Our learning journey

Principal's Report

I know I can play this part

It's one that I've prepared for all my life

I'll approach it with devotion

Understanding and emotion

Say the word ‘cause I can't wait to start

I'm sure I can play this part

‘I Think I Can Play This Part’ by Marvin Hamlisch and David Zippel from ‘The Goodbye Girl

2018-2020 School Plan Update

We have hit the ground running with our new 2018-2020 School Plan. Our new Connect program is now being delivered through roll call classes and is helping students to get organised, reflect on their wellbeing and provide another avenue of pastoral care. Our new FOCUS program is being taught in mini-lessons to Year 7-10 on Monday mornings and our core values of being respectful, responsible and successful are being used across classes.

Student Engagement

At a recent meeting of principals at the NSW Secondary Principals Council, research from the Grattan Institute was cited, indicating that across Australia, only 60% of students are engaged at school. I am thankful to say that our students are more engaged than the average when we look at data from the Tell Them From Me survey. In terms of my introductory quote, Cecil Hills High School students ‘play their part’ and come to school ready to learn. We have an amazing school and it is pleasing to see that we are off to a successful start to 2018.

Staff farewells

Congratulations to Mr Anthony Rotondo who has been promoted to a deputy principal-level position at the NSW Education Standards Authority. Mr Rotondo has served as Head Teacher – Industrial Arts at Cecil Hills HS since 2013 and more recently has been working with Apple on integrating technology into classroom practice.

His new role at NESA involves providing advice to all NSW schools on the Technology and Applied Studies curriculum area. We will miss Mr Rotondo’s expertise and wish him all the best for the future.

School payments - Fees, Contributions, Excursions, Sundries

Statements of Accounts have now been posted to all families. Cecil Hills High School enjoys significant support from our parent community. We are able to offer innovative and enriching opportunities that help us develop the whole child. Our hardworking staff provide many activities to support your child as “we believe in success”.

We are able to provide such programs to students through a strong commitment by our parents paying school fees. We are very fortunate to have very high levels of parental support in this regard and as a result, we are a well-resourced school with excellent facilities and technology.

We ask that school fees are finalised to help us provide the best possible learning experiences for your child and facilitate a faster sign-out process at the end of the year. We have a school expectation that school fees are paid before other items such as excursions and camps, and for Year 12, the jersey and formal.

Our preferred payment method is Parent Online Payment (POP). This a secure payment page hosted by Westpac and linked to our school's website to make it easier for you to pay for school related payments. Please refer our website www.cecilhillshigh.nsw.edu.au (or our school app) and click on "make a payment" and then follow the prompts. (Please note: Student Registration number is not required).

If you have any questions with regard to the payment of school fees, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Congratulations

The NSW Department of Education Principals' Celebration is an annual event recognising teachers, parents, guardians and community members who have made a significant contribution to their local public school community. Congratulations to two members of our school community who were recently recognised at this prestigious event - Julie Cheah and Alen Sadikovic.

Julie is our school's Computer Coordinator. She has fulfilled this role in an exemplary manner over a number of years. She has provided behind-the-scenes support to our school in so many areas and her unassuming nature has sometimes meant she has not received the profile or recognition she deserves. She is an absolute asset to our school and ensures our school focus on BYOD, Turnitin, Moodle and Google Apps has been effective due to her leadership role in our school's technology team.

Alen is a parent of one of our Year 8 students. He has shown incredible commitment to our school through his membership of the school P&C. He was integral in our 20th anniversary celebrations as he provided a significant amount of signage and house group banners which have added to our school spirit and culture. He has also helped us redesign our front office foyer and is always available to make our school better.

On behalf of the Cecil Hills High School community - thank you Julie and Alen.

P&C meetings

The P&C held its AGM this month. We thank Jelena Drca and Paula Vella for all of their hard work and dedication as President and Secretary respectively. Both of these parents have worked tirelessly in the last few years, especially during our 20th anniversary celebrations, and we thank them for their efforts. Congratulations to Alfred Grasso and Dianne Vella who will serve as the P&C’s new President and Secretary. Thanks to Nyugen Nguyen and Suzy Damjanovic who are continuing in their current roles as Vice-President and Treasurer respectively.

We will not have a P&C meeting in April as this coincides with the Easter long weekend. Our next P&C meeting will be held at 6:30pm on Monday, 7 May 2018. There will be a repeat session at 9:30am on Thursday, 10 May 2018.

Our newsletters can be translated to other languages

Enabling translation is a great way to enable readers of multiple languages to read our newsletters. You will see a small box will be at the bottom of every page of the newsletter which allows readers to select which language they'd like to translate to.

I look forward to continuing to work with the staff, students and parents of Cecil Hills High School, the best school in NSW.

Mark Sutton, Principal