Stromlo High School is a high school located in Waramanga, Australian Capital Territory

Waramanga, Australian Capital Territory

Waramanga is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia located in the district of Weston Creek.Waramanga was established in the late 1960s and was named after the Aboriginal tribe of Central Australia, also known as the Warumungu people.-History:The Weston Creek district was...

. Stromlo came into being after the merger of Weston creek high school & Holder high school in 1990. in Its postcode is 2611. Stromlo High School has over 700 students and is the only high school in Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

 to provide education from grades 6 - 10. Both students and teachers abide by the school's four core values; pride, endeavour, learning and respect. Every morning students attend their TEAM classes before heading to their first lessons. TEAM is the Stromlo High equivalent of home room and stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. The school provides subjects in the areas of Mathematics, English, Arts (Includes Drama, Dance, Music and Visual Arts), Physical Education, Technology and IT (Includes Home Economics, Metalwork, Woodwork, Textiles and Information Technology), SoSE (Includes History and Geography), Languages (From a choice of three; Japanese, Italian and French) and Science.

Executive Teachers

Principal: Cecily Blake

Deputy Principal: Jo Kellow

Maths: Rod Grieve

English: Rebecca Cusick

SoSE and Languages: Matthew Noonan

Physical Education: Benjamin Davies

Technology and IT: Bruce Fuda

Science: Jeanette Watts.

Arts: Mardi Roberts-Bolton

Learning Centre: Jo Monteith

Student Services (Welfare): Rebecca Pearce

Pastoral Care: Kate Bolton

Buildings

Stromlo's main building is three stories high. From above the main building looks similar to a square with the centre cut out. The middle of the main building is the inner courtyard and is mostly used by year 7 students at recess and lunch.The previous gym at Stromlo High has been converted into a hall for use by Drama students, and is still used for school assemblies. PE students are taught in the new Gym which was completed in December 2009. The school also has a Science Block, including a lecture theatre, and a tech block which is used for Visual Art, Home Economics, Woodwork and Metalwork classes. The four main buildings are all linked by covered walkways.

Facilities

The school has a canteen, which is run by student volunteers and the school's P&C, and a cafe which is run by students, as part of their hospitality course. The latter only opens on Thursday at Lunch, but is available to be booked for classes on particular lessons, any day of the week. The main structure includes one boy's toilet block, and one girl's toilet block, located on either side of the canteen. It also has changing rooms, as the students are required to change for P.E. (The changing rooms are located beside the entrance in the gym).The hall has a soundbooth, curtain and lights for Assemblies and performances.

The school has plenty of computer facilities with both Apple and Windows computers, spread across all buildings, except the Gym. It has a Library, with its own computer facility and a wide selection of books, the school also provides workshops for some of the Technology classes, such as Metalwork and Woodwork.

The majority of class rooms are fitted with Smart Boards (Interactive Whiteboards).

Stromaz, the School Mascot

Stromlo High School's mascot, a zebra named Stromaz, was a gift from the graduating Year 10 class of 2008. The animal was chosen to match the school colours, black and white. The students and teachers sometimes dress up in a zebra costume and rally support if a school event, for example an athletics or swimming carnival, or mini timetable evening is on. Since the creation of their mascot, the school has looked at adopting a zebra at the Canberra National Zoo & Aquarium

National Zoo & Aquarium

The National Zoo and Aquarium is a privately owned zoo and aquarium in the Australian capital city of Canberra. It is located in Yarralumla at the western end of Lake Burley Griffin also next to Scrivener Dam.-Zoo Motto:...

, and naming it 'Stromaz' after their mascot.

Fundraising/Community Involvement

The school has regular fundraisers for most charity events, these include, but are not limited to, a color code free day for Jeans for Genes

Jeans for Genes

Jeans for Genes is a national appeal in the UK and Australia. Although both appeals raise money to help children with genetic disorders they are not the same appeal....

 day, the ability to buy daffodils to send to other people for Daffodil Day and a pet photo competition and cupcake sale for RSPCA week.

The school puts special effort into particular assemblies such as the ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...

, Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...

 and Naidoc assemblies, and the Book Week assembly, which includes a costume competition.

During October 2010 the school hosted a fete to commemorate its 20th anniversary, with each TEAM running its own individual stall.

School Houses

The school houses are named after nearby mountains and are represented by the students and teachers at school events such as the swimming carnival, athletics carnival, cross country, year challenges and various other competitions. The school houses and colours are as follows:

Oakey: Red, with a Redback Spider as the mascot.

Cooleman: Green, with a Crocodile as the mascot.

Reef: Blue, with a Shark as the mascot.

Taylor: Yellow, with a Tiger as the mascot.

Awards/Achievements

In 2005, the school won Best film- Secondary Schools, out of all competitors in Australia as a part of the CSIRO's Science Film Festival Scenima. It was won by James Hunter with his Short Film, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to Physics.

Controversy

In 2007, Stromlo High School was the subject of criticism after its decision to allow a 16-year-old student permission to take cigarette breaks, after her doctor advised she is clinically addicted to nicotine

Nicotine

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...

but this was never proven.