This term, Class 9 have shown notable growth in maturity and reflection. On our Boshack camp, I had the joy of watching them step into leadership roles with growing confidence. They showed patience and care for one another and thoughtfully reflected on both their strengths and areas for improvement.

The Autobiography Main Lesson arrived at just the right time for this group. It invited them to turn their reflective gaze inward, considering their dreams, hopes, fears, and the significance of their memories. Memory is a fascinating thing; we can recall some moments in sharp, vivid detail, while others are blurred and fuzzy, and many only resurface when prompted. Throughout this Main Lesson, students explored their own key memories: the story of how their parents met, the day of their birth, and their childhood years.

Each morning, students have been invited to unlock their treasure chests of tucked-away memories through engaging warm-up prompts, for example, describing a place they know by heart, a song they associate with a particular time in their life, or an object they have had for years. Many students have eagerly shared these memories with the class, establishing a learning environment that encourages openness and celebration of themselves and others. They also experimented with writing autobiographical poems, honing their creative writing skills across genres.

We began with a beautiful reflection from Anne Frank:

“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realising it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day.”

This idea has guided our work together, reminding us that the process of reflection helps us to grow. Students have been encouraged to see how life’s small and large events shape who they are, deepening their sense of identity and belonging and allowing them to take pride in their own stories.

Along the way, we read extracts from a range of autobiographies, including Roald Dahl’s Boy, Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, Anh Do’s The Happiest Refugee, and Anna Michener’s Becoming Anna. These texts, with their varied subjects and styles, offered inspiration for student writing and showed how descriptive details, imagery, and figurative language can work to bring memories to life.

In the final week, students will continue to craft their own autobiographical stories, weaving together these key moments into a lasting record of their personal history. The final collection will be both a reflection on their lives so far and a celebration of who they are; unique, thoughtful young people stepping confidently into the next stage of their lives. I would like to extend a big thank you to parents for sharing their family memories, photos and stories in support of this Main Lesson. 

Chiara Corbet

English & Humanities Teacher 

We’re thrilled to be part of the #WABarcodeBlitz25 in partnership with @harrybutlerinstitute, @murdochuniversity, and @biobarcodeaustralia.

A big thank you to Promega Australia, Fisher Biotec, and AGRF (@AGRF_genomics on X and @agrf_genomics on Instagram) for their support.

Join us in celebrating local science, sharing discoveries, and sparking curiosity!

Class 12 Projects

Jezz Celenza

When I was in Year 10, I had a really bad sports injury at school that affected me all the way up to Year 12. At first, I didn’t plan on making this the focus of my project, but after brainstorming some other ideas, nothing felt as meaningful. In the end, I realised this was the right choice. It’s personal to me, and that gives me a stronger reason to share it with others.

The question guiding my project is: “How do sports injuries affect the mental and physical health of adolescents?”

Through my research, one of the things that really surprised me was how little most people actually do to prevent sports injuries. I found that problems can start from a young age if you’re not training correctly or not giving your body enough rest. I now believe it is very important to educate people, especially younger students, about how simple strength training, recovery, and balance can protect them in the long run.

For my practical, I have designed a lesson for Years 6 and 7 where I will share my own story, explain what I have learned, and teach a set of six exercises: calf raises, lunges, planks, step ups, squats, and push ups. These exercises help strengthen joints and improve resilience. I will also be talking about the mental side of injuries: how they can affect confidence and motivation, and how important it is to be supported during recovery. I have already done a practice run with the Year 6s, which gave me the chance to refine my plan and prepare for the bigger sessions ahead.

Along the way, I have learned from some incredible people. Peter Mayhew, a professional strength athlete and founder of Physique Training, showed me practical ways to reduce the risk of injuries, and a sports psychologist explained how athletes cope with setbacks and rebuild mentally. With support from my teachers and peers, I have been able to shape my project into something I feel confident delivering.

What I have come to realise is that not many kids make these exercises part of their daily routine, but when I share them, they are very open and interested in learning. That makes me hopeful that I can make a real difference. This project has not just taught me about injury prevention; it has also helped me discover how to teach, how to connect with others, and how to turn my own experience into something positive.

Tayrona Arias

My name is Tayrona Arias and for my year 12 Project I have been exploring the question:

“What physical and mental methods can a circus artist implement to support and increase their physical performance?”

At the start of the year, when I was trying to figure out what topic I wanted to research, I knew it needed to be something that would not only help me academically but also benefit my personal life. Circus has been a recreational hobby I have enjoyed while growing up, and I decided I wanted to take it more seriously, using the project as a stepping stone to support this goal. Upon making this decision, I investigated methods that would help me advance in the physical aspects.

A major area I focused on was flexibility, as I wanted to get my splits. There are many different forms of flexibility training, each with separate outcomes. I researched these and applied them to my stretching routines, which has greatly improved my understanding. In November, when I began my journey to achieving the splits, I was 10–15 centimeters off the ground. Just recently, I achieved my over splits. This progress showcases the power of correct flexibility training and how my project has contributed to that success.

For my Practical, I decided to delve deeper into mental imagery: one of the core techniques that I researched. Mental imagery is a technique used by athletes and performers to mentally rehearse skills using sensory-based visualization. This process activates the same parts of the brain as physical practice, helping improve technique and focus without physical strain. I find this practice really interesting as it offers artists a way to train and develop their skills outside of a training space. Circus is expensive and this can be a solution to turn to for artists that are struggling financially. As well as this, it is a way to develop skills that artists may be struggling with, as it removes the physical barrier that can often be prohibiting. I am designing a workshop that will introduce participants to the concept of mental imagery, guided through a short imagery exercise using a pre-written script. My hope is that participants will leave with the option of incorporating this practice into their own training. The process of planning for this has allowed me to put theory into practice and I hope to incorporate this into my own training in the future.

My project has been a combination of flexibility, strength and mental training techniques.  Through my journey of researching and applying these methods I have learned how important it is to facilitate correct training as it leads to the best results, as well as how much work and dedication it takes to be a circus artist. My love and confidence in circus has grown as I have improved and become more involved, I even did my first performance in the holidays- something that used to only be a possibility in my dreams. This Project is designed to offer aspiring circus artists guidance in how to improve and achieve their dreams as the industry grows.

Courtney Stevens

I wanted to choose something that was relatable to me for my project question. As a teenager in my final year of high school, the idea of moving out of home has crossed my mind several times. However, the sad truth is that there is no way for me to afford a home anytime soon. This is a struggle for many young people trying to afford their own home or even rent I know this issue is already familiar to most people and has even been explored in previous Year 12 projects. However, I wanted to take a different approach — rather than focusing on what, I chose to explore why.

This led me towards my eventual choosing of a project question, which evolved over the first term, until I formed my final question:

“What are the main driving factors behind the current housing crisis?”

Through my research, I have found that it is the cumulation of multiple causes that is worsening the housing. Specifically, I researched inflation, trade shortages, government legislation, material shortages and cost increases, as well as population growth. I also investigated the common misconceptions regarding overseas investment, and how income growth is failing to keep up to the housing price increases and cost of living on a whole.

It was my Dad who started the thought process that is behind my current practical. He suggested that I construct a tiny home, specifically out of a sea container.

My practical plan changed up a lot over term 1. It was always constructing a “tiny home”, but the base medium changed multiple times. It started as a sea container, and then a Pantech truck, before it finally ended up being set in a bus. We managed to purchase a fully functional ex-school bus at auction. Given we now had a running vehicle as a bus, the plan shifted slightly again: I would do a bus-motorhome conversion.

For the purpose of my practical assessment, I will be completing a floorplan and side elevation, as well as a spreadsheet detailing all of the materials that will go into its construction and their price and source. I’ve realised that this is a huge undertaking, and the complete bus build will most likely continue into next year.

Once my planning is complete, I plan to share these designs with various online communities, aiming to support others working on motorhome builds or bus conversions. I believe this is a great way to address the current housing crisis while gaining the freedom that comes with life in a mobile home.

I look forward to the resulting trips that I can travel on in a very comfortable fully self-contained motorhome.

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