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News 2005

The ROAD to Success

 The school has been reviewing its expectations related to behaviour, work and attitude. We wanted to ensure that students, teachers and parents were “at one” with the values that underpin learning and behaviour, and the standards used to judge what is appropriate and not appropriate.

Just like parenting, clear expectations and defined boundaries in a supportive, positive, non-coercive environment are the keys to success.

We’ve called our new set of expectations “The ROAD to Success”. There are four pillars to it:

• Respect. We want students to respect themselves, others and their environment.
• Organisation. We want students to be organised and prepared to learn.
• Application. We want students to be positive in their application to school activities.
• Determination. We want students to be determined to achieve in all that they do.

A more detailed  synopsis of “The Road to Success” is included in the December05  newsletter.

This week we will be launching it with students, speaking on assembly, presenting a film made by teachers concerning behaviour standards and preparing for the printing of many copies to be published in classrooms and corridors. It is our plan to spend a substantial amount of time next year discussing and “decoding” the elements of “ROAD” in order to teach students about our expectations.

It is worthwhile noting that in the development of these expectations, students felt that they were reasonable and fair. They, like you, have clear expectations of themselves and want to “aim high, think big and follow their dreams.”

Finally, it is important to realise that these expectations are not just for students. Our teachers, the executive, the deputies and myself have also put ourselves under scrutiny. We believe that we are all accountable and that there are standards to which we must also comply. Just like students, we believe that Respect, Organisation, Application and Determination are the key to our success. In many ways, we need to lead by example.

Backup of Data

A new server has been built utilizing parts from an old server and has Novel 6.5 software installed. This server is located remotely and mirrors the schools main server so that in the case of one server going off-line we will be able to introduce the second server in a minimum of time, thus not disrupting student learning and teacher administrative tasks.

Symantec updated to V10

Symantec Antivirus enterprise v10 is the latest upgrade to our computer antivirus systems. It resides on our new antivirus server and checks ingoing and outgoing files and completes a test of the server & workstations at scheduled times.
All updating is completed automatically so we no longer have to undertake the procedure shown below.

Solid Edge Software

The HT TAS undertook a course on a industry CAD package called Solid Edge and as a result the school received a whole school license for this exceptional (although complex) program for $100. The school presently uses TurboCad which is an excellent program for students. However we are unable to afford to update our licenses at this stage to a later versions so Solid Edge may become our major CAD product.
See work done by students in Turbocad v7

Successful Year 6 Taster Lesson Day.

A number of faculties provided opportunities for students from the local feeder schools to experience life at high school. Feedback from the year 6 students was very positive with all students enjoying the different skills offered.

Donation of Timber to the TAS Faculty.

Recently, Pinewood Performance donated a large quantity of manufactured board to the school. This was collected on a ‘sagging’ trailer from their factory and will provide our students with materials for table tops, creeper trays, boxes etc. This generous donation means that students will not have to pay the additional costs often required to fully finish their Industrial Arts projects and it provides them with additional experience in the use of manufactured materials.

Thank you, Pinewood Performance.

Pinewood Performance cuts & edges manufactured boards, supplies kitchens & cabinets, bench tops, fittings and laminates.

2/8 Anella Avenue, Castle Hill. Tel: 02 9680 2925.

New Library-Science Computer Lab May 05.

New syllabuses are being implemented across the school. In all cases the use of computer technology is specified. The school has 3 computer labs (82 computers) and an older set of Pentium 1 computers in the library.  However the demand for time in the labs has outstripped the resources available. To help alleviate this problem an additional computer lab has been set-up in the Library-Science complex.

The philosophy behind this purchase was to:-

·        Ensure that every student in a class would be able to access a reasonably fast computer during any given lesson.

·        Access to a computer lab was more widely available to students & teachers so that syllabus outcomes could be more effectively addressed.

·        That the computers should be able to run Windows XP and Microsoft Office products.

·        Rather than purchase more sophisticated systems we have been purchasing computers at ½ the price of a DET spec. computer with the view that the other “½ “ of the money can be used to purchase the next generation of computers in 2-3 years time.

30 mid-price computers have been purchased from school funds at a cost of $20,000 with additional costs for tables, chairs, cabling, switches & electrical outlets. These have been networked to the schools curriculum server, the internet and printing facilities. At present the computers have a software image installed including Windows 98, Office 2002, Encarta 2005 & other specialist software.

Later in the semester these computers will be rebuilt with Windows XP and Office 2003.

Microweb Computers (ph: 4647 7025) supplied the 30 computers.  Each has an Intel 2.6 Celeron CPU, Asus motherboard, 512mb memory, 40gb hard drive, Microsoft keyboard, optical mouse and Phillips 17” monitor.   

The library proper will contain an additional 16 computers for general use, comprising a mixture of Pentium II and Pentium III computers. This will allow a number of classes to access the library complex at any one time.

The total number of computers available to students at the school by the end of semester one will be approximately 130. A further ‘specialist’ computer lab is being planned.

Computer facilities in the school are extensive & continue to expand:-

·        3x Novell servers, one for admin and two curriculum servers (each: Intel server boards, P4 2.8ghz, Raid 5 130gb drive capacity, 2GB memory, additional drives 150gb, tape backup)

·        A Symantec Antivirus Server

·        A Backup server

·        Approx 16x 10/100 or 10/100/1000 switches linking computers to servers

·        10x administration computers, 10x teacher administration/research computers & 6 laptop computers.

·        130x Student computers

·        5x LCD projectors

·        The school employs a technician for 6 hours a week to help me in our endeavour to keep the whole system running.

New Computer Systems.

A new file server was built during the holidays and all computers in the school have been updated with the latest clients, agent, Microsoft Office and antivirus software. The file server is now running Novell 6 software. All students will receive a new user name and password and have access to 10mb of server disk space.
In addition, Computer Lab107 and Lab1 have been upgraded to 30 computers each so that all students undertaking computer work have individual access to a computer.

Phone Policy

New policy on using phones at school has been established by the school. Click here to read the policy.

New procedure if a student is late to school.

Late to School Policy.

New Boys Education committee

A new committee with representation from across the school & chaired by Ms T. Bennet, DP will examine ways to improve the education strategies for boys. First Education camp was held at Longneck Lagoon and a number of our students acted as mentors to the younger students from two of your feeder primary schools. Mr D Pawley organized the activity.

All girl Timber Technology class

An all girls timber technology class is operating this year  and demonstrating they are every bit as good as the boys. Projects being constructed are based (whenever possible) on the girls interests.

Old News

School changes Curriculum Structure.

Curriculum for 2004

As you would know, we have been investigating our curriculum over the past 12 months. We wanted to refine structures and processes. One of the motivating reasons for this is that the Board of Studies is increasingly mandating the compulsory study of certain subjects and assessing them through state wide exams. For example, History and Geography, while once not examined in the School Certificate, now are compulsorily tested formally. Computing skills will also be examined, as of 2006. This places great restrictions of the flexibility and design of any curriculum. Further, students and parents revealed through survey and interview that while they very much liked certain aspects of the UVC structure (such as choice of subjects and 4 reports a year), they were concerned that too often, students weren’t allocated what they chose, or they felt there were elements of the curriculum that were confusing. We wanted this to be refined – and made better. The Curriculum Committee, with two parent representatives - June Stepic and Ruth Corbett - began proceedings by investigating models at other schools. This group gave presentations to staff and parents for recommendations and further ideas. I am delighted that after a considerable process of discussion and consultation, a new model has been established. Its strength rests in the fact that it has the advantages of our current system, but at the same time includes other ways that will help students prepare for School Certificate exams.

Debating Team 2003. 

Once again, our year 8 debating team (Anna Hoelzl, Samantha Belobrajdic, Alyce Corbett and Alexis Aligiannis) have been successful in the next round. Arguing the affirmative of the topic “There are more good things in Hollywood than bad” they convinced the adjudicator that their case was stronger than their opponents, students from Model Farms High School.

Winners of the Mid-West Finals

The students reached the State final and were narrowly beaten

School Musical "Smithy" a hit with the community 2003.

The school Musical opened on Wednesday night 17th of September 03 and was immediately declared a success by the school principal. The students performed flawlessly and with enormous energy. The chorus boomed out and the lead characters had the audience crying with laughter. Scenes were seamlessly arranged and the lighting well completed. It was a great night and we are looking forward to Friday and Saturday night.

Literacy Tutoring Program 2003

2002 will see the start of another new Literacy program at Seven Hills High. In this program tutors from years 9 & 10 will be trained by TAFE personnel for a year. These students will undertake the 'fieldwork' requirement of the course by helping our less able readers to improve their reading. Tutors who complete the course will gain certification from the TAFE. It is hoped that the course will start early in Term 1. Along with other literacy strategies across the school, including the literacy room and it's programs, the school is well placed to help students improve their literacy skills. 

Last Updated on 15/05/2009