19 Jan 2018

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,

Last Friday was another success thanks to the PE Faculty. In the Inter Dynasty Athletics Finals, we saw a number of triumphs, not least the success of Tom Shirley who won the Year 13 800m race and enjoyed every moment of victory. It was a real moment to see the school on their feet for his final 100m of the track. Well done to the successes of our new record holders having beaten West Island all time bests – you are now in the history books:

Year 7 Triple Jump Girls – Orla Colling – Song Dynasty – 7.3m
Year 7 Javelin Girls – Cece Sutcliffe – Tang Dynasty – 12.92m
Year 8 Javelin Boys – Dom Hedley- Song Dynasty – 21.19m
Year 11 Triple Jump Girls – Shanaia Horsley – Yuan Dynasty- 7.9m
A Grade 200 Meter Sprint Boys – Kam Pitter – Song Dynasty – 23.6 seconds
A Grade 400 Meter Sprint Boys – Ryan Wan – Ming Dynasty – 52.95 seconds
A Grade Javelin Girls – Victoria Laurence – Ming Dynasty – 21.60 seconds

Thank you to the parents, students and PTA for such an enjoyable day. I hope you enjoy the video highlights of our day here. Of course, congratulations to Song in first place overall, Han in second and Tang who came third.

Other success included the Equestrian Team who battled through the fog of Wednesday to make a success amongst some tricky horses. Jade Leshetz came fifth in the Higher Division and Kyra Haskins came first in the Lower Division. I am really inspired by the support of our parents to see this team grow and if you are a rider and holding back we would love you to get more involved in helping the team ride to victory over coming years in the inter-schools competition.

Congratulations to Karrie Clark who has continued to enjoy success over the Christmas break achieving second place in the Pre-World Series and finally, a triumph for the open age boys Hockey Team who beat DBS. A great start to the year West Island.

Many parents will begin seeing changes to our online reporting system where we are joining together student reflections, teacher personalised feedback and evidence of progress. It was a real pleasure to read the work of Sela Caldwell last week who shared the meaning of her drama performance in More Light. I will find some more inspiration for you to share in coming weeks.

The banner is now hoisted means you should all have the date for our school fair in your diary; March 10. The day is fun and often wet for me under the dunking stool, but our community benefits hugely from the proceeds which support our teaching and learning plans. Please start telling your colleagues and friends. If you are a new family to the school this year, you would be most welcome to come and join us for some fun, foods of the world and bargains from our stall holders. Let me know if you would like an introduction to the PTA to start connecting with other parents.

Yours,
Christopher Sammons
(Principal)