Engagement & Co-curricular

Engagement

Suzanne Cory High School has a vibrant house program, with students all part of one of our four houses from their first day. Our house competition has a huge variety of activities for students to get involved in, from Athletics, Swimming, Chorals (music competition), House Dance and House Drama being the major events of the year. In addition, a large number of events geared towards our students’ interests, such as debating, chess, and various other initiatives offer many opportunities for students to contribute to their house’s efforts in our highly competitive House Cup competition.

Our students have noted that the house system is one of the most defining and important parts of their school experience. The house system is an integral aspect of life at Suzanne Cory High School, with home groups based on houses and regular times set aside for houses to build connections and work together towards their shared goal of demonstrating house pride. House connection helps students build an identity at our school and underpins the supportive environment and friendships that are made through our house competition.

Co-Curricular

Our rich co-curricular program allows students to develop a skill over a semester, be it a physical skill or interpersonal skill. Students are required to participate in a semester of an active co-curricular and a semester of a creative or community service co-curricular over a school year. This program gives students many options outside of the regular school curriculum to develop these skills, with over 50 different offerings for students to choose from, ranging from Fencing, Game Design, Sculpture, Self Defence, Photography, Puzzle Hunting, and Masterchef. There are also some whole year options that combine both active and creative/community service requirements such as Bollywood Dance, The School Musical, and the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Co-curricular classes are a chance for students to meet students from different year levels and learn more about themselves whilst focusing on growth beyond academics. The co-curricular program is a key aspect of the holistic education that is offered at Suzanne Cory High School.

Sport

Sport at Suzanne Cory High School plays a vital role in fostering student wellbeing, promoting physical fitness, teamwork, and school spirit. The school offers a robust intra-school sports program, including house competitions in various sports, encouraging participation and friendly rivalry among students. These activities enhance camaraderie and provide a platform for all students to engage in physical activity, regardless of skill level.

The interschool sports program allows students to represent Suzanne Cory in competitions across a broad range of sports. This fosters a sense of pride and achievement while providing opportunities to compete at higher levels. The experience of teamwork, discipline, and goal-setting in these settings contributes to personal development.

Overall, sport at Suzanne Cory supports mental health, builds resilience, and strengthens community bonds, enriching the holistic wellbeing of students.

Instrumental Music Program

The Suzanne Cory High School instrumental music program is a user pay extra-curricular program.

The program offers a wide variety of musical experiences and comprises a number of vibrant performance groups.

Due to high demand for music lessons at the school, students will only be permitted to enrol in one instrumental lesson, so we are able to offer as many students a place in the program as possible. Under special circumstances, students studying VCE music may be offered a second instrument, for example, if they plan to be assessed as a singer/guitarist.

The program

The program consists of:

• A Structured lesson: either a small group or individual lesson that is held during class time. Duration 45 minutes.
• Ensemble group: ensemble rehearsals, generally held before or after school and requires attendance at school performances and events. Students are expected to participate in ensemble performances and there is no additional cost for ensemble participation.

Note: the expectation is that VCE music performance students will be enrolled in individual (private) lessons.

Student Leadership

At SCHS, we take pride in providing students with many opportunities to develop as leaders and to embody our school values of Respect, Aspiration and Contribution. Our formal leadership roles include whole school captains in Music, Sports, Citizenship and Extracurricular domains working with our Whole School Captains and Vice Captains to increase student engagement in these areas of the school. In addition, students may choose to be part of their house level leadership, with house domain captains working with the whole school domain captains to organise many events in our house competition.

Student voice is also amplified through the hard work of our dedicated Student Representative Council (SRC), with each house having 4 elected representatives from each year level. These students work with our school leadership to tackle issues that affect the student body, as well as organising events that connect the students of their respective year levels. Our tireless SRC also work with the Australian Select Entry Network schools in Victoria to organise interschool events that build connections between students from the four select-entry schools of Melbourne High School, MacRobertson Girls’ High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School.

Students at our school also have the chance to build their skills in informal leadership positions with sport coaching and leadership in running and delivering co-curricular classes in conjunction with teachers. Student leadership provides students with a fantastic opportunity to work with a team of like-minded individuals to strive for excellence at our school.