Great teaching and learning continues

Welcome to Term Two. It certainly has been the strangest end to a term and beginning of a term I have ever experienced in my 24 years as an educator. I hope that all of our Cecil Hills High School families are doing well.

We are thinking of you all.

I have to say how impressed I have been with our students and staff during this time of rapid change and unrest. Our teachers had to quickly respond by changing their way of teaching to meet the needs of students remotely, and students had to quickly adapt to a new way of learning. As a school community, we have all had to adopt our CECIL skills of collaboration, engagement, communication, innovation and leadership to maintain our teaching and learning.

The CECIL skills are personal attributes that enable our students (and staff) to interact effectively and harmoniously with others, assisting them to live and work in the 21st century as successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

This year for the first time, all students in Years 7 to 10 will be assessed on these skills by their teachers, and will be awarded an A to E grade in their Half-Yearly Reports.

Most students, apart from Year 7, would have become familiar with these skills during their Year 8 Innovation Elective. Now more than ever, these skills seem of paramount importance.

Year 8

For the first five days back at school this term, Year 8 students spent a collective 6297 hours learning online. The data is showing us that they are mostly using Google Classroom/Drive, followed by Zoom, then Microsoft Teams. It also indicates that every single student in year 8 has engaged with their online lessons at some point which is fantastic.

Year 8 will physically return to school in Week 3 and 4 on Tuesdays. This won’t look the same as what they are used to. Students will be in smaller classes with different teachers and will still be learning online. However, we have increased student break times as they will continue to follow our Online Bell Times, so that they have more opportunities to catch up with their peers and teachers.

The Year 8 Year Advisers, Ms Phan and Mr Faga, continue to run assemblies online each morning on Microsoft Teams. Unfortunately, we are only getting about 20% of students logging into this. It is crucial that all year 8 students are online for the assembly at this time to hear important updates and to clarify any questions they may have.

So far this year, Year 8 have earned 3782 champ points, with the majority of them being awarded for students displaying the “Successful” attribute. Congratulations Year 8, we can't wait to see you back at school!

Year 11

For the first five days back of school this term, Year 11 students spent a collective 4586 hours learning online. The data is showing us that they are mostly using Google Classroom/Drive, followed by Zoom, then Microsoft Teams. It also indicates that nearly all students have engaged with their online lessons at some point.

Year 11 students are now transitioning back to school as part of Phase 1. This means that they will attend school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for face-to-face teaching. For the six periods they are at school, Year 11 will have one period of each of their six subjects so it is a great opportunity to see their peers and teachers.

Teachers are currently writing Half-Yearly Reports for Year 11. Most of the reports will discuss how students have settled in as seniors, how they are working in class, the completion of homework, and the first assessment task for that subject. I know that some students have found Year 11 to be quite a different experience from being in the junior years and that is okay. We understand that it takes time to get used to learning more content and probably having more homework. All we ask is for students to try their best and the best way for them to do this is to be organised, complete all assigned work, communicate with their teachers, and ensure they have adequate time to rest and sleep.

Recently there has been an increase in the amount of students receiving N-Awards for not completing classwork or assessment tasks. The N-Award letters outlining this information are being posted home, as well as being emailed to students and parents. Receiving an N-Award results in a zero mark for that task so it important that students always submit work by the due date. They will also have to resolve their N-Award by completing the task later to show they have met the course outcomes. This applies for all subjects, including non-ATAR and VET courses. For those students with N-Awards, it is expected that they stay on a Tuesday afternoon from 12.10pm to 2.10pm in the Library to complete their task. Ms Schell is our Senior Co-ordinator for Year 11 and will work closely in supporting students in this process.

The Year 11 Year Advisers, Mrs Green and Mrs Kennedy, continue to run assemblies online each morning on Microsoft Teams. Currently, we are only getting about 50% of students logging into this. It is crucial that all year 11 students are online for the assemblies, especially on Monday mornings, to hear important updates and to clarify any questions they may have.

So far this year, Year 11 have earned 2771 champ points, with the majority of them being awarded for students displaying the “Successful” attribute. Well done Year 11, we can’t wait to see you back at school!

Denise James

Deputy Principal, Year 8 and Year 11