Coburg High School Newsletter

Acting Principal's Update

This newsletter was scheduled to arrive in your mailboxes at the end of last term, due to a small injury which I sustained in the last week of that term, it has become a start of Term 3 update instead. Due to the interrupted nature of the final weeks of Term 2, it is a little shorter than usual as well.

 

At the time of writing, we are still awaiting on advice regarding the COVID safe rules that will apply to us this term, but it appears that due to the lack of community transmission currently in Victoria, masks will not be required by students and staff in most circumstances at school. We will keep the school community informed of these rules as the Department of Education and Training finalises them.

 

Maths Pathway

Thank  you to all of the students, parents and staff who contributed to the surveys regarding Maths Pathway. Our decision to move away from Maths Pathway for 2022 has not been made lightly, but has been made with the best interests of Mathematics learning and giving our students the best opportunity to develop their skills in preparation for VCE. Our Maths staff will be using Terms 3 and 4 of this year to develop curriculum to support this change.

 

School Council

In my last Council report, I acknowledged the contribution of Sara Webb for her four years of service as Council President, but it was remiss of me not to mention the Council officebearers for 2021-22:

 

President - Cate Hall

Vice-President - Karen Sitte

Treasurer - Hadyn Burns

Secretary - Elle Drake

 

Thank you to Cate, Karen, Hadyn and Elle for taking on these roles, as well as our active sub-committee chairs Sebastian, Gary, Simon and Cate for leading this work. Welcome back to Council to Karen Allen, who Council co-opted as a parent member to replace Sara Webb.

 

At our June Council meeting, some of the items were:

  • a continuing discussion of the ways in which Coburg High's curriculum and student support processes can help to change attitudes towards sexual assault and ensure student safety.
  • a report on the excellent recent activities provided through our Parents Association
  • a discussion on the facilities needs of the school, and the need for funding to cater for our growing student population (1200+ students in 2022)
  • a report from the Uniform Sub-Committee regarding the student survey results and some modifications to uniform items as a result
  • a report from the Cycling and Active Transport Sub-Committee showing almost 75% active travel to CHS on a daily basis - well done to everyone walking, cycling or catching public transport to and from school!

Solar Panels

As I write this report at the end of the holidays, the workers installing our new solar panel array are finishing off the installation. We look forward to having an official launch sometime in early Term 3. In the meantime, please have a look below at the panels beginning to be installed on the roof of Building C and The Space.

The funds for this 99.9kW solar array have been made possible by the Greener Government School Buildings Program. The environmental benefits from the array will begin from when the system is turned on and financial savings for the school will accrue once the system's cost has been repaid to the government over the next three to five years.

 

Exams & Subject Selection

A big thanks to everyone involved in the end of semester exams. I relieved one of the teachers involved in the Year 11 English exam and it was pleasing to see the way that many students were using their writing time right up until the end of their allotted two hours. I was very impressed with the way in which students prepared for these exams and noted the impressive processes that Coburg High has developed to support these exams, to give students the best opportunity to prepare for the Unit 3/4 exams at the end of Year 12.

 

I also saw first hand the fantastic efforts that were put in to support our senior students as part of the Big Week Forward and subject selections. Well done to Dave and Eve for putting this series of events together, and for all the teachers and Learning Area Leaders who are supporting students with 2022 planning.

 

CHS AFL star!

Congratulations to Emilia (Milzy) Yassir who has been invited to the 2021 AFL Women's Draft Combine (see here for more details). We look forward to following Milzy's progress in the months ahead!

 

Brent Houghton

Acting Principal