merewether high school annual · pdf filemerewether high school annual report ... the main...

Merewether High School Annual Report

<School logo>

8510

2015

to>

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Merewether High School as an account of the school’s operations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self-assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding.

Christine Rippon Principal

School contact details:

Merewether High School

130 Chatham Street

Broadmeadow NSW 2292

[email protected]

www.merewether-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

49693855

Message from the Principal

2015 was once again an exciting year for Merewether High School with successes ranging from our Drama and Visual Arts students being selected to perform and display in OnStage and ArtExpress to the Under 15 Boys’ Water Polo team winning the State Championship.

Individual students have gained selection in NSW and Australian sporting teams in addition to others gaining selection in a variety of academic and cultural activities. We have celebrated our successes in debating, chess, mock trial and a range of academic areas and there is obvious joy in the performances of our music, drama and visual arts students. The teachers who work with them, and the parents who assist, are to be congratulated for their skills and their willingness to be involved. Our student leaders are active and involved young citizens of whom we can be immensely proud. Their enormous school spirit and ability to represent student views within the School Representative Council and in the wider community of the school and Hunter Region is increasingly evident.

Student leadership and voice continues to be a priority, with the Captains, Prefects, SRC and the Social Justice group leading activities across the school adding to the fabric of the school, building a true sense of community and school spirit. Our Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country carnivals are testament to this with high participation rates, school spirit and support of each other evident at all times.

The level of participation and performance of students in the many school activities available to them is impressive and I commend them for their efforts to build a cohesive, inclusive school. The efforts of all staff is also commended, in that they work very hard to meet the needs of all students in their classroom and to implement strategies that will improve our core business of teaching and learning and the delivery of a progressive gifted and talented education for all students. The support of our parent organisation, the P&C Association is also recognised and valued.

As we look forward to the achievements of our students in 2016 and our planning for the future we celebrate the achievements of our students throughout 2015. As you read the pages which follow you will gain an appreciation of our successes and the challenges we plan to meet. I look forward to working with the school community in 2016.

Message from the P&C President

2015 has been another great year and I would like to sincerely thank the P&C Executive for their leadership, commitment, time, organisation and support throughout the year. I would also like to thank our regular meeting attendees and our enthusiastic army of parent volunteers for their time and support.

In 2015 we continued to support the school through the purchase of student diaries, the study skills program and school awards. The P&C also provided each Year 12 leaver with a gift of a Merewether High School key ring. The

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.merewether-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

P&C also participates at information evenings, Orientation Day, Presentation Day and catering for special assemblies.

The main fundraising for the school is through the school canteen. These funds allow us to provide ongoing financial support to the teaching and learning needs of students and staff. Profits from the canteen will now assist the school to give the canteen some much needed renovations and upgrades.

I am very proud of the accomplishments of the P&C Association in 2015. However, the P&C is most effective when working in close partnership with the school staff. I wish to acknowledge the excellent leadership of the Principal, Christine Rippon, and the Deputy Principals, Nadene Harvey and Tony Southward, and the exceptional support to the P&C Association provided by the teachers and administrative staff.

I look forward to 2016 and working together with the P&C to make an invaluable and positive contribution to Merewether High School.

Elizabeth Hughes

School background

School vision statement

Merewether High School will, through self-management within the public education system, provide a supportive and enriching environment which will empower all students to learn and to develop as individuals and as members of the Australian and world communities.

The school community believes in the value of:

fostering attitudes which value and respect individuality, diversity, and reject all forms of prejudice

fostering attitudes which value Australia’s heritage and unique culture

fostering adherence to the principles of democracy, freedom of expression, equality of opportunity and social justice

encouraging and recognising personal and group effort and achievement

encouraging creativity, imagination and intellectual curiosity

encouraging a commitment to learning as a life-long process

maintaining an educational culture in which all strive to achieve high standards

encouraging friendship, co-operation, communication, individual and social responsibility

fostering care of and support for others, and encouraging a sense of self-worth

School context

Merewether High School is an academically selective high school with 72 teaching staff, catering for 1092 students from a wide geographical area within the Hunter Central Coast Region. The school offers a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum focusing on high expectations of student academic achievement. Merewether High School is committed to developing the whole student through academic, sporting and cultural pursuits. Students are encouraged to participate in leadership, creative and performing arts programs and sporting pursuits along with a range of extra-curricular activities as well as their academic endeavours. The school has high expectations of all students, consistent with each student’s ability and the belief that all students can achieve their personal best. Our experienced staff supports the needs of our academically gifted and talented students. A significant feature of the school is that it is a caring community, committed to excellence, diversity and fostering individual talents. The development of technology is ongoing with continued access to applications that enhance teaching and learning. The school has an active parent body that supports the school through a variety of programs. Merewether High School has established a number of important links with the community to strengthen student outcomes by supporting student academic and wellbeing development. Our three core values are, pride, respect and responsibility.

Self-assessment and school achievements

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework, our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public schools throughout New South Wales in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

Our executive staff and staff discussed the School Excellence Framework and its implications for informing, monitoring and validating our journey of excellence. Time was dedicated in staff meetings and executive meetings to examine the school plan to ascertain those areas of the School Excellence Framework that we had addressed. Staff and students reflected on our progress made against the domains of the framework.

In the domain of Learning, our efforts have primarily focused on curriculum and learning, assessment and reporting, student performance measures and learning culture. In the area of curriculum and learning, the Inquiry Based Learning program in Year 9, and the HSC acceleration program in Years 10 and 11 have been implemented to ensure our practices effectively develop the knowledge, understanding and skills of our students and that we are using evidenced based teaching practices and innovative delivery mechanisms to meet the needs of our students. The results of these programs have been evident through outstanding student performance in these focus areas. Within the element of Assessment and Reporting we have focused on ensuring our practices are consistent across the entire school, clearly communicating high expectations of these to staff, students and parents through a variety of forums. Staff and executive meetings, along with school development days, have been the focus for our teachers; and parent learning groups and P and C meetings the major focus areas for our parents. Workshops with students have ensured a consistently high practice in the area of assessment and reporting. Quality student feedback continues to be a major focus area and one, which by all reports, is supporting our students to excel at outstanding levels on internal and external performance measures. Learning culture is a continual focus through all programs. High expectations are clearly communicated to all students and acknowledged through regular celebration to both internal and external audiences. Student performance measures continue to indicate high levels of achievement against internal and external measures.

Our major focus in the domain of Teaching has been on data skills and use, and collaborative practice. Through professional learning groups, staff meetings and school development days, staff have developed an increased knowledge and sophisticated understanding of student assessment and data and the significance of this to inform future planning. Teachers utilise assessment for, as and of learning to determine directions and their individual and collective effectiveness. Teachers, through professional learning groups have collaborated across and within faculties to ensure consistency of delivery, including curriculum differentiation and consistency of teacher judgement.

In the domain of Leading, our priorities have been school resourcing and management practices and processes. School resourcing has been a priority as we move our learning further into the 21st century skills our students require. Technology and its use as an enabler to support innovative teaching practices has been a school wide focus to best meet the needs of students in this setting. Changed teaching practice has been evident as a result of the provision of these resources. A review of school management practices and processes and a need for all staff to have a clear understanding and increased knowledge of all school systems has been developed. These systems have been clearly communicated through executive, staff and faculty meetings.

The achievements and identification of next steps are outlined in the following pages of this report. Our self-assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of a quality education to our students.

Strategic Direction 1

Student success as learners and leaders

Purpose

Develop a challenging 21st century learning environment that promotes creativity and autonomous learning, and

embeds cognitive technologies into differentiated curriculum to enhance learning outcomes for all students. Develop

a comprehensive whole school approach to promoting emotional intelligence and wellbeing for all students.

Overall summary of progress

Our whole school focus on learning skills development for students has had a significant impact on student well-being and leadership opportunity. The explicit teaching of a consistent set of targeted skills through classrooms, focus groups, external presenters and parent learning groups has created a shared direction. There has been observable growth in confidence in learning and study processes, and a common language and understanding of support structures.

The ongoing development of our engaging and challenging curriculum at Merewether High School has contributed to quality student learning. The application of learning skills in curriculum context is evaluated through quality internal and external assessments and feedback. Data from both internal and external assessment indicates increasing engagement and performance.

Developing improved learning environments and resources for staff and students has provided greater flexibility and options for differentiation and individualised learning. Progress in the re-design of learning spaces has encouraged staff to utilise innovative strategies that challenge Gifted and Talented learners.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year <$>

100% of HSC and external competition results place Merewether High students above state average. (2014 – 88%)

High level achievements (>90%) above state average in ICAS, Australian Mathematics, History and Geography competitions. Detailed analysis and feedback to students on performance to inform future participation. Explicit teaching of exam skills and writing for purpose. In 2015 95% of courses were above state average results with Mathematics Extension 1 and Extension 2 the only courses below state average.

$32435.00

School and Community Funds

Maintain greater than 70% of HSC student results at band 5 and 6 level. (2014 – 72.9%)

In 2015 70.5% of results in the HSC were at Band 5 or Band 6 level. A variety of programs were implemented to support student learning including, Steps for HSC success, Independent study program, Elevate Education, Access to HSC expert lecturers.

$8395.00

School and Community Funds

95% of Year 9 students achieve in the proficient bands for numeracy and reading in NAPLAN. (2014 – 93%)

In 2015 93.7% of students in reading and 98.3% in numeracy achieved in the proficient bands and when compared to other selective schools our reading results are higher and our numeracy results are lower than those like schools. Targeted Numeracy and Writing workshops for Year 9 students were held to develop skills in analysis and presentation.

NIL

Next steps

- Continuation of the schools literacy and numeracy team to embed quality literacy and numeracy strategies in classroom practice.

- Continuation of the study skills program and the enhancement of the Independent Learning Centre provisions. - Continue the development of innovative classrooms to support student learning.


Staff leading innovative practice and connecting with others

Purpose

Enhance a school culture where staff members take responsibility for their own ongoing learning, striving for innovation and improvement and who make strong connections within and beyond the school. Develop a comprehensive whole school approach to promoting emotional intelligence and wellbeing for all staff.


Professional Learning was mainly delivered through staff led professional learning groups. This approach was centred on learning needs of staff, in particular in Inquiry Based Learning and the Accelerated Curriculum programs. In 2015 key professional learning was focused on collaborative practice, differentiated teaching and innovative classroom strategies to maximise student learning. Extensive learning occurred for all staff in group work, the organisation, the theory and research behind effective group work and how to implement these practices within their classrooms and faculties. This professional learning was then shared with parents through Parent Learning Groups to ensure a clear understanding of practices, processes and intentions were clearly communicated.

Inquiry based learning allowed us to establish extensive community links with Newcastle University and community sources. This authentic learning process has developed critical thinking and problem solving skills in our students which will support them as they move into their HSC studies. As a result, our students’ readiness to commence the accelerated HSC program is evident through their personal focus on learning.

Staff wellbeing continues to be a focus and was evident through staff events and school development day activities which specifically addressed this area. Beginning Teachers, those new to our school and teachers seeking higher accreditation were supported through the school induction program, mentoring and specific professional learning access.




100% of staff have

participated in cross KLA

professional learning

groups.

All staff participated in cross faculty professional learning groups in group work, curriculum differentiation, Performance and Development Framework, Australian Teaching Standards, quality assessment and feedback, consistency of teacher judgement and technology for teaching and learning.

NIL – Staff led learning

100% of staff members

involved in ongoing

professional learning and

reflection, using the

Australian Teaching

Standards as reference.

All staff were involved in, and successfully completed, a supportive program for implementation of the Performance and Development Plan inclusive of personal reflection and engagement with the Australian Teaching Standards. Some staff engaged in professional learning visits with colleagues in other selective schools and beginning teachers, teachers new to the school and those seeking higher accreditation were supported through specific programs within the school.

$53209.06 Professional Learning Funds

Next steps

Further work in specific roles and responsibilities for all staff.

Continuation of staff accessing the Selective schools network and colleagues within the network to enhance skills in meeting the needs of students in this setting.

Continuation of targeted professional learning with a specific focus in 2016 on gifted and talented education including critical and creative thinking skills and curriculum differentiation.

Continue to enhance the extensive staff wellbeing program established in 2015.

Embed support programs for staff including beginning teachers, teachers new to the school and those teachers seeking higher accreditation.


Systems Leadership and Collective Efficacy

Purpose

Establish whole school communication strategies and collaborative decision making practices, whilst enhancing a culture of collective leadership throughout the school community, developing quality organisational practices and ICT infrastructure that supports every student and teacher to excel and learn to their full potential.


Communication has been enhanced through the implementation of regular year meetings to ensure students have access to the information they require to maximise their learning. This process has also helped to develop a sense of community within each year group. The website and Parent Learning Groups continue to support parents through a comprehensive engagement with school systems and practices to develop a clearer understanding of our purpose. The information sessions provided for parents on curriculum is another area that has enhanced communication. ICT has continued to be developed through the BYOD program and the ongoing development of school infrastructure. New interactive boards, the inclusion of pod classrooms and the upgrading of the technology in the school hall have all had significant impact on school practice. School wide procedures in relation to assessment, reporting and feedback have been clearly communicated to staff and have helped to consolidate our teaching and learning procedures.




100% of staff demonstrate an awareness of school structures, assessment and reporting practices, feedback expectations and organisational structures.

Throughout 2015 staff were provided with procedures in relation to assessment and reporting, feedback expectations and organisation structures through staff meetings, regular email contact, faculty meetings and staff handbook. Staff indicated a clear understanding of the school operational systems.

$18062.49 General Purpose Funds

50% of teachers are confident in using learning technologies to maximise 21C learning opportunities for students.

Through focused professional learning on using technology to maximise learning, staff indicated an increased confidence in their abilities to integrate ICT in lessons. Staff indicated a need to continue updates as new technologies arise.

$5450.00 Professional Learning Funds

90% of staff and students communicate through online platforms.

Moodle has become the major reference site for students to access and engage with many resources to support their learning. Staff communicate with students via the student portal to increase communication in relation to learning, assessment and feedback.

$10839.90 Computer Coordinator Funds

Next steps

Introduction of Skoolbag as a communication tool with parents.

Continue building the school website.

Ongoing upgrades of learning technologies.

Consistent review of school policies and procedures to ensure these align with DoE policy.

Continue the development of Pod classrooms.

Next Steps

Next Steps

Key initiatives and other school focus areas

Key initiatives (annual) Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background funding

All students have a PLP and those students eligible have engaged in the individual NORTA NORTA tutor program. Tutoring has been made available for students after school 3 days a week in the school independent learning Centre. A program has been established with Wollatuka at Newcastle University for our students to establish future directions. Students have had access to whole school cultural awareness programs and our students continue to perform at the same level as their cohort.

$ 8 148.00

Socio-economic funding

Assistance has been provided to those students who require access to participate in school camps and subject fees. Students have been issued with a school diary, access to the study skills program in Years 10, 11 and 12 and the school reward and recognition schemes.

$20 160.00

Low level adjustment for disability funding

This funding is for the employment of the permanent SLSO who supports students in classrooms and the 0.4 LAST who supports teachers in meeting the needs of students in their learning.

$74 048.00

Support for beginning teachers

In 2015 the school had five beginning teachers who were all in their second year of this program. These teachers were supported through the provision of a mentor teacher, release from face to face teaching and access to additional targeted professional learning.

$33 227.63

Other school focus areas Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Specialist Support Class The school received in 2015 $197 585.00 through the Resource Allocation Model. This funding is targeted funding and can only be spent on the teacher and School Learning Support Officer salaries for the Support Unit class.

$197 585.00

Student information

It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Merewether High School is the academically selective school for the Hunter Region with an enrolment of 1092 students. It has a strong focus on catering for the educational needs of gifted and talented students as 21st century learners.

Student enrolment profile

While the gender balance within each Year group

has varied over time, a slight predominance of male

students is evident within the school.

Student attendance profile

Student attendance rates are consistently above Hunter area and State averages. This is a reflection of the commitment shown by students and their parents and their high level of engagement in school life.

Retention Year 10 to Year 12

Post-school destinations

In the vast majority of cases students from Merewether High School progress to full time tertiary education on completion of their HSC program of study. The following table indicates the percentage of students progressing to various destinations from Year 12 in 2015.

Students transitioning to university from the 2015 HSC cohort moved into a wide range of courses with 31% of students offered early entry into their course prior to the main round offers. The table below indicates the number of students offered placement in the main round of offers by vocation according to the University Admission Centre’s data.

Gender 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Male 590 599 594 605 598 608 612

Female 497 493 484 476 483 476 467

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Stu

de

nts

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

School Total 93.8 93.6 92.2 93.9 96.3 95.9 95.5

State DoE Total 89.7 89.9 89.2 89.1 89.9 90.2 89.7

0

25

50

75

100

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Att

en

dan

ce r

ate

Year

Student attendance rates

School State DoE

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

SC07-HSC09 SC08-HSC10 SC09-HSC11 SC10-HSC12 SC11-HSC13 NAPLAN 11-HSC14

NAPLAN 12-HSC15

Retention to Year 12 (SC to HSC / Year 9 NAPLAN to HSC)

School State

Post MHS Destination% of

students

Universities in NSW 91.2

Universities outside NSW 5.1

Australian Defence Force Academy 1.7

Other 2.0

Total 100.0

UAC Course Offers by Vocation for the 2015 HSC Cohort% of

students

Arts (Inc. Journalism, Languages, Communication, Media) 12

Business, Commerce, Economics 13

Creative Arts 3

Engineering, Architecture, Construction 14

Health (Inc. Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy) 14

Information Technology, Computer Science 3

Law, Criminology 9

Mathematics (Inc. Actuarial Studies) 5

Medicine 1

Psychology 3

Sciences 9

Teaching 9

Veterinary and Animal Science 3

Other 2

Total 100

Year 12 students undertaking vocational or trade training

In 2015 Rachel Leonard, who was placed tenth in the state in the 2014 HSC Hospitality examination, was awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize. There were 23 students who were enrolled in the Hospitality vocational course, including 10 students in the first Accelerated Hospitality class. Ten students received Careerlinks Work Placement Excellence Awards.

Students have supported community organisations including OzHarvest, Jenny’s Place and The Hunter Melanoma Foundation through food preparation, fund raising and donations.

Year 12 students attaining HSC or equivalent vocational educational qualification

Twenty three students (7 % of the Year 12 cohort, 6% of the Year 11 cohort and 100% of students enrolled in Hospitality) who studied the Hospitality vocational course sat for the optional HSC examination. Each of these students also gained the full qualification of a Certificate II in Hospitality.

Year 12 students attaining HSC or equivalent vocational educational qualification

98% of students in Year 12 2015 attained a HSC. 100% of these were eligible for an ATAR.

Workforce information

Reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Workforce composition

Position Number

Principal 1.0

Deputy Principal(s) 2.0

Head Teacher(s) 11.0

Classroom Teacher(s) 53.7

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.4

Support Teacher 1.4

Teacher Librarian 1.0

School Counsellor 1.0

School Administrative & Support Staff 13.572

Careers Adviser 1.0

Total 86.072

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce.

The Indigenous composition of the Merewether High School staff is two percent.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in New South Wales public schools.

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 18

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

In 2015 staff were provided access to both internal and external professional learning programs. This included access to learning focused in both whole school targets and faculty specific focus in curriculum areas and Australia curriculum.

Fifty-four staff engaged in external events. A model of reporting on professional learning was formalised into faculty, staff and executive meeting procedures. 100% of staff accessed internal professional learning through a comprehensive model of staff led professional learning groups, workshops and whole of staff key learning sessions. All mandatory Professional Learning was completed. 100% of staff completed a Professional Learning Plan and completed learning successfully through the PDP process inclusive of staff observations and collegial discussions to support professional development. Key focus areas for Professional Learning were; group work, curriculum differentiation, assessment reporting and feedback, consistency of teacher judgement, innovative classroom practice, technology for teaching and learning, staff wellbeing and classroom observations. Targeted Professional Learning support was provided for those staff seeking higher levels of accreditation.

Financial information

Financial summary

This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.

A full copy of the school’s 2015 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the Parent and Citizen Association. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10. The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

NAPLAN - Literacy

In 2015 93.7% of Year 9 students placed in the top two bands of reading with 52% in Band 10, the top band. The students achieving Band 10 has represented a 7.9% growth in students achieving in the highest band since 2014. Student representation in the top two bands was significantly higher than across the State.

When compared to other selective high schools, Merewether High School had 7.1% more Year 9 students achieving in the top two bands for reading. 77.6% of Year 9 students demonstrated greater than, or equal to, expected growth between Year 7 and Year 9.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

4 5 6 7 8 9

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f st

ud

en

ts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 7 Reading

Percentage in Bands

School Average 2010-2015

SSG % in Band 2015

State DoE % in Band 2015

0

10

20

30

40

50

4 5 6 7 8 9P

erc

en

tage

of

stu

de

nts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 7 Writing

Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2011-2015SSG % in Band 2015State DoE % in Band 2015

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Percentage of Year 7 students achieving at or

above minimum standard (exempt students

included)

Numeracy

Reading

Writing

Spelling

Grammar & Punctuation

Date of financial summary 30/11/2015

Income $

Balance brought forward 800308.07

Global funds 753509.13

Tied funds 263479.15

School & community sources 832636.96

Interest 23566.74

Trust receipts 292612.92

Canteen 0.00

Total income 2966112.97

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 276295.58

Excursions 307763.83

Extracurricular dissections 179113.66

Library 304.07

Training & development 550.01

Tied funds 275010.30

Casual relief teachers 177856.82

Administration & office 228321.88

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 147221.38

Maintenance 54664.99

Trust accounts 227786.81

Capital programs 228182.97

Total expenditure 2103072.30

Balance carried forward 863040.67

63.2% of Year 9 students achieved results in the top two bands of writing. This represents a 5% growth in the number of students achieving in Bands 9 and 10. Results for this group were 7.6% higher than other selective schools in the State and significantly above state average. 77.6% of students demonstrated greater than, or equal to, expected growth with 36% of students scoring at the 75th and above percentile band.

NAPLAN - Numeracy

In 2015 98.3% of Year 9 students placed in the top two bands with 73.4% in Band 10 and 24.9% in Band 9. Student representation in the top two bands was significantly higher than across the State. When compared to other selective high schools, Merewether High School had more Year 9 students in the top two bands.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

5 6 7 8 9 10

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f st

ud

en

ts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 9 Reading

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2015


100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Reading

Percentage of Year 9 students achieving at or

above minimum standard (exempt students

included)

Numeracy

Writing

Spelling

Grammar & Punctuation

0

10

20

30

40

50

5 6 7 8 9 10

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f st

ud

en

ts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 9 Writing

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2015


0

20

40

60

80

100

4 5 6 7 8 9

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f st

ud

en

ts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 7 Numeracy

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2015


Higher School Certificate (HSC) In the Higher School Certificate, the performance of students is reported in bands ranging from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest).

0

20

40

60

80

100

5 6 7 8 9 10

Pe

rce

nta

ge o

f st

ud

en

ts

Bands

Percentage in bands:Year 9 Numeracy

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2015


Ancient History 84.2 85.6 85.5 68.8

Biology 83.7 83.5 84.4 69.5

Business Studies 86.4 86.6 86.1 71.1

Chemistry 79.7 80.3 84.9 75.5

Design and Technology 80.6 78.4 83.4 73.4

Drama 90.6 87.6 87.3 75.2

Economics 78.4 79.1 83.6 76.0

Engineering Studies 83.2 83.3 86.7 75.2

English (Standard) 74.5 73.5 71.7 65.7

English (Advanced) 82.0 80.9 86.3 80.1

English Extension 1 86.8 82.4 88.0 84.1

English Extension 2 81.2 81.8 83.1 78.9

Food Technology 93.0 91.2 88.7 68.4

Geography 87.8 85.3 85.0 69.6

Legal Studies 84.5 85.4 86.9 72.3

Mathematics General 2 85.8 84.4 79.5 65.4

Mathematics 82.4 81.9 87.5 77.1

Mathematics Extension 1 79.4 79.3 89.1 82.3

Mathematics Extension 2 80.2 80.6 88.5 83.4

Modern History 83.6 84.0 87.3 72.5

History Extension 84.0 81.8 87.0 77.1

Music 1 88.6 89.6 88.4 79.0

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education 80.7 82.9 83.8 71.3

Physics 79.5 80.2 83.3 72.1

Society and Culture 89.8 90.3 90.4 76.8

Software Design and Development 83.7 78.0 86.3 72.1

Studies of Religion I 82.0 83.4 85.9 82.2

Visual Arts 88.9 87.7 89.1 77.6

Hospitality Examination (Food and Beverage) 85.0 85.0 83.5 73.0

School 2015School Average

2011-2015SSG 2015

State DoE

2015Course

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

An

cie

nt

His

tory

Bio

logy

Bu

sin

ess

Stu

die

s

Ch

em

istr

y

De

sign

an

d T

ech

no

logy

Dra

ma

School 2015 School Average 2011-2015

SSG 2015 State DoE 2015

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Eco

no

mic

s

Engi

nee

rin

g St

ud

ies

Engl

ish

(St

and

ard

)

Engl

ish

(A

dva

nce

d)

Engl

ish

Ext

ensi

on

1

Engl

ish

Ext

ensi

on

2



Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction

In 2015 the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. This included feedback from surveys, meetings and interviews, our P&C Association and Parent Learning Groups. Their responses are presented below.

High levels of satisfaction were reported for the school’s teaching and learning, assessment and reporting practices, service to the school and the community, student wellbeing, cultural, leadership and sporting programs.

Parents have reported anecdotally at Parent Learning Groups, Curriculum Information Sessions, P&C meetings, canteen days, school carnivals and special assemblies high levels of satisfaction and positive responses to the shared partnership established at the school and the willingness to review practices to better meet the needs of all within the school. Community members and parents report that they feel comfortable in approaching the school with any concerns.

Staff have expressed an increased sense of consultation and have been involved in decision making on student management processes, teaching and learning activities and whole school calendar including extracurricular activities. These matters enabled staff to contribute to the direction of the school.

Students indicated that their voice continues to be valued across the school and there are many

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100Fo

od

Te

chn

olo

gy

Geo

grap

hy

Lega

l Stu

die

s

Mat

hem

atic

s G

en

era

l 2

Mat

hem

atic

s

Mat

hem

atic

s Ex

ten

sio

n 1



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Mat

hem

atic

s Ex

ten

sio

n 2

Mo

der

n H

isto

ry

His

tory

Ext

ensi

on

Mu

sic

1

Pe

rso

nal

Dev

elo

pm

ent,

Hea

lth

an

d P

hys

ical

Edu

cati

on P

hys

ics



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Soci

ety

and

Cu

ltu

re

Soft

war

e D

esig

n a

nd

De

velo

pm

en

t

Stu

die

s o

f R

elig

ion

I

Vis

ual

Art

s

Ho

spit

alit

y Ex

amin

atio

n(F

oo

d a

nd

Bev

erag

e)



initiatives to promote school spirit. Work of the SRC and the School Prefects is highly valued by all students. Students indicated they participate in school decision making and interactions between staff and students promote a culture of improvement. Students felt resilience, responsibility and self-discipline are fostered, but some students require more support.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Nineteen students identified as Aboriginal and these students, along with their families, engaged in the formation of a comprehensive Personalised Learning Plan (PLP). Each PLP identified the student’s learning goals and the strategies to address these targets. In response to the PLPs, a variety of activities were implemented that involved our Aboriginal students, their families and local Aboriginal community members.

The school is an active member of the local Muloobinbah AECG, which provided the School with access to valuable contacts from which to plan, implement and evaluate Aboriginal cultural and educational programs. These included Aboriginal dance workshops conducted by the Wakagetti Dance Group to complement the Year 7 PDHPE Dance program and a guest speaker who delivered a talk to Year 9 History students to provide an Aboriginal perspective about the impact of colonisation.

Aboriginal students accessed subject specific tutoring for Stage 6 subjects including English, Mathematics, Music and Chemistry through Norta Norta funding. These programs were highly successful and resulted in an improvement in academic performance and an increase in the level of confidence for the Aboriginal students who utilised these learning opportunities. Aboriginal students were actively involved in the planning and implementation of a range of activities for significant events such as National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week and National Close the Gap Day. Students made significant contributions to the Merewether High School formal NAIDOC Week Assembly, with Louise Abernethy, Daniel Cosgrove and Eloise Callingham making individual presentations.

Aboriginal students in Years 7, 8 and 11 participated in the iBelieve program presented by Dominic Dates from The Wollotuka Institute of the University of Newcastle. Students in Years 11 and 12 attended the School 2U Program to assist them to successfully navigate the process of entering university and a Year 10 student participated in the Insight Day, both

of which were presented by Norelle Heise who is the Indigenous Prospective Student Advisor/ School Liaison for the Wollotuka Institute. The focus of these programs was to encourage Aboriginal students to set high academic goals toward pursuing a tertiary education, educate them about the support networks available at university and strengthen their links with the University of Newcastle and other universities through specific programs targeted at Aboriginal students.

We continue to strengthen our relationship with our Aboriginal families, the Muloobinbah AECG and the local Aboriginal community.

Multicultural Education and Anti-racism

The multicultural policies and programs within the school reflect our cultural diversity. The broad range of ethnic backgrounds within the school allows our students to experience, first-hand, a variety of cultures. This is further enhanced with the many local and international excursions, as well as student exchange programs, that are available for our students. Multicultural education is explicitly taught in all our classrooms and staff endeavour at all times to ensure our school is an anti-discrimination environment. Our anti-racism contact officer is available for any member of the school community that may have concerns related to issues of racism. In 2015 there were no reports of racism to the ARCO.

Other school programs

Environmental education and sustainability

Implementation of the Environmental Education program continues to flourish at Merewether High School.

Environmental initiatives are incorporated across all KLA’s through Teaching and Learning Programs.

Practical initiatives at Merewether High included:

Maintenance of recycling bins introduced

Maintenance of gardens throughout the school, including the planting of native plants to encourage local bird life

Ensuring continuation of the Water Watch program for 2015

External Initiatives and competitions:

Participating in Climate Cam awarded a plus star for Environmental Events

Participating in the Hunter Wetlands Envirothon 2015

Entries in the Dr Don Biddle Issues in Australian Environments Fieldwork Competition

Entries in the Brock Senior Geography Project Fieldwork Competition

WESSSTA Geography Trivia Day

A very successful whole school Green Day was held in July including:

An environmental sustainability expo with 20 community stallholders

Green businesses developed and run by Year 9 commerce students

Achievements in Sport

Sport plays a vital role in the building of the culture of the school and plays an essential role in the reinforcement of positive attitudes and values within our student body. Our school has continued to experience a range of successes in sport across a number of team and individual activities, a success that is testament to the high participation rates of our students and the dedicated professionalism demonstrated by staff. In 2015 we extended our weekly sports program, through the conduct of the NEAT and ATLAS resistance training programs that provided the opportunity for 50 students to experience regular resistance training without the need for expensive equipment. The program was a huge success and our school’s involvement is now regarded by many as best practice in terms of the implementation and conduct of the program. Our weekly sports program is complemented by a variety of opportunities at Regional and State Level.

Highlights in 2015 included:

Our school teams won Zone Championships in swimming, athletics and cross country for the 18th consecutive year

A total of 102 students were selected to represent the Hunter Region and nineteen students went on to represent New South Wales

We had two students, Tom Grimes in Sailing and Harry Johnson-Holmes in Rugby awarded NSWCHS Sporting Blues

The following students were winners of individual gold medals at NSW CHS state carnivals:

Patrick Moore – NSWCHS Cross Country

Nicholas Sonntag – NSWCHS Swimming

Tom Grimes – NSWCHS Sailing

Liam Bowman – NSWCHS Athletics

We had four students, Nicholas Sonntag, Bailey Proud, Joshua Chapman and Marley Flint represent New South Wales All Schools at the Pacific Schools Games held in Adelaide

Harry Johnson-Holmes was chosen as the Hunter Region Sportsman of the Year and also the Merv Cotterill Trophy Winner for 2015. Nicholas Sonntag was awarded the Integral Energy male sporting scholarship. 12 other students were awarded Hunter Region Sports Awards or Blues

Merewether High School students were successful at state level by winning medals in swimming, cross country, sailing and rowing

School teams in Open Boys’ Cricket, Open Boys’ Tennis, Open Girls’ Hockey, 12 x 50m Swimming Relay, Open Girls’ Netball, U15 Girls’ Basketball and Open Table Tennis were successful in winning Hunter Region Knockout Competitions

Rebecca Ward was the Merewether High School Sportswoman of the Year

Harry Johnson-Holmes was the Merewether High School Sportsman of the Year

Chloe Bell was the Junior Sportsperson of the Year

Harry Johnson-Holmes, Patrick Moore, Neruiben Jayakumar, Kiahni Abell, Rebecca Ward, Joshua Chapman, Taylor Kelly and Tom Grimes were recognised for their overall achievement in being awarded a Merewether High School Sporting Blue in their chosen sport.

Harry Johnson-Holmes was chosen to represent Australian Schools in Rugby, the only Government school student in a team of 23 players and he was the winner of the ‘Bronze Boot’ as the outstanding player of the series

Harry Johnson-Holmes in the Opens and Davis Harara in the U/16 were the chosen Captain of their respective New South Wales Rugby teams

Achievement in the Arts

The Arts continue to thrive at Merewether High School, supported by a talented and committed staff and community professionals, who make a significant contribution to the quality and depth of the Arts programs. The Arts provide opportunities for the creative side of the intellect to stimulate higher order thinking skills, which contribute to the overall intellectual development of Gifted and Talented students.

The Merewether High School music ensembles have expanded and now comprise Concert Band, Jazz Band, Saxophone Quartet, Clarinet Quartet, String

Ensemble, Vocal Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble. All ensembles participated in the Muswellbrook Eisteddfod, with outstanding results for all ensembles, including 1st place in every section entered. The Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble participated in Bandfest, with the Concert Band winning the coveted first prize. The String Ensemble participated in the Lake Macquarie Eisteddfod, winning first prize. All music ensembles performed at the Ensembles Concert, held at the school in December.

A Drama Ensemble was formed in 2015, leading to participation in Star Struck.

The annual POSH concert held at Newcastle Conservatorium gave the community the opportunity to see Year 12 elective music students and Merewether High School ensembles perform at a very high level in a professional venue.

Merewether High School students were very involved in Star Struck, with a range of roles including featured artists, choir, backing vocalists, orchestra, drama and dance.

The Vocal Ensemble participated in the Secondary Choral Concert at Sydney Town Hall, performing the famous Zadok the Priest with a symphony orchestra, and songs with Lior.

A significant number of Merewether High School music students are members of Regional Music Ensembles - the Hunter Wind Ensemble and Hunter Singers. This representation has increased in recent years. Both these prestigious ensembles are now based at Merewether High School.

HSC drama students presented a Performance Night for parents and supporters.

A group from the HSC drama class was nominated and selected for OnStage, the showcase for excellence in HSC drama. The performance will be held at the Seymour Centre in Sydney in February 2016.

Music and drama excursions enhanced the learning experiences of students, including OnStage and Sydney Symphony Meet the Music concerts at the Sydney Opera House.

Five HSC visual arts students from the 2015 class were nominated for Artexpress and two were selected, with the works to be exhibited in 2016. In addition, three HSC students were selected for First Class, an exhibition of exemplary HSC works at Lake Macquarie Art Gallery.

Four Merewether High School students were finalists in the Moran Photographic Prize, a national

competition attracting entries from all over Australia.

Art exhibitions were held including The Merewether Portrait Prize, the exhibition of Year 12’s Body of Work and the Junior CAPA Night, highlighting the outstanding quality of 2D and 3D artworks produced by Merewether High School visual arts students. These exhibitions showcased the depth of talent, development of skills and higher order thinking required to produce such quality work.

Creative and Performing Arts excursions provided diverse opportunities for students and exposure to quality arts experiences, including the Marina Abramova exhibition and Artexpress. Other excursions included Sculpture by the Sea and Photography fieldwork in Newcastle City Centre.

Key Learning Areas

English

A number of students participated in a range of external writing competitions throughout the year.

Two students entered The Young Poets Awards run by the Faculty of Arts & Design at the University of Canberra.

One student entered and won the Intermediate Section of the Broken Ski Award.

Eleven students entered the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition. Both Harry Su and Phoebe Gray were awarded “Highly Commended”.

Students were also involved in the What Matters and Write4fun competitions.

Debating

Merewether High School entered two teams in each of the three secondary competitions of the Premier’s Debating Challenge, with outstanding successes in these state-wide competitions. In order to better accommodate the number of students interested in debating, debating squads were formed. This allowed a larger proportion of students opportunities to participate in at least one interschool debate. As the competitions became more competitive, competition teams were chosen to represent Merewether High School.

A large contingent of our junior debaters attended a two day Hunter Central Coast Regional debating workshop held at Kotara High. The Department of Education Arts Unit provided a range of the State’s most experienced adjudicators and coaches to develop students skills in effective debating.

Four students attended the Janene Best Memorial Debating Competition for academically selective schools at Hurlstone Agriculture College.

Lucy Witherdin in Year 9 was chosen to be a Hunter/Central Coast Regional Team representative to attend and debate at the Junior State Debating Championships Camp in December.

Team B Year 7 and Year 8 won their final and participated in the Regional finals.

Public Speaking

Involvement in Public Speaking competitions continued throughout 2015. Students participated in a range of competitions. Participants were selected based on their speaking ability, commitment to the program and an expression of interest process that included a proposal for their topic.

Four students represented Merewether High School at the Hunter heats of the Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition. Rosanna Gately came first in the Junior section and went on to represent the school and the Hunter region at the New South Wales Final of the Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition at Parliament House, where she was named Runner-Up of the Junior Division for New South Wales.

Two students represented Merewether High School at the Hunter Central Coast Local Final No. 1 of the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Competition, where they had to present both a prepared and an impromptu speech.

In Term 3, a non-competitive public speaking club was created as a pilot program to encourage confidence and to develop skills in public speaking.

ICAS Competitions

All students in Years 7 – 10 participated in the ICAS English Examinations. In addition to this, all of Year 7 participated in the ICAS Spelling Examination. A large proportion of students received Distinctions and High Distinctions in these competitions.

18 students received High Distinctions in the examinations, 210 Distinctions and 436 Credits.

Mathematics

The Australian Mathematics Competition

This year 674 students from Merewether High School competed in the prestigious Australian Mathematics Competition and the following certificates were awarded: 2 Prizes, 9 High Distinctions, 80 Distinctions, 288 Credits, 278 Proficiency and 17 Participations. Sharvil Kesarwani

(Year 8 ) received a prize certificate for excellence as well as the Prudence Award for the most number of correct consecutive solutions. Wonsun Jin (Year 10) also received a prize certificate for excellence.

In the 2015 ICAS Mathematics competition 19 High Distinctions were awarded.

In the Mathematics Challenge Enrichment program students enter work on specific topics related to famous mathematicians including Euler and Gauss and submit a major work.

The competition involved principles for Prime and Composites, Least Common Multiples, Highest Common Factor Arithmetic Series, Figurative Numbers, Congruence’s, Properties of Angles, Counting Techniques and The Pigeonhole Principle.

Students are provided with detailed support material that enables them to learn and develop new mathematical techniques associated with the Enrichment Problems. Reading and research support the development of detailed solutions to a vast array of Mathematical problems.

Sharvil Kesarwani was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Iranian Geometry Olympiad.

Cameron Shaw-Carmody was involved in the University of Newcastle Young Mathematicians Program, the Australian Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad, and received an Invitation to the University of New South Wales High Achievers Ceremony.

Cameron also received a distinction in the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition.

Sharvil Kesarwani participated in the Australian Mathematical Olympiad Committee (AMOC) Mathematics School of Excellence.

Science

7 students were finalists in the Australian Society for Medical Research 2014 National Secondary School's Quiz (UTS): New South Wales.

Maya St-Jean represented Merewether High School at the National Youth Science Forum.

29 students achieved a High Distinction, 140 students achieved a Distinction in and 353 students achieved a Credit in the UNSW Science Competition.

Sharvil Kesarwani of Year 8 and Katherine Edwards of Year 9 received a University of New South Wales (UNSW) Medal for achieving 100% in the UNSW Science Competition.

2 students were Credit award Recipients and 2 students were Bronze Award Recipients in the ASTA Education Perfect Science Championships.

Tobias Morgan and Zachary Groth placed 7th and 8th in the state in HSC Biology.

Social Science

In the Australian Geography Competition Merewether High School was judged to be the 5th best school in New South Wales. Two students were recognised for their outstanding success in this competition. Year 9 student Matthew Blyth and Aiden Ball Year 10 were placed equal eighth in Australia in the Intermediate level. Additionally Clare Fletcher in Year 11 was a finalist for the Geography’s Big Week Out.

In the University of New South Wales Business Studies Competition, Year 11 student Patrick Stuart and Damien Morgan won prizes for exceptional scores.

Levi Grondin and Emily Barr represented the District 9670 MUNA Competition sponsored by the Newcastle Enterprise Rotary Club.

In the Mock Trial Competition the team won all local rounds progressing to the regional level.

In the University of Newcastle Business Plan Competition Alicia Wainwright, Adam Steel, Eamonn Garvey and Riley Fowler were awarded prizes of $1000 in prize money and $500 for the faculty as one of the four finalists.

Imogen Lewis was placed first in state in HSC Legal Studies.

Humanities

In the National History Challenge Essay Writing Competition Dakota Tait topped the state in Year 10 and Sasha Edwards came first in the state for the Year 11 category.

Four other students were regional finalists for their outstanding entries.

The Australian History Competition also saw great success with over 80% of entrants achieving a distinction or high distinction. Eben Taylor and Cameron Shaw-Carmody were 3rd in New South Wales in Years 8 and 10 respectively.

Languages

The languages faculty, Merewether High School continues to offer a wide range of language elective choices: French, German, Indonesian and Japanese.

Language students have been offered a range of opportunities to develop their understanding of other cultures through the following activities.

An annual visit by students and teachers from Keishin High School, Japan.

We welcomed students from Ube Japan for a week during Term 3, who were looked after by host families from our school as part of the Ube - Newcastle Sister City relationship. A return visit by two of our students during the September school holidays was part of this exchange program.

Three exchange students from France attended Merewether High School for 4 weeks.

Students of Indonesian have participated in the Bali Hearts and Hands project connecting with schools in Bali and local primary schools in Newcastle to support Indonesian academic and cultural programs.

Three Merewether High School students participated in an exchange to France in January 2015.

ICT

Merewether students gained 9 High Distinctions, 71 Distinctions and 142 Credits, in ICAS testing. The highest, Katherine Edwards of Year 9, gained an ICAS Medal for first position in the competition.

The BYOD program is in full implementation and proving highly successful, with many students choosing to enrich learning through their own digital devices connected to the DER wireless network.

Accelerated courses such Information Processes and Technology (IPT) continue to offer excellent learning opportunities for those interested in furthering their computing knowledge, in multimedia, data manipulation, networking and communication technologies.

Students at Menindee, in the far west of New South Wales, are linking with Merewether High School students via our connected classroom to design software and web content.

Expansion and improvement of the schools computing infrastructure continues with our migration to ET4L now complete, and a program of associated upgrades to the network and hardware are continuing to further improve reliability and quality of service.

This year has seen the formation of The Merewether High School IT Club. The group meets at lunchtime and has spent time developing an entry for the Digital Sparks competition held at Newcastle University. This is a rapid design process aimed at

bringing new ideas to fruition and sharing the concepts with other students industry and academics. The Merewether High School team placed first in their division of “Digital Sparks”, winning an XBox.

Academic Enrichment Program / Inquiry Based Learning Program

The aim of the academic enrichment course in Stage 5 is to academically challenge and prepare students for accelerated learning by engaging students in critical enquiry and accelerated inquiry learning, through the development of higher order research methodologies, so that they may explore and extend their personal gifts and talents.

Semester 1 involved a group research project based around the theme of “fear”, while Semester 2 was an independent project. The range of projects was extensive with 48 being chosen for the “Expo”, which was open to the whole school and the wider school community. This growing support is exemplified by the following student feedback:

“IBL was my favourite topic of the year, especially the second semester when I had full freedom of my field of research. I always looked forward to every lesson. My project was a major success, as everything went to plan and when I attempted to achieve a goal, it worked perfectly for me. Having everything go right meant I could focus more time on the presentation of my final project as opposed to the research part of my work. For my confidence this is great as I now feel more comfortable presenting to a board or panel, and it proves that I can undertake extensive research, contact real-world sources and have an engaging presentation to show people. Going into the later years and university now I understand how to achieve the goals met of a complicated project, and I now know a deeper knowledge about computer skills and actually achieving success in a project”.

Technology and Applied Sciences

Three Year 12 students were successful in gaining the University of Wollongong Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences prize for outstanding Engineering Reports.

Ten Year 9 and 10 Engineering students were involved in the University of Newcastle Science and Engineering Challenge Day at Kahibah Public School, mentoring Year 6 students.

Year 10 Engineering students were also involved in the Science and Engineering Challenge at Newcastle University.

Girls from Stage 5 and 6 were involved in a seminar sponsored by Engineers Australia to promote women in Engineering.

25 Food Technology students in Years 10 and 11 travelled to Vietnam on the inaugural Culinary and Cultural Tour. The trip included a visit to an orphanage and a day at a school for disadvantaged students.

Year 8 elective Food Technology students hosted parents and friends at several high tea functions throughout the year with a menu they planned, prepared and served themselves. Year 10 Food Technology held “pop-up” food stalls at lunch time to support their unit on food trends.

Year 11 Community and Family Studies ran a toiletries drive for Jenny’s Place and with the generous donations from the Merewether High School community, they were able to donate a “trailer load of toiletries” to this organisation who support women and children who have suffered domestic violence.

Mandatory Technology students in Years 7 and 8 continue to develop skills in group work, time management, planning, leadership and organisation with the design and production of various projects from dancing robots to home furnishings.

Emily Baita was placed first in the state in HSC Food Technology.

PDHPE

The significant feature of this year’s PDHPE learning program was our involvement in the ATLAS – Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen Time and NEAT – Nutrition and Enjoyable Activity for Teens programs.

The Resistance Training for Teens program is a research project designed by the University of Newcastle in collaboration with the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities School Sport Unit. Resistance Training for Teens includes the ATLAS and NEAT programs designed for boys and girls, respectively. Both programs are focused on increasing physical activity and reducing screen-time to improve the health and well-being of adolescents. The programs were designed to be implemented as part of the school Sport’s program, or during Physical Education (PE) or Physical Activity and Sport Studies (PASS) lessons. In the case of Merewether High School, the program was run with a group of year 9 boys and girls during their usual sport lessons throughout Term 3.

The school-based physical activity study saw a marked improvement in the fitness levels of

adolescents and a reduction in television and video game usage. The intervention was delivered over a school term, along with 14 other Hunter and Central Coast high schools taking part. Results are to be published in 2016 by the leading US journal Pediatrics.

The research team created 5 simple messages designed to guide students toward a healthier lifestyle. These messages, targeting physical activity, screen-time and diet, are based on behaviours known to have a strong relationship with health and well-being. The messages were made explicit to students at the commencement of the program and were consistently reinforced throughout the duration of the program. These messages are:

Move whenever you can

Get some vigorous physical activity on most days

Limit your recreational screen time

Avoid sugary drinks

Limit your ‘sometimes’ foods

merewether high school annual · pdf filemerewether high school annual report ... the main...

Documents