The Final Lap
THE FINAL LAP
Welcome to Term 4. Eight weeks, and if any term goes like the wind, it is this one. In my first Saints Alive piece in Term 3, I wrote about the special story about the breaking of the four-minute mile, and I can’t help thinking of this term as the final lap of our year. It is the lap where you can see the finish, where the effort of every earlier lap starts to show, and where there is still time to find something extra.
For many of our students this term brings end of year assessments, and I hope each of them can pause long enough to feel genuine pride and satisfaction in what they have learned this year. It is well worth taking the time to look back on how far they have come.
For our seniors, the new year has already begun. Our Year 11s have stepped into Year 12 and our Year 10s are now Year 11 students, with all the focus and opportunity that brings. Across other parts of the school, students are selecting subjects for 2027. Every year I am amazed by the sheer variety on offer at our school. What a fun time to be choosing a pathway!
THINKING OF OUR YEAR 12S
Please spare a thought for our Year 12 students and their families. They are balancing final study with the very real task of comprehending the end of a long and significant era in their lives. Fourteen years for some of them, and it all comes down to a handful of weeks. We are thinking of you all, and we are right beside you to the finish line.
SPORT REVIEW - YOUR VOICE MATTERS
Last year we listened carefully to your feedback on sport as part of our comprehensive whole community survey, and it remains an area where we want to see real uplift. Parents of students in Years 4 to 12 will shortly receive access to our Sport Survey. Your voice genuinely shapes our decisions, so thank you in advance for taking the time.
FASHION SHOW
What a night. I was blown away. More than 100 students were involved, and our Fashion team, led by Skye Daniels with the support of Melinda Pascoe in the Middle School, did a phenomenal job.
One of the key reasons families choose All Saints, and one of the reasons we were recently named among the Top 100 schools in the country, is the breadth of courses and pathways we offer. Nights like this show exactly why that matters. I found myself watching our younger designers as much as the runway, taking in the calibre of our Year 12 collections and, I suspect, quietly imagining their own. That is how belief moves through a school. Sensational!
ANASTASIA
Close to 180 students auditioned for our 2027 production of Anastasia. The arts are alive and well at All Saints. The calibre was incredibly strong, and what a wonderful introduction for our new Director of Performing Arts, Trevor Mee, to sit in on these auditions. He was blown away. Best wishes to all involved, and whether you make the cast or not, what a wonderful experience to learn and grow from. I also had the privilege of spending time at the Musical Showcase finale auditions, and I can promise you it will be superb.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
This year’s student leadership model has given many more students the opportunity to lead, through our five teams of Service, Faith, Community, Wellbeing and Environment. Leadership is not a badge for a few. It is something every young person can practise, and it has been wonderful to see so many step forward. We look forward to building on the program next year. With our 2027 Year 12 leaders now chosen and badged, selections for our remaining leadership teams will take place this term, with Year 7 selections to follow early next year.
STAFFING
Recruitment is in full swing for 2027, and All Saints remains a highly sought after place to work. The quality of candidates we are seeing is outstanding, and I look forward to introducing new staff to our community in the new year.
In our 40th year, it is fitting that the final lap is so full: new leaders, new pathways, new productions and a graduating class ready to write the next page of their own story. I look forward to reporting back on a very special 40th Foundation Day Assembly in our next edition.
Have a wonderful term.
Matt Corbett
Principal

