Principal's Report
HKHS Recognised for High Achievement
Within the first couple of weeks of this term our school has been contacted twice by senior officials in the Department of Education Head Office to recognise that we are exceeding expectations across a range of measures and seeking to engage with us as to how we continue to ‘punch above our weight’.
On Friday 30 April we were visited by the Executive Director of Teacher Quality and Impact, as well as one of her research specialists. They spent three hours at HKHS, meeting with the senior executive, faculty teams, teachers in various career stages and with students; as well as attending our weekly staff morning tea and having a brief school tour. This gave a broad snapshot into our school, our values, beliefs and culture, and how these elements play out in practice.
We have also been contacted by the Department of Education Inclusive Education Team as one of the highest performing schools in inclusive education practices. The department is working with Deakin University to develop an assessable, comprehensive and evidence-based online hub to support NSW teachers and our school will be highlighted within this work.
Although this recognition was not sought and represents what we do each and every day, it is gratifying to know that our school continues to be recognised as an example of excellence.
Working hard to learn from the 2020 HSC
In the past months our staff have conducted an extensive analysis of our performance as a school in the HSC in order to aim for continual improvement and refinement. This is something we do every year, however this year we have aimed to be more specific and targeted with our processes. We have access to extensive data from the HSC for every course; so much so that it can become overwhelming. From the 2020 HSC our aim has been to identify two core focus areas for attention, and for each faculty to drill down into these to identify key strategies that will be implemented to address these.
Last week each Head Teacher presented their findings and identified strategies to each other. What is most interesting are the common threads or themes that were present across the school, with different aspects of literacy skill development being the most prominent – even in Mathematics where numerical literacy is essential in accessing and understanding HSC questions.
Our learnings from this analysis process will be put in place through the strategies we have identified. Our aim is to evaluate how these impacted our students once this year’s HSC courses have been completed and we will look further at how we can continue to improve on our craft. We already achieve great results, but we will also continuously strive for the best for the students we teach.
Face to face gatherings have recommenced for HKHS
The department’s COVID-19 guidelines have been updated to align with the recent announcements and changes from NSW Health for the start of Term 2, 2021. This has essentially meant a further easing of restrictions to allow more activities to resume, albeit with certain requirements.
Most importantly we can resume face to face performance and information nights, of which there will be a number this term. Parents need to be aware of departmental sign in procedures at these events, including a QR code and paper sign-in. For the larger indoor events a COVID Safety Plan will also be in place. Please keep an eye out for upcoming information on;
- On Track Music and Drama Performance Night at the Entertainment Grounds.
- Senior Pathways Nights for Year 10 into 11 subject selection.
- Year 11/12 Parent Teacher Night.
It will be wonderful to be able to reconnect with our community face to face in the coming weeks and beyond.
Parents & Community Association
The P&C meets at 7.00pm in the Nichols Meeting room in the Administration building on the following dates for 2021;
- Tuesday 18 May – General Meeting
- Tuesday 10 August – General Meeting
- Tuesday 2 November – General Meeting
Mr Andrew Backhouse - Principal