House System

Sport Houses and History of House Colours

History of our house colours

In 2014 we decided as a school to research famous South Australian’s to name our 4 Houses after. This research was done by every care group and the results were submitted. Then students voted, and the 4 most popular names were Mary Lee, Ruby Hammond, Sir Douglas Nicholls and Howard Florey.

Once the families had been contacted and permission granted for RMSC to use their names to represent Houses, at a whole school assembly in 2015 the House Captains with the help of the principal, picked the names out of a hat to attribute to each House. That is how we named blue Hammond, red Lee, green Florey and yellow Nicholls.

There are also animal mascots, which we discussed in a staff meeting in 2014.

Yellow Nicholls Eagles

Red Lee Dingoes

Blue Hammond Sharks

Green Florey Crocodiles

These are all native Australian animals.

 

Moving into the NEW HOUSE SYSTEM in 2021

The introduction of “Learning Communities” has allowed the school to reassess the current House system and make necessary adjustments to help foster a school culture that encompasses our core values of Respect, Excellence and Diversity.

The Revised House System Aims to Develop:

• School ethos and House pride
• Student led innovation and change
• Student leadership opportunities
• Student connections with the school, staff and their peers
• Camaraderie between students and staff

The House system will aim to generate greater opportunities for the school to maximise student engagement and develop a student-centred system that facilitates the development of school culture and pride.

A computer-generated system will randomly allocate staff and students into Houses, whilst still accommodating special considerations and siblings to foster a sense of pride and tradition. This new allocation process will help alleviate issues with certain Houses dominating particular events. Alphabetical allocation can result in inconsistencies regarding gender ratio and the number of students in each House.

 

Nomination and Selection Process:

Students interested in applying for House Captain or Leader will be required to complete an expression of interest and interview as well as a presentation to the students and staff of their House. All students and teachers of the House will then vote for their preferred leaders. The option of a teacher vote having more points than each student vote can be decided or modified as required. Students with the majority of votes in each House will be allocated leadership roles.

 

Leadership and Roles and Responsibilities:

The House System will be led by staff in conjunction with student House Leaders. Each year level has leadership representatives for each House (House Captains and Leaders).

The student captains and leaders will have important and prestigious roles within the school, as they will be seen by peers, staff and the community as school ambassadors and representatives. The leaders will be role models who will use their leadership position to influence positive changes within the school, whilst upholding exemplary behaviour and attitude. Students in these positions will be required to meet fortnightly during pastoral care lessons.

Leadership Qualities:

EXCELLENCE	DIVERSITY	RESPECT
Strives to achieve personal best in all aspects of school life.	Provides encouragement to other students to engage in House activities, events and consultation processes.	Listens, acknowledges and values the perspectives, opinions and ideas of others.
Displays enthusiasm, initiative and leadership qualities with a passion for school improvement.	Collaborates effectively and listens carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.	Respects and upholds the expectations of students and student leaders.
Demonstrates high levels of communication skills.	Shows empathy, compassion, respect and commitment to service.	Demonstrates reliability, punctuality and responsibility.
Is creative and innovative in presenting, sharing and actioning new ideas and initiatives for school improvement.	Values diversity by engaging and promoting the voices of students from a diverse range of backgrounds.	Acts with fairness, honesty and integrity.
Is a role model for fellow students.

 

Responsibilities of Student Leadership Team:

HOUSE CAPTAIN	LEADER
Is a leader and representative of the school’s student body.	Demonstrates and embodies the school’s core values.
Represents the school at official gatherings.	Helps to develop and or improve House activities to promote student inclusivity.
Chairs House leadership team meetings and ensures all House leadership teams participate in meetings.	Supports House captains in the preparation and running of House events.
Liaises with the Learning Community Leader and other staff for the smooth running of the House system.	Actively solicits the views of all students in their House on issues pertaining to their learning and school environment.
Acts as a positive role model demonstrating a positive attitude and displaying high standards in areas including a neat and tidy appearance, uniform compliance, attendance, application to study, enthusiasm, responsibility and dedication in their role of leader.	Acts as an intermediary between students, house captain and staff to provide advice/feedback as required.
Represents the House at school assemblies or functions as required.	Voices relevant student concerns and ideas relevant to student learning.
Hosts visitors to the school as required.	Acts as a role model and leader to other students in the House.
Models the attitudes and attributes valued by the school including responsibility and service within the school community and the wider community.	Participates and represents the House in other duties and responsibilities as required by the Learning Community Leader.

HPE/ HOUSE Uniforms

New Health and Physical Education (HPE)/House uniforms which were introduced in 2022 feature prominent House colours incorporated into the design. Additionally, the school’s core values are also visible on the sleeve of the shirts, promoting school culture and pride. These uniforms can be worn during HPE or House competitions, allowing easy identification of a student’s House during all activities.

One of the advantages of building a  strong House system is allowing competitions to take place across several learning areas. This allows students across a range of talents/interests to feel valued. The types of activities and/or the points awarded can be modified or added to create a competitive environment that caters to the interests of all students. Examples of activities include:

• Lunch time activities
• Sports Day
• Roma has talent (Musical/Singing)
• Kahoot
• Before school and after school activities
• Musical activities
• Quizzes
• Art competitions
• Debating