̽»¨ÊÓƵ

High Notes, Vol 25 No 28, September 06 2024

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Jeff Tse (11R), a chemistry whizz, who has been invited to attend the very prestigious Australian Science Olympiads Summer School in January 2025. Well done to Joshua Sim (7R) for his participation in Kids Giving Back during second term and the holidays. Volunteers help make snack and care packages for multiple charities across Sydney – a worthy cause!

 Athletics Invitational No 3 – best results: U16 110m hurdles, Nicholas Fung 1st 16.21 and (high jump 3rd at 1.75m); U16 4 x 100m relay – Brendan Woo, Lachlan Leung, Nicholas Fung, James McLoughlin - 1st. 45.69; U17 Dylan Dutt 200m 1st 22.15 and (100m 2nd 11.28). congratulations to our successful competitors!

National Child Protection Week

National Child Protection Week (1-7/9) has a theme which asserts that every child in every community needs a fair go. Also, it is important for us all to remember that ‘Every conversation matters. When young people are stressed or anxious about relationships in their lives or are suffering the effects of neglect or abuse, they need to share their story with someone. Too often feelings are repressed, leading to unhealthy wellbeing outcomes. If you are hurting talk to someone!

National Health and Physical Education Day - 4/9

It is a sad truth that, in our now sedentary society, we need a national day to urge people to get physically active. We are hardwired to move - hence the 10,000 steps rule – replicating our primal daily movements. At High, we believe in the fundamental importance of sport and physical activity in the daily lives of our students. We expect all boys to play two sports each year with a Saturday component, as well as PE and sports training. There are health, wellbeing, social and character-building benefits that are derived from this insistence on physical activity. Stay engaged to stay healthy!

Tell Them from Me Survey 2024 Respondents

The results are in on our latest TTFM survey which DoE requires schools to participate in to obtain state-wide data on the wellbeing and perspectives of our students. Respondents N= 838. Born in Australia 81%. Students plan to finish high school – High 95%, state 77%. Students planning to go to university - High 93%, state 59%. ‘I feel proud of my school’ – agree/strongly agree 73%.

Pedagogy

‘Important concepts are taught well, class time is used efficiently, and homework and evaluations support class objectives’- High 64% state (63%). Year 12 were outliers 58% v state 64%.

‘School staff emphasise academic skills and hold high expectations for all students to succeed’. School 82%, state 69%.

Students overall mark in their current or most recent English class - High 77% state 69%; mathematics class - High 80% state 66%; Science class - High 79%, state 67%. 

Students feel classroom instruction is well-organised, with a clear purpose, and with immediate feedback that helps them learn.’ Yes, at High 71% v state 62%.

Classroom: ‘Technology helps me learn’ – Agree/strongly agree (76%); learning spaces help me learn (59%); are neat and clean (63%).

Students must have misread the statement ‘students play sports with an instructor at school, other than in a physical education class.’ - High 50% (state 48%). We have >90% of students in a Saturday sport involving instructors (coaches).

Wellbeing

‘Students feel accepted and valued by their peers and by others at the school.’ School mean 81% (State 57%).

‘Students that do not get into trouble at school for disruptive or inappropriate behaviour.’ School (96%) state (89%).’

‘Students understand there are clear rules and expectations for classroom behaviour.’ School 68%, state 59%.

‘Students feel that they have someone at school who consistently provides encouragement and can be turned to for advice’. High 70%, state 60%.

We realise that even in these areas of positive perceptions by students there are things we could do to lift our performance. On the negative side, even though 91% of students agree that if they are being bullied or see someone else being bullied, they know where they can go to get help, we still have 23% of respondents (state 27%) who are subject to moderate to severe physical, social or verbal bullying or are bullied over the internet. (Our issues are predominantly with social media and often occur outside of school hours). We need to do more to encourage students to report bullying to someone so that we can respond with restorative processes to address the relationship between the students involved as bullies or victims.

Overall, the survey provides us with large scale data on our core business from the perspective of our students. While the survey is flawed and students are sick of redoing it annually, at least the weaknesses are now constants, so we can look at changes and trends more carefully to inform our future practice. We know some areas need improvement in the eyes of our students. We are listening and acting to try and improve our practice.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal