Principals Report

Farewell Year 12

On Friday 23 September we will celebrate the Year 12 Graduation. This most important event on our school calendar marks one of the last formal occasions that our Year 12 students will be together as a year group; as such it is seen as a rite of passage. I take this opportunity to congratulate Year 12 on not only this significant achievement, but on the successful completion of 13 years of schooling. As we farewell our graduating class of 2022, I’d like to share some extracts from my speech at this week’s Graduation Ceremony;

“I would like to begin with a story… About 155 years ago a man sat down and wrote these words:- 

 ‘I was born in this colony: and am now in the nineteenth year of my age. My education has been neglected – hence you will very likely find that some of these effusions are immature. At present most of my time is occupied at an attorney’s office, but I do not earn enough there to cover expenses; considering that I have to support my mother and three sisters. I want to rise, and if my poems are anywhere near the mark you can assist me by noticing them.’ 

Henry Kendall wrote those words and when I read them I think of a young man, all of 19, thinking he’s not very smart, working in a job that he didn’t like very much and trying to support his mother and three sisters. Then I thought HOW, HOW after 155 years, could a school be named after him? His name is everywhere around us, on this hall, in our office and I’m guessing on a lot of your Facebook pages, it defines us and unites us. 

Then it came to me from his words – ‘I want to rise and if my poems are anywhere near the mark you can assist me by noticing them’. His poems were his passion but he didn’t just close them away within a journal, he sent them to newspapers in Australia and in England and pleaded for them to be published because he wanted to rise, to be known for his writing. 

Year 12 as you sit here today, I want you to promise me that you will never lose sight of those things you are passionate about and then I want you to take that even further, let the world know about it. Have the tenacity and the conviction to persist and in our case here, persevere. 

No one ever achieves anything alone. Look around you today, on either side of you are your friends and your teachers and behind you today, and always, your parents and family. Their words of encouragement, support and guidance echo within these walls and they have sustained you at home and at school. 

BUT.........At the end of the day you and only you decided to not give up, to rise, to persevere and to walk in those gates when you were probably exhausted mentally and emotionally. You put that heavy backpack on, carried those heavy books, went to all those classes, handed in those assessment tasks and you kept doing that for years. To me that is amazing in itself. 

And along that journey we got to know you. Your teachers and I have heard your aspirations, admired your dedication, some of us were even lucky enough to hear your dreams. We saw your tears and then watched you push through the negativity and keep going. In my role I got to know the stories of achievement but also of hardship and as I look across at you all here today I’m glad you got through it all. 

As your Principal it has been a pleasure learning about you and being able to see the world a little differently through your eyes. I hope I have supported you and guided you when it was needed, it has been an honour sharing this journey with you. I would like to thank Miss McLennan your Year Adviser and teacher who has worked tirelessly in supporting you through the laughter and the tears. She is one of many teachers who have shared the tough times but also the fun times. Your teachers have pushed you that little bit more because they saw your potential even when you may not have. They are here today and I know the extent of their belief in you and I know how much they have shared this journey with you and admire you for it. 

The future is now waiting for you, the HSC exams are up ahead and each one of your parents, teachers and friends believes in you, these last few years are proof of that. I cannot tell you how to live or what the future holds but I will ask you to do one thing:- if at any time you feel you have lost sight of your dream or your life has become so busy that you have stopped doing that one thing you loved, remember that young 19 year old boy who wrote poems and stories and had a high school named after him simply because he wanted to rise, to be recognised, not for his job or the amount of money he earned but by the one thing he loved which has since defined him and us. 

Year 12, you may think your learning ends here but it is only just beginning. Don’t think small, have the courage to think beyond narrow beliefs. Seek out the people that will support you and help you grow and as for the negative ones, don’t listen to them, whatever you do ignore them. Most of all, listen to that inner voice, it will guide you, I guarantee it.   

If Henry Kendall ignored his passion for writing we may not know what it means to truly persevere and we would not be able to draw upon the example of a young struggling poet when we are struggling. His legacy is us. So make what you do matter, make it count for something good and never lose sight of it. Leave your mark because a 150 years from now, who knows. 

On behalf of the staff at Henry Kendall I wish each and everyone of you a life where you keep learning because that is a joy within itself, be courageous and rise your way. Take care of yourselves and each other and remember to come back and share your stories with us.”

School Leaders 2023

Congratulations to our incoming student leadership team for 2023.

School Captains: Vesna Bakarich-Davies and Lachlan Knowles.

Vice Captains: Larna Homer and Alexander McGavin.

Prefects: Max Lewry, Skyla Bedford, Fletcher Hartley, Samantha Edwards-McCallan and Jessica Hayward.

Our incoming leaders undertook application, interview and speech components before being elected by their peers and the staff. I was incredibly impressed by the quality of each applicant, their integrity and genuine desire to contribute, and I look forward to working with them and watching them grow as people and as leaders. 

I take this opportunity to recognise and thank the student leadership team of 2021-2022 Jade, Harrison, Arabella, Joshua, Charley, Mackenzie, Tamika, and Annabel. They have been strong and vibrant leaders, wonderful school ambassadors, and a credit to themselves and their families. It has been a pleasure working with each of them, and I have no doubt that leadership will be an aspect of their lives in the future.

SAS Staff Recognition Week

School Administrative and Support Staff Recognition Week was 5–9 September 2022. The school community is made up of a lot of different people, all of whom play a part in the running of schools and the provision of quality education to students. 

School Administrative and Support Staff, whether they work in the office, the library, on the school grounds or in a classroom setting, are important contributors to the success of the school and students’ education. SAS Staff Recognition Week is an opportunity for the school community to acknowledge the vital role and contribution that SAS Staff play in public education, and specifically to our school. 

We have a truly dedicated team of SAS staff who bring skills, expertise, enthusiasm, and care to their very specialised roles every day, and who are instrumental to the culture and success of Henry Kendall High School. Our learning community recognises this contribution and thank our SAS Staff for all they do.

NAPLAN 2022

A big congratulations to our students and staff for this year’s NAPLAN results! We have once again achieved a very high level across all NAPLAN domains, with a highlight being that we have again exceeded our Reading target in the top two bands with over a quarter of our students achieving within the highest scores. I would like to acknowledge the literacy and numeracy teams who worked closely with students in the lead up to the exams.

Our results in Reading for the Top 2 Bands were also 3.5% higher than the state averages, and 5.6% higher than similar schools. Our overall results placed Henry Kendall High Schools average scores in both Reading and Numeracy significantly higher than the average scores for the state, as well as those for similar schools.

These achievements are significant and again confirm Henry Kendall High as a leading school on the Central Coast.

Police Warning About Gel Blasters

 Across NSW in recent times several students have been found in possession of gel blasters both in schools and communities. Gel Blasters or gel guns are lifelike toys that closely resemble firearms. They can be very difficult to differentiate from real firearms. They are prohibited as per the Firearms Act. For these to be in a school is a serious circumstance.

While this situation has not impacted our school, police are asking all parents in NSW to be aware. Please read the attached a letter from the Assistant Commissioner.

Congratulations Donna James!

Our Deputy Principal for the past ten years, Mrs Donna James, has been successful in attaining the position of relieving Principal at Kariong Mountains High School for the remainder of the year. This is a wonderful and thoroughly deserved opportunity for Donna, and reflects her hard work, dedication, and outstanding leadership abilities. Donna will take with her a skill set that will ensure the community will be fabulously supported and the school will thrive, and I wish her every success as she undertakes the next chapter in her career.  

Mr Andrew Backhouse

Principal