June, 2022

On Monday this week the College hosted our annual career advice event for students in Senior school with a special afternoon session for Year 10 students known as “A Day in the Life."

It was a particular pleasure to welcome back so many old scholars for this event. Of the 33 occupations represented, 23 of our guest speakers were old scholars who all offered insight into careers as diverse as business ownership, marketing, graphic design, medicine, social work, journalism, engineering, game design, veterinary medicine, science, health, policing and crime prevention, the defence force and architecture.

Our old scholar presenters were also joined by a number of current parents and corporate supporters of the College. The afternoon sessions were all well attended and very valuable for our students. I thank everyone involved for their time and expertise, these sessions really can and do make a difference. In addition to individual presentations, students were also able to speak with representatives from South Australian tertiary education institutions to explore further options and pathways.

I understand feedback from our Year 10 students has been overwhelmingly positive with many especially enjoying the opportunity to ask questions about the day to day reality of their dream jobs. For many students this has reaffirmed their future pathway while prompting other students to investigate further education or careers they had previously not considered.

The Senior Clarinet Ensemble has recently been preparing their entry submission for the Strike a Chord National Schools Chamber Music Competition.

This is the third year our ensemble has taken part in this prestigious competition, open to high school students from across the country. We have had previous success in this competition, winning the Strike a Chord Woodwind Prize in 2020 and a Bronze Award in 2021. The entry requires an online recording of the ensemble performing a piece of published classical music, consisting of three or more players with one student playing per part.

The ensembles are not able to have a conductor directing them and must present their recording in one take with no editing or zooming in or out. They also need to submit a video which introduces the group and explains where they are from and the repertoire being played. Our Senior Clarinet Ensemble worked hard to produce a well-prepared entry again this year. Congratulations to our Senior Clarinet Ensemble members, Year 12 students Daniel Hurst, Tegan Hardy, Hannah Bampton James Skelton (Year 10) and Erin Doudle (Year 9) on submitting another strong entry this year. Results will be announced later this term.

LOUISE SKELTON
Senior Clarinet Ensemble Director