13 Dec 2021
As the 2021 School year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to inform our community about some of the changes happening at Kirrawee High School next year. There are many staff changes occurring, for lots of different reasons. I would like to congratulate our newly appointed Head Teachers, both permanent and in temporary or relieving positions.
Permanent Positions
HT Teaching and Learning – Leah Moon
HT Mathematics – Mitchel Scott
Relieving /Temporary Head Teacher Positions
HT CAPA – Amelia West is replacing Mili Veljanovski who is taking 12 months leave
HT Student Engagement – Jessica Carosi is taking on this exciting new position
HT Welfare – John Devine is replacing Melissa Kenehan for term 1 2022.
Staff who are leaving us
I would like to farewell the following staff, some who have been staff at Kirrawee for a long time.
Anne Barnett has been an English teacher at Kirrawee for 20 years. Anne is retiring after a stellar career and we wish her all the best as she moves into this new phase of her life.
John Whitaker has been teaching Maths at Kirrawee HS for 24 years. He has decided it is time for a career change and is moving to Woolooware HS to take up the position as Teacher Librarian. John has been an integral part of our school and will be sorely missed by staff and students alike.
Sonia Houlahan has been the Library assistant for 7 years and is now retiring to start a new chapter in her life. We wish Sonia all the best for her retirement.
Jenny Kerr has been in administration for 15 years and has decided it is time to retire. Jenny has been an asset to the school and will greatly missed. We wish her all the very best in this new stage in her life.
Stacey Coates has been with us for 12 months as our Aboriginal Support Officer and Learning Support Teacher. Stacey is moving on to new Career in Aboriginal Affairs and we wish her well in this exciting new endeavour.
Liz Cinat has been our school counsellor for the past 3 years and is moving on to a permanent position at Heathcote HS. We wish her all the best at her new school.
We would also like to say thank you to Ron Balderson who has been working with us on Fridays. He is also finishing up this year and we wish him all the best.
We are excited to welcome Louise Hoarau and Bernadette Rooney as our counsellors for 2022.
COVID-19 Update
The department of Education is working with NSW Health to monitor the evolving situation, especially with the new Omicron variant and will provide further advice in January. Some current advice on what settings will remain and what will change from Day 1, Term 1 2022 is below.
From Term 1, we expect restrictions to ease. The department’s layered COVID-safe measures will remain critical in protecting the health and safety of our students and staff, and minimising disruption to schools. This includes enhanced cleaning, hygiene and ventilation arrangements in schools, as well as the vaccination mandate for all school staff (including volunteers) and strong encouragement for all students to be vaccinated.
Schools can expect to continue to use cohorting arrangements to reduce the effect of potential COVID-19 transmission.
The department expects the current rapid antigen home testing ‘test to stay’ program to continue in 2022, pending further advice from NSW Health.
Many activities which have been restricted or not allowed this term (including inter-school sports, singing and playing wind-blown musical instruments, and school camps) will return in a COVID-safe way for Term 1 2022. The department will develop COVID-safe guidelines based on the latest public health advice and support schools to seek parental consent for students participating in these activities.
Please check your emails and our Website for updates after the 17th of January.
From all the staff at Kirrawee High School we thank you for your support in 2021. It has been an incredibly challenging year on many levels and we recognise the role you played as parents keeping our young people engaged and on track. Now is the time for all of us to rest, reset and celebrate with your friends and family.
Have a wonderful holiday and I’ll see you all next year.
Christine