Principal's

Message

This time last year I was excitedly preparing for my move to Armidale and 12 months on I have the opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved together in that time. There certainly is a lot that happens each day in a school and when you add those days together over a year the events certainly multiply quickly. Thank you all for the opportunity to work with you to grow and develop our community to a creative, collaborative, inclusive and successful learning environment. A very big thanks to our staff who have worked tirelessly this term (and every term) to make sure our students have a wonderful learning experience. I won’t recap on all the positive events of the last year but will stick with what has happened in the last 5 weeks.

MPC

Delivery of the MPC to the school remains mostly on schedule. We will have some access to the building for the start of term 3. However, the retractable seating installation has been delayed until mid to late August and so will delay our opening the building for lessons and events until after this. It is expected that some staff training on the use of the AV facilities will begin taking place early in term 3. The back part of the building (outside) will likely have work continuing on the retaining wall and landscaping at the back of the building.

Student Success

Year 10 students displayed their products and presentations at the Z Line Exhibition. A really positive show of learning based on passions and real world applications for our year 10 students. The benefits of project based learning within the traditional curriculum on students thinking skills, agency and voice as well as their skills in collaboration and creative thinking continue to grow and develop.

· Scholarships- Zhiyan Almito of Year 9 was successful in achieving the Harding Miller Scholarship, which will see her education supported through technology and tutoring as well as uniforms, textbooks and excursions for the next 4 years.

· Sophia-Rose Markham of Year 10 was successful in obtaining the Premier’s ANZAC Scholarship which will see her travel across Australia to learn more about Australia’s war history.

· Immerse Education Essay competition winners- Matilda Reynolds, Jennifer Lahai and Judith Jerrard.

· Alexis Vickery year 7 and Jaydaa Aladi, year 8- exhibited and finalists in the Young Archibald Portrait Competition at NERAM.

· North West Cross Country Team student success.

· Our Deadly Dancers were the poster for Spectacular Schools Inspired Broadcast and their segment was shown as part of the broadcast.

· Combined UNE/ Macquarie Uni Delivery of Indigenous STEM workshops allowed our Aboriginal students to experience a variety of Science based activities and inspired them about career possibilities in STEM.

· Boys and Girls Volleyball Teams were regional champions and will now compete in the CHS Finals in Term 3.

· Senior Boys Football beat Oxley High to become Regional Champions

· Taylor Chick-Sauer had a very successful participation in the State Equestrian Expo, achieving 1st in combine training, 1st in dressage, Champion dressage, 2nd in the working horse challenge,1st team of four, 3rd in the hack, 4th in the pairs

· 26 of our Futsal players have been selected to represent Far Northern NSW in the National Championships in Brisbane.

· And to top of the term, our Hockey Team triumphed over Oxley to become regional champions.

Surviving Winter

The teacher shortage, lack of casual teachers available in the area and Covid19 and Influenza A continue to impact ASC. The Study Hall has allowed us to better cater to students and their continuity of learning, ensuring that classes, when they need to be merged are able to continue with meaningful work that meets syllabus outcomes and that they are supported by teachers, executive staff and SLSOs.

Non Curriculum based excursions have been postponed and staff professional learning applications are on hold until we are able to ensure appropriate cover for classes. A number of structural changes have been made to the time table and will continue to be made. This includes collapsing classes in the core (English, Math's, HSIE, PDHPE, Science) to ensure all classes can have an expert teacher in front of them.

Gardens and Grounds

Our student environment committee have been running a highly successful recycling of bottles and cans program. They make about $50-$100 per month through this initiative. The senior leaders of this group, have seen me with a proposal for improving the front round about garden. They have approached the Armidale Tree Group and have developed a design for the garden and are planning to hold a working bee early next term to plant it out.

In the near future, ASC will be on the look out to hire a gardener for 3 days per week to manage and maintain our gardens and lawns and will be seeking to recruit within the community next term. It is a huge school site with lots of gardens that need constant attention.

This week saw the installation of two of our new outdoor table tennis tables near G block. A system of borrowing paddles and balls and booking time on the tables will be explained to students next term and we look forward to having more activities to engage in during breaks. Mr Suddaby is already planning the next ASC Table Tennis championship to include outdoor games.

Year 12

Next term will be Year 12s last in secondary schooling. It will be a very busy time for them as they hit the final turn into the HSC exams in term 4. Trials for HSC performance begin in week 4 next term and Written Trials will begin in week 5. The actual HSC performance exams for Dance, Music, Drama and languages start around week 5 and these and submission of major works for Visual Arts, Textiles and Industrial Arts continue through to week 9 of term. Remember Year 12, preparation is the key to staying on top of it all and feeling comfortable and confident in your success. Make a plan, set some goals, stick to them and you can succeed.

Subject Selection

Our students in Year 8, 9 and especially year 10 will be thinking hard over the holidays about their patterns of study for 2023 and beyond. ASC offers a very broad selection of subjects for students to choose from and there are 4 key messages that you should not forget when you choose:

1. Choose what you are good at or passionate about because you will be keen to put the time in to do well.

2. Choose subjects that will help you meet your future goals, what ever they are.

3. Don’t choose a subject based on what your friends are doing.

4. Don’t choose a subject based on who you think the teacher might be.

Year 10 mentoring sessions will take place early next term and will help you to refine your choices and to make smart decisions about your own learning future. Our expert staff are looking forward to working with you to succeed.

Have a wonderful Winter break everyone. Stay warm and dry over the next week. Be sure to rest and rejuvenate and we will see you back at school on Tuesday 19th July ready for another term of learning.