Sylvania High School

　　Sylvania High School provides a dynamic, caring and positive learning environment for all students that is founded on our core values of rights, respect and responsibility. Our diverse educational programs from Year 7 to 12 focus on engaging students by connecting their learning to the real world.

　　Our school is staffed by a highly committed, talented and experienced team of teachers and support personnel.  We work with the community to make decisions that allow us to foster and maintain strong, productive relationships while providing quality educational programs to support our students.  We enjoy extremely strong support from our parent body in the form of our School Council and P&C. The School Council provides authentic collaboration between teachers, parents and students in the governance of the school, while the P&C has a strong tradition of supporting learning programs and working with teachers to develop quality learning environments.

　　Our school community shares a belief that the most productive learning occurs when our students are safe and happy. To achieve this, our welfare programs are designed and implemented to support individual student needs and foster the respectful relationships that exist between staff, students and parents. Our Year 12 exit survey always reflects the importance that our families place on the strong relationships that develop with the school over the course of their child's education.

　　Sylvania High School offers a broad and exciting curriculum that encourages students to develop essential skills, knowledge and understanding and promote personal and interpersonal skills.  The performing and creative arts are particularly strong with our students being selected for prestigious programs in Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Art. Extra curricular opportunities play a vital role in this success. Students are encouraged to strive for excellence in all aspects of their learning. Our most recent success is illustrated by the excellent results in 2011, with 20% of HSC students gaining honours on the Distinguished Achievers list and 13% with ATARs of 90 or more. Sylvania High School offers an educational framework that allows our students to succeed in a range of studies.

　　At Sylvania High School we believe a positive attitude, determination and perseverance are the foundations for future success and we base this success on three core values: Rights, Respect and Responsibility. These core beliefs have been a documented part of our school culture for several years and were developed through student, staff and community workshops.

　　Rights come from our belief that all students have the right to a good education. This value prepares students for future success by allowing them to develop a strong work ethic.

　　Respect is shown in the many ways students relate to their peers, the staff and their families. This value allows our students to show care and compassion by acknowledging and accepting the differences and similarities in others.

　　Responsibility is a value that some students find more difficult to accept. The skills required to be responsible for the decisions we take, and their consequences, are important in any society. Students at Sylvania High School have many opportunities to develop these skills through classroom application, leadership programs, and in community and service learning.

　　Our welfare programs have been built around these values and all students and staff are encouraged to think about the impact of their actions in these three areas on a daily basis whether in classrooms, the playground, travelling to and from school, or in the wider community. We believe that if students leave our school with a real understanding of these values, they will be successful 21st century learners and be able to contribute as citizens to building a better society.

　　Sylvania High School is approximately 22km south of Sydney, Australia. Situated in a suburb of the same name, in the Sutherland Shire, it is only a short distance from the the Georges River, Sylvania Waters and Cronulla suburb of Cronulla.

　　The aerial view of Sylvania High shows that the spacious school grounds resemble a map of Australia. The leafy grounds are accompanied by a full-sized soccer/rugby league field and a hockey field. The school has a state of the art  $3.4m Auditorium equipped with multi-purpose indoor sports courts and performing arts facilities. The technology facilities include wireless internet throughout the school and numerous learning spaces with computers, data projectors and interactive whiteboards. Our specialist Industrial Arts and Food Technology rooms are now equipped as a Trade Training Centre in Hospitality and Construction. Our Music, Dance and Drama studios provide first class opportunities in the Performing Arts. Our student numbers allow staff to tailor rooms for specific learning and the library is an ideal place to complete schoolwork.