Principal’s Report – September 2022

It is hard to believe that Term 3 is coming to a close. As students and staff ready themselves for the Term 3 holiday break, I express my gratitude for their hard work and commitment to the growth and achievement of every student. Term 3 may be ending, but for me, it is a time of celebration when I witness our achievements so far. These are a hallmark of our unique identity as a school and the quality of our staff. As we reflect on the road travelled, we have much to celebrate as a school and as such, I express my deepest gratitude to the staff and students for their leadership and flexibility to adapt to change.

The many celebrations, academic, sporting, artistic and music events highlight the many talents and gifts of our students. All students should be proud of their achievements and commended for their commitment and hard work. The success of these events and celebrations is also the result of the support students have received from their families and the staff who have enabled them to develop their skills, utilise their innate ability to serve and showcase their gifts and talents. Below are just a few highlights from the term:

• International students from Hokusei and Yokahamma
• Year 12 Drama Performance
• Music Showcase
• Multicultural Families Meetings
• SACE Information Evening/University/TAFE
• Tuesday on Flinders – Choir
• ABODA Band and Orchestra Festival
• Year 10 and 11 Course Counselling Day
• Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences
• Multicultural Assembly and Multicultural Family Lunch
• Braiding ProjectATSI Families meeting
• Year 7 Coffee and Chat night
• Festival of Music – Big Band
• Tuesday on Flinders -Strings
• Festival of Music Stage Band and Saxophone Quintet
• Uenohara Virtual Visit
• Senior Dance Night (Year 9-12)
• Festival of Music – Jazz Combo
• Strings Music Tour at Reidy Park Primary School in Mt Gambier
• Youth Opportunities Graduation

With all events, visits, performances and celebrations these take countless hours of organisation, rehearsals and preparation to make them such a success. Thank you to staff, students and families that support these momentous occasions for our community.

Senior Years
As the Year 12 students approach the end of their journey as students at Woodville High School, we wish them all the best in their future pathway. We thank the teachers for their continued commitment to the academic, social and emotional development of the students. The Staff have nurtured the students to reach their aspirations, build self-efficacy and develop a strong sense of social justice. We thank the families for the opportunity and the privilege to care for their children and guide them through this significant part of their journey in life.

I commend the Year 12 Students on weathering the peak period of assessment this term. Whilst the school holidays are an important time for relaxation and renewal of spirit, mind and body it is also important that senior students take advantage of some of this break to focus on their study schedule, exam revision and finalising assessment tasks. During the school holidays some of the Year 12 students will engage in revision programs, assessments and trial exams. I strongly encourage all students to take the opportunity to attend these holiday classes as staff have made the commitment to support you during their holiday break.

The last day of formal lessons for all Year 12 Students is Thursday 27 October 2022 and to celebrate 13 years of schooling on the Friday 28 October there will be a Year 12 Breakfast and Assembly. To recognise their academic achievements; we will come together as a Woodville High School community at the Graduation Ceremony at the Adelaide Town Hall on Thursday 24 November 2022. Invitations will arrive shortly.

Student Leadership Structure
We believe all students have the capacity to lead through participation and service to help transform their lives, the lives of others and our world. Student leadership gives young people the opportunities and support to find their voices, to participate in decision-making, and to understand their rights and responsibilities as active citizens in a global world. As Student Leaders they are given the opportunity to be active researchers who will drive change in their school and are empowered to have a real impact on learning, wellbeing of others and the school environment.

The student leadership structure empowers young people to shape our school community by engaging in school-level decision-making to increase students’ sense of agency, feelings of belonging, and civic efficacy. This will move the schools toward a more equitable dialogue that explicitly incorporates, acknowledges, and values a diverse array of perspectives. This is especially important when most of the students in our school come from different cultural backgrounds.

I want to take the opportunity to express my appreciation of all the students who made the commitment to apply for the various leadership roles within the School for 2023. We are in the process of shortlisting students for the leadership positions and students will shortly be notified of their interview date and time. The Head and Deputy Prefect of Senior School and Middle School will be interviewed first and the students who are successful will be part of the panel that appoints the Year 7-12 Prefects within the portfolios.

The 2023 Prefects will be formally presented to the school community on Friday 28 October 2022 at the Year 12 Arts and Leadership Assembly.

The Student Leadership Handbook outlines the Woodville High School Leadership Structure and the Portfolios they will be leading. Students on all levels are required to work cooperatively to achieve set goals, respect themselves and others, inspire and motivate their peers and promote a culture of school pride and belonging. Students are offered various opportunities to participate in leadership within the school, from Year 7 through to Year 12. The structure is designed to integrate leaders from all years, thus enabling all students to develop the necessary skills of leadership to enact and inspire change. The student leaders have an increased sense of responsibility to support others and to model leadership principles and the core values of the school. Trust, respect, autonomy, and relationships are enhanced through the development of leadership qualities. Formal leadership training is provided to all prefects as they build collective efficacy through the portfolios they are leading.

Reports
Reports will be distributed to students during Home Group today, Friday 30 September 2022 at 2.10pm. We encourage you to discuss the report with your child by highlighting their strengths, challenges and areas of opportunity by inviting them to share their own reflection on their academic performance, their own attitudes and behaviours. The student reports are an essential element in the partnership between teachers and parents. I encourage families to contact individual teachers at any time during the school year if they have any concerns about their child’s education.

Our aim is to always strive for excellence, to earn trust, to build and strengthen relationships, especially with the students, their families and teachers. Therefore, the School encourages parents to maintain open communication with their child’s teachers, home group teachers and curriculum leaders to discuss their child’s progress and achievements.

• The ACARA report that shows their achievement in comparison with all other students in Australia who sat the tests. That report shows:
  • The national average
  • The range for the middle 60% of students, and
  • Whether the student has achieved the national minimum standards.
• The 2022 Standard of Education Achievement (SEA) Report that highlights the student’s achievement against the Department for Education’s SEA Proficiency Standard for Reading and Numeracy.

This information will complement the broader assessment and reporting information provided by your child’s teachers in reports, interviews and conversations. The above reports and the cover letter have been uploaded to Daymap Student Attachments.

Uniform
We are all ambassadors of Woodville High School and should take pride in representing the school in academic, sporting, musical, artistic and cultural pursuits within our school and local community. Our uniform policy reflects our values and reinforces our school’s culture of high expectations and academic achievement. All students must dress according to the uniform policy.

Our School Uniform is important to us. It is one way in which we identify ourselves as a school community and it promotes a strong, cohesive school identity which supports high standards and expectations in all areas of school life. It promotes harmony between the 72 different cultures represented in the school.

In Term 4, we expect students to present themselves appropriately, attired and wearing the Woodville High School uniform with pride. I ask all parents to support the School with the implementation of our Uniform Policy, punctuality and behaviour is respectful to the School’s rich history and tradition.

Staff

Congratulations to the Staff who have been converted to permanency:

• James Turbill
• Yvonne Toh
• Ryan Vivian
• Renee Mazel
• Carmela Pizzino

Congratulations to the Staff who have been appointed to Woodville High School or are continuing in 2023:

• Sandro Bracci – Senior Leader – Wellbeing, Engagement and Inclusion
• Daniela Piteo – Senior Leader – Senior School, SACE and Quality Assurance
• Alicia Gillespie – Wellbeing and Inclusion Leader
• Jessica Michas – Nutrition, PE and Mathematics Teacher
• Maeve Cashel – Learning Hub Pedagogical Leader
• Dina Phan – International Coordinator
• Michael Grant – Cross Disciplinary Coordinator
• Jazmyn Jamieson – Inclusive Education Coordinator
• Jennifer Maitland – HASS and Legal Studies
• Hayley Simmons – Dance and Health and PE
• Daniel Micklem – EALD and Indonesian
• Emily Kavanagh – English and HASS
• Leo Linardakis – Inclusive Education
• James Anic-Kaliger – Specialist Soccer Program
• Avelin David – Mathematics and Science
• Halima Osman – Hass and English
• Neha Kaushal – Mathematics and Science
• Yevette Reed – Hass and English

House System
The House system is a structure that develops relational learning and is focused on learning and student wellbeing. Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune and Sirius are the Houses that were named after planets and one of the brightest stars in the Solar System. These House names are aligned to our School Motto, Reach for the Stars. Each House in our new House Structure will have a crest, its colour and slogan, all connected to our 107 years of history and tradition. Each House will develop their own identity as a community and shape House events, formal and informal functions and will be involved in intra and inter-house competitions. Healthy rivalry fuelled by loyalty to House colleagues builds traditions and rituals which strengthens and gives meaning to the schools three core values: Diversity, Creativity and Success.

Our focus will be to strengthen staff and students’ sense of belonging, welcome, comradery and identity. We have developed a House System Committee which met for the first time on Tuesday 13 September 2022. I am excited by the expertise, new perspectives and the wisdom that members of the committee all bring and I look forward to leading with them this significant change in 2023 and 2024. Four students will be joining our committee and will be invited to our next meeting in Term 4 Week 2, Tuesday 25 October 2022. We invite parents to be part of this committee that will shape the new House Structure. If you are interested please email Michele Yiannicou, my Executive Assistant, on michelle.yiannicou931@schools.sa.edu.au

When a Student commences at Woodville High School, they become a member of a smaller community in their House, they are immediately part of a welcoming supportive environment. Woodville High School has 4 Houses. The Houses will have physical spaces where students will congregate. Within each House, lifelong friendships are formed, a solid work ethic is nurtured, teamwork is fostered and leadership will be promoted. Whether in academic, sporting or cultural activities, every student within each House is able to make, and be recognised for, their contribution. Students will remain in their same Home Group (7-12 vertical structure) throughout their time in our School, enabling the Home Group Teacher to monitor a student’s individual progress across the years and provide a sense of safety, identity, belonging and continuity.

We will be taking a two phased implementation approach:

• 2023 will see us implementing the Academic Awards, House Competitions, Events, Games, Carnivals, Activities, House Spaces and the Peer Mentor Program.
• 2024 will be the implementation of the House/Home Group structure.

This allows the Heads of House and the Middle and Senior Year Managers to be appointed in 2022 and to participate in shaping this new structure that they will be leading. Executive Members next year will be operating in Houses and below are the Houses they will be leading:

• Brett Hains – Mercury/Yellow
• Daniela Piteo – Jupiter/Red
• Alice Forster – Neptune/Green
• Sam Tuffnell – Sirius/Blue
• Sandro Bracci, Senior Leader Wellbeing and Inclusion will have oversight of the whole House System and one of the new Wellbeing Coordinators in his team will be leading the House Structure as part of their leadership responsibility.

Community
After such a busy term, the Students and Staff are looking forward to taking a well-deserved break. I wish all the students and staff of this vibrant community a wonderful holiday and hope it brings renewal of spirit and many special memories with family and friends. This opportunity for rest and recuperation, alongside our loved ones, will hopefully serve as a time for us to reflect on life with gratitude. No matter our beliefs or faith as a community let us maintain optimism, compassion and hope for the future. Hope is not blind optimism. It’s not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead for us or the challenges that stand in our path. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it”. Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States once said “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” I look forward to working with you to continue to build a school of excellence and choice where everyone belongs.

I would like to thank you all the Staff for their invaluable contribution and commitment to the Woodville High School Community. When we do return for the final home stretch of 2022, we will do this with a focus and vision that strives to define new levels of excellence for our school community and ourselves.

I look forward to seeing everyone again in Term 4, energised and ready to successfully finish the year.

Thank you
Anna Mirasgentis