From the Senior School

From the Head of Senior School

The new Year 12s for 2023 have enjoyed their first week as the only occupants of the Kate Mason Building. After many weeks of working and communicating in hushed tones, they have relished the opportunity to make some noise and move more freely around the place. They are busily preparing for their first round of tasks in assessment week, which will take place next week. There is also building excitement as we begin the important job decorating the building for upcoming Christmas celebrations!

Sportswomen’s Awards Dinner

Congratulations to all the recipients of awards from the Sportswomen’s Awards Dinner last week. I would also like to echo the sentiments of Dr Hadwen and Mrs Shaw, who spoke on the night and paid tribute to all the girls who have competed across the various sports and teams over the year. Without your enthusiasm and passion, there is no competition!

Dance Showcase

As this newsletter goes to print, we are all preparing to be wowed by our amazing dancers at the annual Dance Showcase. Best of luck for some fine performances, that will cap off an extraordinary year in dance!

Year 12 Information Night

A reminder about our Year 12 Information Night next week on Wednesday 16 November. We are very keen to meet as many parents as possible in person after some years of online events, so it would be great to see you on the night. This is a parent only event, with the opportunity to hear from the Head of Deputy Head of Senior School, Heads of Year, the Director of Student Learning 11-12 and the Futures Team. There will also be time to catch up in an informal setting with your daughter’s Compass Teacher.

From the Heads of Year 12 2023

Year 12 continued their Directions program by working with the Wellbeing and Futures teams in completing the Motivational Mapping survey.

Students learned about their intrinsic motivators to assist them in being aware of their primary motivators across a variety of situations.

Rose noted that the survey was “interesting to see how it paralleled what we thought about ourselves before. It was really good to see how we’d use it post school as it helped me determine what path we I should follow. It told me to focus on specific skills, which absolutely suits the career I’m interested in.”

The coming week will see the year group interpret their results and put these skills in a future skills and career plan.

The remainder of the Directions program is designed to help students consider and plan for their futures. This time next year, the year group will be gearing up for post school celebrations. Therefore, understanding how to stay safe during this time is vital. Understanding how to avoid distractions while driving is another critical skill for the year group. As the red P plates on Avon road become more numerous, developing safe driving practices is very important.

With the first Year 12 assessment period fast approaching, we hope the planning and study routines we’ve discussed can be implemented. Thank you for assisting us by encouraging a sense of perspective and balance.