Governing Council Community Voice (September)

Here are a few takeaways from last night’s Governing Council meeting…

Great news; Mr. Craig Akehurst has been appointed as the school’s Principal for the next six years. Craig is a highly respected educator and long-serving member of the Port Lincoln community, who brings energy and vision to this important leadership role. We look forward to working with Craig in the best interests of our students and families.

Incidentally, we thought you should know that Prapti Pai, one of our current Year 12 students (and Principal Student Leader) represented student voice as a panel member for the Principal selection process. If we want our students to develop as critical thinkers and decision-makers, it makes sense to include their voice and provide experiences in the processes that impact their learning and aspirations; Prapti did just that for her school with poise and skill.

What does singing to sharks, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning and the physics of sound travelling through water have in common? Quite a lot, according to PLHS Science teacher Mr. Ben Henrichs. The YASTA (Young Aboriginal STEM Thinkers of South Australia) research team have been investigating the traditional Aboriginal cultural practice of luring fish into traps along the shoreline by singing and dancing to the sharks and other marine predators, and the physics properties of sound waves moving through liquids. The students recently presented their experiments and findings to the STEM Aboriginal Learners Congress inv Adelaide; this event was attended by over a thousand students and prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engineers and educators.

The expression “it’s been a dog of a day” is often used to describe down days; not so at PLHS where dog days describe the visits from Hope the therapy greyhound and her handler, Cate Harrison. These are always “up days” as students and staff welcome a pat with Hope. A few comments follow:

• 90% of students’ major description of Hope’s presence is that “she is calm”, which immediately supports their ability to be in the same state
• Students love patting, talking to, and lying next to Hope when she is supporting them in the classroom; when seeing her on the stairs, they deliberately come down to gently stroke along her back from head to tail as they walk past; they interact with her on the Oval by calling her to come over to their group
• Hope goes into specific classes where she supports students to stay on task and to stay calm; she can also sense grief and enables students to let go of their sorrow; just to have her in the classroom makes their “eyes light up”

The good news is that Cate will introduce a second dog to the PLHS program. A shout out to Sanctuary on Eyre, a local community organisation caring for animals and providing education about the importance of animals for student wellbeing. The school-funded proceeds from the therapy dog program go to support this very worthy community service. Want to know more or become involved? Go to: https://sanctuaryoneyre.com.au

A few quick items to finish:

• another of our popular Open Nights will take place next term (date to be confirmed)
• 24 Language students and 4 accompanying staff will soon journey to Japan as part of a cultural and linguistic immersion program; safe travels all
• research to establish a PLHS old scholars/alumni group is progressing – a proposal will be presented and considered at our next meeting
• Governing Council is firming up our Materials & Services (school fees) charge for 2025 – this will also be discussed and conformed at our next GC meeting on October23^rd

~ Brian Gabb & the GC Team