Stand-out performances

from Santa Scholars 2022

Speech Day Awards honouring ex-students

The Class of 2022 is to be congratulated on their success in both the HSC and IB Diploma courses and their many other endeavours. In 2022, as the world was learning to live with COVID-19, we need to recognise the impact the last three years had on their education, with lockdowns, restrictions, and diverse modes of learning. Prior to the Trial Examinations in August, these students had not had a formal examination. Yet they embraced the challenge and quickly learned how to plan, prepare, study, and sometimes fail and pick themselves up and start again. We are incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

At Santa Sabina, we saw 124 students complete the HSC and IB Diploma courses and in addition, 23 students studied individual subjects in a pathway or accelerated program. They have also shaped the world around them with their pursuits and passion for music, national and international sport, the arts, technology, sustainability, community and philanthropy.

The benefits of balancing their academic studies with these co-curricular pursuits is something I am pleased to see many have mentioned in their scholar profiles (starting page 6).

I would like to recognise the commitment these students made right up until their examinations. They worked collectively to support each other, sharing resources and participating in study groups and holiday workshops. For some of these students, the learning began 16 years ago in Mary Bailey House. They have been taught by many teachers over that time and it is important to recognise the impact the teaching and support staff have had on their growth and development. These students received an unprecedented number of university early entry offers this year. I am confident these students will go on to innovate, create and shake the world.

JACQUELINE PUGH Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning

● Outstanding achievement as Santa Sabina students appeared 147 times on the NESA Distinguished Achievers lists in 32 courses, with many students being recognised for more than one subject.

● Santa Sabina was ranked 56th in the state by the Sydney Morning Herald with a success rate of 23.7%. This is an improvement on last year's results. The mean ATAR increased in 2022 to 81.54.

● 60% of the HSC cohort achieved at the highest levels with a Band 6 or an E4.

● Stand-out performances were recorded in our TAS and Music faculties with 100% of students achieving Band 5 or 6 results in six out of seven courses, and all students in Music Extension receiving an E4 result. In our Design and Technology classes, 72% of our girls achieved a Band 6 compared with 13% of the state and our Chemistry students challenged national trends for girls in Science with more than 89% achieving a Band 5 or 6 result in Chemistry.

● Our students also gained outstanding results in Visual Arts, Languages, Mathematics and the Humanities. We also saw continued excellence across a range of courses showcasing the diversity of our success.

● An increased number of students were nominated for showcases in HSC projects. In Design and Technology 10 students were nominated for SHAPE, in Music three students were nominated for Encore, in Dance one student was nominated in two different categories for Callback, in Visual Arts four students were nominated and three students were selected for ARTEXPRESS.

● In the HSC course at Santa Sabina we offer a diverse range of extension subjects for our students to dive deeper into the skills and knowledge of a discipline. For extension subjects, the highest rank is an E4. Exceptional results for our extension subjects included English 2 with 100% of students achieving an E3 or E4, Mathematics 2 with 100% of the cohort achieving an E3 or 4, Music Extension with all candidates achieving an E4, Japanese with 100% of the cohort achieving an E3 or 4, and History with 100% of the cohort achieving an E3 or 4.

● Fourteen courses saw an improvement in the school versus state average and 15 courses had an increase in the percentage of students achieving a Band 6 compared to 2021.

● There was a marked improvement from 2021 in the number of Year 11 Accelerated students achieving a Band 6 in one or two of their subjects.

● A total of 2,421 students in Australia sat for the November session examinations and in NSW there were 652 candidates.

● The average IB score for Santa Sabina was 36.27 which is equivalent to an ATAR of 93.26. This is well above the global average of 30.91 and also above the national average of 35.6 out of 45.

● ATAR percentages:

25% achieved over 97

53% achieved over 95

75% achieved over 90.

Ib Diploma

● We saw a diverse range of Extended Essays submitted by these students. This 4000-word research paper is in an area of their choice and for this cohort, their research fell under a wide variety of subjects such as English; Psychology; Mathematics; Sport, Exercise and Health Science; Global Politics and Biology

● At Santa Sabina 15 students completed the course in November 2022 and all have passed and received their Diploma.

LEFT: The 2022 IB cohort with the Dean of IB, Julie Harris

Congratulations to our top performer in the IB Diploma

HOLLY DAVIS

● In 2022 Santa Sabina students were offered 15 IB subjects. The high performing subjects this year include English A Language and Literature; Business Management; Global Politics and Sport, Exercise and Health Science.

● The Diploma course is still in its infancy at Santa Sabina but is well ingrained in our rigorous academic program offered to all students. This program is designed to suit students who wish to study a diverse range of subjects.