Associate Principals' Report

Returning to Onsite Learning

The news this week that students and staff can begin returning onsite was a welcome sign that slowly our lives can start to return to normal. We will still have to maintain social distancing practices, sanitise hands regularly and keep on wearing masks (that cover both nose and mouth).

We have had the Year 12s back in class preparing for their exams (that begin next week) for the past two and a half weeks. The Year 11 and Year 7 students return to onsite classes from Friday 22 October. The Year 10s return onsite for just Friday 22 October and then for each Thursday/Friday for the next couple of weeks (until coming back every day from November 5). Years 8 and 9 will come back into onsite classes for the Tuesday/Wednesday from the 26 October, and then every day from November 5.

We know that many students have shown resilience and been able to manage their studies successfully during remote learning – in some cases they have even found it to be a more productive way of working. However, we are aware that some of our students have become disengaged and have struggled. The following link is a useful reminder about how we can support the return to school of our young people. Please contact the school’s Wellbeing Team if your student needs more specific support or from organisations like Beyond Blue.

Help your teenager transition back to school - Beyond Blue

Planning for Improvements for 2022

As students begin to return onsite the school continues to make plans for significant changes for next year. Apart from planning around the exciting redevelopment of our new Science and Technology Building, staff have also been reviewing what we are delivering to students as part of improvements to our Curriculum.

Students in Years 9 and 10 will shortly be involved in selecting from a broad range of electives across all areas of the Curriculum. There are over 35 different semester length subjects being offered to our students and they will be involved in choosing specific subjects of interest to them. More details on this process will be available to families shortly.

Paul Donaldson

Associate Principal

Exciting Changes - Year 9 & 10 Electives

As lockdown #6 draws to a close, I think we can celebrate the gradual return of our students back to school. We have now completed our 2022 Years 9 and 10 Elective Handbook. Guiding the work undertaken on the electives programs is our School Vision:

“Inspiring and empowering members of our school community to achieve their full potential in an inclusive and supportive environment”

The Years 9 and 10 Elective Program is an opportunity that allows students to do more of what they enjoy, to specialise in deep knowledge of an area, or to engage with a broader set of learning opportunities. These courses are designed to appeal to a variety of interests, to explore big ideas and to promote student connection to areas of study. This initiative will lead students at Years 9 and 10 to either the Victorian Certificate of Education or Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning in Years 11 and 12.

At Fairhills High School we want young people to realise and enhance their talents. We are a community whose positive relationships allow us to challenge ourselves and each other in a safe environment. Every student is unique so the pathway they follow will challenge and engage them. Every student should aim to reach their full potential in this changing world we live in. That is why we value the focus and guidance our School Values to brings to the programs at Fairhills High School. It is important for all our community members to:

Act Responsibly, Build Relationships, Show Respect

At Fairhills High School education is based on four big ideas:

All students are at different stages of their learning and grow and develop at different rates
When students engage in deep learning, they can transfer what they know to new situations and to new contexts
When students are given the opportunity to make choices in regard to their own education and to engage in learning that is relevant and meaningful to their lives, they develop agency for their own learning
Knowing our students and building strong student-teacher relationships is essential to successful learning.

Together with our newly developed vision and values, these ideas provide the basis for designing learning experiences at an appropriate level of challenge for each student. Our students are not only learning new skills and knowledge, but they are also building their own capacity to work independently and collaboratively, recognise and reflect on their own learning, to know themselves as learners and to understand what they are ready to learn next.

Karen Dean

Associate Principal