Dear Woodleigh Community, ​We are very pleased to announce that the Board has appointed Mr David Baker as the new Principal of Woodleigh School, commencing in Term 2, 2020.

Musical theatre is playful. Often, musicals work with stereotypes or caricatures of parts of our society. Legally Blonde confronts many social stereotypes. This does not mean that the stereotypes are being endorsed, in fact it is often the reverse – they are being held up as a mirror reflecting aspects of society’s narrower attitudes so that the audience can reflect on their own preconceptions. As much fun as Legally Blonde is, the show also confronts some outdated patriarchal themes. The musical even portrays some characters whose thoughts and behaviour go against modern values, such as the “#MeToo” movement. Ultimately, Elle is successful because she is kind, considerate of others, a strong leader and intelligent. This is a Woodleigh kind of story!

​A big shout out and thank you to everyone who made it to this year's Beanie Festival! Such a great celebration of culture, creativity and craft, food, and feel-good fun! Events like this don't happen without the support of a huge band of supporters, students, staff and most importantly, parents and community members. (Special mention must go to Cathy and Jacki for their drive and stewardship of the event over the past four years!) So to all of you, a big warm hug of thanks and appreciation for your time, effort and talent! All funds raised go toward the Indigenous Community Partnerships Fund – more feel-good vibes right there!

​Two BIG student-driven community awareness initiatives happened at the Senior Campus this week. The first, the 'Big Buy Back' sought to re-home over 300kg of clothing, shoes and other personal effects from the tardis that is the lost property box, to avoid it going to waste! The second, was last night's 'Big Sleep Out' which was designed to give an insight into the hardships that many school-aged people in our community face day to day. Featuring guest speakers from local support agencies, the event highlighted the many issues related to a transient, uncertain life, either on the streets, temporary accommodation or crisis care. Congratulations to Francesca (Y11), Maks (Y12), Raia (Y10) and Dylan (Y12) for your leadership with these programs!​

Did you see it? The performance? Were you there? Or the livestream? Did you see that? It's available you know... Or you can just take in these images from last night's splendiferous Senior Campus Winter Musicale - a true showcase of Woodleigh's musical talent, from Year 7 through to Year 12. Classical, solo, Jazz, Rock, Choral... it goes on, and it goes well. Thank you and farewell too, to one of the most delightful people of the Jago universe (and that is saying something), Merilyn Green. After 20 years as the Music Secretary at Woodleigh, she is sailing into retirement... best wishes and love from us all!

Woodleigh School has been taking the lead in 'Reimagining the educational pathway for Senior Secondary students. On the Saturday before Camp Week, we created an opportunity for educators from government and private sectors to come together to reimagine a better way. This session involved over 80 participants in a generative dialogue punctuated by provocations from a range of local and international guest experts who gave their time and expertise to be a part of this exciting forward-thinking discussion.

I was one of the students who had the opportunity to be a Barraza leader at the Woodleigh Round Square Conference. Being a Barraza leader meant that my partner and I were leading a small group of students on discussions about various topics, whilst playing games to have some fun. After we had listened to a speaker or had some activities, all of the students would break into our groups and discuss what we had just learned about. We used the games to make everyone feel comfortable and get to know each other. Once we had achieved this, we had some really valuable conversations about how we could apply what we were learning at Round Square into our schools and communities. In my group, there was a mixture of personalities which made some tasks hard, but I was glad to see that by the end of the week everyone seemed to be quite comfortable.

Surf, food, nature and sunsets... Twice a year, lessons at Senior Campus stop for Camp Week – a critical part of the educational experience offered at Woodleigh! Our Homestead Camp and Activities Week Programs offer a week-long, immersive program where students are directly engaged in real-world learning. Out of the classroom and working together, Woodleigh students have a chance to live by the consequences of their actions and, as a result of the 24/7 nature of the experience, develop deeper relationships with their peers, while connecting with staff on another level. Collaboration and teamwork are non-negotiable! As a result of the challenges faced by students, they stretch beyond their usual boundaries, developing new skills, resiliency and taking the opportunity to put their personal values into action.

Congratulations to the Class of 2018. May your individual journeys be exciting, challenging and fulfilling. The past six years at Woodleigh, developing, growing and learning have led you to this moment, you can now take on the world, confident in your own strength and skills.

The Multicultural Youth (MY) Education Awards recognise excellence in the learning support sector. The Awards showcase outstanding contributions students, schools and Out-of-School-Hours Learning Support Programs make to the learning and engagement of students from migrant and refugee backgrounds in Victoria. Woodleigh's Homework and Learning Support Initiative (in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Lawrence and MiCare) received the Runners Up Award for Outstanding School-run Out of School Hours Learning Support Program.

The VCE Season of Excellence is a five-month annual arts festival showcasing outstanding senior secondary student work from Victorian schools. The Season presents works created by VCE students in design, technology, multimedia and the cinematic, visual and performing arts through exhibitions, screenings and performances. This year, we are proud to announce that six Woodleigh students have been selected to share their work at the festival. Congratulations to all!

I have such a privileged position here at Woodleigh. I am lucky enough to be able to see students excel and demonstrate skills and leadership that was not always evident before in the classroom. I hear stories from parents about how their children returned from a program ‘…a little bit less of a child and a little bit more of an adult.’ I read comments from students in their reflections and chat to them back at school about how what they have just done was ‘…their best experience at Woodleigh.’

This is a time of enormous change in education, driven by massive technological, societal and cultural transformation. To keep pace, schools need to shift from looking backward, to facing forward – preparing children for their futures, not our past.

The careers of today’s students will be very different to those experienced by the vast majority of their parents. And in their future, the world will be one where ‘soft skills’ – capabilities like problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, emotional intelligence and sound judgement – will be more critical than ever before.

Between the Bays Festival 2018 was another incredible day. It showcased the amazing talents of our students as well as some of Australia’s best professional musicians. I think we all love Dan Sultan a little bit more now. The festival also brought us together as one school community. Thank you all for your support.

The Woodleigh School Class of 2017 are to be congratulated on their wonderful achievements throughout this year. As Principal, I have been thrilled to watch the way they have worked; maximizing their talents and making the most of the opportunities our School affords its’ students.

The Class of 2017 have shown commitment to tackle the big issues. They have challenged the status quo and imagined a better future. These attributes fill us all with enormous hope.

The Laramie Project is a play about a hate crime. It's challenging, confronting theatre. It requires actors to dig deep and find the compassion needed to portray characters whose views and opinions might be completely at odds with their own. The cast have explored and experienced empathy. This is the transformative nature of theatre, which is especially powerful in a school setting. READ MORE

Thank you to everyone who made Saturday's Beanie Festival such a wonderful, warm, community-focused event. To the organisers and volunteers, students, staff and parents – you did a mighty job of bringing the three campuses of Woodleigh School, as well as the wider community together as one whole.

Recently, four Woodleigh School students competed at the Australian Sport Climbing Youth Nationals event in Melbourne.

Strong demand for a Woodleigh education has seen growing enrolments at all three campuses of our School. With four full Year 6 classes now moving from Minimbah and Penbank to Year 7 at Woodleigh, opportunities for Year 7 entry have become increasingly difficult to secure.

Twice a year, lessons at Woodleigh Campus stop for what I and our teachers regard as a critical part of the educational experience offered at Woodleigh.

It’s a bittersweet thing seeing Year 12s finish. Six years is a long time. We spend it watching, supporting and guiding the way for young people, who pay us back with their wit, humour, brilliance, charm and intellect.

The entire Woodleigh School community have become overnight archery experts after watching Alec Potts (2013) became the first Woodleigh graduate to win a medal at the Olympics Games.