Principal's Message
Melrose High School is an outstanding government school, which enjoys a high reputation in the south of Canberra, particularly in the Woden and Tuggeranong areas. The school emphasises quality in all endeavours and the development of a global community of learners.
Situated in the suburb of Pearce, in the Woden Valley region of Canberra, the school draws students from the surrounding suburbs, as well as the Tuggeranong Valley, inner South Canberra and nearby areas in New South Wales. The school is surrounded by mature, developed grounds with easy access to local sporting and recreational facilities at Woden and Mawson. It is easily accessed by local bike paths and major bus routes from the Tuggeranong area, as well as from New South Wales. The buildings are solid and spacious, incorporating specialist facilities for Science, Technology, Cooking, Textiles, Information Communication Technologies, Visual and Performing Arts. In addition, Melrose High has a large, well-equipped Hall, which is used for assemblies and performances. A new gymnasium is to be built and ready for use in 2007.
The campus is extensive, incorporating tennis courts, basketball and netball courts, hockey and football fields and sports oval. An indoor canteen, enclosed and open quadrangles and ample shaded areas are provided for student use.
Melrose offers a well-balanced and stimulating curriculum with strengths in academic, sporting and cultural pursuits. Students are expected to work to their full potential in all learning areas. Individual student interest and ability are addressed through the availability of a large number of options within each learning area. Extra-curricular programs provide opportunities for students to be involved in a range of activities with their peers and students in other years. Many international students choose to study at Melrose High, enjoying the educationally stimulating environment and the friendship of a diverse student body.
The curriculum at Melrose is continually under review and is responsive to the needs of our student community, as well as to the requirements of system and national initiatives. Core learning programs are structured around streamed classes in the belief that these optimise learning opportunities and provide the best outcomes for all students, particularly in respect to literacy and numeracy. Students with particular needs in literacy and numeracy are catered for in Learning Assistance classes.
The school offers:
- A Computer Assisted Learning Program (CALP) for students who bring and use a notebook computer in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Study of Society and Environment (SOSE), Technology and the Arts
- Computer resources and programs enriching each Key Learning Area
- Computer programming, applications and multimedia classes
- An extensive Band program – Beginner, Jazz and Concert Bands
- Three languages – Chinese, Japanese, German
- An extensive elective program for students in Years 9 and 10
- An extensive program of extended learning opportunities for students in all years and in a range of areas
- An extensive careers, vocational and Work Experience program for all Year 10 students and identified students in Year 9
- An Indigenous Studies Centre
- A student welfare program based on Restorative Justice principles and designed to provide individual support and care for every student in the school
- A Year 6 to Year 7 transition program involving Year 10 students working as mentors/leaders to Year 7 students (Peer Support Program)
- Trained student peer mediators
- Authentic student leadership across the four years
- A school uniform, which all students are proud to wear
- A Study Support Program for individual tutoring
High standards and community values apply at the School. Students are expected to adhere to appropriate standards of dress, attendance is carefully monitored and courteous behaviour is valued and expected. Staff and students work cooperatively in partnership with parents as we help students to acquire the organisational skills and the necessary self-discipline to set their goals and develop the skills to achieve them.
Melrose High School is highly regarded in both educational circles and the wider community. We have a strong School Board, an active Student Representative Council (SRC) and a supportive and active Parents’ and Citizens’ Association.
At Melrose we aim to be responsive to the needs of all members of our school community. We welcome your enquiries and invite you to visit our school. Please call the school for appointments. You will be warmly welcomed and find a school that is genuinely proud of its students and staff and their achievements.
In my professional experience, a number of things have been emphasised for me. They are:
- The need to keep young people affirmed of their individual value to our community;
- The need to acknowledge their wonderful and varied contributions to our society’s well-being;
- The need for all young people to envisage a meaningful future for themselves;
- The role of parents/carers and teachers in facilitating, not deciding, their chosen pathways;
- The role of education in assisting young people to flourish and so progress in achieving their chosen goals;
- The need to ensure that we as a community provide them with the skills to keep adapting and learning, whether through formal education, employment opportunities or healing life experiences, and do be resilient in this changing world.
Despite tragedy occurring on international, local and personal levels, I witness the goodness amongst our students as they move along the maturity continuum. One of the many uplifting aspects of working with young people is this witnessing of their ‘true spirits’ – those universal qualities that unite all peoples in the common human experience. The dress, language, music etc, may vary but the qualities of fairness, honesty, compassion and loyalty, to name a few, are there and underpin their behaviours.
It is through the partnership of home and school that these qualities are strengthened and ‘armour’ our young people to make decisions and act in situations with principle. Many of these situations and choices will be new to both them and the older generations. There will be no precedents to look back on. However, with resilience and principled thought and action, or young people will do well and carry the society forward.
Education and training are vital to their personal power and ability to make good choices. The relationships within the home and outside the home, including those at school, equip them to connect and flourish. Together the institutions of family and school are the foundation of the future. My experiences with the Melrose High Community give me faith in the strength of the foundation we are providing for our young people.
