FROM THE SENIOR SCHOOL

FROM THE SENIOR SCHOOL Western Australians have been quite lucky throughout the pandemic, so we never imagined that we would start 2022 with numerous COVID restrictions in place. Yet, with our strategic plan in mind, we were able to reimagine most of our events so that students could still experience some of the most anticipated events on the School calendar.

It takes a village to reimagine events, so I would like to extend my gratitude to the amazing Senior School staff who have been so accommodating and flexible in last-minute, even last-second changes to make these events happen.

As a result of our reimagination, the Year 12 Ball became a ‘mask’uerade ball for an unforgettable evening of friendships, fun and glamour. At the Year 11 Dance, masks didn’t stop the girls from dancing the night away with their friends at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle.

The Interhouse Swimming Carnival became truly interhouse as we utilised our own Olympic-sized pool instead of the usual venue HBF Stadium. It was held over two days where some great perseverance, spirit and personal bests were livestreamed to the community. Congratulations to De Grey House who took home the trophy.

Not much could dampen the Arts Festival spirit, so with a few tweaks, the most anticipated day of the year came alive with year groups taking to the Great Court for their fancy dress parade, with dance and music performances livestreamed to wellbeing classrooms. New activities including Cake Decorating, Yarn Graffiti and a House Flat Lay competition added to an actionpacked day. Congratulations Gascoyne for taking out the Arts Festival trophy for 2022! Camps were not exempt from a good reimagining, with our Outdoor Education department nimbly ensuring that students were still able to experience similar activities. Full-day excursions that included stand-up paddle boarding, cultural experiences, abseiling, and climbing made for a camp-like experience.

The calendar wasn’t slowing down as we hosted Wandering Spirit Parent and Daughter Weekends. These were designed to “foster connections” with mothers and significant females, while the fathers and significant male session was tailored around ‘mindset’.

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EVERYTHING

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO REIMAGINE EVENTS, SO I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND MY GRATITUDE TO THE AMAZING SENIOR SCHOOL STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN SO ACCOMMODATING AND FLEXIBLE IN LAST-MINUTE, EVEN LAST-SECOND CHANGES TO MAKE THESE EVENTS HAPPEN.

As restrictions lifted, we were able to ‘Be Brave. Make a Change.’ for Reconciliation Week by taking part and learning about traditional Yalunga Games. Students heard real life stories and gained practical advice on the dangers of drugs and alcohol from expert, Paul Dillon. And we mixed it up a bit by transforming the Year 12 Mother Daughter Breakfast into a Mother Daughter Quiz Night, which was a huge success. We rounded off the semester with our performing arts students embracing the sequins, dinky-di slang and superb ballroom dance moves, for our 2022 School Production Strictly Ballroom the Musical.

It’s also exciting to see new developments such as the Rowing Shed with Scotch College and ESSTEAM Studio gain traction, on their way to completion in 2023. These will be incredible spaces, with countless opportunities for our students, helping to shape their learning and school experience.

Despite great change and disruption occurring across Western Australia, this semester has shown that nothing is too hard, and where there is a will there is a way. I look forward to another exciting and jam-packed semester for our community.

Andrea McNally Director of Senior School (Deputy Principal)