| Ku-ring gai Creative Arts High School | |
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Harmony in Diversity
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| Location | |
| New South Wales, Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public, Selective Creative Arts, Secondary, Day school |
| Established | 1965 |
| Founder | Bill Eason |
| Principal | Terri-Anne Kamasz |
| Grades | 7-12 |
| Enrolment | ~800 |
| Campus | Main |
| Colour(s) | Maroon Navy Green |
| Mascot | Polar Bear |
| Alumni | Catherine Jinks[1] |
| Website | www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/ |
Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School (KCAHS) is a co-educational, state government high school, specialising in the creative arts. It is situated in North Turramurra, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, beside the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
Students are selected for the creative arts stream based on portfolio, interview and academic history. The school accepts those who "demonstrate outstanding ability and commitment in the creative arts in either dance, music, drama and/or visual arts ",[2] as well as those in the direct catchment zone.
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Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculum for all years. In addition to the usual academic subjects, the school offers drama, dance, music and visual art classes, and vocational education opportunities in the areas of entertainment, photography, performance, ceramics, and visual design. The school also has electives in other areas such as Spanish, Computing and Wood Work[3]
The school provides extensive opportunities for students to experience the myriad activities that comprise the art world. In addition, programs focus on developing skills in technique/ art making and enhance creative thinking and conceptual development. Ku-ring-gai is the only school in the state to have a NOVA program (NOVA taken from the word Innovate). This course allows students to apply new ideas and concepts in subjects which are not regularly taught in most other schools. It focuses on allowing the students to study practical aspects of an elected course, many of which are based on the Creative Arts.[4]
Ku-ring-gai introduced a new class-period plan in 2011, altering it's timetable to five periods instead of the previous four, allowing hour classes. The school introduced a new program in 2011 for senior students called 'SLAM' (Senior Learning And Mentoring), held before last period during the day. This program replaces the previous ASKE program.
As a New South Wales public high school, KCAHS has to accept all students living in its catchment area. The catchment covers locations in Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby councils, including Dangar Island.[5] The school also accepts, if there's space, those who "demonstrate outstanding ability and commitment in the creative arts in either dance, music, drama and/or visual arts ",[6] as well as their siblings. Students who apply for enrolment under this criterion are required to provide a portfolio demonstrating this ability.[7]
The school opened its doors in February 1965 with its first group of year 7 students. KHS was the first of a second wave of new co-educational high schools built in the Sydney suburbs.
The school's first headmaster was Bill Eason, who promoted ideas of internationalism and peace, and later went on to found the Australian Independent School at North Ryde. During his time as headmaster, the school featured a large aviary in the front of the grounds. Bill Eason promoted an international outlook at the high school as well his other love: poetry. Students were exposed to many different types of poetry in his poetry classes and in general English classes. The first groups of students learned one of the poems of Rabindranath Tagore, "Mind Without Fear", from Gitanjali. The four houses, which are still part of the school today, and the names of the four original classroom buildings were set in 1965 - Churchill, Curie, Tagore, and Lincoln. Bill Eason selected these notable historical figures for their contributions in world leadership, science, poetry, and humanitarianism. The school colours were originally brown and gold.
Ku-ring-gai was local high school until 1996 when Mrs B. Peatie became the headmistress and requested to the Department of Education to become selective in creative arts. This request was granted, and at that time there were only a few hundred students. Since then, there has been an increase in students at Ku-ring-gai, with numbers at one point rising to 900.
Student Representative Council Slogans
2009 - "Yours & Mine in '09"
2010 - "20-10 Creative Again"
2011 - "Grow to Our Best at KCAHS"
2012 - "2-0-1-2 Through Our Pride Comes Something New"
The faculties in the school include:
The school has the following official performance groups:
In 2009 and 2010, members of the school choir as well as a number of dancers were selected to perform at the Arts Unit's Schools Spectacular[10] and several of the school's singers were back-up vocals in the 2010 performance.[11] The school's singers, instrumentalists, and dancers frequently participate in Arts Unit events, eisteddfods, and external performances.
The school regularly hold musicals, usually biennially:
The school's Creative Arts groups go on an annual tour at the end of each year. These usually occur during the last week of term four.
There was no tour in 2011 as the school is currently saving to send students to the Rhapsody Rotorua music festival in Rotorua, New Zealand in June, 2012.