We held a very successful Parent Information Evening for parents of next year’s Y7 students last week. I was able to speak about the significant Growth we have shown as a school over the last few years. Over that time, we have seen a substantial decline in suspensions, against a system-wide trend in the opposite direction, and an increase in students that students and teachers teat each other with respect, that people care about each other at this school and that students help each other even if they are not friends.

Behinds these improvements is our vision of New Norfolk High, as a respectful learning community with high expectations for ourselves, for others and for the way in which we learn together. We bring that vision to life, and drive continuous improvement in our school improvement journey, by work is to deepen and embed these expectations as The New Norfolk Way. The way in which our Year 10 students are currently earning points to guarantee their attendance at our end-of-year celebrations is one example of this.

Over the last fortnight, we have also had many Year 9 students putting our Values into practice by supporting Year 6 students from the local primary schools on a scavenger hunt. We have also had a group of Year 7s helping this same transition by putting together a video highlighting some of the attractions, expectations and supports available at our school. We have also had a number of students building on their participation by supporting implementation of some of the proposals arising out of last term’s Derwent Valley Council Youth Summit. It is great to see so many of our students developing leadership capacity, living up to our Values and demonstrating The New Norfolk Way in action.

Stuart Lord