From the Principal – Newsletter 1 2020

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to the 2020 school year! I hope that you were able to enjoy family time over the summer break and that our students are refreshed and ready for school. It is really wonderful to have them back from holidays. The School is simply not a school without them!

Our theme for 2020 is Growth, building on those of the past three years – Inspire!, Optimism and Wellbeing. During the holidays I was reminded of the power that is inherent in having a ‘Growth Mindset’, how important it is to have an unwavering belief that improvement really is possible and then to work towards it with enthusiasm. Far more effective than the opposite which is a ‘Fixed Mindset’.

I shared this analogy with staff last week and the Secondary students at our Student Leaders Commissioning on Wednesday: It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder to learn to fly while remaining an egg. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. C.S. Lewis

One idea leads to another and I was reminded of this poem by the 19th Century French poet, Guillaume Apollinaire:

Come to the edge, he said.

They said, We are afraid.

Come to the edge, he said.

It’s too high!

Come to the edge!

So they came.

And he pushed them…

And they flew.

In a year of Growth, I have challenged staff and students to have a crack at motivating ourselves to grow our capacity, whether it is academically or on the spots field or in cultural areas such as music and drama, or in any aspect of our lives which will benefit from having that Growth Mindset. Let’s be the eggs that hatch, the birds that fly and sometimes even soar.

Staff

This term we welcome the following staff members to Frederick Irwin:

Primary – Halls Head

·           Mrs Kim Chalwell                            Year 5

·           Mrs Tracey Eynon                           Year 1 to Year 6 Education Assistant

·           Mrs Tegan George                           Special Needs Education Assistant

·           Mrs Sky Kettle                                  Library Technician

·           Mrs Clarissa Parker                        Special Needs Education Assistant

·           Mrs Annelise Van Den Elzen        Music

Primary – Meadow Springs

·           Mrs Toni Jacobs                              ICT (from Halls Head)

·           Mrs Jessica Starkey                        Special Needs Education Assistant

·           Mrs Annelise Van Den Elzen        Music

·           Miss Rebecca Waddell                    Year 6

Secondary

·           Mr Chad Bosveld                            Mathematics

·           Mr Michael Brown                         English

·           Ms Sidney Harvey                          Music Tutor

·           Mr Jordan Jones                            English

·           Miss Su-Lin Martin                       Year 7

·           Miss Holly Mason                          Drama

·           Miss Zoe McGivern                        Music Tutor

·           Mr Aashay Pratish                         Science

·           Mr Jack Sears                                 Sports and Recreation Trainee

·           Mrs Emma Stachowicz                 Humanities and Social Sciences

Congratulations to the following staff who will be taking on added or other responsibilities for part or all of the year or whose promotion positions have now been confirmed:

Primary – Meadow Springs

·         Mrs Renee Goard                            Upper Primary Coordinator

·         Mrs Pat Rehm                                  Learning Enrichment Coordinator

·         Mrs Janet Stirling                             Early Childhood Coordinator

Secondary

·         Mr Ashley Blake                               Acting Assistant Head of Arnold House (Terms 1 and 3)

·         Mr Israel Carmody                           Acting Head of English (Terms 1 and 3)

·         Mrs Jenny Crutchett                         (Acting) Head of Performing Arts (continuing from 2019)

·         Mr Ben Dunbar                                Assistant Head of Barrett House

·         Mrs Sophie Trent                             Acting Assistant Head of Rose House

·         Mrs Marlise Vaughan                       Assistant Head of Jamieson House

·         Mr Craig Winter                               (Acting) Head of Rose House (continuing from 2019)

Welcome back from various types of long leave to:

·           Mrs Natasha Hantler                       Learning Enrichment – Halls Head

·           Mrs Donna Perren                          Head of Mathematics

·           Mrs Jacky Ukich                              English

Congratulations go to staff members who were married during the holidays:

·           Mrs Briana Mullenax (Klasztorny)     Health and Physical Education

·           Alison Robins (Pyke)                        Humanities and Social Sciences

·           Aimee Stoker (Webb)                      Kindergarten – Halls Head

Family Picnic and Bush Dance

The annual Family Picnic and Bush Dance will be held on the Halls Head campus again this year. This is the main family event at Halls Head each year. Families from both campuses are invited to attend. A letter with the details was sent to families at the start of term. Please call the school if for some reason you did not receive this.

Other Events

As you will see on the Calendar, there are a number of events across the term and we look forward to seeing parents and other family members at them.

Kind regards

Kerry Robertson