St Helena Secondary College

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St Helena Secondary College
Image:Sthelena_logo.gif
Dare to be excellent!
Established 1984
School type Public
Grades 7 - 12
Acting Principal George Willox
Location Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Students 1,332 (2006)
Colors Maroon, Grey & Black
Website http://www.sthelena.vic.edu.au

St Helena Secondary College is a state secondary school in Eltham North, Melbourne, Australia.

Contents

[edit] About

St Helena is a large, co-educational government secondary college proudly committed to striving for excellence in all its endeavours. It has excellent architect designed facilities which include a library, theatre, gymnasium complex, specialist technology rooms, a VCE centre, Junior School area and a large canteen.

In 2005 the school completed the construction of a $2.7 million Science & Technology Centre and a soccer field, two facilities which greatly enhance our students’ learning.

St Helena has three mini-schools: Junior, Middle and Senior. Each is led by an assistant principal and a team of staff. The mini-school structure reflects the stages of learning students pass through and is designed to motivate, challenge and care for them.

Form teachers are the primary contact for students and continuity of contact is considered important in the transition from primary to secondary education.

The curriculum offers a balanced mix of academic and skills-based subjects. A wide range of subjects at VCE level provides students with optimum choices, enabling them to be well equipped for further study or the workforce. All courses provide open ended extension activities to challenge high achievers and students having difficulty are also supported. We offer an Accelerated Curriculum and Enrichment (ACE) program for students at years 7 - 10 and mainstream students in years 7-9 can also enjoy enrichment activities in a wide range of subjects through the ‘Access’ program.

[edit] Structure

The school is divided into three units; Junior, Middle and Senior Schools, each with a particular learning focus.

Each mini-school has a principal and year level manager as well as managers who are responsible for welfare, discipline and learning support, as well as developing and fostering student leadership.

Each mini-school team has a specific location in the school so that students find them easily. Our principals are: Acting Principal - George Willox, Acting Junior School Principal - Karen Terry, Middle School Principal - Rosemarie Neville, Senior School Principal - Neville Cook.

Each form has a form teacher who looks after its students and helps other teachers with discipline and welfare matters. The form teacher is the person to be contacted by parents and students if any problems arise.

A careers adviser also works closely with the Senior School to assist with course information and future career pathways.

[edit] Respect

Respect is a core value at St Helena, with three key foci:

1. Respect for the college and the community. Clearly articulated expectations of students’ conduct and behaviour guide the life of the college community.

2. Respect for peers: A key aspect of respect for peers is not allowing any form of bullying. The Anti-Bullying program at St Helena addresses the issue of building positive student relationships, developing respect for others and giving students responsibility for the wellbeing of others.

3. Respect for self: Self-respect is fostered by encouraging all students to recognise and develop their individual strengths and interests.

[edit] Curriculum

Each week is divided into 30 lessons of approximately 50 minutes each. The technology program is organised so that over three years all students study all Technology areas. This policy of providing a core program to all students from years 7-9, rather than electives, broadens students’ experiences and skills.

The school day begins at 8.30am and finishes at 2.50pm. Each day is structured around the following curriculum:

Years 7-9

In years 7 - 9 all students study the same subjects.

Year 10

Students undertake core studies in English, Mathematics, Humanities and Physical Education/Health. Students choose three electives each semester. They must choose at least one Science, one Information Technology, one Arts and one Technology elective over the year. A range of VCE subjects are offered as part of the elective system.

Years 11-12

St Helena offers a broad range of subjects in years 11 and 12. The senior school contains 400 students and has excellent facilities in all curriculum areas. St Helena offers an extensive VCE program which successfully prepares students for all areas of tertiary study and employment. The college currently has courses in a wide range of subjects including English, Humanities, the Arts (both Visual and Performing), Business Studies, Mathematics, Science, Information Technology, Technology, Health and Human Development Studies and offers four VET (Vocational Education and Training) Courses.

[edit] Performance

St Helena is well known for its performance tradition. Highlights of the year are the musical production, Rock Eisteddfod, drama production and music concerts.

Musical production

These are always outstanding successes and involve large numbers of students from years 7–12 both in casts and backstage. In recent years students have sung, danced and acted their way through such diverse productions as The Pajama Game, Footloose and the The Wizard of Oz, staged to packed audiences over 12 performances. Under the guidance of director, Glenda Evans, the musical productions take on a highly professional feel with each and every cast member striving for perfection. The productions encourage student involvement and have inspired many participants to continue to perform after leaving St Helena. The college recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary Musical Production, "Kismet".

A list of the schools musicals are as follows:


Rock Eisteddfod

The college is actively involved in the Rock Eisteddfod annual competition. The performances, although limited to eight minutes, enable over 100 students each year to work together to create and perform a dance routine which focuses on positive life styles.

Drama

In 2004 the first College Production was staged. The play “I’m on TV” allowed students, with the aid of director Emma Oliver, to build on and act out a story. The project was considered a success and therefore, has been added to the colleges list of annual events. This will provide another option to students interested in drama and performance. A list of the college plays are as follows:

2004 - I'm on TV!

2005 - Stilettoes and Sneakers

2006 - Dags

Instrumental Music

Music performance is an important part of the curriculum at St Helena. In addition to normal classroom music, students are encouraged to learn a musical instrument so they can participate in one of the five school bands and numerous smaller groups. Many of these groups perform at local schools and in state, national and international competitions.

[edit] External links

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