Strathcona. Bring out her best.

In the secondary section of Strathcona there are inter-house competitions or festivals for all girls in debating, dance, drama and music, both choral and instrumental. In sport, competitions occur in athletics, cross country, swimming, diving, netball, volleyball, badminton and basketball, and additionally at Year 9, in football, soccer and tennis.

Strathcona Middle and Senior School Co-Curricular

All of these activities are organised by the students with staff support. The School Public Speaking Competition involves all students in Years 7, 12. Class representatives are chosen following speeches given by all girls in English lessons. The finalists compete at Junior (Years 7 and 8), Intermediate (Years 9 and 10) and Senior (Years 11 and 12) levels.

Debating beyond the inter-house competition begins at Year 7 with a number of teams being entered in each section of the inter-school competition of the Debating Association of Victoria. Speech and Drama individual or small group lessons are also available and girls often take part in Eisteddfods and/or examinations.

A Middle School production is held early in the year, with Senior School plays performed in the second semester.

Social Service

This is an extremely important part of the development of every Strathcona student. From practical community service to fundraising and goods collection, every Year Level conducts social service activities organised by the students. The cross-age activities such as Oxfam Walk Against Want and the 40 Hour Famine are organised through the Social Service Committee comprising girls in Years 11 and 12. The girls regularly raise in excess of $20,000 for a wide range of causes. Further activities are organised by the senior Christian group, Kairos, and social justice activities are organised regularly.

Sport

All girls are also actively encouraged to take part, not only in the Inter-House sporting activities, but also in Inter-school sport.

Strathcona is a member of Girls Sport Victoria, a group of 24 Independent girls’ schools, including schools such as MLC, PLC, Melbourne Girls Grammar and Genazzano. Competitions are organised in athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, cross-country, diving, hockey, netball, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball and water polo, with championship events held in athletics, cross-country, diving and swimming and semi-finals/finals held in the team sports. The competitions in team sports are organised at Junior (Years 7 and 8), Intermediate (Years 9 and 10) and Senior (Years 11 and 12) levels. Events are held in golf and others are planned in equestrian, gymnastics, squash and table tennis.

Additionally, Strathcona is involved in competitions for Junior and Senior tennis, open to all girls in Years 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12. All girls in Years 7, 8 and 9 are involved in representing the school in Inter-school Round Robin matches against neighbouring schools. Inter-school teams compete in such events as All Schools swimming, diving, athletics and cross-country championships, skiing, kayaking, rowing, aerobics and surf lifesaving championships.