̽»¨ÊÓƵ

High Notes, Vol 25 No 6, March 08 2024

From the Principal

Early Bird Discount ends on Friday 15 March

In order to help all areas of the school we offer a substantial discount to parents who pay their complete invoices on or before Friday 15 March. Having funds early in the year allows us to make sure that orders are made promptly and that the boys get the maximum benefit out of equipment and services deployed for them. Capital contributed to the Building Fund can be invested for future projects or applied immediately to projects such as the new tennis clubroom, junior library air conditioning, the new table tennis centre and equipment for the Governors Centre. Please support us as we carry on High’s self-help culture to put our fundraising money to work as soon as possible!

Weights Room 2024

Yearly memberships for the weights room close on Friday 15 March. If you want to have unlimited access to a supervised weights program, act now. No further membership opportunities will be offered after that date until semester two. At just $300 for a full year of unlimited supervised sessions, this is great value for money. 

NAPLAN TESTS

Students in Years 7 and 9 will have their NAPLAN tests next week. Their real benefit lies in checking on individual learning growth. I urge all students to spend some time doing practice tests and to try their best during these tests to reach their personal bests. The tests allow you to progress to higher level of challenge if you succeed at lower levels – much like a video game. Use all the time available and plan your time allocation. We expect that you will work carefully and methodically. In multiple choice questions, select your answers after weighing up all the options. Watch out for distractors – answers that have elements of truth or parts of the answer to the question but are incomplete. They are there in order to entice you to pick them because you have not thought through the problem fully. If any time remains when you have finished, check your answers for any careless errors or omissions. Remember that the purpose of the tests is entirely diagnostic. That is, the tests are used to show you and your family how far you have progressed on the national learning continuum since Year 5 or Year 7. They are there for you.  Also, students in Year 9 will have Geography tests (Monday) and Year 7 mathematics tests (Tuesday). Stay calm and focussed during the busy week ahead – good luck!

Junior Awards Assembly 2024

‘"Good morning and welcome to our Awards Assembly for the Junior School. I enjoy these assemblies because I get to see so many boys, who embody the ethos of our school, being recognised. We value integrity and dedication. You have shown them. When the Student Awards Scheme is taken up seriously by our students, we also do better academically. High participation rates in the Student Awards Scheme help co-curricular and academic success. 

"We want all Year 7 and later-enrolling students to take up the challenge to participate in school life. There are five good reasons you should participate. First, you will develop your social skills more quickly in more contexts to build positive relationships with more people. Second, you will learn how to manage your time better because you will be busy. Third, you will be able to explore a wide range of interests. Fourth, you will learn the value of commitment to an activity over time. Finally, your self-esteem and self-confidence will be lifted by your involvement with others as you grow a stronger sense of connection with High.

"The Student Awards Scheme at High evolved from a three-level scheme to a six-level system with an honour board entry for all school trophy winners. However, Nathan McDonnell (SHS 2008) earned so many extra Award Scheme points that we set up a 7th level for him. The McDonnell Award then became the honour board level. Shuming Wang (SHS-2013) earned a whole lot more points than the McDonnell Award required so an 8th level was added, named after the first Principal of High, Joseph Coates. An extra board was added for this award in recognition of the wonderful involvement in school life demonstrated by the recipients. Beyond that level, recognition is sought for boys at a state level. We have re-designed the scheme to fit into the Sentral student awards protocols.

"How the scheme works is if you earn 30 points within a category (there are seven categories) then you are awarded a nomination for that category. If you achieve four nominations, you will receive a Bronze Award. Eight nominations earn a Silver Award and 13 nominations, a Gold Award. It is possible to earn a maximum of two nominations in one category in any one year. This restriction preserves some breadth of participation in the Awards Scheme. The administration of the scheme is electronic, with a running tally of points being kept for every student. For any discrepancies discovered with a student’s individual tally, the student must contact the teacher in charge of the program. The closing date for adjustments to be made to a student’s tally is by Friday Week 9 of Term 4 in the corresponding calendar year. No retrospective points can be allocated once a calendar year concludes.

"Last year students in Years 7 & 8 earned 153 bronze medallions, 54 silver and 11 gold medallions – 217 awards in all – a great effort! I want to thank each student receiving an award today. You showed by your broad participation in school life that you understand our driving purpose here – to enlarge ourselves as people, in our IQs, PQs EQs, CQs - as citizens, caring about other people and collaborating or cooperating with them. Above all, let’s show respect for one another as individual people. Our goals are collegial as well as individual. We want you to be dedicated students and participants. We hope you will show compassion through school or community service. Get involved this year for the first time or stay committed to the Scheme if you are in it. Show integrity. If you do, you will feel a greater sense of belonging to the school; and you will also understand better what we mean when we say, that we have the High spirit. 

Paragraph Conscious Pedagogy: Character Arcs

A character arc is the change that a character undergoes during a story. It is an internal change. A moral ascending arc pushes protagonists past their flaws and weaknesses to become better people as a result of their experiences during the narrative [Scrooge]. A moral descending arc sees the hero-heroine succumb to their desires and weaknesses and let slip their morals and values, with often tragic consequences [Macbeth]. In a transformational character arc, the character becomes a better version of themselves as they gain strength through information flows, training, developing abilities or political leverage, inter alia [Harry Potter]. In a flat character arc protagonists stay where they started and retain their morals and values, skills and abilities, even when these are sorely tested. The context around them is modified by their actions. [Indiana Jones].
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal