Riverside Currents

From the Principal

Dear Parents/Caregivers, I hope you have had a wonderful week. ANZAC DAY Assembly It was remiss of me to not acknowledge the wonderful work of our Year 10 Elective History class and their teacher, Ms Guerreiro-James, in putting together a thought-provoking, emotional ANZAC Day assembly last Friday 24 April. This year the theme for ANZAC Day was Women in Service, making this year's ceremony particularly appropriate to our school community. Our student speakers and guest speakers provided wonderful insights into the contribution of women on Gallipoli and in the Royal Australian Navy today. The Vocal Group added to the sombre, authentic mood of the assembly, while trumpeter, Quinn B, played the most moving rendition of the Last Post and Reveille that I have ever heard, without exaggeration, and I have attended a lot of ANZAC Day services and assemblies in my day, both as a child and teacher. I am proud that we could honour the tradition and significance of ANZAC Day in such a respectful way. Congratulations and appreciation to all involved. Riot Training Resilience in our Teens (RIOT) is an evidence-based program by Parentshop, designed for implementation in schools. It is designed to form a wellbeing architecture to support all students who experience moments of, or prolonged, mental ill health in the classroom. The RIOT program comes with much endorsement from local high schools and with a great amount of support from the Riverside Wellbeing team. This week, Ms Miller and her team of teacher champions, have been engaged in intense training with the head of the project, Michael Hawton. The intention is that this team lead whole school professional learning for staff and then we embed the program into daily activities at Riverside via a comprehensive communication campaign with our students. We will keep you informed via our regular communication channels, including the newsletter. We hope that this program offers a great enhancement to our care and support for your daughters in giving them the practical skills to manage anxiety, build resilience and develop their capacity to bounce in the face of adversity or challenge during their time at Riverside and beyond. We look forward to rolling RIOT out through our lessons and co-curricula activities to support all students to adapt and thrive in their learning and social interactions. Please remain posted for further information. Shout out to Year 12 I would like to give a big shout out to Year 12 to acknowledge the huge effort that is required of them at this time of Term 2 in completing their second round of HSC assessment tasks. It is intense and sometimes seems insurmountable and a few of our students are struggling to maintain the momentum and emotional fortitude. I would just like to reach out to Year 12 parents to remind them that we have counselling and SSO services available at school, as well as our DP, Year 12 Adviser, mentors and class teachers all on call to support Year 12. I hope they all had a chance during the holidays to unwind, relax, sleep in and set their own study routine and to reflect on and consolidate their knowledge and skills of content already learnt (they are half way through their courses); reflect on teacher feedback from formal and informal tasks and continue to practise their HSC examination skills by attempting, under timed conditions, past papers and online multiple choice questions. I also urge that all parents and carers take the time to check in with their daughters to ensure that they are organised and confident in preparing their weekly study routine. I would suggest that aiming for 2-3 hours per evening (or more if the ATAR goal is well above 90) is a reasonable expectation to adequately prepare all students for the final stage of their HSC preparation by building their examination skills and consolidating and extending their content knowledge. This is not a time to take their feet off the pedal – this is build up time. Please encourage and support them in doing so. Academic Reports will be issued next term in time for Parent Teacher Interviews on Thursday 25 June. Premier’s Debating Challenge Good luck to our fantastic team of senior debaters, who have made it to the final round of the PDC (a competition open to all NSW government schools) and will debate against Sydney Girls High School, the current title holders, on Monday. It is online and in my diary – I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Athletics Carnival - Wednesday 6 May A reminder that the Athletics Carnival is a mandatory whole school event that we encourage every student to attend and participate in. It is a wonderful way to get to meet new friends and be a part of building a school culture of excellence and inclusion. Please remind your daughters to attend and arrive on time. The cutover to the new network has been scheduled for Wednesday 6 May so there will be no internet or access to emails all day – last minute emails and requests for students to leave early will not be processed nor actioned so please send any requests for early departure, due to medical appointments, prior to Wednesday. HPGE Applications To all of our parents with younger daughters or friends with children in year 6 – just a reminder that the registration link for the Ignite HPGE test is open and can be found on our website. https://parentportal.aas.systems/?schoolId=173

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Louise McNeil Principal

Music Ensembles Evening

Mindfulness Mondays

Faculty News

Science

Year 9 Science

Keeping an Organism Alive! This week, our Year 9 students explored the concept of homeostasis through an engaging and interactive practical activity. Working in small teams, students were challenged to “keep their organism alive” by maintaining stable internal conditions—just like the human body does every day. Using a cup to represent a living organism, students had to carefully regulate two key factors: body temperature (37°C) and water balance. As water continuously drained from the cup and heat was lost to the environment, students worked collaboratively to monitor changes and make precise adjustments. By adding warm or cool water and maintaining the correct volume, they experienced firsthand the challenges of keeping internal conditions stable. The activity was fast-paced and required teamwork, problem-solving and quick decision-making. Students thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, especially as they raced against time to prevent their “organism” from becoming unwell! This practical provided a memorable way for students to understand how vital homeostasis is for survival and how the body constantly works to maintain balance. Ms A Nikic