Arts

Performing Arts

24 Lyrebird nominations

As we enter Act 4 and the culmination of our Year 12 students’ theatrical journey, we wish them every success as they prepare for the examination season. Throughout the term break, Drama and Theatre Studies students have been working diligently to refine and rehearse their solo performances. These monologues are a remarkable test of creativity, endurance and performance skill, demanding months of preparation, resilience and dedication. We know their hard work will serve them well, and we wish them the very best as they take to the examination stage.

Before the curtain closes on another exceptional year, we are also delighted to celebrate the outstanding achievement of 24 Lyrebird Award nominations for Haileybury’s 2026 mainstage productions.

Among the highlights, both West Side Story and Peter and the Starcatcher received nominations for Best Production and Best Ensemble, recognising the extraordinary talent, commitment and collaborative spirit demonstrated by our students and staff.

These nominations are a testament to the creativity, passion and countless hours contributed by every member of the cast, crew, orchestra and technical team. They reflect the strength of our performing arts community and our commitment to producing theatre of the highest standard.

Please join us in congratulating all involved and celebrating these remarkable achievements together:

West Side Story: School Edition

• Outstanding Dance Number: Prologue/Jet’s Song

• Outstanding Dancer: Abir

• Best Ensemble

• Best Acting Partnership: Riley and Eva (Tony & Maria)

• Highly Commended Performance in a Male Role: Tyler (Action)

• Best Performer in a Lead Female Role: Eva (Maria)

• Best Choreographer: Dylan Dickson

• Best Musical Director: Robert Latham

• Best Youth Production – Musical Over $40K

Peter and the Starcatcher

• Best Sound: Erica D’Angelo

• Best Lighting: Matthew Sanderson & Nicole Smith

• Best Costume: Nicole Smith

• Best Ensemble

• Best Cameo Performer: Arabella (Fighting Prawn)

• Best Cameo Performer: Riley (Mermaid)

• Best Cameo Performer: Zak (Cat Puppet)

• Outstanding Acting Partnership: Abir, Tyler and Harrison (The Orphans)

• Best Performer in a Supporting Male Role: Tyler (Prentis)

• Best Performer in a Lead Female Role: Kiara (Molly)

• Best Performer in a Lead Male Role: Abir (Peter)

• Best Performer in a Lead Male Role: Lia (Black Stache)

• Best Director: Nicole Smith

• Best Youth Production – Play
• ** Judges Award: Donna Dowler to “Haileybury’s cast and crew in Peter and the Starcatcher for the entertaining homage to pirate sea shanties in the opening sequence.”

Nicole Smith
Head of Drama and Theatre Studies

Music

The Musical Journey: from first performances to final recitals

The Music Department is currently celebrating two important milestones in the musical journeys of our students: the culmination of years of dedication for our VCE performers and the excitement of first concert experiences for our youngest instrumentalists.

Last week, our VCE students completed their external Unit 4 performance examinations before panels of external assessors appointed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). These examinations represent the culmination of a year of intensive preparation, musicianship and commitment, with students presenting carefully prepared recital programs that reflect their technical development, musical understanding and individual artistry.

Behind every performance lies countless hours of practice, rehearsal and refinement. Throughout the year, students worked closely with their instrumental teachers, whose guidance and mentorship has been central to their development. During the recent Term 3 holidays, teachers generously dedicated four full days to conducting trial examinations, giving students the opportunity to experience the demands of a trial assessment alongside receiving valuable feedback ahead of the real thing.

I congratulate every student on reaching this significant milestone and thank the instrumental teachers for their expertise, encouragement and unwavering commitment. We wish our VCE performers every success as they await the release of results in December.

At the other end of the musical journey, our youngest string players are preparing to take their next exciting steps onto the concert stage. In the coming weeks, young violinists, violists, cellists and double bass players from across the school will perform in a series of concerts, including Junior School Scrolls concerts, the Chamber Music Festival and the Whole School Year 2 Strings Recital.

For many of these students, these performances will be their first experience of playing in an auditorium before a large audience. While the occasion can bring a mixture of excitement and nerves, these early experiences are an important part of learning to perform with confidence, listen to others, work as an ensemble and share the rewards of their hard work. They also mark the beginning of a musical pathway that, for many students, will continue through to Year 12.

One of the great privileges of a whole-school music program is witnessing this journey unfold over time.

This connection between the beginning and culmination of the musical journey was beautifully illustrated in the first week of term at Chamber in the Chapel. Held in the intimate surroundings of the Keysborough Chapel, the concert celebrated the outstanding musicianship of our Senior School orchestral students performing in small chamber ensembles.

The appreciative audience was captivated by the students’ technical command, musical sensitivity and confidence. Performing in chamber groups requires an especially refined set of skills: musicians must listen attentively, communicate musically with their colleagues and take individual responsibility for the success of the ensemble. Our students demonstrated these qualities with remarkable maturity.

Rod Marshall
Director of Performing Arts & Head of Haileybury Music

Visual Arts

Reflections: celebrating the 2026 Graduate Exhibition

The 2026 Graduate Exhibition, Reflections, brought together the creative achievements of Haileybury’s senior Art Making and Exhibiting, Media and Visual Communication Design students, alongside Systems Engineering, which returned to the exhibition this year. Showcasing the culmination of sustained inquiry, experimentation and creative problem-solving, the exhibition celebrated not only what our students produced, but the thinking, persistence and personal growth that brought their ideas to life.

The title Reflections offered a fitting starting point for the exhibition. To reflect is to look back on how far we have travelled and what has shaped us along the way. It is also an encounter between us and the world around us: an opportunity to see familiar things differently, to recognise another person’s perspective, and perhaps to discover something new about ourselves.

Visitors were invited to look beyond first impressions through the lens of the following three provocations. The first was the value of making in a culture increasingly shaped by rapid consumption. Creative practice asks us to slow down, work with our hands, test ideas, navigate uncertainty and persist through challenges. Whether creating an artwork, producing a film, developing a design solution or engineering a system, students transform imagination into action, contributing ideas to the world rather than simply consuming what already exists.

The exhibition also revealed the personal experiences, questions and perspectives that inform creative work. Inspired by ideas explored by Carl Jung and Roland Barthes, visitors were encouraged to consider both what a work might reveal about its maker and the meanings that emerge through an audience’s encounter with it. Each viewer brings their own experiences and associations to an artwork, film or design, creating opportunities for connection, reflection and new understanding.

Finally, the exhibition prompted questions about creativity in an age of ubiquitous technology and artificial intelligence. As images and content become increasingly easy to generate and reproduce, the value of human intention, judgement, experience and experimentation becomes an important consideration. The works on display demonstrated that creative practice extends well beyond a finished outcome; it encompasses the decisions, discoveries and personal perspectives developed throughout the process.

From the sophisticated Unit 3/4 folios to the developing confidence of our Units 1 and 2 students, collaborative Art Making and Exhibiting mini thematic show and the early explorations of our Year 9 students, the exhibition traced the breadth of creative learning across the Senior School. The inclusion of Systems Engineering further highlighted the connections between imagination, critical thinking and practical ingenuity across disciplines.

An exhibition of this scale is a collective achievement. We thank our Visual Arts teachers and technicians for their expertise, dedication and support throughout the year, alongside our Systems Engineering colleagues and the facilities, marketing, events and music teams who helped bring the exhibition to life. We are also grateful to Principal Scott and the leadership team for their ongoing commitment to creative learning, and to the parents and families whose encouragement supports students through the challenges and rewards of the creative process.

Most importantly, congratulations to all our exhibiting students. Their work reflects not only the skills they have developed, but their willingness to question, experiment, take creative risks and share their perspectives with others.

We hope Reflections leaves our community with more than the memory of a wonderful exhibition: perhaps a new question, a fresh perspective or an idea that continues to resonate long after leaving the gallery.

Rachelle Rae
Head of Visual Arts Senior School

Pipes & Drums

On 13 September, Haileybury Newlands hosted the Victorian Solo Drumming Championships. The day was a huge success, with 111 performances across all competition grades and 28 Haileybury drummers entering the competition.

Each grade was extremely competitive, and congratulations to everyone who competed on the day. You represented Haileybury with great pride and enthusiasm.

Our Haileybury drummers had an outstanding day, with several Haileybury students receiving a top six result in their respective grades:

Beginner Snare

• 1st – Piers (City, Year 6)

• 2nd – Lucas (Brighton, Year 4)

• 3rd – Augustina (Newlands, Year 5)

• 4th – Carter (City, Year 4)

• 6th – Jackson (Newlands, Year 4)

Novice Snare

• 1st – Eva (Newlands, Year 6)

• 4th – Neev (Newlands, Year 5)

• 5th – Thomas (Newlands, Year 6)

Novice Tenor

• 2nd – Arianna (Newlands, Year 6)

• 3rd – Ethan (Newlands, Year 7)

D Grade Snare

• 1st – Sasha (Newlands, Year 6)

• 2nd – Oliver (Newlands, Year 6)

• 3rd – Evie (Newlands, Year 6)

C Grade Snare

• 5th – Isaac (Keysborough, Year 11)

• 6th – Eashan (Keysborough, Year 11)

C Grade Tenor

• 3rd – Alijah (Newlands, Year 8)

• 5th – Alice (Keysborough, Year 11)

• 6th – Zoey (Newlands, Year 8)

Congratulations to all of our drummers on an incredible day of competition. Your hard work, preparation and commitment were clearly evident, and we are incredibly proud of your performances and achievements.

The Pipes and Drums also performed at the Newlands Term 3 End of Term Assembly.

Our drummers opened the performance with a Drummers’ Fanfare, incorporating our exciting light-up drumsticks. Our pipers then joined the drummers for a performance of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

It was a fantastic way to showcase the talent, energy and teamwork of our Pipes and Drums students to the Newlands community.

Daniel Staley
Director of Pipes & Drums