As term three begins

Great teaching and learning continues

'Cause there may be times

When you think you lost your mind

And the steps you're takin'

Leave you three, four steps behind

But the road you're walking

Might be long sometimes

You just keep on steppin'

And you'll be just fine

“Ease on Down the Road” by Charlie Smalls from ‘The Wiz’

Subject Selection

Our combined subject selection evening will be held from 5pm to 6pm for Year 8 and 6:30pm to 7:30pm for Year 10 on Tuesday, 1 August 2017.  It is mandatory for all students and at least one parent/carer to attend the relevant subject selection evening as access codes to the online system will be released at these events.  It is vital for parents to attend as there are sometimes a number of myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings in terms of the RoSA and HSC and it is important for both parents and students to receive the same subject selection advice.

In terms of my introductory, it is important for students to ‘ease on down the road’ on the subject selection journey.  This is often a time of great stress and anxiety for students who are encouraged to get advice from:

• teachers
• head teachers
• Ms Saliba and Mr Chandler as year advisers
• Ms Saliba as transition adviser
• Ms Reid as careers adviser
• Ms Scott as deputy principal

and myself.  At the recent annual conference of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, one particular presentation on careers interestingly mentioned that children unwisely narrow down career choices very early in life.  For example, in Kindergarten, girls have already rejected 41% of careers and boys 40%.  By Year 6, this rises to 52% for girls and 71% for boys.  As a result, I encourage students and parents to think broadly about their upcoming choices.  This generation will have between ten and fifteen jobs in their lifetime and we are just focusing on the next step for students rather than figuring out their entire life plan.  About 50% of university students change their degree and 53% of university students change their career interests and therefore we need to develop 'luck-readiness' in students so they know how to detect an opportunity and capitalise on it.

Year 12 - This is The Moment

Year 12 have very important trial HSC exams in Week 4/5, Term 3.  Students should always aim for a personal best.  For our top ranked students, it is important they continue to strive for excellence as their HSC marks do play a role in influencing the moderation process that NESA applies in marking the HSC.  For students who may not have achieved their personal best yet, it is important to remember than school assessment only accounts for 50% of the final HSC mark, with the other 50% determined by the HSC examination itself.  Depending on the course, this means that more than 65% of possible marks are still available for students.  There is nothing to lose and it is never too late to increase study time and focus.

P&C Meetings

Our next P&C meeting for 2017 will be at 6:30pm on Monday, 7 August 2017 with a repeat session at 9:30am on Thursday, 10 August 2017.  We will be outlining a new model for Cecil Hills High School that will see students juggling less subjects at once, with fewer teachers and more opportunities during the week for students to study each subject.  We are also looking at ways to provide an improved system of pastoral care to students that also supports their academic needs.  We always welcome input and feedback from parents and community members to ensure we are considering your perspectives when making decisions.

I look forward to continuing to work with the staff, students and parents of Cecil Hills High School, the best school in NSW.   Mark Sutton, Principal