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Principal's Report
Dear parents and members of our school community,
Welcome to the start of Term Two at Cowra High School. I would like to introduce myself as the Relieving Principal of Cowra High School. I am Helene Hamilton and I come to Cowra High School after being in the role of Deputy Principal at Orange High School for the past 8 years. During this time, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing educators and mentors and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure every student at Cowra High School is known, valued and cared for. I have also worked previously in two large comprehensive high schools – Denison College Bathurst and Kelso High Campuses. My husband Darren is Relieving Principal at Peak Hill Central School and we have 16 year old twin daughters.
I am excited to have the opportunity to lead such a fantastic school and look forward to the challenges ahead. I have had in my first week the opportunity to meet many students, staff and parents and am passionate about developing and building relationships over the next 12 months focussing on teaching and learning to ensure growth in student learning outcomes.
On behalf of the Cowra High School community I would like to congratulate Mrs Louise Rowston who has been permanently appointed as Deputy Principal starting this term. She has replaced Mr Paul Bullock who retired at the end of 2018. I certainly look forward to working with her and Ms Megan Robinson who form the Senior Leadership Team. Our role is to ensure that we follow the NSW Department of Education Strategic Direction making sure every student, teacher and leader improves every year at Cowra High School.
I would like to thank Mr Charles Gauci who has been seconded for the next 12 months in the role of Employee Performance and Development Principal Coordinator School Services Directorate, for his leadership and vision over the past nine years. I look forward to continuing to build on the initiatives, programs and strategies developed by our team into the future. May I also thank Mr Jason Nottingham relieving as Deputy Principal and his leadership of the school during Term One, we wish him all the best at Forbes High School.
I look forward to writing to you each week with some of our achievements and relevant information which I hope you continue to find useful. If you would like to speak with me for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 6342 1766 to make an appointment.
Thank you for the many messages of support and congratulations over the past week. I feel very privileged to be a part of such a wonderful learning environment.
I would like to say thank you to all the staff who took our students to Japan and Europe over the holiday period. These excursions are very time consuming to organise and the preparation prior to even arriving at the airport to leave the country is rigorous. The Facebook updates certainly made me feel as if I was part of the experience in Europe and Japan, thank you Mrs Rowston.
Congratulations to five of our Cowra High School boys who trialled and have successfully gained selection in Greater Western Combined High School teams to compete at the NSW Combined High School Championships in Week 5. If you see the following students Noah Ryan, Joshua Pokoney, Thomas Negus, Leroy Murray and Jacob Haeata please congratulate them. This is the greatest success Cowra High School has had in Rugby League selections in the past ten years.
I am passionate about making sure that all staff and students have every opportunity to succeed. As Henry Ford says, who was driven because he kept on trying to get his assembly line going, even though he failed on his first two attempts to build a car without relying on countries overseas, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." I encourage educators to work as a team and always engage students and want them to participate in the learning opportunities Cowra High School has to offer. This is where the best learning opportunities take place and prepare our students for the future. As the Cowra High School motto says, Knowledge is Power.
Kind Regards
Helene Hamilton
Relieving Principal
New Deputy Principal
My name is Louise Rowston and I am excited to have been appointed as Deputy Principal at Cowra High School.
I have been the Head Teacher Technological and Applied Studies at Cowra High School for the past six years. I have also worked at Canowindra High School and Goulburn High School. My husband Bruce is a Cowra local and attended Cowra High School as have our three children with the youngest currently in Year 10.
I look forward to working with Mrs Helene Hamilton and Ms Megan Robinson to ensure all our students are engaged and challenged to continue to learn and that all the young people in our care finish school prepared for higher education, training and work. I am keen to develop strong partnerships with parents, carers, students and the wider community and will be responsible for the students in Years 7,9 and 11. Please feel free to contact me on 63421766 if you have any concerns.
Support News
Here are some of our support students enjoying working in our garden mulching, weeding and planting. Our garden continues to be a great success. We have enjoyed vegetable juices and have recently planted our winter crops and some delicious bush berries.
Students participating are Paige Nestor, Craig Johnson, Alex Shaw, Kaitlyn Spring, Ryan Boswell, Justin Saxby, Lachlan Emerson and Frazer Reid.