“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed,
but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 
For nothing is secret that will not be revealed,
nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light”. 
Luke 8:16-17

Jesus’ reflection in Luke about shining a light has direct application to the life of a Year 8 student at our College. Oftentimes, we tell our students to be confident, to take risks in their learning and to bring a growth mindset to the inevitable reality of sometimes being wrong. Sometimes they take this challenge seriously, but very often they hide their light to avoid being seen. This is the ongoing challenge that they all face – of being strong and kind enough to encourage others, but also confident enough to be their best.

Two students have embodied this in recent times:

• Holly Kearney – whose basketball team (Sandringham Sabres) is competing in the Australian Club Championship (Nationals) held at Casey Stadium in September. This championship sees the 24 best girls’ club teams selected by their state bodies from around Australia compete on the big stage.

• Tayla Tsianakas – who was selected to take part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, as a ball kid. Taylah wrote an entry that outlined why she should be chosen to take part in the Women’s World Cup 2023 and was chosen from a large number of applicants. Taylah has been part of a successful female soccer team that won both the Girls Under 14’s South-East and Victorian State Championship in 2022.

Homeroom Captains

Congratulations to the following students have been selected by their Homeroom peers as Homeroom Captains for Semester 2:

Room 47	Emily Gamble, Pratima Thomas and Grace Watts
Room 48	Alexandra Dean and Emma Greaney
Room 49	Sarah McHugh and Olive Rickman
Room 51	Tilly De Vroome and Natalia Romero
Room 52	Tilly De Jong and Poppy Salmon
Room 60	Tilly Harrison, Sienna Mastrocola and Harper Sanders
Room 61	Amelie Baker and Sequoia Frissard

Year 9 Subject Selection

All Year 8 students have begun choosing their electives for Year 9, 2024. They have been given information about the Duke of Edinburgh International Award and information about the process of selecting their subjects. They will shortly receive a document with information about all the possible subjects they can choose and about the requirements for each subject.

All students are encouraged to seek advice from their current teachers, Homeroom teachers and parents/carers in order to make the best decisions for their learning.

For all that they have to decide, we wish them well.

Bill Fitzsimons
Level Leader: Year 8