Senior School Link – Week 1, Term 1 2025 - 30 January 2025
Michele Marquet, Acting Head of School
Dear Parents and Carers
We hope all our families have enjoyed a relaxing and refreshing summer break.
Over the holiday period, there has been much to celebrate for many of our students with the exceptional HSC and IBDP results received by the Class of 2024. Please click hereto read the results in full.
As a school, we also fully appreciate and understand that some in our community are hurting as a result of cowardly acts and hostilities in the wider community over this period and our priority has always been, and will always be, the wellbeing of our students while at school. Should your child wish to speak to someone regarding these recent acts, we encourage them to talk to their Head of House in the Senior School and Class Teacher in the Junior School, for guidance and support.
It is always a joy to welcome our students back to campus for a new academic year. After a summer break, there is much excitement and happiness evident amongst our students, joyous to be seeing one another again and catching up with their teachers. For our new students to the School, no matter what year level they are joining, there can be some anticipatory nerves – a completely understandable feeling, but one that we hope will be replaced quickly with a strong sense of belonging to our community.
In the Senior School, we held our Meet the Mentor Day today. Our Year 1 – Year 6 students return for their first full day of learning tomorrow, whilst Pre-School hold their Orientation Day. Kindergarten will be in for short visits over the next few days before joining us for their first almost full day on Tuesday next week.
The staff have been busy over the past week preparing for the return of their students. Apparent at every turn, was the genuine commitment of everyone to making an excellent start to 2025, whether involved in operational and administrative areas or in the educational realm.
As we start a fresh year, tomorrow at the start of the year Assembly for Senior School, I will be reminding the students of some words on one of the windows at Junior School:
The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice.
Brian Herbert
I hope we see a year where our students’ willingness to learn flourishes under the care of their dedicated teachers and educators, and our community strengthens its relationships through grace and kindness, as we prepare to welcome our new Head, Anne Johnstone mid-year.
May 2025 be a wonderful year for our whole school community.
Kind wishes
Michele Marquet Acting Head of School
Bob Meakin, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School
Dear Parents and Carers
Happy New Year and welcome to 2025 at Cranbrook Senior School.
Today we welcomed our new Year 7 students on to campus with their parents. Thank you to all of our Year 7 parents who joined us for a short briefing and a meeting with their new Mentor and Head of House. I do hope the morning was productive and informative.
Year 11 and 12 students were also on campus completing some orientation programmes and commencing classes.
As you can see from the picture below, there are many new and squeaky shoes being worn, and I do hope they are not too uncomfortable over the next few days.
As you are aware, Mr Peter Young retired at the end of 2024, and he has been replaced by two Deans of Students: Mr Matthew Banes for Year 7-9 and Ms Elizabeth Fletcher for Years 10-12.
We also welcome a few new members of the teaching staff to the Senior School; Adele Della Mura, Marilee Li, Lillian Cheng, Emmanuel Alter, Yanake Tennant, Emily McNab, Thomas Corcoran, Seamus Gribbon and Stuart Symes (Term 1).We wish them the very best.
I met with Years 8, 9 and 10 online today. We did cover some study tips and some new rules regarding mobile phones, as well as goal setting for the year.
With the exception of Year 7, from Period 3 tomorrow, all students will be in classes. Period 1 for all students will be House and Period 2 will be the SS Assembly.
Many thanks to the students who were involved in various camps and activities over the holidays and many of them were in preparation for their summer sporting commitments.
Just a reminder that all parents are to use the internal Kiss & Drop at senior school to drop off/pick up their children. Entry into and exit from the Kiss & Drop is to be a left in/left out movement to minimise disruption to traffic and improve traffic safety. Parents are also reminded that their sons (and daughters from 2026) are strongly discouraged from driving to school and parking in surrounding streets.
2025 promises to be an exciting year and warm wishes to all for the start of Term 1.
Have great week!
Best wishes
Bob Meakin Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School
Adrian Harrison, Acting Director of Academics
“The principal goal of education is to create individuals who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” Piaget
As we emerge from the summer break, many of us have had the opportunity to slow down and a perhaps engage with ideas beyond our usual scope – whether through reading, reflection, or conversations with friends and family. One current educational discourse I kept seeing (perhaps this has to do with my algorithm) centred on explicit instruction versus inquiry-based learning and this continues to be played out in both the media and academic circles.
As an IB World School, we recognise that this isn’t a binary choice. Our approach to both teaching and learning seek to integrate multiple aspects including:
Structured explicit instruction that builds strong foundational understanding
Guided inquiry that develops critical thinking and independent learning
Conceptual frameworks that connect knowledge across disciplines
Skills development that enables deeper investigation
This balanced methodology reflects contemporary research showing that powerful learning occurs at the intersection of direct instruction and student-led inquiry. Our students benefit from both clear, explicit teaching and opportunities to explore, question, and discover.
As we embark upon the academic school year, I encourage all students to reflect upon their goals and aspirations for 2025. How would they like to see themselves at the end of this school year? There are many people here to assist them, mentors, teachers, prefects, peers, Heads of House, Heads of Department, counsellors and the list goes on.
Furthermore, we will be conducting a number of curriculum information webinars once the students have had an opportunity to settle into lessons and meet their teachers and classmates. These will take place as follows.
Year 11 Curriculum information webinar – Thursday 6 February
Year 9 Curriculum information webinar – Thursday 6 February
Year 7 Curriculum information webinar – Monday 10 February
More information will be sent directly to families next week.
I am looking forward to connecting and reconnecting with many of you in the days and weeks ahead.
Best regards
Adrian Harrison Acting Director of Academics
Hannah Thomas, Director of Professional Learning
Yesterday we welcomed back Cranbrook School teachers with ‘The Inclusive Co-ed Campus’, a professional learning experience that continued our focus on enhancing student wellbeing, exploring this in the context of the School’s transition to co-education. In particular, this session aimed to ensure that our campus is an inclusive space where students and staff feel a strong sense of connection and belonging.
Firstly, Laura Jane Brennan and Angelique Sanders outlined the role of Multi -Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in enhancing student wellbeing, developing an understanding how Cranbrook’s decision-making matrix enables teachers to consistently and effectively support students’ academic, social and emotional, and behavioural needs.
Teachers then gained an insight into how Cranbrook’s students experience inclusion, through a presentation by Victoria Rawlings on the data, recommendations and actions emerging from the Corridor Cultures project, an extensive study into the School’s culture. Daisy Turnbull then clarified how this understanding of culture is informing our transition to co-education program.
Finally, the session focused on enhancing the way we create positive learning environments where all students and teachers thrive. Led by Fiona Burgess, Adrian Harrison and Stephen Henriques, teachers collaborated to integrate Positive Behavioural Systems and Supports within our framework for behaviour management, focusing specifically on strategies teachers can use at the start of lessons to set high expectations and engage students from the outset. It was great to hear from our talented teachers Anthony Bray, Victoria Hounslow, Kate Kovalik and Ryan Sadler, who shared their top starter activities.
A huge thanks to all those involved in the planning and delivery of this session, particularly Laura Jane Brennan, who has expertly guided and supported Cranbrook through the Whole School Wellbeing Initiative, and whose insights into the ways we can enhance student wellbeing have been so valuable. Huge thanks also to Victoria Rawlings, whose powerful insights from the Corridor Cultures project will help us ensure all students can be themselves at Cranbrook.
Hannah Thomas Director of Professional Learning
Daisy Turnbull, Director of Coeducation and Academy
2025 is going to be a very exciting and important year for Cranbrook in our transition to coeducation in the Senior School. But as Mrs Marquet mentioned on our Staff Development Day – our Pre-Schools have been coeducational for over 70 years!
The orientation programme for our first Year 7 cohort continues with an event each term including our current Cranbrook Junior School students, incoming girls, and incoming boys. For our second Year 7 cohort in 2027, the long orientation will commence this term as well with events throughout the year. These email invitations will be sent out next week for the Term 1 events. A reminder that the numbers are limited but the plan is that every student can attend at least one or two a year. These events help students get to know each other, the senior campus, as well as work together in coeducational groups.
For our first Year 11 coeducational cohort, the incoming girls will be attending academic and social events and taking part in our Tomorrow Man and Tomorrow Woman workshops at the end of the year.
On Tuesday 28 January, we hosted a coeducational scholarship evening for students looking at scholarships in 2026. We had over 200 people in attendance despite the sky opening up as it began.
The enrolments are well underway for Year 7 2027 and the enrolment process will commence at the end of this term for Year 11 2027. I look forward to keeping you updated with our final year of transition before coeducation this year – have a fantastic start to term!
Daisy Turnbull Director of Coeducation and Academy
Angelique Sanders, Director of Student Wellbeing/Acting Deputy Head of Senior School
Welcome to our all our new parents, be it in Year 7 or other Year Groups.
Over the last year we have been strengthening our whole school wellbeing approach, working collaboratively across both the Junior and Senior School. We have clarified what wellbeing at Cranbrook means through building on the strength of our motto-To be, rather than to seem to be. In order To Be, our students need to feel good and function well. To do this we have defined wellbeing as:
To Be Courageous
To Be Balanced
To be Connected
To BE you
This term our focus is on being courageous, as we look forward to new beginnings and fresh starts. Each year is a chapter in your child’s life, so if last year was a bit rocky, encourage them to begin a new chapter and to show courage To Be the person they would like to be.
Year 7 will take part in a 3-day orientation programme to ease them into Senior School, led by Mr Matt Banes, our Acting Dean of Students 7-9.
Year 11 will have a 2-day orientation programme led by Ms Elizabeth Flecther, our Acting Dean of Students 10-12. This will include an exciting new workshop – In Her Shoes, run by Tomorrow Man/ Tomorrow Woman. As this year group will be our student leaders in our first year of coeducation this is a vital workshop to enable them to gain different perspectives.
Year 12 had their final Tomorrow Man workshop today – Write your own Code, where they had the space and time to consider what type of adult they want to become.
A reminder of our new technology policy. Mobile phones and smart watches are to be switched off and in lockers during the day. If they are found using their phone, it will be taken from them and they will have to collect it at the end of the day and will receive a half hour detention. We are aiming to break some ingrained habits, so your support with this is appreciated. If you need to urgently contact your child, please call Senior School Reception on 9327 9000 and they will assist you.
We are aware that some students are experiencing distress over events in our community, so if you are concerned please reach out to their Head of House and Mentor who can provide them with additional supports, including referring them to other wellbeing staff who might be able to provide further advice. As always, the wellbeing of our students is central to all we do. I would encourage you to use this as an opportunity to help develop your child’s critical thinking skills by allowing space for them to speak to you about what they may have read or seen on their feeds, or what they hear others say. As parents, you might ask questions like such as, where did you read that, who said it, what was the context and how do you feel about it? This can help your child work through what they are seeing and hearing in a safe and supportive way.
Angelique Sanders Director of Student Wellbeing/Acting Deputy Head of Senior School
Matt Grice, Director of Sport
Dear Parents and Guardians,
A big welcome to the 2025 Sports year for all returning and new members of our community. Cranbrook Sports programme is wide, varied and undertaken in a spirit of genuine education. The programme promotes inclusiveness, opportunity, and competition. We believe sport teaches valuable lessons about resilience, challenge, courage, failure, teamwork, and success. Students are driven to challenge themselves through the development of their skills, through training and conditioning, with a strong focus on balancing the comradery of team success with the satisfaction of individual achievement. Looking forward to a fantastic year of sport!
This week, the Sports Administration team sent out the 2025 Sports Welcome Booklet and the 2025 Sports Calendar. These resources contain all the essential information regarding sporting events, schedules, and important updates for the year ahead. The booklet and calendar are invaluable tools for staying informed about Cranbrook’s sports programmes and activities, providing students, parents, and staff with everything they need to know to get involved and stay up to date throughout the year.
A massive thank you to all who were involved in the numerous holiday activities. Camps, tours, and the weights centre were well attended, and our top squads were working hard in preparation for the remainder of the summer season. It was fantastic to see so many students so active in their holiday break. Well done to everyone who got involved.
2024 – 2025 Term Break
We have 6 weeks until the CAS Swimming Championships. For those interested in the 2025 Cranbrook CAS representative swim team selection or have any questions regarding selection or swimming at Cranbrook, please email.
We look forward to a big weekend of sport as we launch into the continuation of the summer season. The majority of sports have trial matches before the CAS season kicks off next week.
For all information about Co-Curricular activities and how to sign up – we encourage all students to visit the Student Brook Day Expo event on Friday 31 January – during lunchtime in the VCH. Click herefor more details.
Looking forward to seeing everyone around the grounds this weekend.
Matt Grice Director of Sport
Aquatic Update
2024 NSW State Senior Long Course Championship
Cranbrook Aquatic Swim Club competed at NSW Senior State, held Dec 6–Dec 12, 2024. This was our highest attended meet at these championships, with 45 individual swimmers plus another 3 relay swimmers competing from our top 4 squads. Our Cranbrook School students are highlighted across the 7 day meet below.
We kicked off Day one with 4 medals. Thomas Penny (Year 7) collected 2 gold medals in the 200m Butterfly and 200m Backstroke. Aodhan Taylor (Year 7) collected a silver medal in the boys 12 years 1500m freestyle and a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly, with both swims being PBs. Cranbrook students Aidan Park(Year 9 ) and Preston Irawan(Year 9) competed in the boys 14 years 100m breaststroke final, with Aidan taking the bronze medal with over a second PB, and Preston winning a swim-off to secure his place in a fast final!
Day two saw 8 Cranbrook swimmers compete in the 12–14 years 50m freestyle. This event was one of our most attended events by our swimmers. Noah Kemp (Year 9) and Aodhan Taylor (Year 7) progressed to the final, both missing out on the medals, finishing 6th and 4th respectively. Cranbrook alumni Max Moylan (2024) took the bronze medal in the boys 18 & over 200m freestyle, going under 1:56 for the first time. Thomas Penny (Year 7) added to his Gold medal tally with another 2 golds in the 100m Backstroke and 200 IM.
Day three saw our boys and girls 15–17 years 4x50m freestyle relay teams take the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Thomas Penny (Year 7) flourished again with Golds in the 400m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke. We also received silver medals in the boys 17 years 100m backstroke, with Tate Sirianni (Year 12) improving on his heat time, and Aodhan Taylor (Year 7) swimming a PB in the boys 12 years 100m butterfly. In the boys 13 years 100m butterfly, Noah Kemp (Year 9) showed his ability to swim multiple strokes to receive the bronze medal. Special mention goes to Cranbrook student Carter McGee (Year 8), who swam in 4 races, competing in 3 heat swims and qualifying for the boys 13 years 200m breaststroke final with a huge 7-second PB.
Day four Jack Charles (Year 10), progressed into the final for the 200m Breaststroke with a big PB finishing in 5th position.
Day five was our busiest day of the week, with 34 Cranbrook Swim Club swimmers contesting the heats. Fifteen of these swimmers came back in the evening session to race in the finals, where we won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals. Aodhan Taylor (Year 7), equalling the boys 12 years 50m butterfly NSW Record, won the event, and Tate Sirianni (Year 12), with a huge PB, won the boys 17 years 200m backstroke. Tate was also back in action to help our boys 12–18 years 4x100m freestyle relay team win silver. Our bronze medalists on the day were Aodhan Taylor (200m freestyle). Special mention goes to Noah Kemp, who narrowly missed out on the medals in the boys 14 years 50m butterfly.
Day six saw Cranbrook claim first and second in the boys 17 years 100m freestyle. Both Ollie Moclair and Tate Sirianni (Year 12) swam huge PBs to claim the gold and silver medals, respectively. Tate Sirianni then led off the boys 4x100m medley relay team to take the silver medal. Aodhan Taylor (Year 7) also claimed a bronze medal in the boys 12 years 100m freestyle. Cranbrook also had 12 top 10 finishes on this day, making it one of the most successful days of the meet.
On the final day, Cranbrook claimed 6 medals and 9 top 10 places! Special mention goes to Tate Sirianni (Year 12), and Max Moylan (2025), who all claimed silver medals. Noah Kemp (Year 9) claimed bronze medals. Special mention to Thomas Penny (Year 7) who finished his meet with a new state record in the 100m Freestyle with a time of 56.26, beating the previous record set 32 years ago.
Overall, Cranbrook Swim Club ended the championships with a total of 28 medals: 4 gold, 12 silver, and 12 bronze. We also had 63 finalists/top 10 places. The club finished 5th in the state.
Cranbrook Student Medallist & Finalist Thomas Penny (Year 7) – 10 Gold & 1 State Record Adohan Taylor (Year 7) – 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze, 3x 4th Place, 1x 5th Place Carter McGee (Year 8) – 1x 5th Place, 1x 10th Place Aidan Park (Year 9) – 1 Bronze, 3x 4th Place Noah Kemp (Year 9) – 2 Bronze, 3x 4th Place, 2x 5th Place , 1 x 6th Place, 1x 10th Place Preston Irawan (Year 9) – 10th Place Jack Charles (Year 10) – 5th Place & 7th Place Jack Wilkinson (Year 10) – 4th Place Tate Sirianni (Year 12) – 1 Gold, 4 Silver Matthew Alexiou (Year 12) – 1 Silver, 4th place & 10th place
Australian Open Water Swimming Championships 2025
Max Moylan (Year 12 2024) – Silver Medal 10km Carter McGee (Year 8) – Bronze Medal 5km Jack Wilkinson (Year 10) – 5th place
Over the Australia Day Long Weekend, four Cranbrook swimmers headed to Busselton to compete in the Australian Open Water Championships. The four-day competition pitted our swimmers against the very best Open Water swimmers in the country.
Day 1 saw Max Moylan (Year 12 2024) compete in the Men’s 10km event. This grueling eight-lap race saw him line up with not only the best 19-year-olds in the country but also current Olympians. Max started the race in a great position, maintaining his place as a top 5 in the 19-year-old age group for the first two laps. The middle four laps saw a breakaway group emerge, which Max stayed with and built on his position to be inside the top 3 19-year-olds. The final two laps saw Max enter a race for the gold medal in his age group. He finished second in a time of 1:59.15, his first time under 2 hours and just 7.5 seconds behind the 19-year-old winner.
Later that day, Jack Wilkinson (Year 10) competed in the six-lap 7.5km event in the 16-year-old Age Group. Jack had a great start, making it around the first turning buoy in 5th place, which also included the older 17-year-old age group. This enabled Jack to be in the first breakaway group that formed at the end of the first lap and strategically place himself in a position to finish as highly as possible. Jack battled hard to stay competitive and hold onto his position, finishing the race in 1 hour 36 minutes to take 5th place. Jack also backed up 3 days later in the 5km race, despite a strong start unfortunately Jack had to retire hurt, Jack continued to race after being stung multiple times under the arms by stingers, however, after getting a bad sting to the face Jack could no longer continue the race.
On Day 2, competing in his first National event, Carter McGee (Year 8) swam a very tactical, and at times, aggressive race in the four-lap 5km event. Carter positioned himself in the middle of the start line to quickly get around the first buoy without any issues and keep in close contact with the race leaders. Laps 2 and 3 saw the two leaders of his 14-year-old age group break away, leaving Carter in a tough battle for the bronze medal. While constantly being followed by his closest 14-year-old competitors, he swam a brilliant final lap to out-touch both 4th and 5th place by less than a second, securing the bronze medal in the 14-year-old age group—his first National Medal and Cranbrook’s second of the championships.
Daniel Arnamnart Head of Aquatics
NBA Basketball School Term 1
The NBA Basketball Term 1 program starts on Tuesday 4 February.
Cranbrook is celebrating remarkable achievements in Drama, with 100% of IBDP Theatre students achieving Top Band 7, showcasing excellence in the Arts. In the HSC Drama, 80% of students achieved Band 6 (90+), reflecting exceptional performance.
Highlighting the success, Cranbrook claimed 4 out of the top 10 State rankings:
Matthew Radvin – 2nd in State.
James Rivlin – 3rd in State.
Oliver Fletcher – 4th in State.
Joel Droga – 6th in State.
This impressive result underscores the School’s strength in nurturing top-tier talent in Drama.
Andrew Benson, Head of Drama, congratulates the students, saying; “These results are a testament to the dedication and passion of both our students and staff. Cranbrook continues to lead in Drama education, setting a high standard for future students.”
Cranbrook Bus
Cranbrook School offers the following subsidised private bus services to students from Monday to Friday during the School term.
For a Semester 1 bus pass, the price is $1110 per student or you may purchase an annual bus pass at a discounted price of $2105 per student.
Please use the Humanitix links below to purchase a bus pass:
