As we come to the end of another school year in our secondary school, it is a time to reflect on the growth of our students as they move one year forward from early adolescence into young adulthood. These years are full of individual transformations. It has been a privilege to witness how our students rise to meet each stage with growing maturity and self-awareness. Secondary school is a time when students begin to question and analyse, forming their own perspectives on the world around them. Across all year levels, we have seen students deepen their subject knowledge and understandings and progressively take greater ownership of their learning.

This has been particularly visible in several areas:

• Our Year 8 Projects remained a highlight of the secondary curriculum. Whether through the writing of a novella, constructing amazing objects of interest such as a surfboard and a remote-control plane, developing creative skills such as making and recording music, baking and artistic skills, students demonstrated imagination, perseverance and the capacity to work both independently and collaboratively. These skills are central to Steiner education and will serve them long after they leave our school.

• The Year 10 French Exchange also played an important role in broadening the students’ sense of the international community. This immersive experience offered students the opportunity to live within another culture, build international friendships, strengthen their language learning and develop greater independence. The year 10 class was fortunate to have several international visitors join their class throughout this year and maintain the fluency of French language amongst the group. Cultural and creative awareness was further enhanced when Year 10 visited the NGV to see the French Impressionists exhibition, cross-curricular links between art, literature and history further enhanced international mindedness amongst these students. 

• Science students have enthusiastically engaged with increasingly complex ideas through main lesson topics and practical classes. Our teachers met this interest in learning science with diverse laboratory experiments and academically rigorous learning experiences. Their aim is to build knowledge and generate curiosity amongst students about the world around them. From year 9 plant chemistry, where students extracted their own essential oils through distillation to year 10 where students extracted DNA, students were able to observe and wonder at the macro, molecular and micro world right here in our School Science lab. 

• Our arts subjects remain a steadying and inspiring element of our secondary program. Music, visual art, drama and eurythmy gave the students space to move and express themselves. We saw outstanding Music concerts at each year level which were the product of many rehearsals, ensembles and instrumental music lessons led by our talented and generous Music staff. This year we will also witness a whole school play ready to be performed in the convent grounds next week.

• Students in Years 7 to 10 have taken part in some wonderful camps throughout this year that have been incredibly valuable experiences. Our Outdoor Ed team are to be congratulated for their dedication and support of the students while on Camp. We hear many stories and assembly presentations of the wonderful array of activities students engage in while on Camp. The program is an essential part of building a strong class culture as the students work collaboratively during these trips. Adolescents rely deeply on relationship with others, and our students have consistently shown increasing maturity in how they support one another to meet challenges and contribute to a positive class culture.

• For individual students, they get a chance to develop greater personal confidence in the bush and connect meaningfully with nature, which is so important during adolescence. Students develop a more grounded understanding of ecology, sustainability and their own relationship to the environment. The moments of stillness provided on camp, offer adolescents a balance to their academic and social life and we see the positive effects on their wellbeing.

• For our senior secondary students, this year brought significant moments of preparation and decision making for their 11 &12 Diploma programme (DP). We enter 2026 with our largest DP cohort at Sophia Mundi and we look forward to giving the students a programme that prepares them for an emerging sense of purpose.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this year was watching our secondary school community grow stronger. Our teachers have been tireless in their commitment to guiding, mentoring and holding the adolescents with clarity and warmth, so central in Steiner education. 

Now though, it is time to head into the term break, it is important to remember that rest and renewal are integral to the process of learning. The summer months offer our students and teachers the space to reflect and recharge. We encourage them all to have a rejuvenating rest that will prepare them for another year of teaching and learning.

We look forward to welcoming students and families back for the new school year. But, until then, we wish you a peaceful Christmas period and a joyful summer.

- Amanda Colebrook

Secondary Assistant Principal