Dear Preshil Families,
I hope you enjoyed yourselves over the break and that the last term of the year is off to a good start. I want to share some of the activities that occurred in the first week of Term 4 and some that took place as we ended Term 3. As we head into this term, there is much to look forward to and celebrate!
We are already off and running. We had the pleasure last week of celebrating Valedictory. It was a wonderful opportunity to honour our Year 12 students and their journeys. I came away from the evening feeling inspired by the experiences our students have at Preshil. Special thanks to the students and staff at Arlington for preparing such a beautiful Valedictory dinner and the staff at Blackhall Kalimna who made the event so special. I am grateful to all staff, students and families that attended and supported the wonderful celebration.
We are grateful to everyone in our Preshil community for supporting our students during their time at Preshil; for helping them grow into the people they are and will be. We are proud of them as they make their way into the world and look forward to keeping in touch as they take their next steps.
Please enjoy the images from the Valedictory Celebrations below, and we look forward to sharing official photographs and more reflections in future updates.
A Visit To Yorta Yorta Country
During the break, I was able to take some time to make a visit to traditional Yorta Yorta country in northern Victoria with our incoming MYP Coordinator Jason Shulman. Traditional Yorta Yorta lands lie on both sides of the Murray River roughly from Cohuna to Albury / Wodonga. They include towns such as Echuca, Shepparton, Benalla, Corowa and Wangaratta and extend northwards to just south of Deniliquin. The Yorta Yorta have previously launched a Native Title claim which sought confirmation of the continuation of native title over forests and other public lands along the Murray and Goulburn Rivers. Yorta Yorta traditional tribal lands cover some 20,000 square kilometres.
We spent some time with Yorta Yorta community members and elders, getting to know them and their stories. It was inspiring to meet Paul Briggs and his family, and learn about his work towards reconciliation, working for the rights of the Yorta Yorta people and for indigenous peoples throughout Australia. We also took some time to walk across the land and become familiar with the history and vision of the community, including visiting the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club, an Aboriginal institution in the Shepparton area that is instrumental in creating and driving regional change.
Currently, there are many Yorta Yorta organisations working hard to improve economic and educational outcomes and thus, quality of life for members within the Yorta Yorta community. They have also demonstrated this will improve life for all Australians in the region and these are just some of the projects they have underway (click to open).
We are in ongoing conversations to see how Preshil might learn from and support these important efforts.
On Monday 3 October 2022, our staff came together for a Professional Learning Day with Berry Street Education. Read more…
Doo Dah took place at the end of Term 3 at the Arlington Campus! Read more…
Thank you to all families who attended our Preshil Book Club at the end of Term 3. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next session! Read more…
Are you looking for any opportunity to get involved in our community endeavours? We invite you to attend the next Parent Education Committee meeting! We are a small group of Preshil parents and educators who are always looking for new members and opportunities to support our community with events and activities that benefit us all. Come along next Monday to find out a bit more about us and have your say. We look forward to seeing you then!
DATE: Monday 17 October 2022 at 6.00pm
LOCATION: Blackhall Kalimna Campus Library
Our Sustainable Campus Committee is pleased to share that Preshil has recently joined up to be a ResourceSmart School. The ResourceSmart Schools (RSS) program is a free initiative offered by Sustainability Victoria that supports Victorian schools to embed sustainability across school facilities, community and curriculum while saving resources and money for the School. The ultimate aim of RSS is to give our students a voice and the skills to become advocates for the environment.
We recently sat down with Jess Panazzolo, the ResourceSmart Schools Facilitator from the Eastern Alliance for Sustainable Learning to discuss Preshil’s involvement in their exciting sustainability initiatives. Part of this conversation was about creating a School Environmental Management Plan which will outline Preshil’s broad strategic direction within the space of sustainability. This will be developed through consultation across the School and potentially captured in this four-year plan.
There are 5 modules: Waste, Water, Biodiversity, Energy and Core. Preshil has already started the Core and the Waste Module. The Core module consists of policy writing and action plans. The Waste module will see the implementation of systematic waste streams, a new composting system and ultimately reducing landfill by 85% or more.
Since 2008, more than 1,400 schools have participated in the program. Together, they have:
- saved more than $41 million on bills
- planted 5,271,038 trees
- saved more than 118,000 tonnes CO2e greenhouse gas emissions
- diverted 194,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill
- saved 1,884,783 kilolitres of water.
Find Out More: Discover the positive impact that, on behalf of the Victorian Government, Sustainability Victoria has delivered through their programs and campaigns by clicking here (click to open).
Members of the Library Committee are excited to share that they will be hosting an open after-school library session every Wednesday from 3.30 to 4.30pm, commencing Wednesday 26 October 2022 until the end of Term 4.
This will be an opportunity for you to check out books and engage in other library activities, such as crafts, storytime, and quiet reading. As a duty of care, a parent or carer must please be in attendance. Our Library Committee members will support activities planned, but will not be in a supervisory role for your children.
The Library Committee hopes that these weekly sessions will be an opportunity for families to have extra time at the library and encourage your children’s love of books and reading.
CERES Visits Preshil
We were delighted to welcome CERES to Preshil and to talk about all things sustainability!
A Special Library Afternoon
Our Library Committee has started hosting special after school library sessions for families at our Arlington Campus and the first event was a huge success!
Class of 2022 Valedictory
Our Class of 2022 Valedictory Ceremony was a special time for celebration and reflection as students, teachers, and families gathered to recognize the accomplishments of the graduating class.
Introducing ResourceSmart to Preshil
Our Sustainable Campus Committee is pleased to share that Preshil has recently joined up to be a ResourceSmart School!
Meet Preshil Alumni, Audrey Robinson (Class of 2020)
We are grateful to Audrey for her time recently, sharing insight into her experience at Preshil!
Meet the Teachers Event
We were delighted to recently welcome our 2023 Year 7 students and families to Preshil for to a special ‘Meet the Teachers’ Event!
Wishing you a great term ahead!
With my best wishes,
