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Hills Grammar | June 30 2020
Annual Report 2019
From the PrincipalThe Annual Report is a public document, produced each year to provide the School and wider community with information about HillsGrammar during the preceding year of operation. This Report has been prepared in respect to the 2019 school year.
The School reports to, and engages frequently with its community, through face to face interactions, newsletters and other publications, butthe Annual Report brings together in one place, for the audiences interest and information, key achievements and indicators of our success asa school. However, as we know education is more than its component parts and any written document cannot capture fully the joy anddelight of being a member of a vibrant community such as Hills Grammar.
It’s easy in this time of compliance, measurement, targets and league tables to lose sight of what the primary purpose of our school daysshould be? To quote Matthew Arnold, English poet - The epitome of an education should be “best of what has been thought and said” and themeasure of any civilisation, of any culture, is the extent to which learning is held as important. However, there is a much more immediatereason for pursuing learning for its own sake: it is a joy!
Anyone who has ever taught a child – whether it be how to ride a bike or why the dinosaurs became extinct– will have seen the light in theireyes when they have finally mastered a tricky concept. Those Eureka moments are what make teachers continue in the profession, as theyfind joy in witnessing the joy of learning.
At Hills Grammar we are not distracted from what we value and we are true to our profession as educators, knowing that by focusing on‘education for education sake’, the outcomes, statistical and otherwise, will come. We celebrate these as they capture the essence andpotential of an extraordinary education and the extraordinary individuals that result. I publicly acknowledge all students, staff, parents, SchoolCouncil and partners and thank all who have contributed to the attainment of the outcomes reported in this Annual Report.
I am confident that in 2019 there was abundant evidence that our students have received an extraordinary education and that our School hasbeen true to its Mission ‘Outstanding teaching within a unique learning environment fostering in each student their potential for greatness’.
I commend the 2019 Annual Report to you.
Michael Smith | Principal
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School EthosThe School Ethos continues to guide our daily and annual agenda and importantly, anchor our culture, practices and strategic direction. Astrong commitment from all members of the school community (past, present and future) to these guiding principles ensure they are realisedand exceeded.
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VisionVision
Extraordinary Education: Extraordinary Individuals
MissionMission
Outstanding teaching within a unique learning environment: fostering each student’s potential for greatness
Graduate AimGraduate Aim
In partnership with our families, we enable our students to:
Become confident, resilient and responsible individualsDevelop a deep understanding across a range of academic disciplines and strive for personal excellence as learnersThink critically and creatively and embrace life-long learningEmbody the humanitarian values of Respect, Integrity, Service and ExcellenceUnderstand the importance of an international perspective and contribute positively in our local and the global communityDevelop an appreciation of a diverse and inclusive Australian democratic societyDisplay a strong sense of environmental responsibility
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Enrolments PolicyHills Grammar appreciates that every child and young person is different. Our aim is to identify, nurture and expand on each person’spassions, skills and capacity in order for them to graduate into the world as confident, accomplished and ‘Original’.
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NAPLANAt the end of Term 3 2019, parents and carers received their child’s individual NAPLAN results. Each year we prepare an overview of theSchool’s NAPLAN performance and compare our achievements to State averages. While the performance is positive in all areas, the highlightwas the school’s performance in the writing dimension, where the average performance of our students improved for each year group 3, 5, 7and 9. This includes three years of continued improvement in averages for Year 3 writing, and four years of continued improvement inaverages for Year 9 writing. Some of the strategies that have helped to fuel this growth in writing scores include:
Contextualised writing experience in persuasion and narrative genres (that is, authentic writing experiences, and not “drill” forNAPLAN)The introduction of “Big Write” in the Junior SchoolCareful arrangement of Units of Inquiry and assessment in Senior School English to develop both narrative and persuasion in contextin a timely manner (for example, students perform a lively “TED Talk” in Term 1).
Well done to all of our students with their efforts on NAPLAN assessments, and to our teachers for their ongoing support. A detailed itemanalysis in all areas of literacy and numeracy forms part of the School’s annual review processes.
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HSCWe congratulate the Class of 2019 for their outstanding HSC results, which included 80 Band 6 results, with 33 students listed asDistinguished Achievers and the School improving its Top 100 ranking. The median ATAR was a staggering 84.6 (best-ever).
Hills Grammar was above the State average in 30 of our 34 HSC courses. We achieved 67% of results in the Bands 5 and 6 range (80% andabove) with Band 6 results in 27 HSC courses. 60% of the Class of 2019 completed at least one challenging extension course as part of theirpattern of study.
44% of the Class of 2019 achieved Band 6 in at least one course of study, and many achieved multiple citations by NESA as DistinguishedAchievers. We acknowledge the following students who achieved Band 6 in one or more subjects:
Nazeefah Ahmed, Lachlan Alston, Michaela Beardsell, Jessie Boyaji, Felicity Chan, Madeline Culjak, Cali Doyle, Eliza Durnan, Zachary Ferris,Zhaoming Gong, Jingyi Guo, Maha Habib, Mark Hampson, Kavi Jalota, Dylan Kasah, Ann Kavilaveedu, Nathan Kim, Amy Kneeves, LukeKupka, Jasmine Mandla, Julia Neary, Lara O’Neil, Riley Petersen, Ethan Redman, Matthew Ren, Farhhan Shafi, Keyi Shen, Claire Shi, PatrickSinclair, Sonia Singh, Ge Sun, Shengli Yan and An Qi Zhang.
HSC All Rounders And Other Notable AchievementsHSC All Rounders And Other Notable Achievements
Cali Doyle (Dux) was a distinguished achiever in all 8 subjects attempted. Cali completed extension courses in English (Extension 1 and 2) andMathematics (Extension 1) with her highest results in English Advanced - 98%, English Extension 1 - 98% and Mathematics - 94%. Caliachieved an ATAR of 99.15.
Claire Shi was a distinguished achiever in 5 subjects. Claire completed 12 units, including Mathematics Extension 2. Claire’s highest resultwas in Mathematics Extension 1, where she achieved 94%. She achieved an ATAR of 98.3.
Felicity Chan achieved the School’s top ATAR of 99.2. She was shortlisted for HSC Showcase – Music Encore. Felicity was a distinguishedachiever in 5 courses, including full marks in Music Extension (50/50). Felicity has been offered a prestigious University of NSW Scholarship.
Ethan Redman was shortlisted for HSC Showcase – Music Encore. Ethan completed 12 units of study and was a distinguished achiever in 5courses, achieving 95% in Music 2 and 49/50 Music Extension. Ethan achieved an ATAR of 96.
Outstanding ResultsOutstanding ResultsJingyi Gou – 94% Mathematics Extension 1Maha Habib – 94% English AdvancedAnn Kavilaveedu – 95% English Advanced and 48/50 Mathematics Extension 1Amy Kneeves – 94% Business StudiesLuke Kupka – 47/50 English Extension 1 and 96% Japanese ContinuersRiley Peterson – 94% Mathematics Standard 2Farhhan Shafi – 47/50 English Extension 1Sonia Singh – 96% English Advanced and 47/50 English Extension 1Shengli Yan – 94% Mathematics Extension 2An Qui Zhang – 94% Chinese in Context
Download further information about the 2019 HSC Results
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Student ProfileStudents become Hills Grammarians at different ages, whether they enter the Early Childhood Education Centre, Kindergarten, Year 7 or atany other point they are immediately welcome, inspired and engaged in their learning, characterised by a rich and diverse curriculum, a widearray of co-curricular activities and vast opportunities to grow through our focus on wellbeing.
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At the conclusion of 2019 the School’s population was 910 students in Kindergarten to Year 12. 4.73% of our total school population werefull fee paying overseas students.
85.96% of the Year 6 2018 cohort proceeded to Year 7 in 2019.
98.48% of the Year 10 2018 cohort proceeded to Year 11 in 2019.
97.44% of the Year 11 2018 cohort proceeded to Year 12 in 2019.
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Staff ProfileWe recognise that it is vital for staff to cultivate positive relationships with the children and young people who attend the School; as well aswith their families, so that our students can thrive.
Our School owes much of its success to the learning opportunities provided by our teachers who develop innovative and effective learningpedagogies in the classroom. We attract and retain exceptional staff who consider it an honour and a privilege to work with the children andyoung people of the school.
Every teacher from ECEC to Year 12 is engaged in regular and rigorous professional learning to ensure that they are the best they can be, inthe interest of enabling our students to be the best they can be, and in turn, considerably enhance student learning outcomes.
Teachers at Hills Grammar have the opportunity to:
Work with highly qualified, experienced and skilled colleaguesFocus on the art of teaching, while they facilitate student learning.Enjoy the challenges of innovative curriculum development and work in well-resourced learning environments.Engage in teacher accreditation programs related to NESA and ISTAA requirements that are authentic and enriching learning anddevelopment opportunities, through a well-managed and clearly articulated process.
Support Staff contribute to the School’s educational program across Pre K-12 through providing operational, professional and para-professional expertise in positions covering a wide range of services. They have the opportunity to engage in professional learning and studyopportunities that enriches their capacity to support those who are at the front line of student learning delivery.
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Teacher AccreditationTeacher Accreditation
*Data captured from January 2019 to December 2019
Statement on Professional LearningStatement on Professional LearningHills Grammar is committed to being a learning community where key practices and strategies to improve the learning of all stakeholders areembedded within the School’s culture, so that student learning is optimised. Teachers and Support Staff have access to a range of
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professional learning opportunities both internally and externally to the School.
Hills Grammar has the highest NESA Endorsement as a provider of professional development possible in NSW, spanning all career stages ofProficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher, and across all APST Standards 1 – 7. During 2018 our Learning Lounge Program providedover 40 courses to our staff on site, with 27 of these being NESA Registered under Hills Grammar’s Endorsement. These courses includedpresentations by our own staff as well as external specialists and included a wide variety of opportunities to collaborate and share practiceincluding engaging in learning walks, observation of practice, teacher accreditation sessions, pedagogy and practice, leadership development,regional networking and teacher association presentations, as detailed in The 2018 Learning Lounge Program.
All teachers were required to attend at least 6 hours of courses throughout the year, with many attending over 15 hours of professionaldevelopment in the Learning Lounge.
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Student Wellbeing
Our Student Wellbeing Framework is designed to:
develop the unique interests and strengths of each studentprovide students with opportunities to develop positive values, attitudes and behaviours deliver explicit teaching of wellbeing skills within an evidence-based programprovide access to structures designed to identify and support all students, in particular those students dealing with learning, social,emotional or wellbeing needsestablish partnerships with parents and wellbeing specialists to ensure appropriate assessment and intervention is available to thosewho need it most
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Our Student Wellbeing programs are underpinned by the evidence-based principles of Positive Education which has been used to develop aschool-wide Positive Education Program centred on the domains of Purpose and Meaning, Relationships, Independence, Strengths andMindset (PRISM).
Policy Reviews 2019Policy Reviews 2019
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Co-curricular ProgramsWithin the context of the School’s ethos, the Co-curricular Program is uniquely placed to offer a wide range of activities catering for a vastarray of student interests, talents and needs. The Program aims to make a significant contribution to the full development of each student.The central aim of the Program is to broaden the development and interests of each student through the provision of a wide range ofpurposeful activities in; SPORT, LEADERSHIP and SERVICE, MUSIC, CREATIVE SPOKEN and PERFORMING ARTS, STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and OUTDOOR EDUCATION.
To foster and develop student leadershipTo develop a sense of belonging and school spiritTo encourage and develop co-operation, responsibility and ‘team’ workTo establish links with the wider community and develop relations with various groupsTo provide opportunities for parents, ex-parents and ex-students to contribute to the SchoolTo provide opportunities for students to achieve success in a wide range of areasTo inspire students to strive for excellence in all areas of endeavourPride and a sense of belonging to their school communityTo provide opportunities for excellence in all areas of endeavourAppreciation of democratic processes and an ability to contribute to the development of society.
The Co-curricular Program continues to strengthen on the back of our weekly scheduled connect time. That is, every Thursday there is an in-school Co-curricular period. This proved very popular with our students.
Along with this, the implementation of a Co-curricular Holiday Program was well received by the Hills Grammar community. This resulted inholiday programs such as Art Camp, Coding Camp, Chess Academy, Cooking workshop and NIDA Drama Camp being held on-site at theschool, whilst other offerings such as baseball camp, BMX camp, surf camp and mountain bike camp are held at outside venues
Leadership And Servce LearningLeadership And Servce Learning
Leadership and Service has established an extensive set of activities and experiences for students aimed at developing and extending 21stCentury leadership skills. We are confident that the program will prepare students for life beyond school, setting them apart from theordinary.
Outdoor EducationOutdoor Education
This year we saw the completion of the Outdoor Kitchen and can now become a home for outdoor education day programs. The kitchen issurrounded by beautiful flora and fauna. This creates a wonderful backdrop to teach the younger children about Australia’s diverse bushland.Now we can finish with afternoon tea and taste some wonderful damper which the students have made themselves.
MusicMusic
The Music Co-curricular Program provided opportunities for a wide range of students, including instrumental and choral ensembles, in bothjunior and senior schools in 2019. All music ensembles rehearse in the out-of-hours program and worked towards performances at eventsincluding the Annual Music Showcase, held at the end of Term 2, the Term 4 Music Ensembles Concert and the Annual Presentation ofAwards. Students in Years 5-11 were also invited to take part in the Senior Music Camp in Term 4, which catered for approximately 65students. A group of 21 students and 3 staff also took part in the 2019 HICES Music Festival Years 5-8 and Jazz Academy where both OwenNelson and Eric Hutchens were involved in leadership positions.
In 2019, there were 13 instrumental ensembles and 5 choral ensembles involving approximately 185 students, many of whom weremembers of multiple ensembles. These groups were conducted and directed by a combination of academic music staff and music tutors. In2019, there were 10 staff involved on a weekly basis taking between 1 and 3 ensembles. All rehearsals were held in the music department,with multiple groups rehearsing at the same time. The busiest session is on Friday morning between 7:45am and 8:30am where there arethree instrumental ensembles rehearsing in Mu2, Mu3 and Mu5 that cater for between 60 and 80 students.
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selection of comments from the survey:
‘Have been at various schools and Hills Grammar should be proud of the high standards and quality of the music program.’
‘It is good for junior school students (Years 4-6) to have the opportunity to attend performances of the senior school students.’
‘Enjoying the high standard and quality of the performances. A reflection of the music education excellence upheld by the music staff at HillsGrammar.’
Constructive feedback was also received, including suggestions regarding communication of information, repertoire selection and programorganisation that will be taken into consideration in the future.
SportSport
2019 has proven to be a very busy year in sport, with a number of notable performances in both individual and team sports.
A new and improved sporting competition was implemented within the Hills Zone Sports Association and this has, in turn, provided a morecompetitive and structured competition for our primary school students. The new format allowed our school to implement trials and trainingwithin our own sports program and this kicked off in Term 1 with close to 60 boys trialling for the competitive football teams. Our girlsnetball was also hotly contested with only one team being selected across both Year 5 and 6.
This competition for positions transferred into the Year 3 and 4 teams. All four teams from Years 3-6 made the grand final and our boysfootball teams were successful in winning their competitions.
In Semester 2 a similar format was adopted, with the sports on offer being basketball, touch football and AFL. Again through a trial processand regular training we were successful in making the grand final in three of the four sports, with our Year 3 and 4 basketball teams, and ourYear 5 and 6 boys touch football. Both the girls basketball and boys touch football won their competitions.
At the start of the year it was a strategic goal to improve our positioning in the overall standing of the HZSA Association schools overallpoints table. I’m pleased to say that we actually won the shield for the first time ever. Out of a possible 8 Division 1 grand finals HillsGrammar qualified for seven of those grand finals, and ended up winning four out of seven. Not only was our effort to playing and trainingabove average, but we also had the best support out of any school, with the final of the basketball replicating a NBA crowd with the noiseand excitement of the rest of Year 3 and 4 who attended, which creating an awesome sense of school spirit.
Congratulations to all students and the teachers who took on the role of coaching, notably Mr Price, Mr Good, Ms Pearce, Ms Midson, MrJohnson. We also had a number of student coaches, who gave up their lunchtimes to train teams.
In recognition of the school's achievement, Hills Grammar won the Jessica Clarke Shield for the champion school in the Hills Zone SportingAssociation for 2019.
The change of culture of competitive sport that has been building for a few years, pleasingly transferred into our senior school students thisyear, and for the first time in a number of years we felt competitive enough to enter teams into the HZSA weekly futsal competition, having aYear 9-12 team and a Year 7 and 8 team. Whilst the older boys were in a very tough division A, they still managed to be competitive duringthe season and finished 5th overall. Our Year 7 and 8 team qualified for the final in Division A, a special note goes to the boys for theirweekly commitment to training and to their coaches Mr O’Neil and Mr Muir.
Our school netball had an amazing year with the introduction of the Netball Fast 5 during the Co-curricular period and we saw a rise ininterest particularly from the boys for netball this year. In May we entered the local schools' cup and flooded the competition with more thanten teams. We had a number of successes with three teams going onto the next stage of the competition, our Year 8 boys team then won theSydney regional tournament qualifying them for the state championships. On this day the boys made the final only to go down by 5 goals to avery tall team from Lismore.
The netball club that plays in the weekly Saturday competition also had a successful season, after a successful 2018, most teams went up adivision and with two teams making grand finals this year we continue to improve as a club, with the girls playing in a stronger association, asa club we are very competitive. Congratulations to the Under 17 girls who comprehensively won their grand final on the day.
The football club continues to develop new programs that improve the skill and development of our players and coaches. This year we hadclose to 10 senior students either involved in coaching or refereeing and we are proud to say that we are upskilling our students andproviding them with skills and work opportunities whilst at school and development as an individual for when they leave school.
The most pleasing initiative being the introduction of the T3 Academy, this academy is designed to foster the development of those studentswho want a serious pathway in their football career, with training in the offseason and competitive games against other academies and thenfollowing up with the entering of teams in the local division one competition we see this as a great way of being able to attract more playersto the club but also look to keep our talented players who might otherwise look to go elsewhere as they get older.
The basketball program seems to be going through a golden patch with a number of students playing for the first time and joining the club,this has transferred to some very competitive teams and last year we had two teams win their local competitions. As previously mentionedour primary teams have dominated the HZSA competition and both the Year 3 and 4 team have won their respective competitions. Josh Hillin Year 8 has continued to represent at the highest level for Hills Hornets and our senior basketball team were again the HZSA championsbut this year went onto win the AICES championships, becoming the best AICES school in the state, this qualified them for a top-four shootout against the other associations, our game was against Riverview college the champions of the GPS competition. Although not winning, weproved that our school can match it with these larger independent schools and for the first time ever we had our school ranked as 4th in thestate for all schools.
For the first time in close to ten years we entered a team into a NSW schools event in fencing, and Brent Mei finished a very credible 6th.Our fencers continue to grow with their expertise under the guidance of our master of fencing Andrew Szurdanzki and we are hoping to seemore students join the program in years to come.
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The equestrian riders again continue to represent the school with skill and poise in different carnivals during the year. Jess Callusrepresenting at the Nationals again proves that despite moving into the senior school she is proving to be a very talented rider against oldercompetitors.
The school continues to look to provide new opportunities to our students and this year we are pleased to say that we were able to offerrowing for a small group of students, at this stage we have had students travelling out to Nepean rowing club to try out the sport and we arehoping that as interest grows we will start to enter competitions against other schools. It’s a small step in what could be become a verypopular sport for our students.
Our boys and girls volleyball teams continue to impress in the schools' cup gala days and our boys again were very successful during theseason winning one championship and placing in two others, this again has seen them qualify for the national schools competition. At theNationals, the boys were entered into Division 1 and after a gruelling week of competition, the boys went onto win the Gold medal, a first forthe school and an extraordinary achievement at a National competition. Kynan Leong and Yuji Hashimoto both represented NSW and CISand a number of the other boys are now playing competitively for their clubs and representing their local association.
Touch football grew this year particularly amongst our girls and it was pleasing to see the girls entered into the Barker invitationalcompetitions and competing in the NSW schools gala days, and the local Hills Hornets competitions, each year we attract more players andwe will look to continue to grow the touch football among our girls and boys in the coming years.
In the pool, Felicity Chan continued her success by winning Gold medals at the state championships, breaking records for the 50m and 100mbreaststroke and a new record in the relay.
Her commitment to swimming during her school life has been above and beyond and we wish her all the best as she starts to extend hercareer after school.
Another individual with rare talent is Rebecca Hancock; it's not often that a school can say that we have a world champion athlete and that iswhat Rebecca is for sailing.
Our cross country runners again were very competitive and under the tutelage of Mr Donaldson we had students representing CIS andcompeting at AICES, HICES and CIS athletics carnivals for middle-distance events. We introduced a new athletics coach and Maddie Smithwas a very enthusiastic teacher to our Junior School students in particular and we were able to again have some outstanding results. CaitlinRussell placed 4th at CIS and Daniel Zhang represent at NSW PSSA athletics for 100m sprints.
Connor Hendriks represented NSW for hockey and also represented at a number of other carnival and individual events, showing that he isvery much an all-round sportsman.
The Co-curricular Program continues to offer sports in its weekly Thursday session and students are able to get a taste of different sportswhich is starting to lead to more students interested in different sports, our dance groups continue to grow and we now have externalsessions, with students competing in local eisteddfods during the year.
We attracted 33 students to attend the Fiji sports tour next year and we will compete in netball and football whilst having a culturalexperience that the students will never forget.
There never seems to be a day or week that there is not a gala day, or an event that our students are competing in and therefore it shows thebreadth of the sports department that caters for all students across the School. We will look to provide as many opportunities as possible forboth boys and girls
We look forward to seeing as many students back on the courts, ovals, in the pools, on the track, where ever it might be competing orparticipating in some form of sporting activity in 2020.
STEMSTEM
2019 saw a surge in the popularity of STEM activities both during the Co-curricular Connect Period and in the after school Co-curricularProgram. The year saw the introduction of Lego Minds where students use Lego to problem-solve real-life experiences. Coding Club andScience Clubs continued to fill up fast, with students eager to explore how the world works. The Junior School students were especially keento increase their exposure to STEM-related activities and 2019 saw the introduction of STEM Basics for Year 1 and 2 along with thecommencement of Young Engineers, our after school STEM program that uses Lego as a base to demonstrate scientific and coding concepts.
Creative, Spoken And Performing ArtsCreative, Spoken And Performing Arts
In 2019, highlights in Drama included the Senior Drama Ensemble production of The Tempest and the Junior Drama Ensemble’s productionof Luke Lloyd- Alienoid. Both plays featured strong casts made up from different year groups and demonstrated just how well an ensemble ofstudents can work together to create interesting and exciting plays. The Tempest was a real high point, with strong performances from Year12 students, including Jasmine Mandla as Prospera and Rebecca Hancock as Miranda. Lachie Neville, Melanie Dobson and DamianHempstead were outstanding as the three clowns.
In debating we were able to send eight teams to compete in the HICES Debating Championships. Five of the Hills Grammar teams went on toget through to the final rounds. Two Hills Grammar teams represented at Ipsha Debating and performed extremely well.
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Community SatisfactionHills Grammar is committed to listening to the views and expectations from key stakeholders and commissions independent surveys toprovide performance feedback on a wide range of related education topics.
The feedback from these surveys greatly assists the School with both its operational and strategic planning and its determination tocontinually improve the educational experience offered to the students.
In 2019, 232 parents and 268 students from participated in surveys and provided views on such areas as academic performance, studentwellbeing, co-curricular activities, communications and facilities.
ParentsParents
A selection of the parents' top-level findings are detailed below, ranked in order of the importance the parents placed on reasons forchoosing a Hills Grammar for their child:
In relation to the top five areas parents noted as most important, expectations met/exceeded are:
85% of parents’ expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the quality of teaching90% of parents’ expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the focus on student wellbeing93% of parents’ expectations were met or exceeded in relation to balanced education91% of parents’ expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the Principal's leadership91% of parents’ expectations were met or exceeded in relation to facilities and resources
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StudentsStudents
A selection of the Years 7, 9 & 12 students' top-level findings are detailed below; ranked in order of the importance the parents placed onreasons for choosing a Hills Grammar:
In relation to the top five areas students noted as most important, expectations met/exceeded are:
82% of students' expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the quality of teaching85% of students' expectations were met or exceeded in relation to focus on student wellbeing91% of students' expectations were met or exceeded in relation to balanced education85% of students' expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the Principal's leadership91% of students' expectations were met or exceeded in relation to the facilities and resources
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Parents and students were asked to provide open responses to the most valued aspects of Hills Grammar. The most frequently nominatedaspects are:
Parent Quotes On What They Value About Hills GrammarParent Quotes On What They Value About Hills Grammar
The fact that both my children had such wonderful experiences and loved school is testament to the positive way the School is operating.
The School is a happy community of students, teachers and parents. I value that we are part of a tight-knit community that has helped nurtureour child. I value the School's well-rounded education and for providing a good foundation for life-long learning skills and resilience.
I am confident my child is receiving an excellent education that engages, inspires and empowers him. He has a strong rapport with hiseducators and is building friendship skills each day. As parents, we are invested in our child’s life and enjoy being involved in his educationjourney and that Hills Grammar encourage this involvement.
The leaders of the School, most importantly the Sports Department has given encouragement to our students to demonstrate their abilitieswithin the national pathways of their sports.
The wonderful friendship groups formed - and in high school they were really formed via sport. Also the School encouraged and realised thebest academic potential my children could reach. The teachers are simply amazing. You can have all the infrastructure you want but withoutgood teachers it means nothing. The teachers at Hills Grammar are everything and that's the most important investment.
The School has excellent values and the staff are all committed to the students. I’m proud to be part of the School.
Friendly environment and good communication with parents.
Student Quotes On What They Value About Hills GrammarStudent Quotes On What They Value About Hills Grammar
I value the skills I have developed over the years that have been fostered by my teachers and the knowledge and confidence I have steadilygained.
Their unending and unconditional value in student wellbeing, and the passion of teachers for their subjects.
The relationships I have built with teachers has helped me to mature and expanded my ability to operate within the adult world in anappropriate manner.
I would value the fact that the School has no religious influences over it and is accepting of all cultures and doesn't force anything upon thestudents.
Being associated with the School makes me value being in a connected community that values positive wellbeing, respect and individuality,which I think is vital to success in the future.
I value the community feeling of the School and the quality of most of the teaching. This year particularly I have had a few teachers who haveexceeded my expectations in terms of the subject and that has made me proud to be a member of the School. I feel comfortable and valuedand able to communicate how I feel as an individual.
The opportunities the School gives are very spread out for all the students and for students who have learning disabilities.
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Parent CommunityAt Hills Grammar we believe that our parents (and their broader families) are critical to the learning success of their children and integral toour learning community. The love and support parents and families provide, as well as their role modelling, are important in settingexpectations for their children about all aspects of school life. The alignment between school and home has never been more important. Weare committed to ensuring that our partnerships are strong and enduring, based on a relationship that is professional and built on respect,integrity service and excellence.
We acknowledge the many parent and grandparent volunteers, including the class parents, the Parents & Friends Association and itsExecutive, very ably led by President, Mr Russell Burns. We thank them for their leadership of the parent body which in 2019 once againmade an outstanding contribution by supporting the School’s Vision, programs and priorities.
From The PAFA PresidentFrom The PAFA President
It has been an interesting 12 months since our last AGM. We live in a very different world that has thrown up many challenges for activitiesand events.
Our committee’s goal is to strive to deliver a balance of fundraising, community engagement and supporting the School's Vision and prioritieswith our dedicated PAFA Committee, and with the support of students, staff, parents, School Executive, and School Council.
In 2019 we again offered our full range of events, activities and fundraising ventures. These included:
Second Uniform ShopThe Book FairStaff Appreciation BreakfastFather’s Day StallParent Information EveningsBusiness DirectoryThe School Master PlanThe Spring FairTea TowelsEntertainments Book
The Spring Fair was our major event for the year. Katie Melides, our Vice President took on the co-ordination role; she put her life on hold formonths and co-ordinated the entire event. Katie gave hundreds of hours of her time to make this happen. I am sure that without Katie’s hardwork and dedication we would not have had such a fantastic event. Katie along with the Spring Fair Committee put the event together. TheSpring Fair Committee could not have done it alone though; the help from the teachers, parents, class parents, students, and the SchoolCouncil was invaluable. The amount of time and effort that Mr Smith, Clare Napoli and Nicole Bennett-Santon put into the event was aboveand beyond their roles at the School. The Spring Fair Committee used the knowledge it gained from the major success two years ago andmade it bigger and better. The community spirit within the School, the local people and businesses was fantastic. The Spring Fair showcasedour School to the wider community, successfully bringing the Hills Grammar family and community together. The huge success of The SpringFair had a positive effect on all the other events throughout the year. We had more people volunteering and coming to events.
I must thank the entire PAFA committee who have worked unbelievably hard to make this a successful year, but without the support of theentire Hills Grammar community, none of this would have happened.
I would like to thank Mr Michael Smith Smith (Principal) and Claire Napoli (Director of Advancement and Engagement) who attend ourmeeting every month; your dedication to the School and belief in PAFA has enabled us to have a successful year.
Next year we hope we will be able to continue to work together with the students, staff, parents, School Executive, and the School Councilon delivering a balance of fundraising and engagement events, supporting the School in its vision and goals.
Russell Burns | PAFA President
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Financial InformationRevenues from Tuition fees and Commonwealth and State funding are utilised to meet Recurrent Expenditure including staff salaries, studentactivities, tuition, financial, administration and property expenses and the repayment of borrowings. In 2019 the School recorded an increaseto Cash and Cash Equivalents of $357,443 which will contribute to the funding of the School's Master Plan Capital Works Program. TheSchool’s accounts are audited annually and the financial statements for 2019 complies with relevant accounting standards and legislation.They give a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of the School.
Income And Expenditure StatementIncome And Expenditure StatementAs At 31 December 2019As At 31 December 2019
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Governance and ManagementHills Grammar is a not-for-profit registered Australian public company limited by guarantee. School Council, empowered by the School’sConstitution and accountable under Corporations Law, acts as the 'Board of Trustees', ensuring responsible financial management andgovernance. Council’s focus is on sustainability, ensuring Hills Grammar remains relevant to current students and those to come, long into thefuture.
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From the Chair of School Council From the Chair of School Council The 2019 financial year was another strong year for the School in terms of financial management and academic performance.I would firstly like to thank the School Executive, under the leadership of Principal, Michael Smith for all the work and commitmentthroughout the year and also the members of the School Council, Chairs of Committees and Members of the Company for their continuedservice to the school.
There was a change in Chair of Council throughout the year and also a change in the Chair of Finance with the return of Charles Denes toCouncil and Chair of Finance. I would like to thank past Chair of Council, Peter Crawley for his service and support of the School and wishhim all the best in his future projects. Also thanks to the Deputy Chair of Council and Secretary, Lisa Ainsworth and Chair ofGovernance, Stephen Weller. I really appreciate their leadership and support.
Academic results in 2019 continued to be strong across all years based on internal and external assessment. Hills Grammar maintained aposition in the SMH top 100 schools and continues to be recognised as one of the leading schools in the Hills district based on academicperformance. Individuals and teams across a wide range of co-curricular and sporting activities continue to be recognised as top performersin their respective competitions in 2019, confirming the breadth and depth of student talent across all age groups.
Michael Smith and his Heads of School and Executive team continue to manage a strong team of professional teaching and non-teachingstaff that ensure that students have an innovative and individualised learning experience everyday at Hills Grammar. Changes to student andstaff wellbeing, a review of the way in which the curriculum is presented and taught, and the introduction of a staff appraisal program hasensured that staff are being supported, professionally developed and recognised for their work, and that students are engaged in a wonderfullearning program.
The School Council has added a number of new members over the last year and this has brought new skills and experience to an alreadytalented and committed team of people. The new auditors have completed their first year in the role and have provided the Council andthe Finance Committee with ideas and recommendations that have helped to support our financial management of the School. The Councilcontinues to work on the implementation of the School Master Plan and future major capital works projects for the School, as well as ensuringthat our current campus and facilities remain at the very best levels to support student success.
The School continues to gauge community feeling through an annual survey of staff, parents and students. This feedback has been welcomedand appreciated by the School leadership and Council and important to developing Council guidance for the Principal and the Executiveteam, and future strategic initiatives for the School.
Thank you again to the staff and leadership of the School, members of School Council and the Company for all of your commitment andsupport of Hills Grammar.
Craig Tegel | Chair of School Council
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Strategic Priorities 2019In 2019 sixteen (16) specific strategic priorities were identified and progressed.
The Strategic Priorities for 2019 represented a combination of long term cultural changes and specific short term achievable outcomes, assuch and by year’s end, some were implemented and completed fully, whilst others continue into subsequent years for further development,enhancement and embedding.
Overall, however this summary indicates significant growth and development in numerous areas:
Operational CulturalTeaching and Learning/CurriculumHuman Resources/Staff DevelopmentOrganisational StructureCapital Expenditure
Many of these things are not as visible to the community but fundamentally alter and develop the foundations of the School, and upon whichwe will continue to build.
The Strategic Plan and Priorities provide a shared focus and language to connect key stakeholders with the Ethos and make our work moreproactive and developmental – whilst acknowledging the reactive and the operational remain a large part of management’s dailyresponsibility.
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1.INSPIRED LEARNING
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
To pursue excellence in
student learning.
PROGRAM INNOVATION
To provide innovative
programs that enable, enrich and
extend student learning.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
To develop confident thinkers
and resilient individuals
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
To maximise student
engagement by catering
for individual interests and
abilities.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
1.1 Priority: Investigate and introduce further practices of ‘deeper learning’ across the School
Delegation: Director of Learning & Teaching
Completed x Ongoing √
1.2 Priority: Consolidate and further develop student wellbeing culture and practice ensuring alignment with School Character and Values (R.I.S.E) and
raising of standards across the School. Delegation: Heads of School
Completed x Ongoing √
1.3 Priority: Design and implement an innovative Student Futures’ focused program, inclusive of careers and tertiary awareness, but extending to
include preparation of students for the world they will inherit. Delegation: Principal
Completed x Ongoing √
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2. OUTSTANDING TEACHING
PERFORMANCETo pursue
excellence in teaching
DEVELOPMENTTo value and develop staff
and inspiring and engaging teachers
WELLBEINGTo foster staff
wellbeing
RECRUITMENTTo recruit and
retain the highest quality staff
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
2.1 Priority: Finalise, document, communicate and implement the new and innovative approach to the teaching and learning of Literacy / English K to 6
(Writing, Reading, Spelling, Multimodal communication and E - literacy) Delegation: Head of Junior School
Completed √ Ongoing x
2.2 Priority: Finalise, document, communicate and implement a new and innovative approach to the teaching and learning of
Numeracy / Mathematics K to 6 Delegation: Head of Junior School
Completed √ Ongoing x
2.3 Priority: Embed the new Science and Technology syllabus into Units of Inquiry and develop staff capacity to deliver innovative and inspiring
curriculum. Delegation: Head of Junior School
Completed √ Ongoing x
2.4 Priority: Personalise Learning through Improved Feedback and Communication
Delegation: Heads of School
Completed x Ongoing √
2.5 Priority: Attraction, Recruitment and Retention of Outstanding Teachers / Staff
Delegation: Director of Human Resources
Completed x Ongoing √
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3. UNIQUE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT
To embrace a digital
environment that inspires learning
and facilitates outstanding
teaching
NATURAL ENVIRONMENTTo preserve the natural beauty of the School
campus, ensuring a sustainable relationship between the
built and natural environments
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
To ensure that our facilities and
infrastructure meet the
evolving needs of contemporary
learning and teaching
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTTo instil a respect for the School’s
culture and heritage as vital
aspects of school life
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
3.1 Priority: Support a whole school approach to environmental sustainability and embedding best practice into our School culture.
Delegation: Director of Business Operations
Completed x Ongoing √
3.2 Priority: Further develop the whole School Master Plan with a focus on identified major infrastructure priority projects for the coming years.
Delegation: Director of Business Operations
Completed √ Ongoing x
3.3 Priority: Complete identified and scheduled capital works that enhance the campus as an innovative and inspiring learning environment.
Delegation: Director of Business Operations
Completed √ Ongoing x
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4.ORGANZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
FINANCIALTo ensure the
School’s long term financial health
GOVERNANCETo ensure best
practice in governance
throughout the School
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
To be a leader among schools
in environmental sustainability
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
To build partnerships
with local and international organisations which reflect the School’s
involvement in the community and support the community to be part of the School
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
4.1 Priority: Prepare, participate and ensure NESA- Renewal of School Registration and Accreditation
- Approval of the School’s Teachers Accreditation Authority (TAA) - Renewal of the school provider approval to deliver courses to
overseas students Delegation: Head of Senior School & Director of Learning & Teaching
Completed √ Ongoing x
4.2 Priority: Enhance, develop and formalise risk management policy and practice within the School
Delegation: School Executive
Completed x Ongoing √
4.3 Priority: Establish and Launch a Scholarship Fund Delegation: Director of Business Operations and Director of
Advancement & Engagement
Completed x Ongoing √
4.4 Priority: Establish and implement Development Functions in the School Culture to support key infrastructure development and school activities.
Delegation: Director of Advancement & Engagement Advancement & Engagement
Completed x Ongoing √
4.5 Priority: Review and streamline communication throughout the school community.
Delegation: Director of Advancement & Engagement
Completed x Ongoing √
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Strategic Priorities 2020Since 2017 the School has developed key strategic priorities on an annual basis. These guide our yearly work, are designed to add value andensure continuous improvement, growth and development of our School.
View the Principal's Report on Strategic Priorities
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