News

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:19:14 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

Are you #Ready2020?

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:39:34 AEDT

Hints, tips and resources to make a great start to the new school year – whether it’s your first day of high school or you’ve been here a while.

We work hard to make sure every student is known, valued and cared for – even before they walk into the classroom on Day 1, Term 1.

We’ve got great advice and resources for high school, no matter what year you’re heading into...

For families of students starting Year 7:

download our Getting ready for high school booklet
read our top tips for a smooth transition.

For families of returning students:

visit the back to school checklist to make a hassle-free start to the year
download the 2020 calendar to stay organised all year
check out our hints for setting up a study space.

Video – #Ready2020: First day at high school

Duration – 1:00

NSW schools respond to bushfires

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 17:00:46 AEDT

Many schools are responding to the catastrophic fire rating that is affecting communities across the state this week.

We are continuously updating the School safety page with a list of government and non-government schools, as well as TAFE NSW campuses that are currently non-operational.

While some schools are temporarily non-operational due to localised fires, many others in high-risk areas are non-operational as a precautionary measure.

Schools in some areas are being used as emergency evacuation centres at the direction of the Rural Fire Service.

For schools that are currently operational, school pickups and dropoffs will continue as usual. If your school is currently non-operational, it will likely remain so tomorrow.

Large scale distressing events affect our school communities in many ways. Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) is available to help students, teachers and school staff respond to the bushfires.

Visit the School safety page for updates. The department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will also provide updates during this period.

Grab a ticket to Schools Spectacular 2019

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 17:20:59 AEDT

Will you be joining us at Schools Spectacular 2019? Tickets are on sale now. Experience our live show featuring a cast of thousands of public school students from across metropolitan, rural and remote regions of NSW.

Students from different ages, cultures and backgrounds will share the spotlight as they dance, play and sing for you. Choose from one of our four massive performances at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday 22 November and Saturday 23 November.

This year's events will feature:

more than 380 schools
5,500 performers
a 3000-strong choir
2,300 dancers
an 80-piece symphony orchestra
a world-class stage band.

Group bookings

Need to make a group booking for over 10 people? Complete the Schools Preview Order Form 2019 (PDF 110KB) to attend the discounted 11am Friday matinee. The Friday matinee is discounted for school students and accompanying teachers.

If you’d like to grab a spot at one of the other three remaining shows complete the Group Booking Form 2019 (PDF 110KB).

Tickets for you and your family and friends

Save you and your family a spot online or by phone on 132 849.

Video – Schools Spectacular 2019

Duration: 0:26

Happy School Holidays!

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:41:55 AEST

Happy School Holidays! Students return to school on Monday the 14/10/2019. There is no pupil free day in term 4.

Book yourself in for Reading Hour

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:12:32 AEST

This Australian Reading Hour, encourage your child to discover or rekindle their love of a good book. Take the time to learn, escape and relax on Thursday 19 September and read for one hour.

Reading has been shown to reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk, or having a cup of tea.

Take the Book Swap Challenge

We all have favourite books that we come back to again and again.

To help celebrate Reading Hour take our Book Swap Challenge. We want students, teachers, staff and parents to try reading something new on the day. To get involved, simply pair up with someone and swap your favourite books.

Take a photo and tag it with #ReadingHour so we can see how you got involved.

Video – Ben Law asks students about their favourite author

Duration: 1:18

Author and #ReadingHour ambassador Benjamin Law talks with some of our students about their favourite books.

How to be smart and safe on social media

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:27:44 AEST

Use our new Digital Citizenship toolkit to empower your child to understand how their online behaviour affects themselves and others.

You and your child can find information on:

how to ‘be positive’ by understanding online behaviour and its effect
'be smart’ by thinking critically and being digitally aware
'be safe’ by protecting your security, privacy and wellbeing.

A toolkit to empower you and your child

You can find articles and videos to equip and empower your child to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities in our digital future.

We’ve partnered with leading researchers to produce a curated toolkit – aligned to the curriculum – which teachers and you can share with the young people in your lives.

Guide your child through important concepts such as:

managing privacy settings in social media
collaborating online
avoiding scams and hoaxes
understanding the law when it comes to online speech
Internet banking, shopping online and much more.

Keep your child safe and happy online

Visit and bookmark the Digital Citizenship website. We’ll continue to add articles and resources to ensure the best possible tools are available to help you guide your child to be positive, smart and safe online.

What’s next after high school?

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:26:02 AEST

Is your child in Year 9 to 12 curious about their career choices? Now they can use LifeLauncher, a free online tool to explore and simplify their career choices.

Your child can explore courses and careers in-depth, at their own pace, anytime, anywhere and on any device. The tool includes 4,000 careers and 1,500 course options, all in one place.

How does it work?

Encourage your child to jump online and complete the 5-minute personality and subject quizzes to be matched to a range of career options that suit their passions and strengths.

If they take both quizzes, they’ll get more refined suggestions. They can even create free online pinboards to shortlist the courses and jobs that interest them.

When your child creates an account, they can save their searches and build a real understanding of the opportunities and pathways open to them.

What can your child learn about their career options?

Your child can explore the weekly salary of the career options they’re interested in. They’ll also find the employment and growth rates of those careers and the number of workers currently in those fields in Australia.

Each career option shows them the education they need as well as other related careers. They can follow links to other sites to find out more about a course to help them find the best provider for them.

Launch into the future today

Use this tool to chat with your child about their post-school options in a meaningful way.

Inspire your child to find their career match today at LifeLauncher.nsw.gov.au.

Preparing for the HSC and Beyond

Fri, 23 Aug 2019 10:05:38 AEST

Full information page available here.

Education Week 2019 @ Keira

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:55:21 AEST

Education Week 2019 at Keira

Every student, every voice

Education Week (Monday, 5 August – Friday, 9 August) is a statewide annual event that celebrates public education in NSW with an emphasis on students, educators and the communities that support them.

In Education Week 2019 we will highlight student empowerment, agency and ownership of their education under the theme, ‘Every student, every voice’.

It is an important message that underpins NSW Education’s ambition for every student within the public school system to be known, valued and cared for, and gives us the opportunity to reflect on the valuable role student voice has in creating active and engaged citizens who will thrive beyond the school gates.

At Keira, we have planned a week of activities that will enable students, staff and parents to participate in the celebration of Education Week. The schedule of activities has been outlined over the page.

We look forward to a fabulous week of learning while we recognise Education Week 2019.

Yours sincerely,

David J. Robson

Principal

Education Week – Every student, every voice

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:54:16 AEST

We are celebrating our students and their powerful voices this Education Week Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August. Every year Education Week celebrates the achievements of public schools, our students and the value of public education.

This year, the theme is Every student, every voice.

Join us for #EdWeek19 as we celebrate our students and their power to shape the world.

Video – #EdWeek19 – Every student, every voice

Duration: 0:34

Semester 1 Reports Rescheduled

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 15:09:14 AEST

Rescheduled date for the distribution of Semester 1 Reports Friday 2 August

Dear Parents and Caregivers of Years 7, 8 and 9,

There has been an unavoidable delay in the publication of Year 7, 8 and 9 Reports.We regret that this will cause reports to be distributed later than we originally intended.

Communication between home and school is very important in enabling us to meet the needs of all students to the best of our ability. Semester Reports play an important role in our communication with you about your child’s progress in learning. Reports will now be distributed on Friday 2 August.

New wet weather sport policy.

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 09:16:15 AEST

Wet Weather Arrangements

Wet weather can impact the implementation of our weekly Sport program and therefore, the opportunity for your child to engage in meaningful, quality physical activities.

Although, our current wet weather arrangements involve relevant activities related to Sport and its overall benefits on wellbeing, there will be new arrangements commencing Wednesday 26 June 2019.

Enhancing the wellbeing and learning of every student remains our key focus. It is an expectation that students will engage in either our weekly Sport program or, in the case of wet weather, continued curriculum learning. This removes the need for any student to leave school early on a Wednesday other than those who present an early leavers pass that has been organised at the beginning of the school day, as per procedure and students who present sick during the school day. Students who are unwell will need to go to sick bay where they will be treated accordingly and parent/caregivers will be contacted by office staff.

Below are listed the process for wet weather sport.

A decision to move to Wet Weather Sport arrangements will be made as early as possible on the Sport day
Teachers and students will be notified*
Lunch as normal 12:35-1:15pm
At the conclusion of lunch, students will go to their allocated class as notified e.g. Period 1 and 2 class
Your child’s teacher for these periods will mark the roll and continue to teach content following on from their previous lesson
Students will be dismissed from class at 2:35pm

Creative and Active Kids vouchers now available

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 11:28:12 AEST

Creative kids can now put a $100 voucher towards extra-curricular creative activities outside of school.

Together with Active Kids, this program aims to encourage more NSW children to participate in a range of extra-curricular activities such as coding, languages, circus, performing arts and visual arts.

Parents can apply for one $100 voucher for each child enrolled in school on the Creative Kids website and use it towards the cost of registration, participation or tuition. You just redeem the voucher with a registered provider in your area when making your payment.

This is a great opportunity for your child to become involved in a range of activities that will build on their education, growth and development.

Service NSW is working with industry bodies to deliver the program.

For more information, contact Service NSW on 137 788 or creativekids@service.nsw.gov.au.

P&C Meeting 7th of August

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 09:18:04 AEST

P&C Meeting will be held on the 7th of August 2019.

The Game Changer Challenge is back

Fri, 31 May 2019 11:42:24 AEST

It’s not too late to become a Game Changer with applications for the Education Week challenge due by 7 June.

The Game Changer Challenge brings 16 teams from public schools across NSW – eight from primary and eight from secondary – to Sydney during Education Week in August for a three-day, intensive design-thinking workshop.

The Game Changer workshops, which start on Tuesday 6 August, includes teacher training in the use of design thinking as a teaching methodology and its application for school planning.

It also includes a team competition where schools will work under the guidance of experts from industry and academia to develop a solution to this year’s critical question: How might we humanise technology?

Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott has encouraged students and teachers to get behind the event as it highlights the critical thinking students will need to develop to succeed in the future.

“The Game Changer Challenge is an exciting initiative that helps educate and inform our students and teachers on how to integrate the problem-solving methodology of design thinking into the classroom,” Mr Scott says.

“It embraces the 21^st century skills our students will need to thrive in a globalised world such as collaboration, creative thinking and communication.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students at all levels to be involved in discussing and addressing a real-world issue that will affect their future lives. I encourage every school to get involved.”

The challenge is designed to make strong learning and teaching connections to the NSW syllabus specifically in the area of developing general capabilities such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and problem-solving.

The challenge also provides teachers with an opportunity to gain exposure to the design thinking process and includes teacher resources to introduce this creative problem-solving methodology into the classroom.

Finalists will be selected based on a 60-second video that showcases your team’s vision around the question of humanising technology.

For more information email edweek@det.nsw.edu.au or visit the Game Changer Challenge page.

Your NAPLAN questions answered

Thu, 09 May 2019 15:57:42 AEST

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests assess the foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.

This year NAPLAN takes place between 14 and 16 May for paper tests and between 14 and 24 May for schools participating in NAPLAN Online.

NAPLAN data is used to help monitor student progress over time against a national measure and to identify areas of strength and improvement. It is used in combination with other school assessments to guide and support student learning.

Watch students ask an expert the tough questions about NAPLAN.

Apply now for My Community Project funding

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:12:26 AEST

Do you have a great idea to improve your area?

My Community Project is a new NSW Government funding program that is all about local ideas, local projects and local decisions.

You can apply now for grants from $20,000 - $200,000 for projects that will make a difference to your community. Projects could include new playground equipment, sports facilities, paths or ramps to improve access, public art or a community service.

The local community can vote for their favourite projects in July and successful projects will be announced in September.

Project applications close 15 May 2019.

Apply for My Community Project funding

Bring back memories, not measles

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:23:58 AEST

With school holidays just around the corner, it’s time to visit your doctor to check that you and your family are fully protected against measles, before you travel overseas.

Measles is a serious, highly contagious, viral illness that is easily spread through the air when an infectious person coughs, sneezes or breathes. If you and your family are not fully vaccinated, or have never been vaccinated, you are at risk of contracting measles.

Not sure if you’re fully protected?

In Australia, the measles vaccine (MMR) consists of 2 doses. If you’re not sure whether you’ve had 2 doses of the measles vaccine, visit your doctor. It’s safe to receive another dose.

Children born in Australia

If your children were born in Australia, they may have received the measles vaccine at 12 months old and the second dose at 18 months, in accordance with the National Immunisation Program.
If you have a baby under 12 months old, consult your doctor about getting their measles vaccination.

Adults born in Australia

Born before 1966 – you were most likely exposed to measles as a child and are generally considered to be immune. If in doubt, ask your GP.
Born between 1966 and 1994 – you may not have received 2 doses. Talk to your doctor about the free vaccine if you’re unsure.
Born after 1994 – the National Immunisation Program offers 2 doses, and you can check your vaccination status using the Australian Immunisation Register.

For more information about the measles vaccination, visit NSW Health or consult your local doctor.

P&C Meeting

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 08:14:33 AEST

P&C Meeting will be held on the 1st of May 2019. This meeting will include a shocase of the School Captains' Initiative. The meeting will be held in the staff common room. Please enter via the schools front office. All are welcome.

Cross Country rescheduled

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 08:03:20 AEST

Cross Country Carnival has been rescheduled Friday 12 April

Follow your heart, not the herd

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:29:04 AEDT

We spoke with a group of Kindergarten students to find out what they had to say about going against the herd. They had some wise words for us on how we can care, respect and support each other in our schools.

Let’s start the year off right and prevent student bullying happening in our playgrounds, classrooms and online. If a group of 5-year-olds know the difference between right and wrong, shouldn’t everyone?

Video – Wise at 5

Duration – 1:08

Back to school

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 15:21:53 AEDT

The first day of high school and the return to school in the new year are busy times for your child – and for the entire family. To help you and your child get organised and enjoy the experience we've compiled some useful tips for each year group.

We want every student to be known, valued and cared for in our schools.

2019 school budget allocations

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 13:48:51 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

Check out our new Website

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:04:35 AEDT

Keira High schools new website is now available.

The new website is on a modern adaptable platform that will enable users to access information about our school on their preferred device.

The platform is designed to be mobile and tablet friendly so content will automatically resize and rearrange itself to suit the users device.

Bear with us as we adapt to this new platform and we welcome feedback as it helps us to meet your needs.

Check out our Newsletter

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 18:10:56 AEDT

Our latest newsletter is out now view it on our Enews page

Keira High School Students attend the national final for Science and Engineering Challenge

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 18:10:56 AEDT

Keira High School represents NSW and will face the ultimate test against Australia’s best.

This is a proud moment for our students, their family members, the school at large, it’s community of schools and Public Education

Our team arrived in the Northern Territory early this afternoon and has completed its final training session.

We wish all State and Territory teams the very best as they engage in a day of challenges that will culminate in the final tests around 3:15 pm tomorrow afternoon.

What a fabulous celebration of student learning and attainment.

Story in the Illawarra Mercury

Watch replay on Youtube!