Year 12 Farewell Song - YouTube

Prefect Induction Ceremony - Congratulations to Mr Junaid Blake who organised a very successful Prefect Induction for the Prefects of 2026 led by Carina Quizon (Captain) and Sidhi Saxena (Vice-Captain) during P1.

Thank you to Mrs Sally Cousins for conducting the choir for their performances that added to the importance of the occasion.

Thank you Junaid for your excellent leadership of the Prefects. We have another great group of student leaders for 2026. Junaid's efforts are very much appreciated by the students and staff.

Spring Concert - Congratulations to Ms Jenny Ridgway on the superb Spring Concert last Thursday night held at the Hornsby RSL.

This was her first concert as chief conductor and organiser of the event.

Well done Ms Ridgway!

It was a celebration not only for our music students but also a celebration of the amazing leadership of Ms Lara Sholl whose dedication to our music program has seen almost half the school take up the opportunity to be in the Co-Curricular Music program (CCMP).

We wish Ms Sholl all the best for her new position (and promotion) as a Senior Executive Officer (SEO 1) with the Creative Arts Curriculum Office within the DoE.

The concert was also a way for the school to recognise the achievements of our Year 12 Music students who have been active participants in the CCMP for six years.

The performances were expertly conducted by Ms Ridgway, Ms Sholl, Ms Cousins and Ms Cortez.

Well done students on your amazing musical abilities! We are very proud of you!

There were many highlights including the performance of the Beginner Band which always gets the loudest cheer!

Well done all.

Running Club - Friday was the last Running Club for the Class of 2025! We started the day with a jog around the school, followed by some weight training while walking around the oval, some boxing and then the famous Running Game between the Uniforms versus the Muftis. The Uniforms won 4 - 2. Well done Year 12 it has been a privilege knowing you! Thank you for your support of the Running Club! Stay fit, strong and healthy!

P and C Meeting and Spring Fair Review - At Wednesday night's P and C Fair the financial profit statement was provided by the treasurer Mrs Sandy Soukhavong.

The P and C made $36,000 (net) from the Spring Fair!

The money will go into the P and C bucket which will be distributed in the usual way during the course of 2026 via requests from the school either at faculty level or whole school projects or additional school requirements.

These requests will be tabled at the P and Cs AGM in November.

Thank you to Ms Vivian Wei, Ms Irene Goh and Ms Cecile Siu for their amazing leadership of the Spring Fair Committee.

We are very fortunate to have such hard working and supportive P and C Members and volunteers.

At the P and C meeting we also thanked and farewelled P and C President Mrs Radhika Prasanna for her efforts as president these last 3 years as she steps down from the role with her daughter Shelah completing Year 12.

Her wise counsel and guidance of the parent voice and ongoing support of the school in her role as P and C President has been outstanding.

On a final note, after much celebrations with Year 12, have a great holiday and see you all in Term 4!

Justin Briggs (Principal)

HORNSBY GIRLS MAKES National TOP TEN

The Daily Telegraph developed a criteria for determining a rank for the top public schools in Australia.

The criteria looked at:

• Academic achievement
• Student attendance
• Fees and contributions
• Socio-economic advantage
• Student teacher ratios.

Based on the above Hornsby Girls High School was ranked 6th best in NSW and importantly best school for girls in NSW.

Hornsby Girls was placed 9th nationally. The attached article was published on Sunday 14 September.

Congratulations to our students, teachers and parent community.

Deputy Principals' Message

Year 7 - Year 7 will be holding a charity day next term on Tuesday 28 October. This will be a mufti day and Year 7 will be raising money for their chosen charity Bear Cottage. Please bring a gold coin donation to participate. Thank you to Ms Hall and Ms Davenport for their help with organising this event.

At the Year 12 clap out ceremony this Wednesday 24 September Year 7 students, Misato and Serena bravely spoke on behalf of the Year 7 cohort reflecting on their time so far at HGHS. Congratulations on a wonderful send off to our year 12 students.

Year 7 also participated in the Prefect Induction Ceremony that took place at HGHS on Thursday 18 September as audience members. They were witness to the welcoming of our new school leaders for 2026 and continuing on an important tradition at Hornsby Girls.

Year 8 - Well done to Year 8 and their Year Adviser, Ms Cho on their highly successful charity day last week. Our students raised funds for Westmead Children’s Hospital with a bake sale and mufti day.

Year 9 - In week 8 and 9 Year 9 engaged in two Market Days selling a range of goods as part of their Running a Business topic in Commerce. Well done on your engagement in entrepreneurship and innovative marketing techniques. The buzz in the COLA on both market days was energising for all. Thank you to your Commerce teachers for facilitating this learning opportunity.

Today Year 9 completed their Peer Support Training in preparation for the 2026 school year. Thank you to all our students for their enthusiastic participation in this training and to Ms Hoogerwerf for her organisation.

Year 10 - Students in Year 10 will commence wearing the senior summer uniform from the start of Term 4. Many students have already purchased this from School Locker during the term. School Locker will open on site at the school on Wednesday October 8 from 10am to 2pm for any students who still need to purchase uniform. Orders can also be made online with School Locker. Students are reminded that the uniform includes white socks. PE uniform may still be worn on sports days.

In Week 1, Term 4 we will be running our House Leader Elections for 2026. All student nominations are on display in the front corridor. At the election each Sports House will vote for House, Sport and Music Captains. We look forward to hearing your speeches and thank all nominees for their willingness to take on leadership roles.

Finally, the Year 10 Yearly Examinations will be held in Week 4 of Term 4. Ms Gilmore will send information to parents and students in early Term 4 regarding this final assessment block.

Year 11 - Year 11 participated in the HSC information session on Friday 19 September. Information regarding the session, senior privileges starting term 4, the HSC Assessment Manual and Extension booklets were emailed to all year 11 students and their parents this week. Please read these documents carefully and make sure that you are aware of the processes for students studying in their HSC year. Any questions please refer this to the Deputy Principal- Ms Wallwork.

Year 11 also participated in 2x 60 minute Money Talks workshops on Friday August 8 and 19 September exploring ways to make money, to help build financial independence and how to navigate the workplace including understanding their rights at work and managing superannuation and tax. Thank you Ms Hoang for organising this event for our Year 11 students.

Year 12 - On Monday we celebrated a wonderful evening with students, parents, caregivers and staff at the HSC 2025 Graduation Dinner. As each student received their graduation folder and certificate, it was notable to see so many students receiving recognition for their achievements in such a diverse range of subjects and activities. This definitely reminded us all of the depth of talents the cohort of 2025 have.

On Monday we celebrated a wonderful evening with students, parents, caregivers and staff at the HSC 2025 Graduation Dinner. As each student received their graduation folder and certificate, it was notable to see so many students receiving recognition for their achievements in such a diverse range of subjects and activities. This definitely reminded us all of the depth of talents the cohort of 2025 have.

On Wednesday the whole school was able to celebrate the graduation of Year 12 with our traditional Clap Out Assembly. Students received their gifts from the P&C and SRC including a graduation signature owl and tote bag. There were many flowers, cards and well wishes exchanged on the day and from talking with many students they felt that this was a very positive way to conclude their time at Hornsby.

We have thoroughly enjoyed working with and supporting Year 12 throughout their time at school and we can’t wait to hear in the future of all the wonderful events in their lives. We wish you all the best in your future.

Ms Gilmore spoke with Year 12 regarding the HSC examinations which commence with English on Thursday 16 October. A rooming schedule will be provided to students through the grade Google Classroom at the start of Term 4. This is particularly important where HSC examination include audio components or where students have disability provisions.

Uniform Shop: School Locker is open every Wednesday from 1 pm to 3.30pm. Students requiring new uniforms for Term 4 are welcome to attend the shop during lunch time on those days or after school from 2.40pm.

School Locker have advised that they will be on site during the upcoming school holidays on Wednesday October 8 from 10am to 2pm in the print room.

School Locker will also open for parents and caregivers at the end of Term 4 as follows:

• Friday 12 December from 1pm- 4pm
• Tuesday 16 December from 9am-1pm

Students who will be new to the school in 2026 are welcome to attend at these times to purchase uniform. This includes our new Year 7 students in 2026.

Technology Use by Students - Recently we have had to have a range of conversations with our students regarding their use of technology. It is important that parents understand what apps their students are using and how they are communicating using them especially in the younger years of schooling.

Our advice is that there is no need for students to be using grade or class whatsapps or other social media use. If students need to communicate about school this should occur in their Google Classrooms which classroom teachers are part of.

There is some great advice for parents on the topics of technology and teenagers on the following websites: esafety/parents and black dog institute

Term 4 - We wish all students, staff and parents a safe and fun holiday. Term 4 commences on Tuesday 14 October. Students change to Summer uniform for the first day of Term 4. School Locker is open on Wednesdays from 1pm to 3.30 pm. Students are encouraged to make sure they have a good supply of white socks over the next few weeks.

Ms Vanessa Gilmore and Ms Amanda Wallwork - Deputy Principals

YEAR 10 FOOD TECHNOLOGY - POP UP RESTAURANT

Year 10 Food Technology created a Pop-Up Restaurant as part of our Food Service and Catering Unit. The class spent a lot of time designing and refining recipes throughout the term, calculating costs and tweaking different components to make sure that the Pop-Up Restaurant would suit everyone’s tastes.

We had lots of fun marketing on our very own Instagram, designing posters and creating funny reels to share with the school. We worked consistently throughout the day, preparing 100 servings of our very own recipes. Although the rain challenged us and our setup, we all worked together to find a way around it and had enormous success. Thanks to all the hard work from our class and the help of the teachers (Mrs Robinson, Ms Binskin and other teachers who helped on the day) we made a profit of $470 which we will donate towards OzHarvest, our charity of choice. This day was an amazing learning experience for our class and also very fun!!

YEAR 12 DRAMA

gymnastics championships

Congratulations to Nora Wu our Gymnastics Champion

From 23-26 September 2025 Nora will participate in The 2025 National Clubs Carnival gymnastics competitions in Queensland.

Nora is currently the Gymnastics NSW Level 7 Junior champion and has been invited to compete in the Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions and programs. The competitions in Queensland will further broaden their experience and provide another opportunity to make Nora a very proud student of HGHS, in striving to do her best to excel in these upcoming national level competitions. Last year, Nora came 4th place in the 2024 NCC competitions.

We wish Nora all the best at The 2025 National Clubs Carnival!

Hornsby Rotary Pride of Workmanship Awards

On Monday night Vanessa Gilmore, Richard Strauss, and myself attended the Hornsby Rotary Pride of Workmanship Awards to acknowledge the excellent efforts of twelve members of the Hornsby Community including our nominee Mackenzie Carroll.

Due to HSC Extension Marking Commitments for NESA, Mackenzie could not attend, so Dr Richard Strauss happily accepted the award from the Mayor of Hornsby Warren Waddell.

Both Richard and Warren attended Galston High School so they had a lot of catching-up to do.

CHS athletics

Congratulations to the students who competed at the NSW CHS Athletics Championships. CHS Athletics is the premier athletics event for public schools in NSW, and reaching this level is no small achievement. To get there, students must first qualify through Zone, then Sydney North, and finally earn a place at CHS Athletics.

Our 13 Years 4 x 100m relay team — Isabella Luo, Summer Zou, Charlotte Xu, and Jolin Wirianata ran a blistering time in their heat to qualify for the final. Despite slippery track conditions they delivered an outstanding performance in the final, finishing 4th in the state, just behind three specialist sports high schools — well done, team!

Individual Highlights

Thinolee Gunasinghe - Year 10 – Shot Put - Thinolee delivered a strong performance in the Shot Put, earning a spot in the state final — a huge achievement considering the level of competition. She finished 8th in NSW.

Tara Gilkeson - Year 9 – Hurdles and 400m - Tara impressed with her outstanding performance in the Hurdles, making it all the way to the state final and finishing 7th in NSW. Tara also competed in the 400m, where she placed 13th overall in a strong field of runners from across the state. We are excited to see what she accomplishes in future competitions.

We also wish to acknowledge Arabella Lewis, who unfortunately was unable to compete due to injury. We hope to see her back on the track stronger than ever next year!

Jane Hall - Carnival Coordinator 

Spectacular Debating Win for Simran Pandey

Congratulations to Simran Pandey of Year 11 for her excellent performance as part of the Combined High School debating team, leading to a spectacular win against all other teams and claiming the championship.

Each year the NSW Department of Education selects an elite squad of senior high school students from the very best debaters in NSW to compete in a series of representative debates against the best private schools.

Simran participated in the selection trials in July and was chosen to represent public schools along with students from schools such as James Ruse, Sydney Boys, Sydney Girls and North Sydney Girls.

Well done, Simran. You have made Hornsby Girls proud!

YEAR 12 LIBRARY MONITORS

Year 12 monitors participated in a morning tea in the library last Wednesday, receiving a memento from HGHS library to thank them for their years of service. Our monitors are a vital part of the library's smooth functioning, and Year 12 monitors have been both skilled and dedicated, often sacrificing their (limited) free time to help out in the library and mentoring younger students in the often-mysterious Ways of the Monitor. Dr Cleary, Mrs Hale and Mrs Pike will miss them!

International Astrophysics and Astronomy Competition

On 16 September, I had the exciting opportunity to compete in the online final of the International Astrophysics and Astronomy Competition (IAAC), and I was awarded a bronze honour as a finalist. I competed against high school and first-year university students from around the globe and placed in the top 20% of all participants.

The IAAC consisted of a qualification, pre-final, and final round. In the qualifiers and pre-final rounds, I worked on problem solving tasks and read research articles about cosmology, which gave me insight into our fascinating universe. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I am grateful to have represented Hornsby. Over the past few months preparing for the competition, I have learned so much, and I am proud to be part of a school community that encourages curiosity and learning.

Maya Otalora Caliman - Year 9

Music of Joe Hisaishi Concert

On the 25th of September, the Year 9, 10 and 11 Music Elective classes had a rare chance to experience the Joe Hisaishi Music Showcase at the Sydney Opera House. We got the opportunity to see his music come to life through the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and its immersive and interactive experience allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of Joe Hisaishi’s Music. His works, including Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro took us on a journey of Hisaishi’s creative process and offered an enhanced appreciation of the storytelling that music can evoke. As many of us agreed, it was an exceptional performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. This experience has also taught us how different film producers work with music techniques to bring scenes to life and has provided valuable inspiration for our future music studies. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to be able to witness this performance and thank Ms Sholl and Ms Sutcliffe for arranging this occasion for us.

Chloe Huang - Year 9

RIOT

FIREWORKS CONCERT

COMMUNITY NEWS