It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the year. It is great that there have been no lockdowns and although there have been substantial absences due to Covid, the school is still able to operate a normal program. The school will provide learning to students who are absent due to Covid so they can stay relatively up to date.

Capital Works

Unfortunately, the Capital Works will be delayed as the tender bids were unacceptable. We will now re-tender with the hope that we receive three quality proposals from construction companies. However, this process does take time so building should commence by August/early September. It is a bit frustrating but something we have little control over.

In the meantime the Learning Excellence team will continue to develop inspiring and engaging programs to implement within the new spaces e.g. robotics program!

Out of Class Pass

The Out of Class Pass (OoCP) has been successfully implemented across the school. The aim of the pass is to:

• Maximise student learning time
• Help students to better prepare for class
• Minimise student roaming

The OoCP conditions are:

• No longer than five minutes
• One student at a time
• Pass is visible
• One use per student per class
• No toilet break for the first and last 10 minutes of the lesson

I would like to thank the staff and students for supporting this new process.

Respecting School Facilities

I would like to thank our Facilities and Maintenance team – Chris and John who both work tirelessly to keep the school clean, tidy and in working condition. They do this in a friendly and helpful manner.

Unfortunately, some of their tasks involves repairing damage to the school’s property resulting from students lack of judgement. It is not only disappointing, but creates significate repair costs that the school cannot afford.

Expectations for our students are high at Fairhills High School. Everything we do is underpinned by our three core values:

• Act Responsibly
• Build Relationships
• Show Respect

Please continue to reinforce with your children the importance of respecting their own and others property and showing respect.

Student Leadership – Principal Meeting

At Fairhills High School, student voice and leadership is authentic as every decision made focuses on student learning and wellbeing.

At the start of every term I meet with members of the Student Representative Council (SRC). The main actions from the Term 2 meeting are as follows:

• New detention process to be implemented in Term 3
• Evaluate healthier and wider range of options at breakfast club
• Possible pass for students who catch an early bus
• The school to examine concerns raised regarding the period 6 VCE/VCAL classes
• Signage to be placed across the school to identify learning spaces and staff room listings
• Further discussion into the former canteen being opened at recess and lunchtime so students can use hot water/microwave

Ian Van Schie
Principal

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

As we move towards the end of Term 2, I am pleased to report on the progress of some of the initiatives that have been implemented at the school.

The introduction of the teacher Professional Learning Communities (PLC) has, at its core, a relentless focus on continuous improvement which brings together teams of teachers and leaders with a singular focus on success for every student. This Department of Education and Training (DET) initiative is characterised by teacher collaboration, shared practice, collective responsibility and pedagogical change to inspire change of practice. The work of PLCs is undertaken through regular cycles of disciplined, collaborative inquiry. PLCs ensure student learning drives teacher learning through targeted professional learning, classroom observation and the support of school leadership. The three big ideas of PLCs are:

1. A focus on learning
2. A collaborative culture and collective responsibility
3. Results orientation

With these ideas in mind, teachers have as their focus, the Inquiry Cycle to evaluate and diagnose data, prioritise and set goals, develop, plan and finally implement and monitor student’s progress.

Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) Program

In addition to PLCs, I am pleased to report that the Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) program has grown in Term 2. With the good work being undertaken by Liv Johnson and Bec Vance (Literacy Tutors).  I also welcome two Numeracy Tutors to the program: Sandra Dinh and Isabel Yu.

TLI provide students, who may have struggled most during remote and flexible learning in 2020-2021, with additional assistance in literacy and numeracy. Tutors prioritise small group learning time to meet the needs of identified students, and participate in three 45-minute small-group learning sessions per week over an eight-week period. Students are carefully selected, based on comprehensive testing, their specific needs, age and learning difficulties. Fairhills ensures that tutors are used in the most effective way to support identified students.

Exams

Parents and students will be aware that the exam period is fast approaching with Year 11 Exams being held from 6 -7 June, 9-10 June and Years 9 and 10 Exams from 10-16 June. The exams in core subjects will be held for 90 minutes and electives will take 60 minutes. Report Writing Day will be held on 17 June with electronic copies of reports being distributed to parents and guardians on the last day of term – 24 June.

Year 9 Connect Program

The Year 9 Connect Program have been busy the past couple of weeks.  They have been assisting the Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushland by planting trees in a section of the fire damaged area of the reserve, cooking a delicious range of soups each week to help the needy within the Ferntree Gully community and cleaning up the school grounds.  See the Middle School report for more information.

Karen Dean
Associate Principal, Staff Development/Leadership

Changes to the VCAL program in 2023

As parents and students may have noted from the Victorian Government’s new advertising campaign there are system wide changes coming to the structure of learning in the vocational and applied learning courses under the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) banner.

From 2023, the Vocational Major (VM) in the VCE and the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) will replace the Intermediate and Senior VCAL Certificates. The Vocational Major and the Victorian Pathways Certificate now both sit under the VCE umbrella, rather than being a “separate” program.

An aim of these changes is to better allow students to discover how to apply what they have learned in the classroom by doing, experiencing and relating acquired skills to the real-world. A focus will be integrating Vocational Education and Training (VET), school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs), or structured workplace learning (SWL) into their VCE studies.

At Fairhills, we have begun planning for these changes in 2023 and how best to implement the programs into our school to meet our students needs. There will be more information coming to parents of students in Year 10 and those families of our current Year 11 VCAL students. This will be done as part of VCE Information Evening early in term 3.

Year 9-10 and 11 Exams

Year 11 Exams begin next week (6–10 June) for all VCE subjects in the Performing Arts Centre. Students need to make sure they have revised and prepared for each exam, are on time to each session and have the correct materials (including pens, etc. in a clear plastic bag and a clear water bottle) with them. The Year 9-10 Exams begin on Friday 10 June and run through to the 16 June. They will also be held in the PAC.

A few useful tips on exams can be found at https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/studentguides/myvce/Pages/TipsforExaminationSuccess.aspx

Paul Donaldson
Assistant Principal and Senior School Leader

VCE Studio Art and Visual Communication 

Students in VCE Studio Art and Visual Communication enjoyed their excursion to ACMI and NGV Australia.

Highlights:

• they learnt about the Story of the Moving Image in an interactive display at ACMI
• saw artworks by VCE Art students from 2021 at the Top Arts Exhibition
• completed a self guided exploration of the Australian artworks and exhibits at NGV Ian Potter Centre

Year 10 Work Experience 

A reminder that Year 10 Work Experience placement will run the last week of term 20–24 June and is for all Year 10 students.

Any students who have not yet returned their Work Experience arrangement form – signed off with the employer, student and guardians please ensure you have done this by 8 June.

2023 Year 12 Jumper/Jacket Survey

Year 11 students have been sent a Compass post with a link to the 2023 Year 12 Jumper/Jacket survey where they can choose their preference of either the Rugby Top or the Varsity Jacket.  Voting closes on 20 June 2022 and the item with the most votes will be chosen for 2023.

Year 12 Formal

Students and staff are counting down the days for the Year 12 Formal being held on Friday 10 June at Sky High Restaurant.  We hope you enjoy the celebration and night.

Year 7 Parent Information Evening

We were delighted to see some of our Year 7 families attend the Parent Information Evening on Tuesday 17 May to re-visit some of the important issues surrounding secondary school transitions and better understanding teenagers.

Keynote speaker Catherine Manning from Seed workshops delivered an insightful and inspiring session of practical, modern day parenting tips to help raise healthy, happy and confident young people. The evening concluded with a light supper and the opportunity to meet new parents and engage with key staff. Thank you to all those families who attended.

Stymie

After a 18 month delay our Stymie Launch day at Fairhills will finally arrive on Thursday 16th June.

Stymie is an online, confidential messaging service for anyone who is needing help or concerned about someone else. Stymie provides a proactive opportunity for students to say something about harmful behaviours or anything they are concerned about for themselves, or someone else.

It works, because it is accessible 24/7, anonymous, easy to use and messages are typically delivered in a few seconds to approved notification recipients. All students and staff will be trained on the new notification system which will significantly contribute to achieving a zero bullying stance.

Silvana La Leggia
Middle School Leader

Positivity Award Winners

Year 7 and 8 students who have received positive reports from teachers on Compass are entered into a raffle to win a chocolate from the  Year 7 and 8 Team Leaders.

Congratulations to the following students for winning this month’s Positivity Awards:

Kiana – Year 7

Lehansa – Year 8

Recess and Lunchtime in the Middle School

Tennis balls are available for the students to borrow from the Middle School Office at the start of each break. It is great to see students taking advantage of this and playing the age-old schoolyard game of 4-Square (Handball / Downball).

Year 7 THRIVE

Year 7 students during Team THRIVE had fun playing relay table tennis in their lesson on Wednesday. The students focused on Teamwork, which is one of the 24 character strengths. Mr Van Schie the Principal is one of their THRIVE teachers – pictured below with the students.

The photo opportunity was raised thanks to the noise of laughter echoing the school.

Year 7 Maths – EDROLO

This year all the students were provided the new Edrolo Year 7 Maths textbook. Associated with the textbook is a digital platform comprising videos and worked examples for each of the topic areas.

Assistance has been provided to all classes to help the students access the digital platform and classroom teachers will be setting work from this platform.

This is a useful resource to be able to access at school and also at home. It would be great if parents and carers could ask their students to show them what is available on the EDROLO platform.

Year 8 THRIVE

This month Year 8 THRIVE classes are working on team building skills.  Students participated in team building games to build on their character strengths and important team work skills.

Students enjoyed the hands on collaborative approach to their learning.

Year 9 Connect

Our Year 9 Connect students have been really busy – check out what they have been doing:

Glenfern Valley Bushland

The Year 9 Connect students recently spent an enjoyable day assisting the Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushland and participated in a day of planting trees in a section of the fire damaged area of the reserve. Students were supervised by a number of volunteers who, not only showed them how to effectively plant young tress, but also talked about weed management, habitat preservation and plant identification as they walked around the reserve observing the ‘Valley Grassy Forest’, the waterways and the flora and fauna. I was pleased to hear that both the students and volunteers enjoyed working together for the day.

Fairhills High School Oval Work

Well done to our Year 9 Connect Groups who spent a cold morning cleaning up around the oval in preparation for their projects, as well as fixing the cricket pitch and creating a welcoming area to socialise. What a great job you have all done!

Foothills Community Care Centre

In addition to the above activities, students are still supporting Steve Barrington, CEO of Foothills Community Care, and cooking a delicious range of soups each week to help the needy within the Ferntree Gully community. Thanks also goes to Alexia (Year 9) who volunteers her time each week to serve at the community care centre.

Education Perfect

Education Perfect was book-listed for students in Years 7-9, as a resource to enhance your student’s learning. It is an online library of curriculum-aligned lessons and assessments across all subject areas. Content is scaffolded to allow all students to experience success, while providing rich opportunities for higher order thinking.

Teachers are setting activities, quizzes, learning tasks and assessments on Education Perfect.

Students who do not have this engaging resource will be provided an alternate task.

If you did not subscribe we ask that you do so as soon as possible by accessing this link: https://help.educationperfect.com/article/742-how-do-i-pay-for-a-subscription-through-the-student-zone

School Tours

To book a School Tour go to: https://www.trybooking.com/COXXT

We look forward to seeing you and showing you around the school.

2022 Term Dates

General Office

The General Office hours are: 8.15am-4.15pm. 

Telephone: 9758 5022
Email: fairhills.hs@education.vic.gov.au

Parents, contractors, visitors and volunteers should always make contact with the General Office first when visiting the school or requiring to make contact with their child.

Appointments with teachers must be made via telephone or email.

Compass

Compass is the communication portal for Fairhills – https://fairhillshs-vic.compass.education/

Parents/carers are provided with log in details. For any questions or trouble logging in please contact the office. Using Compass allows parents/carers to have access to up-to-date information and the following features:

• Monitor attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness
• Communicate with teachers
• Update contact details
• View their child’s timetable and the school calendar
• Monitor homework and assessment tasks
• Download and view semester reports
• Book parent-teacher-student interviews each semester
• Pay and provide consent for events and school contributions

Please check Events regularly as these need to be consented/paid by the due date for your child to attend.  Also check out the Payment Centre and Course Confirmation sections.

Click here for the Compass Parent Guide

Parent Carpark – pick up and drop off

Just a reminder for parents/carers to use the Parent Car Park at pick up and drop off times.  The staff/visitors car park should not be used.

Lunchtime Clubs and Groups

Students have the opportunity to join any of the Clubs and Groups offered during lunchtime.  Details are provided in the link below.  Any suggestions for other lunchtime activities can be forwarded to the wellbeing team.

Click here for Whats on at Lunchtime Club/Groups

Uniform Shop

The purchase of School Uniforms are now through Dandy Schoolwear in Dandenong.

Dandy Schoolwear

Factory 8, 169 Cheltenham Road, Dandenong
(03) 9792 0424

Monday to Friday – 9:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday – 9:30am to 2:00pm

Click here for the Uniform Price List

Click here for the 2022 Fairhills High School Student Dress Code

Click here for Uniform – what to wear

2022 Bell Times

Team Leaders

Sustainable School Shop

Looking to buy or sell secondhand books or uniforms?  Visit: www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au 

You can also find the following items:

• Calculators
• Sporting items
• Musical items
• Electronics & DVD’s
• Stationery
  
  

Asthma / Diabetes / Anaphylaxis / Epilepsy

ASTHMA, DIABETES, ANAPHYLAXIS, EPILEPSY or an ALLERGY management plans are required to be updated and submitted to the school every 12 months. Please ensure you have provided this to the office in the best interest of your child.

If you require any assistance, do not hesitate to contact the office on 03 9758 5022.

Student Absences

If your child will be absent or late due to illness or for any other reason, parents/guardians are able to:

• Mark their absence on Compass / or
• Send an email to the school: fairhills.hs@education.vic.gov.au / or
• Phone the absence hotline is available on 9758 5022. Leave a message after the prompt. The absence hotline is operational 24hrs a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.

Student’s arriving to school late should report to the General Office.

If a student is required to leave school early for any reason they should bring a note from their parent/guardian and record this on Compass. All students are required to sign out from the General Office.

If your child or any family member has COVID, please ring or email the school so we can record their absence accordingly.

Contact Details

If you have changed any of your personal details (phone numbers / address / place of employment) – please email your changes to: fairhills.hs@education.vic.gov.au or phone the office for assistance on 03 9758 5022.  It is important to ensure our records are current. Thank you for your cooperation.

House Points Competition Update

Lids 4 Kids tally so far:

What to collect: bread tags and lids – (milk/UHT bottle lids, water bottle lids, soft-drink bottle lids)

Where to drop off: The General Office – House-colour containers are located on the Reception Desk

Where do the lids go: These will be donated to a fantastic foundation called Lids4Kids, the plastic lids will be created into mobility aids and toys among many other things for young kids and the bread tags will be used to create wheelchairs. Head to Lids 4 Kids for more information: www.lids4kids.org.au/

How are points counted: For every lid or bread tag donated you will earn one house point for your house.  The winning house will also be awarded and extra 20 points.

ASRC Food Drive tally so far:

What to collect:  See the list below

Where to drop off: The General Office – there is a box located in the Reception area – be sure that you attach a house-coloured sticker to your items before you put them in the collection box. 

Where does the food go: The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is a not-for-profit organisation which supports and empowers people seeking asylum who live in our community. Established in 2001 in a gifted space in Footscray, the organisation has grown from an informal foodbank to the largest independent humanitarian organisation in Australia supporting people seeking asylum.
The ASRC receives no funding from the federal government. More information about the ASRC can be found here: https://asrc.org.au/

How are points counted: Points are given for every item received (based on the house-coloured sticker)

Most-needed items

• Tuna in oil 400g
• Tinned tomatoes 400g
• Honey small bottles
• Raw unsalted nuts almonds, walnuts, cashews
• Spices small packs cumin, turmeric, chilli
• Coconut cream
• Sweet and savoury biscuits
• Dried fruit apricots, dates
• Peanut butter
• Jam
• Full cream UHT milk 1 litre
• Deodorant
• Disposable razors
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Laundry power max 1kg
• Dishwashing liquid 1 litre

Interschool Sports

Congratulations to all of our teams who have participated in inter-school sport.

Cross Country

In wild conditions on Monday 30 May students attended the Knox District Cross Country at Lewis Road Oval.  Fairhills High School had 26 runners. Congratulations to the following students who have got through to the Eastern Metropolitan Region:

Dominic Allison – 1st place (Under 15)

Zaydah Niiranen – 6th place (Under 12-13)

Jake McPhie – 9th place (Under 12-13)

It was a brave effort from everybody who completed.  Well done to all our students – I had a great day – Mr Peter Milner

Netball

Congratulations to all of our Boys Netball teams who enjoyed a sunny day of competition last week. Special mention to the Senior team who were reported by the umpires as being one of the funniest teams of the day!

The Year 7 Girls Netball team wasn’t so lucky weather-wise and will now be competing next month due to poor weather.

Intermediate Badminton

On Thursday 31 May – eight Year 10 boys went out play Intermediate Badminton.  The two teams (of 4) played seven separate matches which was a lot of Badminton without much rest of all.  The boys behaviour, effort and sportsmanship was fantastic and proudly represented Fairhills High School. The A team only suffered one defeat for the day by a matter of a few points to the eventual winners – Wantirna SC. Well done Dominic, Daniel, Yul, Aneel, Deacon, Jake, John Lui and Oscar!

Good Luck Jamie

Good luck to Jamie from Year 11 who has been selected to attend the 3rd and final trial for the SSV 18 years/U team VIC  Basketball team on Saturday 4 June.  At this trial there will be a significant focus on match play as they endeavour to select the 24 athletes who will represent the 2 Team VIC teams at the National Exchange in August this year.

Upcoming Sports Events

Year 7 Girls Netball – 15 June

Senior Basketball – 17 June

KIOSC

Happy 10th Birthday to KIOSC – Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre!

Fairhills is proud to be one of the original partner schools and our association is now 10 years long. Our students get to attend KIOSC and use state of the art technology.

KIOSC continues to provide STEM programs for our students and showcases future STEM careers.

Curriculum Matters

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Our work in this area is continuing. Teachers are sharing this information with their students at the start of each lesson. The benefits of sharing Learning Intentions are:

• Students know what they are learning in the lesson
• They become more focussed on the work and persevere for longer
• The quality of work improves
• There is rich teacher-student dialogue

Success Criteria enable the following to occur:

• Students can measure if they have had success in their learning
• Students take more responsibility for their own learning and own their success
• All abilities can be encompassed
• Feedback is easier and specific
• Students communicate to the teacher if more time needs to be spent on a particular focus area

Comments from some of our students:

• “Learning Intentions are helpful because you know what to achieve by the end of the lesson.” Swastika, Ameisha, Felicity
• “They are good because we always know what to do.” Taylah-Rose
• “There is always a path to go to when you need help.” Olivia
• “A Learning Intention is a goal for the lesson.” Paige
• “A Learning Intention helps me know what to do” Alicia
• “Learning Intentions and Success Criteria helps us because we know what to do for the class and gives us structure to help us understand and learn better” Bailey
• “I like Learning Intentions and Success Criterias because it sets out a plan for the lesson.” Bella
• “It helps us with the lesson because then we know the lesson objectives.” Alex and Allira
• “I like that they set clear intentions for what we are supposed to be doing.” Audrey
• “Learning Intentions and Success Criteria make it clear what we have to be doing in the lesson.” Stephanie
• “Learning Intentions and Success Criteria gives an overview about what we have to do in the class. It is effective and productive.” Yul

ANZ Maths Championships

Do you get excited about competing on an international scale? Are you a statistics guru who dreams of data variables, a geometry wizard who counts Pythagoras as a personal hero, or a calculus specialist who believes that letters should be the preserve of great mathematicians?

The EP Maths Championships begin on the 14th of June (6 pm NZ, 4 pm AEST) and run through to the 21st of June (6 pm NZ, 4 pm AEST).

Even if you don’t get this excited about Maths, you can still give the EP Championships a go!

What is the Education Perfect Maths Championship?

The EP Maths Championship (EPMC) is a free event where students can compete at their own ability level.
This competition is designed to help boost your students’ personal learning journey, engage the students with curriculum-aligned content, and motivate them to compete on an international stage.

When is it?

The EPMC will be held for all schools across ANZ between Tuesday 14th June and Tuesday 21st June 2022.

Who can enter?

All students across Australia and New Zealand can participate in this competition.

How do I enter?

Students will need to register via their teacher.

Students compete against 37,000 competitors across 1,600 schools, and the questions are focussed on their respective year levels and strengths. As the number of questions increases, so do the accrued points for each school and individual student. The leaderboard becomes fiercely competitive towards the end of the week and those with grit and determination will see their efforts come to fruition.

There are prizes on the line and students competing stand to win the following:

1st Place: $250 GiftPay Voucher
2nd Place: $150 GiftPay Voucher
3rd Place: $100 GiftPay Voucher
4th – 10th Place: $50 GiftPay Voucher

At Fairhills, you will earn House points if you enter and the student at each year level with the highest number of points at the end will get a prize.

Just give it a go! It doesn’t matter where you end up and it is fun!

We look forward to seeing you have at shot at the EP Maths Championships.

Please let your teacher know if you want to give it a go!

Upcoming Competition in EP – Sustainable Oceans Competition

June 8 is World Oceans day and from 6-8 June, EP are running a competition based on their Sustainable Oceans Content. Delving into Science and Technology, the Sustainable Oceans lessons are targeted around raising awareness of the threats that face our marine ecosystem, and exploring solutions. Parents and Carers – ask your student to show you around EP.

2022 Short Story Competition – Years 7-9

The 2022 Kids News Short Story writing competition is now open and closes at 5pm (AEST) Friday, June 24, 2022. The short story can be between 500-1000 words.

First prize winners will receive an iPad, HarperCollins book pack and have their own story published as a book for 10 family members and friends.

There are also prizes for one runner-up and three highly commended entries in each age group.

Speak to your teacher as they can submit your entry for you – a consent form, signed by the student’s parent or guardian, must be attached to the entry form.  For more information click here.

The Wizard of Oz Musical

Production rehearsals are in full swing. Students have been working hard for two rehearsals a week preparing for the upcoming musical, The Wizard Of Oz in September.

I am really proud of all the students and can’t wait for them to finally perform a musical after two years of no shows.

Fundraising

We also have been fundraising for the musical with Billy G’s Cookie Dough. This so far has been a hit. Who doesn’t love cookie dough?  Get your order through: https://cookiedough.com.au/…/6289ade9aef8df28f2f9cab6/view

Fundraising closes on 20 June 2022.

Trivia Night

Interested in a fun night while raising funds for our Musical? Join us at our annual Trivia Night Fundraiser in Term 3 – Friday 29 July.  Information will be posted about this soon.

Musical Tickets

Tickets will go on sale at the during Term 3. Keep a lookout in our coming newsletters.

Ms Power
Production Coordinator

The Wellbeing Team has had a busy Term 2! We have launched new lunchtime groups, celebrated IDAHOBIT Day, and are gearing up to launch our latest program: The Fathering Project! Please read below for more details!

I want to welcome Kerrie and Elli – new counselling students from the Australian College of Applied Psychology, to our team. They will be with us for the remainder of 2022. While we welcome new placement students, sadly, we’ve had to say goodbye to our previous placement students as their placements have finished. We want to thank Bec, Maddy, Steph, and Petrina for their support and efforts toward the wellbeing of our students. We wish them all the best for the remainder of their studies.

“Improvement at anything is based on thousands of tiny failures, and the magnitude of your success is based on how many times you’ve failed at something.” – Mark Manson

Amal Saleh-Zada| Student Wellbeing Coordinator

Lunch Time Groups

Explore, facilitated by Gail, our School Chaplain, is a group for Year 7/8 girls and students who identify as female to connect through games, crafts, activities and discussion. The group will explore themes of friendships, personal strengths, coping and lots more. It runs Tuesdays at lunchtime in the Wellbeing Centre. Interested students can speak to the Year Level Leader or pop in to see Gail on a Monday or Tuesday for more information.

Feel Good Fridays update. Due to some unforeseen changes in the Wellbeing Team, Feel Good Fridays will relaunch in Term 3. Stay tuned for new dates!

? Squad – our LGBTQ+ group continues to run on Thursday lunchtimes in the Wellbeing Centre and is open to all students.

Fathering Project

The Fathering Project is coming to Fairhills! The Fathering Project educates, connects and mobilises fathers and families to create brighter futures for all children. It is research-based prevention and early intervention programs and resources that engage, inform, inspire, equip and support fathers, families, schools, corporates and community-based organisations. It’s simple, fathers and father figures play a critical role in preventing long-term social, emotional and cognitive difficulties and creating the conditions for children to thrive.

If you are interested in participating in this fantastic upcoming project, please contact our Student Wellbeing Coordinator – Amal Saleh-Zada (amal.saleh-zada@education.vic.gov.au or 0456 416 431).

IDAHOBIT Day

Our whole-school wellbeing campaign in Term 2 was IDAHOBIT Day on 17 May. This is an International Day against LGBTQIA+ discrimination. We had a rainbow free dress day for students and staff, and it was great to see so many people getting their rainbows on to stand with the LGBTQIA community. Students were asked to bring a gold coin to participate, and we raised $278 for Minus18- the peak support, education and advocacy group for LGBTQIA young people in Australia.

We had some fantastic entries for our DIVERSITY-INCLUSION-RESPECT poster exhibition, which are now on display in the C Block foyer.

At lunchtime, we had a hive of activity happening in Courtyard A- with info boards, our posters entries on display, giveaways and a photo booth. We had many students and staff come down for some fun, crazy and colourful photos!!

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the day. Our wellbeing campaigns are often about creating safe, inclusive and respectful relationships and community by celebrating difference and diversity. We aim to make our school a place where everyone feels like they belong and are accepted for who they are.  

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is held in J2 – entrance from the Canteen Courtyard) as follows:

• Monday – recess – basic breakfast
• Tuesday – recess – basic breakfast
• Wednesday – before school – basic breakfast
• Thursday – before school – pancakes
• Friday – before school – basic breakfast

Families in need – External Food Options

For families in need please see the following services that support the community:

Student Wellbeing Team

Student Wellbeing Coordinator – Amal Saleh-Zada
Chaplain – Gail Ackroyd
Mental Health Practitioner – Peta Cartwright
University Placement Students: Elli, Kerrie, Michelle

Accessing Support through Wellbeing

The Wellbeing Team can assist students in accessing the support they need to navigate challenges that may impact their ability to engage in learning or general feelings of Wellbeing. For example, the Wellbeing Team can engage the student or family in an initial assessment of need, short term counselling or skills development or referrals to external support agencies. Students may also be encouraged to access self-help strategies or resources. We will explore the best options for each student.

We encourage students and/or parents to contact the year level leaders for wellbeing referrals. You can also make an appointment with someone from the Wellbeing Team by attending the Wellbeing Centre or contacting us via email at wellbeing@fairhillshs.vic.edu.au

Teachers who have concerns about a student may also refer them to the Wellbeing Team through their Year Level Coordinator.

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, please contact kidshelpline or lifeline on the numbers at the bottom of this page.

New LGBTQI Fiction

In recognition of 2022 IDAHOBIT day, Library staff have developed a reading list of LGBTQI (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex) fiction which we hold within our Library. This reading list is available in hardcopy from the Library and on the Library’s Online catalogue.

By providing these titles we hope LGBT students have access to information that can support them and enrich their lives, and other students have access to information to better understand LGBT issues, culture, and individuals.

We will continue to build this collection and welcome suggestions of titles you would like to see purchased. Come visit us to see a display of some of these titles including the popular Heartstopper series.

Instrumental Music

Discovery Night was an opportunity for our senior students to perform – well done to the following ensembles:

• Flute Ensemble
• Concert Band
• Violin Duet
• Solos
• VCE Music Performance Band

Now is the time for our Year 7 students to develop their performance skills!

Students will perform in a friendly encouraging environment to their peers and teachers over the next few weeks, which will also be assessed as part of their Performance CAT.

School Choir

Our School Choir has been working steadily on new pieces in preparation for performance opportunities in Term 3. The choir is continuing to grow as we welcome new singers. We look forward to sharing our songs with you soon! All students are welcome to join in on our rehearsals on Tuesday lunchtimes in the music room. – see Ms Turner.

Career Pathway Session

On 2 June,  we were delighted to welcome back 10 fantastic former Fairhills High School students who are returning to talk to Year 10 students about their individual Career Pathways since leaving high school.

The Career Pathway session is designed to help students gain an insight into 10 different careers, ranging from Veterinarian to Real Estate Agent to Primary School Teacher, as they start to make decisions about their own pathways!

Ernst and Young 

Big Four professional services firm EY opened its doors to public high school students from across Victoria for Ourschool’s latest Industry Insights session Thursday 19 May. Students from 13 partner schools visited the EY Melbourne offices for the event, while several partner schools tuned in remotely via livestream.

Students took part in a Q&A and break-out groups with EY employees who hail from public high schools. Each panellist represented a different department at EY, such as finance, climate change and sustainability, and real estate. The alumni spoke about their career pathways, what their role entails, advice on getting a foot in the door and much more.

“It was a great day. Bella really capitalised on the opportunity and asked fantastic questions and really used the experiences of the panellists to help her set a direction and plan for the future.” Liz Rundle, Careers teacher, Fairhills High School Knoxfield.

“The students all enjoyed actually going to the office and seeing what a professional services office looks like, hearing about the day-to-day goings on and the panellists’ journeys from secondary college through to university.” – Angus Adams, St Albans SC teacher.

Thank you to EY and our guest speakers for an inspiring session! Jodi Bastian, Olivia Davis, Matthew Harter, Sam Pritchard, Caitlin Stewart and Christina Yakovlev.

Are you a former Fairhills student?

If you are a former student of Fairhills High School, we would love to hear from you.

Like our Alumni Facebook page to keep in touch: https://www.facebook.com/FairhillsHighSchoolKnoxAlumni