Preshil Weekly – Term 1 Week 9

Dear Preshil Community,

Welcome to another edition of the Preshil Weekly.

As we come to the close of what has been a rich and fast-paced term, the vibrancy of learning across our Preshil community has been on full display. This final week has served as a beautiful microcosm of the learning, connection, and creativity that has flourished throughout Term 1.

Across the school, children, families, and staff came together to share and celebrate a wide range of learning experiences. In the Lighthouse, our younger students showcased the culmination of their enquiry into “community”—what it means to belong and how communities connect. A particular highlight was their self-produced documentaries, lovingly put together and proudly shared with their families.

At the other end of the school, our senior music students took to the stage to perform their current musical works-in-progress. From all accounts, this was an absolutely stellar evening—one that highlighted the diverse and impressive talents of our young people.

Our long-standing Doo Dah tradition continued, complete of course with sausages, fruit, and joyful togetherness. Meanwhile, both Arlington and Blackhall were alive with performances, and the energy of The Big Day In and Door Step performances respectively. It would be hard to imagine a more vibrant and dynamic community learning environment than what we’ve experienced this past week.

Every day is special at Preshil, but this week was particularly heartening—it was a celebration of who we are and all that we hold dear.

“Art, music, drama are not the frills of education but an integral part of it; the part, indeed, which helps the soul to blossom.” — Greta Lyttle​.

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible staff, whose skill and care in holding this space empower our young people to shape it in ways that are meaningful to them—each time, something new, something uniquely theirs.

Thank you also to our parents and carers for showing up, supporting, and contributing to the rich, ever-evolving tapestry of our living, breathing school community.

As incredible as these learning experiences are, our bodies are reminding us that it is indeed the end of term! And a well-earned break awaits us all.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Warm regards,

Aaron Mackinnon
Principal

Middle School Wellbeing Week
Last week we celebrated Wellbeing Week in our Middle School. The Wellbeing team coordinated a range of incursions which we see as emerging in early adolescence.

The week began with ‘The Man Cave’ and ‘The Big Sister Experience’. In these full day workshops, students were encouraged to think about the role of gender in their identity formation and the types of challenges a female identifying or male identifying student might be navigating. These ranged from help seeking, body image, friendships and having conversations around our mental health with friends.

Although these workshops had a gendered lens, they were safe and supportive spaces for all students, including those who are transgender, gender fluid and identify as non binary.

Students after the workshop shared statements such as ‘I have learned new ways to manage my mental health and well being’ and ‘I know my worth isn’t about how I look but who I am’. Several students shared their feedback at the completion of the workshop around the comfort they experienced at knowing that ‘everyone is struggling and fighting their own battles’ – that they weren’t alone, which we felt was a significant and important outcome for our young people.

Following on from these programs, we invited in ‘Toolbox Education’ to talk about dealing with conflict and identifying and distancing ourselves from the ‘mental movies’ that our minds can create around our most difficult moments.

These workshops found creative and innovative ways to teach students psychological tools through games and interactive activities.

Later on in the week, we invited in ‘Elephant Ed’ to discuss ‘Choices and Changes’ once we enter into romantic relationships, with a particular focus on respecting differences in timeline around sexual activity and appropriately acting on feelings, as well as managing rejection. This workshop was particularly affirming as students were very clearly knowledgeable in this area which then set the tone for our final workshops of the week which were facilitated by ‘Consent Labs’. Consent Labs is a new provider for Preshil and created warm and safe spaces to discuss important issues such as affirmative consent, boundary setting, digital consent online and the importance of media literacy skills and digital responsibility.

Throughout the week, we were also lucky to partner with headspace Hawthorne and the YMCA to run some fun lunchtime activities, including a game of soccer, bead and keyring making and giant games in the Cage!

We finished the week with an awesome day at Archie Brothers Arcades where students enjoyed three hours of arcade games, bumper cars and bowling. This was a really fun filled way to end an educational week, prioritising connection and joy.

One Man, Two Guvnors Read Through
This week, the One Man, Two Guvnors cast had their first script-read, otherwise known as in Theatre, a Cold Read. Many laughs were had as we became familiar with the dialogue, characters and mischievous energy of this show.