Principal's Message

Dear parents and carers,

Once again we are celebrating a really busy term and looking ahead to some big changes that are coming up to students at Kurri Kurri High School.

We have celebrated the offical opening of our Clontarf Academy this term. Despite being in the school for a little over 12 months the Academy’s official open was held recently to celebrate the huge impact that this program has had within the school. We were joined by local counsellors, politicians and many parents and carers as State member, and ex-KKHS student Meryl Swanson cut the ribbon to officially open the Academy room. Our Director Clark, along with Noah and Joel have been instrumental in creating a safe space and supportive program and we thank them for all their hard work. 

I would also like to remind all parents, carers and students that aerosols are not permitted in schools. Many students and staff at Kurri Kurri High School suffer from asthma, and a number suffer from severe allergies and anaphylaxis. Aerosols, sprays and perfumes can act as triggers for people who suffer from these conditions, resulting in symptoms such as asthma attacks, headaches, including migraines, and in extreme cases, anaphylactic shock. In addition, aerosols can be dangerous as they contain flammable liquids and can also cause harm if inhaled. For these reasons, aerosols and sprays are banned from school premises and all excursions, after school activities and sporting events. I thank you in advance for your support of students using the many alternatives that are available.

Attendance remains a focus for all students as we strive to increase the number of students who are attending school over 90% of the time. We have many ways in which you can record student absences with phonemail, text or email all available to communicate with the school office. A reminder, however, that we have many supports available including Year Advisors, Student Support  Officers and Head Teachers for families who are struggling with attendance, so please reach out if you require any support at all.

In the coming days, parents and carers will be getting some communication regarding the upcoming mobile phone ban, which is taking place throughout all NSW high schools. Thank you to those parents, carers, students and teachers who completed some preliminary surveys to support our decision making on this new process. As a result of feedback, we will be implementing a universal approach of Yondr, lockable pouches. For students who are not able to use these pouches effectively, we will also have an option of lockable phone safes which will be in various staff rooms around the school. Our Yondr pouches have been ordered and all students students will be given their worn pouch on Day 1, Term 4.  These pouches will need to be locked as students enter the school grounds each day and can be unlocked when leaving the school. We will have seven unlocking stations around the school. This will have implications for many things, including the canteen, so please stay tuned to emails and social media channels for updated communications regarding how various systems in the school will change to accomodate this new mobile phone ban. 

We  must also celebrate our Year 12 students who are beginning their final days as students of KKHS, before they start their very important HSC examinations. Of course we have a few celebrations coming up including our Annual Year 12 fun day, Graduation Ceremony and Formal. I can’t wait to see all the students dressed up and celebrate their success! Our students have worked incredibly hard the past SIX YEARS and many have been celebrating a little early with early entry offers to University. This is an amazing achievement and I would like to wish all the students the very best of luck as they prepare for these examinations! 

 A big thank you to Amy and Blake who have done an amazing job as school captains this year and also Riley and Isabella who have supported as Vice Captains. 

Finally, as we are moving into the summer months, it is important to remember that we have a range of uniform options available for all student… this includes: 5 five different options of shorts, a skirt, polo shirts, legacy polo shirts (that were new this year), hoodies, zip hoodies, sweatshirts and senior shirts. As a result, the school expectation is that all students are wearing school uniform every single day. I would also like to remind parents and carers of students who are moving into Year 11 or 12 in 2024, that our current senior school polo is no longer in production, so we have introduced a new navy polo for students in year 11 &12. The current blue polo will still remain part of the school uniform, so there is no need to buy all new polos if you already have these.