Dedicated Compass Day guides Years 7 and 8 girls
Our Years 7 and 8 girls took part in an inspiring workshop led by The Big Sister Experience, focusing on building confidence and wellbeing. Through engaging activities and open discussions, the girls explored vital topics including self-love, self-care, personal boundaries, body image, and the impact of social media.
The program also emphasised the importance of human connection, inclusion, and acceptance. It was a powerful opportunity for students to reflect, support one another, and develop lifelong tools for resilience and self-worth.
We are proud to continue to support our students in becoming strong, kind, and confident young women.
Anthea Watkins
Years 7 and 8 Girls’ Co-ordinator
How Compass Day unfolded for Years 7 and 8 boys
Year 7 Man Cave
On Tuesday 29 April, The Man Cave came to our school to work with boys in Years 7 and 8. It was a very good experience for all Year 7 boys.
We played lots of fun games while also learning a great deal about feelings, emotions and our wellbeing. All of us were offered the chance to talk about our problems or things that are worrying us, and we learnt more about each other—the good and the bad. The experience would not be the same without our facilitators Rhys, Taylor, Nav and Dylan who made it a great experience.
It wasn’t all fun and games, though. We learnt about what some in society expect men to be (strong, handsome, fit, etc…) and what they might expect men not to be (weak, ‘girly’, etc…), and how we might change these perceptions.
Overall, this was a memorable day, and we cannot wait for next year to do this program in Year 8 with a slightly different focus.
Harrison, Flynn and Brooklyn
Year 7 students
Year 8 Man Cave
On Tuesday 29 April, The Man Cave program came to our School, teaching us about relationships and how to maintain them, and know what to do in challenging times.
The workshop leaders gave us a mix of serious talking sessions and fun activities that made the day fun and educating. While there was a bit of lecturing, the information was extremely helpful.
One of the biggest things that was conveyed through the session was the LEAD acronym: Listen, Empathise, Act, and Do. It broke down the process of how we can be more supportive to people close to us having a tough time by making it a catchy acronym. The workshop leaders gave us examples of ways to carry out the LEAD acronym from their own lives and stories.
What made this session so unique was the fact that it challenged us to think more on the way we treat others, and especially our family and friends. It made me realise that when people are going through a hard time and look like they want to be left alone, they actually want the people closest to them to help them and care.
The activities helped us connect these lessons to our own lives in a safe environment, where we could share our story, only if we wanted to, in a safe space. Through this activity, our pastoral groups could listen to the stories, then empathise and get even closer to each other. I didn’t know about most of the things that my peers shared until today.
I’m glad Mancave came here to our School, and I’m looking forward to learning more in the sessions to come.
Minuk Jo
Year 8 student
Life skills a focus for Year 9s on Compass Day
Our recent Middle School Compass Day was a vibrant and engaging experience for the Year 9 cohort, centred around the key themes of teamwork, empathy, and independence.
Throughout the year, as students move ever closer to the Senior College and the end of their parallel learning path, they are given opportunities, like Compass Day, to collaborate with their peers outside of their form groups to help them make connections across the cohort.
On Compass Day, the Year 9s started in their Challenge Groups, working with students from every Year 9 form in teams of twelve through a series of dynamic games designed to test their ability to collaborate and adapt. The friendly competition encouraged students to support one another and problem-solve creatively.
On Compass Day we also launched the 2025 House Showdown. Throughout Term 2 the Year 9s will be working in house groups to choreograph and perform a dance routine for house points. This student led challenge sees the Year 9s working with and leading the peers who will stay with them for the three years in Senior College form groups, and once the theme and music genres were announced the students threw themselves into working on music selection and dividing up roles.
A third highlight of the day was a powerful workshop delivered by The Intersection, focusing on building empathy and understanding of diverse perspectives. Each class engaged thoughtfully with the activities and conversations around assumptions and stereotypes. Students gained valuable insights into how empathy, for those whose life path is different to ours, can positively influence their approach, now and after school. We’re excited that this learning journey will continue later in the year with The Intersection through Year 9 Health class excursions into the CBD.
Later in the day, students ventured to Tinternwood Farm to make final preparations for the bushwalks on the Great Ocean Walk, where their adaptability, independence and resilience are really put to the test.
Compass Days provide a valuable opportunity to shut the screens and develop life skills that help our students be the best people they can be and make the best choices they can make.
Jess Fulton
Year 9 Co-ordinator
What is behind an acknowledgement of country?
The combined Year 7 and 8 boys classes researched acknowledgement of country, what it means to indigenous Australians, and what it means to them.
Following, they collaborated to develop their own Boys Middle School acknowledgement statement. In the artwork, their acknowledgement forms the centre point of the circle. Surrounding, are the traced outlines of every single boy’s hand in the Middle School in variations of indigenous artworks that resonated for them. As such, each boy is represented in their own unique way.
The circle represents our community which will grow with the addition of more handprints of boys who enter the circle in coming years.
Naomi Baulch
Year 7 and 8 Boys’ Co-ordinator
