Principal's Address

SMArt and Drama Night - change

The staff started the year knowing that we had some large competing priorities this year with the 155 Years of Boorowa Central School celebrations, the Central Schools Touch Football and Rugby League state finals and Southern Stars occurring within days of SMArt and Drama but felt we could achieve all to our typical high standard. However, with the added impact of some long-term staff illness and other unexpected challenges, it has become apparent that we have taken on more than we can deliver. I met with the leadership team early on Monday morning to discuss these issues and then the primary staff were asked to provide input. All acknowledged that if we were to proceed with our current plans, the evening would be far from our best. Therefore, the school has made the difficult decision to change the format of SMArt and Drama night this year. 

Infants / Primary classes, Year 8 Music and Stage 5 Music will now be performing their song, dance or act in a special assembly in Week 10. This assembly will be held on Wednesday 24 September from 2pm in the Hall. It will involve full costumes, music and lighting.

All parents and families are invited to attend as well as members of the public.

Boorowa Central School apologises for the inconvenience this may cause to families. 

Despite the change, Boorowa Central School is excited to host this showcase of creative and performing arts with our community. 

 

155 Years of Boorowa Central School

Excitingly, our 155 Years of Boorowa Central School celebrations are only 22 days away!

On Saturday 20 September, staff and students will be hosting an Open School and activities between 10am and 2pm. Activities will include a school tour, heritage trail, memorabilia displays, games for the kids, tea/coffee, scones and a BBQ lunch as well as a formal presentation and ribbon cutting for our commemorative wall.

All ex, current students and staff are welcome to join us at the school for our celebrations.

Later the same evening, the 155 Years of Boorowa Central School organising committee will be hosting a gala evening at the Boorowa ex-services club. Please RSVP and pay at the Boorowa Central School office by Friday 29 August.

 

Subject Selection for 2026

Students entering Year 9 and 11 in 2026, and their parents, were invited to the annual Subject Selection Evening at Boorowa Central School on Monday 11 August. Here they were informed by Ms Mahoney and me about the considerations and rules for elective choices in year 9 and subject choices for year 11.

 

It is an exciting time for Year 8 students as this evening represents the first opportunity the students have had during their schooling journey to have a say about the subjects they study at school. Year 9 students continue to study the ‘mandatory subjects’ of English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and PDHPE whilst choosing to study 3 ‘electives’ to go with the mandatory subjects. The elective choices on offer were:

For the Year 10 students going into year 11, the only ‘mandatory’ subject is an English stream (English Advanced, English Standard or English Studies), all other subjects could be chosen based on interest, career pathway and more. Below are the subjects that students at Boorowa Central School could choose from.

This week, I will be analysing the subject choices made and making the tough decision which subjects will run in 2026 based on popularity and staffing. The students will then make 2nd round subject choices to finalise their subjects for 2026.

If you have a child in year 8 or 10 currently and you would like to know more about this process, please contact the school.

 

Higher School Certificate Trial Examinations

The final school-based assessment tasks for Year 12 were conducted last week in the form of examinations. These examinations are called the ‘Trial Higher School Certificate’ examinations as they are a practice for the actual examinations next term. Depending on the subject, these examinations can last for over 3 hours and are designed to assess student knowledge and understanding of all of the content studied across year 12.

The result from this examination, and those from the other 3 assessment tasks in year 12 are combined and sent to NESA. Once the students have completed their Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations, their final HSC mark is derived from their school-based assessment and HSC examination result, both contributing 50%.

Thank you to the Boorowa ex-services club and staff for hosting these examinations for the first time. The venue was an exceptional location for the students to have a warm, well lit and quiet space to complete their examinations.

 

Respectful Relationships Education

As you may have seen earlier this week, Boorowa Central School is part of a NSW Department of Education Pilot program called ‘Respectful Relationships Education’. Our school is involved due to a successful application and is only 1 of 12 schools participating plus the only central school. 

Staff are currently completed professional learning and collecting data so a implementation plan can be developed. Updates will be released via Compass in the coming weeks.