Including: Merry Christmas, Year 7 2021, Staffing Changes, Y12 Assessment Booklet Awards and Presentations, 2021 COVID Guidelines for Parents and School Reports.
Merry Christmas
This is our final Parkway for the school year. On behalf of Newcastle High School, I would like to wish all of our community a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope the festive season is full of family, love, laughter and joy. At the conclusion of a year full of challenges, adversity and change, I thank and acknowledge our community for the way we have worked together in partnership to get through this year in education and in our lives. I am looking forward to welcoming in the New Year with positivity and optimism.
School resumes on Wednesday 27 January for staff only. School Development Day 1, where we will all be off site all day for professional learning and school planning. The school Administration Office will be open, on a very minimal staff for enquiries only. Thursday 28 January is School Development Day 2 for staff only, who will be working on teaching and learning preparations. Our first day with students in attendance for Week 1 is Friday 29 January for Years 7, 11 and 12. Monday 1 February is the first day for all students returning together for 2021.
Year 7 2021
On Tuesday 1 December we warmly welcomed our new Year 7, 2021 students for Orientation Day. Parents and Carers were able to receive school information in the outdoor booths we organised to comply with COVID-19 Guidelines, however if you have missed any documentation or support regarding transition, please contact the school or visit our website. We have 187 new Year 7 students who we will be placed into 7 core classes, including our Young Achievers Class (YAC), Art Masters Class (AMC) and mixed ability grouped students. All students in Year 7 for 2021 will require a computer for their learning, with more information available on our website at: https://newcastle-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/technology-access.html
Images from some of our Transition events can be found at:
To commence 2021, we will have some new and many familiar faces at Newcastle High School. At the commencement of Term 4, there were a large number of staff vacancies to fill substantively, which I have been actively working on to ensure our school is staffed by a high performing team of people who are substantive in our school. This process will be continuing into 2021 to staff the school with expert, qualified, permanent teachers and support staff, giving consistency for our students, classes and administrative systems. As vacancies are filled substantively, I will endeavour to keep our P&C completely informed about these staffing and recruitment processes and the management of this to reduce any disruption in the school.
Year 12 Assessment Booklet
Year 12 have been issued with their 2021 Higher School Certificate (HSC) Assessment Booklet Version 2 in a Year Meeting on Wednesday 2 December. At this meeting, Year 12 were given information about the extensive support we will be offering for senior students to engage with their learning and achieve their goals, through targeted programs, staff support, study skills and learning culture improvements. HSC and Year 12 excellence will be supported and led in 2021 with our school appointed Head Teacher Senior School, Mrs Suzanne Parrott, including a variety of Senior Support programs and personalised learning approaches. An explanation of the critical importance of hard work, application and effort was also the focus of our Year Meeting before the 2021 HSC Assessment Booklet Version 2 was issued. This is available on our website at: https://newcastle-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/orientation-booklet.html Pending COVID-19 Guidelines, we will be having parent and carer information evenings about supporting HSC students at home, in 2021.
Awards and Presentations 2021
Congratulations to all of our students being recognised this week for excellence, at our end of year Awards and Presentations, being held in a variety of formats. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, many of these ceremonies are in a modified format, which we are looking forward to being lifted from 2021. Again, we are greatly sorry for the disruption in our ability to welcome into the school our parents, carers and community in large numbers for these events. Our celebrations to end the year have included the Year Award Assemblies, Future Focused Inquiry (FFI) Exhibitions, Showcases, Clontarf Academy Awards and Exhibitions at the Cooks Hill Campus. Congratulations to all students showcasing their learning and being recognised for outstanding academic, sporting, cultural and personal learning achievements over 2020.
2021 COVID Guidelines for Parents
The NSW Premier has announced further easing of COVID-19 restrictions in NSW, with some of these changes for schools being effective from Monday 7 December. Please monitor the Department of Education website for any changes to these guidelines as we prepare to return to school after the Christmas break: https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families Any issues regarding school operations being experienced of an urgent nature in this holiday time will be notified via our school website, Facebook and school email account.
School Reports
Please be advised that school reports will be uploaded and available to parents on the Newcastle High School Sentral Student and Parent Portal from Friday 11 December at: https://newcastle-h.sentral.com.au/portal2/#!/login
If you experience any difficulty accessing this, please follow the prompts on this login, or contact the Administration Office for assistance.
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