Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and students,

With only five weeks until the completion of term two, you realise how time passes quickly. I hope everyone has settled into the term and are preparing for their semester exams. The weather is slowly transitioning; we started the term with sunny days, now autumn is here. I believe families have already visited chestnut farms!

On 25th of April, our students attended an ANZAC Day ceremony held in the city. The program was an excellent chance for students and staff to reflect and remember those who fought for our country, Australia, and also who fought for their country, Turkey. This was not a hate war. Turkish people never saw Australians as an enemy however destiny took its part. During the war an eternal friendship was emerged between Turks and Australians. Therefore I would like to remind Ataturk’s message in 1934 “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now laying in the soil of a friendly country rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmeds. They lie side by side here in this country of ours. Now they are our sons as well”.

This term is a very busy term. We have NAPLAN for years 7 and 9 as well as the GAT (General Achievement Test) for VCE students. NAPLAN exams are organized by the government as a standardised assessment. It measures students’ academic levels. It is important for us to learn our students’ levels and develop strategies to boost them up. That’s why; all students were expected to be at school on week 4 and 5 for NAPLAN and wee8 is for GAT.

In the second week of this term, there were parent teacher interviews. These were 5 minute scheduled meetings. This being the case, I understand meetings went over the time allocated and as a result parents missed out on seeing their child’s teacher. Parents are allowed to remind teachers about their appointment time, I encourage you to do so. In addition to the PTI, our teachers are available to meet with parents to discuss their child’s progress at other times. Parents are welcome to make a phone or in-person appointment for in-depth discussions.

Holy month of Ramadan is already started and passing. Thank you very much to pastoral care department for organising a welcome Ramadan programs for parents and students. They were great nights. I hope you enjoyed the nights too. It is traditional for Muslims to share their iftar dinners with guests. This tradition comes from Prophet Abraham. It is said that he had never eaten dinner without guests sitting with him on dinner table. One day he could not find anyone to invite, so he was feeling rather disappointed. His wife said, “O Abraham why don’t you go down to the market place and see if you could find someone there”. So he went out and it was getting dark. The only person he could find was an old man with a white beard. He was a stranger who had been travelling. It was obvious that he was hungry. Abraham asked him if he would join him for dinner. He was extremely happy and accepted. As they walked to Abraham’s house, he asked the old man what religion he belonged to. The old man said he was an atheist and Abraham was disappointed. He said, “Look my friend, I cannot let a nonbeliever eat on my table”. The old man felt terrible as he was starving. As he put his head down and walked away slowly. God spoke to Abraham and said: “O Abraham! I have fed this man for 70 years yet you are reluctant to feed him for a day!” Abraham realized his mistake and caught up with the old man. He said, “I am sorry my friend…My Lord asked me to invite you “. The old man said, “Your Lord is so merciful and compassionate…I too believe in Him now”.

Our students attended the 16th International Turkish Language Olympiad last year. The following students brought bronze medal to Australia. Mustafa Gungor, Salih Lelik and Muhammed Kiyar. Congratulations for your effort and dedication. Special thanks to their teacher Mr Yavuz Asik.

I would also like to thank all my staff members again for contributing to Sirius College’s success.

“Life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Regards,