News

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:19:59 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

Are you #Ready2020?

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:41:30 AEDT

Hints, tips and resources to make a great start to the new school year – whether it’s your first day of high school or you’ve been here a while.

We work hard to make sure every student is known, valued and cared for – even before they walk into the classroom on Day 1, Term 1.

We’ve got great advice and resources for high school, no matter what year you’re heading into...

For families of students starting Year 7:

download our Getting ready for high school booklet
read our top tips for a smooth transition.

For families of returning students:

visit the back to school checklist to make a hassle-free start to the year
download the 2020 calendar to stay organised all year
check out our hints for setting up a study space.

Video – #Ready2020: First day at high school

Duration – 1:00

NSW schools respond to bushfires

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 17:02:21 AEDT

Many schools are responding to the catastrophic fire rating that is affecting communities across the state this week.

We are continuously updating the School safety page with a list of government and non-government schools, as well as TAFE NSW campuses that are currently non-operational.

While some schools are temporarily non-operational due to localised fires, many others in high-risk areas are non-operational as a precautionary measure.

Schools in some areas are being used as emergency evacuation centres at the direction of the Rural Fire Service.

For schools that are currently operational, school pickups and dropoffs will continue as usual. If your school is currently non-operational, it will likely remain so tomorrow.

Large scale distressing events affect our school communities in many ways. Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) is available to help students, teachers and school staff respond to the bushfires.

Visit the School safety page for updates. The department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will also provide updates during this period.

Book yourself in for Reading Hour

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:12:56 AEST

This Australian Reading Hour, encourage your child to discover or rekindle their love of a good book. Take the time to learn, escape and relax on Thursday 19 September and read for one hour.

Reading has been shown to reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk, or having a cup of tea.

Take the Book Swap Challenge

We all have favourite books that we come back to again and again.

To help celebrate Reading Hour take our Book Swap Challenge. We want students, teachers, staff and parents to try reading something new on the day. To get involved, simply pair up with someone and swap your favourite books.

Take a photo and tag it with #ReadingHour so we can see how you got involved.

Video – Ben Law asks students about their favourite author

Duration: 1:18

Author and #ReadingHour ambassador Benjamin Law talks with some of our students about their favourite books.

How to be smart and safe on social media

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:28:17 AEST

Use our new Digital Citizenship toolkit to empower your child to understand how their online behaviour affects themselves and others.

You and your child can find information on:

how to ‘be positive’ by understanding online behaviour and its effect
'be smart’ by thinking critically and being digitally aware
'be safe’ by protecting your security, privacy and wellbeing.

A toolkit to empower you and your child

You can find articles and videos to equip and empower your child to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities in our digital future.

We’ve partnered with leading researchers to produce a curated toolkit – aligned to the curriculum – which teachers and you can share with the young people in your lives.

Guide your child through important concepts such as:

managing privacy settings in social media
collaborating online
avoiding scams and hoaxes
understanding the law when it comes to online speech
Internet banking, shopping online and much more.

Keep your child safe and happy online

Visit and bookmark the Digital Citizenship website. We’ll continue to add articles and resources to ensure the best possible tools are available to help you guide your child to be positive, smart and safe online.

What’s next after high school?

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:26:42 AEST

Is your child in Year 9 to 12 curious about their career choices? Now they can use LifeLauncher, a free online tool to explore and simplify their career choices.

Your child can explore courses and careers in-depth, at their own pace, anytime, anywhere and on any device. The tool includes 4,000 careers and 1,500 course options, all in one place.

How does it work?

Encourage your child to jump online and complete the 5-minute personality and subject quizzes to be matched to a range of career options that suit their passions and strengths.

If they take both quizzes, they’ll get more refined suggestions. They can even create free online pinboards to shortlist the courses and jobs that interest them.

When your child creates an account, they can save their searches and build a real understanding of the opportunities and pathways open to them.

What can your child learn about their career options?

Your child can explore the weekly salary of the career options they’re interested in. They’ll also find the employment and growth rates of those careers and the number of workers currently in those fields in Australia.

Each career option shows them the education they need as well as other related careers. They can follow links to other sites to find out more about a course to help them find the best provider for them.

Launch into the future today

Use this tool to chat with your child about their post-school options in a meaningful way.

Inspire your child to find their career match today at LifeLauncher.nsw.gov.au.

Education Week – Every student, every voice

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:55:06 AEST

We are celebrating our students and their powerful voices this Education Week Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August. Every year Education Week celebrates the achievements of public schools, our students and the value of public education.

This year, the theme is Every student, every voice.

Join us for #EdWeek19 as we celebrate our students and their power to shape the world.

Video – #EdWeek19 – Every student, every voice

Duration: 0:34

Creative and Active Kids vouchers now available

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 11:28:36 AEST

Creative kids can now put a $100 voucher towards extra-curricular creative activities outside of school.

Together with Active Kids, this program aims to encourage more NSW children to participate in a range of extra-curricular activities such as coding, languages, circus, performing arts and visual arts.

Parents can apply for one $100 voucher for each child enrolled in school on the Creative Kids website and use it towards the cost of registration, participation or tuition. You just redeem the voucher with a registered provider in your area when making your payment.

This is a great opportunity for your child to become involved in a range of activities that will build on their education, growth and development.

Service NSW is working with industry bodies to deliver the program.

For more information, contact Service NSW on 137 788 or creativekids@service.nsw.gov.au.

The Game Changer Challenge is back

Fri, 31 May 2019 11:42:41 AEST

It’s not too late to become a Game Changer with applications for the Education Week challenge due by 7 June.

The Game Changer Challenge brings 16 teams from public schools across NSW – eight from primary and eight from secondary – to Sydney during Education Week in August for a three-day, intensive design-thinking workshop.

The Game Changer workshops, which start on Tuesday 6 August, includes teacher training in the use of design thinking as a teaching methodology and its application for school planning.

It also includes a team competition where schools will work under the guidance of experts from industry and academia to develop a solution to this year’s critical question: How might we humanise technology?

Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott has encouraged students and teachers to get behind the event as it highlights the critical thinking students will need to develop to succeed in the future.

“The Game Changer Challenge is an exciting initiative that helps educate and inform our students and teachers on how to integrate the problem-solving methodology of design thinking into the classroom,” Mr Scott says.

“It embraces the 21^st century skills our students will need to thrive in a globalised world such as collaboration, creative thinking and communication.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students at all levels to be involved in discussing and addressing a real-world issue that will affect their future lives. I encourage every school to get involved.”

The challenge is designed to make strong learning and teaching connections to the NSW syllabus specifically in the area of developing general capabilities such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and problem-solving.

The challenge also provides teachers with an opportunity to gain exposure to the design thinking process and includes teacher resources to introduce this creative problem-solving methodology into the classroom.

Finalists will be selected based on a 60-second video that showcases your team’s vision around the question of humanising technology.

For more information email edweek@det.nsw.edu.au or visit the Game Changer Challenge page.

Your NAPLAN questions answered

Thu, 09 May 2019 15:58:25 AEST

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests assess the foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.

This year NAPLAN takes place between 14 and 16 May for paper tests and between 14 and 24 May for schools participating in NAPLAN Online.

NAPLAN data is used to help monitor student progress over time against a national measure and to identify areas of strength and improvement. It is used in combination with other school assessments to guide and support student learning.

Watch students ask an expert the tough questions about NAPLAN.

Apply now for My Community Project funding

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:12:53 AEST

Do you have a great idea to improve your area?

My Community Project is a new NSW Government funding program that is all about local ideas, local projects and local decisions.

You can apply now for grants from $20,000 - $200,000 for projects that will make a difference to your community. Projects could include new playground equipment, sports facilities, paths or ramps to improve access, public art or a community service.

The local community can vote for their favourite projects in July and successful projects will be announced in September.

Project applications close 15 May 2019.

Apply for My Community Project funding

Bring back memories, not measles

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:25:36 AEST

With school holidays just around the corner, it’s time to visit your doctor to check that you and your family are fully protected against measles, before you travel overseas.

Measles is a serious, highly contagious, viral illness that is easily spread through the air when an infectious person coughs, sneezes or breathes. If you and your family are not fully vaccinated, or have never been vaccinated, you are at risk of contracting measles.

Not sure if you’re fully protected?

In Australia, the measles vaccine (MMR) consists of 2 doses. If you’re not sure whether you’ve had 2 doses of the measles vaccine, visit your doctor. It’s safe to receive another dose.

Children born in Australia

If your children were born in Australia, they may have received the measles vaccine at 12 months old and the second dose at 18 months, in accordance with the National Immunisation Program.
If you have a baby under 12 months old, consult your doctor about getting their measles vaccination.

Adults born in Australia

Born before 1966 – you were most likely exposed to measles as a child and are generally considered to be immune. If in doubt, ask your GP.
Born between 1966 and 1994 – you may not have received 2 doses. Talk to your doctor about the free vaccine if you’re unsure.
Born after 1994 – the National Immunisation Program offers 2 doses, and you can check your vaccination status using the Australian Immunisation Register.

For more information about the measles vaccination, visit NSW Health or consult your local doctor.

Follow your heart, not the herd

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:33:58 AEDT

We spoke with a group of Kindergarten students to find out what they had to say about going against the herd. They had some wise words for us on how we can care, respect and support each other in our schools.

Let’s start the year off right and prevent student bullying happening in our playgrounds, classrooms and online. If a group of 5-year-olds know the difference between right and wrong, shouldn’t everyone?

Video – Wise at 5

Duration – 1:08

Back to school

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 15:22:17 AEDT

The first day of high school and the return to school in the new year are busy times for your child – and for the entire family. To help you and your child get organised and enjoy the experience we've compiled some useful tips for each year group.

We want every student to be known, valued and cared for in our schools.

2019 school budget allocations

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 12:00:57 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

New NSW Technology Mandatory Years 7-8 Syllabus

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 09:09:34 AEDT

New NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Syllabus

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 10:54:15 AEDT

New NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Syllabus

Year 7 2019 BYOD

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 11:09:11 AEDT

Year 7 2019 BYOD Information for Parents

Parent Teacher Interviews

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:15 AEST

Tell Them From Me

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:23:00 AEST

This Term, our school will be participating in the Partners in Learning parent survey, another part of the Tell Them From Me suite of surveys (student, teacher and parent surveys) on student engagement. The survey asks parents and carers questions about different factors that are known to impact on student wellbeing and engagement.

Running this survey will help our school understand parents' and carers' perspectives on their child's experience at school. These include: communication between parents/carers and staff, activities and practices at home and parent/carer views on the school's support of learning and behaviour. This valuable feedback will help our school make practical improvements.

The survey is conducted entirely online on smartphones, IPads, tablets, laptops or computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. The parent survey will be conducted between 27 August and 26 October. Although participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, your responses are very much appreciated.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au. To access the survey for our school go to https://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/lhs2018

The survey is available in 23 languages.

Parent Conference

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:15 AEST

HSC Study Guide 2018

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

Please click on the link to view the HSC Study Guide Information

https://hsc-study-guide-2018

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:14 AEST

Please click on the following document for more information

NCCD Parent Letter 2018 (pdf 57 KB)

NCCD Public Information (pdf 668 KB)

LHS Future Focus

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

At Leumeah High School we are working to provide great learning opportunities for our students and we continue to be proud of the achievements that they are making. We've recently been recognised for our strong HSC and Naplan results and in particular, exceptional learning growth in closing that gap for our indigenous students. But just like our students, we are always looking to the future to see what we can do better.

Please click on the following link to view our "Future Focus" page.

https://www.lhsfuturefocus.

NAPLAN

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

Please view the following letters regarding NAPLAN

NAPLAN Letters for Parents (pdf 111 KB)

NAPLAN Information for Parents (pdf 447 KB)

Tell Them From Me Student Survey

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:17 AEST

To view the document, please click here (pdf 65 KB)

"Creating An Even Better Life For Your Teen" Parenting Program

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:16 AEST

Please click here to view the image (pdf 509 KB)

Work Readiness Training Day

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:17 AEST

To view the document please click here (pdf 466 KB)

HSC Key Dates and Exam Timetable

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

To view the HSC Key Dates and Exam Timetable, please click on the link below.

http://educationstandards

Attention: Year 9 Parents

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:12 AEST

Dear Year 9 Parents/Carers: Today your child has been given a letter from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) about changes to the HSC that will take effect in 2020 - your child's HSC year. A copy of the letter is attached to this email. For further information, we have also included further information for parents from NESA that has been developed especially for parents.

This change relates to the use of NAPLAN results to help determine your child's progress towards the minimum standard of Literacy and Numeracy that will be expected by Year 12. Please feel free to follow this link to the NESA website to view a video about the upcoming changes:

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/about/initiatives/stronger-hsc-standards/minimum-HSC-standard

If you have any questions about this change or if you are concerned about how this will affect your child please don't hesitate to contact the school on 4625 7755 to speak to your child's Year Adviser - Ms Gartside.

To view the letter please click here (pdf 113 KB)

For more information please click here (pdf 974 KB)

ReachOut Parents Coaching

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:17 AEST

ReachOut Parents Coaching- Build the skills, knowledge and confidence for a strong relationship with your child. Helping parents support their teenagers through everyday issues and tough times.

Click here for more details

HSC Minimun Standard Advice for Parents of Year 9 2017 Students

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

Opal Card - Reminder to Tap on and Off

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:14 AEST

Dear Parents,

Students catching the bus are reminded that they must have their OPAL card out and ready to tap on and off the bus. This is a request from the State Government. Many students are not doing this.

Tapping on and off allows the State Government to adequately measure the movement of students that require a bus and then extra buses are provided or redirected. Students that do not tap on and off are causing overcrowding as the numbers show that not enough students are catching the bus. This is the case for bus number 18 which takes a significant number of students indicating two buses should be sent but because only a few students are tapping on and off, the data collected is showing that this bus route should be discontinued as not enough students are catching this bus.

In order for this not to occur, please ensure that your child has their OPAL card ready and is tapping on and off so that buses continue to run to accommodate your child's transport needs.

If your child has lost or misplaced their OPAL card, they will need to go on line and fill out a new application form. You may wish to contact our school for information regarding this process.

Parents, please support us in this crucial process.

WE NOW HAVE A FREE SCHOOL APP

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:17 AEST

Please click on the following link for instructions on how to load the app onto your Iphone or Android.

Instructions for App

Make Online Payments

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:13 AEST

It is now possible for parents to make online payments to the school for amounts owing for students, via a secure payment page hosted by Westpac. Payments can be made using either a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. The payment page is accessed from the front page of the schools website by selecting $ Make a payment

Items that can be paid include voluntary school contributions, subject contributions, excursions, sales to students and creative and practical arts activities (these include band, drama and dance). There is also a category called Other this to cover items not covered in the previous headings, Other can be used to make a complete payment of a school invoice.

When you access the $ Make a payment you must enter:

the students name, and
class and reference number OR
the students name, and
date of birth.

These details are entered each time you make a payment as student information is not held within the payment system. There is also the option to enter the Student Registration Number and Invoice number if you are aware of them, these are optional fields.

This is a secure payment system hosted by Westpac to ensure that your credit/debit card details are captured in a secure manner, these details are not passed back to the school.

You have the ability to check and change any details of the payment before the payment is processed. Receipts can be emailed and/or printed.

Details of the payments are passed daily to the school where they will be receipted against your child's account. As a receipt has been issued from the payment page a further receipt will not be issued by the school.

For any enquiries regarding the Online Payment process please contact the School Administration Office.

Click here for full instructions Parents Instructions (doc 445 KB)

Parents Anti-Bullying Survey

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:16 AEST

Flash!!

Leumeah High School Parents, the Anti-Bullying survey will be open from Wednesday 15th February until Friday 2nd March. Please click on the School Documents button located at the top main menu then navigate to the Anti-Bullying link and select 'Leumeah HS Parents Survey' link.

Thank you

PRAC @ LHS - ONE YEAR ON!

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:16 AEST

It's been a year since we launched PRAC at Leumeah High with a fantastic whole day, whole school carnival full of games, workshops and activities to reflect the four key PRAC values of Preparation, Respect, Aim and Cooperation. It was a great start and it has been an even better year.

In those twelve months we have seen so many fantastic achievements. At present we have 675 students who achieved Bronze level (over 50 PRAC merit certificates); 324 students who have achieved Silver level (over 100 merit certificates) and 102 who have achieved Gold Level (over 150 merit certificates). We are also pleased to announce 12 students will be presented with our very first Leumeah High School medal – the ultimate prize at the end of year Presentation Assemblies.

The aim of PRAC is to create a safe and successful learning environment. Through positive recognition of expected behaviours from students through the issuing of merits, a common understanding of expected behaviours presented in the PRAC matrix, combined with Tuesday morning PRAC workshops we have seen a reduction of disruptive behaviours in our classrooms. We can see this in the reduced rates of the severe consequences issued for ongoing misbehaviour such as HT and DP monitoring and suspensions. Due to the success of PRAC we encourage you maintain discussion with your child about the PRAC values, ask about the workshops or other activities happening at school and perhaps set challenges for your child (for example, set a number of merits you would like them to collect through a week, fortnight, month and match it to a reward/treat at home).

At Leumeah we will be continuing to promote the values of PRAC through a variety of challenges, focus messages, workshops and presentation assemblies. On Friday 28^th October 2011 we held a focus day to celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of PRAC, reminiscent of the launch day. Once again it was whole day, whole school carnival with games to reflect the PRAC values.

It was a wonderful day full of laughs and smiles. A big thank you needs to go to Ms Woolley, Mr Manavis, Mrs Russell and Mrs Dawson for handling the BBQ lunch shared by all. I'd also like to give the biggest thanks to Ms Carman, Mr White, Ms Woolley, Mr Bleyerveen, Mrs Giles, Ms Morales and Mr Gupta as the dedicated and hardworking PRAC committee who have developed all of the initiatives presented for students and staff over the last twelve months including the sensational focus day!

Ms Kim Osborne

PRAC Coordinator

Tips for The Teenage Tightrope

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:10:17 AEST

Tips for The Teenage Tightrope - Mon Aug 29th 2011- Narellan

Christina Ott will facilitate this session for parents and all who work with young people. She will explore ways to support young people as they negotiate the social and emotional ups and downs of adolescence.