2023: Student Excellence and Connection

What a productive year 2023 has been for UHS! We've seen outstanding outcomes for our students in external assessments such as the NAPLAN and VCE, strong learning progress from students in all of our classes and high levels of engagement in both classroom learning and co-curricular activities.

In the NAPLAN, 86% of our Year 7 and 80% of our Year 9 students were rated as 'Exceeding' or 'Strong' in Reading; and 91% of Year 7s and 83% of Year 9s recorded these outcomes in Numeracy.

From 1592 recorded VCE Study Scores across 31 subjects, our mean Study Score was 31.2, comfortably above the state mean of 30 and an impressive result for such a large number of subjects and students. We are very proud of our Year 12 2023 cohort and confident that a wide range of exciting future opportunities await them, with a strong median ATAR of 83.7, 37.6% of ATARs over 90, and 72% over 70. See further information in this newsletter celebrating our VCE results and our Dux, Christopher Tran, who achieved a perfect ATAR of 99.95: an incredible achievement.

Our students have showcased their learning for authentic audiences throughout the year, including in the Junior Performing Arts Showcase, Art and Design Shows, Galileo and Extended Investigation exhibitions, Theatre Studies and Music Inquiry soirees, Languages and Maths competitions, and the Year 9 Nine Lives publication - a substantial compendium of short stories from our young writers.

Our vibrant co-curricular and student leadership program has been a highlight as well, with the Student Representative Council (SRC) continuing to grow and contribute to many areas of the school, our new Middle and Senior School leaders taking the reins in assemblies, events, and providing valuable feedback in school decision-making. Our students ran lunchtime karaoke, Diwali and Ramadan celebrations, talent shows, movie screenings, charity fundraisers and lots more. We had one student attend the NASA Space Camp, another the International Maths Olympiad, two selected in the State Schools Spectacular orchestra - plus a team who created a giant puppet show for this event, state and national sporting success in a variety of sports including powerlifting, a student selected for a German language exchange scholarship and others who obtained work experience placements interstate including with the Bell Shakespeare company. What a diverse set of interests and opportunities our students have pursued!

All of our Year 7s and 8s and over two-thirds of our Year 9s-12s competed in inter-school sport throughout the year, and over 300 students were part of our Instrumental Music program. We also enjoyed a wonderful School Production in Little Shop of Horrors, with the skill and creativity of our students on display both in the performances and in the sets, lighting and backstage work. Large numbers of students have also participated in the Victorian Student Excellence Program, both through extension in the High Ability Maths and English activities and in a range of rich and engaging programs in STEM, the Arts, Philosophy and more.

I have undoubtedly missed many events and achievements from this list: it is just a sample of the vibrancy of our student and school community.

Working towards our goals

2023 has also been a year of progress toward our school's continued improvement and strategic plan focus on knowing, empowering and responding to the needs of all our students. As we continue to grow in scale we are working hard to refine our consistency, coherence and communication, and to collaboratively define and enact our shared values and vision for learning and wellbeing. Towards this end, in 2023 we have achieved the following:

Introduced our Connect: Self and Others program to provide a defined time and space for social, emotional and careers/pathways learning. We will continue to refine this in 2024 and to expand its scope from 2025
Revised and rewritten our Year 10 curriculum to introduce a range of semester-long electives from 2024, adding both breadth and depth to the Year 10 experience and a better opportunity for students to experience and build a foundation of skills across many learning areas in preparation for the VCE
Introduced our first cohort of VCE-Vocational Major students, who have built a strong way of working in the applied learning model, engaging richly with our local community and enhancing their school-based learning with VET certificates and workplace experiences
Confirmed our new school values of Curiosity, Kindness, Excellence and Connection
Enhanced our student learning support systems through our Year 7&8 Literacy and Numeracy enhancement, Tutor Program and improved use of student goal setting and Individual Education Plans for students who require additional support
Introduced a new 'Attitude and Effort' reporting system to give better feedback to students and families on productive learning behaviours and areas for growth
Introduced new pro-active wellbeing programs including community basketball, Elefant Education consent workshops, 'One Love Australia' anti-racism workshop and the 'Flourish Girl' empowerment program
Continued to embed staff learning evidence analysis and responsive teaching practices through the use of Professional Learning Communities and collaborative subject teams
Continued to develop our school-wide positive behaviour framework, informed by the Berry Street Education Model

The refurbishment of the fire-damaged Level 2 of the South Building was also completed this year, alongside the installation of 10 new, gender-inclusive student toilets. We have three lovely new Science Labs, and three light-filled general classrooms, now in action in that building. We're also looking forward to our Year 9 Galileo classes being able to use space at North Melbourne Primary School for their program next year.

Community connection

Thank you to all the parents, students and staff who braved the wet weather for our Working Bee on December 9. We made great progress on clearing garden beds at the front and side of the school, distributing mulch and putting in some new plants. It was also a lovely opportunity to get to know each other better. We look forward to more such events next year.

Thank you also to our parents and carers who have been involved in School Council and its sub-committees and working groups this year. Your skills and input have been greatly valued as we have discussed important matters including budgets, buildings, CCTV, recycling and parent engagement. Our annual Parent/Carer Opinion Survey results have seen the factor of 'Parent/Community Engagement' grow steadily over the last 5 years, with a 17% overall increase in positive responses from 2019-2023, and a 26% increase from 2019-2023 in 'Parent participation and Involvement'. We are continuing to look for more ways to grow and improve this, and also to somewhat expand our direct teacher-parent communication channels: look out for more on this next year.

Looking to 2024

In 2024, our focus on refining our teaching and learning, behaviour and values frameworks, as well as our supporting school systems and processes, will continue. One change that students and families will notice is that, from 2024, our coordinators will work in Year Level teams. Students will continue to be a member of a house (Gulam, Triggs, Coleman or Johnston) and have a coordinator who oversees their classes and is a key point of contact for home. However, these coordinators will work more closely together to support the whole-cohort experience, allowing them to better identify and intervene early in emerging issues, as well as to set goals and a tone for the year level. This already happens at our Senior School (Years 11&12) and we are excited at the possibilities it will bring for our Year 7s-10s. See the 'Coordinators' information in this newsletter for our 2024 Year Level leaders.

A safe and happy holidays

Thank you all for a terrific 2023. We wish you a very safe and happy holiday break, and look forward to seeing you back in 2024! Please check the 'Key Dates' section in this newsletter for student return dates.

Ciar Foster - Principal

Debating Update