Principal's Message 

A productive Term 1

Thank you to all students and staff for a busy and productive Term 1. We are now well in to the learning in our subjects, with plenty of SACs and other major learning tasks completed, and the first rounds of reports and Parent Student Teacher Conferences. Alongside this we have run Year 7, Year 9 and Outdoor Education camps, started instrumental music lessons and Production rehearsals (look out for Beauty and the Beast in August!), competed in the Swimming Sports and inter-school sports days, conducted Morrisby Careers assessments and interviews for Year 9s and, of course, settled in to our new year and - for our Year 9 students and team - a brand new campus.  

NAPLAN testing completed

Our Year 7 and 9 students sat the NAPLAN tests during March. Other than a technical issue for some students on the first day, the tests ran smoothly and almost all students were able to catch up on any tests missed due to illness or absence, with 97% of all eligible tests completed. The online format means that the school will receive initial results during Term 2, which allows us to respond straight away to any particular needs noticed in our Year 7 and 9 cohorts. Well done to the Year 7 and 9 students on their diligence, attention and care throughout the tests, and thank you to Assistant Principal Sue Prosenica and our terrific IT team who worked hard to manage the organisation of the tests. 

Lonsdale St campus

We have now completed a full term at the Lonsdale St campus, and have settled in to many of the systems and processes of the new site, including receiving canteen deliveries, running music lessons, using our lift passes and navigating the CBD with ease. We are continually seeking feedback in order to review and refine our new campus: Year 9 students and parents will have the opportunity to complete an end of Term 1 survey to assist with this. Thank you to those who have already provided input. 

We also have some exciting news: we have been working with the Department of Education on expanding our lease to include the development of a rooftop recreation space, which has been approved. Watch this space for further updates!

School Council sub-committees

Our 2025 School Council has now officially convened. After the recent nomination and election process, we welcomed three returning and one new parent member, one returning and one new employee member, and one new student member. 

We are now inviting any parent/carer, student or staff member to volunteer to join one of the School Council sub-committees. 

These meet approximately twice per term to explore some of the more detail-focused work of Council, and may make recommendations to School Council on particular matters.

The sub-committees are:

• Community Making and Engagement
• Policy and Governance
• Finance
• Buildings and Grounds

School Council sub-committees assist Council with performing their duties and functions by focusing on a particular area of interest. Sub-committees do not make decisions on behalf of Council, but may provide advice and make recommendations to Council.

These groups typically meet twice per term, on Wednesday evenings, either in person at UHS or via Webex. It is only possible to be a member of one sub-committee, as they often meet at the same time.

An overview of each sub-committee can be found on Compass Newsfeed, and on the form below. 

To express your interest, please complete this form by Monday 28 April. 

The first meetings of the 2025 sub-committees will be on Wednesday 7 May. 

Farewell and thank you

As many of you will be aware, this is my last newsletter, and final term, at University High School. I have been appointed as the foundation Principal of a new school, interim name Cobblebank Secondary School, which will open in Term 1 2026. Therefore I finish up at the end of this term in order to prepare the buildings, policies, staffing and curriculum for the opening of the new school. 

Arthur Soumalias, currently the Principal at Rosehill Secondary College, will take on the Acting Principal role for Term 2, during which time the substantive position will be advertised. I know that you will warmly welcome Arthur to our school community.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the whole UHS community for a wonderful five years full of growth, learning, plenty of challenges but also plenty of joy. I have been very proud to be the principal of this wonderful school, and privileged to work with our thoughtful, engaged, caring, creative (and often quirky) students, our vibrant and connected parent and carer community and our dedicated staff.  In the last five years we have renewed our school vision and values to reflect our community, developed and refined school-wide frameworks to improve clarity and consistency in teaching and learning and student engagement and behaviour (see the update on our Learning Culture Framework in this newsletter), expanded our student wellbeing services and introduced the Connect program to provide dedicated time each for social and emotional learning, the building of positive relationships and career and pathways education. 

Together we have also met the challenges of COVID and multiple lockdowns, plus ever-growing enrolments and multiple facilities challenges, which culminated in us opening our Year 9 Lonsdale St campus this year, with a renewed curriculum program to suit the unique setting. You can read about one feature of this program, the Curiosity 'Futures' unit, in this newsletter.  All of this would not have been possible without a leadership team of exceptional depth and talent: I have full confidence that they will continue this great work and support of our students. 

Thank you to each and every one of you who make UHS a very special place to be. I have appreciated your support, your feedback and your care for our school, your children, all our students and our community.  I will carry and continue to live our values of Curiosity, Kindness, Excellence and Connection with me in my future work. 

Ciar Foster

Principal