As we begin Term 2

Principal's report

Oh, where are the instructions

On how to raise a child?

Who has the instructions

On how to raise a child?

Who has all the answers?

I don't know.

“How To Raise A Child” 

by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty from ‘Seussical’ 

Farewell

At the end of Term 1, we farewelled Ms Nicole King who was an important member of our Science faculty. 

Ms King has received a transfer to Windsor High School to get closer to home and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.  Ms King taught at Cecil Hills High School for the last five years and had a strong connection to our school through her mother, Mrs Jackie King, who is one of our original staff members from 1996.  Ms King was an excellent teacher and our students have benefited from her commitment to our school. 

Welcome 

We have a number of new teachers commencing in Term 2. 

We welcome Mr Aaron Underwood who has been appointed to our school under the Teach NSW Graduate Recruitment Program. 

We also welcome Mr Shane Vesey-Wells who has been appointed by merit selection to replace Ms Nicole King.  Mr Vesey-Wells joins us after four years at Auburn Girls High School.

Congratulations

I am very pleased to announce that two current staff members have been appointed to new permanent positions.

Congratulations to Mr Josh Dunn who is now a permanent member of the PD/H/PE faculty.  Mr Dunn has taught in our PD/H/PE faculty for a number of years and worked on a range of programs. Importantly, he is currently one of our Year 7 Advisers and has helped our newest group of students settle into high school.  We look forward to continuing to work with Mr Dunn and I'm sure you will join us in congratulating him on this appointment.

Congratulations to Mrs Joanne Tyson who has been appointed permanently to the position of Deputy Principal, replacing Mr Flew.  Mrs Tyson has operated as one of our deputy principals since Term 4, 2015, working with the students currently in Year 9 and Year 12. She has provided expert leadership within the senior executive and executive team across a range of areas including school systems, administration and welfare. She brings high level knowledge and skills to the role through her extensive experience as Head Teacher - Home Economics and Deputy Principal at our school. We look forward to continuing to work with Mrs Tyson, now in a permanent capacity.

Student success

Congratulations to Georgia Portelli of Year 8 who won Gold Medal in the

Under 13 girls javelin event throwing a distance of 39.32m at the recent Australian little Athletics Championships as part of the NSW State team in which she was selected.  Well done Georgia!  Read more on Georgia in this story  - courtesy the Daily Telegraph/Liverpool Leader. 

Stymie - Save the Date

In terms of my introductory quote, nobody has the instruction manual on how to raise a child.  It is a combined effort from parents, teachers and the community.  It is forever changing and the introduction of social media and other technology throws a spanner into the works for many aspects of our society.

Our school takes a serious approach to anti-bullying measures to create a safe and harmonious school environment.  We are currently reviewing our anti-bullying policy to ensure it is effective.  As a further support, we have decided to adopt the ‘Stymie’ program.  Research shows that almost all bullying is witnessed by innocent bystanders who may be unsure of how they can respond positively to help resolve the bullying incident.  Stymie uses a website where students can make online and anonymous notifications which are then accessed and actioned by the school.   Please read about Stymie. This is a significant change to school processes and as such, a special parent information session will be held from 6pm to 7pm on Monday, 5 June 2017 in lieu of our normal P&C meeting.  Rachel Downie, who established Stymie, will be a special guest presenter at this event.  It will be an important opportunity for parents to ask questions about Stymie.  All parents are asked to attend and we also extend this invitation to prospective parents at our feeder primary schools.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), Year 8 electives, Literacy and more!

Our teachers worked very hard during our school development day at the start of Term 2.  Our Positive Behaviour for Learning team announced our new three core values that will underpin our PBL program – respectful, responsible and successful.  I would encourage parents to use these three buzz words at home when dealing with their children.  One of the key aspects of PBL is using positive language with students to promote positive behaviour.  For example, instead of telling students “don’t swear” we would say “use respectful language”.  Instead of saying “don’t use your mobile phone” we would say “be responsible with your phone”.  In the home context, instead of saying “don’t stay up late” you could say “go to bed at a responsible time”.  PBL gives us the opportunity to establish a schoolwide consistent approach to managing behaviour.

Our teachers continued planning our new Year 8 elective courses to be launched in 2018.  These new and exciting courses will be based on the principles of project-based learning and provide an excellent opportunity for students to improve their 21st century learning skills including teamwork, collaboration and creativity.

Our teachers also worked on our Focus on Reading initiative by reviewing teaching programs and upskilling in literacy strategies. 

HSC Minimum Standard Resources for Year 9

The following information has been received from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)  to ensure parents and students receive accurate information about the NSW Government's implementation of a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy for the HSC:

• The HSC minimum standard is being introduced to help ensure that students leave school with the basic literacy and numeracy skills fundamental for life after school.
• NAPLAN is a chance to check a student’s progress towards the HSC minimum standard or, for more advanced students, prequalify for the HSC minimum standard with Band 8s or higher.
• Most students will demonstrate the minimum standard by passing online reading, writing and numeracy tests in the lead up to Year 12.
• Year 9 students have three more years of learning before the HSC.
• Read letter for Year 9 students
• and  message to Year 9 parents
• David de Carvalho, Chief Executive Officer NESA

Encouraging Independence and Responsibility

As students move from being primary school students into young adulthood, it is important 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. Mark Sutton, Principal.

P&C Meetings

Our next P&C meeting for 2017 will be our special Stymie presentation from 6pm to 7pm on Monday, 5 June 2017.  There will be a repeat session at 9:30am on Thursday, 8 June 2017.

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

Behind the scenes

Staff at  Cecil High School have embraced the PBL philosophy. On Tuesday 28th March, our team  participated in a Teachmeet at Briar Road Public School. A teachmeet  is where teachers meet to learn and share ideas.

Cecil Hills PBL team, represented by Mrs  Lukose, Mrs Haskett,  Mrs Sharma and Mr Issa.      S Haskett, Head Teacher - History