Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School

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Ku-ring gai Creative Arts High School
KCAHS.JPG
Harmony in Diversity
Location
New South Wales, Australia Australia
Coordinates 33°41′31″S 151°09′11″E / 33.692°S 151.153°E / -33.692; 151.153Coordinates: 33°41′31″S 151°09′11″E / 33.692°S 151.153°E / -33.692; 151.153
Information
Type Public, Selective Creative Arts, Secondary, Day school
Established 1965
Founder Bill Eason
Principal Terri-Anne Kamasz
Grades 7-12
Enrolment ~800
Campus Main
Colour(s)      Maroon      Navy      Green
Mascot Polar Bear
Alumni Catherine Jinks[1]
Website www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/

Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School (KCAHS) is a co-educational, state government high school, specialising in the creative arts. It is situated in North Turramurra, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, beside the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Students are selected for the creative arts stream based on portfolio, interview and academic history. The school accepts those who "demonstrate outstanding ability and commitment in the creative arts in either dance, music, drama and/or visual arts ",[2] as well as those in the direct catchment zone.

Contents

[edit] Curriculum

Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculum for all years. In addition to the usual academic subjects, the school offers drama, dance, music and visual art classes, and vocational education opportunities in the areas of entertainment, photography, performance, ceramics, and visual design. The school also has electives in other areas such as Spanish, Computing and Wood Work[3]

The school provides extensive opportunities for students to experience the myriad activities that comprise the art world. In addition, programs focus on developing skills in technique/ art making and enhance creative thinking and conceptual development. Ku-ring-gai is the only school in the state to have a NOVA program (NOVA taken from the word Innovate). This course allows students to apply new ideas and concepts in subjects which are not regularly taught in most other schools. It focuses on allowing the students to study practical aspects of an elected course, many of which are based on the Creative Arts.[4]

Ku-ring-gai introduced a new class-period plan in 2011, altering it's timetable to five periods instead of the previous four, allowing hour classes. The school introduced a new program in 2011 for senior students called 'SLAM' (Senior Learning And Mentoring), held before last period during the day. This program replaces the previous ASKE program.

[edit] School catchment area and student selection

As a New South Wales public high school, KCAHS has to accept all students living in its catchment area. The catchment covers locations in Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby councils, including Dangar Island.[5] The school also accepts, if there's space, those who "demonstrate outstanding ability and commitment in the creative arts in either dance, music, drama and/or visual arts ",[6] as well as their siblings. Students who apply for enrolment under this criterion are required to provide a portfolio demonstrating this ability.[7]

[edit] School history

The school opened its doors in February 1965 with its first group of year 7 students. KHS was the first of a second wave of new co-educational high schools built in the Sydney suburbs.

The school's first headmaster was Bill Eason, who promoted ideas of internationalism and peace, and later went on to found the Australian Independent School at North Ryde. During his time as headmaster, the school featured a large aviary in the front of the grounds. Bill Eason promoted an international outlook at the high school as well his other love: poetry. Students were exposed to many different types of poetry in his poetry classes and in general English classes. The first groups of students learned one of the poems of Rabindranath Tagore, "Mind Without Fear", from Gitanjali. The four houses, which are still part of the school today, and the names of the four original classroom buildings were set in 1965 - Churchill, Curie, Tagore, and Lincoln. Bill Eason selected these notable historical figures for their contributions in world leadership, science, poetry, and humanitarianism. The school colours were originally brown and gold.

Ku-ring-gai was local high school until 1996 when Mrs B. Peatie became the headmistress and requested to the Department of Education to become selective in creative arts. This request was granted, and at that time there were only a few hundred students. Since then, there has been an increase in students at Ku-ring-gai, with numbers at one point rising to 900.

Student Representative Council Slogans
2009 - "Yours & Mine in '09"
2010 - "20-10 Creative Again"
2011 - "Grow to Our Best at KCAHS"
2012 - "2-0-1-2 Through Our Pride Comes Something New"

[edit] Faculty

The faculties in the school include:

[edit] Campus

  • Tagore Block - Faculty of Arts (lower level) and HSIE (upper level). Two main Art theatres (one lower, one upper), as well as a computer lab are situated here. A water feature is located in the courtyard, opposite the Administration and Reception for student services, and the Principal's Office, Counsellor's Office and Teacher's Lounge are on the upper level.
  • Curie Block - Faculty of Design Technology and Music. Two main Music theatres (one lower, one upper), one Art theatre, and a computer lab are situated here. Two Hospitality kitchen classrooms (both lower), as well as a number of Woodwork and Textiles rooms (upper) are located here, along with the Design Technology staff room. Band and Choir rehearsals occur in this block
  • Lincoln Block - Faculty of Mathematics, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education and Science (lower level), and Foreign Languages (upper level). This block is situated in the North East corner of the school's built structures, which make up, only about a quarter of the school's grounds.
    • Catherine Jinks Library - The Library is also located in this block. The Catherine Jinks Library is named after well known author Catherine Jinks who was a student of the school. It contains a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books as well a computer terminals and a quiet study area.
    • Lincoln Theatre - Situated in Lincoln Block, this theatre is used for year assemblies, and for maths lectures.
  • Churchill Block - Faculty of English (upper). Three Science labs are situated here, a main Dance studio as well as a computer lab. The Deputy Principal's office is located here also, along with student and teacher toilets.
  • Canteen Block - Situated here is the "SHACK", a self service canteen for students and teachers, operating from 8am to 3pm - (First opened late 2006- early 2007). Only senior students and teachers may make purchases here outside of lunch and recess times. This block is also the location of the main Personal Development, Health and Physical Education change rooms, on the upper levels.
  • Margaret Preston Hall - Also known as "The Bini", the dome shaped hall is one of the last that are yet to collapse.[8] Used for assemblies, functions, examinations and performances, it is also used for practical lessons of Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, as it can be used as an indoor hockey field and basketball court. Change rooms are situated to the left and right of the main stage. It was named after Margaret Preston[9]
  • Front Lawn - Situated at the front entrance of the school, the vast greenery is used as a place of social meetings between classes, and where the bus stops are located.
  • Back Oval - A grassy oval used for smaller soccer games, located behind the Canteen Block.
  • Soccer Field - Used for larger soccer games.
  • Baseball Corner - Located near the entrance of the Hockey Fields, and beside the Basketball Courts.
  • Basketball Courts - Situated between the Hockey Fields and Back Oval.
  • Hockey Fields - Located to the far northwest of the school's entrance.
  • Principal's Lawn - Located opposite the Margaret Preston Hall, where students assemble before examinations.
  • Quadrangle - A recreation area, surrounded by the schools four blocks and canteen. The area is partially concreted and contains a cola as well as a number of shaded eating areas. The school's bell tower is also located in this area, and has a platform for announcements.

[edit] Creative Arts

[edit] Creative arts groups

The school has the following official performance groups:

  • The Ku-ring-gai Singers (choir)
  • Senior Vocal Ensemble
  • Wind Ensemble
  • Junior Jazz Band
  • Senior Jazz Ensemble
  • Drama Ensemble
  • Dance Ensemble

In 2009 and 2010, members of the school choir as well as a number of dancers were selected to perform at the Arts Unit's Schools Spectacular[10] and several of the school's singers were back-up vocals in the 2010 performance.[11] The school's singers, instrumentalists, and dancers frequently participate in Arts Unit events, eisteddfods, and external performances.

[edit] Musicals

The school regularly hold musicals, usually biennially:

[edit] Annual Creative Arts Tour

The school's Creative Arts groups go on an annual tour at the end of each year. These usually occur during the last week of term four.

There was no tour in 2011 as the school is currently saving to send students to the Rhapsody Rotorua music festival in Rotorua, New Zealand in June, 2012.

[edit] Media, News & Events

  • The school planned to implement a biometric student attendance system in late March, 2008. The system required students to provide fingerprint data (which was checked against a school controlled biometric database) in order to confirm their attendance each morning. However due to concerns raised by members of the school community in regards to privacy issues, the implementation of the system was postponed indefinitely. The system raised concerns that the sensitive data might intrude on student privacy. As a result, the system was discontinued.(As summarised from,[12] and[13])
  • On 8 April 2008, there was a bomb threat phoned in to the school around midday. All students and staff were evacuated to the back oval and remained there until half past one in the afternoon, when it was declared safe to return to class. No explosives were found.

[edit] Notable Alumni

  • Catherine Jinks – Author
  • Laura Wingrove – Artist, featured in 2010 artXpress
  • Michelle Goodwin – Singer
  • Ryan Bodie – Drummer & Guitarist
  • Barnaby Neville – Comedian & Actor

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/our-school/our-facilities KCAHS Website, Facilities
  2. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/our-school/enrolment-and-fees School Website Enrollment Page
  3. ^ curiculum section
  4. ^ curiculum section
  5. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/images/stories/our_school/in_area_street_list.xls List of in Catchment Streets (school website)
  6. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/our-school/enrolment-and-fees School Website Enrollment Page
  7. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/our-school/enrolment-and-fees School Website Enrollment Page
  8. ^ http://www.binisystems.com/nswcover.html
  9. ^ http://www.kcahs.nsw.edu.au/our-school/our-facilities School Website - facilities section
  10. ^ http://www.schoolsspectacular.com.au/2009/index.php?page=participating-choir Schools Spectacular Website, Massed Choir schools
  11. ^ http://www.schoolsspectacular.com.au/2009/index.php?page=featured Schools Spectacular Website, Featured Artists Schools
  12. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, April 3, 2008
  13. ^ The Daily Telegraph, News Limited, April 3, 2008

[edit] External links
Asquith Boys High School • Asquith Girls High School • Barrenjoey High School • Bradfield College • Carlingford High School • Castle Hill High School • Chatswood High School • Cheltenham Girls High School • Cherrybrook Technology High School • Davidson High School • Epping Boys High School • Galston High School • Hornsby Girls High School • Hunters Hill High School • Killara High School • Killarney Heights High School • Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts High School • Marsden High School • Mosman High School • Muirfield High School • Narrabeen Sports High School • Normanhurst Boys High School • North Sydney Boys High School • North Sydney Girls High School • NBSC (Balgowlah Boys Campus - Cromer Campus - Freshwater Senior Campus - Mackellar Girls Campus - Manly Selective Campus) • Pennant Hills High School • Pittwater High School • Riverside Girls High School • Ryde Secondary College • St Ives High School • The Forest High School • Turramurra High School • Willoughby Girls High School
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