An active and fun end to 2023! Our students participated in a range of activities including badminton, crafts, basketball, board games, soccer and Big Splash.
 
As indicated yesterday, I will be moving into the role of Tuggeranong Network Director of School Improvement next year and will be transitioning into the role during Term 1. It is a bittersweet appointment for me, as I am greatly looking forward to a new opportunity, but I am also certain to miss the closeness of the relationships I have developed with the students and community. I am extremely grateful, however that I will have Calwell High School as one of my schools of responsibility and will remain well connected and be onsite regularly.
 
I also want to take the opportunity to pay a special thanks to our P&C and School Board. They are an incredibly supportive group and are outstanding advocates for our great school, and I have enjoyed working them enormously.
 
A big thanks to our staff. I have never worked with a more dedicated and fun team, and their unconditional positive regards for the students is second to none. We had our annual dress up competition today which was won by Maths & PE who came dressed up as the various roles of Steve (me). The only one I didn't agree with was 'Bad Joke Steve', because we all know I don't tell bad jokes.
 
Finally, to our students, I am so impressed by their energy, spark and fun. Seeing them drive the growth and improvement of the school over the past two years has been a highlight in my career. This school is full of amazing people and I am extremely lucky to have been a Principal of Calwell High School.
 
Have a safe and happy holiday!
 
Steve

• Student Free Day

• Year 7 and New Students Only

• All Students Return

STUDENT FREE DAYS
From 2024, there will be four student-free days for ACT public schools. These are the first day of each school term:

· Term 1, Monday 29 January 2024

· Term 2, Monday 29 April 2024

· Term 3, Monday 22 July 2024

· Term 4, Monday 14 October 2024.

We use student-free days for staff development, enabling us to plan in a student-free environment. Student-free planning days have been expanded from one to four days from 2024 as part of our new Teaching Staff Enterprise Agreement which prioritises better teacher workloads for educational leadership, teaching and learning.

• Increased work experience student participation from 23 work placements in 2022 to 43 in 2023.
• 12 Students completed the Certificate II in Construction Pathways. This course has been offered through a collaboration with CIT for the past 3 years.      
• Establishment of career lessons for all Years 9 & 10 students in Aspire lessons
• Creation of the Entrepreneurial Scholarship for 2 students sponsored by the Calwell High School P&C and industry business partner, edii.
• Calwell High School Careers Expo for all students with over 35 exhibitors.

Our heartiest congratulations go to our wonderful Principal Steve Collins for his appointment as Director School Improvement for the Tuggeranong Network. The Calwell High School Community was advised of this yesterday and we wish Steve well in his new role

We’ve seen amazing achievements by our school and its students under Steve’s exemplary leadership during the past two years. The P&C is extremely grateful for being able to work with such a talented and engaging Principal during this time.

We will miss Steve, but we can feel reassured in the knowledge that public education in our district will continue to benefit and grow from Steve’s involvement into the future. Go Steve!

Thank you to The Urban Treescapes Team from the Kambah depot for their delivery of garden mulch to the school this week. As part of the ACT Government Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) Directorate, the team has been extremely busy with the cleanup from the recent storm activity in our area and we're grateful that they've been able to fit us into their schedule.

The mulch comes from local trees that went down in that storm. This is a great initiative by TCCS that directly benefits the local community and gives a boost to our ongoing 'Greening Calwell High School' environmental project. We received 3 large loads of the mulch this week and we made a start with spreading it through the various garden beds yesterday.

We’re having a P&C working bee at the school next Monday 18 December, starting at 9.00am, to finish the job. Please drop us a line at calwellhighpandc@gmail.com if you can help out.

Also, please keep us in mind when you’re dining out during the upcoming holiday period and support our school through the Canberra Southern Cross Club Community Rewards Program and through Grill’d Woden Local Matters program. Now is also a good time to consider our excellent arrangement with The Athlete’s Foot School Rewards Program if you’re buying shoes for school.

These three programs help to spread the positive message about Calwell High to the broader community as well as assisting in the P&C’s fundraising initiatives that support our school.

It's been a great year for Calwell High and for the P&C, so thank you for your support and encouragement throughout the year. Very best wishes for Christmas and please stay safe and well in 2024 and onwards.

TIME TO VOTE FOR CALWELL HIGH

Every month, each Grill’d restaurant splits $500 between three groups doing amazing work in the community - and that’s where YOUR vote counts.

Calwell High have a “Local Matters” jar at Grill’d Woden for the whole month of December.

It’s a great way for us to spread the positive message to the community about Calwell High, as well as a good fundraising opportunity for us. You receive a bottle-top token with each burger that you buy, then place the token in our jar, which is one of the three jars on display.

Tokens are tallied up at the end of the month. The highest score receives $300, and the two runners-up receive $100 each.

A great opportunity to support your school simply by enjoying a delicious meal, just like Will did! Please share with your family and friends to help spread the word!

• Monday 12 February 2024 - Main School Photography Day
• Wednesday 21 February 2024 - Catch Up Portrait Day

Free travel will be available on Christmas Day and from 5:00 pm New Year’s Eve for bus and light rail services. Visit www.transport.act.gov.au to plan your school holiday travel.