| Lyneham High School | |
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Latin: Vera Semper Colere
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| Location | |
| Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Co-educational Secondary and ACT Government School |
| Established | January, 1959 |
| Principal | Ms Colleen Matheson |
| Campus | Lyneham |
| Colour(s) | Blue and Maroon |
| Mascot | Lion |
| Website | http://www.lynehamhs.act.edu.au/ |
Lyneham High School is a secondary school in Canberra founded in 1959. Located in the suburb of Lyneham, It has over one thousand students and is at full capacity. It has two enrichment programs running: a selective gifted and talented academic program called LEAP (Lyneham Enriched Academic Program), and a similar program aimed at elite athletic students called SEAL (Sporting Excellence At Lyneham). The school is also renowned for its performing arts programs, offering concert and jazz bands, performance-based music classes, drama and dance classes, and the opportunity to participate in musical theatre productions. All these music classes are run in the State of the Art Performing Arts Centre, established in 2010.
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Students may be enrolled into Year 7 to Year 10 in accordance with the Lyneham High School Enrolment Policy and the ACT Department of Education and Training Enrolment Policy, if there is a vacancy in the required year level. Proof of residential address is required for all students enrolling in Lyneham High School. The main feeder school is Lyneham Primary School. See Enrolment Areas for Lyneham High School for more information.
Enrolment in Year 7 takes place in Term 2 each year.
1,030 students are enrolled at Lyneham High School.
From 2004 onwards Lyneham High School has performed productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story and Fame: The Musical, all directed by John Batterham. These five productions have received 18 nominations for Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Awards, winning four in total, including the award for Best Youth Musical twice (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar). Due to the high level of interest in these productions amongst students, the casts of these musicals are often quite large, with numbers often reaching above 100. On the 28th of June 2008 Lyneham High closed its very successful production of Fame: The Musical. In 2009 Lyneham High School produced Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida. The production ran from the 22nd to the 27th of June. This was the second production of this musical in Australia, and the first youth production in the southern hemisphere. 2010's musical was a very successful "Once on this Island" production. The 2011 musical is Les Misérables - schools edition,with John Batterham directing it and a variety of students acting/role-play and a pianist in the background. This production will be performed in the state of the art 'Lyneham Performing Arts Centre' (LPAC).
Selections from Lyneham High musicals have also been performed in the Annual Canberra 'Limelight' Revues in the A.C.T.
In semester two, after the full scale musical production company has closed, year ten students are given a choice as an elective subject to take part in a Production Masterclass, usually based around a central theme around the years Musical. In 2009, however, the students in the class elected to write their own musical called 'El Camino'.
From 2010 onwards, former students of Lyneham High and surrounding schools will be offered places in 'Company 13', an extra curricular musical theatre program run by John Batterham as a means of continuing students' performing arts careers after leaving school.
One of Lyneham High's most well known academic programs is the School Band program. It consists of five concert bands and two jazz bands, as well as several smaller ensembles. The concert bands are the Year 7 Beginner Band (for new students who are just beginning to learn an instrument), the Year 7 Advanced Band (for new students who already play an instrument), the Year 8 Concert Band (which, most years is the largest concert band in the ACT), the Year 9 Concert Band, and the Year 10 Concert Band. The jazz bands are the Intermediate Jazz Band (for students proficient in their instrument in years 7 and 8) and the Senior Jazz Band (students in years 9 and 10). Every year, all of these bands enter the Australian National Eisteddfod, and all of the concert bands go on interstate tours.
Towards the later stages of the year, Year 10 students are offered places in the Ginninderra Wind Orchestra as a means of continuing their musical careers after leaving Lyneham. This band is a community band run within the ACT and was established by Debbie Masling, the executive teacher for Arts at Lyneham High School.
2010:
- Year 7 Beginner Band: GOLD
- Year 7 Advanced Band: SILVER
- Year 8 Concert Band: GOLD
- Year 9 Concert Band: PLATINUM & GOLD (This was the first platinum award to be given to a competing band for their excellent musical skills)
- Year 10 Concert Band: GOLD
- Intermediate Jazz Band: GOLD
- Senior Jazz Band: GOLD
2011:
- Year 7 Beginner Band: SILVER
- Year 7 Advanced Band: SILVER
- Year 8 Concert Band: GOLD
- Year 9 Concert Band: GOLD
- Year 10 Concert Band: SILVER
- Intermediate Jazz Band: SILVER
- Senior Jazz Band: GOLD
Lyneham High School received a grant from the A.C.T. Government to build a new Performing Arts centre to help better the Performing Arts program at the school. Architects have completed the blueprints for the $5.3 million complex and construction began in June 2009. The Performing Arts centre was completed in March 2010, opened by Andrew Barr MLA. The centre has already hosted its first Lyneham High musical and several band performances. It was also the venue for the 2010 Australian National Jazz Eisteddfod.
LEAP (Lyneham Enriched Academic Program) provides an opportunity for high school children to enhance their learning, in the fields of Maths, Science, Social Studies (SoSE) and English. It provides a foundation for bright students intending to study these subjects at higher levels. The requirements of LEAP are that the students are to sit the University of New South Wales tests in the subjects of English, Mathematics, SoSE (Studies of Society and Environment), and Science, as well as the National Geography competition. In the National Geography competition 2011, a Year Ten student from Lyneham LEAP won the first prize, taking home a large encyclopedia and a medal. Other students also did very well, with many distinctions and high distinctions being awarded.
LEAP students are given two camps throughout their schooling at Lyneham High School. In year 8, and in year 10. These camps are not compulsory, but are recommended by teachers. The 2010 Year 8 LEAP Camp was a wonderful success. Students got to go to a little place outside Braidwood where they could catch yabbies, explore a river using gold panning equipment and go on a trek to the famous Big Hole.
The program is selective, with only approximately thirty students being accepted in each year. Applicants are required to sit an exam, and teacher recommendations are necessary. The exam is an approximately 3 to 4 hour exam designed to test the potential and capability of these children.
The SEAL (Sporting Excellence At Lyneham) program is aimed at elite athletic students, giving them the opportunity to improve in their chosen sport by attending scheduled training sessions weekly. Some of the sports offered include: Swimming, Soccer, Tennis, Cricket, Basketball, Netball, Hockey, AFL, Rugby Union, Volleyball and Weights. Meanwhile, the PE system allows SEAL students to catch up on work missed due to attending the specialist sessions. SEAL students are also obliged to participate in a minimum of 3 events at each of the school carnivals, (Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics).
Lyneham has many choices for electives including French, Indonesian, Drama, Photography, Digital Photography, Food Technology, Industrial Technology, Computing, Agriculture, Media, Outdoor Education, Performance Music, Concert Band and School Magazine (Year 10 Students Only).
The students involved in the French classes maybe offered an experience to visit a francophone country to widen their speaking skills and cultural understandings. Previous excursions have been to Nouméa and France.
Indonesian is the second language that is available to study at Lyneham High. These students are able to take part in excursions to the Indonesian Embassy and use their speaking skills. There is also a trip to Malaysia for the students to widen their speaking skills and cultural understandings.
Performance music is an elective class where students are able to different instruments independently. The class teacher sets tasks and they experiment with music to complete that task. The types of music played in this class range from Classical to Heavy metal, and every cycle there is a Theory lesson. Performance music is a popular subject within the school where students are able to create bands with friends and perform at Assemblies, National Rock Eisteddfod and Battle of the Bands.
Agriculture is an elective for years 8, 9 and 10. Students enrolled in the unit can work on agricultural skills such as looking after animals and looking after your own garden growing fruit and vegetables. Lyneham High has a large plot allocated to agriculture at the southern end of the school. In agriculture the students get to go to the Canberra Show and get involved with lots of activities.
Lyneham High School has four major Computer labs with up to 30 computers in each, this includes two Macintosh labs to expose the students' experience with Mac software and for a media class.
Computing courses include: Certificate 1 in Computer Software; Games Programming; Animation; Web Design and Development.
