Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School
Location
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Australia
Coordinates 30°46′04″S 121°28′45″E / 30.76781°S 121.47919°E / -30.76781; 121.47919o
Information
Type Public School
Motto Respect Achieve Succeed
Established 2006
Principal Vicki Bogensperger
Campus Kalgoorlie
Website http://www.kalgoorlie-boulderchs.wa.edu.au/

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Kalgoorlie, a regional centre 595 kilometres (370 mi) east of Perth, Western Australia.

Along with Eastern Goldfields College the school was formerly known as Eastern Goldfields Senior High School until the campuses were separated.[1]

The school was established in 2006 and caters for students from Year 7 to Year 10. Enrolments at the school have fluctuated with total enrolment of 847 students in 2007 to 775 in 2008, to 661 in 2009, to 510 in 2010, then 540 in 2011 and 597 in 2012.[2]

Paul Matthews was the inaugural principal and was followed by Terry Martino in 2010.

The school had many reported incidents of violence in 2009 between indigenous and Maori students, resulting in cultural advisors being employed to tackle the problem.[3]

The school was in the headlines in 2010 when a teacher set an assignment asking the students how they would launch a chemical or biological terrorist attack on an unsuspecting Australian community to kill as many civilians as possible. The assignment was withdrawn after students complained. The teacher was counselled.[4]

In May of the same year, a male teacher was assaulted by a 13-year-old girl, the girl hit the man several times and was later charged by police for assaulting a public officer.[5] The girl pulled out clumps of his hair and hit him with a bin, she had to be pulled off the teacher by his colleagues who heard his screams.[6]

Another incident occurred in 2010 when a relief teacher was dismissed after students pushed, swore at and assaulted him. The teacher was ordered to leave the premises but later took the Department of Education to the industrial relations commission. It was found that the teacher was unfairly dismissed, the students involved having a history of falsely accusing teachers, and the department was ordered to rehire the teacher.[7]

The school ranked second in the state, behind Gilmore College, for school suspensions given to students in 2010.[8]

Early in 2012 the school received the a commendation award from the local chamber of commerce. The deputy principal, Vicki Bogensperger, accepted the award on behalf of Terry Martino and remarked We are on an improvement journey at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School and in a sense, the work will never be complete.[9] Later the same year the school was reviewed by Expert Review Group appointed by the Department of Education. The director of the group commented on the dramatic improvements at the school in the areas of uniform, behaviour and mobile phone policy. The director, Brett Hunt, also commented The school’s environment has a long history of being unsettled, but we found the current team has focused on developing a welcoming, structured and predictable environment for everyone.[10]

The school made the front page of the The West Australian in early 2013 when it was revealed students from the school had formed fight clubs where they would gather to watch their fellow students brawl with one another. Fights were captured on video and posted to facebook as were details of upcoming fights. The police had become involved and were planning additional patrols in the area. The Principal, Terry Martino, called on the community to take a shared responsibility for the children's behavior.[11]

Terry Martino was moved to Northam Senior High School in 2013 and replaced by the deputy principal Vicki Bogensperger.

See also

References

  1. "City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder – Education". 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  2. "Department of Education Schools online". Department of Education. 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. "Maori leaders work to stem school violence". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. April 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  4. "WA Today - AFP warns terrorism test was illegal". 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  5. "WA Today - Kalgoorlie school girl attacks teacher". 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  6. "Schoolgirl charged over teacher assault". The West Australian (Perth, Western Australia: Yahoo). 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  7. "Teacher ‘pushed, slapped, sacked’". 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  8. John Dobson (10 February 2012). "Principal defends school". Weekend Courier. Inmycommunity. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. "Opinion - Chamber honours school's work". The West Australian. Yahoo7. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  10. "Opinion - Core values are the key". The West Australian. 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  11. Andrew Brosnan (14 March 2013). "Students post brawls online". The West Australian. Yahoo7. Retrieved 14 March 2013.

External links

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