.30 to 9.00 pm via Zoom. If you would like to get involved as a Social Representative or as a member of the Executive Committee, please get in touch. All details are available via the myHaileybury app. We hope to see you there.
To the 2021 HPF City Executive Team, a very big ‘thank you’ for all your hard work and dedication in bringing our community together, fostering connections and for your thoughtful contributions during a challenging year.
Nina Brooks and Nadine Bissland
Co-Presidents, Haileybury Parents & Friends City
Tuesday, 21 September was the International Day of Peace, a day established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the day as one devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace through observing 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire.
The theme for this year’s International Day of Peace was: Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world. It was accompanied by a powerful message from UN Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres who said:
“We must choose peace. By working in solidarity for a lasting, sustainable peace every day, we can tackle the issues facing us. We need peace to deliver lifesaving vaccines and treatment for COVID-19 urgently. We need peace to recover from the pandemic and rebuild shattered systems and shattered lives. We need peace to level the playing field and reduce inequalities. We need peace to renew trust in one another—and faith in facts and science. And we need to make peace with nature—to heal our planet, build a green economy and achieve our net-zero targets. Peace is not a naïve dream. It's light in the darkness. Guiding us to the only pathways to a better future for humanity. Let's walk the path of peace as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.”
How appropriate then that on International Peace Day, Haileybury Rendall School was fortunate to receive the generous gift of a Peace Pole from Rotary Darwin South. To mark 2021 as the Centenary Year of Rotary in Australia, the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin set a goal to see 100 Peace Poles donated to 100 schools to recognise 100 years of Rotary service in Australia.
Now, more than 250,000 Peace Poles stand in approximately 200 countries around the globe, symbolising the shared wish for a world at peace.
Peace Poles are marked with the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in at least four languages and stand in silent vigil for peace, acting as a reminder for all to think and work in the spirit of peace.
Haileybury Rendall School affirms our commitment to peace locally and globally, especially in our relationship with each other and our community. The important message is written in Larrakia, Indonesian, Mandarin and English languages on the Peace Pole.
Our Junior, Middle and Senior School Captains and our Social Justice Leaders represented the School at the ceremony, with members of Rotary, to install the Peace Pole at the entrance to the School.
It will act as a symbolic reminder of Haileybury Rendall School's strong commitment to the values and ideals of peace.
Andrew McGregor
Principal, Haileybury Rendall School
Edrington has an incredibly strong Science Program and once again we have had remarkable success with the Science Talent Search, which is an annual, science-based competition. The theme this year was Food: Different by Design.
The Science Talent Search results have been released and Haileybury Edrington students gained six Major Bursaries, five Minor Bursaries, seven Distinctions, 20 Merits and two Acknowledgments.
Dhanisha Kumar (Year 5): Games section, entry titled Animalia Antics
Clarence Antonmeryl and Lavanthan Saynthan (Year 8): Inventions section, entry titled Flora Bot AI
Gurnoor Sidhu and Movidu Gannoruwa (Year 8): Experimental Research section, entry titled How do different types of light affect plant growth?
Marley Hinson and Inuki Mannapperuma (Year 6): Experimental Research section, entry titled Sticky Situation
Shivika Kishore (Year 5): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Sustainable Global Food Production
Sanjar Asad (Year 5): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Sustainable Global Food Production.
Shanna Lee and Sanulya Rajakaruna (Year 7): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Cellular Agriculture
Ankush Roy (Year 8): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Food Design: GM Crops
Ashwanth Franklin (Year 6): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Growing Food on Mars
Sunny Yuen and Dhruv Chadha (Year 8): Experimental Design section, entry titled Does Acidity affect Plant Growth?
Sarah Selvanayagam (Year 8): Experimental Design section, entry titled Amazing Amylase.
Congratulations to all students and staff involved in this program—this is an outstanding achievement.
Welcome back to Term 4! In Reception, children have been exploring the Wonderful World of Seeds. Books such as A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds have spurred children’s thinking and curiosity about the shapes, sizes and colors of seeds.
Questions such as ‘why do fruit need seeds? Do all fruits have seeds? Can we eat the seeds from fruit?’ will continue to be investigated by children and educators through meaningful conversations, literature and fruit-cutting experiences.
Simultaneously, children have also been exploring how seeds germinate and grow into flowering plants, focusing on sunflowers in particular. They have been enthusiastically planting a variety of seeds in the Reception planter boxes and veggie patch.
Space exploration has captivated children’s curiosity in Pre-Prep. They have been developing their understanding about astronauts and space suits and are gradually acquiring knowledge about surviving in space and the role a space suit plays in protecting our body from heat and cold while provide astronauts with air to breathe.
The inside of a space shuttle and space food is also currently being investigated by the children. They are becoming aware that the food astronauts eat in space is different from the food they eat at home, but that the principles of healthy eating are the same. The concept of freeze-dried food is a great way for children to understand how nutritional value is preserved but adds a lightweight quality to food that is essential for space travel.
Our Junior School students dressed up as rock stars, played bucket drums, made their own musical instruments and learned a hip hop dance routine during our Online Music Extravaganza. What a fabulous event it was!
What a wonderful time it is in the Middle School as we prepare to see our students return to onsite learning.
We are so proud of how our Middle School students committed themselves to their online learning. They have given their best, displayed persistence, continued to be involved and supported each other through every aspect of the journey.
Years 7 and 8 examinations are approaching from Friday, 5 November to Tuesday, 9 November. Over the coming weeks, staff will work to assist students with how to manage their time, study effectively and prepare for and sit their examinations.
The Middle school Help Desk will be open to students each afternoon during the two weeks leading into the exam period.
Jeanette Rawlings
Head of Edrington (Berwick)
We’re Back!
Hello gorgeous Edrington community!! The sun is out and we are teetering on the edge of TOTAL FREEDOM!
Term 3 was certainly hectic but we made it through with the unwavering support of our teachers! They cooked with us, laughed with us, played dress-ups with us, endured our cats invading the kids’ screens with some very un-ladylike photo angles and felt the highs and the lows with us. For that we are truly grateful. What a crazy ride!
We will all be back on campus soon (HOORAY!) to knock Term 4 out of the park. So, dust off the summer uniforms and get ready to slip, slop, slap.
Stay safe out there!
Kerry Ilic
HPFE President
Starting this week, we are thrilled to have our students onsite for their scheduled days of onsite learning as we follow the roadmap outlined by the Premier of Victoria. It will be wonderful to have the School buzzing with staff and students, as it should be. We commend the whole Middle School community for their work while online.
The Newlands cast of Mary Poppins JR has been on a very different musical journey this year. With the continued uncertainty of COVID-19, the cast moved seamlessly to online weekly rehearsals and practising at home by themselves. They learned new songs, dialogue and choreography with the hope of performing on the Aikman Hall stage.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. Instead, in Term 3 they recorded themselves practising at home and with the magic of editing, we are able to present a montage of these recordings, with a special premiere viewing on Thursday, 21 October at 7:30 pm. You will receive your invitation via the myHaileybury app. So sit back, relax and enjoy.
As we search for ways to engage our students during the extended lockdown period, students in ELC and Year 6 have been excited to visit Zoos Victoria. The organisation is currently offering free digital learning sessions for classrooms.
The ELC children explored sessions such as Nature Play the Wurundjeri Way and Wild Explorers: Australian Animals.
Students in Year 6 learned how animals adapt and evolve in their natural habitat and how to protect endangered species. Such programs are vital in keeping our students connected to the real world at this challenging time.
The Little Corella Reception class are investigating Space—specifically, the children are learning about the ‘Emu in the Sky’ and made their own star poster to help decorate their imaginary rocket ship play area.
The children learned about the Emu in the Sky as a part of their research into Aboriginal Astronomy. According to Aboriginal Dreaming, the emu used to fly and look after the land. It can be tricky to find but is located south of the Southern Cross and in the dark spaces between the stars.
The educators are guided in their discussions by the recently published picture book, Barraeemal Story. This story retells the Dreaming story and is told by N’Arweet Carolyn Briggs, of the Boonwurrung Foundation.
Dennis, Willow, Charlotte, Eva and Zarielle create the Emu in the Sky for their imaginary space play area
Children’s Week is celebrated nationally from 23 to 31 October, 2021 and this year’s theme is based on Article 15 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This states that ‘Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others’.
At the ELC, the children are actively encouraged to discuss the rights of children and their role as advocates and active citizens of the community in which they live. During Children’s Week, the children will participate in a Teddy Bears Picnic to celebrate their class community.
Next month, Year 4 students will participate in the Living and Growing Program. This age-appropriate program will be held within normal class time during three 60-minute sessions. It will be facilitated via Zoom by a presenter from Sex Education Australia (SEA).
Year 4 parents are welcome to attend an information evening webinar with a SEA presenter on Thursday, 28 October from 7.00 – 8.00 pm. The event will describe topics covered in the program and there will be opportunities for questions and discussion.
The Junior School teachers and students have a daily focus on health and wellbeing. We are taking part in many exciting tasks such as cooking, yoga, meditation, positive storybooks, music and dancing! These fun tasks ensure we remain in a positive headspace by dedicating time each day to find joy.
Lockdown has created windows of opportunity for the boys in Class 8.5 during their Thrive in Action weekly cooking classes. This began with Mr Mark Reed choosing and filming his recipes. The boys organised ingredients at the start of the week and then were coached by Mr Reed and Mr Dominco Scardamaglia with special guest commentary provided by expert chef Mr Mark Harrop.
The challenge was then put to the boys to nominate a class member to choose a recipe, film their creation and run the session each Friday. So far, we have had James Cosentino’s special family lasagne, Archer Harrop’s fettuccine carbonara and we are looking forward to Lenny Saville's mushroom risotto.
Helping with family meals and picking up new culinary skills has created budding chefs while emphasising the importance of healthy eating.
Congratulations to Lucas Fennessy, Julian Rowse, Cyrus Vasuthan, Om Gupta, Adithya Naron and Jayden Jeyaweerasingham on their project for the Maths Talent Quest Competition. This competition is a national competition where students are encouraged to investigate mathematical concepts and relate maths to everyday life.
The group decided to explore the concept of teleporting a piece of cake into your mouth! They explored quantum mechanics and probability in their project and produced a fantastic report on their research and investigation. Their project was selected to represent Victoria for year 8 at the National competition. This is an outstanding achievement, congratulations boys.
Congratulations to Chelsea Armstrong (Year 7) for claiming second place in the National Schoolaerobics competition. Not only is this an outstanding accomplishment in its own right, Chelsea entered the competition remotely while in lockdown.
Well done, Chelsea! We are all very proud of you.
Jane Gibbs
Head of Newlands (Keysborough)
Please join us for the HPFK Term 4 Meeting on Thursday, 28 October at 7.00 pm. Communication regarding the Zoom meeting details will be sent in advance via myHaileybury.
We are finally on Instagram! Please search for haileybury_hpfk and follow us. Our first 100 members will be entered into a draw to win a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
If you would like to connect with our Facebook community, please join our Facebook page by clicking on this link:
If you have any queries, or would like to contact the HPFK, please email HPFK@haileybury.vic.edu.au.
Lenice Norris
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Keysborough
I hope that the time away from classes has been an opportunity for our students to get some well-earned rest and to spend some time on examination preparation.
Revision sessions have been running online throughout the holidays and were planned to cater for individual students’ needs to revise and have some time away from screens.
For our Year 12 students, the last few days of school are often filled with mixed emotions. The feelings of excitement at beginning life away from school have to be contained by a strong commitment to finishing the year well and preparing for examinations.
All staff have only positive things to say about the way our Year 12s have persevered during the past two years. They have earned the admiration of all who have worked with them.
My best wishes to you all and sincere thanks for your support during these challenging times.
Congratulations to the following students who recently competed in the Oral Berthe Mouchette Competition run by the Alliance Française.
First Prize—Oral Exam Year 11—Arnav Chauhan (Year 11, Keysborough)
Special mention from the assessors—Marina Malak (Year 11, Berwick) and Victoria Paitaridis (Year 11, Keysborough)
The French team are over the moon.
Campion Booklists are now open to review and purchase through myHaileybury. Booklists for students in Years 9 to 12 are due in by Wednesday, 27 October if Term 1A delivery is required. Orders can be made after this date, however, delivery will be made after the commencement of Term 1A.
Congratulations to Tiffany Smith (Year 12, Keysborough) and Chiara Maiorino (Year 12, Berwick) who have completed the Gold Level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DoE) Award.
Tiffany and Chiara have been challenged in completing the award during the COVID-19 pandemic and they have progressively worked through each element. Completing the award is a big achievement for both of them. Tiffany was also our 2021 DoE Ambassador and has clearly led by example!
It was great to see so many students doing VCE trial exams at our City campus.
Pam Chamberlain
Senior Vice-Principal (Student Welfare) and Head of Senior Schools
The preparation for the performance examinations has been very pleasing and proceeding to plan. We have had sufficient access to school facilities and each class has been able to rehearse in relative isolation.
Our students have worked extremely hard and the rewards are coming in Examination Week. We were lucky enough to have the Drama and Theatre Studies classes present to each other in a genuine dress rehearsal.
It has been invaluable having three Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) assessors on staff to judge and refine the students’ presentations and I am sure the performers have all felt supported throughout this challenging time.
Stewart Bell
Director of Performing Arts
In the past week, the majority of our VCE Music students completed their final performance examinations for 2021. For most students, this was a 25-minute recital presented to a panel of external Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) assessors.
The exams represent a significant highpoint in the musical journey of these elite students, most of whom began instrumental lessons at Haileybury in Junior School. Across their developmental journey, these students will have likely received 300 instrumental lessons and attended over 500 ensemble rehearsals.
Despite COVID-19 and the past two years, they will have performed to thousands of people at more than 100 concerts.
Like most long-term pursuits, the journey will not have always been a smooth one. Students may have felt like quitting or that they were incapable of improvement. At times, they will have seen others enjoy more success than themselves. However, they have lasted the journey and are now accomplished artists!
This year, like every year, we have had a very diverse range of instrumental and stylistic disciplines within the VCE Music cohort. The 2021 cohort includes violin, contemporary voice, piano, electric bass, acoustic bass, drumkit, classical guitar, electric guitar, French horn, oboe, bassoon and saxophone.
The 2021 cohort has inspired our Music staff. As a group, they have shown a remarkable level of determination to push through the barriers faced by musicians across the world.
Thank you and good luck with the rest of your exams, class of 2021.
Stephanie Zhai (Year 12) has worked diligently all year to improve her technical ability on the violin. Her development has been nothing short of outstanding. I know the String Department is very proud of what Steph has been able to achieve in lockdown. Innovative strategies to facilitate online rehearsals together ensured the ensemble built a cohesion greater than anticipated.
Rehearsal - Stephanie Zhai
At Haileybury, we also have students who enrol as VCE solo performers. Fraser Elvins (Year 12) completed his solo drumkit exam during the past weekend. Focusing on contemporary rock styles, Fraser’s limb independence is simply astonishing; at times he simultaneously performs groupings of five, seven and four! This repertoire, which is sometimes referred to as ‘math rock’, features highly complicated rhythmic groupings in place of the traditional patterns used by more conventional rock drummers.
The final rehearsal link features another solo performer, Xavier Browne (Year 12). In completing Music Investigation, Xavier undertook a year of performance research examining the delivery of vocal characters set within a program of contemporary music theatre. Xavier worked extremely hard, largely rehearsing with recordings of his piano accompaniment in place of the face-to-face sessions typically required for this repertoire.
Rehearsal - Xavier Browne
Rod Marshall
Head of Haileybury Music
Year 7 Art students have made the most of learning off-site, taking an opportunity to work with unconventional materials to create temporary outdoor sculptures inspired by British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.
Following the art process to support their creativity, students identified patterns and shapes in nature while planning and problem solving to refine their ideas and to experience mindfulness while creating.
“You see art in nature everywhere. From trees, to bird nests, to the sticks on the ground, to rocks, to waterfalls—nature always creates its own art. Some of this art can be found right under our very own noses! This task has made me think of the world in a different way because now, everywhere in the world, I can see a sort of art.”ISAAC HOYNE (YEAR 7)
Karl Sebire
Head of Creative Industries
On at least two occasions during the year, Haileybury Foundation Scholarship students have the opportunity to document their appreciation for the individual donor, or group of donors, that support their scholarship.
This provides students with the chance to appreciate and document their life-changing experiences while providing our donors with an opportunity to see firsthand the impact of their generosity on a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Haileybury.
Hannah Chard (Year 8, City) is the beneficiary of the Class of ’88 Scholarship, provided by the close-knit class of 1988. Hannah is incredibly appreciative of the opportunities she has been provided and is always proactive in communicating with her benefactors.
Hannah has made the most of her Haileybury education and is involved in myriad activities including Debating, Leadership, the Model UN Conference and Dance.
In her latest report to her benefactors, she spoke glowingly of her second semester at school, despite being in lockdown for the greater majority of it. She wrote:
“Thank you for another wonderful term at Haileybury. Every term I learn so much, enjoy learning and especially can’t imagine what two years spending so much time at home would have been like had I not had the Haileybury community supporting me. Thank you again for your generosity and kindness.”
Donations to Haileybury Foundation continue to stream in. Our students are incredibly fortunate to be in receipt of such a high-quality education that would otherwise be out of their reach.
All gifts to Haileybury Foundation are tax deductible. Our donors are having enormous impact and we have been delighted with the involvement of our community–from past parents, alumni and staff to current parents and former staff.
Donations can be made at https://www.haileybury.com.au/giving.
Thank you.
The Haileybury Foundation is now on socials...to keep updated on Foundation activities, please follow us at:
Your Foundation Team
The latest edition of Bite News is now online and covers important updates on all OHA events, the exciting launch of Podcast 2 and a celebration of the OHA and the AFL Grand Final.
Hayley Denny
Development & Alumni Manager
During September, our Years 5 and 6, Years 7 and 8 and Senior School Dance teams have competed in the TFT Dancestar Nationals as part of an online competition. Qualifiers were asked to submit footage of themselves for judging and sections were streamed each night with results announced at the end of each week.
The Haileybury teams competed against many schools and dance schools from around Australia and achieved some of the best results Haileybury has seen at Nationals to date. This is a testament to the hard work, time, effort, passion and dedication of our amazing students.
Of the nine teams and one duo who competed at Nationals, seven achieved medals. Special mention to:
Congratulations to all our dancers.
We are super proud of your amazing results and look forward to being back on the Gold Coast for the Nationals in 2022!
Sean Allcock
Director of Haileybury Sport
Online news from Haileybury
The past two years have thrown extraordinary challenges at everyone in Haileybury’s community of students, families and staff.
It is pleasing therefore to see the strong results of the 2021 LEAD surveys (Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver) from families and students.
The LEAD surveys are conducted by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV). Haileybury has done them on a biennial basis since 2009 and they provide a great benchmark against the independent school sector and also provide excellent data across time.
I am pleased that the Parent Overall Satisfaction rate of 8.98/10 was the equal best achieved in the 12-year history of the surveys and was well above the ISV mean of 8.44. The major factor for this has been the brilliant work of Haileybury teachers and it was a great boost to them to see the Parent Quality of Teaching result at 8.73/10 (ISV mean 8.06).
I was also pleased with the student surveys that showed very strong results. Students from Years 5 to 11 rated Quality of Teaching as 8.60/10 (ISV mean 7.46) and the Year 12 students rated Quality of Teaching as 8.37/10 (ISV mean 7.62).
The graduating Year 12s have had a particularly challenging time working their way through their last two years of school in a way they would not have anticipated as they entered Year 11. I thank them for their strength, support for each other and resilience and I was really delighted that they gave an Overall Satisfaction rating of 8.23/10 (ISV mean 7.72).
I am very appreciative of the high completion rate for parent surveys. There is much for us to learn from our detailed analysis of the data and from your comments. We will take this on board and incorporate it into our improvement planning.
There are many challenges still to be met as we work our way through the rest of this year. The return-to-school roadmap announcement by the Government is very complicated to implement. Of necessity, we will need to keep adjusting things as the regulations change.
We will continue to be as open, timely and transparent in our decision-making and communications as we can be and we appreciate the strong community support.
Derek Scott
CEO | Principal
We are super proud of how our Junior and Middle School students and staff moved so seamlessly as lessons across the timetable swiftly reverted to an online forum. Congratulations and thank you to our Castlefield community that reached out and supported each other and the learning programs we delivered.
Meanwhile, our Early Learning Centre (ELC) students and staff remained onsite, delighting in their new fire pit and the joys of storytelling and connectedness. Marshmallow toasting was certainly a hit on Pyjama Day, too.
Community and social justice are particularly important to the ELC. We spend time valuing our families, connecting with one another as an ELC community, enjoying being part of the whole School and getting out and about in the wider community.
We also support several social justice initiatives—most recently the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) St Kilda Mums and Take 3 for the Sea.
This year, the National Reconciliation Week theme was about taking action. The ELC took action by participating in The Great Book Swap to support the ILF and the Northern Territory’s Binjari community.
Some of the ELC students shared their thoughts on supporting the Binjari community:
“We have 150 schools in Melbourne.”Maddie
Pyjama Day was a highlight and we all excitedly arrived at school in our PJs, dressing gowns and slippers. Families sent in donations of children’s socks and underpants to support St Kilda Mums and the charity’s vision of a future where we share more and care for every baby and child.
Ian Green
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Castlefield
Over the past few weeks, the Gao Kao Senior School and the International Senior School students have participated in some very important lectures given by the police, legal and fire departments of Tianjin and Wuqing.
These lectures are an important part of our external community links within our province and ensure our students have clear direction as they develop key life skills. The lectures focused on real cases and introduced students to some of the dangers they can face and how best to deal with such scenarios. It was pleasing to see our students engage proactively in all the lectures and ask some very intelligent questions.
As is traditional in China, after 26 days of their first school year, Junior School held a Year 1 Initiation Ceremony organised by the Chinese Department, Year 1 teachers and the Calligraphy staff. The main aim of the ceremony was to lead the students onto the path of learning and enlightenment. The students performed a traditional dance and recited a famous education oath.
Under blue skies and with warm weather, the Houses competed in their Athletics and Fun Sport Competition recently. Representatives from each House began the day and started the competition by marching with banners. This was followed by athletics races for boys and girls, however, with extra points on offer for any staff competing, it was great to see each House have several teachers involved in the events. Other events included a power train race, big ball soccer and caterpillar races.
The Chinese Department held an activity to celebrate the philosopher Confucius' birthday anniversary last week. Staff and students joined together to participate in activities such as calligraphy, archery, pitch pot and a knowledge quiz. There was a wonderful atmosphere, much fun was had and many prizes were won by staff and students.
Yanni Galanis
International Principal, HIST
We thank all families for their generosity and kind messages of support to celebrate International Teachers’ Day. Our staff felt incredibly valued by our Haileybury Parents & Friends (HPF) community. It is a privilege to work with your children and young people and they continue to astound us with their resilience and commitment to their own learning in challenging times.
The smiles and kind messages from students and the invisible support from families behind the cameras has been inspiring. We are so grateful to be in partnership with our City families. Our staff returned the appreciation with a beautiful collection of messages to our parents that were uploaded to read over a virtual coffee.
The challenges of lockdowns have meant families interested in learning more about Haileybury City have been doing so online through our Virtual School Tours.
Our City Leadership Team and I showcased our ELC, Junior, Middle and Senior School programs to the many hundreds of people who visited our Online School Tours and also the thousand-plus people who viewed our Haileybury page.
At Haileybury City, we continue to run enrolment interviews on Zoom for families for 2022, 2023 and beyond. If you have friends waiting to see our campus in person, please encourage them to complete an application form so they are on the list and don’t miss out.
I am always delighted to show people around our campus—even virtually, as the view from the rooftop is still just as good!
Children’s interests guide our emergent curriculum in the ELC and, following recent events in Melbourne, our investigations have shifted to natural phenomena, including earthquakes. Discussions have focused on what causes earthquakes and what we can do to keep safe during an earthquake.
Our ELC educators are incredibly skilled in discussing emergency evacuation procedures with children in a calm and age-appropriate way. They have introduced new language to explain procedures for ‘tucking under a table’ or ‘tucking like a turtle’ in the event of an earthquake and you may hear this language coming home.
The ELC children have transitioned well with the change to drop-off and pick-up procedures. There is an element of excitement from children who are now arriving and departing from our Basement and King Street entrances.
Each child’s independence has been highlighted as they pack, prepare and carry their bags to and from the ELC each day. The adaptability and growth seen throughout this year are extraordinary and something we celebrate and recognise each day as we reinforce these important skills.
Each Wednesday from 2.00 to 3.00 pm, students are given agency to carefully select a learning experience from our extensive list of options. From wellbeing and mindfulness activities to growth mindset and communication tasks, our students have a vast array of engaging and meaningful experiences to choose from.
‘Bucket filling’ and ‘Love Your Selfie’, where students drew a self-portrait and added positive hashtags to describe themselves, have been popular. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires allows students to focus on the concept of resilience and identify it in the story.
In another activity, creative minds were unlocked when the children chose and then explored what that key unlocked. Our students are demonstrating their ability to be independent and to build on their creativity each Wednesday afternoon.
We love the Arts at Haileybury City and on Monday in Week 4, Junior School students will be able to excel in one aspect of the Arts while also collaborating as a House. From 2.00 pm on that Monday, students will join their fellow peers in the House groups of Elliot, Main, Na and Newton. Each House will complete a creative task in either Art, Dance, Drama or Music.
The theme for the event will be based on the book Respect by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson. We look forward to our students’ creativity shining throughout the Junior School.
We have many exciting events planned for our students and wider community over the coming months and we are thrilled that many of these will be held face-to-face with our students.
Our Music Ensembles are looking forward to coming together and rehearsing in person in preparation for Speech Night, our young artists are getting their works ready for the upcoming City Exhibition, and all students are looking forward to Sport training and competing once more.
Our Middle School exams are coming up soon. The timetable has now been shared with students and revision material will be released on Monday, 18 October. We encourage our young people to set goals and to work hard on preparing for their Years 7 and 8 examinations.
As recognition of the completion of exams and everyone being back on campus, our Boys and Girls Middle School ‘Nights In’ will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, 9 November. This will be followed by two days of special activities for Years 7 and 8 students to celebrate our Middle School community being together again.
Further information regarding these special Middle School events will be distributed to families on the myHaileybury app.
"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.
Caroline Merrick
Head of City
International Teachers’ Day provided an opportunity for our City parents and carers to show their gratitude to all our wonderful teaching and support staff. Many families took time to express their thanks for the hard work and dedication in providing a positive, engaging and purposeful online education for our children. On behalf of the HPF City, we cannot thank our teachers enough.
We wish all our Year 12 students the very best in the lead-up to their final examinations. Your resilience and determination over the last two years of schooling is inspirational. No doubt this experience has developed your grit and ability to focus on the task at hand and to achieve your best and reach your goals now and in the future, despite external circumstances.
As a token of support, HPF City provided a small gift and card to each Year 12 student on the day of their General Achievement Test (GAT) on Tuesday, 5 October. We hope this brought you some comfort and helped you smile.
The HPF City Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 9 November from 7.30 to 9.00 pm via Zoom. If you would like to get involved as a Social Representative or as a member of the Executive Committee, please get in touch. All details are available via the myHaileybury app. We hope to see you there.
To the 2021 HPF City Executive Team, a very big ‘thank you’ for all your hard work and dedication in bringing our community together, fostering connections and for your thoughtful contributions during a challenging year.
Nina Brooks and Nadine Bissland
Co-Presidents, Haileybury Parents & Friends City
Tuesday, 21 September was the International Day of Peace, a day established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the day as one devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace through observing 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire.
The theme for this year’s International Day of Peace was: Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world. It was accompanied by a powerful message from UN Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres who said:
“We must choose peace. By working in solidarity for a lasting, sustainable peace every day, we can tackle the issues facing us. We need peace to deliver lifesaving vaccines and treatment for COVID-19 urgently. We need peace to recover from the pandemic and rebuild shattered systems and shattered lives. We need peace to level the playing field and reduce inequalities. We need peace to renew trust in one another—and faith in facts and science. And we need to make peace with nature—to heal our planet, build a green economy and achieve our net-zero targets. Peace is not a naïve dream. It's light in the darkness. Guiding us to the only pathways to a better future for humanity. Let's walk the path of peace as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.”
How appropriate then that on International Peace Day, Haileybury Rendall School was fortunate to receive the generous gift of a Peace Pole from Rotary Darwin South. To mark 2021 as the Centenary Year of Rotary in Australia, the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin set a goal to see 100 Peace Poles donated to 100 schools to recognise 100 years of Rotary service in Australia.
Now, more than 250,000 Peace Poles stand in approximately 200 countries around the globe, symbolising the shared wish for a world at peace.
Peace Poles are marked with the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in at least four languages and stand in silent vigil for peace, acting as a reminder for all to think and work in the spirit of peace.
Haileybury Rendall School affirms our commitment to peace locally and globally, especially in our relationship with each other and our community. The important message is written in Larrakia, Indonesian, Mandarin and English languages on the Peace Pole.
Our Junior, Middle and Senior School Captains and our Social Justice Leaders represented the School at the ceremony, with members of Rotary, to install the Peace Pole at the entrance to the School.
It will act as a symbolic reminder of Haileybury Rendall School's strong commitment to the values and ideals of peace.
Andrew McGregor
Principal, Haileybury Rendall School
Edrington has an incredibly strong Science Program and once again we have had remarkable success with the Science Talent Search, which is an annual, science-based competition. The theme this year was Food: Different by Design.
The Science Talent Search results have been released and Haileybury Edrington students gained six Major Bursaries, five Minor Bursaries, seven Distinctions, 20 Merits and two Acknowledgments.
Dhanisha Kumar (Year 5): Games section, entry titled Animalia Antics
Clarence Antonmeryl and Lavanthan Saynthan (Year 8): Inventions section, entry titled Flora Bot AI
Gurnoor Sidhu and Movidu Gannoruwa (Year 8): Experimental Research section, entry titled How do different types of light affect plant growth?
Marley Hinson and Inuki Mannapperuma (Year 6): Experimental Research section, entry titled Sticky Situation
Shivika Kishore (Year 5): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Sustainable Global Food Production
Sanjar Asad (Year 5): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Sustainable Global Food Production.
Shanna Lee and Sanulya Rajakaruna (Year 7): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Cellular Agriculture
Ankush Roy (Year 8): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Food Design: GM Crops
Ashwanth Franklin (Year 6): Scientific Wall Chart section, entry titled Growing Food on Mars
Sunny Yuen and Dhruv Chadha (Year 8): Experimental Design section, entry titled Does Acidity affect Plant Growth?
Sarah Selvanayagam (Year 8): Experimental Design section, entry titled Amazing Amylase.
Congratulations to all students and staff involved in this program—this is an outstanding achievement.
Welcome back to Term 4! In Reception, children have been exploring the Wonderful World of Seeds. Books such as A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds have spurred children’s thinking and curiosity about the shapes, sizes and colors of seeds.
Questions such as ‘why do fruit need seeds? Do all fruits have seeds? Can we eat the seeds from fruit?’ will continue to be investigated by children and educators through meaningful conversations, literature and fruit-cutting experiences.
Simultaneously, children have also been exploring how seeds germinate and grow into flowering plants, focusing on sunflowers in particular. They have been enthusiastically planting a variety of seeds in the Reception planter boxes and veggie patch.
Space exploration has captivated children’s curiosity in Pre-Prep. They have been developing their understanding about astronauts and space suits and are gradually acquiring knowledge about surviving in space and the role a space suit plays in protecting our body from heat and cold while provide astronauts with air to breathe.
The inside of a space shuttle and space food is also currently being investigated by the children. They are becoming aware that the food astronauts eat in space is different from the food they eat at home, but that the principles of healthy eating are the same. The concept of freeze-dried food is a great way for children to understand how nutritional value is preserved but adds a lightweight quality to food that is essential for space travel.
Our Junior School students dressed up as rock stars, played bucket drums, made their own musical instruments and learned a hip hop dance routine during our Online Music Extravaganza. What a fabulous event it was!
What a wonderful time it is in the Middle School as we prepare to see our students return to onsite learning.
We are so proud of how our Middle School students committed themselves to their online learning. They have given their best, displayed persistence, continued to be involved and supported each other through every aspect of the journey.
Years 7 and 8 examinations are approaching from Friday, 5 November to Tuesday, 9 November. Over the coming weeks, staff will work to assist students with how to manage their time, study effectively and prepare for and sit their examinations.
The Middle school Help Desk will be open to students each afternoon during the two weeks leading into the exam period.
Jeanette Rawlings
Head of Edrington (Berwick)
We’re Back!
Hello gorgeous Edrington community!! The sun is out and we are teetering on the edge of TOTAL FREEDOM!
Term 3 was certainly hectic but we made it through with the unwavering support of our teachers! They cooked with us, laughed with us, played dress-ups with us, endured our cats invading the kids’ screens with some very un-ladylike photo angles and felt the highs and the lows with us. For that we are truly grateful. What a crazy ride!
We will all be back on campus soon (HOORAY!) to knock Term 4 out of the park. So, dust off the summer uniforms and get ready to slip, slop, slap.
Stay safe out there!
Kerry Ilic
HPFE President
Starting this week, we are thrilled to have our students onsite for their scheduled days of onsite learning as we follow the roadmap outlined by the Premier of Victoria. It will be wonderful to have the School buzzing with staff and students, as it should be. We commend the whole Middle School community for their work while online.
The Newlands cast of Mary Poppins JR has been on a very different musical journey this year. With the continued uncertainty of COVID-19, the cast moved seamlessly to online weekly rehearsals and practising at home by themselves. They learned new songs, dialogue and choreography with the hope of performing on the Aikman Hall stage.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. Instead, in Term 3 they recorded themselves practising at home and with the magic of editing, we are able to present a montage of these recordings, with a special premiere viewing on Thursday, 21 October at 7:30 pm. You will receive your invitation via the myHaileybury app. So sit back, relax and enjoy.
As we search for ways to engage our students during the extended lockdown period, students in ELC and Year 6 have been excited to visit Zoos Victoria. The organisation is currently offering free digital learning sessions for classrooms.
The ELC children explored sessions such as Nature Play the Wurundjeri Way and Wild Explorers: Australian Animals.
Students in Year 6 learned how animals adapt and evolve in their natural habitat and how to protect endangered species. Such programs are vital in keeping our students connected to the real world at this challenging time.
The Little Corella Reception class are investigating Space—specifically, the children are learning about the ‘Emu in the Sky’ and made their own star poster to help decorate their imaginary rocket ship play area.
The children learned about the Emu in the Sky as a part of their research into Aboriginal Astronomy. According to Aboriginal Dreaming, the emu used to fly and look after the land. It can be tricky to find but is located south of the Southern Cross and in the dark spaces between the stars.
The educators are guided in their discussions by the recently published picture book, Barraeemal Story. This story retells the Dreaming story and is told by N’Arweet Carolyn Briggs, of the Boonwurrung Foundation.
Dennis, Willow, Charlotte, Eva and Zarielle create the Emu in the Sky for their imaginary space play area
Children’s Week is celebrated nationally from 23 to 31 October, 2021 and this year’s theme is based on Article 15 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This states that ‘Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others’.
At the ELC, the children are actively encouraged to discuss the rights of children and their role as advocates and active citizens of the community in which they live. During Children’s Week, the children will participate in a Teddy Bears Picnic to celebrate their class community.
Next month, Year 4 students will participate in the Living and Growing Program. This age-appropriate program will be held within normal class time during three 60-minute sessions. It will be facilitated via Zoom by a presenter from Sex Education Australia (SEA).
Year 4 parents are welcome to attend an information evening webinar with a SEA presenter on Thursday, 28 October from 7.00 – 8.00 pm. The event will describe topics covered in the program and there will be opportunities for questions and discussion.
The Junior School teachers and students have a daily focus on health and wellbeing. We are taking part in many exciting tasks such as cooking, yoga, meditation, positive storybooks, music and dancing! These fun tasks ensure we remain in a positive headspace by dedicating time each day to find joy.
Lockdown has created windows of opportunity for the boys in Class 8.5 during their Thrive in Action weekly cooking classes. This began with Mr Mark Reed choosing and filming his recipes. The boys organised ingredients at the start of the week and then were coached by Mr Reed and Mr Dominco Scardamaglia with special guest commentary provided by expert chef Mr Mark Harrop.
The challenge was then put to the boys to nominate a class member to choose a recipe, film their creation and run the session each Friday. So far, we have had James Cosentino’s special family lasagne, Archer Harrop’s fettuccine carbonara and we are looking forward to Lenny Saville's mushroom risotto.
Helping with family meals and picking up new culinary skills has created budding chefs while emphasising the importance of healthy eating.
Congratulations to Lucas Fennessy, Julian Rowse, Cyrus Vasuthan, Om Gupta, Adithya Naron and Jayden Jeyaweerasingham on their project for the Maths Talent Quest Competition. This competition is a national competition where students are encouraged to investigate mathematical concepts and relate maths to everyday life.
The group decided to explore the concept of teleporting a piece of cake into your mouth! They explored quantum mechanics and probability in their project and produced a fantastic report on their research and investigation. Their project was selected to represent Victoria for year 8 at the National competition. This is an outstanding achievement, congratulations boys.
Congratulations to Chelsea Armstrong (Year 7) for claiming second place in the National Schoolaerobics competition. Not only is this an outstanding accomplishment in its own right, Chelsea entered the competition remotely while in lockdown.
Well done, Chelsea! We are all very proud of you.
Jane Gibbs
Head of Newlands (Keysborough)
Please join us for the HPFK Term 4 Meeting on Thursday, 28 October at 7.00 pm. Communication regarding the Zoom meeting details will be sent in advance via myHaileybury.
We are finally on Instagram! Please search for haileybury_hpfk and follow us. Our first 100 members will be entered into a draw to win a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
If you would like to connect with our Facebook community, please join our Facebook page by clicking on this link:
If you have any queries, or would like to contact the HPFK, please email HPFK@haileybury.vic.edu.au.
Lenice Norris
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Keysborough
I hope that the time away from classes has been an opportunity for our students to get some well-earned rest and to spend some time on examination preparation.
Revision sessions have been running online throughout the holidays and were planned to cater for individual students’ needs to revise and have some time away from screens.
For our Year 12 students, the last few days of school are often filled with mixed emotions. The feelings of excitement at beginning life away from school have to be contained by a strong commitment to finishing the year well and preparing for examinations.
All staff have only positive things to say about the way our Year 12s have persevered during the past two years. They have earned the admiration of all who have worked with them.
My best wishes to you all and sincere thanks for your support during these challenging times.
Congratulations to the following students who recently competed in the Oral Berthe Mouchette Competition run by the Alliance Française.
First Prize—Oral Exam Year 11—Arnav Chauhan (Year 11, Keysborough)
Special mention from the assessors—Marina Malak (Year 11, Berwick) and Victoria Paitaridis (Year 11, Keysborough)
The French team are over the moon.
Campion Booklists are now open to review and purchase through myHaileybury. Booklists for students in Years 9 to 12 are due in by Wednesday, 27 October if Term 1A delivery is required. Orders can be made after this date, however, delivery will be made after the commencement of Term 1A.
Congratulations to Tiffany Smith (Year 12, Keysborough) and Chiara Maiorino (Year 12, Berwick) who have completed the Gold Level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DoE) Award.
Tiffany and Chiara have been challenged in completing the award during the COVID-19 pandemic and they have progressively worked through each element. Completing the award is a big achievement for both of them. Tiffany was also our 2021 DoE Ambassador and has clearly led by example!
It was great to see so many students doing VCE trial exams at our City campus.
Pam Chamberlain
Senior Vice-Principal (Student Welfare) and Head of Senior Schools
The preparation for the performance examinations has been very pleasing and proceeding to plan. We have had sufficient access to school facilities and each class has been able to rehearse in relative isolation.
Our students have worked extremely hard and the rewards are coming in Examination Week. We were lucky enough to have the Drama and Theatre Studies classes present to each other in a genuine dress rehearsal.
It has been invaluable having three Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) assessors on staff to judge and refine the students’ presentations and I am sure the performers have all felt supported throughout this challenging time.
Stewart Bell
Director of Performing Arts
In the past week, the majority of our VCE Music students completed their final performance examinations for 2021. For most students, this was a 25-minute recital presented to a panel of external Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) assessors.
The exams represent a significant highpoint in the musical journey of these elite students, most of whom began instrumental lessons at Haileybury in Junior School. Across their developmental journey, these students will have likely received 300 instrumental lessons and attended over 500 ensemble rehearsals.
Despite COVID-19 and the past two years, they will have performed to thousands of people at more than 100 concerts.
Like most long-term pursuits, the journey will not have always been a smooth one. Students may have felt like quitting or that they were incapable of improvement. At times, they will have seen others enjoy more success than themselves. However, they have lasted the journey and are now accomplished artists!
This year, like every year, we have had a very diverse range of instrumental and stylistic disciplines within the VCE Music cohort. The 2021 cohort includes violin, contemporary voice, piano, electric bass, acoustic bass, drumkit, classical guitar, electric guitar, French horn, oboe, bassoon and saxophone.
The 2021 cohort has inspired our Music staff. As a group, they have shown a remarkable level of determination to push through the barriers faced by musicians across the world.
Thank you and good luck with the rest of your exams, class of 2021.
Stephanie Zhai (Year 12) has worked diligently all year to improve her technical ability on the violin. Her development has been nothing short of outstanding. I know the String Department is very proud of what Steph has been able to achieve in lockdown. Innovative strategies to facilitate online rehearsals together ensured the ensemble built a cohesion greater than anticipated.
Rehearsal - Stephanie Zhai
At Haileybury, we also have students who enrol as VCE solo performers. Fraser Elvins (Year 12) completed his solo drumkit exam during the past weekend. Focusing on contemporary rock styles, Fraser’s limb independence is simply astonishing; at times he simultaneously performs groupings of five, seven and four! This repertoire, which is sometimes referred to as ‘math rock’, features highly complicated rhythmic groupings in place of the traditional patterns used by more conventional rock drummers.
The final rehearsal link features another solo performer, Xavier Browne (Year 12). In completing Music Investigation, Xavier undertook a year of performance research examining the delivery of vocal characters set within a program of contemporary music theatre. Xavier worked extremely hard, largely rehearsing with recordings of his piano accompaniment in place of the face-to-face sessions typically required for this repertoire.
Rehearsal - Xavier Browne
Rod Marshall
Head of Haileybury Music
Year 7 Art students have made the most of learning off-site, taking an opportunity to work with unconventional materials to create temporary outdoor sculptures inspired by British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.
Following the art process to support their creativity, students identified patterns and shapes in nature while planning and problem solving to refine their ideas and to experience mindfulness while creating.
“You see art in nature everywhere. From trees, to bird nests, to the sticks on the ground, to rocks, to waterfalls—nature always creates its own art. Some of this art can be found right under our very own noses! This task has made me think of the world in a different way because now, everywhere in the world, I can see a sort of art.”ISAAC HOYNE (YEAR 7)
Karl Sebire
Head of Creative Industries
On at least two occasions during the year, Haileybury Foundation Scholarship students have the opportunity to document their appreciation for the individual donor, or group of donors, that support their scholarship.
This provides students with the chance to appreciate and document their life-changing experiences while providing our donors with an opportunity to see firsthand the impact of their generosity on a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Haileybury.
Hannah Chard (Year 8, City) is the beneficiary of the Class of ’88 Scholarship, provided by the close-knit class of 1988. Hannah is incredibly appreciative of the opportunities she has been provided and is always proactive in communicating with her benefactors.
Hannah has made the most of her Haileybury education and is involved in myriad activities including Debating, Leadership, the Model UN Conference and Dance.
In her latest report to her benefactors, she spoke glowingly of her second semester at school, despite being in lockdown for the greater majority of it. She wrote:
“Thank you for another wonderful term at Haileybury. Every term I learn so much, enjoy learning and especially can’t imagine what two years spending so much time at home would have been like had I not had the Haileybury community supporting me. Thank you again for your generosity and kindness.”
Donations to Haileybury Foundation continue to stream in. Our students are incredibly fortunate to be in receipt of such a high-quality education that would otherwise be out of their reach.
All gifts to Haileybury Foundation are tax deductible. Our donors are having enormous impact and we have been delighted with the involvement of our community–from past parents, alumni and staff to current parents and former staff.
Donations can be made at https://www.haileybury.com.au/giving.
Thank you.
The Haileybury Foundation is now on socials...to keep updated on Foundation activities, please follow us at:
Your Foundation Team
The latest edition of Bite News is now online and covers important updates on all OHA events, the exciting launch of Podcast 2 and a celebration of the OHA and the AFL Grand Final.
Hayley Denny
Development & Alumni Manager
During September, our Years 5 and 6, Years 7 and 8 and Senior School Dance teams have competed in the TFT Dancestar Nationals as part of an online competition. Qualifiers were asked to submit footage of themselves for judging and sections were streamed each night with results announced at the end of each week.
The Haileybury teams competed against many schools and dance schools from around Australia and achieved some of the best results Haileybury has seen at Nationals to date. This is a testament to the hard work, time, effort, passion and dedication of our amazing students.
Of the nine teams and one duo who competed at Nationals, seven achieved medals. Special mention to:
Congratulations to all our dancers.
We are super proud of your amazing results and look forward to being back on the Gold Coast for the Nationals in 2022!
Sean Allcock
Director of Haileybury Sport
In the spirit of reconciliation, Haileybury acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
© Haileybury 2024 Compliance
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