Shelah Prasanna was awarded with a perpetual trophy and medal for achieving the highest mark in the Associate Diploma for Speech and Drama written exams, certified by the International Music Examination Board (IMEB). She attended the Carlingford Youth and Drama School.

Deputy Principals' Message

Congratulations to all the students who received an Academic Achievement Award at our Year Assemblies last week and at our annual Speech Day Ceremony. There are so many outstanding achievements and personal bests from 2024 that were highlighted and not just academic pursuits but also across the creative and performing arts and many extra curricular activities.

At Speech Day, our School Captain of 2015, Tian Du provided the school with an excellent glimpse into what she has been doing since her graduation from HGHS and shared some wonderful advice regarding the importance of perspective and forging a path that is right for you as an individual. She stressed the importance of not worrying about the ‘right’ way of doing things and that success takes many forms. If you would like to read more about Tian’s research please see this link: Hope commonly used blood thinner could revolutionise treatment for cobra bites - ABC News

Thank you to Ms Tutty our Speech Day coordinator, Ms Sholl, Ms McCarthy and Ms Sutcliffe for the wonderful musical items that performed and for Ms Croudace for coordinating the Dance items. They were spectacular.

2025 School Development Days

All students 7-12 will return for Term 1 on Thursday 6th February. We will stagger the start times as follows:

• Year 7,10, and 11 will have a 8.45 am start (students should swipe in by 8.45 am and make their way to the assembly venue - this will published in the Daily Notices. Year 7 will go to the Hall.
• Year 12 - Urban Challenge excursion (offsite)
• Year 8 and 9 will have a 10.20 am start

In 2025, Year 7 will commence the Year with a three day Transition to High School program. Year 8 and 9 will complete two workshops to commence our new Resilience in Our Teens wellbeing initiative. Year 10, 11 and 12 will complete this in their Building Strength, GRIT and Collaborative Challenge periods. More information on RIOT is provided later in this newsletter.

Year 7 Orientation Day

On Tuesday 3rd December we welcomed parents and students from over 64 different primary schools for our Year 7 2025 Orientation Day. Our incoming students were introduced to the Principal - Dr Briggs, Year 7 Deputy Principal-Mrs Wallwork, Year 7 Year Advisors for 2025 - Ms Hall and Ms Davenport and our Prefects and Student Representative Council. Students and parents heard from a number of HGHS staff on a variety of topics that aimed to help in the transition from Primary school to High School. Our future students participated in ‘mini-lessons’ in PD/H/PE, Drama, Music and Languages. They also met with their 2025 Year 10 buddy to start building connections within the school to ensure they have a wide network of people who can support them as they move from primary to secondary school. It was terrific meeting them and we can’t wait for Year 7 to join us in 2025. Thank you to Year 9 who did a fantastic job of making our new students feel welcome. This buddy program will continue in 2025 to support Year 7 students who are joining us.

7-10 Reports

Student reports have been published to the Sentral Portal this week. It is wonderful to see that our students have excelled in a variety of pursuits achieving their Personal Best in a variety of areas including Academic Achievement, School Spirit and Service, Creative and Performing Arts, Sporting Endeavours and through Community Service. We are incredibly proud of all your efforts this year and look forward to building on these skills in and out of the classroom in 2025.

SRC Wellbeing Day and Prefects Christmas Concert

Thank you to the SRC for their superbly run Christmas themed Wellbeing Day. The school buzzed with the sound of happy students and staff enjoying the final day of the 2024 school year. This was capped off with amazing performances in the Christmas Concert. Well done to all who performed and to the Prefects for their excellent organisation. Thanks also to Ms Carroll and Mr Blake for supporting our students in planning and delivering these activities for the whole school to enjoy.

FRED Environmental Group

Well done to our FRED team and their staff coordinator Mr Allen-Scott for their ‘Refill and Refresh’ drink stall on Friday 13th December. The group promoted the use of reusable cups by selling drinks to be poured into reusable cups brought in by students. It was a hot day and the event proved extremely successful. Students also were able to wear blue mufti in support of the cause. All money raised is being donated to WaterAid. This group has done a terrific job of rebuilding itself over the last 18 months and bringing our attention to environmental and sustainability issues.

Attendance

Our school monitors attendance including whole day and partial absences. If your child is regularly attending late, important learning time is impacted. The graphic below from the Department of Education explains the consequence in terms of time lost. We encourage parents to discuss lateness with their child and support them in arriving at school on time. If a student is repeatedly late we do discuss this with them and plan for better punctuality. If you have concerns regarding the attendance pattern of your child please contact your child’s Year Adviser through the school’s email address for advice.

Year 12 HSC 2025

Ms Gilmore spoke with Year 12 at their final year assembly for 2025. One of the messages emphasised is that it is important to take at least 2 weeks off studying to give themselves time to rest, have fun and spend time with family and friends. Year 12 have been encouraged to give themselves permission to do this. They have all done amazingly in coping with the demands of Year 11 and moving into Year 12 and some down time is definitely necessary over the summer.

Uniform Shop dates reminders:

Hornsby Girls High School uniforms are also available via the School Locker website. Shop online and choose to have your order shipped directly to you or collect it from the uniform shop during trading hours. The shop is open from 1.00 - 3.30 pm every Wednesday during term time. Additional days that the store will trade on site this term and next year:

Term 4:

• Tuesday 10/12/24 1pm to 4pm
• Tuesday 17/12/24 1pm to 4pm

Back to school opening hours:

January 2025

• Wednesday 22/1/25 - 11am to 3pm
• Tuesday 28/1/25 - 9am to 2 pm
• Thursday 30/1/25 - 8am to 12 pm

Please also remember that a good stocking filler would be white ankle length socks so stock up for 2025.

Healthy Social Media Habits

At this time of year some parents become concerned about phone and social media use over the holidays. Please remember that the eSafety Commissioner website has a lot of useful factsheets, a parent newsletter and more to support you in managing your children. The resources can be found here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Happy Holidays and return to school dates 2025 - We wish all our students and families a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing you all on Thursday February 6th, 2025. An update will appear on the Daily Notices to provide return to school arrangements. We wish everyone in our community a happy and safe holidays.

Ms Gilmore and Ms Wallwork - Deputy Principals

Dear Parent/Carers,

This year our school is undertaking a project to address student anxiety called the Resilience in our Teens (RIOT) project. This project is designed to assist students to manage anxious behaviours. It is a large-scale evidence-based project, delivered through a series of Cognitive- Behavioural lesson plans and through the use of teacher-led conversational techniques. A central element of the RIOT project is for students to be braver and to ‘have a go’ - and not avoid difficult tasks or situations, which are within their ability to cope with.

We have been undertaking professional learning as a whole school community and reading research from esteemed centres including The Harvard Centre for the Developing Child which has shown us that behaviour by significant adults (like teachers and parents) that inadvertently assists students to avoid difficulties, which are within their grasp to solve, can be counterproductive.

The research on student anxiety shows us that:

1. 70% of student anxiety is learned whereas 30% of student anxiety is due to temperament and genetic factors. The good news is that most student anxiety can be unlearned.
2. Much of the potential for improvements in student well-being can be achieved through ‘challenging’ students to engage with problems by not avoiding them.
3. The significant adults in a student’s life- including their teachers and parents- can make an important difference to a student’s ability to manage their anxiety through ‘seemingly modest’ interventions.

If you would like to find out more information about the Resilience In Our Teens approach, you can visit: https://www.parentshop.com.au/parents/resilence-in-our-teens-parents

All staff at Hornsby Girls have undergone professional learning led by experienced psychologists and we will be implementing the strategies learnt into our teaching and learning programs from Term 1 2025 across years 7-12. There will be an opportunity for parents to participate in a training program to gain a full understanding of the research and become partners in the implementation of the Resilience In Our Teens Project. More information will be communicated in early 2025.

We are seeking your support in undertaking these changes in our school culture so that it can become more of a ‘to try is to succeed’ school.

If you can share with us any ideas about how we can support and partner with you to support your child to learn better at school, we’d be happy to hear them.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Justin Briggs

8Q Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party

Year 8 English recently completed their unit of work “Regarding Alice”, looking at how Lewis Carroll’s Victorian novel, Alice in Wonderland, has been adapted and appropriated in different contexts. To celebrate the end of assessments and finishing the unit of work, 8Q held a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Students each prepared a performance for the class based on one of the versions of Alice that we’d studied, and these were very entertaining, including some acting, singing and even dancing! Many students dressed up character which contributed to the excellent tea-party atmosphere. Well done, 8Q!

Mrs Stewart, English Faculty

'Women in Shakespeare’ Workshop

On the 27th of November, my classmates and I had the opportunity to participate in the workshop ‘Women in Shakespeare’, hosted by the Bell Shakespeare Company. It was an immersive and fascinating session that we thoroughly enjoyed.

The workshop began with an activity in the CLC, where we moved around the space, shifting pace and movement—from walking at a painfully slow pace to making horse noises while galloping: ‘Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds!’ We then played classic drama games with a Shakespearean twist. Standing in a circle, we gifted each other items using Shakespearean language, with gifts ranging anywhere from an apron to ‘thy mother’.

Next, we explored the importance of context in Shakespeare’s plays, as it shapes the scene and deepens the audience’s understanding of the characters and plot. In one activity, we had to choose someone in the circle and channel all our emotion into the word ‘you!’ based on a specific scenario provided. The interpretations and reactions varied widely showing the creativity of our class.

After the practical activities, we engaged in a discussion on women’s position and rights within society, comparing their status in Shakespearean times and in modern society, which sparked interesting discussion.

To wrap up the workshop, the class performed pivotal scenes of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that defined and established Juliet’s character, presented in frozen tableaux. Each group’s ‘Juliet’ delivered a short excerpt from a soliloquy, which highlighted the progression of the story and helped us gain a deeper understanding of the play in preparation for our Shakespeare unit next year.

Overall, it was an enlightening and immersive experience, especially after the stress of our exam week. The workshop allowed us to learn more about Shakespearean plays in a different light, outside of the English classroom.

Angela W 9T

The workshop showed us a whole new side to the study of Shakespeare and the roles of women in society. It was extremely interactive and led by real actors, helping us to understand the purpose of Shakespeare's plays that goes beyond reading a script and writing an essay. The drama activities we engaged in helped bring words and characters to life, helping us to understand the importance of setting and the mindset of the character as they make decisions in the play.

The workshop also taught us to see the characters as more than their status in the play, but rather, something more relatable, such as someone’s brother, mother or lover.

This experience was really insightful towards the roles and expectations of women in society, not just in Shakespeare’s time, but in the modern world too. We were shown how even though some expectations may sound old fashioned, they are still mildly present in modern society. However, one of the best parts of the workshop was that it gave us an opportunity to relax and see some funny and dramatic sides of each other that we hadn’t seen before. It was an opportunity to step out of our comfort zones and try out some new things without feeling self conscious.

We are all so thankful for this experience as it was the perfect opportunity to apply our knowledge in a new way and it taught us a way to relate to Shakespearean plays which we will continue to use in future years.

Sienna S. 9T

VEX IQ Australia National Championship

I am delighted to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Gemma Lee(7X) and Team 7998A for their exceptional performance in the VEX IQ Australia National Championship, where they achieved an impressive third-place finish!

This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to the team’s hard work, creativity, and collaboration. Gemma Lee, in particular, has shown exceptional skills and made significant contributions to the team’s success. Her ability to excel in both technical expertise and collaboration has been truly inspiring, setting a high standard for teamwork and innovation.

The achievement is not only a proud moment for the team but also a reflection of the school’s dedication to fostering innovation, teamwork, and critical thinking among its students. It’s a shining example of what can be accomplished with determination and a shared vision.

Please convey my warmest congratulations to Gemma Lee and everyone who supported Team 7998A on this journey. I am confident that this is just the beginning of many more achievements to come, and I look forward to following their continued success in robotics and beyond.

Once again, congratulations on this outstanding milestone!

Selina Huang - Magikid Robotics Lab Castle Hill

Year 9 PRC medal recipients for 2024

Congratulations to our Year 9 PRC medal recipients for 2024. These students have demonstrated a sustained commitment to the Premier’s Reading Challenge from Year 3 to Year 9, thus modelling a love of reading which, I hope, inspires other students to engage in the Challenge.

Well done, Aditi Sundar Rajan, Amanda Pan, Annalise Low, Grace Kim, Isabella Chen, Jenny Xu, Jessica Tan, Manuki Kodagoda, Sophie Luo and Sriya Danda. Happy reading!

H Cleary - Teacher Librarian

Year 10 Beach Day

On the Friday of Life and Resilience Week, Year 10 had Beach Day! Even though the weather was cloudy, the water was nice and warm. We spent the day learning surf education skills, with three main activities; survival skills in the water, moving through water, and catching waves on surfboards. We learned the right way to float and conserve energy. It was really relaxing floating on your back and looking up at the sky. Running through water was quite difficult, and during my group’s relay race, almost everyone fell down at the same dip in the sand! My favourite activity was catching waves. Riding on the top of the waves as it pushes you back to shore is such a fun experience. So exhilarating!

After all the activities, all of year 10 got together, and we had our lunch break. Some went around the shops in Manly, and some stayed near the beach. After a short while, it was time to go back to school. The bus was extremely quiet, probably because everyone was so tired.

Altogether, beach day was an extremely fun and rewarding experience ! I learned a lot of safety skills, and so many of my peers enjoyed it immensely!

Carina Q. - Year 10 Student

new library roof progress

Year 9 Food technology

Year 9 Food Technology students took part in an incursion last Wednesday, diving into the festive tradition of making gingerbread houses! They mixed, rolled, and baked their own gingerbread from scratch, crafting the pieces to assemble their houses. Once the base was ready, students decorated their houses. The class had a fantastic time bringing their creations to life. Well done, Year 9!

M Bloomfield - TAS Teacher

Nara University High visit

On Wednesday 6th December, Hornsby had a fun cultural exchange with Nara University High. We shared experiences, made new friends, and learned more about each other’s traditions and customs. The day consisted of exciting interactions, activities, and the chance to build lasting international friendships.

Period 1 consisted of the principals of each school giving a speech and exchanging their gifts. This was followed by the Nara student’s performance of the Soran Bushi, a traditional Japanese dance that depicts the obstacles and triumphs of fishing. Wendy C, Emily W, and I performed a well-known Japanese song, to connect with our Japanese audience. The band Downstares, consisting of Asher, Manar, Emily L, Janani, and Sophia, performed wonderfully, captivating the audience with their songs and energy.

A scavenger hunt followed this in period 2, where teams of Hornsby and Nara students raced to solve clues that pointed towards different areas around our school. Teams would discover English letters and Japanese katakana that would have to be arranged to spell out the following activity. The scavenger hunt also acted as a tour and allowed the Nara students to grasp our regional differences and lifestyle. It also helped create strong connections with our new friends.

Period 3 was a combination of murder mystery and trivia. Two detective agencies were competing against each other to find out who murdered the famous CEO, ‘Bob d’Bilda’. Although the language barrier was difficult, the teams enjoyed the trivia, using it as an opportunity to create closer bonds and friendships between schools. There were also small activities and minigames, consisting of seeing who could balance a plate on their head the longest, hula hoop the longest, and some speedy rounds of ‘bang’, which had both schools constantly laughing.

This was followed by a short lunch break, where Nara students enjoyed the Patella and socialised with Hornsbies. Some students played volleyball together on the courts too!

The day finished with some rounds of ‘Murderwink’, which was difficult to explain, but fun nonetheless. This was followed by a whole group picture in the hall before we said goodbye to our new Japanese friends.

Thank you to Dr Briggs and Mrs Lawson sensei for this wonderful opportunity to foster international connections. Also, thanks to the Year 9 Japanese class for making this day possible, as it provided us with an opportunity to build international friendships, practice navigating language barriers, learn some Japanese, and develop an understanding of Japanese culture. Additionally, we were fortunate to receive gifts from the Japanese students, strengthening our friendship and making the day even more memorable.

Yolanda H. (Year 9 Japanese)

Year 12 Japanese

On the 11th of December, the Year 12 Japanese class visited the Nihongo Tanken Centre in Kirrawee for an immersive day of fun, games and lots of Japanese culture!

We were introduced to the lovely Taka Sensei and Mieko Sensei who led us through the day, starting with a demonstration on how shoes and slippers work in a Japanese home, followed by ice-breaker interviews in Japanese.

We then dressed up as specific characters (including a scary, strict father and a bright, weird mother) and took many group photos to keep as souvenirs.

Afterwards, we played a challenging but engaging memory game to test our katakana skills where both teams fought hard to end with a tie. Taka-san then gave us a small HSC speaking presentation with tips and tricks, and we also got the chance to do a mock 10-minute HSC speaking exam.

We then had a little lunch break with delicious tempura and chicken katsu bentos in the beautiful Japanese garden, before finishing the off the day with a fun and thrilling game show in our teams, with mini-games including finish the sentence, identify the part of a Japanese home, draw the word and many more!

Thank you to Taka Senseu and Mieko Sensei for providing us with this engaging, unique and unforgettable experience, and to Lawson Sensei for organising, overseeing and joining us on this excursion!

Melodie Hsiao (Year 12 Japanese)

Human Rights Forum

On 28 November, eight year 11 students participated in the Human Rights Forum at Knox Grammar School. Together with students from Pymble Ladies college and Knox Grammar, our students participated actively in the discussions and activities hosted by Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay and educationalist Hugh Kingsley.

Ms K Guan - Maths Teacher

Celebrating Noël and Nouvel An in French Class

In Weeks 9 and 10, our French students embraced the festive spirit with a variety of cultural activities to celebrate Noël (Christmas) and Nouvel An (New Year). They made les papillotes de Noël—traditional French foil-wrapped chocolates with hidden messages—sang Christmas songs in French, set their New Year’s resolutions en français, and, of course, enjoyed some traditional French pastries, including les canelés, les éclairs, and a student-made cake!

It was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season while practising their French. Wishing everyone a joyful and relaxing holiday!

Ms. Shen - Language Teacher

FRED Coal Loader

On the 21st November 2024, 5 students from our school’s environment club FRED went to Coal Loader in Waverton to attend and present enjoyable environment themed activities to primary school students. This was Part 2 of our excursion to Taronga Zoo where we learnt about advertising environmental activities to younger students. It was an excellent opportunity to connect with the younger generation of environment leaders, and teach them about the importance of preserving our marine life. We had a game called Save the Animals relay race where primary school students saved the turtles from buckets filled with water and rubbish mimicking our oceans. Turtle-Rush, a play on the common game Bull-Rush was also played to teach students about the nature of fishnets and other rubbish that can trap turtles in the ocean. It’s safe to say they had a wonderful time running around in the sun, and learning about the environment! There were also other high schools that attended this workshop including Homebush Boys and Pacific Hills which we connected with to plan future events. Overall, this was a wonderful experience for all of us to learn about teaching younger students, and presenting our ideas in an enjoyable, and interesting way.

Meena V - Year 12

International Debating Competition

Congratulations to Jemma Soukhavong of Year 7 for competing in the International Debating Competition from week 2 to week 7 of term 4. Jemma’s team placed runner up in the competition after 8 rounds and almost 100 participating teams worldwide. Congratulations to Jemma!

Ms Bhattacharya - English Teacher

FRED Refill and Refresh

On 13th December 2024, students from our school environment club FRED organised and set up a drinks stall called Refill and Refresh. Since it is estimated that using reusable cups or water bottles can reduce waste by 92-99%, FRED began this initiative to support this cause and show how easily we can contribute to improving our environment. Complemented nicely by the extreme heat, this scheme consisted of students bringing in their own reusable cups or water bottles for a small fee to purchase iced drinks. It's safe to say that this event was a complete success with lots of people coming back for second serves, and most of the 50 drink bottles we purchased being used up! We’re also glad to report that we significantly reduced the amount of cups going to waste!! All in all, this was a great end to an amazing year of supporting the environment.

Safer Internet Day 2025

Safer Internet Day is on 11 Feb 2025. Parents and carers are invited to join the following webinars to help our young people set up some good digital hygiene.

The focus is on respectful online relationships, understanding responsibility and knowing fake from real.

Webinars for parents and carers:

1. Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into high school – explore the social pressures, peer influences, and technological challenges young people face as they transition into high school.

2. Algorithms and adolescents: rewards and risks of recommender systems for young people – explores both the benefits and risks, including:

• how they can affect the content young people see, shape their feelings and experiences, and influence the choices they make
• how they are designed to keep young people online, and the impact and harms both from the type of content served and from ongoing exposure.

More information:

Cyber safe parents | NSW Government

Community announcements