Term Four begins

Welcome back

Oh, the thinks you can think

Think and wonder and dream

Far and wide as you dare!

When your thinks have run dry,

In the blink of an eye

There's another think there!

If you open your mind,

Oh, the thinks you will find

‘Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!’

by  Lynn Ahrens from ‘Seussical’

School Leaders

Congratulations to our new school leadership team for Year 12 2017.  I welcome Kristy Bonanno and Mato Nad (Captains)

Also congratulations to Maria Djuric and Connor Regan (Vice Captains) and Donya Amadi, Jade Sutton, Christian Carldarola and Jamey Tran (SRC members) to these important roles. 

I look forward to working with this important group of students as we value student voice and listen carefully to their ideas

Opal Cards

Excursions – Opal Card

Now that paper tickets are no longer available, I would encourage all families to invest in an Opal card.  This is necessary for when students attend excursions that require travel by train.  Students will be expected to have their own Opal cards for such events.

Uniform Shop

As previously announced, we have new operating hours for our uniform shop to provide greater access for parents.  These are:

• Monday: 3pm to 6pm
• Wednesday: 8am to 11am
• Thursday: 12pm to 3pm
• Friday: 8am to 11am

We have also launched a new online store: 

Our supplier has agreed to provide uniform items free of charge to parents if they are delayed for four weeks.  Our new uniform shop manager, Nicole, has started in her new role and we welcome her to the Cecil Hills community.

Tuesday morning bell times

Our professional learning time on Tuesdays mornings is being used effectively and this is working very well.  To provide a little extra time to mark rolls, we are adjusting the school start time slightly to 9:20am on Tuesday mornings from Week 3, Term 4.  There will be a warning bell at 9:18am.  We appreciate the understanding of parents as we make minor adjustments to this new structure.

Encouraging Independence and Responsibility

As students move from being primary school students into young adulthood, it is important that they develop a sense of independence and responsibility.  Our fantastic front office staff are always willing to assist parents, however, we have had an increase in parents dropping off items for their children, sending messages to students via their phones during the day and students neglecting to bring an early leavers note if attending a medical appointment.  In a large school, our front office staff can spend precious time tending to these matters, time that could be saved by parents ensuring that their children are independent managers and more organised.  I ask parents for their support in these matters to ensure that our front office staff can focus on their core business.

Farewell

As Year 12 graduated at the end of Term 3, we farewelled one of our longest-serving staff members.  Mr Sailash Krishan is a technology teacher who has given fourteen wonderful years of service to our school.  In his time at Cecil Hills High School, he has been a year adviser, relieving head teacher, coordinator of school systems, organiser of the Japanese student visit and much more.  He has been a universally valued member of staff who has an amazing rapport with students.  His leadership skills have been exemplary and will stand him in good stead for his new role as Head Teacher – Technology and Applied Studies at Hurlstone Agricultural HS.  Staff and students will miss his teaching expertise, sense of humour and cool, calm, collected nature.  We wish Mr Krishan all the best in his new leadership role.

Congratulations

The school has decided to create two Head Teacher - Beginning Teacher Mentor positions as a part of the NSW Department of Education's Strong Start, Great Teachers initiative. 

Congratulations to Ms Jane Carter and Ms Belinda Vidot who have been appointed to these positions.  They will work in areas including pre-service teachers, induction of new staff, teacher accreditation and mentoring, with a focus on teachers who are just starting out in the profession.  We look forward to utilising the expertise of Ms Carter and Ms Vidot and wish them the best in these important roles.

P&C Meetings

A reminder that our next P&C meeting is at 6:30pm on Monday, 7 November 2016.  There will be a repeat session at 9:30am on Thursday, 10 November 2016.

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