ISSUE 1 | 10 February 2020

13 FebruarySenior Curriculum Night

24 FebruarySchool Swimming Carnival

27 FebruaryI Believe Indigenous Day Yr 7

6 MarchSchool Photos

2020 SCHOOL YEAR

Welcome back to the new school year I hope staff students andfamilies have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year breakenjoying time with family and friends. It has been a great start to the2020 school year with students well prepared for learning and strivingtowards their personal best. I extend a very warm welcome to our Yr 7students and families and commend all students on the positive startthey have had to school.

STUDENT NUMBERS

Current enrolment of 725 students with 51 staff and 14 support staff.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

EHS is committed to working closely with families to ensure allstudents attend school on a regular basis. Successful students arethose students who attend every school day possible and attend all 5lessons each day. Missing one school day means missing 5 lessonswhich causes difficulty when students next attend because they oftenhave missed vital concepts that can cause them undue stress andanxiety. Please contact school personnel if you are concerned aboutyour child’s attendance patterns. The school will continue to send atext message on the day of a student absence, this has a once onlyreply facility for parents with a 24 hour window for reply. These repliesare then uploaded against the student’s attendance records whichparents can access through the parent portal. If the reply is sent after24 hours it does not automatically upload to the student record - this isdone manually. The Deputy Principals will monitor student attendancein 2020 and will contact families when student’s attendance is fallingbelow 85%.

CONGRATULATIONS AND FAREWELL

We sadly farewell Ms Jansons who has re-located to Grafton after 8 years as HeadTeacher HSIE at EHS. She has been the most amazing educational leader building astrong and highly successful faculty who achieve outstanding student results. Herleadership of stage 4 masterclass has gained significant positive outcomes for our staffand students and has been instrumental in building future focused learning strategies.As an outstanding teacher and highly respected member of the executive we havegreatly appreciated the enormous contribution Ms Janson has made to our schoolcommunity and wish her every success in her future endeavours.

Congratulations to Ms Johnson who has been successful through merit selection asHead Teacher CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) at Wadalba Community School.Ms Johnson has made an enormous contribution to EHS inspiring students to shareher passion for History and Drama and been a key driver in building the Creative andPerforming Arts talent in our school. She has been involved in many other wholeschool roles in Technology, Assessment and Reporting, Literacy and Numeracy andWelfare. Her promotion is very well- deserved, and she will be greatly missed at EHS.We wish her well in her new role and thank her for the amazing contribution she hasmade to our school.

Congratulations to Mr Jones who has been successful through merit selection as aTeacher Quality Adviser with the Department of Education. As Head Teacher PDHPEat EHS for over 18 years, Mr Jones has led a strong faculty to achieve someexceptional student results and been instrumental in driving whole school improvementin Technology. He has led the implementation of our e Tec program and was thepioneer with using google apps for education as a learning platform. His role with theDoE will allow him to support staff and students to develop key future focused learningskills that prepare young people for an ever- changing world. Thank you, Mr Jones, forthe significant contribution you have made to EHS and for your strong leadership as anactive member of the executive and exceptional classroom teacher. We wish you everysuccess in your new role.

After many years of service to Public Education Mr Hurley has decided to retire. As anoutstanding TAS Teacher with enormous skill in Industrial technology he has inspiredmany students to excel in this field. Thank you for the great support you have providedto staff and students at EHS and we wish you a long and happy retirement where youcan get to do all the projects you have always wanted to do.

STAFFING UPDATE

Mrs Holmes continues as Head Teacher TAS in a part time capacity 2 days a week ( M,T,) and Mr Bath will be relieving Head Teacher TAS/Music on the other 3 days and manage the year 10 Program Ontrack as Head Teacher 2 days a week.

Ms Toni Keane will continue to relieve as Head Teacher English

Mr Keyes will relieve as Head Teacher PDHPE pending the merit selection process for this position.

Mr Joyce will relieve as Head Teacher HSIE pending the merit selection process for this position.

Mrs Berg returns part time this year working 5 days a fortnight a warm welcome back

Welcome and congratulations to our new permanent staff Mr Adrian Hunt new TAS Teacher appointed through merit selection from St Ives High School.

WELCOME TO OUR TEMPORARY TEACHERS

Mr Avis - HSIE

Ms Porter- HSIE

Mr Cross – HSIE

Mr Manwaring- HSIE

Ms Hamilton – English

Mrs Robinson – Teaching and Learning

Ms Jed Austin- Teaching and Learning

Ms Slocombe – Visual Arts

Mr Liam Austin - TAS

Mr Suters– Mathematics

Mr Whitmore – PDHPE

Mrs Drabarek - PDHPE

Mrs Batey– PDHPE

Mr White – Science

Ms Lynne-Devere – Science

Mr Kevin Cherian – Science

Ms Pennings - Music

Ms Steele - Music

ELECTRONIC GATE

The electronic gate was installed in the holidays and willprovide greater security to the school only allowingauthorised users to park on site. The gates will be openeach morning and close at 9am and open at 3.15pmeach afternoon except for Tuesdays which will be2.30pm. The gates will automatically open for carsexiting if parked on site but will not open automaticallyoutside of the hours between 9am – 3.10pm each dayand 9am- 2.30pm of a Tuesday. If EHS parents requireaccess to the site, they can use the intercom at theentry of the gates and identify themselves and thepurpose of their visit to have the gates open. Seniorstudents will not be able to access the site outside ofthe opening hours of the gates. It will be important thatcars exiting the site give way to traffic entering the siteas users outside of gate opening times will enter on theright- hand side (wrong) side of the road . There will besigns and all drivers are requested to observe the giveway signs.

24 FebruarySwimming Carnival

6 MarchSchool Photos

OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOKSA reminder for books borrowed in 2019, that are now overdue, please return these to the library ASAP. Until they are returned there will be now borrowing new books.

2019 HSC RESULTS

Congratulations to our 2019 HSC students ontheir strong results we are very proud of the 54students who sat the HSC with 21 coursesexamined and the positive outcomes they haveachieved, and we wish them all the very best ofluck in their future endeavours. I sincerelyacknowledge our Yr 12 teachers for theirdedication and commitment to supporting ourHSC students to achieve their personal best.

OUR STAR PERFORMERS

Maya Fenech

• Biology – Band 4

• English Advanced – Band 5

• Legal Studies – Band 6

• PDHPE- Band 6

• Visual Arts – Band 5

Andrew Griffith

• Chemistry – Band 4

• English Advanced – Band 4

• I.T Timber – Band 6

• Mathematics – Band 6

• Mathematics Extension 1 – E2

• PDHPE – Band 4

Tiarna Holmes

• English Advanced – Band 5

• Legal Studies – Band 5

• Mathematics Standard – Band 5

• Modern History – Band 5

• PDHPE- Band 6

BAND 6’SIndustrial Technology – 1

Mathematics - 1PDHPE – 2

Legal Studies – 1

COURSE BAND 5 COURSE BAND 5

CAFS 1 LegalStudies

2

Drama 1 MathematicsStandard

6

EnglishAdvanced

1 ModernHistory

1

EnglishExtension1

1 Music 2

EnglishExtension2

1 PDHPE 5

Hospitality

2 VisualArts

4

COURSE BAND 5 COURSE BAND 5

CAFS 1 LegalStudies

2

Drama 1 MathematicsStandard

6

EnglishAdvanced

2 ModernHistory

1

EnglishExtension1

1 Music 2

EnglishExtension2

1 PDHPE 5

Hospitality 2 VisualArts

4

Leadership Programs

NOTICES CONTINUED

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

All students have started the school year positively andfocused on learning. Thanks to our Year Advisers andHead Teachers for ensuring students are aware of theirnew classes and assistance in settling students into thenew school year. Thank you to all the families who haveensured their children are wearing school uniform whichbuilds pride and a positive school culture that is supportedand expected by our community. It is fantastic to see ourstudents looking great in their uniform. All students needto be well prepared for learning each day that requiresthem to be equipped with appropriate writing materials,books and laptops/chrome notebooks as well as specialistequipment for Technology, Art, Sport and PE lessons.Students are expected to carry their equipment in suitablebags that protect and secure their materials.

Senior students have been advised of the school’sexpectations in terms of their regular attendance andmanagement of a flexible time table. All senior studentsare to attend roll call each morning that they aretimetabled. Students commencing the day later need tosign in through the front office and can leave if they haveno scheduled lessons for the rest of the day. Students areNOT allowed to leave during breaks or scheduled studyperiods in the middle of the day, rather use this timeeffectively by completing work and assessment tasks inthe library, senior study or outdoor senior area.

YEAR 7 2020

A special mention to our Yr 7 students who have settled into school life at Erina extremely well. I am very pleased tosee all students participating in learning and managing thetransition with ease. Congratulations to Mr Brailey, MrSchoffl, Ms Kearney, Ms Wilk and Ms Kronja for theirsupport in ensuring our Yr 7 students were well informedand cared for during the first critical days of high school. Areminder to parents who have concerns about theirstudents’ learning or wellbeing should contact theirchildren’s year adviser or Ms Kearney welfare coordinatoras the first point of contact. I have listed each of the yearadvisers for your information.

Year Year Advisers7 Ms Wilk and Ms Kronja8 Mr Quinn9 Mr Austin and Ms Walsh10 Ms Berg and Mr Sutters11 Mrs Rumming12 Mrs Scully and Mr Joyce

I have also included a list of our Executive for families tocontact if they have concerns or questions and can directthe enquiry to the best person. EHS is committed topositive communication and believe problems are bettersolved when shared and discussed. Please be aware thatboth our Year Advisers and Executive have a teachingload and may often not be able to return a phone call onthe same day but will certainly make contact at the firstavailable opportunity.

Faculty/Area ofresponsibility

Executive Staff

DeputyPrincipal – students7,8,9

Mr Brailey

Deputy Principal –students 10,11,12

Mr Mallon

Head Teacher English Ms Keane (Relieving)HeadTeacherMathematics/Languages

Mr Wade

Head TeacherScience/Visual Arts

Mr Huntington

Head Teacher HSIE Mr Joyce (Relieving)Head Teacher Teachingand Learning

Mr Schoffl

Head Teacher PDHPE Mr Keyes (Relieving)Head Teacher TAS/Music Mrs Holmes and Mr Bath

(Relieving)Head TeacherAdministration

Mr Ward

EHS MASTERCLASS

2020 will be the second year of EHS masterclasses for stage 4 as an initiative to support students to engagewith future focused learning through contemporary teaching practices that focus on creative and criticalthinking skills, problem solving, team work, communication and collaboration that aim to inspire students tolove and master the process of learning. Students will have the opportunity to choose the masterclass they areinterested in and participate in the program once a week in a vertical Yr 7 and 8 class to complement currentpatterns of study to better prepare our students for tomorrows world.

SCHOOL FEES

In the coming weeks families will receive an invoice outlining the school charges that cover the cost of materialsused to support teaching and learning. There are three contributions that families are encouraged to pay. Oneis the School Voluntary Contributions that goes towards the cost of the following items:• Updating textbooks• Purchasing new novels• Software programs and licensing agreements• Library books• Stationery items• Photocopying• Printing• Sporting equipment

Course Fees

The second cost covers elective charges for consumable materials. It is mandatory that these courses are paidfor to ensure students have the best opportunities to support their skill development. Some of the consumablematerials include but are not limited to:• Timber• Metal• Food• Textile fabrics and accessories• Paints, canvases, art diaries,• Ink cartridges for printers and paper• Guitar strings and other music consumables• Resource booklets

It is an expectation that students pay for these courses, not all elective courses have charges so students andfamilies should be aware of the costs involved before electing these courses. All year 12 students are expectedto have paid for their elective courses before being eligible for an invitation to the year 12 Formal inNovember.

P&C LEVY

The third charge is a P&C levy that provides additional resourcing for the school to update technology, libraryand teaching and learning resources. As the P&C do not have a fund ‐raising program the levy is a great way tosupport your local school without being regularly expected to contribute or participate in fund raising ventures.In 2019 the P&C purchased a new water station located in the senior area, supported the junior leadershipteam with resources and purchased gift vouchers for students recognised at the annual presentation night foroutstanding achievement and purchased blazers for our School Captains and Vice Captains. These resources aregreatly appreciated by the students and would not be possible without the generosity of our familiessupporting the $40 levy per family. Please contribute if you can.

Genuine financial hardship can be considered through a student assistance application available from theadministration office. Applications are confidential and addressed to the Principal only. EHS greatly appreciatesfamilies paying these charges as the funding is vital to ensure we provide the best educational resources andopportunities for our students to be successful.

NEW ENROLMENT – MISTY THE GUIDE DOG

A warm welcome to Misty who has started at EHS in 2020. Misty is a guide dog who is responsible for the safenavigation of the school for Makayla in Yr 10. It is very important that all staff and students follow and respect theprotocols for a guide dog and understand that she is not to be distracted from her key role to support Makayla. Donot pat the dog, call her, or feed her, leaving food scraps in the playground is an issue for her as she will betempted to eat the scraps and she has a strict diet to follow that does not include food scraps. In stairwells andcorridors all staff and students have been requested to keep to the left and when walking near Makayla and Mistykeep to Makayla’s left -hand side away from Misty. Students in each year group have been briefed on theprotocols and Yr 10 are aware that the class must be settled before Makayla and Misty can enter to avoid anydistractions and undo the significant training that has taken place. I am very confident that the school communitywill support Misty in her role and give Makayla greater confidence to navigate the school safely.

SCHOOL PLAN

EHS is in the third and final year of our current school plan (2018-2020) strongly focused on our three strategicdirections:

Strategic direction 1 - A professional, inspiring learning community with our purpose to create a qualityteaching and learning environment where teachers are highly supported professionally and students are inspiredto be life- long learners. Where high expectations and innovative teaching practice is the strong foundation ofcreating student growth with an explicit focus on literacy and numeracy to ensure post school success.

Strategic direction 2 - All learners succeeding, thriving and achieving their full potential with our purpose toensure all learners are nurtured, challenged and inspired to engage successfully in learning, pursue aspirationsand thrive individually and collaboratively in partnership with the whole school community.

Strategic direction 3 - Authentic school, business and community partnerships to sustain a positive schoolculture with our purpose to strengthen a positive school culture where EHS is the local school of choice andsustain strong school networks with key stakeholders, maintaining confidence and commitment that the school candeliver quality learning opportunities and experiences to meet the needs of all students to achieve personalsuccess.

2020 will again be a terrific year of teaching and learning at EHS I look forward to working positively to supporteach student to reach their full learning potential.

Yours SincerelyMrs Karen NicolPrincipal

ENGLISH FACULTY

The English / Drama department is extremely proud ofthe wonderful work already completed by the students ofEHS thus far. We are excited about teaching andlearning in 2020 and look forward to the insightfuldiscussions and varied perspectives on texts, that ourstudents offer.

There are a few new focuses in English as we arealways looking at ways to improve our teachingstrategies and enhance the learning of our students.

We are encouraging our Yr 7 students to develop adeeper understanding when reading novels by using abookmark that questions their understanding andencourages them to create inquiry questions.

As part of our ‘A Stream’ classes learning activities weare undertaking the Cornell Note Taking system, whichagain encourages students to question their learning,identify their learning intentions and summarise theirnote. Extending our students capacity will develop theirskills to be life-long learners who have the skills toincrease their ability to critically analyse texts.

This term our classes have had a great start with all studentsengaged and with a positive growth mindset. Our Junior classeshave begun the year with a novel study with various novels onoffer across the year. Yr 11 is beginning with the CommonModule of ‘Reading to Write: The Shifting Nature of Identity’. Yr12 Advanced English is engaging in a Comparative Study:Hagseed vs The Tempest, Yr 12 Standard English is exploringContemporary Asian Poetry, whilst Yr 12 English Studies arenavigating texts investigating ‘We are Australian’.

This year all of our course booklets for each year are availableon Sentral. These booklets outline the units or study,expectations, assessment schedule and assessmentnotifications for each course. This allows students to identifywhat is expected of them throughout the year.

We encourage any student who has any questions to come andsee us in the English staffroom. Our door is always open.

Yr 12 Standard English students are currently undertaking astudy of Asian Poetry, analysing how images are used to createmeaning. Advanced English students are working through theirstudy of Textual Conversations looking at The Tempest and thenovel Hag-Seed, with a focus on how these texts reflect theircontext. Yr 11 Preliminary English students have settled intotheir senior courses. Both Standard and Advanced students areexploring the Common Unit- Identity, analysing how texts vary intheir depiction of this theme.

All junior classes are continuing with their poetry study. Withparticular attention to poetic devices, students are analysingand interpreting poetry, sourcing meaning and gaining insightinto the context of each specific poetry topic. This unit of workwill conclude with an assessment task in Week 9 which willinvolve the construction of a narrative. Students will choose oneof the poems studied in class and use the themes and ideaswithin their chosen poem to compose their own narrative.

Yr 9 Drama students are currently participating in a FracturedFairy-tale play-building unit, allowing them to build upon theirskills and knowledge of the elements of drama beforeattempting their first group performance task later in the term.

Yr 10 Drama students will soon begin a unit on PoliticalTheatre. Students will devise group performances based onimportant and powerful political issues. Yr 12 Drama studentsare currently continuing their study of Verbatim Theatre.

ENGLISH FACULTY CONTINUED

SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

The Annual Swimming Carnival will be held Monday 24February. The carnival will be held at Gosford Olympic Pool,York St, Gosford. The carnival will begin with a roll mark at9.15am and conclude at 2.45pm after roll mark. Buses willreturn to school in time for normal buses home.Students can make their own way to the pool or catch a busfrom school at 8.50am sharp. The cost of return travel is $4.00.This needs to be paid by Friday 21 February as seats arelimited (140 seats). Money for the bus must be paid at the FrontOffice. Buses will leave from the pool at 2.45pm so thatstudents may catch normal buses home.

The cost of entry to the pool this year is $5.00 for students and$3.00 for parent spectators. Students should try to have thecorrect change for pool entry. As it is a normal school day, allstudents are expected to attend and participate to the best oftheir ability. Novelty activities will be provided for students notwishing to participate in the formal races

TAS / MUSIC FACULTY

We are starting our practical lessons and projects in TAS subjects afterspending the last two weeks learning about safe work practices in ourspecialist rooms. It is important that students are wearing appropriatefootwear (fully enclosed leather shoes) for practical lessons, long hairis tied back, and a full length cotton apron is brought from home forcooking lessons, along with a container to take away prepared fooditems.Music practical lessons are underway already, and students arereminded that they are able to bring their own instruments andequipment from home if they prefer. YIPA editions are coming soon sokeep your eye out for more information on this in the coming weeks.A friendly reminder that fees for consumables for practical subjects aredue and can be paid either online or via the front office. A full list of feeamounts is available in the updated student handbook on our website.

The School Student Transport Scheme

For all information regarding travel and OPAL cards go the link belowhttps://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts  or          Locked Bag 5085 Parramatta NSW 2124 Telephone: 131 500

Year 11 & 12 students who wish to use their Child/Youth Opal Cards for travel are required to produce the Senior Secondary Student Concession Card together with their Child/Youth Opal Card. The Senior Secondary Student Concession Cards are available from the School Administration Office for any student who is over 16 yrs of age.  Please apply for the 2020 cards as soon as possible.

Please find a link below explaining the above card if required

https://transportnsw.info/tickets‐opal/ticket‐eligibility‐concessions/child‐student‐concessions/child‐youth