Term 3, Week 5, 2023 10 Aug 2023

Following the return to school from the long lock downs in Melbourne, it became very clear that we would need a different approach to student care and wellbeing programs. Like all schools, we needed to address the rising and substantial illbeing (mental health) within our community and look towards a future where proactive and preventative approaches were at the centre of our strategy. It felt like a ‘line in the sand’ moment - an extraordinary opportunity to do something different, and better.  

For the last 12 months Strathcona has been engaged in a co-design partnership with Andrea Downie from Project Thrive and Associate Professor Aaron Jarden from the University of Melbourne. Andrea and Aaron have worked closely with staff, students, and parents across ELC to Year 12. Together we have completed a deep analysis of our approach to student care and wellbeing and engaged in a co-design project using a systems perspective which allowed us to examine carefully the cultural, environmental and learning experiences of students and staff in our community. A holistic approach to our co-design project has allowed curation of a sustainable, thoughtful, and impactful whole school strategy. Through tailored research and an open consultation process, we have sought to build a framework that will guide our student care and wellbeing programming into the future. 

Next week we will release aspects of Strathcona’s Wholebeing report. The report provides a snapshot of the collaborative work done as we move towards the concept of Wholebeing, rather than wellbeing at Strathcona. The concept of Wholebeing has been developed to capture the interconnectedness of high levels of wellbeing, low levels of illbeing and the presence of resilience and we are so looking forward to sharing our future focused Wholebeing model with the community. The launch will kick off on Monday 14 August when we come together for our inaugural Wholebeing Summit. The aim of the Summit is to allow our students from ELC to Year 12 to learn, share and cultivate strategies for nurturing our personal and collective wellbeing. The morning will be filled with interactive and thought-provoking activities with the aim of collecting real life insights to inform our implementation of the strategy moving forward. 

We look forward to sharing the highlights with you throughout next week. 

Warm regards,

Amber Sowden 

Dean of Students

On Monday, Tay Creggan said farewell to Principal Mrs McConaghy with a student led Assembly recognising her links to Tay Creggan and the Year 9s. The following was part of our Leaders, Saloni and Erin's speech:

"Before we even stepped foot inside Strathcona, you made it a point to meet each one of us personally. Many of us remember our enrolment interviews clearly. We were nervous and you she showed genuine interest in getting to know us. You asked questions about our excitement to join Strathcona and our hobbies, making us feel seen and heard. Those conversations left a lasting impression, and we couldn't wait to start our journey."

Further Envision businesses have pitched this week for their SEED funding - with a number successful. There are a large number of food businesses this week - so the Campus has been full of rocky road, meringues, marshmellows and chocolate. You will also see a business card below from Forever Fragrance - who have launched their business and now begin their marketing and production phase. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing business cards in my weekly news article. 

Eight Year 9 students ventured over to St Albans Secondary College to compete in the MAV Maths Games Day. Janelle, Jade, Ginnie, Elizabeth, Anusha, Becky, Edilyn, Sharon, along with our Year 9 Maths teacher Katie Harris had a challenging and inspiring day. Anusha, Becky, Edilyn and Sharon's team came third overall out of 38 teams - an outstanding achievement - well done girls!

Girl Power descended on TC on Wednesday with a surprise 'Barbie Day'. There were an assortment of staff Barbie's (and Ken!) from Polyglot Barbie, to Dance Barbie, Fitness Barbie and Holiday Barbie (that's me! ) It was a fantastic opportunity to have a laugh and remind ourselves to find moments of joy and fun.

I do hope this weekend affords you the time to find a moment or two of fun!

Best wishes,

Karyn 

Last Thursday, 30 Strathcona alumnae shared their experiences, challenges, and successes in their respective fields answering questions and engaging with the students and parents during the networking session creating a positive and encouraging atmosphere for everyone involved.

Strathcona’s goal is to empower our students with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their future career journeys. We thank our alumnae for taking the time out of their busy schedules to be a part of the evening. Their dedication to give back to Strathcona and inspire the next generation of professionals is truly commendable. 

The dads started in blistering fashion, recording strike after strike, only to slowly lose any sense of bowling coordination and supremacy lowering their colours, yet again, to the students for the 3rd consecutive “Dads Daughter Bowling Challenge”.

Special mention goes to the dads from ELC and Prep as they definitely propped up some of the more embarrassing scores from dads of years 7 and 8 students (names deleted out of respect for those associated students!).

 Special thanks to the Strathcona Fathers’ Assoc, in particular Soon Wai Lim, Chris Howell and President, James Macdonald for hosting such a popular and fun event. Judging by the laughter, banter with siblings and sheer enjoyment of defeating most of the dads, this event will return in 2024 with much of the talk over drinks of a secret pre-event training session for the dads next year.

 Hoping to see many of the Dads on Monday September 4th for the Father’s Day breakfast.

We had a wide array of performers and lots of students playing in front of an appreciative audience for the very first time! 

Congratulations to all of the students who performed at these evenings and a huge thank you to the instrumental music staff for their hard work at the events as well as preparing students for performance. 

Dean Gourley

Director of Senior School Music

• Courses offered by AIM – Melbourne Campus in 2023
• Studying a Common First Year in Engineering
• Studying the Bachelor of Applied Innovation with another Degree at Swinburne University
• New Design (Architecture)/Property and Real Estate Double Degree at Deakin University
• Bachelor of Business Administration at Monash University
• Difference between an Apprenticeship and Traineeship
• Graphic, Fine Arts, Interior & Visual Design Degrees in Victoria in 2023  
• Snapshot of CQU – Melbourne Campus in 2023

Please click here for the full edition of Career News.

Xin Chen

Head of Careers and Partnerships

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star, along with a diverse all-star ensemble cast, in this genre-bending, hilarious story of self-discovery that brings to life the imaginations of generations of Barbie fans and captures the joyous, wonderful, messiness of being alive

Join other Strathy mums, their daughters and special friends at a Sunday afternoon screening of the BARBIE movie.

$27 per person for a movie ticket and a Palace Traditional Combo: Small Popcorn, small soft drink/bottled water & a connoisseur ice-cream.

The movie appeals to all ages and is rated PG. Hope you can join us for a fun Winter's afternoon!

Please note confirmed start time will be confirmed the week prior to the movie.

Book your tickets here - https://www.trybooking.com/CJP...