Principal

Glenunga International High School inspires every student to develop their potential as an internationally minded, critical thinking, responsible citizen. 

Welcome to our website! I am privileged to be Principal of Glenunga International High School, a large culturally rich public school where students currently come from 62 different countries of birth. Our school has very high academic standards and offers specialty programs in IGNITE (for Students with High Intellectual Potential) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma in Senior School. We also cater for fee-paying international students.

Our world-class standards have been verified by the Council of International Schools’ (CIS) accreditation and the International Baccalaureate Organisation recognizes us as a World School.

In mid 2010 every student in Year 8 - 11 and their families were involved in a process facilitated by Governing Council to establish what our school stands for and, in particular, to reaffirm our School Values in the context of a 21^st century learning community. All staff were involved in contributing to the Statement of Purpose and the Values.

As school leaders we predicted that our community would identify the Values of international mindedness and excellence defined as each student achieving their personal best. We were delighted by our students identifying two other important Values - harmony and opportunity - that they believed characterised our community. Harmony enables students from diverse backgrounds to work and play together in a peaceful safe environment. In the students’ eyes Opportunity is found in the wide range of curriculum options, in a rich Student Life and Sporting program, and in an environment that enables students to discover themselves as developing individuals within our community.

Our school motto – labor omni vincit (work conquers all) – comes from our 1918 heritage when we were the Adelaide Technical High School. In 1963 our school moved to its current site and in 1974 it became Glenunga High School. With the introduction of the International Baccalaureate in 1990 and the international fee-paying students’ program the school became known as Glenunga International High School. In the 21^st century we understand the motto to mean everyone working to achieve their personal best and to discover what they are really capable of achieving.

In 2008-10 we were selected from schools across South Australia as the Learning Technologies Secondary School. We worked with academics and researchers from Flinders University and University of South Australia to better understand how learning technologies can be used to enrich face-to-face teaching. This experience increased our staff’s understanding of how to better personalise learning for students so that they are challenged to learn at their own pace. We see this as reflecting 21^st century life in the world beyond school where everyone expects to be able to personalise aspects of their daily lives. Our Wednesday morning late start for students which enables staff to work on developing their technology-rich curriculum and our Year 8 and 9 One-to-One Laptop Learning Program have developed as part of this research project. In 2012 the Laptop Learning Program will also involve Year 10s.

Each year for the past three years we have surveyed all our students about the characteristics of a good lesson and the role technology plays in their classrooms. Students have identified the most important characteristics as including passionate committed teaching, enjoyment of working with adolescents and deep subject knowledge. Then they have identified how often they have experienced these characteristics in their classes. Students have reported that they feel they are being challenged to improve their learning outcomes, that staff are well prepared and approachable, and that classes are well organized. Staff have used students’ feedback combined with John Hattie’s research on exceptional teachers to continuously improve their classroom practice. This is a courageous undertaking that demonstrates staff commitment to being the best they can be for their students.

In 2011 our school introduced a revamped Pastoral Care Program with a working title of Program X. Students in Years 8 – 11 meet with their Home Group teachers twice a week to undertake this international thinking program which draws its curriculum framework from the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile, the student capabilities articulated in the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), and Art Costa’s Habits of Mind. Students in Year 12 are involved with their Student Advisory Teachers in an age appropriate program designed to equip them for the transition from school to the world of work and university or further education.

As a school we could not offer such high quality education and such rich diversity of programs if it were not for our passionate teachers and leaders who are highly committed to getting the best outcomes possible for each student. Our teaching staff devote many hours and boundless energy to continually improving their curriculum delivery and to our Student Life or Sporting Programs. We are lucky to have a staffing mix of highly experienced and early career teachers. They are supported by an equally committed and passionate team of School Services Officers who focus on delivering high quality service to students, staff and families.

We are also very fortunate in terms of the support we enjoy from our community of families who came from all over the Adelaide metropolitan area as well as many overseas locations. Our families value the rich educational opportunities provided by our school for their sons and daughters. In return they contribute their skills (see Parent Skills Audit) and financial support as well as enthusiastic participation in school events as diverse as parent information evenings, hosting international students and fund-raising activities. Our community is represented by our highly skilled Governing Council, which meets monthly and monitors progress against our strategic priorities as well as our school finances.

Please take your time to explore our site and to discover what makes Glenunga International High School such a special place to undertake an important stage of any individual’s learning journey. Review our excellent SACE and International Baccalaureate results and examine our wide range of co-curricula offerings. If you have questions that are not answered by the website you are warmly invited to contact the school by email www.gihs.sa.edu.auor by phone using our Contacts page.