Principals Report 

Good Luck to all of our beautiful Year 12 Students

On Thursday 12th November 2020 we were finally permitted to welcome parents/carers into the school again. There were very particular restrictions still in place around our Year 12 Valedictory Assembly, but nonetheless, I believe, our exiting students did feel that after a very challenging year, as a school we were able to recognise the end of their school life. On Friday 13th November 2020 we will also recognise this wonderful young group at the Year 12 School Formal. Our next edition will provide photos and information from these events. Well done and congratulations! HSC exams are now done and dusted, relax, enjoy yourself and turn your sights to your next chapter.

Welcome to our incoming Secondary Student Leadership Team and thank you to our outgoing school leaders

It is with great pleasure that I would like to inform our community that Olivia Little and Cooper Stanley are our 2020-2021 Guyra Central School Captains and Claire Davidson and Joseph Stanley are our 2020-2021 Guyra Central School Vice Captains. I look forward working together with these outstanding representatives to ensure that our students’ voices are heard within the school learning community.

My greatest thanks and sincere appreciation to our outgoing leaders – Stephanie Cameron, Courtney Reeves, Collen Pearson and Melissa Hawthorne. The leadership of these outstanding young women has been commendable throughout an extremely challenging period of time. Thank you and good luck with your new adventures.

Guyra Central School Vision 2018-2020

‘Guyra Central School provides a future focused and personalised Kindergarten to Year 12 learning environment that embraces a culture of high expectation, wellbeing and achievement for all. In partnership with our broader community we equip students with the skills to be successful, confident and creative individuals. Ultimately, our goal is to prepare our students for a rapidly changing world by fostering collaboration, critical thinking and flexibility.’

During Term 4, as a school we do tend to be quite reflective. We take the time to celebrate the achievements of our young people, staff are carefully crafting student reports, we start to evaluate our teaching programs and evaluate our resource assignment and the impact that this has had on student learning, growth and achievement.

During Term 4 2020 and Term 1 2021 all schools in NSW are collaborating and constructing the 2021-2024 School Plan. We will be calling on students, parents and community to join into a range of workshops designed to capture the hopes and desires of our learning community. This school belongs to Guyra and it is important that, as a school, we provide appropriate opportunities for everyone to take the time and have a say about what they would like to see within the school. 

We will be contacting the community in coming weeks with Term 1 2020 dates for our Community Collaboration Workshops. Please start talking to your family about what you would like to see happening at your school.

Digital Detox starts Monday 16th November 2020 at Guyra Central School

On Monday 16th November 2020 will be a significant milestone at Guyra Central School, all Secondary students will be locking their phones and other digital devices into their Yondr pouches for the duration of the school day. Phones will be unlocked as the bell goes in the afternoon, before students leave for home. We understand that initially this initiative will prove to be challenging for our students, however, we believe that refocusing on learning is paramount for the development of young minds.

I would like to thank our community for the support around this initiative, the response to program has been overwhelming and positive. Our staff and P & C were the first to come on board. Many students have been saying ‘What is the point of bringing your phone to school.’ Again, I agree and support students with this claim.

Big Picture Education at Guyra Central School

Viv White, CEO Big Picture Education was in the school during Week 3, Term 4. During this time staff, parents and community members had the opportunity to meet with Viv and members of the Guyra Central School Big Picture Education Team. We have had a very positive response to our 2021 intake across Year 7,Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10. The Advisory Groups are currently being finalised and letters of acceptance will be forwarded to parents/carers in the coming weeks. We look forward to a time when we can invite our parents, community into the school to see the work that is being done in this space. We believe that providing all of our students with an opportunity to learn within their preferred learning modes will lead to improved learning outcomes. 

Please accept our thanks to the community for the support and enthusiasm that has been extended to this initiative. A Big Picture Education page for the Guyra Central School website is currently being created. We will advise parents/caregivers/community around this when available so that you can follow the progress.

Thank you for the continuing support.

Michelle Nicholson

Proud Principal