While discussion surrounds the ATAR, it remains a rigorous, objective and fair pathway to university.
Haileybury students perform exceptionally well in the VCE and, through that, achieve outstanding Australian Tertiary Admissions Results (ATAR) that open up a great breadth of post-school study opportunities.
Last week the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) released research highlighting the rising relevance of the ATAR for university admissions and its importance in predicting success at university.
The ATAR is fair, open and transparent and, as was noted in the CIS research, is still used by three in four school leavers to gain university entrance.
The CIS paper also demonstrated that the higher the ATAR, the more likely the completion of university degrees. It reported that ATAR is ‘clearly predictive of completion rates and attrition rates for school leavers’. For example, students who score an ATAR between 95 to 99.95 have an 87% six-year completion rate for their degrees, and those whose ATAR is 30 to 49 have a 46% completion rate.
In recent years, non ATAR admissions to university have gained some traction. Of students who enter on this basis, only 59% have completed their degree in six years and 27% have dropped out completely.
The CIS paper also notes that non-ATAR admissions are ‘more than twice as likely as ATAR-based admissions to drop out of university in their first year’. The author of the CIS paper, Rob Joseph, also states: “Despite rhetoric around non-ATAR pathways being ‘fairer’ or more ‘equitable’, in practice, universities appear to be using this method as an opaque way to admit low-ATAR students, without commensurate increases in support needed to complete their degrees.”
Sometimes the argument against the VCE and the ATAR seems to imply there is no room for broader education initiatives if you focus on getting good academic results. It is not an ‘either or’ situation and Haileybury students with their huge breadth of opportunities in sport, music, drama, creative arts, entrepreneurship and enterprise activities are fine examples of this.
Throwing out the ATAR and replacing it with Learner Profiles — a kind of extracurricular CV — would replace the one seriously rigorous, objective and fair admissions standard with an opaque, subjective one.
Of course, there should be a genuine debate around this and how different aspects might be merged to produce a more rounded outcome. But we shouldn’t consider throwing out rigour and academic discipline for the sake of lowering standards to make it easier to get to university.
Derek Scott
CEO | Principal
We look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) with parents and special guests, hosted by our Girls Middle School and Senior School on Wednesday, 8 March at 7.30 am. The Middle School students will also recognise IWD with an assembly and activities on Thursday, 9 March.
Our Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students are preparing for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
NAPLAN is a national program with students in these year levels completing assessments in reading, writing, language conventions — spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. These assessments are held online and will take place from Wednesday, 15 March until Friday, 17 March.
Further information about NAPLAN can be found here.
A reminder that the two-minute zones at Villeroy Street and South Road are drop-off/pick-up only and parents are to remain in their car. The roundabout, accessed via South Road, is an efficient way to drop off and pick up your child.
On Sunday, 5 March, Clean Up Australia Day was held across the nation. At Castlefield, students from ELC through to Year 8 participated in ‘Clean Up Castlefield Day’ on Friday, 3 March. Students scoured the grounds to collect every piece of paper, plastic and rubbish to take practical action to improve our environment. Much discussion was had about our everyday habits, littering, recycling, composting and the changes we can make to help create sustainable differences.
The Pre-Prep classes have recently started their literacy program and with help from Milo the Monkey, they have discussed letters and their corresponding sounds. The children also learnt that Milo the monkey is having a birthday party and throughout the year they will meet new friends who will be going to Milo’s party.
Our literacy program is a multi-sensory program involving songs, actions and games. By making learning fun and interactive, the children stay engaged and motivated, and this naturally develops their literacy skills.
The ELC children have been learning about caring for Mother Earth. During their Environmental Learning time, they have participated in discussions and games about landfill, recycling and composting.
The Recycle Superhero sprinkled some recycling magic on the children as they were reminded about which bins to use for paper, plastic and food scraps. Families are encouraged to be recycle superheroes too and to bring in items from home to prevent these going to landfill.
In the ELC, we have collection areas for:
We appreciate your help to reduce landfill at school and at home.
Years 2–4 students started their swimming program which takes place in one of their PE lessons each week . The focus of each lesson is on building stroke technique, stamina and water safety.
“I’ve loved learning to use the pool buoy to perfect my arm style.”Genevieve
“It’s been great to be able to swim in the hot weather.””Hugo
“I think swimming is one of the best things to do in school, it lets me feel free and gives me a break from the classroom.”Lachlan W
“I’ve learnt the technique for backstroke and how to tread water.”Mila
Vittoria Dell’Atte, Deputy Head of Junior School, has developed a Social Justice program with Bayside Council called Bayside Connections. Twice a term, a Year 4 class visits Hampton Community Centre to chat and play games with volunteers from Bayside Council. This is an awesome opportunity for different generations to connect and work with each other.
On a beautiful sunny afternoon, as a part of the program, 4A headed down Hampton Street to engage in origami, ‘would you rather …’ games and collaborative drawing.
Our Year 6 students have thoroughly enjoyed their camps in Canberra. Camps are a time to create new friendships, foster existing ones, work through challenges together and to see peers and teachers in a different environment. What better place to do all this than Parliament House and the Australian Institute of Sport?
In Middle School we value the lessons that are learned from being outside your comfort zone. Camps are all about stepping outside your comfort zone and seeing where that takes you.
Middle School provides great opportunities for leadership, and we encourage all students to lead and advocate for their school community throughout the year. Our Years 5, 7 and 8 Homeroom Captains were inducted during our Middle School Assembly and our Year 6 leaders were inducted on their return from camp.
Our leaders represent our student body and meet with staff to implement the vision and expectation of the School.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”John Maxwell
Katrina Manson
Head of Castlefield (Brighton)
It was great to see lots of people at the Welcome BBQ. The weather turned our way and we had a great time.
The intake year Parent Nights are happening in March. Please visit the myHaileybury app for more information and to purchase your tickets.
Prep Parent Night will be on Tuesday, 7 March and it will be on Wednesday, 8 March for Year 5 and Year 7 parents. These evenings are for existing and new parents.
Our Luna Park event is fast approaching. All students and parents from all campuses are invited to attend on Wednesday, 29 March from 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm.
Please purchase your tickets as soon as possible here.
Monique Chapman
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Castlefield
The focus of Primary and Middle School over the last few weeks has been our collaboration and cooperation with our parent community. Primary School held Year 6 parent meetings and Middle School held Year 9 class workshops, including a VCE information session.
These were opportunities for the School to work with parents to discuss how we can improve communication. Haileybury values the relationships we build with parents and these sessions are extremely important in ensuring our parents are kept up to date with how their children are performing and how they can continue to improve.
I spoke to both groups of parents in detail about entry into the Senior School, how the VCE program functions and I also shared the outstanding results of our graduates and their university pathways.
Due to interruptions to the end of Semester 1 caused by the pandemic, Senior School celebrated the end of semester 1 Awards Ceremony during the first few weeks of Semester 2. The Awards Ceremony is a very important part of Haileybury’s academic program and enables the School to recognise the top five per cent of students in each academic subject.
The ceremony also presented Subject Recognition Awards to students in each subject who have demonstrated excellence in their classroom and study habits. Congratulations to all students for their commitment to their studies and we look forward to all students achieving excellence throughout the year.
As part of their mathematics curriculum, the Primary School organised a Mathematics Exhibition and Festival. The festival started with special presentations to parents in the theatre that gave an overview of the projects designed by each class.
Parents, staff and students then moved to the gymnasium and took part in activities based on mathematical reasoning, teamwork and problem solving.
A big thank you to all the Primary School staff from the Mathematics Department and to all the students who made the festival a highlight to begin the second half of the school year.
Yanni Galanis
International Principal, Haileybury International School, Tianjin
The Girls Night In event for our Middle School girls was an amazing success, with everyone enjoying the cake decorating, Bollywood dancing and games.
However, the highlight of the evening was the World’s Greatest Shave when eight students and three staff members bravely had their hair cut to support the Leukaemia Foundation. The girls managed to raise an impressive $11,000 for the foundation while increasing awareness about this devastating disease.
On Tuesday, 21 February our HPFE volunteers made pancakes in their hundreds for Shrove Tuesday. This was warmly received by our students who could not wait to try the different toppings. Edrington raised around $1,200 for Uniting Care to support people in our local area. Many thanks to the parents who made the day such a success.
The ELC children have had another positive fortnight of making connections with each other and their community. This is an integral part of the beginning of every year whether children are new or returning to our school.
Warm and respectful relationships with children and their families form the foundation for effective early childhood education programs, and strong connections with educators generate a sense of belonging and nurture learning and development.
The beginning of a new year also brings opportunities for children to make new connections with peers and to build on existing friendships. Staff use intentional teaching strategies within their curriculum plans to support children to learn how to make friends, self-regulate emotions and build confidence to speak up in a group.
It has also been nice to see families connecting with one another. Reception and Pre-Prep Morning Teas in the Junior School Quad attracted plenty of people and led families to attend dinners at the Berwick Springs Hotel. We look forward to watching these connections and relationships grow.
Our Berwick Buddies Program creates relationships between the oldest and youngest students in our School. It is an opportunity for our Year 4 students to show leadership and kindness and to get to know the Prep students.
For the Prep students it is wonderful for them to know some faces in the yard who can help them navigate Junior School. Our last activity together was a buddy activity in the library. As you can see, they were all very engaged with their activities and enjoyed their time together.
The Year 6 boys and girls have returned from Canberra. They were kept busy with visits to Parliament House, the National Dinosaur Museum, the Australian Institute of Sport, the Deep Space Communication Complex and more! The highlight, however, was their visit to Questacon that explores science, technology and innovation. It was great to see the students enjoying this camp after its two-year hiatus.
On Wednesday, 22 February our Year 8 Captains from the Boys and Girls Schools participated in a leadership workshop run by Tripod. It gave them a chance to explore ideas while developing leadership skills like public speaking and building relationships. We look forward to seeing some of the ideas they came up with put into practice. We have an impressive group of leaders this year who have already demonstrated their enthusiasm and passion for their roles.
Last Thursday, Year 8 students visited the Mornington Peninsula as part of a geography excursion. They collected evidence to use for their inquiry on coastlines and environmental impacts affecting these areas.
Finally, we look forward to our Middle School Athletics Carnival tomorrow. Students are reminded to wear their House tops, bring a water bottle and hat, and cheer on everyone regardless of their House!
Jeanette Rawlings
Head of Edrington (Berwick)
Hello Edrington! Thanks again for supporting our Pancake Day. Check out our Facebook page for some happy snaps of the children. They LOVED it! The highlight for us was seeing the Year 4 students supporting their Prep buddies — it was so sweet!
Special thanks to our volunteers: Ella Colla, Rita Lettieri, Jenelle Suarez, Gorica Salapura, Mikayla Randall, Kate Haakman, Tulin Cenbay-Finn, Michelle Westerveld, Honorata Tettis, Shaun Akkermans, Samina Siddiqui and Bernadette Montague. We could not run these events without you all. Together we raised over $1,200 for Uniting Care and we are looking forward to sizzling sausages with you during the Cross Country Cook Up!
Di and Kelly are opening the Uniform Shop every Wednesday from 8.45 am – 10.45 am. If you have an hour to spare this term to help in the shop, please contact Di and Kelly at shus-berwick@haileybury.vic.edu.au.
Summer Sippers @ The Pavilion tickets are on sale now! Get in quick before we sell out. The HPFE Committee has been working hard gathering some AMAZING items for our silent auction! All money raised goes towards updating and implementing new equipment across the School for our children.
Andrew Wishart will be playing live and Jess from Chartwells has put together an amazing menu for all to enjoy. Tickets are available here.
| Date and Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
|
Thursday, 16 March at 8.45 am
|
Years 6, 7 & 8 Parent Morning Tea
|
Library Courtyard
|
|
Friday, 17 March at 3.30 pm
|
Annual Edrington Family Picnic (ELC, JS and MS families)
|
Oval
|
|
Friday, 24 March at 7.00 pm
|
Summer Sippers (Parent Event), ELC, JS, MS and SS, https://www.trybooking.com/CDUME
|
The Pavilion
|
Kerry Ilic & Tracy Day
HPFE Presidents
Hpfe@haileybury.vic.edu.au
Homework plays an essential role in the learning process of students at Haileybury as it allows them to reinforce and apply concepts and skills they learn in class. With a regular study routine each night, students develop important habits like time management and self-discipline. These are crucial for academic success.
Students can also identify their strengths and weaknesses and seek help from teachers or peers and these questions often become wonderful starting points for discussion in class the next day. Homework can also prepare students for assessment tasks. Reading each night also has a significant impact on academic growth and achievement.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests will be held in March for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Haileybury will conduct these tests on Wednesday, 15, Thursday, 16 and Friday, 17 March. The NAPLAN tests will be held online, except for Year 3 Writing that will be a paper test.
Haileybury Heads of Early Learning recently participated in the Best Start, Best Life educational leaders conference. The event attracted keynote speakers from Canada, the UK and Australia who presented the latest research and evidence on pedagogical leadership to enhance teaching and learning.
The research affirms the effectiveness of Haileybury’s Early Learning Centres in promoting positive outcomes for children’s learning and development. It emphasised the importance of a high-quality curriculum delivered by well-qualified educators who implement a play-based program with intentionality.
Haileybury’s Early Learning Centre educators excel at embedding concepts and leveraging each child’s innate curiosity to support a deeper understanding of the curriculum.
To commemorate Harmony Week, educators and children are invited to wear multicultural costumes or the colour orange. The event will be celebrated on Tuesday, 21 March by Reception S, Reception N and Pre-Prep C classes. On Friday, 24 March, Reception W, Pre-Prep P and Pre- Prep W will also celebrate Harmony Day.
This year’s theme is Everyone Belongs. While we celebrate our diversity of cultures on these days, throughout the year we encourage a sense of inclusiveness, respect and belonging. We are delighted to welcome ELC families to share their culture with their child’s class through songs, dance, cooking and cultural discussions and displays.
Junior School held a Wellbeing Assembly to showcase their first three weeks of learning this term. We were joined by Diane Furusho (Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing).
The Prep students introduced their Kindness Monster that helps them remember their respectful relationships focus for the year, which is kindness.
Students then showed Mrs Furusho what they have learned about emotional regulation using the Zones of Regulation program. They explained what the different zones mean, what expected behaviour looks like in a classroom, the catastrophe scale, how to use their Wellbeing Toolkit and the physiological cues that are part of the different zones.
Years 3 and 4 students recently took part in Junior School House Tee Ball on the Newlands Field. A sea of yellow, red, blue and green swarmed the oval and students enthusiastically represented their Houses and enjoyed learning this new sport.
Middle School leaders were a tremendous help during the afternoon and House values such as sportsmanship, persistence and fair play were on show for all to see. It was fantastic to witness the parent support on the sidelines, too.
We look forward to Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 House Kickball on Friday, 24 March.
This Friday, special guests will visit Junior School for our annual Junior School Grandparents and Special Friends Day. Visitors will enjoy morning tea, a musical extravaganza that different year levels have been learning in choir, and they will then play games and create family trees in the classrooms. This day is always a highlight in the Junior School calendar, and we look forward to hosting our VIPs.
At the end of each year, we run a competition for all students in GMS to design a badge that everyone will wear in the new year. This creates a sense of belonging for students and pride for the winning designers.
We had some fabulous designs to choose from. The 2023 winner was Mishka Bhatt (Year 6). Here, Mishka explains her design:
“The flowers indicate the constant growth of GMS as well as the different colours of the flowers that symbolise everyone in GMS is unique and each individual has their own special array of talents. This badge is an illustration of some of the memories and lessons I have experienced in my time at GMS. The words on the badge are written in cupcake font to signify that GMS is fun but you still need to work hard.”
Year 7 BMS students recently took part in a Man Cave incursion. These evidence-based workshops assist our young men to explore their personal identity by discussing the challenges and opportunities of masculinity. We want to promote the critical emotional and social skills necessary for young men to enjoy flourishing lives and relationships. Haileybury is committed to nurturing students who can create healthy relationships, reach their full potential and contribute positively to their community.
Congratulations to our homeroom captains for 2023, please click the button below to view the list of captains.
This year, Newlands Middle School will celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday, 16 March. Leading up to the day, students will participate in homeroom activities that are focused on the global themes of ‘embracing equity’ and ‘cracking the code for women in stem’.
This year's guest speaker at our IWD assembly will be Sarah Moran, CEO and Co-founder of Girl Geek Academy. Girl Geek Academy is a movement to bring one million women and girls into technology careers by 2030. We are looking forward to hearing her speak to our students.
Please see the website Girl Geek Academy to learn how to get your daughter involved in this initiative.
Athletic abilities will be on display at the Middle School House Sport event on Tuesday, 7 March. The action takes place from 9.35 am – 1.15 pm and not only showcases sporting prowess but also fosters team spirit, collaboration and friendly competition.
Students will be divided into their House teams and will compete in events such as relay races, long jump, shot put and more. Please ensure students wear appropriate clothing, including comfortable sports shoes and a hat. We also recommend students bring plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Each House has a coloured uniform that corresponds to their House colour and students should wear their House uniform on the day. The colours are pictured below.
We look forward to seeing our students compete and sharing the highlights with our school community.
Mark Harrop
Acting Head of Newlands (Keysborough)
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for supporting stalls in the ELC and Junior School as part of the HPFK Pancake Day! Thank you especially to Linette Grossi and Jonelle Colabufalo for organising this event for Newlands students.
Thank you to our families for attending our Year Five Bowling Night and to Katrina King, Sada Memic and Laura Evans for organising the night. The event was a huge success, and a lot of fun was had by all!
Please join us for a Term One Family Dinner on Friday, 24 March from 6.00 pm at the Waltzing Matilda Hotel, 856 Heatherton Road, Springvale.
This is a great opportunity for families to meet as you continue your journey at Haileybury Newlands.
Order and pay for your meals at the counter.
RSVP by Friday, 17 March to Kathleen Fu on 0433 320 959.
We look forward to seeing many families come along to support this fabulous family fun night.
A huge thank you to all our wonderful parents that attended the HPFK Term One Meeting last Thursday evening.
Collectively, all in attendance have been at our amazing school for 185 years & this includes 6 new parents!
We were thoroughly impressed by our awesome 2023 School Captains Neeraja Ahielan and Sam Shinsky. They described their time at Haileybury as ‘the most brilliant journey’ where they ‘challenged each other to be their best’.
Finally, Thank you to Mark Harrop, Acting Head of Newlands and Theo Georokpoulos, Acting Head of Senior Schools for you informative updates.
Lenice Norris
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Keysborough
As the newest members of the Haileybury community, it has been wonderful to see our Haileybury Pangea students and families engaging with the traditions and events taking place across the School.
At our virtual assemblies in recent weeks, students have viewed presentations from the Haileybury’s Founders Day Assembly and from guest speakers such as Eddie Betts. These have been beamed from Aikman Hall to the homes of our students across Victoria.
Many Haileybury Pangea families also joined the live Haileybury ChatGPT Webinar presented by Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing, Diane Furusho, with Principal | CEO, Derek Scott, and Head of Digital, Michelle Dennis.
This session began what we hope will be an ongoing conversation with our community about the challenges and opportunities that new AI technologies present, and how we can support young people to understand the implications of these developments.
In a virtual learning environment, it is particularly important that we explore these questions together and start a conversation with students.
Community is key at Haileybury Pangea, and we want to find different ways for students and families to connect in a virtual environment around activities that are of interest.
Our first @Home with Haileybury event on Tuesday, 21 February was an activity hotly demanded by Pangea students — a Minecraft build challenge! Hosted by Digital Learning Leaders, Geoff Orton and Carlie Gannon, this event saw our budding student designers create a virtual Pangea campus, complete with farm animals and a student kitchen.
We would love to hear from students and families about the activities they are most interested in as we roll out future @Home with Haileybury Events.
Joanna Baker
Head of Campus
Many 2022 graduates returned to School on Tuesday, 14 February to take part in the annual Honours Assembly that celebrated the academic achievements of the Class of 2022. Haileybury’s VCE successes are so exceptional that we no longer have room in Aikman Hall to host Haileybury College and Haileybury Girls College at the same time.
At each assembly, students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were presented with awards for exemplary achievement in individual subjects. We then announced the names of the graduates who had been placed on the Scholars and Honours Boards.
The assemblies concluded with the School applauding the achievements of the Duces of Haileybury College: Yan He Chen, Jiaqi Lu, Michael Sun, Kerry Zhu and Kim Zhu and our Duces of Haileybury Girls College, Abigail Gardiner and Chloe Lay. They all achieved an ATAR of 99.95 as a reflection of their hard work and effort.
Our families from Years 9–12 attended the Keysborough, City and Berwick Meet and Greet Nights on Wednesday, 22 February. This was an opportunity for parents to gather together and to meet our Heads of Pre-Senior and Heads of House. Everyone had a wonderful evening.
On Thursday, 16 February two of our Senior School students, Daniel Abdullah Zain (Year 11) and Henry Ho (Year 11) sat the Australian Invitational Informatics Olympiad (AIIO). This four-hour programming and problem-solving contest is only open to top scorers in the Australian Informatics Olympiad (AIO) — a very tough three-hour contest held before the AIIO.
Daniel and Henry have now completed the first of two four-hour exams. Eventually, 16 top-scoring students will join a special training group and four of those students will be chosen to represent Australia at the International Informatics Olympiad (IOI).
For the AIIO, Daniel received the Gold Award, placing in the top 10% and almost getting full marks. Henry got a Bronze Award and was in the top 50%. Even though the road to the IOI is long and full of challenges, this is a significant achievement worthy of celebration!
Our Pipes & Drums students put on a fantastic performance, earning some impressive results in heavily contested grades at Ballarat Grammar on Saturday, 25 February. Our A Band won Grade 4A and Novice Juvenile A, while our B Band were runners up in the Novice Juvenile B Medley & Marches elements (Best Drum Core), and third overall in Grade 4B.
Moreover, our C Band received great feedback from the judges after making their successful debut.
The Haileybury Parents and Friends will be holding a Family Fun Night at Luna Park on Wednesday, 29 March at 5.00 pm. This is a great opportunity for new and current families to connect and reconnect. All details can be found on the myHaileybury app.
Top Class is part of the VCE Season of Excellence managed by Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. The Season showcases work produced by outstanding VCE students who completed performing or visual arts, technology, design, or research studies in 2022. Events are presented at Melbourne’s major cultural venues, alongside associated education programs.
Congratulations to Michaela Davidson (Year 12) who will be performing her VCE Skills on Tuesday, 7 March at Concert 1 at 10.00 am.
Tickets are now available via the Melbourne Recital Centre. A full list of performers appearing across the Dance programs is available via the Season of Excellence website.
Please remember that Monday, 13 March is the Labour Day Public Holiday and the school will be closed.
Theo Georgakopoulos
Acting Head of Haileybury Senior Schools
The adolescent brain is a weird and wonderful creation! Inside, 86 billion neurons connect and collide and trigger change. The new City play, Brainstorm, explores this fascinating process and investigates the inner workings of the teen brain.
The script for this play began as a blueprint with some structure, but much of the content and dialogue has been developed by Director, Jane Marshall, and the City student cast to reflect their ideas about the teenage experience.
Performed at the Chapel Off Chapel, this will be a theatrical experience not to be missed.
Tickets are on sale for the Years 9–12 Senior musical, SpongeBob. This family friendly musical includes music from Cindy Lauper, David Bowie, Steven Tyler, John Legend and many other big-name artists.
Expect a larger than life, hilarious and energetic show that will have you laughing out loud and singing along as you journey to Bikini Bottom to play with SpongeBob and friends.
Nick Waxman
Head of Drama and Theatre Studies
Key features of the instrumental music program are the collaborative performance opportunities at Haileybury. Many of you will be aware of the Music Department’s large ensemble concert schedule, which can be located here, and there are many other exciting performances throughout the year.
These include:
Last Friday night, 25 jazz performance students provided background music for guests at the Haileybury Founders Day Cocktail Party, which was held at the new Year 9 Centre at Brighton campus.
The event celebrated and recognised the contributions of those who have played, or continue to play, a key role in the development and evolution of Haileybury.
Guests listened to speeches from Scott Doran, Vice Principal Community Engagement & Advancement and Katrina Manson, Head of Castlefield. They also enjoyed refreshments while listening to the jazz combos perform a modern jazz repertoire.
Rod Marshall
Director of Performing Arts & Head of Haileybury Music
Junior and Middle School students across our campuses have started the year with a bang and their enthusiasm for art making can be seen through the works already on display.
Junior students are exploring topics from identity to relationships and learning about the practice of artists who have also investigated these topics.
Middle School students have extended their art knowledge, while Year 8s have created portraits that are on display for everyone to enjoy.
City Year 8 and Prep portraits. Prep students began the year sharing stories from their holidays by completing self-portraits. They then focused on the importance of presentation by cutting their own frames. Year 8s explored oil pastels, bringing their own unique interests to their works.
Our Art curriculum focuses on the student as a central inspiration to their works by linking their prior experiences and unique perspective. We look forward to nurturing their creativity and embracing each student’s individuality as they immerse themselves in the Visual Arts this year.
Newlands Year 1 students creating works focussing on our relationships with others. They have been exploring how they feel when they are with special people, such as family, and how we represent this through our artwork.
Rebecca Frith
Head of Visual Arts Junior & Middle School
The Haileybury Pipes & Drums had tremendous success at the Ballarat Grammar Pipe Band Contest yesterday. Despite the heavy rain, the P&D students showcased their talents and skills in various grades that were heavily contested.
Nonetheless, Haileybury secured some impressive results.
The A Band, led by Pipe Major Jennifer Short (Year 12), Pipe Sergeant Ruby Nuttall (Year 11) and Drum Sergeant Sofia Carollo (Year 10), won Grade 4A and Novice Juvenile A. Their performance was characterised by their precision, technical skill and sound. Their victory was a testament to their hard work, dedication and teamwork.
The B Band were runners up in the Novice Juvenile B Medley & Marches elements, and their drum core was awarded the Best Drum Corp. They also came third overall in Grade 4B. Their performance was marked by their excellent rhythm, tempo and control and this earned them high praise from the judges.
The C Band made their debut performance at the contest and received great feedback from the judges — impressive given this was their first time performing in a contest.
After the Australian Championships in 2022, it seems the rain continued to follow us. While the weather was less than ideal, students didn’t let that get in their way. They marched on, determined to give their best, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements.
Lincoln Hilton
Director, Pipes & Drums
We look forward to the release of the 2022 Haileybury Foundation Impact Report that
will be available to Haileybury community members at the end of March.
The Impact Report details the significant differences that are being made for our students through scholarships and funding provided for buildings and the library by the Haileybury community. The report will name all Haileybury Foundation donors in 2022 and showcase the projects that are transforming lives.
2022 was a record-breaking year for the Haileybury Foundation. Our Scholarship Fund recorded the highest ever donations, thanks largely in part to the successful Giving Day held in August.
Additionally, our Building Fund continues to deliver interesting and impactful projects for students across all four campuses. It received the second largest amount of donations in history. This is largely thanks to our parents who so generously contribute to our Voluntary Building Fund on a quarterly basis. We value your contributions and look forward to showcasing the exceptional quality of our buildings via the Impact Report.
Our donors are changing lives forever, regardless of the size of the gift.
All gifts to Haileybury Foundation are tax deductible.
Donations can be made here.
Thank you.
John Pritchard (OH 1978) studied engineering at Swinburne, completing a Bachelor Degree in 1983 and Masters in 1990. John was commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve in 1987 and still serves with his current posting as instructor for future leaders in the Reserves.
John also enjoys ballroom dancing, which he started at Haileybury. This interest led John to meet his future wife, Barbara, and they married in 1987 at the newly opened chapel at Haileybury Keysborough.
John and Barbara recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary and they have three children — Claire, Ryan (OH 2015) and Aidan (OH 2017). Claire attended Shelford and has just completed her PhD. Ryan has completed an engineering degree and Aidan has a commerce/engineering degree.
All children have enjoyed sport including rowing, soccer, hockey and sailing through school and in local clubs. Sailing was a family activity and John and Barbara’s children were keen participants in the Youth Sailing Program at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Their parents were also involved in supporting the program.
John’s career took him into the world of IT and in January 2023 he celebrated 25 years with a world leading software company where he is Senior Cloud Solution Architect. He helps customers transition to cloud based computing.
Barbara is a chartered accountant and has enjoyed a return to full-time employment after working part time for many years.
The couple are looking forward to being able to travel more but also to be able to spend more time at home and to give their house some attention.
Thanks for staying connected, John, and family!
We love hearing from our alumni. If you have a story to share, we’d love to hear from you, please share it here.
Kylie Phillips
Development Office Operations Lead
The success of the Boys’ Badminton team is well reported. Under the watchful guidance of Mark Doyle, Head of Badminton, the boys are searching for their eighth consecutive APS Premiership.
What is very unique about this team is that for the first time ever Haileybury has three sets of brothers all representing the 1st Haileybury Badminton team at the same time.
They are:
What an amazing achievement!
Year 10 students Ryan Hutchings and his partner, Zavier McInerney, have been selected in the Under 17 Boys Beach Volleyball team for the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships. The event will be held in Coolangatta from Monday, 27 March to Thursday, 30 March.
Ryan and Zavier are the top seeds for Victoria, and they will push hard to win the overall event. We wish them both every success.
Sean Allcock
Director of Haileybury Sport
Haileybury students perform exceptionally well in the VCE and, through that, achieve outstanding Australian Tertiary Admissions Results (ATAR) that open up a great breadth of post-school study opportunities.
Last week the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) released research highlighting the rising relevance of the ATAR for university admissions and its importance in predicting success at university.
The ATAR is fair, open and transparent and, as was noted in the CIS research, is still used by three in four school leavers to gain university entrance.
The CIS paper also demonstrated that the higher the ATAR, the more likely the completion of university degrees. It reported that ATAR is ‘clearly predictive of completion rates and attrition rates for school leavers’. For example, students who score an ATAR between 95 to 99.95 have an 87% six-year completion rate for their degrees, and those whose ATAR is 30 to 49 have a 46% completion rate.
In recent years, non ATAR admissions to university have gained some traction. Of students who enter on this basis, only 59% have completed their degree in six years and 27% have dropped out completely.
The CIS paper also notes that non-ATAR admissions are ‘more than twice as likely as ATAR-based admissions to drop out of university in their first year’. The author of the CIS paper, Rob Joseph, also states: “Despite rhetoric around non-ATAR pathways being ‘fairer’ or more ‘equitable’, in practice, universities appear to be using this method as an opaque way to admit low-ATAR students, without commensurate increases in support needed to complete their degrees.”
Sometimes the argument against the VCE and the ATAR seems to imply there is no room for broader education initiatives if you focus on getting good academic results. It is not an ‘either or’ situation and Haileybury students with their huge breadth of opportunities in sport, music, drama, creative arts, entrepreneurship and enterprise activities are fine examples of this.
Throwing out the ATAR and replacing it with Learner Profiles — a kind of extracurricular CV — would replace the one seriously rigorous, objective and fair admissions standard with an opaque, subjective one.
Of course, there should be a genuine debate around this and how different aspects might be merged to produce a more rounded outcome. But we shouldn’t consider throwing out rigour and academic discipline for the sake of lowering standards to make it easier to get to university.
Derek Scott
CEO | Principal
We look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) with parents and special guests, hosted by our Girls Middle School and Senior School on Wednesday, 8 March at 7.30 am. The Middle School students will also recognise IWD with an assembly and activities on Thursday, 9 March.
Our Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students are preparing for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
NAPLAN is a national program with students in these year levels completing assessments in reading, writing, language conventions — spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. These assessments are held online and will take place from Wednesday, 15 March until Friday, 17 March.
Further information about NAPLAN can be found here.
A reminder that the two-minute zones at Villeroy Street and South Road are drop-off/pick-up only and parents are to remain in their car. The roundabout, accessed via South Road, is an efficient way to drop off and pick up your child.
On Sunday, 5 March, Clean Up Australia Day was held across the nation. At Castlefield, students from ELC through to Year 8 participated in ‘Clean Up Castlefield Day’ on Friday, 3 March. Students scoured the grounds to collect every piece of paper, plastic and rubbish to take practical action to improve our environment. Much discussion was had about our everyday habits, littering, recycling, composting and the changes we can make to help create sustainable differences.
The Pre-Prep classes have recently started their literacy program and with help from Milo the Monkey, they have discussed letters and their corresponding sounds. The children also learnt that Milo the monkey is having a birthday party and throughout the year they will meet new friends who will be going to Milo’s party.
Our literacy program is a multi-sensory program involving songs, actions and games. By making learning fun and interactive, the children stay engaged and motivated, and this naturally develops their literacy skills.
The ELC children have been learning about caring for Mother Earth. During their Environmental Learning time, they have participated in discussions and games about landfill, recycling and composting.
The Recycle Superhero sprinkled some recycling magic on the children as they were reminded about which bins to use for paper, plastic and food scraps. Families are encouraged to be recycle superheroes too and to bring in items from home to prevent these going to landfill.
In the ELC, we have collection areas for:
We appreciate your help to reduce landfill at school and at home.
Years 2–4 students started their swimming program which takes place in one of their PE lessons each week . The focus of each lesson is on building stroke technique, stamina and water safety.
“I’ve loved learning to use the pool buoy to perfect my arm style.”Genevieve
“It’s been great to be able to swim in the hot weather.””Hugo
“I think swimming is one of the best things to do in school, it lets me feel free and gives me a break from the classroom.”Lachlan W
“I’ve learnt the technique for backstroke and how to tread water.”Mila
Vittoria Dell’Atte, Deputy Head of Junior School, has developed a Social Justice program with Bayside Council called Bayside Connections. Twice a term, a Year 4 class visits Hampton Community Centre to chat and play games with volunteers from Bayside Council. This is an awesome opportunity for different generations to connect and work with each other.
On a beautiful sunny afternoon, as a part of the program, 4A headed down Hampton Street to engage in origami, ‘would you rather …’ games and collaborative drawing.
Our Year 6 students have thoroughly enjoyed their camps in Canberra. Camps are a time to create new friendships, foster existing ones, work through challenges together and to see peers and teachers in a different environment. What better place to do all this than Parliament House and the Australian Institute of Sport?
In Middle School we value the lessons that are learned from being outside your comfort zone. Camps are all about stepping outside your comfort zone and seeing where that takes you.
Middle School provides great opportunities for leadership, and we encourage all students to lead and advocate for their school community throughout the year. Our Years 5, 7 and 8 Homeroom Captains were inducted during our Middle School Assembly and our Year 6 leaders were inducted on their return from camp.
Our leaders represent our student body and meet with staff to implement the vision and expectation of the School.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”John Maxwell
Katrina Manson
Head of Castlefield (Brighton)
It was great to see lots of people at the Welcome BBQ. The weather turned our way and we had a great time.
The intake year Parent Nights are happening in March. Please visit the myHaileybury app for more information and to purchase your tickets.
Prep Parent Night will be on Tuesday, 7 March and it will be on Wednesday, 8 March for Year 5 and Year 7 parents. These evenings are for existing and new parents.
Our Luna Park event is fast approaching. All students and parents from all campuses are invited to attend on Wednesday, 29 March from 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm.
Please purchase your tickets as soon as possible here.
Monique Chapman
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Castlefield
The focus of Primary and Middle School over the last few weeks has been our collaboration and cooperation with our parent community. Primary School held Year 6 parent meetings and Middle School held Year 9 class workshops, including a VCE information session.
These were opportunities for the School to work with parents to discuss how we can improve communication. Haileybury values the relationships we build with parents and these sessions are extremely important in ensuring our parents are kept up to date with how their children are performing and how they can continue to improve.
I spoke to both groups of parents in detail about entry into the Senior School, how the VCE program functions and I also shared the outstanding results of our graduates and their university pathways.
Due to interruptions to the end of Semester 1 caused by the pandemic, Senior School celebrated the end of semester 1 Awards Ceremony during the first few weeks of Semester 2. The Awards Ceremony is a very important part of Haileybury’s academic program and enables the School to recognise the top five per cent of students in each academic subject.
The ceremony also presented Subject Recognition Awards to students in each subject who have demonstrated excellence in their classroom and study habits. Congratulations to all students for their commitment to their studies and we look forward to all students achieving excellence throughout the year.
As part of their mathematics curriculum, the Primary School organised a Mathematics Exhibition and Festival. The festival started with special presentations to parents in the theatre that gave an overview of the projects designed by each class.
Parents, staff and students then moved to the gymnasium and took part in activities based on mathematical reasoning, teamwork and problem solving.
A big thank you to all the Primary School staff from the Mathematics Department and to all the students who made the festival a highlight to begin the second half of the school year.
Yanni Galanis
International Principal, Haileybury International School, Tianjin
The Girls Night In event for our Middle School girls was an amazing success, with everyone enjoying the cake decorating, Bollywood dancing and games.
However, the highlight of the evening was the World’s Greatest Shave when eight students and three staff members bravely had their hair cut to support the Leukaemia Foundation. The girls managed to raise an impressive $11,000 for the foundation while increasing awareness about this devastating disease.
On Tuesday, 21 February our HPFE volunteers made pancakes in their hundreds for Shrove Tuesday. This was warmly received by our students who could not wait to try the different toppings. Edrington raised around $1,200 for Uniting Care to support people in our local area. Many thanks to the parents who made the day such a success.
The ELC children have had another positive fortnight of making connections with each other and their community. This is an integral part of the beginning of every year whether children are new or returning to our school.
Warm and respectful relationships with children and their families form the foundation for effective early childhood education programs, and strong connections with educators generate a sense of belonging and nurture learning and development.
The beginning of a new year also brings opportunities for children to make new connections with peers and to build on existing friendships. Staff use intentional teaching strategies within their curriculum plans to support children to learn how to make friends, self-regulate emotions and build confidence to speak up in a group.
It has also been nice to see families connecting with one another. Reception and Pre-Prep Morning Teas in the Junior School Quad attracted plenty of people and led families to attend dinners at the Berwick Springs Hotel. We look forward to watching these connections and relationships grow.
Our Berwick Buddies Program creates relationships between the oldest and youngest students in our School. It is an opportunity for our Year 4 students to show leadership and kindness and to get to know the Prep students.
For the Prep students it is wonderful for them to know some faces in the yard who can help them navigate Junior School. Our last activity together was a buddy activity in the library. As you can see, they were all very engaged with their activities and enjoyed their time together.
The Year 6 boys and girls have returned from Canberra. They were kept busy with visits to Parliament House, the National Dinosaur Museum, the Australian Institute of Sport, the Deep Space Communication Complex and more! The highlight, however, was their visit to Questacon that explores science, technology and innovation. It was great to see the students enjoying this camp after its two-year hiatus.
On Wednesday, 22 February our Year 8 Captains from the Boys and Girls Schools participated in a leadership workshop run by Tripod. It gave them a chance to explore ideas while developing leadership skills like public speaking and building relationships. We look forward to seeing some of the ideas they came up with put into practice. We have an impressive group of leaders this year who have already demonstrated their enthusiasm and passion for their roles.
Last Thursday, Year 8 students visited the Mornington Peninsula as part of a geography excursion. They collected evidence to use for their inquiry on coastlines and environmental impacts affecting these areas.
Finally, we look forward to our Middle School Athletics Carnival tomorrow. Students are reminded to wear their House tops, bring a water bottle and hat, and cheer on everyone regardless of their House!
Jeanette Rawlings
Head of Edrington (Berwick)
Hello Edrington! Thanks again for supporting our Pancake Day. Check out our Facebook page for some happy snaps of the children. They LOVED it! The highlight for us was seeing the Year 4 students supporting their Prep buddies — it was so sweet!
Special thanks to our volunteers: Ella Colla, Rita Lettieri, Jenelle Suarez, Gorica Salapura, Mikayla Randall, Kate Haakman, Tulin Cenbay-Finn, Michelle Westerveld, Honorata Tettis, Shaun Akkermans, Samina Siddiqui and Bernadette Montague. We could not run these events without you all. Together we raised over $1,200 for Uniting Care and we are looking forward to sizzling sausages with you during the Cross Country Cook Up!
Di and Kelly are opening the Uniform Shop every Wednesday from 8.45 am – 10.45 am. If you have an hour to spare this term to help in the shop, please contact Di and Kelly at shus-berwick@haileybury.vic.edu.au.
Summer Sippers @ The Pavilion tickets are on sale now! Get in quick before we sell out. The HPFE Committee has been working hard gathering some AMAZING items for our silent auction! All money raised goes towards updating and implementing new equipment across the School for our children.
Andrew Wishart will be playing live and Jess from Chartwells has put together an amazing menu for all to enjoy. Tickets are available here.
| Date and Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
|
Thursday, 16 March at 8.45 am
|
Years 6, 7 & 8 Parent Morning Tea
|
Library Courtyard
|
|
Friday, 17 March at 3.30 pm
|
Annual Edrington Family Picnic (ELC, JS and MS families)
|
Oval
|
|
Friday, 24 March at 7.00 pm
|
Summer Sippers (Parent Event), ELC, JS, MS and SS, https://www.trybooking.com/CDUME
|
The Pavilion
|
Kerry Ilic & Tracy Day
HPFE Presidents
Hpfe@haileybury.vic.edu.au
Homework plays an essential role in the learning process of students at Haileybury as it allows them to reinforce and apply concepts and skills they learn in class. With a regular study routine each night, students develop important habits like time management and self-discipline. These are crucial for academic success.
Students can also identify their strengths and weaknesses and seek help from teachers or peers and these questions often become wonderful starting points for discussion in class the next day. Homework can also prepare students for assessment tasks. Reading each night also has a significant impact on academic growth and achievement.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests will be held in March for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Haileybury will conduct these tests on Wednesday, 15, Thursday, 16 and Friday, 17 March. The NAPLAN tests will be held online, except for Year 3 Writing that will be a paper test.
Haileybury Heads of Early Learning recently participated in the Best Start, Best Life educational leaders conference. The event attracted keynote speakers from Canada, the UK and Australia who presented the latest research and evidence on pedagogical leadership to enhance teaching and learning.
The research affirms the effectiveness of Haileybury’s Early Learning Centres in promoting positive outcomes for children’s learning and development. It emphasised the importance of a high-quality curriculum delivered by well-qualified educators who implement a play-based program with intentionality.
Haileybury’s Early Learning Centre educators excel at embedding concepts and leveraging each child’s innate curiosity to support a deeper understanding of the curriculum.
To commemorate Harmony Week, educators and children are invited to wear multicultural costumes or the colour orange. The event will be celebrated on Tuesday, 21 March by Reception S, Reception N and Pre-Prep C classes. On Friday, 24 March, Reception W, Pre-Prep P and Pre- Prep W will also celebrate Harmony Day.
This year’s theme is Everyone Belongs. While we celebrate our diversity of cultures on these days, throughout the year we encourage a sense of inclusiveness, respect and belonging. We are delighted to welcome ELC families to share their culture with their child’s class through songs, dance, cooking and cultural discussions and displays.
Junior School held a Wellbeing Assembly to showcase their first three weeks of learning this term. We were joined by Diane Furusho (Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing).
The Prep students introduced their Kindness Monster that helps them remember their respectful relationships focus for the year, which is kindness.
Students then showed Mrs Furusho what they have learned about emotional regulation using the Zones of Regulation program. They explained what the different zones mean, what expected behaviour looks like in a classroom, the catastrophe scale, how to use their Wellbeing Toolkit and the physiological cues that are part of the different zones.
Years 3 and 4 students recently took part in Junior School House Tee Ball on the Newlands Field. A sea of yellow, red, blue and green swarmed the oval and students enthusiastically represented their Houses and enjoyed learning this new sport.
Middle School leaders were a tremendous help during the afternoon and House values such as sportsmanship, persistence and fair play were on show for all to see. It was fantastic to witness the parent support on the sidelines, too.
We look forward to Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 House Kickball on Friday, 24 March.
This Friday, special guests will visit Junior School for our annual Junior School Grandparents and Special Friends Day. Visitors will enjoy morning tea, a musical extravaganza that different year levels have been learning in choir, and they will then play games and create family trees in the classrooms. This day is always a highlight in the Junior School calendar, and we look forward to hosting our VIPs.
At the end of each year, we run a competition for all students in GMS to design a badge that everyone will wear in the new year. This creates a sense of belonging for students and pride for the winning designers.
We had some fabulous designs to choose from. The 2023 winner was Mishka Bhatt (Year 6). Here, Mishka explains her design:
“The flowers indicate the constant growth of GMS as well as the different colours of the flowers that symbolise everyone in GMS is unique and each individual has their own special array of talents. This badge is an illustration of some of the memories and lessons I have experienced in my time at GMS. The words on the badge are written in cupcake font to signify that GMS is fun but you still need to work hard.”
Year 7 BMS students recently took part in a Man Cave incursion. These evidence-based workshops assist our young men to explore their personal identity by discussing the challenges and opportunities of masculinity. We want to promote the critical emotional and social skills necessary for young men to enjoy flourishing lives and relationships. Haileybury is committed to nurturing students who can create healthy relationships, reach their full potential and contribute positively to their community.
Congratulations to our homeroom captains for 2023, please click the button below to view the list of captains.
This year, Newlands Middle School will celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday, 16 March. Leading up to the day, students will participate in homeroom activities that are focused on the global themes of ‘embracing equity’ and ‘cracking the code for women in stem’.
This year's guest speaker at our IWD assembly will be Sarah Moran, CEO and Co-founder of Girl Geek Academy. Girl Geek Academy is a movement to bring one million women and girls into technology careers by 2030. We are looking forward to hearing her speak to our students.
Please see the website Girl Geek Academy to learn how to get your daughter involved in this initiative.
Athletic abilities will be on display at the Middle School House Sport event on Tuesday, 7 March. The action takes place from 9.35 am – 1.15 pm and not only showcases sporting prowess but also fosters team spirit, collaboration and friendly competition.
Students will be divided into their House teams and will compete in events such as relay races, long jump, shot put and more. Please ensure students wear appropriate clothing, including comfortable sports shoes and a hat. We also recommend students bring plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Each House has a coloured uniform that corresponds to their House colour and students should wear their House uniform on the day. The colours are pictured below.
We look forward to seeing our students compete and sharing the highlights with our school community.
Mark Harrop
Acting Head of Newlands (Keysborough)
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for supporting stalls in the ELC and Junior School as part of the HPFK Pancake Day! Thank you especially to Linette Grossi and Jonelle Colabufalo for organising this event for Newlands students.
Thank you to our families for attending our Year Five Bowling Night and to Katrina King, Sada Memic and Laura Evans for organising the night. The event was a huge success, and a lot of fun was had by all!
Please join us for a Term One Family Dinner on Friday, 24 March from 6.00 pm at the Waltzing Matilda Hotel, 856 Heatherton Road, Springvale.
This is a great opportunity for families to meet as you continue your journey at Haileybury Newlands.
Order and pay for your meals at the counter.
RSVP by Friday, 17 March to Kathleen Fu on 0433 320 959.
We look forward to seeing many families come along to support this fabulous family fun night.
A huge thank you to all our wonderful parents that attended the HPFK Term One Meeting last Thursday evening.
Collectively, all in attendance have been at our amazing school for 185 years & this includes 6 new parents!
We were thoroughly impressed by our awesome 2023 School Captains Neeraja Ahielan and Sam Shinsky. They described their time at Haileybury as ‘the most brilliant journey’ where they ‘challenged each other to be their best’.
Finally, Thank you to Mark Harrop, Acting Head of Newlands and Theo Georokpoulos, Acting Head of Senior Schools for you informative updates.
Lenice Norris
President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Keysborough
As the newest members of the Haileybury community, it has been wonderful to see our Haileybury Pangea students and families engaging with the traditions and events taking place across the School.
At our virtual assemblies in recent weeks, students have viewed presentations from the Haileybury’s Founders Day Assembly and from guest speakers such as Eddie Betts. These have been beamed from Aikman Hall to the homes of our students across Victoria.
Many Haileybury Pangea families also joined the live Haileybury ChatGPT Webinar presented by Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing, Diane Furusho, with Principal | CEO, Derek Scott, and Head of Digital, Michelle Dennis.
This session began what we hope will be an ongoing conversation with our community about the challenges and opportunities that new AI technologies present, and how we can support young people to understand the implications of these developments.
In a virtual learning environment, it is particularly important that we explore these questions together and start a conversation with students.
Community is key at Haileybury Pangea, and we want to find different ways for students and families to connect in a virtual environment around activities that are of interest.
Our first @Home with Haileybury event on Tuesday, 21 February was an activity hotly demanded by Pangea students — a Minecraft build challenge! Hosted by Digital Learning Leaders, Geoff Orton and Carlie Gannon, this event saw our budding student designers create a virtual Pangea campus, complete with farm animals and a student kitchen.
We would love to hear from students and families about the activities they are most interested in as we roll out future @Home with Haileybury Events.
Joanna Baker
Head of Campus
Many 2022 graduates returned to School on Tuesday, 14 February to take part in the annual Honours Assembly that celebrated the academic achievements of the Class of 2022. Haileybury’s VCE successes are so exceptional that we no longer have room in Aikman Hall to host Haileybury College and Haileybury Girls College at the same time.
At each assembly, students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were presented with awards for exemplary achievement in individual subjects. We then announced the names of the graduates who had been placed on the Scholars and Honours Boards.
The assemblies concluded with the School applauding the achievements of the Duces of Haileybury College: Yan He Chen, Jiaqi Lu, Michael Sun, Kerry Zhu and Kim Zhu and our Duces of Haileybury Girls College, Abigail Gardiner and Chloe Lay. They all achieved an ATAR of 99.95 as a reflection of their hard work and effort.
Our families from Years 9–12 attended the Keysborough, City and Berwick Meet and Greet Nights on Wednesday, 22 February. This was an opportunity for parents to gather together and to meet our Heads of Pre-Senior and Heads of House. Everyone had a wonderful evening.
On Thursday, 16 February two of our Senior School students, Daniel Abdullah Zain (Year 11) and Henry Ho (Year 11) sat the Australian Invitational Informatics Olympiad (AIIO). This four-hour programming and problem-solving contest is only open to top scorers in the Australian Informatics Olympiad (AIO) — a very tough three-hour contest held before the AIIO.
Daniel and Henry have now completed the first of two four-hour exams. Eventually, 16 top-scoring students will join a special training group and four of those students will be chosen to represent Australia at the International Informatics Olympiad (IOI).
For the AIIO, Daniel received the Gold Award, placing in the top 10% and almost getting full marks. Henry got a Bronze Award and was in the top 50%. Even though the road to the IOI is long and full of challenges, this is a significant achievement worthy of celebration!
Our Pipes & Drums students put on a fantastic performance, earning some impressive results in heavily contested grades at Ballarat Grammar on Saturday, 25 February. Our A Band won Grade 4A and Novice Juvenile A, while our B Band were runners up in the Novice Juvenile B Medley & Marches elements (Best Drum Core), and third overall in Grade 4B.
Moreover, our C Band received great feedback from the judges after making their successful debut.
The Haileybury Parents and Friends will be holding a Family Fun Night at Luna Park on Wednesday, 29 March at 5.00 pm. This is a great opportunity for new and current families to connect and reconnect. All details can be found on the myHaileybury app.
Top Class is part of the VCE Season of Excellence managed by Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. The Season showcases work produced by outstanding VCE students who completed performing or visual arts, technology, design, or research studies in 2022. Events are presented at Melbourne’s major cultural venues, alongside associated education programs.
Congratulations to Michaela Davidson (Year 12) who will be performing her VCE Skills on Tuesday, 7 March at Concert 1 at 10.00 am.
Tickets are now available via the Melbourne Recital Centre. A full list of performers appearing across the Dance programs is available via the Season of Excellence website.
Please remember that Monday, 13 March is the Labour Day Public Holiday and the school will be closed.
Theo Georgakopoulos
Acting Head of Haileybury Senior Schools
The adolescent brain is a weird and wonderful creation! Inside, 86 billion neurons connect and collide and trigger change. The new City play, Brainstorm, explores this fascinating process and investigates the inner workings of the teen brain.
The script for this play began as a blueprint with some structure, but much of the content and dialogue has been developed by Director, Jane Marshall, and the City student cast to reflect their ideas about the teenage experience.
Performed at the Chapel Off Chapel, this will be a theatrical experience not to be missed.
Tickets are on sale for the Years 9–12 Senior musical, SpongeBob. This family friendly musical includes music from Cindy Lauper, David Bowie, Steven Tyler, John Legend and many other big-name artists.
Expect a larger than life, hilarious and energetic show that will have you laughing out loud and singing along as you journey to Bikini Bottom to play with SpongeBob and friends.
Nick Waxman
Head of Drama and Theatre Studies
Key features of the instrumental music program are the collaborative performance opportunities at Haileybury. Many of you will be aware of the Music Department’s large ensemble concert schedule, which can be located here, and there are many other exciting performances throughout the year.
These include:
Last Friday night, 25 jazz performance students provided background music for guests at the Haileybury Founders Day Cocktail Party, which was held at the new Year 9 Centre at Brighton campus.
The event celebrated and recognised the contributions of those who have played, or continue to play, a key role in the development and evolution of Haileybury.
Guests listened to speeches from Scott Doran, Vice Principal Community Engagement & Advancement and Katrina Manson, Head of Castlefield. They also enjoyed refreshments while listening to the jazz combos perform a modern jazz repertoire.
Rod Marshall
Director of Performing Arts & Head of Haileybury Music
Junior and Middle School students across our campuses have started the year with a bang and their enthusiasm for art making can be seen through the works already on display.
Junior students are exploring topics from identity to relationships and learning about the practice of artists who have also investigated these topics.
Middle School students have extended their art knowledge, while Year 8s have created portraits that are on display for everyone to enjoy.
City Year 8 and Prep portraits. Prep students began the year sharing stories from their holidays by completing self-portraits. They then focused on the importance of presentation by cutting their own frames. Year 8s explored oil pastels, bringing their own unique interests to their works.
Our Art curriculum focuses on the student as a central inspiration to their works by linking their prior experiences and unique perspective. We look forward to nurturing their creativity and embracing each student’s individuality as they immerse themselves in the Visual Arts this year.
Newlands Year 1 students creating works focussing on our relationships with others. They have been exploring how they feel when they are with special people, such as family, and how we represent this through our artwork.
Rebecca Frith
Head of Visual Arts Junior & Middle School
The Haileybury Pipes & Drums had tremendous success at the Ballarat Grammar Pipe Band Contest yesterday. Despite the heavy rain, the P&D students showcased their talents and skills in various grades that were heavily contested.
Nonetheless, Haileybury secured some impressive results.
The A Band, led by Pipe Major Jennifer Short (Year 12), Pipe Sergeant Ruby Nuttall (Year 11) and Drum Sergeant Sofia Carollo (Year 10), won Grade 4A and Novice Juvenile A. Their performance was characterised by their precision, technical skill and sound. Their victory was a testament to their hard work, dedication and teamwork.
The B Band were runners up in the Novice Juvenile B Medley & Marches elements, and their drum core was awarded the Best Drum Corp. They also came third overall in Grade 4B. Their performance was marked by their excellent rhythm, tempo and control and this earned them high praise from the judges.
The C Band made their debut performance at the contest and received great feedback from the judges — impressive given this was their first time performing in a contest.
After the Australian Championships in 2022, it seems the rain continued to follow us. While the weather was less than ideal, students didn’t let that get in their way. They marched on, determined to give their best, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements.
Lincoln Hilton
Director, Pipes & Drums
We look forward to the release of the 2022 Haileybury Foundation Impact Report that
will be available to Haileybury community members at the end of March.
The Impact Report details the significant differences that are being made for our students through scholarships and funding provided for buildings and the library by the Haileybury community. The report will name all Haileybury Foundation donors in 2022 and showcase the projects that are transforming lives.
2022 was a record-breaking year for the Haileybury Foundation. Our Scholarship Fund recorded the highest ever donations, thanks largely in part to the successful Giving Day held in August.
Additionally, our Building Fund continues to deliver interesting and impactful projects for students across all four campuses. It received the second largest amount of donations in history. This is largely thanks to our parents who so generously contribute to our Voluntary Building Fund on a quarterly basis. We value your contributions and look forward to showcasing the exceptional quality of our buildings via the Impact Report.
Our donors are changing lives forever, regardless of the size of the gift.
All gifts to Haileybury Foundation are tax deductible.
Donations can be made here.
Thank you.
John Pritchard (OH 1978) studied engineering at Swinburne, completing a Bachelor Degree in 1983 and Masters in 1990. John was commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve in 1987 and still serves with his current posting as instructor for future leaders in the Reserves.
John also enjoys ballroom dancing, which he started at Haileybury. This interest led John to meet his future wife, Barbara, and they married in 1987 at the newly opened chapel at Haileybury Keysborough.
John and Barbara recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary and they have three children — Claire, Ryan (OH 2015) and Aidan (OH 2017). Claire attended Shelford and has just completed her PhD. Ryan has completed an engineering degree and Aidan has a commerce/engineering degree.
All children have enjoyed sport including rowing, soccer, hockey and sailing through school and in local clubs. Sailing was a family activity and John and Barbara’s children were keen participants in the Youth Sailing Program at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Their parents were also involved in supporting the program.
John’s career took him into the world of IT and in January 2023 he celebrated 25 years with a world leading software company where he is Senior Cloud Solution Architect. He helps customers transition to cloud based computing.
Barbara is a chartered accountant and has enjoyed a return to full-time employment after working part time for many years.
The couple are looking forward to being able to travel more but also to be able to spend more time at home and to give their house some attention.
Thanks for staying connected, John, and family!
We love hearing from our alumni. If you have a story to share, we’d love to hear from you, please share it here.
Kylie Phillips
Development Office Operations Lead
The success of the Boys’ Badminton team is well reported. Under the watchful guidance of Mark Doyle, Head of Badminton, the boys are searching for their eighth consecutive APS Premiership.
What is very unique about this team is that for the first time ever Haileybury has three sets of brothers all representing the 1st Haileybury Badminton team at the same time.
They are:
What an amazing achievement!
Year 10 students Ryan Hutchings and his partner, Zavier McInerney, have been selected in the Under 17 Boys Beach Volleyball team for the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships. The event will be held in Coolangatta from Monday, 27 March to Thursday, 30 March.
Ryan and Zavier are the top seeds for Victoria, and they will push hard to win the overall event. We wish them both every success.
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.
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