WEEK 10 TERM 2, 26 June, 2026
acknowledgement of Country
We recognise the Dharrug and Guringai people, the owners and custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines and stories. We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieves their potential through education.
relieving Principal's Message
Welcome to the final Torch for Term 2. While the term is coming to an end, we still see so many events happening across the school and we are looking forward to enjoying the activities planned for the SRC Spirit Week next week. From the barbeque, to the great debate, collaborative school mural creations, trivia, sporting challenges and the House Choir Competition it is sure to be a week to come together as a school community and have fun. Thank you to the super organised SRC and their coordinators, Ms Tulett and Ms Turner, for their thoughtful planning of a fun-filled week. Year 9 headed off to the Great Aussie Bush Camp this week to challenge themselves outside of the classroom, build stronger bonds with their peers and develop further resilience. School camps are a very important part of our wellbeing programs and we are very lucky to have staff prepared to attend and support our students. Thank you to Ms Cho for organising the camp and to Ms Croudace, Ms McClean, Ms Ward, Ms Tobin and Mr Andrew for volunteering their time to attend. I hope everyone gets a good rest over the weekend and is refreshed and ready to tell us about their time at camp when they return to school next week. Year 12 held a highly successful Charity Day to support Bear Cottage on Tuesday. After completing their third assessment block, it was wonderful to see Year 12 delighting in wearing their pyjamas and raising money together by selling their baked goodies for a good cause. I am told they raised $555. Well done Year 12 and Ms Tourikis. On Wednesday 1 July our CAPA faculty has organised a performance of the ‘Normsby Choir’ at 6.30pm in our school hall. Details have been published in the Daily Notices for students and we look forward to hearing the sounds of this combined choir. Thank you once again to our music faculty and Ms McCarthy for her leadership of our chorale programs. Yesterday, over 40 of our students worked on the Write a Book in a Day fundraiser for the Kids Cancer Council. Former Deputy Principal and Head Teacher of English, Mrs Drayton mentored our students who were highly engaged and demonstrated their creativity and collaboration skills. Thank you to Dr Cleary for organising this event and Ms Thompson and Ms Ioannou for their support in running the day. From chatting with the students it was clear how engaged they were in this and how much they enjoyed the creative space. This week I would like to shine the policy spotlight on our Mobile Phone Policy. As parents and carers are aware, the NSW Government has a mobile phone ban in schools. When this was first introduced the school community selected an ‘Off and Away Policy’ meaning that mobile phones need to be off and away in bags and in lockers during the school day. We are currently in the process of reviewing our mobile phone policy and converting this to a Digital Devices Policy. While we are working on this we will be trialling extending the policy to digital devices in the playground during recess and lunch from the start of Term 3. We want to encourage students to communicate with one another and engage in recreation in the playground rather than using apps, games and messaging services on digital devices including laptops and tablets. Students who need to use a digital device at recess or lunch to work on an assignment or homework will be asked to go to the library for this purpose. I spoke about the benefits of this at the recent P&C Meeting and appreciate parent support in Term 3 in implementing the extension of our policy in the playgrounds at recess and lunch. To aid us in this we will be installing 3 digital screens in the school so that students can obtain information about daily organisation, room changes and events without needing to look at their digital devices. Thank you to the P&C for their support in installing these screens. Finally if parents and carers who have not completed the NSW Public Schools Survey could check their emails and fill this in, we would very much appreciate this. Your feedback is very important in our continuous improvement of the education and wellbeing of our students. Thank you to Amanda Wallwork for her coordination of this survey. The survey closes on 3 July. I hope everyone has a restful and fun winter holiday. Students return to school on Tuesday 21 July. Ms Vanessa Gilmore - Relieving Principal
Deputy Principal's Message
NSW Public Schools Survey- Parents 2026 In Term 2, we are inviting parents and carers to participate in the NSW Public Schools Parent Survey. The survey gives you the opportunity to share your experience at our school, including communication, inclusion, wellbeing and how your child’s learning is supported. Hearing directly from our parents and carers will help us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made. Participation in the survey is optional, your responses are anonymous, and it takes around 10 minutes to complete. You can access the survey at: Survey Link: NSW Public Schools Survey Further information about the NPSS Parent Survey is available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/education-data-and-research/nsw-public-schools-surveys.html The survey window closes on 3rd July. We would appreciate all parents completing this survey so that comprehensive data can be collected. If you have any questions please email our reception on: hornsbygir-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au NSW SES Youth Internship Program Over the past 7 weeks, 8 HGHS girls participated in NSW SES Youth Internship Program. This included attendance each Tuesday 7pm to 8.30pm at Hornsby SES. The program covered various aspects of SES work. Working as Team, First Aid, Land Search and concluding with a rewarding Graduation Ceremony covering all above in a simulated environment. Congratulations to Olivia, Jessica, Jade, Anika, Mugdha, Juliet, Tinny and Prisha.
74th Annual Eisteddfod 2026 Speech and Drama Program Vihana Harshaa (Year 7K), participated in the Public Speaking category of the 74th Annual Eisteddfod 2026 Speech and Drama Program 20 June 2026. We are delighted to share that she was awarded First Place in the competition. This achievement reflects her dedication, confidence, and hard work.
Behaviour Code for Students Last week, we met with our Year 7 students to discuss expected standards of behaviour and several important school policies, including the Behaviour Code for Students, Student Code of Conduct, Mobile Phone Policy ("Off and Away"), Hands Off Policy, and Anti-Bullying Policy. We also explored our school values of kindness, respect, inclusivity, social responsibility, personal best, intellectual curiosity, and resilience, emphasising the important role these values play in creating a safe and supportive school community. A significant part of the discussion focused on the use of messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Discord. While many students may use these platforms to communicate with family, we discussed the potential risks associated with large group chats, including limited moderation, exposure to inappropriate content, and communication with individuals whose identities may not be fully known. The school takes a strong position in advocating to not use these types of messaging apps. We encouraged students to consider safer and more direct forms of communication, such as phone calls, SMS, FaceTime, and email. As a school, we would appreciate parents and carers of all students from years 7 through to years 12 support in reinforcing these messages at home. Please take the opportunity to discuss online safety with your child, monitor their use of messaging apps, and encourage responsible digital behaviour. By working together, we can help ensure that our students remain safe, respectful, and responsible both online and offline. Year 11 Assessments It has been a busy and productive couple of weeks for our Year 11 students as they have completed a range of assessment tasks across their subjects. We congratulate them on their efforts and wish them every success as results and feedback are returned. As we move into the school holidays, we encourage students to take time to rest, recharge and enjoy a well-earned break. Reflecting on feedback and consolidating learning is important, but so too is looking after their wellbeing. We hope all students return for Term 3 feeling refreshed, motivated and ready for the opportunities and challenges ahead. Year 7 Living History Year 7 enjoyed a 2 hr performance/presentation from Living History on the topics Ancient Rome and Ancient China. Living History is an external organisation which provides a fun and interactive way for students to get involved in history beyond textbooks and the classroom. The performance incorporated authentic clothing and artefacts from the period, allowing students to connect with the past in a tangible and meaningful way. Through this performance, students will be able to understand and experience the ancient world in a whole new light. Reports distribution- Year 7,8,9 and 10 reports will be distributed on Thursday 2 July. These can be accessed via the parent portal. It is a timely reminder however that consistent student improvement and working to one’s personal best is the focus for our junior reports. Thank you to all the teachers who have worked hard to provide this individualised feedback for our students. Year 7 Transition Day - Tuesday 21 July As part of our school’s positive education focus, Year 7 will have their Semester 2 Wellbeing and Transition Day on the first day of Term 3. Students will attend a workshop with Elevate Education on Time Management, set Personal Best Goals for Semester 2 and engage in activities on developing a positive sense of self with Enlighten Education. Year 10 Subject Selection Day On Wednesday 22 July Year 10 students will be involved in a whole day subject selection process where they will hear from a number of staff, experts from UAC and be given the opportunity to ask questions about the range of courses available to them in 2027. More information will be sent to students and parents next week. Check In Assessments Term 3 In Term 3 Check In Assessments will occur for all students in years 7,8 and 9. All students complete a reading and a numeracy test of approximately 50 questions each. Students will require their laptops for this online test. These assessments support the identification of students’ performance in literacy and numeracy and inform next steps in teaching and learning. These assessments have no impact on school results and simply provide information to the school regarding our teaching and learning approaches. The dates for the Check in Assessments are as follows: Monday 3 August 2026 Periods 1 & 2 - Year 7 Tuesday 4 August 2026 Periods 1 & 2 - Year 8 Wednesday 5 August 2026 Periods 1 & 2 - Year 9
Celebrating Our national Water Polo Champions
Congratulation to Charity, Erica and Eva, who recently won Gold in the Green Division at the 2026 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships in Brisbane. Competing against 28 teams from across Australia, the girls won every game on their way to the national title. The victory caps off an incredible 2025/2026 season, as they also won back-to-back NSW Metro gold medals and the NSW State Championship, completing a clean sweep of Metro, State and National titles. We are proud of their commitment, teamwork and development throughout the season, and congratulate them on this outstanding achievement. Well done, girls! 🥇🏆
WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY
On Thursday 25th June 43 intrepid authors illustrators and editors took part in Write a Book in a Day to raise funds for the Kids Cancer Council. From cover to cover these talented year 10 and Year 8 students wrote from 8am until 5pm creating humorous, engaging and heartwarming stories for children in hospital using randomly generated parameters and words. A mighty effort from our largest ever group to participate in this fabulous literacy activity. Big thanks to Mrs Drayton, Mrs Ioannou and Mrs Thompson. Dr Cleary - Librarian
Sydney North Cross Country
Congratulations to all students who competed at the Sydney North Cross Country Championships. By all reports, it was a challenging course--one more commonly used for horse racing than cross country running! A special congratulations goes to Claire Yang (Year 9), who achieved an outstanding top-ten finish. Claire has now qualified to represent Sydney North at the CHS Cross Country Championships, which will be held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre next term. Well done, Claire, and congratulations to all students who represented the school.
Peer Support Update
Week 8: Fix it - Resolving conflict Resolving conflict can be challenging, particularly when we don’t understand the cause of it. It’s important to consider the intention behind people’s words and actions, recognising that harm may sometimes be unintentional, while at other times it may be deliberate. Understanding the intent can help us choose the best way to resolve it. Harmful behaviours can also be verbal, physical, psychological or social. Regardless of its form, when spotted, we should be an upstander, not a bystander. The session began with a fun warm-up activity called Popcorn, where students worked together to ensure everyone eventually “popped” and stood up one at a time without any simultaneous pops, requiring teamwork, coordination and focus. The leaders then presented a range of conflict scenarios, encouraging students to discuss different ways of responding and identify possible solutions. To conclude the session, students explored the importance of sincere apologies and, as a group, created a collage featuring words, actions, gestures and emojis that can be used to express an apology in thoughtful and meaningful ways.
Week 9: Teamwork - Ultimate Brain Teaser Challenge In the last Peer Support session this term, Year 7 students explored the importance of teamwork through a series of fun and challenging group activities. Each group was divided into two teams. Working together, students tackled a range of brain teasers that required communication, cooperation, and creative thinking. Challenges included solving Rebus puzzles and identifying everyday objects from highly zoomed-in photographs, scoring 1 point for each problem solved. Students were required to share ideas and listen to different perspectives to uncover the answers. One of the highlights of the session was the "Fit Me In" challenge, where pairs worked together to see if they could both stand on a single sheet of A4 paper and hold the position for 10 seconds. Then the A4 paper was folded in half for a bonus round! The activity encouraged students to think outside the box and demonstrated how collaboration can help overcome seemingly impossible tasks. The last challenge was to decipher a mathematical symbol sentence. Through these engaging and fun challenges, students experienced firsthand how effective teamwork relies on communication, problem-solving, and supporting one another to achieve a common goal. Throughout the term, the Year 7 Peer Support sessions focused on developing collaboration, building positive relationships, appreciation and respect for individual differences within a group. Congratulations Year 7 and the amazing SWL leaders for their wonderful work! 🎉🎉
Social Justice - 16 days of activism committee meeting
On Wednesday 24 June, the Year 10 representatives from our Social Justice Club attended the first student committee meeting for the 16 Days of Activism initiative of this year. This collaborative project brings together students from Hornsby Girls, Normanhurst Boys, Knox Grammar, PLC Pymble, and other local schools, and is coordinated by the Hornsby Women’s Shelter, NSW Police, and Hornsby Shire Council to raise awareness of domestic and family violence. During the meeting, students reflected on successful initiatives from previous years and participated in discussions to develop themes, objectives, and activity ideas for this year’s campaign. We look forward to seeing these ideas evolve into meaningful events that promote respect, advocacy, and a community culture that stands firmly against domestic and family violence.