Principal's Report

Thank you to our students, staff and community who have warmly welcomed me to the role of Principal of Newcastle High School.  I am very honoured to be commencing my service to this wonderful school and feel very excited about the challenges ahead.

By way of a brief introduction, I have been the Principal of Dungog High School for 4 years, a beautiful rural school of 600 students and approximately 80 staff in the upper Hunter.  Prior to my first appointment as a Principal, I was a Deputy Principal, Head Teacher in two schools (English/Drama) and Classroom Teacher in a variety of Hunter and Central Coast schools.  I am passionately committed to education and leading school communities to strive for excellence in student outcomes.  I remain devoted to life-long learning and have strong connections to the University of Newcastle, currently completing a PhD in Education, with a focus on Restorative Practices.

I am looking forward to the busy term ahead and building strong relationships with students, staff and the community that will place our students at the centre of all decision making at Newcastle High School.  Term 4 is traditionally a very busy time in schools, with reports, our Higher School Certificate examinations, transition events and preparations for the commencement of a new school year.  I wish our students, staff and community a prosperous and productive Term 4.

Congratulations Rochelle Dooley

Rochelle Dooley has been successfully appointed, through merit selection to the Principal position at Merewether High School.  Rochelle has demonstrated outstanding leadership and management skills, relieving as the Principal at Newcastle High School and we wish her all the very best as she takes up her new position, commencing in Week 3 of this term.  An internal process for the appointment of a relieving Deputy Principal will occur until a substantive Deputy Principal is recruited in the coming weeks.

Good Luck Year 12

I wish Year 12, 2020 all the very best with their upcoming Higher School Certificate examinations.  Our support, guidance and assistance is here for you during the next few weeks.  If there is anything we can do over the examination period to further support student success, please do not hesitate to contact the school.  Communications have been sent out regarding COVID-19 protocols for the examinations and I ask that these are followed, including an awareness of illness/misadventure procedures, should these be required during the examinations.  Our Year 12 Deputy Principal, Kathryn Outram is currently reviewing the plans and organisation for the Year 12 Formal, with communications being forthcoming about this in the coming days.

External Validation (EV)

A team of Newcastle High School staff have worked in Semester 1 to prepare for the school to be externally validated, on Tuesday 20 October.  As part of this process, schools undergo an external validation of the evidence of their school self-assessment. Each year approximately 20% of schools are selected as a representative sample across all Operational Directorates.

To complete the EV, schools engage in discussions with an external panel and have their self-assessments validated using the School Excellence Framework (SEF). The panel, comprising of a Principal School Leadership (PSL) and a peer Principal, meet with the school leadership team and determine whether the school's evidence supports their self-assessment using each element of the SEF. An external validation panel report, which includes the school determined next steps in the self-assessment process is provided to the school following an external validation, which will be extremely helpful in supporting our school and community to complete the 2021-2024 Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP), which is due for completion by the end of Term 1, 2021.  For more information about this process, please see:  https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/school-excellence-and-accountability/sef-evidence-guide/external-validation

Strategic Improvement Plan 2021-2024

It is exciting for me as the new Principal to be able to lead the development of our new Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP), which will guide and support the work we do together to improve and develop student outcomes for the next four years.  We will be looking towards innovative ways to engage our community in the development of our school vision and strategic directions, while still operating with COVID-19 restrictions on face-to-face gatherings in schools.  I will be consulting with the P&C in the coming weeks to develop our approach to consultation about school planning, to ensure this is authentic and inclusive.

COVID-19

I would like to acknowledge the difficult year this has been, as we navigate the global pandemic of COVID-19, prioritising the health and wellbeing of our community.  The Department of Education continues to advise schools about our operational guidelines, in line with Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health advice.  NSW Education has a School Updates App that allows parents and carers to receive operational status updates for NSW public schools. The app will complement the other means of communication available to parents and carers from our school and the Department of Education, to ensure families receive timely, accurate information in a crisis.  The app is free and available now for iOS and Android users:

- Download for iOS - App Store External link

- Download for Android - Google Play External link

You can opt in for notifications about the operational status of as many NSW public schools as you choose.

As a reminder, all students should be learning on campus unless they are unwell or have a medical certificate to support their absence.  I would like to reassure our community that the activities that are permitted at school will be conducted in a way that is safe and appropriate in the current environment and guidelines we have. Those that remain on hold will be reviewed during the term and will recommence when appropriate, based on health and other relevant advice.  For more information about COVID-19 school operations (updated regularly), please see: https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

Janene Rosser - Principal