Engadine High School

Annual Report

2015

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Introduction The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Engadine 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.

Joanne Jarvis Principal Bachelor of Arts. Diploma of Education (With Distinction) Fellow of Australian Council of Educational Leaders (FACEL)

School contact details:

Engadine High School Porter Road Engadine, NSW 2233 www.ehs.nsw.edu.au/ engadine-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au 95200411

Message from the Principal I am extremely proud of our beautiful, comprehensive school located south of Sydney, adjacent to the Royal National Park. As a member of the Engadine community since childhood, I am intimately connected with aspirations for our youth to reach their potential; achieve success in their lives; and become honourable citizens who can become agents for positive change in their world. We believe that learning flourishes when it occurs in a positive, safe and nurturing environment where students, parents and teachers work together and share high expectations of students to achieve their personal best. Committed, professional staff are knowledgeable about the most recent research into teaching young people to reach their potential. We work tirelessly to provide the very best educational and co-curricular opportunities in a range of areas including performing arts, sport, leadership, science and social justice. Our staff contribute to these programs because we believe that learning is not only about academic achievement but it is also about nurturing a young person’s interests, developing their character and building their resilience. This web page will certainly provide evidence of some of the many successful programs for which our school has earned an excellent reputation. As a parent of two children who have completed their education at Engadine High, thriving in the positive atmosphere and the many opportunities on offer, I can certainly vouch for the outstanding environment in which they flourished, confident to embrace the challenges presented by a fast, changing world. I want this for all of our Engadine High families.

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School background

School vision statement

Our school’s mission statement is, “educational excellence and opportunities in a safe, nurturing environment”.

In 2014, students, staff and parents were asked to identify the qualities of the ideal graduate from Engadine High School. Consequently, the following statements summarise our vision for graduates as a result of six years of schooling at Engadine High School.

Students will be:

● confident, empowered, well-rounded life-long learners who love and value learning; ● informed, innovative, creative and critical thinkers; ● reflective and resilient and take responsibility for their own learning; ● respectful, humane, empathetic global citizens; ● citizens who value their community, work for the common good and who believe in their capacity to

make a sustainable difference to their world.

School context

Engadine High School is a comprehensive high school located forty-five minutes south of the Sydney CBD adjacent to the Royal National Park. We are proud to provide the very best educational and extra-curricular opportunities for all students.

We believe that learning flourishes when it is an interactive process involving students, parents and teachers.

We have outstanding programs in performing arts, engineering, sport and student leadership and have enjoyed multiple accolades at State, National and International levels in these areas.

A thriving Linkages program in literacy, numeracy, performing arts, history, PDHPE and sustain inability with local schools ensures that the transition to high school is seamless.

We enjoy excellent results in NAPLAN and the HSC and our data indicates that these results are especially good for low and middle achieving students. We are currently embedding programs that challenge our more able students to excel. Excellent HSC results from 2014 indicate that our work in this area is making a critical difference, however, our intention is to continue our emphasis in this area whilst maintaining the programs in literacy, numeracy and learning skills, as these are the currency of learning.

Staff professional learning remains a major focus with a greater emphasis on providing a differentiated approach to cater for the varying needs of staff who are at different stages in their career.

Evan Pignatelli, John Lincoln Youth Community Service Award

Jeremy Fernandez, addressing Harmony Day assembly 3

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 NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. This year, our school undertook self-assessment using the elements of the School Excellence Framework. In the domain of Learning, we established staff ‘super teams’, led by aspirational leaders, that assumed ownership for implementing a whole-school project including: Numeracy Growth Project - exploration of the revised Numeracy Continuum and targeted development of numeracy skills across the curriculum; Sustained Writing Project – a collaborative project for staff to embed explicit processes to teach literacy and writing in context and formative assessment practices; Learning Skills Project - implementation of a differentiated program, Years 10-12, that teaches students how to select appropriate study methods, use relevant technology and develop skills in self-assessment. Although, still in the early days of each project, early data shows genuine gains, which have been elaborated on in this report. Additionally, Gonski money supported new learning programs including the use of extra Student Support Learning Officers (SLSOs) and an Occupational Therapist to work with all of Years 7 and 8 students on handwriting and organisational skills. This was highly evaluated and will be expanded to include all other year groups in 2016. The Learning Support team strengthened its capacity to identify individual student learning needs by developing streamlined processes for reporting concerns; engaging parents and other stakeholders; and reporting needs and support services back to staff. More effective use of the Sentral system was critical as well as developing consistent reporting/feedback processes. All staff now have access to essential information and are regularly updated about student needs and the best way they can be managed. Regular additional support is in place for students and classes that require it.

The launch of the Wellbeing Framework in mid-2015 became the catalyst for the Welfare team spending a day off site. They reviewed the framework and examined the extent to which existing school programs align with the cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual domains of the framework and identify the areas that can be addressed to more effectively embed these elements into whole-school practice. It was a positive occasion for the

team as overall, their analysis affirmed the outstanding programs that are in place to support student’s personalised needs. They also strengthened the school’s anti-bullying policy and identified future directions, which includes a guest speaker working with the team on the theme of building resilience and how programs can be adapted to better achieve this aim.

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In the domain of Teaching, staff were presented with NAPLAN data and identified the areas that require attention. In relation to HSC data, all staff were given access to individual RAP data and component reports. Each faculty met with senior executive to present an analysis of results; discuss teaching practices that work best; and explore ways of improving results. Professional learning presentations and workshops reinforced the “Busting the Bands” program and ways to incorporate formative assessment into teaching practice. The Linkages program with local primary schools continued to flourish and was expanded to include a specific focus on teaching visual literacy across Stages 3 and 4. Individual staff Professional Development Plans further embedded staff mentoring and collaborative practices. More formal feedback was well received and served to inform professional goals for 2016. A particularly outstanding feature of this domain was the increasing number of teachers who presented outstanding pedagogical practices to colleagues in our targeted learning areas. In the domain of Leading, we have identified ourselves as excelling in the provision of high quality, purposeful, leadership opportunities for aspirational leaders and teams. Collaborative teams work together on a range of projects that are well resourced and supported by staff and the broader school community. Teaching staff embrace high expectations of them to help create and facilitate a powerful learning culture that is conveyed to students through consistent messages, explicit quality teaching and strong support. The professional learning team ensured numerous opportunities for staff to strengthen their knowledge of pedagogy, including an afternoon/evening with Professor Andrew Martin, an educational psychologist, which well received by staff and parents. Creative use of school resources and investment in new technologies transformed learning spaces and had an associated positive impact on pedagogy. A range of learning spaces have been refurbished and transformed over the past ten years. In 2015, we continued the transformation of the Library, which has led to an increase of borrowing of fiction by 50%. A new digital photography lab, complete with 20 powerful computers, was created to complement the Dark Room and support the syllabuses for Photography and Visual Arts. The P & C were asked to identify their views about the degree to which the school was delivering in a range of areas. Opportunities to engage in a wide range of school related activities were cited as important including Open Night, performance nights and information nights for different groups within the school. They were very positive regarding the delivery of education by the school. 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 education to our students.

Year 12 student leaders at the International Women’s Day Breakfast

Josh Ridge, soloist at Schools Spectacular 5

Strategic Direction 1

Students acquire the intellectual knowledge and skills to think deeply and communicate effectively.

Purpose

To equip all students with literacy, numeracy and learning skills so that they can better interpret their world.

To develop the intellectual quality that is required to build skills, ideas and deep understanding of important, substantive concepts so that students can make informed contributions to their world.

To equip students with the skills to effectively communicate their ideas, by ensuring that they can introduce, develop, sustain, substantiate and conclude an insightful, effective and cohesive piece of writing.

Overall summary of progress

This section describes the school’s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 1 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements.

Our planning focussed on three key projects that closely examined Literacy, Numeracy, comprehension, learning skills and sustained writing.

Numeracy Growth Project – a team of staff was formed and examined the requirements of the revised Numeracy Continuum. They met with Stage 3 teachers from local schools and identified the processes that are used to teach numeracy and planned a joint-project for 2016. It is too early to measure impact.

The Sustained Writing Project began in 2015 as a HSIE and English trial with all students from Year 10. Models of student writing were collected as a pre-test. An agreed inter-faculty model for teaching writing was explicitly taught throughout the year. This was also explained to parents. Post-tests at the end of the year demonstrated a significant improvement in written responses to the same question by ALL students and ALL students reported a greater sense of self efficacy in writing.

Learning Skills Project - implementation of a differentiated program, Years 7-12, that teaches students how to select appropriate study methods; use relevant technology; develop skills in self-assessment. This project continued to be emphasised for students from Years 10-12 with planning in place for remaining year groups in 2016. It has had an impact on student preparedness for study and individual responsibility for creating and owning notes.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year $60,000 allocated for 2015

Students in Stage 5 show improvements in the quality of written responses as identified by the Literacy Continuum and/or the whole-school writing framework.

Post-assessment analysis of student writing skills, when compared against the Literacy Continuum, showed the strong development of specific writing attributes as a result of this program. In particular, additional textual detail, effective use of paragraphs, and improved paragraph structure were noted

$10,000

Teacher release for staff to assess and plot results on the Literacy Continuum.

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A 3% increase in the number of students achieving in the top 3 Bands in NAPLAN for reading, writing and numeracy.

Progress on this goal is ongoing. A 20% increase in students achieving in top 3 bands was recorded in Yr 9 Spelling, 11% for Yr 9 Numeracy (DMSG), 7% improvement for Yr 9 Numeracy (Num/Patt/Alg), and a 16% increase for Yr 7 Spelling. Other NAPLAN components were steady.

$50,000

Additional SLSO support for students in need.

RAP data shows an increase in achievement in HSC extended written response questions in comparison to the State average.

A survey of teaching staff showed strong support for the Learning Skills project. Feedback has been noted for improvement in 2016. RAP data showed above State average results for students in both Standard and Advanced English courses. Growth has occurred: however, improvements can still be made in the Band 6 results.

Faculties allocated time to meet with senior executive having analysed data.

Next steps

Additional data from the Sustained Writing project showed that more work was required on developing inferential reading skills. Therefore, in 2016, specific teaching strategies will target this skill. In order to drive this across the school, the HSIE/English faculties will embed their specific writing approaches in Years 7-10. Gonski and professional learning funds have been allocated to engage the services of an expert in teaching writing skills. They will work with buddy teachers from all the other faculties to closely examine what effective and sustained writing looks like in the context of their courses and embed strategies into teaching programs.

In addition, an inter-school project team has been formed to work with staff from four other schools in partnership with an academic partner (Community of the Two Rivers). They will further develop their capacity to impact on student learning writing while developing their own leadership skills through research/action learning within and between schools. The project is now entitled “Reading for Meaning-Writing with purpose” to reflect the new approach.

The Numeracy Growth project will incorporate a grant to be shared with two primary skills to develop shared approaches to teaching numeracy across Stages 3 and 4. Staff change has delayed the start of this program until later in 2016.

The Learning Skills project will gradually incorporate approaches for students from Year 7-9, who have previously not been part of the learning skills emphasis. The Learning Skills team will also identify a particular learning skill that staff will target with all of their classes each month. Parents will be invited to participate in training sessions so that they can support their child in English and Mathematics.

A Technology Project has been added to this direction in recognition of the critical role that technology plays in enhancing student learning. This project seeks to create a strong learning platform by merging MOODLE and Google docs to support BYOD. The aim is to have a high proportion of staff confident to use these two systems by the end of 2016.

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Strategic Direction 2

Staff actively embrace a dynamic, collaborative and informed professional culture

Purpose

To support teachers to focus on pedagogy that develops intellectual qualities required to build skills, ideas and deep understanding of significant, substantive concepts. To ensure staff develop the pedagogy of intellectual rigour to engage students in a quality learning environment.

Overall summary of progress

This section describes the school’s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 2 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements.

Our planning focused on developing a differentiated and collaborative professional learning culture utilising data from performance and development goals, to address teachers’ professional needs. The professional learning team planned, implemented and evaluated a range of teacher learning opportunities that developed their teaching and learning capacities, as well as leadership. We used external partnerships with UNSW (Dr Andrew Martin) to enhance teachers’ understanding of motivation and engagement. We also used a form of disciplined collaboration that utilised the expertise of teachers to drive changes in reading for comprehension and writing with purpose. This was through the implementation of writing frameworks across KLAs, and a targeted cross-curriculum project in English and HSIE. The plan had an impact on the capacity for teachers to foster engagement and motivation in their teaching practices, and develop students’ extended writing skills. There has also been a significant positive impact on teachers shifting their way of thinking and embracing observations of their teaching.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year $51,413

There is an increase in the number of staff engaged in self-identified professional learning.

All staff participated in a Performance and Development cycle that was framed around substantive professional dialogue. This included observations from supervisors and colleagues. The annual review process built the capacity of teachers to identify their goals and make considered decisions about the processes and evidence required. A large number of staff attended additional PL courses both with and beyond the school.

$36,413

A 3% increase in the number of students achieving in the top 3 Bands in NAPLAN for reading and writing, reflecting the correlation between professional learning and student growth.

The Sustained Writing team have delivered professional learning for staff on the frameworks of writing, and the strategies for reading comprehension. Teachers in English and HSIE have implemented writing strategies in their programs. Plans to work with an external partner (Judy King) in 2016 were put in place to build explicit reading and writing strategies into their pedagogies and programs. PL will further explore reading comprehension, thus the project has been renamed.

$!5,000

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Next steps

As a result of self-assessment and reflection, the improvement measures were ratified and extended, to include “Staff seeking accreditation at Highly Accomplished or Lead levels, successfully completed requirements”. This measure was connected to the process of implementing a leadership program for aspiring leaders, including Action Learning projects for interested staff. Another measure that arose through reflection was “RAP data shows an increase in achievement in HSC extended written response questions in comparison to the State average.” In 2016, there will be a project ‘building on Busting the Bands’ that will utilise the data from many super teams, to consolidate our skills and strategies that heighten student learning outcomes in HSC courses.

Processes for the next two years of the three year cycle, now include “utilise external partnerships with people, schools and universities to develop the capacity of staff to implement targeted projects across the school.” This refers to the Reading for Meaning/Writing with Purpose project that utilises the expertise of Judy King, as well as the Building on Busting the Bands project utilising the expertise of Sue Cran and Ann McIntyre. In 2016, staff’s knowledge and understanding of student engagement will be refreshed by Andrew Fuller (Clinical Psychologist) when he delivers a professional learning seminar of neurochemistry and effective teaching strategies.

A series of photos from groups engaging with project-based learning.

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Strategic Direction 3

A dynamic school promoting high expectations, positive values, global awareness and collaborative partnerships

Purpose

To build on and maintain a robust and meaningful focus on social justice and sustainability that enables students to connect with their global world, and ensure these themes are integrated within the curriculum.

To ensure that programs, led by high functioning teams, include the intellectual qualities required to build skills, ideas and deep understanding of significant, substantive concepts.

Overall summary of progress

This section describes the school’s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 3 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements.

Each year group engaged with a sustainability and/or social justice issue which was incorporated into lessons across a range of faculties. Issues relating to significant social justice or sustainability events, such as White Ribbon Day, were embedded into classroom practice.

The Student Sustainability Council continued to drive interest and enthusiasm, leading to two students representing the school at the ‘Speak for the Planet’ forum, which Engadine High will host in 2016.

Project-based learning was implemented in Years 8 and 9. Both projects were evaluated leading to improvements to the program for 2016 and an expansion to include Year 7.

The Student Representative Council (SRC), trialed a changed model of student leadership to tighten processes and ensure a strong team approach. Membership across year groups was reduced with a greater focus on a sustainable model of managing events. As Year 12 are committed and focussed on their HSC, it was decided only one organisation and event would be adopted by this Year group and more students from Year 11 would be included to ensure greater leadership opportunities. Year 11 were very pleased to work with this new model and adopt greater leadership responsibilities.

The P & C were asked to reflect on the School Excellence Framework in relation to Strategic Direction 3. The celebration of diverse student achievements was seen by the P & C as a hallmark of the school's links with the community. They referred to social media, noticeboard, local print media, and achievement assemblies as some of the forums where this diversity was celebrated. The school was identified as “excelling” in its responsiveness to the community’s engagement with the school. Partnerships with PAYCE and ANSTO and the use of social media and social justice causes were identified as evidence.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year

$5191.26

Student surveys indicate that they have strengthened their global awareness on social

A survey established that 92% of the school population were “more aware of events and causes” adopted by the SRC in 2014. We found that Year 12 struggled to make as significant contribution as they may have liked because of their

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justice and sustainability issues.

HSC focus. A new SRC model was consequently trialled in 2014 which gave Year 11 leaders more responsibility. Over 85% of SRC members who had previously been involved in the SRC expressed an improved “sense of satisfaction” with this model.

An increased number of students engaged in leadership opportunities across a range of programs.

An increased sense of ownership was felt by 88% of Year 11 SRC members who now have assumed the official leadership of the SRC. Both the Year 11 leaders and 96% of SRC members from Years 7-10, universally praised the changed model.

Time during roll call each day.

Next steps

The School Plan has been amended to include more professional learning to support the role of the teacher as an informed mentor for PBL. The number of teachers involved will be decreased to ensure a consistent approach to addressing the outcomes for all groups. The number of years involved in PBL will also be increased to include Year 7. The format of PBL will change after teacher and student feedback which suggested a more compressed time frame would sustain interest and deliver more comprehensive outcomes. The leader of PBL is developing an accredited course for teacher mentors. In regards to the role of the Social Justice Team, the School Plan has been amended to include more specific direction to faculties regarding the planning and delivery of social justice and sustainability themed lessons. In Term 1 all faculties will deliver explicit lessons to support the school’s celebration of Harmony Day. A more focussed approach to collecting and collating lesson materials to demonstrate this curriculum integration will be adopted in 2016.

A selection of performing arts performances at school.

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Key initiatives and other school focus areas

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

Aboriginal background funding

Personalised Learning Plans for each Aboriginal student.

Pathways for senior Aboriginal students negotiated.

Participation in Koori Kids on the Park initiative.

Students attend university Indigenous days.

A student has acquired a traineeship with QANTAS Link through the Indigenous sponsorship of traineeship.

An Indigenous student was nominated for the SANTOS Young Achiever Indigenous award and also for an Indigenous leadership award.

Indigenous students celebrated their culture with other local students through the Koori Kids on the Park.

$3,215

Socio-economic funding

Case management by Welfare and Learning support teams for identified students.

Provision of funds for students in need.

Continued philosophy of ‘high expectations’.

Collaboration occurred with Community Services staff and allied services to support identified students.

Additional funds enabled students to attend camps, excursions and have access to additional resources.

High expectations have contributed to an improvement of low/mid-range results in HSC (0% Band 1, <1% Band 2)

Improvement in achievement by Low SES students at HSC from 2014 to 2015, as shown in Business Intelligence data.

$57,505

Low level adjustment for disability funding

Improved case management system and reporting to staff by Learning Support and Welfare teams.

Development of a cohesive budget to employ SLSOs, additional teacher staffing and external providers.

Implementation of a ‘Youth Frontiers NSW Youth mentoring program.’ The school named it ‘Careers in Action’ as we targeted a range of students, not all of whom fell into the category of low level disability.

Individual students and parents consulted on their needs. Learning and Support Teachers (LaSTs) seek feedback and liaise with Learning Support team and identified staff.

Staff capacity to respond to student needs was addressed through a variety of inservice courses including Autism, vision impairment, technology and a ‘Positive Partnership’ course.

Staff inserviced on ways to differentiate the curriculum and create learning modifications for specific learning needs.

Students provided with additional pathways to work and/or the HSC.

Parents/carers engaged in the formation of learning plans and consultation on learning modifications for assessment.

At risk/disengaged students were given

$45,870 + $2000 grant for ‘Careers in Action’ program.

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opportunities to participate in group training programs including construction. Some of these students achieved apprenticeships.

A ‘Careers in Action’ program was established for identified Year 9 students. An external mentor was sourced to work with each student, or group of students, on a project of their choosing. This was coordinated by a member of staff who was connected with an external provider, Sydney Business Education Network, to facilitate the program. It was highly evaluated by the students and their families.

Improved growth for low-range students in NAPLAN (Yr 7 to Year 9)

Review of Learning Support Team function and processes in 2015, with changes made for 2016 (HT T&L to supervise LST from 2016 onwards)

More effective and strategic planning of RAM resources for 2016 implemented.

Support for beginning teachers

Reduction in teaching load.

Effective Induction program

Ongoing professional learning opportunities and mentoring.

External support for teachers who required significant assistance in the classroom was made available.

All Beginning teachers were given a reduction in their teaching load and allocated a mentor.

Supervisors were given a reduction and/or time to spend with their beginning teacher.

Induction course was successfully completed.

Beginning teachers attended a variety of professional learning courses including classroom and behaviour management.

All beginning teachers attended training by a DoE expert on the achievement of proficiency and how to maintain accreditation.

Beginning teachers requiring additional provisions of support were given time for preparation and programming; ongoing feedback from observations (including external observers) on pedagogy; opportunities to network with beginning teachers outside of the school context.

$31,487.51

Next Steps The school will continue to provide support for Aboriginal students as their individualised needs are identified. A teacher has been allocated responsibility to maintain the school’s commitment to the ‘Koori Kids on the Park’ initiative. One student has been allocated tied money to access tutoring for senior study which will be

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organised by the school. Indigenous Personalised Learning Pathway planning has been scheduled for Terms 1 and 2 in 2016 for 16 students who identify as indigenous. A teacher with experience in indigenous pathway planning has been engaged to meet with stakeholders and develop or review plans as necessary. Additional Gonski money enabled the school to further plan programs for 2016. This includes a link with the University of NSW to connect trainee teachers with individual students and/or groups; the hiring of an expert in literacy and writing to work with staff; hiring of an occupational therapist to work with Years 9-12 on handwriting and task organisation; purchase of literacy and numeracy support materials; and additional SLSO time so that all Year 7 classes have some support each fortnight. Specific low-level disability programs are planned also planned: Social Skills ‘Secret Agent Society for students with Autism;, Executive Functioning, to manage impulsive behaviour in learning; Macquarie University MULTILIT literacy support; SPELL-IT support for spelling, and; teacher support for developing differentiated teaching practice. Further staff professional development in differentiated curriculum and pedagogy is planned for 2016; time was allocated for the first Staff Development Day for a practical session with Mr Ben North, HT Teaching and Learning. All Beginning teachers received a reduction in their teaching load for 2016 and allocated a mentor. The Senior Executive will run a specific mentor program in addition to ongoing professional learning opportunities. Mr Lloyd Bowen, HT Teaching and Learning, will implement the Quality Teaching Rounds in 2016 as a scalable and sustainable program that allows beginning teachers the opportunity to observe practice across KLA, and receive feedback on their practice, using the language from the Quality Teaching Model.

Mad Hatters Day, promoting reading and literacy across the school.

Red Shield Appeal

Student Sustainability Council

One of our three bands at Music, Dance and Drama Night

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

Student attendance profile

Retention Year 10 to Year 12

Post-school destinations

Proportion of students moving into post-school education, training or employment

Year 10 %

Year 11 %

Year 12 %

seeking employment 0 1 0

employment 0 2 12

TAFE entry 1 5 25

university entry 0 0 40

Other-private college 3 9 15

unknown 0 2 5

The last two years reveal a consistent percentage of students continuing their education at university and TAFE. Private colleges and employment sectors have displayed a slight increase in popularity for some of our students seeking an alternative pathway to university and TAFE. Year 12 students undertaking vocational or trade training The percentage of senior students undertaking vocational or trade training, including school based apprenticeships/traineeships (SBATs) in 2015 is as follows: Study Year Enrolled TVET %TVET 12 151 24 15.89% Study Year Enrolled SBAT %TVET

12 151 0 0.00% Senior students also studied a wide and varied range of VET subjects at TAFE: Fashion Design & Technology, Graphic Design, Screen & Media, Business Services, Sport and Recreation, Beauty Therapy, Hairdressing, Electro-technology, Children’s Services, Nursing, Tourism and Automotive. Year 12 students attaining HSC or equivalent vocational educational qualification

The percentage of senior students attaining a HSC or equivalent vocational education qualification in 2012 in VET delivered at Engadine High School is as follows:

Study Year Enrolled VET %VET

12 151 29 19.20%

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

Position Number

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 2

Head Teacher(s) 11

Classroom Teacher(s) 64

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.8

Teacher Librarian 1

School Counsellor 1

School Administrative & Support Staff 16

Total 96.8

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce. There are no Aboriginal staff members. Teacher qualifications All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Qualifications % of staff Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 21

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

• Three beginning teachers are working towards BOSTES accreditation at Proficient.

• Three beginning teachers are maintaining accreditation at Proficient.

• Three teachers are seeking accreditation at Highly Accomplished or Lead.

• All staff participated in a range of professional learning activities. In 2015, there were four whole-school staff development days and two, three-hour after school sessions. The majority of staff indicated these opportunities were highly beneficial to their practice.

• The focus of professional learning opportunities included:

o Motivation and engagement of students (Dr Andrew Martin);

o Implementation and evaluation of faculty goals;

o Literacy, reading comprehension strategies;

o Positive partnerships – emphasising the needs of autistic students;

o Formative and summative assessment practices;

o Welfare initiatives including the Wellbeing framework;

o CPR and emergency care training. • A large number of staff also participated in

professional learning activities beyond the school that align to their Professional Development Plans and the school’s strategic directions. These include:

o Conferences; o Classroom management; o Integrating technology into

classroom practice; o Differentiation of the curriculum; o Embedding literacy and numeracy

into teaching programs. • Numerous staff also engage with

afternoons where they work collegially on key initiatives including literacy, numeracy, writing, welfare, social justice.

• For professional learning that occurred beyond

the school, the average expenditure on staff, who have not been allocated tied beginning teacher funds was $678. Additional opportunities for professional learning were facilitated through fiscally, innovative ways.

• The average expenditure on each beginning

teacher was $5247. Therefore the total expenditure on staff professional learning was $78,973.

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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/or community groups. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

Date of financial summary 30/11/2015 Income $ Balance brought forward 1049056.41 Global funds 296939.53 Tied funds 169201.77 School & community sources 269613.82 Interest 5720.84 Trust receipts 23414.04 Canteen 0.00 Total income 764890.00 Expenditure Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 167924.35 Excursions 181565.35 Extracurricular dissections 345729.37

Library 30752.45 Training & development 1415.00 Tied funds 297575.43 Casual relief teachers 117909.36 Administration & office 204106.06 School-operated canteen 0.00 Utilities 111753.63 Maintenance 72593.27 Trust accounts 73598.93 Capital programs 70097.00 Total expenditure 1675020.20 Balance carried forward 1049056.41

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.

Schools may refer the reader to the My School website to access NAPLAN results as follows:

The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and

numeracy testing. Click on the link My School and insert the school name in the Find a school and select GO to access the school data.

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).

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Congratulations to the HSC Class of 2015 for their brilliant HSC results. The very high percentage of Bands 5 and 6 underpinned many outstanding ATARs and above State average performances across most subjects. These hard working students achieved 47 Band 6s (over 90%) and a whopping 255 Band 5s (over 80%). The majority of subjects were well in excess of the State average. 86% of exam results were over 70. Megan Purvis is the deserving recipient of the title ‘DUX 2015’ with her ATAR of 97.25. We are very proud of the fact that Megan aspires to study medical science at university. Some exceptional results included Ancient History, Community and Family Studies, Dance, all English courses, Food Technology, Geography, Legal Studies, Mathematics, Modern History, PDHPE, Society and Culture, Textiles and Design, and Visual Arts. These achievements reflect the efforts within the school to move students into higher bands and therefore perform at their very best. There were also some extraordinary individual performances. Catherine Fsadni came 3rd and Jocelyn best came 10th in NSW for Standard English; Jesse Flentje, Cassandra Bradley and Alison Baxter were all nominated for Callback for Dance; in Music, Josh Ridge was nominated for Encore; Shaylee Crimmins was selected for the Art Express exhibition; and Breanna Edward’s Textiles piece was selected for the Textile Art exhibition. These are wonderful achievements from committed, talented students. The strength of these HSC results is a reflection of the school’s efforts to pursue a culture of learning where high expectations for achieving excellence is the norm. The school programs that support this goal have for many years met with great success and generated an environment in which hard work brings well-deserved rewards. In 2015, the percentage of students achieving over 90 and 80 have more than doubled since 2005. Importantly, no student achieved a mark less than 50 in their HSC exam.

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Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction Each year schools are required to seek the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below.

In 2015, the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school with a focus on Year 7 student adjustment and teacher professional learning, and the development of the new Strategic Directions.

Parent satisfaction of the school is extremely high with nearly 100% of Year 7 parents surveyed agreeing that their child enjoys school. Approximately 98% of parents surveyed believe that their child feels challenged at Engadine High School. Additionally, applications for enrolment far exceed the availability of places for non-local students, which is an indication of the high esteem in which the school is held in the broader community.

98% of staff expressed satisfaction with professional learning opportunities and the sharing of best practice with colleagues and classroom management. Overall, staff, parents and visitors report a positive climate in the school.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Engadine High School has a strong network of students, parents, community leaders and educators actively involved in strengthening the connection to country and culture. Our students are encouraged and supported to apply for traineeships and apprenticeships with one of our students successfully gaining a traineeship with QANTAS.

We attend the bi-monthly meetings of the Sutherland branch of Aboriginal Education Consultancy Group and our students contribute to discussions with incite and vision. It was a surprising and joyous moment when one of our students reconnected with lost family through attending these meeting s. Our students and their family and friends regularly participate in a range of activities provided by local indigenous communities such as ‘Catch and Cook’ and ‘Koori Kids on the park’ with many of our parents running demonstrations and workshops. Our Harmony Day assemblies also support and encourage acceptance, understanding and learning about our indigenous students.

The SRC also maintained a focus on local issues in 2015 through several campaigns and activities that addressed the Indigenous community in Australia. We continued to support Koori Kids by selling wristbands to

raise funds for their work with Indigenous young people. For the first time, we worked with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and raised $1000 for reading materials for Indigenous communities. Our SRC worked with representatives from High Resolves to plan a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with a literary focus that raised both awareness of and funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s great work.

Our vision for 2016 is to host activities at school that encourage peers as well as friends to learn more about country and culture through language, dance and song.

Multicultural Education and Anti-racism

Engadine High School has a formidable focus on social justice, multiculturalism and Indigenous issues. Much of this is embedded in curriculum, however, the SRC takes a powerful lead in these areas. Therefore, this section of the Annual School Report will be devoted to their work in addressing these mandatory areas.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) consists of students elected by their peers and teachers. 38 students were elected to represent their year groups, including two representatives from the Support Unit. The SRC meets daily for roll call and regularly for meetings that follow formal meeting procedures. The SRC held its Annual General Meeting in Term 2 to discuss and plan various projects.

The SRC works as an advocate for the needs of the school community, and as a point of contact between the student body and the school. It addresses relevant issues and sets achievable goals that support the school. The SRC aims to develop leadership skills,

ensure student views are heard in decision-making processes, empower students to contribute to a positive school culture and strengthen the school community through active participation. The SRC has a strong social justice focus, and most of the projects they undertake share an underlying theme of helping others and promoting equality in the school and the wider community.

EHS students, led by the SRC, undertook a wide range of leadership training and development activities during 2015. Our students were invited to attend a number of leadership events and met many distinguished members of the local, national and international communities. This year, many of these opportunities focused on active citizenship and political involvement. Emily Larsen (9) was selected to represent EHS at the YMCA Junior Youth Parliament, where she participated in the legislative process and met with NSW Parliamentarians. Our SRC representatives all took part in a High Resolves Leadership Training program, where they worked together to discuss student leadership and plan whole-school projects. Gabrielle Mee, Lili Donald and Joshua Warren (11) participated in the ongoing Elevate Leadership Program at Wollongong University, where they connected with peers from around Sydney to address effective student leadership in schools.

A second focus for 2015 was the celebration of multiculturalism and cultural diversity. This commenced with our Harmony Day celebrations in March, when all students attended an Assembly celebrating the Harmony Day theme, “Everyone Belongs”.

For the first time, the EHS Model United Nations Team won our local competition. Representing the UK, Joshua Warren, Callum Tsambalas and Hayden Sloggett (11) travelled to Canberra to compete in the National competition, accompanied by Ms Joanne Jarvis and Ms Lisa Waygood. Our longstanding relationship with World Vision was maintained this year, as a group of 15 Year 11 students was invited to attend the Global Young Leaders Convention at Luna Park. This workshop helped the students navigate around any issues associated with global inequalities and readied them for leadership in the school’s 40 Hour Famine campaign. This year’s 40 Hour Famine was very successful. Led by a committee of senior

students, over 150 EHS students participated in the campaign and raised $6331.74 for World Vision projects globally.

World Youth Conference attended by our students

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Our program of multicultural events for 2015 included extensive training and workshop involvement for SRC members and other students. A select group of Year 10 students attended training by the Refugee Challenge in Schools program at Menai High School. They then led a group of 50 peers in an immersive experience of the asylum seeking process, including boat travel and life in a refugee camp. Our students also had the opportunity to contribute to NSW government policymaking on multiculturalism when Max Hanna, Lili Donald and Samantha Hill (11) were invited to attend the Ideation Multiculturalism Conference. They discussed issues facing Sydney’s young diverse community with representatives from NSW Government.

Our students embraced many educational and fundraising opportunities associated with the status of women worldwide in 2015. Once again, our Year 12 Prefects and Captains were invited to attend the International Women’s Day Breakfast. Year 12 students led a very successful and extremely moving celebration of White Ribbon Day, leading an Assembly that featured performances, teachers’ contributions and the pledge of many students and staff not to remain silent on domestic violence in our community. Our senior students represented EHS in a variety of workshops and competitions. Sarah Fahey, our School Captain, progressed to the second round of the Zonta Young Women in Public Affairs Award, speaking eloquently on global women’s issues. Annabelle McTaggart (11) was one of only 25 students across Sydney selected to attend the Young Women’s Leadership Forum, where she met former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Gabrielle Mee (11) attended the Young Women’s Leadership Academy at the University of Sydney, a program that focused on business skills and women in management. We finished the year with our first collaboration with Share the Dignity, an organisation that supports local women in need. The EHS community donated more than 20 boxes of sanitary items and toiletries that were distributed to women in Sydney refuges.

The primary focus for the SRC at EHS is social justice, and our 2015 representatives were fully committed to making a change in the community, on a local and a global scale. Our more far-reaching campaigns this year included Books for Zim, in which the Engadine High community donated more than 50 boxes of books to help establish a new library in a small community in Zimbabwe. In response to the earthquake in Nepal, EHS donated $1116.35, which was sent to Save the Children to support their work with Nepalese families who lost everything in the disaster. We continued our support of Hamaz Abanaeim Abadega, who we sponsor through PLAN International, and learned of the amazing work PLAN has done in Hamaz’ community in Ethiopia.

The SRC in 2015 were also fully committed to working in their local community, raising funds for a range of local organisations and promoting worthwhile causes in the school community. The students coordinated fundraisers for Stewart House ($113), Bear Cottage at Westmead Hospital ($500) and our Year 12 students once again organised a very successful World’s Greatest Shave event for the Leukaemia Foundation. SRC students participated in the Red Shield Appeal and sold bandannas on Bandanna Day to raise more than $1200 for CanTeen. Our commitment to social justice goes beyond fundraising and SRC students fought to make positive changes in their school community. The SRC proudly supported Wear It Purple Day and celebrated the gender and sexual diversity in our school community. Inspired by the work of Amnesty International, Year 9 representatives conducted a silent protest at a school Assembly to raise awareness of the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. They followed this powerful protest with the establishment of a Write for Rights group, and together sent many letters to government representatives worldwide, urging that human

Supporting the 40 hour Famine

Year 10 students at the Refugee Challenge

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rights be upheld for imprisoned peoples. Senior students continued to generously participate in our Red Cross Blood Drives. We also made a connection with peers at Warilla High School when their SRC visited EHS to collaborate on SRC planning and share ideas on the role of student representatives in schools.

Beyond social justice and fundraising, the SRC have volunteered many hours to assist at school and community events, and have represented EHS on many occasions. In 2015, these responsibilities ranged from acting as ushers or guides on Open Night, Linkages Days, Orientation Days and Assemblies, to greeting guests during the Probus Annual General Meeting and the Japanese Cultural Exchange Visit. They welcomed visitors to the school during the Teacher Librarian Network Meeting and addressed their peers at High Achievers Assemblies. Our student representatives regularly update the school sign, lead weekly Assemblies and address their year groups. They have represented the school (along with a group of peers) at the Premier’s Seniors Week Gala Concert and the Sutherland Shire Music Festival, which involved many volunteered hours outside of school times. We are extremely grateful to the SRC and all other student volunteers for their time and hard work.

While all our SRC representatives display excellence, commitment and social awareness, certain members of our group have been recognised for special achievements this year. Gabrielle Mee (11) was awarded the Sutherland Shire Council’s School Donations Program Award for her consistent commitment to school and community service, and excellence across many aspects of her schooling. Evan Pignatelli (12) was awarded the prestigious John Lincoln Youth Community Service Award, which recognised his outstanding record of global volunteering, mentoring of younger students and service to the local community. Jessica O’Meara (10) was recognised for her high achievement in academics, sport and the performing arts in her nomination for the Rotary Recognition of Youth Awards, which was generously sponsored by Engadine’s Rotary chapter. It is always wonderful to see our dedicated, passionate students recognised for their great achievements, both inside and out of the school.

Once again, our SRC representatives have worked tirelessly and passionately to support worthy causes, run enlightening campaigns, serve their school and local community and fight for social justice. We are extremely proud of all their achievements in 2015.

Our Big Kitchen

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Other school programs

The Library - Hub of Learning

Vision Statement

The library provides an inclusive, dynamic, information-rich learning environment that supports the needs of the school community. Students are motivated and empowered to be creative, critical and ethical information users and producers of ideas as they pursue lifelong learning.

The library supports the teaching and learning of the school community in many and varied ways and strives to model the school’s core values: educational excellence and opportunities in a safe, nurturing environment.

Library Overview

Tracey Miller is the current Teacher Librarian (TL) and has been in the position for four years. The library has two fulltime SASS support library assistants and a technology support person who works two days per week.

The library continues to reflect the learning of the future, a far cry from the solemn, passive and traditional concept of a library. The library is not only viewed as an extension of the classroom, it

is a virtual extension to anywhere in which students are engaged in learning: a shared space that is central to the whole school community. This on-demand and information rich learning environment fosters the development of deep knowledge through the provision of accessible resources, and the development of sophisticated information and technology understandings and skills (Hay & Todd, 2010, p.32).

The TL teaches explicit information literacy skills within units of work and collaborates with the classroom teacher as a means of empowering students with the knowledge and skills required to meet both academic and personal goals. For example, there have been close and ongoing partnerships with senior subjects such as History, Geography, VET Entertainment, Community and Family Studies, International Studies and Society and Culture in 2015.

The TL and support staff have built an extensive digital library accessible via Moodle and the school’s website. This includes Britannica School, Issues in Society, Newscan Indexing Service, subscriptions to academic journals and magazines and eBooks through Wheelers Platform. The library page on our website has some of the highest number of hits of all pages and the digital library is very popular.

Years 7 – 10 Wide Reading Program supports the fundamentally important skill of reading for learning. Moreover, the library also provides a place where reading for pleasure is fostered. The TL leads book review sessions with classes to assist students to choose an appropriate fiction book that not only meets the requirements of the wider reading program but also instils a sense of reading for pleasure. The TL has instigated and coordinated the Premiers Reading Challenge at the school with the support of the English Faculty. We enjoy very high participation rates across years 7-9 including the Support Unit.

The TL has been central to supporting the Year 9 cross curriculum project based learning program, A World Worth Living In. This has included planning and delivering lessons on secondary research skills with a focus on Guided Inquiry and using the Information Processes Model. The TL has also coordinated the social justice

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component of the program and has been a mentor to student groups. Additionally, the TL has designed and delivered Year 7 and Support Unit Orientation programs, Linkages lessons to Year 5 and 6 feeder public school classes and delivered staff induction programs.

Oliver Library System

A new School Library System (SLS) is being implemented in all NSW DEC schools to replace OASIS Library. Following a lengthy application process, Engadine High School was selected to be a Lighthouse School to implement the new SLS during 2015.

Engadine High School’s Oliver journey began in Term 2, 2015 as a Lighthouse School. Moving to Oliver has certainly enhanced the teacher Librarian’s involvement with a wider range of classes across the school. Teaching students how to use Oliver has provided numerous opportunities to work closely with students across entire year groups. Skills in best practice using Oliver have been taught across all Year 7 - 9 classes, elective Year 10 classes, Preliminary HSC courses and to teaching staff.

The Oliver interface is interactive and helps users to easily discover a variety of resources, both physical and digital. The students are able to easily search our library for resources and using the Federated Search option can search for online resources in other DEC libraries, on Britannica Online, ClickView and Google. The Oliver interface has links to reliable websites sites such as Trove and the Australian Museum. The interface also has links to Engadine High Reading Lists including all our genre based reading lists and curriculum based lists such as a

Discovery Reading List. All our new releases are featured on the carousel in the middle of the interface. There is also a featured author section, information on New Releases and a Guide to Staying Safe Online on the interface and more.

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Our Library at a Glance

Engadine High Library continues to enjoy very high usage and circulation rates.

The Loan Statistics by Year group (1 January – 17 December 2015)

Top 5 Books borrowed from Engadine High School Library

1. Paper Towns by John Green 2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 3. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner 4. The 13-Storey Treehouse by Terry Denton and

Andy Griffiths 5. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Top Books for each Year Group

Year 7 – The 13-Storey Tree House by Terry Denton and Andy Griffiths Year 8- Give and Take by Alex Kirsch, Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba (Graphic Novel) Year 9 – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Year 10 – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle Year 11- Adrian Mole: the Cappuccino Years by Sue Townsend Year 12 – The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow Most borrowed book by girls – Paper Towns by John Green Most borrowed book by boys – Death Cure by James Dashner

Refurbishment

Phase four of the refurbishment was completed during 2015. Usage and borrowing rates continue to climb as the refurbishment of the learning spaces evolve. With ongoing P & C support the following new features were added to our library:

• A new digital projector, speakers and a large screen have enhanced the teaching space in the computer research zone;

• New student tables and chairs in the computer research zone;

• An eye catching revamped circulation desk;

• Two new stand-alone OPAC enquiry terminals;

• Redesigned senior computer access space.

Year Total Number of Loans

7 994

8 525

9 558

10 234

11 172

12 147

Total 2630

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Premiers Reading Challenge (PRC)

More than 270,000 students from across NSW completed the PRC in 2015 – more than in any previous year.

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. EHS had 252 students attempt the Challenge in 2015. 75 students from Years 7, 8, 9 and the Support Unit completed the Challenge. All students received a certificate of participation at the Achievement Assemblies.

A number of students were recognised for special awards. Most notably Jessica Mills from Year 9 was awarded the PRC Medal for completing the Challenge for ten consecutive years.

A number of students received the Gold Certificates, acknowledging 4 years of successfully completing the Challenge.

We are very fortunate at Engadine High School to have a superb collection of over 5450 titles in our fiction section of the library and over 80 e-Books available via the website. We regularly update our collection with the aim to engage and enrich our students reading experience and to support the English Wide Reading Program.

2015 NSW PRC Statistics

Students who completed the Challenge 272,440

Gold Awards 27,914

Platinum awards 5,285

Medals 363

Total books read 7,492,209

Teacher Librarian, Mrs Miller and a student at the new circulation desk

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Curriculum Support

The library continues to support teaching and learning across all Key Learning Areas (KLA’s) at Engadine High School. The NSW DEC Information Skills Process (ISP) Model along with reference to a guided inquiry approach to learning, are used by the Teacher Librarian to further enrich the development of information literacy skills. These models for learning guide the Teacher Librarian (TL) in teaching explicit information literacy skills within units of work. Collaboration with the classroom teachers is critical and is ongoing.

Examples of the TL teaching explicit literacy skills include:

Year 11 and 12 Modern History, Ancient History, Society and Culture, Junior Geography and History classes, International Studies, Community and Family Studies – research skills with particular reference to locating and selecting resources, evaluating websites, referencing and writing bibliographies.

Year 11 Entertainment and SLR – copyright issues, avoiding plagiarism, referencing and writing bibliographies.

Year 11 Community and Family Studies - research skills using online Databases, referencing and plagiarism.

Year 7, 8, 9, 10 - English Wider Reading Program – Reading is a core skill for learning. The library also provides a place where reading for pleasure is fostered. The TL leads book review sessions with classes to assist students to choose an appropriate fiction book that not only meets the requirements of the wider reading program and Premiers Reading Challenge but also instils a sense of reading for pleasure.

Year 9- A World Worth Living In Sustainability Project – the Teacher Librarian is a member of the planning committee, delivers lessons on secondary research skills to all Year 9 students, coordinates the social justice component of the program and is a mentor to two groups of students.

Year 7 Orientation Program – in Term 1 all Year 7 students complete a three period orientation program during English. This provides a hands-on experience on how to use the library and a guided tour of the digital resources available via Moodle.

Support Unit Orientation Program – all Support Unit students participate in a modified orientation program which incorporates the wide reading program for English.

Linkages Program – the TL offers lessons as part of the Year 6 Linkages Program which incorporate digital literacy and information processing skills.

Additional library based programs include:

New Staff Orientation – the TL provides all new teachers with a guided tour of the library, including the digital resources and setting up ClickView accounts.

Assisting Society and Culture students to make contact with organisations and key people in the wider community for their Personal Interest Projects. In addition, the teacher librarian assists many senior students to find reliable resources of information in order to complete assessment tasks.

The library staff is continually updating the catalogue by tagging resources to the National Curriculum cross-curriculum priorities. This assists the students and staff to identify resources directly linked to the National Curriculum.

Library Page on the EHS website

The Library Page continues to be updated on the EHS website.

The library page has links to New Releases – short clips of the latest fiction purchased including a review; Premiers Reading Challenge – online registration opens in March; Great Websites – some recommended websites for students; Library Services – an outline of the many services we offer to support teaching and learning at EHS; Library News – a brief of the latest happenings in the library; Digital Library link – providing an overview of the many resources available 24/7 via Moodle and a direct link to our e-Book library.

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Special Events and Social Justice Programs

Book Week

The library hosted a number of activities during Book Week in 2015. A number of Year 7 and 8 English and Support Unit classes enjoyed presentations from the Sutherland Library specialist librarians on the shortlisted Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) books of the year.

Aussie Books for Zim

A Wollongong University PhD graduate, Dr Alfred Chidembo initiated a drive to collect 10,000 books for the children of Mavhurazi Primary School in Zimbabwe. The library was a collection point for donations of books. We donated over 60 boxes of books to this school.

The combined role of TL and Student Representative Council (SRC) Coordinator works particularly well at Engadine High School. As a SRC Coordinator the TL works with a number of student leaders on a range of social justice based projects. The Premiers Seniors Week Gala Concert volunteer program, the 40 Hour Famine, Harmony Day formal assemblies, support of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation are examples of programs coordinated by the TL.

The library continues to go from strength to strength. Building capacity for student and staff learning in the 21st century is central to achieving this vision.

Year 7 Student Representative Council – books for Zimbabwe project

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