Maitland High School

Term 4 2021

3 November - Updated information for parents/carers for Week 6 commencing Monday 8 November - please click here

Click on the Year group below for information in preparation for next week (Week 4).

Year 7

Year 8 

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Advice for families on behalf of the Department of Education - please click here

HSC

From the beginning of Term 4, Year 12/HSC students can continue to attend school for revision, learning and wellbeing support and to have access to their teachers in a limited way.

We’d like to remind our students and families that from 18 October, all Year 12 and HSC students will have access to school campuses and their teachers. This will support them in the lead up to their exams.

HSC exams will proceed for all students fom 9 November 2021 in a COVID-safe way, in line with NSW Health advice.

Vaccinations for students aged 12 years and over

Young people aged 12 years and over are now also eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. You can book in your children for Pfizer now, or Moderna where indicated there is availability.

Vaccination appointments are available at more than 3,000 locations across NSW, including GPs and pharmacies. More appointments will become available as supply increases, so keep checking for new appointments in coming weeks. 

Learning from Home

For families who are continuing to learn from home, the learning from home page has a wide range of curriculum-based activities to further support your child’s learning, if needed.

Thank you again for your understanding and support during what is going to be both an exciting, but also an anxious time over the coming Term.

Please take some time to check out our wellbeing resources for students and families. You’ll find useful tools for mental health and Term 4 preparation. Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can do anything to help you and your children to prepare for the return to face-to-face learning or if you have any concerns about the return to school.

We will provide a detailed update in relation to the protocols we will have in place to ensure a safe and supported return closer to those dates to ensure the information is current.

Thank you for your continued support.

Melissa Schatz

Relieving Principal

Why we are seen as 'the school on the up' in the community!

Maitland High School is the second-oldest state high school in Australia. It has a very rich history and a strong position in the community which provides a stable platform for the school to look to the future. Our school motto, “En Avant” (Go Forward) encapsulates the school’s aim to develop a sense of future: of capacity, achievement and success, in all students. Our 2015-17 School Plan captures the focus of the school: 'Successful Teachers, Successful Students, Successful School'.

The school is increasingly the talk of the community as the school 'on the move' in the area! Why? Read on...

Can a public high school, which is open to all students, really have settled classrooms, high expectations of student behaviour and quality learning? Proudly, YES!

Maitland High School is a very special place where real vibrancy and a sense of community exist and are promoted through inclusive curricular and co-curricular activities. We are very proud of our continuing improvement and the recognition of our school as a place of settled classrooms, engaged learners and positive student relationships. This was recognised recently (Nov 2016) when one of our head teachers was at an HSC Marking Centre. On hearing that she was from Maitland High School, other HSC markers from the Hunter area exclaimed; "Oh, that's the school we hear so much about! We hear great things are happening there and that it is really on the move! You must love working there!" The head teacher delightedly told this to colleagues in a Staff Meeting at the end of the year - her pride in our school's recognition, and that of her colleagues on hearing this, was wonderful to see!

This pride and positivity is also reflected in our exceptionally high teacher morale and commitment to the school: in the end of 2016 Staff Survey, 99% of all teaching staff reported that they enjoyed working at MHS. This translates into enthusiastic and committed teachers in high-performing and well-supported classrooms. Staff morale is a telling indicator in a school: MHS is a healthy, happy community and has a wonderful staff who care greatly about our students and their successes. Come and find out first-hand about our school!

Year 12 HSC - COVID update

All senior students, especially Year 12, are reassured that the National Standards Education Authority (NESA), understands and is making extensive allowances for the disruption this serious world event is causing to HSC preparations. Please do not worry about this, NESA is working extensively to ensure Year 12 students are not disadvantaged at the HSC. More explicit information is being developed by NESA and will become available shortly.

NESA's latest information:

Following the meeting, Chair of the NESA Board Professor Peter Shergold said he had three important messages for HSC students:

1. We know you are worried. While we recognise we are facing an unprecedented situation, we want to assure you that you will be able to get a HSC certificate this year, and that the certificate will facilitate access to university, further education and employment, as it has for students over the past 50 years.
2. Keep learning, do your assessments as advised by your school, make progress on your major projects where you can and, most importantly, look after yourself, whether you are at school or at home. Reach out to family, friends and your teachers if you need to.
3. If you get sick, your school and NESA have provisions to ensure you are not disadvantaged.

Effective immediately the Board is giving principals or system authorities the power to make decisions about the number and weighting of HSC formal assessment tasks for their school in 2020. The Board affirms its complete trust in principals and teachers.

“This action provides schools with the flexibility they need to support their students in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak,” Professor Shergold said.

NESA will provide specific advice to principals about this delegation of authority later this week.

For up to date advice about the 2020 HSC visit the NESA COVID-19 advice page:

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/about/news/novel-coronavirus

En Avant

Paula Graham

Principal