Bullying, no way! schools are called to imagine a world ...€¦ · family and friends of Dolly Everett. Dolly was a victim of bullying and ended her own life at a young age of 14.

HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL MARCH ISSUE 1

HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL MARCH 2018

SAFE • TEAM PLAYER • ACHIEVER • RESPECTFUL IN THIS ISSUE

Bullying, no way!

On Friday 16 March 2018, Hawkesbury High School participated in a combined effort to stand united in our community to celebrate the National day of action against bullying and violence. We are one of thousands of schools taking part in this national initiative to create a safer environment for all students, so they can focus on their learning and achievement.

The National Day of Action is Australia’s key anti-bullying event for schools and in 2018, schools are called to imagine a world free from bullying and share their big ideas. Normally this event is highlighted on the third Friday of March each year, but we have decided to run our anti-bullying initiative across the whole week. Activities were coordinated throughout the week to bring the students together and highlight the issue and the importance of standing up against bullying and violence.

MONDAY During roll call on Monday, students filled in handprints with positive messages. They were asked to visualize a world without bullying and write their own anti-bullying message. These handprints were pasted together to form a powerful visual representation of our stance against bullying.

Students wrote messages such as “Don’t bully”, “Treat people the way you want to be treated”, “Tell someone if you don’t feel safe”, “Take action for the sake of their mental and physical health”, “This world would be a happy place to live in without bullying”, “People can express themselves without fear in a world without bullying” and “Nobody deserves to be bullied”. We are very proud of our students and their efforts to spread awareness of this important issue.

TUESDAY Teachers and students participated in a Volleyball match. Students were encouraged to tie a blue ribbon onto the volleyball net at recess to show their support of “Together We Stand”. This activity encourages students and staff to come together in support of each other, demonstrating teamwork, inclusion and good sportsmanship. Having a volleyball net adorned with blue ribbons is a reminder for all to stand up together against bullying and violence.

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence Staff and students wearing blue and signing our school pledge “Together We Stand” in recognition of the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

Preparing our students for success Hawkesbury High students will all received a study planner to better prepare them for success in school. Students attend a seminar to learn about how to effectively study and plan enough time for relaxation as well!

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All students were shown a video in rollcall on Wednesday morning, followed by a discussion of the importance of standing up against bullies. The video emphasizes the fact that only a small proportion of people would intervene and stand up for a victim of bullying. We had important discussions on how the world would look like if more of us stood up to bullies and speak up for those who need our help.

WEDNESDAY SRC students and parents also donated blue-themed cakes for our cake stall. The cakes were blue to represent the foundation in which we are raising money to support. All money raised was donated to the Dolly’s Dream foundation. This foundation is a charity group established by family and friends of Dolly Everett. Dolly was a victim of bullying and ended her own life at a young age of 14. This group aims to facilitate change for young people. Dolly’s Dream foundation aims to raise awareness of bullying, anxiety, depression, and youth suicide. Together we stand, and together we can keep Dolly’s dream for a better world alive. Thank you to all the students and parents who made the sweets. The treats were sold out before the end of recess, so there was much support for this cause from the entire school. Thank you!

THURSDAY Students from 8H worked together to make a video to highlight the importance of standing up against bullying and violence. Students performed and edited the video themselves and this was shown to all students during assembly. The video showed students acting out against bullying and violence, emphasizing a positive attitude and promoting messages such as “You are beautiful”, “You are wonderful” and “You are worthy”. After the video, members of the audience were asked to find a message under their seats which expressed the same message. Everyone was surprised and happy to receive these messages.

FRIDAY All staff and students were encouraged to wear blue, the theme colour for our National Day of Action against bullying and violence. A gold coin donation was requested for those who dressed up in blue and all donation funds were sent to the Dolly’s Dream foundation. Students were also encouraged to sign the school pledge to stand together against bullying and violence.

Hawkesbury High School would like to thank all staff, students, parents and community members who allowed this to happen. It was a great week and it was a good reminder for all of us to stick up for our friends when they are faced with any sort of bullying or violence in their lives.

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Premier’s Reading Challenge 2018 The Premier’s Reading Challenge has started for 2018.

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each

student to read, to read more and to read more widely. The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is available for all NSW students in Kindergarten to

Year 9, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools.

To enrol go to this website:

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Log on with a DET student username and password.

If your child can read, they can achieve!

CAPA REPORT Date Event

Wednesday, 21st March Harmony Day

NASA Teleconference (Period 2)

Big Day In @ UTS Excursion

Friday, 23rd March Years 7 and 8 Vaccinations

Monday, 26th March School Dentist

Conviction Seminar

Tuesday, 27th March School Dentist

MQ Cup Netball

Wednesday, 28th March School Dentist

Thursday, 29th March School Dentist

Cross Country

Easter Show Excursion

Friday, 30th March – Monday 2nd April Public Holiday

Wednesday, 4th April White Card Course

Year 12 Examinations Commence

Thursday, 12th April ANZAC School Assembly

Friday, 13th April Year 12 Examinations Conclude

What’s happening at Hawkesbury High School

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Faculty Reports

Creative and Performing Arts

It has been a busy start to the year in the CAPA faculty. HSC Visual Arts students experienced the wonderful Art Express Exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. We listened to some inspiring talks from students of last year’s HSC who received top results for their Bodies of Work.

Students from both Music and Visual Arts contributed to our Open Night, with Alyzandria Granger playing piano in the Quadrangle, Tia Martin creating art in action and several student artworks on display.

Drama students Bella Williams, Abbey Schneider and Jasmine Barlow had the amazing opportunity to be a part of a Musical Theatre Workshop, which will continue in April. These students received the invaluable tuition of Jacqui Dwyer, who finished her HSC last year and has had vast performance experience, including presenting as a solo artist at School Spectacular in 2017.

We look forward to more exciting events coming up in Term 2 and wish our senior students all the best for their first round of Examinations.

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English

8H have been hard at work in their English classes working on their projects for Sydney Water. They have been challenged to create a 90 second ad encouraging teenagers to choose tap water. Select storyboards will be chosen to enter Sydney Water’s competition in the hopes of getting their ad professionally filmed and posted on Sydney Water’s website.

HSIE

There are many changes in HSIE this year. We are welcoming some new staff that have joined the faculty, Mr Brady and Ms Grant. Classes in years 7-10 are organised into HSIE class groups instead of History/Geography. They will still do History for one semester and Geography for one semester.

Assessment in years 7-8 will consist of a portfolio style assessment. The purpose of a portfolio style assessment is to provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning journey. Learning and developing skills is an ongoing process. The portfolio style of assessment has a number of advantages. It will help students to:

• demonstrate learning over the course of time rather than what they know on a particular day

• reflect on their learning, self-assess, and develop a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning beyond basic explanations

• demonstrate improvement by taking into account the teacher’s feedback and revisiting their work

The class teacher has selected activities from the program to demonstrate student learning. These activities will be completed throughout the course at various times. We want to encourage a growth mindset approach to learning, thus students will have an opportunity to demonstrate improvement. It is very important for students to read the teacher’s feedback before they revisit a task.

Year 8 have already completed some work for their portfolios on Viking journeys.

TAS

We’ve hardly had time to catch our breath and we’re off to a flying start in 2018. Firstly, we need to acknowledge and congratulate our HSC students from 2017. Our faculty is extremely proud of their efforts throughout last year and their consequent results in the exams. Congratulations to you all, and we wish you every success in your next adventure.

Now, we must reintroduce ourselves, and to also welcome our new faculty members.

Mr. Benn McEvoy Head Teacher

Mrs. Carolyn Massingham TAS/Home Ec.

Mrs. Donna Kirkwood TAS/Home Ec.

Mrs. Joanne Jones SASS/Home Ec.

And, introducing

Mr. Robert Powell TAS/IA

Mr. Luke Ryman TAS/IA

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The TAS faculty is a busy place. We have a range of subjects to offer for those students who enjoy designing and working in a practical environment, and for those who enjoy the challenge of experiments and research.

Year 7 Technology Mandatory is enjoying a range of experiences in practical application – for many it’s their first experience in a prac. room, and learning the basics is vital.

We have been learning sewing machine threading, using equipment in the kitchen, wood & metal.

Meanwhile, year 8 Technology Mandatory are expanding their practical skills further by developing skills in fabric design, namely ‘Marbling’.

Years 9&10 Food Technology is enjoying the practical component of the subject by experimenting with ingredients to produce a product. They are then able to link this experience with the science of cooking.

Years 9&10 Child Studies continue to learn about birth, babies and children. Whilst it is interesting and vital to know the facts, Mrs. Julie Sullivan is also providing much needed practical skills and teaching our students the art of crocheting. As you may know, many baby clothes and blankets are made using this technique.

Year 12 CAFS are continuing to develop writing skills when answering HSC-style questions, in preparation for their impending exams later this year.

Year 12 Food Technology are currently studying Food Quality and Assurance and are learning about the FSANZ standards of HACCP in the food industry.

Year 11 and 12 VET Hospitality are continuing to learn about the Hospitality Industry, whilst developing competencies to enhance employability skills. Just recently we had a water tasting lesson where students were surprised with the difference in flavour and texture of a variety of waters.

In November of last year, both Year 12 Food Technology and Hospitality experienced an Industry environment first hand, by visiting the stunning Grounds of Alexandria in the city. It’s well worth a visit.

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Mathematics

The Mathematics staff at Hawkesbury High School would proudly like to introduce a new piece of technology which would be incorporated into everyday learning in our classes. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 marked its debut in an 8H Mathematics class and made an appearance again for Open Night 2018.

This tablet allows the Mathematics staff to fully utilize the visual component of teaching and learning Mathematics. This technology allows us to guide students through various topics in the curriculum. Some of the features include easy access to shapes and other components of measurement. The technology even allows us to highlight equations to quickly calculate answers, so that students could have instant feedback on their performance when working with algebraic expressions and equations.

The Surface Pro operates like a normal smartphone, where snapshots and photos could be shot and analysed. An example could include taking a photo of a building and applying trigonometry to find out how tall the building is in real life – all this could be done quickly and effectively, and the entire class has access to this image instantly.

The tablets are ordered and each Mathematics teacher will very soon be utilizing this in their classrooms.

This technology is wireless (as shown below) and enables Mathematics teachers to occupy the space of the room so all students have access to help in a more efficient manner.

Watch this space for more updates in the upcoming newsletters. We are very excited to have this implemented in the classroom and are looking forward to come up with new and better ways to improve student learning!

PUZZLES FOR PRIZES

Thanks to everyone who participated last month, some of you came out with great answers!

This week, we’d thought we’ll try something a little bit more challenging. Solve the following and

submit your answer to the Maths staffroom for a prize!

If there are 60 pages in the newspaper and page 9 is missing, what are the other missing pages?

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Poetry In Action

On the 14/03/2018 the English Faculty played host to the Poetry In Action team, with students from years 10, 11 and 12 attending. The PIA guys performed an hour-long piece titled “Words of War” which captures the intense story of the poet Wilfred Owen. The act was informative and educational and the students were surprised by the intensity of the performance.

Check out the photos of the performances below.

Arena Spectacular

A big congratulation to our very own Hope Beetson! She has been offered a contract to perform in the Main Arena Spectacular at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the vaulting segment.

Check out her performance at the show Arena Spectacular in the vaulting segment between the 23rd of March and the 3rd of April. All the best Hope!

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Sports Report By Mr Philip Devine

Macquarie Zone Swimming Championships A number of our students competed at these championships on Tuesday 6th March 2018 at Blacktown Swimming Centre. All swimmers performed to the best of their ability and should be commended for their efforts on the day. Congratulations to everyone who attended. Sam Bonus and Geordie Steinbach were selected to compete in the Sydney West Swimming Championships, which were held on Monday 12th March at Homebush.

Boys Knockout Cricket

Hawkesbury played Glenmore Park High School at Jamison Park on Wednesday 28th March. The boys fielded first and conceded 220 runs, despite doing their best they were no match for their opposition. The team were; Jack Dickinson, Jack Brown, Jack Catania, Cody Castelli, Shaun Taplin, Branden Charles, Brock Hawley, Daniel Sullivan, Neven Pavlicevic, Josh Anley, James Kennedy and Luke Howard. Thank you to Mr Norris for taking this team.

Macquarie Cup Gala Days

Football The Macquarie Zone Football Championships were conducted on Monday 5th March at Inalls Lane, North Richmond. Our boys and girls teams represented Hawkesbury High School with pride and produced a terrific effort on the day. Our boys team were; Neven Pavlicevic, Cody Smith, Jack Dickinson, Jobe Reid, Sam Unsworth, Lachlan Ransom, Kye Smith, Tyron Smith, Dejan Pavlicevic, Jack Memorey and Dylan Saez.,Shaun Taplin, Ben Watts, Shaquille Bulman and Deaken Sharp

Our girls team were; Bianca Packer, Lauren Parkes, Teagan Ainslie, Paige Bulman, Nikita Shelton, Bridgette Williams, Jasmine Williams, Cara Brown and Ashley Barter.

Basketball The Boys Basketball team participated in the Macquarie Cup Gala Day on Thursday 8th March at Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium.. The boy’s team also won two matches and were commended for their effort by both Mr Powell. The boys team were; John Mackenzie, Jack Rif, Jerome Stewart, Daniel Craythorn, Logan Mitchell, Shaun Taplin, Michael Boylan, James Kennedy, Max Calkin, Daniel Sullivan, Brodie Laboyrie and Jason Griffin.

Macquarie Cup Touch Football The boy’s touch football teams competed in a gala day on Thursday 15th March at Glenwood. The team played exceptionally well on the day and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play competitive games against other schools.The boys were unlucky to not make the final with only one reserve all day. Well done to everyone who took part. The boys team consisted of; Brodie Laboyrie, James Kennedy, Michael Boylan, Shaun Taplin, Bailey King, Tyler Bartolo, Aden Graves, Daniel Sullivan, Jason Griffin and Jarrod Xerri. Congratulations to Michael Boylan, for making the Macquarie Zone Touch Team.

Boys 16 years Rugby Union Jackson Foster has been selected to compete in a Sydney West Rugby Union trial which will be held on Thursday 22nd March 2018, he is hoping to be selected in the Sydney West team.

Australian Junior Athletics Championships Congratulations to Caitlyn Ferrier who recently competed at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, running in the U/18 400m (although still only 15), Caitlyn came 1st and ran a time of 54.87seconds. Caitlyn also competed in the U/20 200m coming 5th. Congratulations Caitlyn, you are a star.

Football The first round of the state knockout was conducted on Friday 16th March at Inalls Lane, North Richmond. Our boys’ team played Kingswood High School and produced a great effort despite having only seven players. The boys team were; Neven Pavlicevic, Cody Smith, Jobe Reid, Kye Smith, Tyron Smith, Dejan Pavlicevic, and Dylan Saez.

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Extracurricular Activities

Nothing to do at lunch time? Well, we’ve got the solution for you! Feel free to come along and join in the fun with the following activities available to everyone.

• Chess and board games • Basketball • Dancing • Yoga • Robotics • Manga/Anime • Harry Potter fan club • Computer coding • Agriculture club • Journalism • Netball

If you are interested in something and know a bunch of other people who might be interested, feel free to talk to Ms Bartram about setting up a group. We highly encourage all students to come and enjoy these little social gatherings to learn more about a new hobby or just to talk to each other about things you might enjoy.

Here are some snaps of Monday’s activities.

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Careers News By Ms Joanne Armstrong, HHS Careers Advisor

Defence Force Careers

The Defence Forces will be visiting us on Thursday 3 May to talk about Careers in the Defence Forces. Interested students in Years 9-12 should register with me if they wish to attend. Just send me an email or see me in my office. Registrations close on Thursday, 12 April.

Health Inspirations Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD) is pleased to announce Health Inspirations will be run in May and October in 2018. This program is for students in Years 10-12 who live or attend school within the NBMLHD.

What is Health Inspirations? Health Inspirations is a five day work experience program that aims to engage students in meaningful ways, to provide them with a clearer picture of the world of work and to help them make decisions about their career paths. The program endeavours to deepen students’ understanding of careers in health.

Dates for 2018: Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District: Health Inspirations

Monday 14th May – Friday 18th May 2018 Monday 22nd October – Friday 26th October 2018

Online applications open: Monday 5th March – Tuesday 3rd April

To apply please go to: http://www.nbmlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/health-inspirations/applying-for-health-inspirations/applying-for-health-inspirations

For more information please go to: http://www.nbmlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/health-inspirations/health-inspirations

NSW Police Force

The NSW Police Force is recruiting NOW. The NSW Police Force has a new web-site and a new Facebook page where information on their entire recruitment process is readily available.

The NSW Police Force are posting information daily on the Facebook page and endeavouring to keep everyone "in the loop" about any changes to the recruitment process; information sessions being held (next is Saturday 21 April in Parramatta-book online); Careers Markets they are attending: they will be at the Hawkesbury Show on 20 April.

If anyone has any questions they can post them on the Facebook page and they will be answered by one of the staff at the Recruitment Branch, the experts in this field.

2018 TAFE Guide Interested in TAFE? Check out this guide. https://www.tafensw.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/58184/TAFE-NSW-CAREER-GUIDE-2018.pdf

Students Online

A handy guide for students considering their future options. Uni isn’t just for the brightest students. It’s for anyone who’s committed to reaching their full potential and wants to acquire the skills and experience to achieve their goals:

Steps to Uni: http://www.uac.edu.au/documents/publications/year11-12-booklet.pdf

Students Online Students Online: Students in Years 11 and 12 (and Year 10 soon) are encouraged to activate their Students Online Account:

http://studentsonline.bos.nsw.edu.au/ Students should know their NESA student number so that they can activate their account. Check your school emails for further details.

Students Online is your source for information about your study from Year 10 to the HSC. This is where students can access their academic results

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and certificates. Plus a lot of useful information about the HSC:

• Preparing for the HSC and subject selection • HSC Rules and Procedures Guide • Advice for students choosing HSC courses • HSC examination study tips and tools • How HSC results are released • The Record of School Achievement or RoSA • Key dates • Latest news

Library News By Ms Jenny Leathbridge

How Do I Help My Child?

As parents, we all want our children to be the best they can be. The term is now underway and assignments are coming thick and fast. If your child is your first child to attend high school, it can be difficult to know how to help them with these assignments. This is where the HHS Library can help.

First of all, make sure your child understands what they are being asked to do. If they don’t, encourage them to ask their teacher. Then you can help them search the HHS Library catalogue for books or use our online encyclopedia to find the information they need to complete their assignments.

They can search the HHS Library catalogue from home by going to their DET student portal and clicking the Oliver Home icon. This will allow them to search for a subject or for any key words associated with that subject.

They can use our online encyclopedia by going to:

Our log-in ID is Hawkesbury and our password is proudhawks.

The student encyclopaedia is designed for students in Years 6 to 8 and the advanced encyclopaedia is better suited to students in Years 9 to 12.

Please encourage your child to use our library.

Our opening hours are: half an hour before school Monday to Friday. At recess the Library is open for students in Years 9 and 10. At lunch it is open for students in Years 7 and 8. Senior students can use the Library at any time.

Any student from any year who wants to work quietly on an assignment may come in at any time – just ask!

Mrs Leathbridge (Teacher Librarian)

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Teaching & Learning By Mrs Nicole Martirena Head Teacher Teaching and Learning/HSIE

Assessment Booklets

All students have been issued with an Assessment Booklet. The booklet contains important information, such as: policies and procedures, revision and study techniques and individual course assessment schedules. Students should ensure they look carefully at course assessment schedules to enable them to plan for assessments ahead of time.

When students receive an assessment task it will be issued on green paper with the outcomes and marking guidelines. Students are encouraged to read the requirements carefully and seek assistance from their teacher if unsure of how to approach the task. Examination and test notifications will be issued on yellow paper and will outline the topics that will be covered in the examination or test.

Study Periods for Senior Students

Senior students have study periods on their timetables. These periods are available for students to catch up on work, complete assessment tasks, review class work and study for examinations. There are various rooms available for students to make use of during this time. Students need to see a Head Teacher if they require a room for study purposes.

Year 11 Study Conference

All Year 11 students have participated in a study conference, at school, on Tuesday 27th of February. The aim of the conference was to provide students with skills and strategies to assist them in their learning. Students participated in various workshops on time management, study skills, accessing and referencing resources and stress management. Pathways into tertiary education and transition planning was also be a focus.

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Deputy’s Report By Ms Jenny Linklater

Term 1 is indeed flying by with so many and varied things happening at our wonderful school. On February 27, Year Eleven participated in a highly successful Study Conference and were rotated through a series of workshops. Students learned how to organise their time and plan for success with Mr Maric, gained valuable study tips and skills with Ms Martirena, explored career options with Ms Armstrong and how to keep calm and carry on through the HSC years with Ms Linklater. It was a fantastic day and very well worth it. Mrs Shortland is coordinating the Year 11 mentor program to help us keep students on the right track. Thank you to all students who actively participated in the study conference and are working towards their best possible results.

Good luck to all Year 12 students who are revising their work in preparation for their exams in Weeks 10 and 11. Remember to pace your study, balance your external workload and ask for help well before assessments are due to be submitted.

The school staff continue to learn about how to implement high impact evidence-based practices for school improvement. In close partnership with our feeder primary schools, our major strategy of Visible Learning remains a strong focus for professional learning throughout the year and will also be the case over the next two years. Last week, on the 16-17th March, the school executive held a conference at the Fairmont Resort at Leura to further develop our Three Year School Strategic Plan. It was hard work and very rewarding.

Preparations for the Stage 4 Space Camp Excursion to USA in October are underway with interested students preparing a brief submission for one of the six subsidised positions. Good Luck to everyone. I will be holding another meeting for parents soon to discuss the next phase.

Our Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) focus also continues this week with select students being invited to participate in a teleconference with Todd Barber a NASA astronaut on 21st March. How Exciting!

I would like to commend our students for wearing the school uniform with pride. Many visitors and

community members regularly commend us on just how good the students look in their uniform. As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child has the correct warm uniform to wear. If there are any difficulties with wearing the correct school uniform please contact the school to discuss.

Deputy’s Report By Mrs Kerrie Shortland

The end of term is fast approaching as are the Yr 12 Half Yearly Exams, which will be held over Weeks 10 and 11. All Yr 12 students should be preparing for the exams with revision of class work and by completing practice exam questions. Assessments are also being issued or due for Yrs 7-11. All students have been provided with an Assessment booklet. Can parents please ensure that they have read it through and discussed the assessment requirements with their child? If any of the assessment information is unclear please contact the relevant teacher.

Our Open Night, held on 7 March was a great success. I am very grateful to the staff who worked so hard to promote HHS with some amazing faculty displays. There are a number of students who should be acknowledged for their leadership and community spirit as they assisted by acting as Tour Guides and led multiple groups around the school and faculty displays. I also need to thank the students who ran part so faculty displays such as in Agriculture, Visual Arts, Music, Dance and Food Tech.

Thank you to the following students who acted as guides: Matthew and Jake Simmonds, Mackayla Clarke, Ahleena Pilgrim, Mia Barbeitos, Jessie Grech, Kayla Priestley, Taylah Barbeitos, Travis Hawley, Georgia Micalleff, Christine Malone, Harmanie Murley, Daniel Flaxman, CJ Whitney, Kelly Whitney, Zayne Whitney, Anneleise Roache and Chloe Sparkes. These students will be awarded VIVO points and be acknowledged at a school assembly. Mr Maric will also invite these students to a Principal’s Morning Tea.

Lastly, for the remainder of the term the School Locker will be open on Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8.30 – 10.30am. Normal opening hours will resume next term.

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Principal’s Report By Mr Igor Maric

As the school term nears an end, and students, staff and parents start looking forward to the Easter break and well-earned school holidays, the school has been busily working on our next three-year plan and ways to make a good school even better. In addition, we have been focussing on strategies to support our senior students, with work well under way on setting up a Learning Hub and running study skills workshops to help students become more organised, manage their time better, and learn more effective study techniques.

As part of a whole school strategy to provide additional support to our seniors, Year 11 students attended study skills workshops, which included hands-on workshops on how to create an achievable study schedule. It also included giving all Year 11 students a useful tool to help

them make their study schedules work – laminated wall planners which include a weekly study schedule, tips on how to study, get organised and manage time, a to-do list and a term planner. Year 12 students will also be given the planners once they have been taken through a study skills session on how to use them effectively in preparation for their half-yearly exams, trial HSC exams and HSC exams later this year. All students, in all year groups, will also be progressively issued with the wall planners in the coming weeks.

Another strategy to assist our senior students is the availability of on-demand tutoring in the Learning Hub – a service delivered by university students who have recently and successfully completed the HSC. The tutoring service will be available during school hours – initially two days per week – and during Year 11 and 12 study periods. If successful, the service will be expanded to five days per week. The plan is to have the tutoring service expanded to include on-demand learning support to other students, in all year groups, who have been identified to benefit from one-on-one support for projects, assignments and other tasks.

The school’s leadership team has also been working hard on finalising our School Plan. The school leadership team attended a weekend conference at which we spent time developing a draft school vision, defining our strategic directions, “unpacking” latest educational research, and identifying strategies that would allow us to come up with goals that will help us achieve that vision. It was a very productive conference which helped the leadership team define a consistent approach to planning for whole school improvement.

Given below are consultation drafts of the school vision, strategic directions with purpose statements, and broad descriptors of each strategic direction. I am inviting the school community to provide feedback on the draft statements. Your feedback is highly valued and it will help the school develop and support initiatives that will make a real difference to our students.

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To provide feedback, please follow the prompts on the school’s website and submit your thoughts, suggestions and ideas through the link provided.

http://www.hawkesbury-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/community-survey

School Vision

Hawkesbury High School is a supportive and safe learning environment that is underpinned by strong and consistent whole school systems and practices. Teachers know and apply best pedagogical practice that enables staff and students to grow and succeed. The school community respects Hawkesbury High School as a valued partner that equips young people to become world ready and positive contributors to the community in which they live.

Strategic Direction 1: Student and Staff Wellbeing and Engagement

Build teaching and learning environments that enable the development of healthy, happy, successful and productive individuals.

Expectations of student behaviour, attendance and engagement are clearly communicated to the school community, including staff, students and parents. The school supports students to meet these expectations through clear school policies and procedures. Staff also support students through consistent practices such as explicit instruction and written, visual and verbal cues in all settings. School expectations are explicitly taught, recognised and modelled. All community members are actively involved in supporting students to meet these expectations. The entire school community is committed to high expectations which are an integral part of a broader school narrative focussed on excellence and success.

Strategic Direction 2: Teaching and Learning

Develop staff capacity to implement evidence-based practices to help improve student performance.

All teaching staff have deep knowledge and understanding of effective evidence-based practices and these practices are explicitly integrated into every day teaching and learning. This includes curriculum differentiation to support individual learning needs and

challenge all students, explicit teaching, feedback that explicitly identifies students’ strengths and improvement strategies, formative assessment that provides data and information to assist teachers to understand where students fit on the learning continuum, disciplined learning environments, positive teacher-student relationships and collaborative practices that enhance professional learning and development.

Strategic Direction 3: Community Partnerships

Strengthen community partnerships and build connections with parents, community and DoE services to enhance learning, wellbeing and engagement opportunities for all students.

The school builds partnerships with families and the broader school community by connecting learning at home and school, building a community identity, recognising and valuing the role of the family, engaging in consultative decision-making, and encouraging collaboration and participation with the school and a range of community services and agencies. The school engages community resources, knowledge and expertise to engage students and share responsibility for student learning and wellbeing. We work together to create positive attitudes to learning, develop shared understandings of how children learn and build on families’ capacity to support learning at home.

Again, I encourage parents and other members of the school community to provide feedback on the school’s vision and our strategic directions that will enable us to achieve that vision. This feedback will help the school finalise our plan for 2018-2020. The School Plan will be published on the school’s website at the beginning of Term 2.

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HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL MARCH ISSUE 19

HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL

WOULD LIKE TO THANK SCIBERRAS FRESH FRUIT & VEGETABLES

FOR THEIR KIND DONATION OF FRESH PRODUCE FOR OUR BREAKFAST CLUB.

HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL MARCH ISSUE 20