Principal’s Message – Week 6, Term 1

Welcome GHS Community,

Recent & Coming Events

All year 7 classes have now had a Beach day and, at the other end of the school, the year 12 students have had, or are about to have, their House Dinner. These are important social and cultural events for the school and it has been great to see students and staff getting involved. At Geelong High School we try and make sure there are memorable moments at each year level. This has been harder to achieve in the last two years so a focus for this year is to get back to doing as many of our traditional events as possible. One of these is our annual House Athletics Sports which will be held on Tuesday 15^th March (next Tuesday). Parents are very welcome to attend but are asked to observe the social distancing protocol.

COVID Report

We continue to record low numbers of students and staff testing positive or having to quarantine due to a positive case within the household. My thanks to parents and carers for maintaining your vigilance, doing regular RATs, and keeping students at home if there are any symptoms of covid. While we are no longer wearing face masks at school (though some choose to do so) we are continuing our cleaning and personal hygiene regime.

Gastro Outbreak

You may be aware that there has been a wave of gastro spreading through Geelong that has impacted schools, including ours. Health advice is that students show signs of light headedness and a headache with intense vomiting or diarrhoea. Symptoms dissipate quickly but the recommendation is that students do not attend school for 24 hours following an episode.

School Council Elections 2022 Update

At the close of nominations we have received just one nomination for the three parent representatives on school council. I am therefore extending the nominations for a further two weeks with nominations closing on Friday 18^th March. If there are more applicants than positions, a ballot will be held the following week.

Reminders

Attendance - Is perhaps the single most important aspect of maintaining continuity of learning. Without being present at school it is very difficult for students to keep up with their work and for teachers to support them in that learning. Unless students are quarantining because they have covid or are a close contact, they need to be at school from both an educational and wellbeing perspective.

Glenn Davey

Principal

Geelong High School Year 12 student Genaya Rowbottom was recently appointed Junior Mayor for the Youth Council of the City of Greater Geelong. This is a fantastic opportunity for Genaya to develop her leadership skills and represent young people in Geelong on key issues. (Photo L-R Deputy Junior Mayor Angelle Mackay and Junior Mayor Genaya Rowbottom

Year 8 Careers Exploration Day

All Year 8 students participated in their Careers Exploration on Tuesday, 1st March. The students were actively involved in Career Quizzes, Career research and designing their own Career Action Plan. The focus of the practical activities was Employability Skills where students were encouraged to work together, communicate and show initiative.

Congratulations to 8MA and 8LA who successful named the most occupations in the Health and Transport Industries in the Home Group challenge, your pizza lunch is coming soon. Keep up the wonderful work Year 8.

2022 Interschool Swim Team

2022 Senior Girls Pennant win & Most Improved School. GHS third overall. Congratulations and well done team.

Interschool Swimming Sports – Well done to Sonia and staff involved in organising our interschool swimming team last week. To finish third and bring home the Most Improved school and the Senior Girls Award is a great achievement.

Senior Girls Interschool Tennis - Winning

The Senior Girls tennis team were successful in taking out the Interschool tennis competition on Wednesday 2^nd March. Not only did the girls defeat all of the schools they came up against, they did not drop a set for the whole day. The team, made up of Alexandra Tidlacka, Aysia Sweeten, Ellie Gibson, Cheyenne Walters, Summer Lehmann and Hannah Liebhardt will now progress to the Western Zone finals. Congratulations girls!

Darren Meadows

Year 11 & 12 Theatre Studies Scene Study

Come and join us for the annual Theatre Studies Performance.

We will be exploring scenes from Jonathan Rand’s play Check Please!

Dating can be hard. Especially when your date happens to be a raging kleptomaniac, or your grandmother's bridge partner, or a mime.
Check Please follows a series of blind dinner dates that couldn't get any worse -- until they do. Could there possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel?

When: Friday 25^th of March

Where: Shenton Theatre

Time: 6pm (run time approx.60min)

Cost: Free

Tessa Kirk

Performing Arts Teacher

Assistant House Leader - Corio

Fantastic Beach Clean Up from our Year 9 GPEP students at Anglesea recently. Well done!

This week at GHS, the year 10 Systems Engineering students have been testing out the bridges they have been building over the last few weeks. The bridge building project saw the students design and build a prototype, test it, then build their final iteration and test it to see how much weight it can hold.

Students had a list of materials they could use, such as icy pole sticks, hot glue, rubber bands etc. each material had a cost, so students had to be budget conscious in their builds and use as few materials as possible.

Year 10 Systems Engineering is a class that was introduced a few years ago to help develop STEM related skills for our students at GHS. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) is the fastest growing industry in the world with many positions currently unfilled due to a lack of people trained in these areas.

The STEM program at GHS includes STEM focussed classes at every year level from 7-12 as well as a number of opportunities for excursions to external program providers, including the Geelong Tech School, BioLab, Deakin University and more.

To find out more about what’s available for your child in the STEM field, get in touch with Sarah Normington (STEM Leader) or Jason d’Offay (STEM Assistant).

Year 8 Studio Arts students have created some amazing Gustav Klimt inspired artworks recently. Currently on display in our library.

Congratulations to all of those students who have been brave enough to audition for this years musical production of Guys and Dolls. It was an incredibly difficult show to cast as we had an overwhelming amount of talent. If you enjoyed The Addams Family last year then you are in for a treat with this show. You will be seeing many familiar faces back on the stage this year but will also be surprised by some new ones. With a current cast of 45 students, this will be our biggest show yet.

Tessa Kirk

Performing Arts Teacher

Assistant House Leader - Corio

Cast Announcement

Principal Cast

Nathan Detroit: Alex Aidt

Miss Adelaide: Lykeira Shannon

Sarah Brown: Genaya Rowbottom

Sky Masterson: Harry Jones

Supporting Cast

Nicely-Nicely Johnson: Matt Aidt

Benny Southstreet: Gabe Pope

Harry the Horse/Joey Biltmore: Lachlan Roncon

Big Jule: Jacoby Hay

Arvide Abernathy: Neve Whittaker

Lt. Brannigan: Blake Schulz

Rusty Charlie: Lachlan Sheridan

Angie the Ox: Kaden Morgan

Society Max: Julius Mazarigle

General Cartwright: Deni Holland

Master of Ceremonies: Elliot Tenney

Mimi: Charli Harper

Agatha: Ashleigh Stokes

Ensemble Cast

Social Media @ Geelong High School

Geelong High School has Facebook and Youtube media platforms to keep parents, students and our community informed about events, activities and important public school notices.

On Facebook you will find information and photographs of students at work, excursions, functions and education activities. Facebook will also feature important notices for students and parents.

Please ‘LIKE’ our Facebook page and stay informed about the wonderful events and activities we have at Geelong High School.

Our Youtube channel features video clips of student events and activities, messages from our Principal, information about the school and learning areas plus short films by students.

Youtube link to Geelong High School channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6wRLS4RLDRDdaDXuDYda9A

Due to the pandemic, recent world events in the Ukraine and the impacts of the floods in Queensland and NSW, the world we now live in is a very different place. The hyperconnected nature of our current environment means that we are constantly being reminded of the challenges we face via numerous media and social media channels. Our connectivity to the digital world exposes us to a barrage of messages that can leave us feeling overwhelmed. As a result, many children and their parents are reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety.

Unfortunately, our brains have not evolved fast enough to adapt to this digital landscape. The combination of constant access to information and having little control over the situations presented, can be stressful and overwhelming. It is therefore important for adult carers to check in with their children and be aware of what information they may have been exposed to. It may not necessarily be the information itself that is harmful, but more their inability to process and make sense of it. Providing children with the skills and strategies to cope will enable them to flourish and thrive, socially, emotionally and academically.

The blueprint for parenting, based on our own experiences, is no longer fit for purpose in raising kids as citizens of tomorrow. This can be inherently stressful and overwhelming, not only for parents and carers, but children alike. If left untreated or unmanaged, constant stress and anxiety can lead to a number of behavioural issues or health consequences.

This Special Report suggests a number of strategies to help manage any feelings of overwhelm that you or your child may be experiencing. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report https://geelonghigh.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-managing-overwhelm

Report online harm

eSafety helps Australians prevent and deal with harm caused by serious online abuse or illegal and restricted online content.

This includes cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, intimate images without the consent of the person shown).

esafety.gov.au

Parent resources

Downloadable resources to help you start the chat about online safety issues and strategies with your child.

On this page:

• Videos
• Books
• Information sheets
• Audio files
• Family tech agreements
• Activities
• COVID-19 advice

Report a complaint about serious online abuse or illegal and restricted online content.  You can follow a few easy steps to help you choose the best report form.

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