Head of Secondary Message, Term 3, Week 6 2025

Last Friday’s senior formal at Hotel ICON was a joyous occasion and gave students and teachers the chance to let their hair down and party after a busy term. Whereas school formals in Australia are typically for one year level only, AISHK has always invited both Year 11 and 12 students to celebrate together. This recognises the fact that senior studies – whether in the HSC or IBDP – are a two-year journey and the formal fosters great camaraderie between our two senior year levels.

Another special feature of the evening is when parents gather before the formal to see their sons and daughters dressed up and ready for a very significant milestone. Well done and thank you to all students and staff who played a role in organising this special and memorable event. I particularly enjoyed the flashback photos of AISHK staff from their high school days and all the dancefloor ebullience.

Before the formal, last Friday also saw the culmination of a highly successful Science Week and the premiere of the annual science film, ‘Legends of Emberfalls’. Congratulations to Mr Pulsford, Mr San Juan and all students and staff involved in the creation of this outstanding film – the audience loved it from beginning to end. While the film has become an absolute highlight of the AISHK year, the message of science’s central role in “decoding the universe” was enthusiastically embraced across the school. Well done in particular to Year 8 for their superb efforts in this year’s Science Fair.

This week I’ve had the privilege, along with Ms Dunstan, Ms Young, Ms Bennett and Ms Zhang, of interviewing candidates for 2026 prefect roles. In speaking to the students, who all performed with impressive poise and maturity, the biggest theme was how much the students value and cherish AISHK’s sense of community and their desire to give back to it. They spoke passionately about the connections and relationships that define the school, spanning different age groups and diverse cultural backgrounds. It was extremely motivating and inspiring to hear the students articulate so clearly what makes AISHK so special, and congratulations to everyone who put themselves forward for these significant leadership positions; the quality of interviews this year was outstanding.

With less than three weeks of school to go for Year 12, this Wednesday was their last “regular” Secondary assembly and hence our annual “gratitude assembly”. The audience enjoyed a range of humorous and heartfelt thank you speeches by students for the teachers and other key staff who have supported them. Initiated by students, this assembly has been an AISHK tradition for many years and part of the strong community spirit that our Year 11 prefect candidates spoke of. The assembly celebrated the genuine bonds between AISHK students and staff and featured many humorous and poignant moments. A highlight of the assembly was the musical performance of ‘Devil Town’ by Vegas Puels and Samantha Mackinlay.

Good luck to Year 11 HSC students who commence their yearly examinations next week. This year, the IBDP cohort will have their exam block later in the year in recognition of the different timelines of the two programs.

It's been another action-packed week on campus, with Spirit Week activities every recess and interhouse volleyball matches each lunchtime. As ever, a big thank you to Mr Van Gaalen and all the PDHPE team for their slick organisation of the interhouse competition. Happy Australian Father’s Day to everyone celebrating the occasion on Sunday and may tonight’s Parent Association event for AISHK dads be a great night. Wishing everyone a fabulous autumn weekend!