High Notes, Vol 17 No 6, March 11 2016
High Talent
A wonderful result for Dibyendu Roy (11E)! He won a bronze
medal at the Australian Mathematics Olympiad competition. As expected, High was the champion
school at zone level in swimming. Zone age Champions were: 12 Years – Nathan Wang (7R); 13
years – Ike Matsuoka (7M); 16 years- Adam Feng (10S) and Opens – Andrew McNaughton
(12S). Well done to those boys. Zone records were broken by Nathan Wang [100m breaststroke
1.31.78 & 50m freestyle]; SBHS Open 6 x 50M freestyle relay team – 2.48.46; SBHS 15
years 4 x 50 m freestyle relay team – 1.55.43; and SHS opens freestyle relay team –
1.47.49. Congratulations to all concerned. Great work by Daniel Zhang (12F) who qualified for the
NSW CHS combined tennis team to play in the All-Schools tournament. Congratulations to Luke
Schroeder (12T) on his selection in Combined GPS first grade and to Oscar Dumas (10E) and Max
Menzel (12T) on their selection in the Combined GPS second grade team.
Collectors Doing The Right Thing
A parent writes:
“I go to Martin Place station each morning and walk down to George St. I regularly bump
into SBHS boys collecting for charity as I did this morning for Bandaged Bear. I always make a
beeline, make a donation and have a quick chat. Sometimes I tell them I am a parent of a boy
there, sometimes I don’t. They are without fail articulate, polite, have great eye contact
and are positive about the school. Incredibly impressive, fine young men and great ambassadors
for the school.”
It is gratifying to know that our boys behave well when out of school and unsupervised. It is
also a credit to them for giving up their early mornings to serve in a good cause- well done!
International Women’s Day
This week we celebrated another
International Women’s Day (March 8). Regrettably, in the last 20 years in Australia the
gender pay gap has not closed despite many reforms and affirmative action programs. The gap is
maintained or exacerbated by cultural factors as well as socio-economic ones. Families need to
offer encouragement to their daughters to explore myriad vocational pathways. Girls wanting to do
something different with their lives need advocacy and support in the home and the school.
Another disappointment for women is the lack of progress in reducing the statistics on domestic
violence. It’s up to males to believe in respectful relationships and to have the character
and skills to resolve conflict appropriately.
Tell Them From Me Survey
Once again we ask for your participation in the
TTFM survey. For students, the survey opens on March 14 and closes on
April 7. Parents and students are reminded that this a voluntary survey and that
logging on by students implies parental consent to engage in the survey. Information given is
confidential and will not be used in any way that identifies a person or the school. The data
from the TTFM reports have been useful for the school executive as sources of student and
community voice on matters affecting experiences at or with SBHS. Additional information for
parents, including translated consent forms and parent FAQs, can also be found on the CESE
website at: .
Students who participate will be rewarded with Student Award Scheme points. For students, the
process is the same as for previous surveys:
- Log into the Student Portal
- Click the “Student Survey 2016: Tell Them From Me” link in the Portal Services
menu
- Click the “Access the Survey” button to start the survey
Growth At High
In Year 7 (2014-15) 98% of students (n=179) scored in the
top two bands for reading and numeracy, compared with 92% in statistically similar schools. In
Year 9 (2014-15) 96% of students (n=208) scored in the top two bands for reading and
numeracy. So despite our Year 9 intake, the quality of our results as measured by NAPLAN is
not significantly affected. Our growth number from Year 7 to Year 9 is 41.7 (v 38.1 SSG). By Year
12, 95% of our students (n=208) earn at least two band 5-6 results at the HSC. We would expect
that figure to be closer to 98. Statistically similar schools scored at 89%. [E3 and E4 extension
results are not included]. I would contend that our very large candidature in mathematics
disadvantages us on this measure. Our growth from Year 9 to Year 12 (TES) is not strong at 25.0
(v 24.2SSG). It has also been declining (2012-14). Our School Plan is targeting
sophistication in writing to try to reverse this trend.
The attainment of low SES students in Year 7 compared to high SES students is -6.9 compared to
-38.2 in SSG schools. For Year 9 the figures are -6.4 as opposed to -35.3. Even though the low
SES sample is one tenth the size of the high SES group, it shows that High offers opportunities
to learn to everyone – a feature of our ethos that we can be proud about.
Early Bird Discounts Success
Thank you to the 671 families who showed such
great commitment to the school and its objectives by paying for all their fees and charges by the
end of February. It was encouraging that 55% of families opted in. The discounts amounted to
c$130,000 of revenue forgone but for the full support of so many people early in the year, it was
well worth the sacrifice. Participation in the scheme improved for every academic year except
Year 10. Thank you again to everyone. I look forward to an even better result in 2017.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal
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