| Taree High School | |
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Latin: Flumen Coronent Filii
May your Sons and Daughters Crown the River
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| Location | |
| Taree, New South Wales, Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public, Secondary, Co-educational, Day school |
| Established | 1908 |
| Principal | Peter Bird |
| Enrolment | ~955 (7–12)[1] |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colour(s) | Black and Gold |
| Website | www.taree-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |
Taree High School, also known as THS, is a secondary, public, co-educational, comprehensive day school, located in Taree, a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1908, the Taree High School is the oldest of the high schools located in the Taree area, and currently caters for approximately 1,100 students from Years 7 to 12, servicing Taree and the Manning Valley. The school is equipped with specialist facilities, and works closely with local primary schools, the business community and Taree TAFE.[1] A semesterised curriculum is used at the school, providing a variety of subjects and units.[2]
Taree High School is a school of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), and prepares students for the School Certificate (Year 10), and the Higher School Certificate (Year 12).
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Taree High School is the oldest of the high schools located in the Taree area. The first building was opened in 1908, and since then the school has been expanded.[3]
The motto adopted by Taree High is Flumen Coronent Filii, which may be translated from Latin as "May your sons and daughters crown the river", referring to the Manning River, a feature of the town of Taree.[3]
Taree High School is located in the centre of the rural town of Taree,[3] approximately 300 km north of Sydney, and 15 km from the sea coast.
Current facilities of the school include a library, full-size gymnasium, drama room with lighting, sound equipment and stage curtains, canteen, Year 12 outdoor area and common room, school hall, Aboriginal resource room, agricultural farm, and a special education unit.
Taree High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculum for all years.
The school has implemented a unitised curriculum involving Years 8 to 10, in order to provide students with a wide range of subject choices. As students progress through Years 8 to 10, they are offered a wider number of subject choices. In addition to the mandated, more traditional areas of study, the school offers unique study units such as Bush and Camp Crafts, Surf Survival, Ceramics and Robotics. At the completion of Year ten, students complete the New South Wales School Certificate.[3]
In the senior years, students are prepared for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) and may study the Board developed courses in order to satisfy requirements. Alternatively, Taree High School offers a Work Studies program involving TAFE study and work placement for those students wishing to enter the workforce upon completion of their high school education. All students have access to Vocational Education (VET) courses through both the school and TAFE.[3]
Taree High School students participate in a number of community events throughout the school year. Highlights of the community program include:
The school also caters for exchange students from around the world. Japanese exchange students are billeted by students annually through the UNESCO program.
Taree High School has three debating teams: a Years 7/8, 9/10, and a senior debating team, which made it to the regional level of the Premier's Debating Challenge NSW.
In order to encourage leadership skills, Taree High School has a Student Representative Council, made up of the school's captains and representatives from every year group within the school. The representatives are elected by their year group annually. School captains are also elected each year by peers and teachers.
The school holds an annual ANZAC Day assembly at the school and the captains prepare speeches for this. The SRC representatives organise school socials, write year reports for newsletters, run school assemblies, co-ordinate out of uniform days to raise money for charities, and help in the canteen to reduce waiting lines. SRC meetings are held weekly where important topical issues within the school's agenda are discussed and debated on, with SRC representatives voicing their peers' opinions and ideas.[6]
A Music, Arts, Drama and Dance concert, known as MADD, is held every year at the local Manning Entertainment Centre in order to allow students to showcase their talents and perform.[7] The MADD concert is hosted by the Year 11 Drama students and is filmed every year by students and the videos and DVDs are sold to the school community.
A Theatre Restaurant evening is now held annually, drama students perform a show throughout the night with a different theme chosen each year. The senior Hospitality students prepare and serve the three course meal.
The school produces a magazine each year, named The Torch,[8] containing student work in the form of poems, stories, artworks, and reports, etc. Students may purchase the magazine at the end of the year.
Students may represent Taree High School in various sporting events, and the school encourages these students to further their talents in areas such as Aerobics, Cricket, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, Surfing, Waterpolo and countless more.
As with most Australian schools, Taree High School utilises a house system. The school currently has four houses, Manning, Murray, Hooke and Peel.[9]
Through this house system, students annually participate in a swimming carnival, an athletics carnival, a beach day,[9] and cross country events. The four school houses are rewarded with points for every participant in each event, and at the completion of each carnival the house with the most points is declared the winner.
Taree High School has implemented a unique VIP student scheme in order to recognise the positive contribution made by students to the school. This scheme encompasses various businesses of the Taree area.[10]