From the Acting Principal

City Project – a successful example of applied, inquiry-based learning

Two weeks ago, our Year 9s spent an intensive week completing the annual City Project.  The City Project is designed to develop students’ independence, interpersonal and group skills with full immersion in applied learning and research.  The themes included:

• Homelessness
• Alcohol and illegal drug consumption
• Sustainability
• Art and cultural heritage
• Road usage in the CBD

Students were guided by the City Cite staff and Auburn High School staff and support staff as they completed a project and created a presentation for assessment.

Students completed a ‘warm-up’ the week prior by participating in the Great Melbourne Race activity.  Working in groups, students worked towards solving a key question they composed. The Race involved travelling independently around the CBD, learning landmarks and spending time with friends. This was invaluable experience that prepared the students for the City Project.

The school hosted a presentation night on February 28th to celebrate the Project and to acknowledge the fantastic commitment and attitude of the Year 9 students.  City Project Coordinator, Mr Leach, and Year Level Leader, Mr Raymond welcomed 180 parents to the evening and presented prizes to the winning Great Melbourne Race team.  Mr Raymond also shared the high quality video he'd made summarising the week.  Following this, student groups presented to families, Year 9 English teachers, and their classmates.

I, along with all who attended, was impressed with the final presentations.  Students expressed mature and articulate opinions and findings on their chosen topics.  All the teams displayed a sense of increased perspective regarding social issues, showing teamwork, citizenship, and collaboration.  Students explained how their experience altered their prior beliefs.

Thank you to staff who participated in the Great Melbourne Race, the City Project, and the presentation night.  A huge thank you to Greg Leach for organising and coordinating the entire program.  I would like to acknowledge the City Cite staff as their teaching and management continues to be exceptional.

Year 10 and 11 study days – encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning

Over the last fortnight Year 11 and Year 10 students have each had a study success day. These sessions aim to support our senior students in their transition to VCE and assist them to learn practical strategies to enable them to be successful in their studies.  For the first time, an external provider was engaged to coordinate the day.  A series of vibrant, engaging sessions were held and student response was very positive.  The Year 10 Auburn Learning Quality of Communication and the Year 11 ALQ Critical Thinking were reinforced as students completed a range of individual and group work.

Auburn High School students operate in a school of high expectations and academic rigour.  Study techniques and skills are part of the evolution of every student, and student feedback indicated that the time spent organising goals and an action plan was very valuable.

Many thanks to Ella Price (Acting Assistant Principal 10-12), Year Level Leaders Mr Felbel (Y10), Mr Dellorso and Mr Tolomei (Y11) for all their organisation.

School Council Elections 2023

A large number of nominations have been received for the Parent Representative positions.  The voting material, including candidate statements and a return envelope has been sent home to each family via the eldest child.  Please take the time to read the candidate statements and vote.  Having a range of skills, expertise, and experience via parent representation on the School Council is crucial.

Voting will take place between 27 February and 10 March.  The entire process will be completed before the first meeting of the new School Council held on 14 March.

Thank you to the nominees and please take the time to vote and support the School Council.

Reinforcing our DARE values

As a community, Auburn High School takes pride in the values we instil in our students every day.  Over the last nine years, our staff and students have worked hard to create an inclusive and safe culture that encourages every child to achieve the best they can.  Every day, staff reward students with DARE comments on Compass, each week House points are awarded for positive behaviours and each semester DARE awards are awarded to students who have displayed value-based behaviours in their classes.  We are proud of our students, and I would like to acknowledge the commitment of our staff to seeing the best in our students.

Recently, a small group of students was involved in organised, physical altercations at school that were filmed by students.  This is an extremely rare event at Auburn High School and doesn’t reflect our values and code of behaviour.  In response, school leadership has used a balance of punitive and educational measures to provide consequences and support these young people to make better decisions in future.  In line with our policies, following any punitive consequence, students have been guided through a restorative process to ensure that these actions will not be repeated.

We appreciate your partnership in reinforcing our DARE values.  Together, we can guide the young people in our care to develop into confident and responsible citizens, who make a positive difference.

The school term is more than half complete and I wish all the students best wishes for assessment and learning activities that are happening at the moment.  It is a busy time of the term with Learning Behaviour reports due and parent-teacher conferences coming up.