End of Term 1 - 2024

Principal's Report

Welcome Back to 2020

Welcome all to our first newsletter for 2020, and to the start of another school year. I hope the Christmas break was relaxing and enjoyable for students and staff alike, and that all have returned refreshed for a challenging and rewarding year. A particular welcome to parents and students new to Henry Kendall High School, especially our new Year 7 cohort.

 

However, I do also acknowledge the tragic circumstances and losses that have occurred to our country over recent months. As a school community our thoughts and support are with those affected.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our student body for an extremely settled and industrious start to the school year. As a whole our students have returned with a positive and focused mindset and have engaged themselves straight into learning. It is wonderful to see that our students are keen to make the most of each opportunity and to contribute positively to what is their school.

 

I would like to welcome a number of new staff. Mrs Jay Blue is our new Head Teacher of Applied Learning – a new position that I will discuss later in my report; Ms Marnee Sutor and Mrs Katie Conroy both join us in English; Mr Augustus Withers joins us in Middle School; and Mr Matthew Hoole joins us in PDHPE. We also welcome back some familiar faces; Ms Carly Brien in Middle School; Mrs Cassandra Quitadamo in PDHPE; and Miss Natalie Hammond in Mathematics. We are excited to have such a strong array of new staff join our fabulous school and our outstanding team committed to the education of our students.

Outstanding HSC Results

Well done to our 2019 HSC students with the release of strong and well deserved results. Of particular note;

  • Henry Kendall is the number one ranked comprehensive high school on the coast, and third overall. We have achieved this result in five of the past six years!
  • 15 students attained a total of 24 band 6 results.
  • 60.3% of students achieved in bands 4-6 – this is one of the highest result in the top three bands we have ever attained.
  • Our highest individual result was 97 in Mathematics, and our top ATAR was 96.25.

In addition to this, many students exceeded their expectations and in some cases, getting over the line is the achievement. Each and every HSC outcome is celebrated in our school. Congratulations to Year 12, 2019!

 

I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all of our wonderful HSC teachers. The selfless work they do is a significant factor in the achievement of our students. Their dedication, passion, drive, subject knowledge and depth of educational expertise is valued and appreciated.

Our School’s Focus in 2020

Following our extensive evaluation processes in 2019, this year sees our school embarking on renewed, contemporary directions in teaching and learning.

 

Our focus - reflecting international research, contemporary educational directions, and the findings of our evaluations – will see Applied Learning (or Project Based Learning) become a core learning application in Years 7 and 8 from 2021. This will see the creation of a new Applied Learning faculty, led by Mrs Jay Blue. Our applied learning curriculum will see learning that focuses on strong interdisciplinary links and attainment of skills through real world application. This exciting direction provides for enormous opportunities, and sees Henry Kendall High School at the forefront of futures learning in our region.

 

This significant change will see both the Middle School and Young Achievers programs cease. All students will now be given the same learning opportunities, with the top stream class extended and further challenged. We will also be introducing Wellbeing and Aboriginal Studies as stand-alone courses in our curriculum for all students.

 

All curriculum areas in Years 7 and 8 will be remodelled and teaching programs rewritten, and our assessment processes will move into a focus on formative assessment practices. This means moving from assessing a student’s ‘end product’ of learning to assessment throughout the learning process, allowing students to build upon feedback given.

 

Additionally, student reports will be remodelled this year to focus on student skill attainment and application in real world areas such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

 

Amongst the significant work that we will undertake in setting our school on a course to meet the future focused needs of our students, we will also celebrate the significant milestone of our 50th Anniversary.

 

We have a very busy but very purposeful year ahead!

Term 4 School Development Days 2020

Throughout 2020 the staff will be completing additional hours of professional learning. This will be in lieu of the two Development Days at the end of Term 4, when the school will be non-operational.

Parents & Community Association

The P&C meets at 7.00pm in the Nichols Meeting room in the Administration building. There are two meetings in Term 1, with one meeting in each on Terms 2 - 4. The following dates outline our 2020 P&C Meetings;

  • Tuesday 11 February – General Meeting
  • Tuesday 3 March – Annual General Meeting
  • Tuesday 26 May – General Meeting
  • Tuesday 18 August – General Meeting
  • Tuesday 10 November – General Meeting

I welcome all parents to join our P&C and take an active role in our school.

Mr Andrew Backhouse

Principal