“Penrith High School”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Penrith Selective High School has a demonstrated history of academic success particularly in the Higher School Certificate.^[2] The classes of 2017 and 2018 equaled the school's best ever HSC results with the class of 2010. The school is currently ranked 27th in the NSW HSC. In 2018, over 90 students received an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of over 90 and the median ATAR has increased to 91.95 in 2018.^[3]

History

Penrith Selective High School began as an intermediate school in the 1930s, occupying the land adjacent to the school's current location (now Penrith Public School). During that time, the land that Penrith Selective High School currently occupies was the site of a mansion known by locals as The Towers. During the 1940s, the mansion and the land it occupied was sold to the Department of Education, who subsequently demolished the mansion and built Penrith High School.^[4]

Two of the original foundations of the mansion have been preserved and remain in the school grounds. Additionally, the original plaque commemorating the opening of Penrith Intermediate School has been transferred into the present school grounds, where it currently resides in the school's archives. In commemoration of The Towers mansion, the in-school debating and public speaking competitions go by the same name.^[5]

Enrolment

The students of Penrith Selective High School come from an area extending from the Blue Mountains to North Sydney, from the Hawkesbury District to Luddenham. In recent years, the school has seen a substantial increase in its intake from the City of Blacktown.

Year 7

All Year 7 enrolments are managed by the High Performing Students Unit (formerly, the Selective Schools Unit), NSW Department of Education. In October each year, application forms for the selective high schools test are available from government primary schools and from the Selective Schools Unit for Year 6 students and are due to be returned in November of that year.^[6]

Years 8-12

Applications for entry into Years 8-12 are managed by the school, in line with High Performing Students Unit guidelines. Only a small number of places are available each year since vacancies only occur when a current student leaves the school. Application packages become available from the school's website or the Selective Schools Unit in Term 2 (June) each year and are returned to the school, along with supporting documentation, by the end of July. The deadline date for application each year is determined by the Selective Schools Unit. The selection committee arranges the applications in order of academic merit based upon the evidence submitted. The committee considers material that provides evidence of high academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities. Residential status requirements and family placement claims follow the Year 7 entry criteria. Students must be either Australia citizens or permanent residents.^[7]

Facilities

The school has a gymnasium, a field with multi-sport goal posts (soccer and rugby, although contact sport is strictly prohibited), a smaller field with portable hockey goal posts, and two basketball courts. In addition, the school has five computer labs, a large space for performing arts, and a school hall which is part of the original structure of Penrith Selective High School, built in the early 1950s. The hall can accommodate approximately 450 seated guests, usually used for official school functions, performing arts exhibitions, and information evenings. The Penrith Selective High School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) operates a school canteen, from which all proceeds go towards improving the educational experience of PSHS students.^[8]

Courses offered

The courses available for study at Penrith Selective High School depends on the year level of the student in question:

Years 7 and 8

All subjects in Year 7 and 8 are mandatory, however in Year 8 students are given the option of whether to study Italian or Japanese for the Languages Other Than English (LOTE) course. As of 2018, Year 7 students no longer study LOTE, but still select a language in Year 8:

Years 9 and 10

Before beginning Year 9, students are given the opportunity to choose three 200-hour elective courses which they will study over Year 9 and 10.

Mandatory courses

Elective courses

Years 11 and 12

Course selection for the senior years is much more complex than in Years 9 and 10. The only mandatory course to be studied in the senior years is English (Advanced).

Students in Year 11 are required to study at least 12 units while Year 12 are required to study at least 10 units. Since English (Advanced) comprises two units and is mandatory for all students, Year 12 students are required to study at least eight units worth of the following courses:

Limits on what subjects can and cannot be studied together and the subject selection process are explained to all students and parents in Term 2 during Year 10.^[9]

Student extracurricular involvement

Penrith Selective High School students have the opportunity to participate in a range of extracurricular activities in a number of interest areas,^[10] including:

Student leadership

The main leadership positions offered to students in Penrith Selective High School are those of School Captain, School Vice-Captain, and Student Representative Council (SRC) President. Student leaders begin their term of office in Term 3 of any given year, finishing a year later at the end of Term 2.

Additional leadership positions available to students at Penrith Selective High School include:

Levels

At the beginning of each year, students are placed at Level 4. Each student strives to go up in their levels by completing extracurricular activities (eg competitions, clubs etc.), receiving merits/student recognition (given out by teachers when students do something positive), participating in leadership/voluntary activities and academic or sporting achievements. The highest a student can receive is a Level 8 Honours. After that, there is Level 8 High Distinction, Level 7 Distinction, Level 6 Credit. While rare, poor behaviour can result in their level points decreasing to Level 3, 2, or 1. This will be notified to parents by the Principal. In Year 12, students with Level 8 Honours receive a place on the Honour Roll. As of 2017, this system is no longer used and was replaced by a model reflecting the schools values.

House system

At the beginning of Year 7, all Penrith Selective High School students are placed in one of the following four houses, sorted by last name:

Every year three sporting carnivals (Swimming, Athletics, and Cross Country) where students compete to earn house points. The winner of each carnival and of the overall house championship is announced each year.

Staff

As of 2018, the current staff at Penrith High School include the following:^[12]

Senior Executive

Head Teachers

Rebranding

When John Elton became principal of the school in 2011, he began to make changes to improve the school's image as a selective high school. These changes included changing the school's name to "Penrith Academically Selective High School". The name was used widely throughout the staff body in an attempt to boost the reputation of the school. The use of "Academically Selective" gained a notable critical reception from the student body as being highly pretentious. The new name called for attempts to change the school emblem. The school name was shortened to Penrith Selective High School in 2016.

Notable people

See also

References

1. ^¹{{cite web |url=http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/schoolfind/locator/?section=showRecord&code=8163 |title=Penrith High School |accessdate=2008-02-21 |work=School Locator |publisher=NSW Public Schools}}
2. ^{{cite news |last1=McGowan |first1=\\Michael |last2=Evershed |first2=Nick |title='Warped and elitist': are Australia’s selective schools failing the fairness test? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/20/warped-and-elitist-are-australias-selective-schools-failing-the-fairness-test |accessdate=31 March 2019 |publisher=The Guardian}}
3. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Our%20School |title=Principal's Message - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
4. ^{{cite web |last1=Hall and Co |title=The Towers - Building from 1880s - Demolished 1940. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12157958 |publisher=State Library of New South Wales |accessdate=31 March 2019}}
5. ^{{cite web |last1=Penrith High School |title=The Towers |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34746958 |website=National Library of Australia |publisher=Libraries Australia |accessdate=31 March 2019}}
6. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Enrolment%20Information |title=Year 7 Enrolment - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date=2014-03-13 |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
7. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Year%208-12%20Enrolment |title=Year 8-12 Enrolment - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
8. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Facilities |title=Facilities - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
9. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Curriculum |title=Courses - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
10. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Student%20Involvement |title=Band - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
11. ^{{cite web|url=http://web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?p=Student%20Leadership |title=Student Leadership - Penrith High School |publisher=Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}
12. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/staff |title=Staff - Penrith High School |publisher=www.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/staff |date= |accessdate=2017-02-07}}