Welcome to the 2020 school year! Before I start my article I would publicly like to congratulate some of our students on some amazing achievements over the holidays.
Lynarha Newchurch was recipient of the Young Australian of the Year Award for 2020. She worked tirelessly within the school as Head Prefect, was a postive role model for our younger students and helped change the perception of our SRC. Lynarha worked tirelessly juggling full time study and her role and I cannot think of anyone else who deserved this accolade more.
Rhys Heinrich won the 2019 Governor’s Civics award for schools. He was awarded this on Proclamation Day at the Old Gum Tree in Glenelg by the Governor of South Australia Heiu Van Le. He also has an invitation to Government House for an afternoon tea in his honour.
Kaylee Short was awarded a Merit in the Research Project. This is another way of saying that she achieved a perfect score for a Year 12 subject. She did this in Year 11. Special mention must also go to Jess Baker who achieved an A+ in this subject and just missed out on a Merit as well. Kaylee will now go to Government House for an award ceremony, where she will be presented with her Merit later on in the term.
These achievements show the growth our school has had in the past 5 years. Our students are no longer competing and achieving against the best in Maitland, but achieving prestigious awards amongst the best in South Australia
Student News
I hope that everyone had a good holiday and are excited about coming back to learn. In particular I would like to welcome students, and their families, who are new to Central Yorke School. This is a school which focuses on developing positive relationships between families and staff, and I know that we can work together to provide opportunities for your child(ren) to enjoy success in their studies.
It was with great excitement that we started the first day of 2020 with 269 students R-12 made up of 24 Kindy and Primary students at our Point Pearce campus, 21 students in the Maitland ELC and 224 students in the R-12 classes at the Maitland campus.Our staff have a renewed enthusiasm and there is a feel around the school of excitement and vigor.
My main aim this year is to continue to work with the community to ensure Central Yorke School is a place that all the community is proud of, and that enables all students to develop the necessary skills, attitudes and competencies that allows them to become positive, productive members of our community. As a B-12 school with a rich culture, we are always developing and amending procedures. Your feedback in this process is crucial, so please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any concerns of ideas that can improve what we do. We are all in this together.
Appropriate behaviour
Harassment, physical violence, disrupting others learning, any form of substance abuse cannot be tolerated in a school setting. Teachers and students have a right to learn together to make a difference in a safe supportive environment.
The appearance of our school, including the ways the grounds, buildings and classrooms are cared for at CYS, is excellent. There is an absence of graffiti and rubbish in our surrounds and the school certainly looks great. It is something I have acknowledged in the past and expect to continue in the future .
Students wearing uniform is very important, it sets work apart from the weekend or after school activity. We believe it helps to build identity and pride; it is a discipline that I think helps create a better learning environment. A quote from one of my old principals is that I have never seen a good looking school get bad results!
Punctuality & Attendance
All students need to be at school and to their lessons on time, continual lateness and/or non-attendance has a dramatic effect on a students’ learning. Support from parents here is critical especially in the years where students are reliant on parents to make this happen.
Bullying/Harassment
Our belief at CYS is that all children and staff have the right to come to school, to learn or teach in a harassment free environment. No one has the right to negatively affect another person’s learning. We will strongly support this policy across the school. If your child is being harassed, bullied in any way, then we wish to know about it ASAP.
As part of our Bullying and Harassment procedures, both parents and students can report bullying online through the “Stymie” website. Just Google “Stymie” and follow the prompts or visit the school website and click on the ‘Apps and Links’ menu.
Staffing News
We have had a number of new staff join us at Central Yorke School. It has been great to see staff actively pursuing CYS as a place to teach at. They all bring a wealth of knowledge and new ideas that will support and complement existing pedagogies. Please support us in making them and their families welcome to our school and wider communities.
- Christopher Cook PRT
- Chloe Whittaker Year 3/4
- Maddy Stewart Year 5/6
- Raelene Stutley Year 7
Who Can I talk to?
Throughout students’ schooling, young people can experience a range of experiences, hopefully many more positive than negative. Parents and students sometimes need a staff member to talk to who can assist them in their daily life at school.
At Central Yorke School we have a great group of people who can assist you. I would encourage you to contact the relevant staff member with any questions or issues you may have.
It’s really exciting to see our school going from strength to strength and there is a new level of enthusiasm that seems to be buzzing in the corridors. I really appreciate that fact that parents entrust us with the care of their most prized possession. Our mantra this year is for us to push our students to achieve even more than they thought possible.
If you do see where we can improve please make a time and come in to have a cuppa and a chat with me over it. If you see where we are going really well, spread the word to everyone and celebrate your child’s successes. I hope 2020 is a great year for all of our staff and students.