A busy term ahead!!

After a wonderful overseas holiday, I am back on deck. I’d like to thank Natalie Wearne for the wonderful job she did as Relieving Principal in my absence, and to Mark Macdonald as Relieving Deputy Principal.

This is always an important time in the school year – and a busy one. It is the last term for our Year 12 cohort, with the finalisation of their studies, submission of HSC practical and performance works, Trial HSC, final preparations for the HSC examinations, and their Graduation – a significant period indeed.

For the rest of the school, we have parent teacher night, NAIDOC Day, election of new School Captains and Prefects, debating competitions, Max Potential, Education Week, Learning Community Celebration Assembly, Performing Arts Nights, SRC Investiture, Year 11 Examinations, P-Tech Mentoring Program, work placement, numerous excursions and incursions, World Teachers Day, and the list goes on. Henry Kendall High School is going to be a very busy, and productive, place indeed!

New Student Mobile Phone Management Plan coming in Term 4

The NSW Department of Education has a new Students’ Use of Mobile Phones in Schools policy which comes into effect at the beginning of Term 4 and is mandatory across all public schools in NSW. Our new Student Mobile Phone Management Plan will impact the way students will use and access their mobile phones during school hours.

This policy is being implemented to increase focus in classrooms, remove distractions and promote positive social interactions in the playground.

We are currently looking closely at the options provided in the new policy to determine the most effective means of implementation at Henry Kendall High School. These considerations, and the management system we intend to implement, was discussed at the P&C Meeting on Tuesday 15 August.

We are excited to make our school a mobile phone-free space to improve learning and engagement, however, we will always make sure you can contact your child in an emergency. Once finalised, I will ensure that parents, carers, and students are fully informed of our Management Plan before the end of term.

NAPLAN Results Released

The school has received the raw data sets for this years NAPLAN results, with individual reports going home to parents very shortly.

A reminder to parents that from 2023, NAPLAN results will be reported against 4 proficiency standards rather than numerical bands as in previous years.

NAPLAN reports will contain 4 easy-to-understand proficiency standards:

Exceeding
Strong
Developing
Needs additional support.

It is expected that the new reporting standards will provide parents, carers and teachers with simpler and clearer information about how students are performing.

At this stage the school is waiting on the detailed report data, however from our analysis of the raw data it is clear that Henry Kendall High School has again performed strongly. At this point we are only able to compare against our own results from previous years, and we can see that we have exceeded last year’s average results in four of six domains. When we consider that the 2022 results were amongst the schools strongest ever, this is a strong indication of success and are anticipating, when the detailed data is released, our school will again be above state averages in all areas. In particular, we have improved our results in the Writing section of the examination for the fifth consecutive year.

These efforts have been recognised by the Department’s Literacy and Numeracy Unit who have sent out a team to interview our Literacy and Numeracy leaders to see what can be learned from Henry Kendall High School's approach, and how we continue to exceed our targets and maintain such high results every single year.

While this is wonderful recognition, there is no magic wand. Our results come down to maintaining high expectations, a strong school culture, effective teaching programs, and explicit teaching strategies. Congratulations to our students for performing so strongly, and to our teaching staff for the teaching and learning quality and standards they maintain.

I look forward to providing further analysis once the detailed data is released to the school.

Education Week 2023

Education Week 2023 was held from 31 July to 4 August 2023 (Week 3). This year’s theme is 175 Years of Public Education in NSW and focuses on learning from our past, celebrating our achievements and embracing the future with confidence – a theme that is very pertinent in the current times.

An important element of Education Week is the recognition of the work of our public schools in our local community, and we started the week with a Celebration Assembly for the Gosford City Learning Community. This occasion draws together Henry Kendall High, Gosford High, Gosford Public and Point Clare Public Schools to recognise the achievements and contributions of students, staff and community members.

Fifteen students from Henry Kendall received recognition for their outstanding achievements in Semester 1. There were also staff and community acknowledgements;

· Mr Jon-Paul Grant from the teaching staff was recognised for the sustainable directions he has taken the schools agricultural farm and curriculum.

· Mrs Toni Shannon from the administration staff was recognised for her meticulous, professional and organised approaches to our strategic communications commitment.

· Mrs Lea Colwell, P&C Vice President, was recognised for her long-standing commitment to our school and to public education.

Congratulations to all award recipients. A special thanks is extended to the staff and student team, led by Mr Jarrod Walters, for organising and delivering such a high quality, professional event.

Day’s two and three of Education Week were celebrated with our two Performing Arts Night’s (PAN). Tuesday evening saw twenty-six acts perform from Henry Kendall High School, showcasing wonderful talent across music, drama and dance from our mainstream and special education students. Acts were from Years 7 to 12, highlighting the commitment of our students to preparation, rehearsal, and high standards that it takes to deliver such quality performances. Just an outstanding night attended by over 200 people.

Wednesday night was our Learning Community Performing Arts Night, incorporating acts from Gosford and Point Clare Public Schools, and Gosford High School, along with those of Henry Kendall High School. Again, a high quality show delivered by the sound and lighting team and CAPA staff of Henry Kendall – such attention to detail, precision and preparation from a school was wonderful to see and delivered a truly professional show. This night was attended by well over 300 people and showcased the diversity and depth of the performing arts in public education in the Gosford community.

Congratulations to all performers and to the sound, lighting, and backstage teams for both nights. A huge thanks to the teaching and administrative staff of Henry Kendall High School, again led by Jarrod Walters, for the huge undertaking that such night’s entail – they were truly appreciated by our community.

Andrew Backhouse

Principal

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