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A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
We have taken some time to complete this newsletter as we refine our new website. I encourage you to take time to investigate our new format and the information it contains. Feedback would be appreciated. Special acknowledgement of Sammy Nutt and Donna Richards-Stone is appropriate for their tireless work in leading this upgrade.
In the Advertiser on Tuesday, I read an article “Nation must get highly skilled” by Jordanna Schriever. It states that “Australia must develop a more highly skilled and qualified workforce to build a competitive and advanced manufacturing industry for the future and this training must start in schools, a report says. The Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency will release the report which shows the industry’s shift from heavy industrial manufacturing to higher value-added technologically advanced production this will cause the loss of some occupations but will create new roles and opportunities. Upskilling in workers critical industry will require more people with higher education skills, particularly Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills and improved management skills to provide technical and leadership capacity.”
Henley High School is a lead school in Western Adelaide for STEM. Through the leadership of Sandra Moran, the school has negotiated opportunities for students and staff in government secondary schools in the west to experience innovative and exciting programs that aim to encourage long term interest in relevant STEM vocations. All Adelaide Universities have been strong supporters of the program and continue to provide mentoring to both Teachers and Students. Data indicates we have already been successful in increasing student enrolments into STEM subjects and importantly, retention in subjects through to Year 12 and University.
As we are about to begin our intensive course selection process for 2015, I encourage parents/caregivers to consider the range of options available to our students to ensure engagement and pursuit of viable pathways. This includes involvement in VET /Vocations subjects from year 10 allowing year 12 students to focus on academic subjects to meet engineering prerequisites or begin some University study in their twelfth year of school. We encourage you to discuss options with your son/daughter and seek information from school staff and the internet. Students are being actively encouraged to discuss options with their teachers and gain their recommendations. More information about the processes for course selection for 2015 will be available early next term.
I need to publicly express my disappointment at an article that recently appeared in our local Weekly Times newspaper. The schools and my own commitment to our 10 year Master Plan has been well documented, discussed and promoted and we have always been very clear that all funding will be sought from private investment. I need to reassure all members of our community that nothing has changed in that regard. Paul Caica continues to be a loyal and outstanding supporter of our school and community and is a member of our Governing Council who were provided with all details of our Master Plan at our last meeting.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the support of council members who retired at our AGM held two weeks ago. The first meeting of our new council will be held on Wednesday 30th April, the first week of term 2 beginning at 7:00 pm. New members continue to be welcome.
I will be taking some leave from the beginning of term 2. Anthony Van Ruiten (Deputy Principal) will be acting as Principal in my absence.
Ms Liz Schneyder
Principal
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Parent/ Teacher/ Student Interviews
Parent/ Teacher/ Student Interviews will be held on Tuesday 6th May, starting at 1.30pm and continuing until 8.00pm. Interviews will be restricted to 10 mins in length. Full details about how to book are enclosed with Student Reports which are being sent home this week.
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Student Absences, Late Arrivals and Early Departures
You can now report Student Absences online via our website. Click on “To report online, click here” and complete the form. You can do this at any time of the day or night. Absences will be audited to ensure the authenticity.
We ask that all families please take note and adhere to the following –
- Absences – we ask that where possible could all absences please be reported to Student Services on 8355 7014 or 8355 7015 or via the website before 9.00am.
- Late Arrivals/ Early Departures – If students arrive late or need to leave early due to an appointment, a written note or email is required, please note that text messages will not be accepted. Students are to report to Student Services on arrival/ departure.
- Unwell/ Injured Students – Any student who is unwell or injured whilst at school must report to Student Services prior to leaving the school grounds. A staff member will then make contact with their family.
- Messages - We can only pass on a message to students if the matter is urgent.
We appreciate your support in this matter.
Student Services Staff
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NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. All students in Year 9 at Henley High School are expected to participate in tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The NAPLAN Assessments will be conducted Tuesday 13th May - Thursday 15th May, with a catch up day for Students (if required) on Friday 16th May (Student Free Day).
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Tuesday
13 May |
Wednesday
14 May |
Thursday
15 May |
Year 9 |
Language Conventions
45 minutes
Writing
40 minutes |
Reading
65 minutes |
Numeracy
Calculator
40 minutes
Non-calculator
40 minutes |
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Sports Day 2014
Tuesday 11th of March saw the running of the Henley High School Sports Day for 2014. It started as an overcast day but soon the sun was out for the large crowds as they participated in all aspects of the athletics carnival. It was fantastic to see so many of the students and staff in their House colours, it certainly added to the atmosphere. It was a day that was well suited to good results, and we had some excellent performances including some long standing records broken:
- Thomas Elfenbein – Open Boys 100m: 11.18sec (Old record 11.19sec, 1998)
- Yuki Hirose – Open Girls Hurdles: 17.25sec (Old record 19.15sec, 2009)
- Nick Blum - U/15 800m: 2.14.61 (Old record, 2.16.00, 1998) and U/15 1500m: 4.46.00 (Old record, 4.49.12, 2012)
A late change in the weather saw rain prevent the last couple of events, including the relays, from running. This was an unfortunate end to what was otherwise an excellent day of competition.
A big congratulations to the age group winners on the day:
| AGE GROUP |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
| U14 |
George Panagiotidis |
Grace Robins |
| U15 |
Nick Blum |
Sarah Caire |
| U16 |
John Koutroumbis |
Amelia Hutchinson |
| Open |
Peter Johns |
Yuki Hirose |
Overall competition was very close, which was reflected in the results:
| Position |
Middle School |
Senior School |
Overall |
| 1st |
Oliphant – 617 |
Mawson – 565 |
Mitchell – 1112 |
| 2nd |
Mitchell – 569 |
Mitchell – 543 |
Oliphant – 1090 |
| 3rd |
Lowitja – 525 |
Oliphant – 473 |
Mawson – 1049 |
| 4th |
Mawson – 484 |
Florey – 469 |
Florey – 857 |
| 5th |
Florey - 388 |
Lowitja - 199 |
Lowitja - 724 |
Thank you to all of the students in attendance, your attitude and involvement was excellent. Also thanks must go to the staff for helping to run all of the events, especially the dedicated few who were at school at 6am to help set up for the big day.
James Treagus
Manager - Sport
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Stage 1 Advanced Technologies Excursion to AGL Wind Farm
On Monday the 17th of March, a group of 30 students from Stage 1 Advanced Technologies went on an overnight camp to visit the Augusta Power Station in Pt Augusta and the AGL Wind Farm in Burra. The students had a great time, as well as further developing their knowledge on renewable energies, the national electricity network and future career pathways in the various engineering fields.
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Year 9 Girls Tech - Wood
In 2014 Henley High is running a number of Girls only Design and Technologies classes to encourage girls to participate in these practical classes. During Term 1 the Year 9 girls had a brief to design and build a Jewellery Box. At first the process was slow but when they saw the projects taking shape the girls became very independent, enthusiastic and proud of their creations, adding more detail. With the use of the Laser Cutter images were able to be added and the final results speak for themselves. All of the class didn’t think their Jewellery Box would turn out as well as they did. Next Term we will make some Jewellery from Brass and Pewter to go in the boxes.
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NASA Excursion
Written by Busby Cavanagh and Finn Smith 9MI1
On the 21st of March, an extremely lucky group of students, myself included, were granted the privilege of attending a speech given by Major General Charles Bolden, the head of NASA. It was absolutely incredible. A once in a lifetime opportunity. He had so many concepts to share with us which, prior to the speech, would have seemed impossible to us. The most ground-breaking of them though, would most definitely be the goal to land humans successfully on Mars by 2025. It would be one of humanity’s greatest triumphs. He also told us what everybody else has always been telling us, and that is that if you work hard, you study hard and you don’t fear failure you can achieve anything. He also told us his very inspirational personal story. He grew up in a segregated town in Columbia, where black people and white people were kept separated, and that how he never thought he could become anything great. He was convinced by a fellow friend, that he could accomplish anything, all he had to do was not be afraid of failure. And look at him now. Administrator of NASA.
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International π (pi) day Celebration
On Friday the 14th of March International p (pi) Day was celebrated by Henley High were invited to a p (pi) party. The students participated in a number of fun activities including hat making and a competition to find the male and female student who could recite the p number. The successful winners were Doug Murphy (Ms Devrelis / McGrath) who could recited 56 decimal places and Abbey Mugford (Ms McGrath) who recited 33 decimal places and is inspired to become a NASA Mathematician. CONGRATULATIONS to those students as they have each won an iTunes gift card.
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Rits Global Summit 2014
As a part of our International Student Program, five Yr 10 Henley High School students were invited to participate in the ‘Rits Global Summit’ at Ritsumeikan Junior High School in Kyoto Japan. The summit ran for one week and during that time students were hosted by families from the school.
The participants came from 7 countries, Japan (Ritsumeikan and Aomori), Australia (Henley and Heathfield), USA (Guam and Hawaii), England, Singapore, Indonesia, and China. The program gave all students the opportunity to discuss various current topics, research each other’s countries, cultures and areas of interest and gain incentive for their future learning.
Our students were outstanding ambassadors to both Henley High School and the wider community and are to be commended on their contribution to such a significant event.
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