Principal's Report
Highlights of Term 4
It’s been a busy term for staff and students at Elderslie High School. On top of the usual assessment periods in which teachers are measuring the progress of all students in readiness for Semester 2 reports, we have offered a wide array of opportunities. Highlights have included:
· Year 12 and Year 10 Formals – Our invited students kicked up their heels at both these wonderful events with the Year 12 Formal being held at Panorama House on November 21. The Year 10 event was held at Camden Lakeside on December 4. A big thank you to Ms Malcolm and Ms Cutajar for organising each evening to allow our students to make memories to last a lifetime.
· Stage 4 CAPA evening – This year’s event was in a very different format with the Visual Arts Gallery taking centre stage. Students entertained us around the artworks with music, drama and dance. Thank you to the Elderslie High School P&C for the service of refreshments on the night.
· Multicultural Day – This was held on December 6 and is always a highlight of the calendar. Multicultural Day serves to celebrate the diverse cultures from which EHS students originate. This includes 20 different countries of birth with 20% of our students coming from a language background other than English. Our students respectfully paid attention to the Parade of Nations at the morning assembly and enjoyed the cultural performances including Bollywood Dancing, Pasifika singing and dancing from EHS students and even Chinese Lion dancing, utlising visiting students from Cabramatta High School. Special thanks must be given to our Vice-Captain, Elle Tooala-Murray for her leadership of our Pasifika performers and also for the training of Spring Farm PS students who visited and performed. It was a warm day but students loved the World Cup Grand Final and the visiting food trucks. Well done to Mr Atterton and Mrs Reyes-Davids for their organisation of what was, once again, a wonderful day.
· Orientation Day – On December 3, we greeted our new Year 7 students for 2025 as they took their first steps into secondary school life. Our Prefects supported them as they completed activities within a timetable and got to meet new friends from other schools. Parents were provided with an opportunity to hear from key staff and we finished the day with a barbecue lunch. We can’t wait for our new students to commence next year!
· Extended Transition – To support new Year 7 students with additional needs, we ran our 5-week extended transition program, yet again. This allows for mainstream students to participate in extra sessions aimed at promoting their familiarity with the campus and key staff. Support Unit students joining us in 2025 also have had extra lessons and transition opportunities.
· Visits within our Community of Schools – On November 1, a group of teachers and leaders from our partner primary schools visited EHS to immerse themselves in high school life. Together with our Director, Mr Gary Graham, our staff and students took the visitors through a range of our most unique facilities and flagship projects including our Tech Elect lessons, iStem elective workshops including use of drones, elective Drama and Music, a visit to our wonderful Ag Plot and our state-of-the-art Commercial kitchens. In turn, on November 25, the tables were turned and our team visited the partner primary schools of Cobbitty, Mawarra, Spring Farm and Elderslie Public Schools with opportunities to view literacy and numeracy lessons. Our overall aim is to support transition processes and ensure all staff are conversant with the programs of the schools within our local community. We love our partner primary schools and the strong bonds that exist between us all as public educators.
· Craig Reucassel Visit – On November 28, we welcomed ABC media personality, Craig Reucassel who addressed 100 of our students on issues of the environment and sustainability. Craig, who is the presenter of breakfast radio program on 702 ABC Sydney and is well known for TV shows such as War on Waste and The Chaser, loved his visit to the Ag Plot in which he observed our sustainability features such as our composting and wicking garden beds. A big thanks to Ms Atkinson for organising this visit.
· Remembrance Day Services – While the school ran its usual service at assembly, two of our Captains, Bethanie Collins and Callumb Jenner were invited to help lead Camden RSL Sub- Branch Service in Macarthur Park. Bethany and Callumb delivered readings on this day for the community, demonstrating their respect for the solemnity of the occasion and commemorating servicemen and women of the past and present.
Student Successes
This term has seen a significant number of special prizes awarded to our students. In the sporting arena, a large range of students achieved Zone Sporting Blues at the ceremony held at Elizabeth Macarthur High School on 20 November. I had the pleasure of presenting these to our students along with Mr Cockburn, our Sports Organiser. This was followed by an opportunity to celebrate with Isabella Trevena, of Year 12 who received the President’s Award at the Regional Blues, which acknowledges a female student who is considered the best sportswoman from any sport in the Sydney South West region during 2024. What an achievement! Isabella scooped the pool with a Combined High School (CHS) Blue, the ceremony for which was held at the SCG in Sydney.
On 15 November, the ceremony was held for the presentation of the Zonta Awards for Women in STEM. Carla Charon of Year 12 was acknowledged with a lucrative scholarship at this ceremony, at which only 8 young women were celebrated. Carla is an outstanding student of Mathematics and Science at EHS and we wish her well in her future endeavours.
Finally, a special celebration ceremony was held for the Aboriginal Student Achievement Awards on 20 November at which three of our First Nations students received awards including Matthew Phillips, Ayden Tucker and Kayden Norman. Congratulations!
School Development Days
Hopefully by now, parents have received my email of several weeks ago outlining the adjustments to the start of school year. In essence, the Department has determined that there will be 8 School Development Days per year for the next 3 years, with 4 to be held at the commencement of Term 1. This means that Term 1 will resume on 6 February, 2025 with all year groups commencing on the same day – not in a staggered fashion as has been the case in the past.
As this is our last newsletter for 2024, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a safe and enjoyable holiday season and we look forward to seeing you again in 2025.
Kind regards,
Mrs Jennifer Lawrence
Principal