News

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 09:49:23 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

Help for families preparing for return to school

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 13:19:44 AEDT

The NSW Department of Education is working to support school communities affected by the summer bushfires to ensure a return to school as normal as possible for as many students as possible.

We encourage students and families who have been affected directly and indirectly to seek practical help through government and non-government agencies such as the NSW government’s Office of Emergency Management. The department also provides advice to assist parents, teachers and students.

The Office of Emergency Management has a list of bushfire recovery assistance contacts including emergency accommodation, animal welfare, recovery allowances and payments, farm and business assistance, legal assistance, water assistance, and counselling.

Affected staff can seek support through the Department’s Employee Assistance Program during the holiday and in term time, and counselling will be available for students and staff through their school once term begins.

The assessment of school buildings and facilities affected by the fires was started by officers of School Infrastructure NSW as soon as it was safe to do so, in order that school communities can be advised as soon as possible about the status of their school, and, if necessary, alternative arrangements.

It is expected that the vast majority of students will be returning to school as normal: advice about preparing for the start of school is on the Department’s Back to School page, but families facing any additional difficulty can also contact their school once term begins.

The school safety page will be updated with a list of government and non-government schools that are not operational.

Staying healthy into the new school year

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 16:57:50 AEDT

Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way to protect your family from harmful diseases this holiday season and into 2020. Visit your doctor for general health and vaccination advice.

Immunisation not only protects you and your family but also others in your community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases.

Children starting school in 2020 must have up-to-date immunisations to enrol.

These vaccinations help protect children from highly infectious and severe diseases including whooping cough and measles.

Travel health

If you’re travelling overseas during the school holidays, you may need vaccinations or medication – both for general health protection and for region specific diseases.

If you’re travelling to the Northern Hemisphere, you may even need a flu shot.

Find out more about staying healthy while travelling.

Best of the best recognised

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 09:22:28 AEDT

The students who have obtained first place in a 2019 Higher School Certificate course have been acknowledged for their extraordinary academic achievement.

La Comida Hispania

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 09:52:18 AEDT

A Tour Through The Hispanic Culinary World

#FacesOfSSCL

Sat, 30 Nov 2019 10:50:49 AEDT

Meet some of the students and staff of the SSCL

NSW schools respond to bushfires

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 18:27:33 AEDT

Many schools are responding to the catastrophic fire rating that is affecting communities across the state this week.

We are continuously updating the School safety page with a list of government and non-government schools, as well as TAFE NSW campuses that are currently non-operational.

While some schools are temporarily non-operational due to localised fires, many others in high-risk areas are non-operational as a precautionary measure.

Schools in some areas are being used as emergency evacuation centres at the direction of the Rural Fire Service.

For schools that are currently operational, school pickups and dropoffs will continue as usual. If your school is currently non-operational, it will likely remain so tomorrow.

Large scale distressing events affect our school communities in many ways. Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) is available to help students, teachers and school staff respond to the bushfires.

Visit the School safety page for updates. The department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will also provide updates during this period.

Grab a ticket to Schools Spectacular 2019

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 14:07:47 AEDT

Will you be joining us at Schools Spectacular 2019? Tickets are on sale now. Experience our live show featuring a cast of thousands of public school students from across metropolitan, rural and remote regions of NSW.

Students from different ages, cultures and backgrounds will share the spotlight as they dance, play and sing for you. Choose from one of our four massive performances at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday 22 November and Saturday 23 November.

This year's events will feature:

more than 380 schools
5,500 performers
a 3000-strong choir
2,300 dancers
an 80-piece symphony orchestra
a world-class stage band.

Group bookings

Need to make a group booking for over 10 people? Complete the Schools Preview Order Form 2019 (PDF 110KB) to attend the discounted 11am Friday matinee. The Friday matinee is discounted for school students and accompanying teachers.

If you’d like to grab a spot at one of the other three remaining shows complete the Group Booking Form 2019 (PDF 110KB).

Tickets for you and your family and friends

Save you and your family a spot online or by phone on 132 849.

Video – Schools Spectacular 2019

Duration: 0:26

Welcome to a new school year!

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 15:02:18 AEDT

All classes across all centres of the Saturday School of Community Languages (SSCL) commence on Saturday 9 February at 8.30am.

A reminder that the former Dulwich Hill Centre has moved to NSW School of Languages (NSL) located at 35 West Street Petersham. All students enrolled at the centre will need to go to this new location. Please visit the NSL centre page of this wesbite for information about transportation and school entrance.

Students should present with identification to the allocated SSCL centre by 8.15am in time for 8.30am class.

Students will be informed of required materials on this day by the class teacher. Students should be prepared with writing materials (pens, pencils etc) and a note pad.

We hope you enjoy studying your chosen language with us this year!

2019 school budget allocations

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:29:13 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

2019 Enrolment Information and Application Forms are now available

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 10:08:21 AEDT

Please download the 2019 Enrolment Information and Application Forms.

Go to enrol with us for all the information on enrolment procedures, language learning options, and in which centres the courses are available.

Downloads for 2019 enrolments:

2019 enrolment information (PDF 831KB)
2019 enrolment application form (PDF 594KB)
Late applications, recogniton of prior learning and other forms available at enrol with us

Please remember that all applications need the home school principal's signature, the school stamp and must be sent through the home school.

National Education Medal of Poland!

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:40:52 AEDT

Congratulations!

Mr Albert Vella, President of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools and Mrs Malgorzata Vella, meritorious teacher of Polish language and founder of The Polish School of Sydney were awarded with The National Education Commission Medals during a ceremony held at the Polish Consulate on 3rd of May 2018.

This exceptional award comes from the Polish Minister for Education to acknowledge Mr and Mrs Vella's significant work within ethnic schools, their contribution to the development of Polish teaching, education and upbringing of new generations of students in Australia.

The SSCL congratulates Albert and Malgorzata on this exceptional achievement!

Our talented student!

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:41:14 AEDT

The Saturday School of Community Languages boasts many talented students who are learning and applying their language skills across a variety of endeavours.

Our very own student Catherine Stratton has shown how singing and learning languages can go hand in hand.

Catherine was a previous contestant on the show X-factor in Australia and has been on various TV shows and other media in China.

As a dedicated languages student and talented performer, Catherine's language learning journey has opened up opportunities for her to perform on the international stage. She states: "Going to Saturday school and improving my Chinese have helped me so much in pursuing my dream as a singer and performer in China, I'm able to communicate and write songs in Mandarin and it definitely makes the early mornings worth it!"

Here are some photos from a concert and TV shows Catherine participated in whilst in China.

The Saturday School of Community Languages wishes Catherine much success in her future endeavours!

2018 Harmony Day Celebrations

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:40 AEDT

Harmony Day - We all belong

Saturday School of Community Languages Centres celebrated our great Australian diversity and multicultural society on 24 March this year.

Teachers and students enjoyed a day filled with delicious food, bright coloured costumes, music and dance performances, all contributing to create an atmosphere of harmony and belonging in our school communities.

Please enjoy viewing some of the perfromances and photos from the day below. To view more photos, please visit our Photo Gallery.

Harmony Day Lunch and Music Performance at The Hills Centre

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Harmony Day Lunch celebrations at Birrong Girls Centre

We thank our teachers and students for organising such enjoyable Harmony Day activities across all our centres.

To learn more, please visit the Harmony Day website.

2018 Years 7 - 10 Assessment Information

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:40 AEDT

Now available!

Please access and download the Years 7-10 Assessment and Reporting Information booklet.

We encoruage all students and parents/carers to read the booklet provided to be informed about of the assessments taking place in our languages courses.

New look website!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

The SSCL website has undergone a mobile friendly upgrade to help our school community access important information across a range of devices.

Information on the SSCL website is constantly updated, so please keep visiting our website to keep informed about our school's latest developments.

We hope you enjoy viewing the new photos and upcoming Centre albums in the Gallery section.

Welcome Back!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

Your first day at SSCL in 2018 is Saturday 3 February at 8:30 a.m.

All classes across all centres of the Saturday School of Community Languages (SSCL) commence on Saturday 3 February at 8.30am.

Students should present with identification to the allocated SSCL centre by 8.15am in time for 8.30am class.

Students will be informed of required materials on this day by the class teacher. Students should be prepared with writing materials (pens, pencils etc) and a note pad.

We hope you had an enjoyable Holiday Season and a great New Year. We look forward to working with our school community and the productive teaching and learning that will take place this year.

2017 HSC Success!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:40 AEDT

Congratulations to our 2017 Year 12 students for achieving outstanding results in their Higher School Certificate.

Saturday School of Community Languages achieved an outstanding 17 First Place in Course and 76 Top Achievers in Course in the 2017 HSC Examination.

Our students attended the NSW Education Standards Authority's special ceremony to celebrate their achievement of topping their language course this year and received their well-deserved 1st in Course Certificates!

We congratulate all our students, their teachers and centres for their outstanding success!

Our new school plan draft strategic directions

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

As an ongoing part of our consultation in strategic planning for the next 3 years, the following draft strategic directions are in the process of being put in place and are published here for further community response during March and April.

1. Learning - to actively involve students in the learning process in an engaging, safe and respectful environment

2. Teaching - to professionally develop staff to foster quality teaching, learning and leadership

3. Community - to actively involve all members of the school community in developing a collaborative educational culture

Please email any feedback to Saturdaycl-h.School@det.nsw.edu.au or

mail to: Saturday School of Community Languages

Department of Education and Communities

Learning and Leadership - Secondary Education

Locked Bag 53

Darlinghurst NSW 1300

2018 HSC Assessment Policy & Schedules are now available

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

The 2018 HSC Assessment Policy and Procedures and Assessment Task Schedules are now available online for all Year 12 students, parents and carers.

Please access and download the Year 12 Assessment Policy as well as the Assessment Task Schedules for your course.

2018 Enrolment Information and Application Forms are now available

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:40 AEDT

Go to How to enrol Years 7 - 12 for information on enrolment procedures, language learning options, and in which centres the courses are available.

Go to Enrolment Application Forms 2018 for the enrolment applications.

Please remember that all applications need the home school principal's signature, the school stamp and must be sent through the home school.

New School Plan survey - thank you for your feedback!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

As part of the consultation for the development of the new School Plan, we are interested in what members of our school community think about our draft school vision statement and our school context so we invited feedback through a short survey.

Thank you for taking part in this opportunity to help shape the school's future directions.

All responses are submitted anonymously and will be used for the purpose of enhancing the current draft.

The survey is now closed and work will continue on refining the drafts early in the new year. Thank you once again for helping us to make our great school an even better one.

Congratulations to Year 12 2014 for their outstanding performance in this year's HSC!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

This year's Year 12 students have achieved excellent results with 13 First in Course placements as well as 60 students achieving a top 5 result in their course!

To read more, please go to ‘Our achievements' on the ‘About us' tab on this website.

Thinking of emailing your child's Saturday School centre?

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

If you are thinking of emailing your child's Saturday School centre, make sure you include all details about your child's enrolment, such as which centre your child attends and what language and year group your child is enrolled in.

This will help to ensure that your message reaches the appropriate executive staff quickly so it can be attended to the following Saturday.

Here is the whole school email address to use: Saturdaycl-h.School@det.nsw.edu.au

The Hills Sports HS centre community connects to their learning!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

Students and teachers at the Hills Sports HS centre are featured in a number of print and online media stories in and around the Hills district - what a wonderful celebration of the love of language learning in our community!

Thank you once again to our students and teachers for being so willing to share their experiences and to help promote the value of learning more about one's heritage language and culture.

To read the article, please click the following link: http://www.hillsnews.com.au/story/2691139/western-sydney-students-connect-to-culture-at-language-school/?cs=1202

If the above link does not work, please cut and paste the url into your web browser.

Success at the 2014 Korean Book Review Competition!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

Well done on a fine achievement!

Congratulations to our Year 12 Korean student from the Chatswood HS centre for being awarded second prize in his division in this year's Korean book review competition.

The Korean Book Review Competition is an annual Korean book review writing competition for schools in Australia, hosted by the Korean Cultural Office, Australia. The competition is open to all students from Kindergarten to Year 12, who would like to discover the joys of reading Korean stories to improve their Korean language and cultural skills.

We are very proud of this fine achievement and extend our best wishes to all of our students for many more successes in the future.

Congratulations to our Year 12 Ukrainian scholarship winners!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

Exciting news for our Year 12 Ukrainian students!

The Monash Rudewych Year 12 Ukrainian Language Scholarship was established in 2008 by the Mykola Zerov Centre for Ukrainian Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University in Victoria.

The scholarships aim to encourage students in Australia to enrol in a Ukrainian language program for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), the Higher School Certificate (HSC) or the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).

Each applicant needed to submit a 500-word statement in Ukrainian detailing why they should be awarded the scholarship, as well as list the community and extra-curricular activities they are involved in. Applicants also needed to show evidence that they are enrolled in a formal school-based course of study in Ukrainian.

Up to 8 scholarships, valued at $2,500 each, were awarded in 2014 and 3 Year 12 students from the Strathfield Girls HS centre of the Saturday School of Community Languages were presented with their prize in Term 1, 2014.

Congratulations from us all at the Saturday School of Community Languages! We wish you all the very best on your success!

Congratulations to Year 12 2013 for shining in this year’s Higher School Certificate!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

This year's Year 12 students have achieved excellent results with 17 First in Course placements as well as over 75 students achieving a top 5 result! To read more, please go to ‘our achievements' on the ‘About us' tab on this website.

The introduction of Punjabi is on track for a 2014 start

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

The Saturday School of Community Languages is proud to announce that the projected introduction of Punjabi in 2014 has reached a significant milestone. The School Developed Board Endorsed Course in Punjabi has been accepted by the Board of Studies NSW for implementation from the beginning of 2014. The Saturday School of Community Languages will be including Punjabi in its range of languages offered in 2014 and the plan is to form a Years 9 - 10 (stage 5) class at the Hills Sports High School centre, subject to sufficient student enrolments. We look forward to working with the community over the coming months to successfully achieving our goal for 2014.

Development of new Homework Policy

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

Many thanks to the parents/caregivers and students who have taken the time to complete the online survey. The results from the surveys will be used to guide the development of the new whole school Saturday School of Community Languages Homework Policy.

Parents/caregivers and students who completed their relevant online survey responded to a number of questions about homework in general as well as homework practices and study skills.

The majority of parents indicated their agreement with the following:

Homework is important with regards to success at school and it is a worthwhile activity.
Other resources, such as the internet and textbooks, are used to help with completing homework.
Sometimes the difficulty of the homework can affect whether the homework is completed or not.
The use of a time management tool, such as a diary, is beneficial.
Teachers comments and feedback are very important.

The majority of students indicated that they:

use a computer and the internet when completing their homework.
plan to complete their homework at certain times during the week.
spend between 1 to 3 or 4 to 6 hours per week completing all school homework.
use some form of a diary to help them manage their time.
value their teachers' comments and feedback.

Teachers who attended their centre's staff development workshop in Term 3 this year were asked to reflect on the importance of homework in their current teaching practice. The majority of teachers who took part in discussions across centres indicated that homework should be a regular component of their classroom practice. Given the fact that Saturday School classes are only held once a week, teachers felt that homework activities help to reinforce the work covered in class, consolidate students' learning and extend students' knowledge and understanding of the coursework. Teachers also acknowledged the importance of providing meaningful feedback to students, as well as the development of a clear and consistent process to manage the completion or non-completion of homework.

Parents/caregivers will be invited to attend a forum at their child's centre in Term 4 (in either week 4 or 5) to participate in discussions about homework at the Saturday School of Community Languages. It is anticipated that the draft whole school homework policy as well as the Department's recently published Homework Policy:Research Scan will be available on the day.

Announcing our new school banner message!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

Many thanks to the members of our school community who participated in our recent online survey to help select a school banner message that best represents the Saturday School of Community Languages' distinctive character.

I am pleased to announce that our new school banner message is:

Connection Diversity Excellence

This short banner statement will be used in our range of promotional materials and templates as they are updated and/or developed in the future.

Scholarship awarded to Chatswood HS centre executive member!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:41 AEDT

We extend our congratulations to Mr Wei Leu, Curriculum Coordinator at the Chatswood HS centre, who has been awarded the 2011 Premier's Kingold Chinese Language Teacher Scholarship. This award is sponsored by Kingold Group Companies Ltd and offers the recipient $15 000 to conduct a 5-week study program visiting China.

The focus of the study proposal is to research best practice in teaching the cultural elements integrated with language suitable for the NSW K-10 Chinese, Stage 6 Chinese Continuers and Heritage Chinese syllabuses so as to achieve the prescribed objectives and outcomes.

Mr Leu attended a function with the NSW Premier, the Hon. Mr Barry O'Farrell MP and the Hon. Mr Adrian Piccoli MP, the Minister for Education, on 20 August 2011 to celebrate this fine achievement

Mr Leu is planning to conduct his study trip at the end of the year.

We wish Mr Leu all the best on his success and look forward to sharing the experiences and knowledge gained at the Saturday School of Community Languages next year.

Success in film competition for Smiths Hill HS Serbian and Macedonian students!

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:42 AEDT

Congratulations to the Serbian and Macedonian classes for their wonderful achievements in the recent short film competition run by the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools!

The Years 7 - 10 Serbian class created a film called ‘Welcome to life' which was placed 2^nd in the 14 - 18 year old category in the competition! What a magnificent effort!

Congratulations to the class teacher Ms Mijakovac and her students: Ana Djotunovic, Snezana Kodor, Branko Kovacevic, Dusko Rebic, Todor Malbasa, Sladjana Kalanj, Anastasia Maric, Vanja Pjevalica and Djordje Uzelac.

The Years 7 - 10 Macedonian class plus two additional Year 11 Macedonian students created a short film called ‘Hotel Aleksander Palace' which was placed 3^rd in the same category. What another fine achievement!

Congratulations to the class teacher Ms Stojanovska and the following students: Adrian Wright, Maria Tasevska, Monika Gorgieva, Tahlia Popcevski, Leo Stanoevski, Alexander Stojcevski, Katerina Simonovska, Angela Stojcevska, Alexander Aleksovski and Blagocje Nedelovski.

Years 7 - 10 Bengali class commences at the Liverpool GHS centre in term 3, 2011

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:22:43 AEDT

Following community consultation, a new Years 7 - 10 Bengali class has commenced at the Liverpool GHS centre on 23 July, 2011, the first Saturday of term 3. The centre hosted an Open Day to officially welcome the new students, their teacher and members of the community to the centre. The event was well attended by parents and the Bengali community, including the president of the Bangla Prosar Committee, Mr Swapan Paul, and committee members.

The Liverpool Champion, a local newspaper, reported on the event. You can read the article by clicking on the following link: http://www.liverpoolchampion.com.au/news/local/news/general/students-start-bengali-lessons/2245812.aspx#