Principal's Report
The school is filled with the sound of over eight hundred voices singing; what an inspiring sound.
The importance of massed singing at the school cannot be overstated. It is the one activity that our students undertake that brings them together. The school song is sung at assemblies as a matter of course; however, our students, both past and present, will often break in to song in the strangest of locations. I was impressed to hear that the students on the Year 11 biology camp earlier this term sang not only the school song, but also the National Anthem and Guadeamus Igitur, while sitting around the camp fire! The beauty in the massed singing is both the unity of purpose and the sense of being at one with the group; the American musician, Jamila Woods, described it as follows: “When you’re in a choir, it’s about blending into how everyone else sounds.” I have noticed as I have listened to the Houses rehearse for the upcoming Chorals competition, that the standard has improved dramatically over the past four years. I am looking forward to the Chorals on Friday 7 June.
Communication for our community is vital. Since the appointment of our Communications and Marketing expert, Jack Richardson, at the end of 2017, we have worked assiduously to ensure that we effectively communicate both internally and externally to the school community. While Compass remains the main means of communicating with the immediate school community, the development of other platforms for both internal and external communications remains vital. No doubt, if you are reading this newsletter, you have seen the school’s new website; and if you haven’t, please visit it! The website is actually designed to communicate to those people outside our immediate community; that is, the families of potential students. The website is now a much more professional interface with the wider community. The other development over the past eighteen months has been the development of the select entry network website. This was an important initiative, led by us, to promote all four select entry schools and provide information for the application process. Coupled with this was a social media campaign to raise awareness of the schools, in particular SCHS. And while social media has many pitfalls, the use of Facebook in particular, has provided an effective means of promoting the school. The success of this campaign has been demonstrated in the increase of first preference applications for entry at Year 9 in 2020. We had 478 first preference applications last year and this year we have 627 first preference applications; that’s a 30% increase in one year. And this was on the back of a much smaller increase from 2017 to 2018. In simple terms, this means that SCHS is increasing its attraction as a ‘school of choice’. This demonstrates not only the effectiveness of our communications strategy, but more importantly, the success of the school.
Schools are organic. They do not, or should not, stand still. We are constantly reviewing and considering the very nature of the school and the wider program. Our basic philosophy has not changed; the education we proved is based on the idea of the Renaissance person. Within this construct, we are always considering what programs work best for our students. This year we have seen the introduction of the vertical House/Home Group structure and to date it has been very successful. The new structure is creating greater connectedness and the students are working more closely together. We have started reviewing the subject matter for Home Group and tutorial and will be engaging the students for their feedback as well. This has been a positive move for the school and it’s important that we build on this success.
Curriculum development is also an ongoing project at the school. As an academic select entry school, our curriculum development is vital. Each year we consider what is offered, especially at VCE, and consider what is optimal for both the students and the school. We have recently started investigating the International Baccalaureate, an internationally recognised senior school qualification. The aim will be to offer the IB Diploma as an alternative to the VCE for some of our students. We still have a long process to go through; however, the aim will be to have our first IB classes in 2022. A great deal of consultation will place with staff, students and parents and while our current students won’t be in a position to undertake the IB here, their opinions, and their parents’ opinions, will be important. In the near future a survey will be made available to parents and while the questions may be theoretical for you and your child currently at the school, I would encourage you to consider whether offering the IB would be beneficial for the school.
I have spent the majority of this newsletter talking about communication and in that vein I would encourage you to engage with the school. If you have questions please feel free to contact us.
Colin Axup
Principal
Contact Us
Phone: (03) 8734 2800
Email: suzanne.cory.hs@edumail.vic.gov.au
School Website: www.suzannecoryhs.vic.edu.au