As the first Term of 2025 comes to a close, I would like to extend my utmost appreciation to everyone for their collective efforts and support which has culminated in another outstanding Term of learning, engagement, enrichment and community at our wonderful school.

As you all know, Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design is a busy and vibrant place and this Term has been no exception, with whole school events and celebrations, excursions (including one interstate!), P&C initiatives, sporting and creative and performing arts initiatives and seemingly innumerable bake sales. All of this occurs against a backdrop of meaningful and engaging learning across KLAs and in an environment where our students habitually demonstrate their commitment to our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Relationships.

This Term, we celebrated two hugely significant events at our school: International Women’s Day and Harmony Day, coinciding with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is always very powerful when we come together as a school community to recognise and celebrate these events, and it is a distinct privilege to watch our young people engage with such maturity, sensitivity and passion.

Most pleasingly, these events have become increasingly driven by our students and reflect their distinct passions and showcase their unique talents and remarkable skill sets. I am deeply appreciative of their commitment to enriching our school community in this way and congratulate them for their efforts.

I would also like to publicly acknowledge Ms O’Callaghan and Ms Mora for their leadership of International Women’s Day and Ms Hinchey and the HSIE Faculty for their leadership of Harmony Day.

International Women's Day

Harmony Day

I would also like to thank our wonderful P&C, in particular Simon and Robyn, for organising the annual Inside Art Express event at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This is one of the most cherished events in the school calendar and something that has been an important tradition for us for many years. This year in addition to being provided with an insightful tour by the exhibition’s curator Louise Halpin, we were also honoured to be joined by Oscar H who spoke so beautifully, thoughtfully and with such gravitas about his amazing work which features in the exhibition.

Oscar articulated how he engaged with the artistic and creative process in the creation of his work and the value of the support provided by his teacher, Ms O’Callaghan. He also answered a number of thoughtful questions posed to him by some of our younger students and parents who were in attendance.

There have been some changes in staffing which will take effect from the beginning of next Term. It is a great pleasure to announce that Mr Hal Leggett has been appointed as our Careers Advisor and Ms Rachel Dowling has been appointed as our school Librarian.

We will also be welcoming our new Head Teacher HSIE, Mr Steve Kakoulidis to our school. Mr Kakoulidis has most recently been the Head Teacher HSIE at Moorefield Girls High School and has been centrally appointed to our school.

I was also utterly thrilled that our school’s incredible successes over the last few years were celebrated in the media recently. Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design has been recognised by the NSW Department of Education for lifting HSC results year on year and achieving outstanding results in the 2024 HSC. The department has recognised 24 schools across the state, one of which is our school! Schools were identified for demonstrating consistent growth over a 7-year period and an increase in the number of students achieving in the higher bands of the HSC. This achievement for our school highlights the hard work of our students, teachers, and support from families and the wider school community. A huge congratulations to our 2024 HSC students and their teachers!

For us to be featured on the front cover of the Sydney Morning Herald, which can be found here, was a very special and momentous occasion. These results have been achieved and sustained as a result of our commitment to embracing Explicit Teaching practices across the school many years ago which have now become a part of who we are. This includes ensuring that all students are provided with learning intentions and success criteria and teachers are committed to providing our students with timely, detailed and meaningful feedback that allows them to continually improve and build their skills. We have also done a lot of work around explicit reading strategies and academic writing, teachers actively utilise high-leverage and impact strategies to maximise learning outcomes, which have empowered our students to engage with the rigorous courses in the HSC.

NSW Department of Education Social Media Post

Sydney Morning Herald Front Page Thursday 27 March

Wellbeing is also a key focus of our school. I am privileged to work with an amazing group of dedicated professionals who are committed to ensuring that each of our students is known, valued and cared for. We value and celebrate diversity and strive to provide every opportunity for our young people to shine. 

We also provide tailored mentoring and support to senior students, ensuring that they feel listened to and well supported as they embark on their HSC journey and transition to post-school life. Our students embark on a broad range of post-school pathways, which reflect the enriching educational experience that they have with us in our vibrant and creative school leaving us as future-focused problem solvers who are socially and culturally literate and empowered to make our world a better place. 

I wish you all a wonderful Autumn school holiday break and look forward to another positive and productive term of learning when we come back together in a few weeks.