Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

Wow! What a great day we had on Saturday at the Spring Fair!

The P and C Spring Fair was an amazing success due to the dedication and hard work of the P and C Spring Fair Committee led by Mrs Vivian Wei, Mrs Irene Goh and Mrs Cecile Siu, and P and C President Mrs Radhika Prasanna and Treasurer Mrs Sandy Soukhavong and all of the P and C members and parents who helped to organise and assist on the day.

Thank you to our volunteer parents!

It was a very enjoyable day with lots of fun activities.

Thank you also to, the teachers and office staff who came to support the students on the day with school clubs (FRED, Social Justice and Zonta), the Visual Arts Exhibition and Music staff, our English teachers for allowing their classes to participate in the Art Auction, our General Assistant Mr Harris and Cafe Gratitude helper Mr Curtin and especially the student performers and volunteers!

Thank you also to the school's technical crew who helped out on the stage.

Student performers and all volunteers will each receive a Minerva signature for School Spirit!

Let us also acknowledge our Head Cleaner Mr Sung Kim who worked all day Saturday and came back all day Sunday to ensure the school was looking in great shape for the start of Week 8.

The P and C will provide a full financial report at our next P and C meeting and a report in a future edition of the Torch.

It was a great way to build school spirit and provide further evidence of our holistic approach to education.

Not only was it a 'fundraising' activity but also a 'friendraising' activity, helping to build a stronger and even more vibrant school community.

A big thank you again to Mrs Vivian Wei and her Spring Fair Committee!

Well done school!

Please see the Spring Fair edition below from the Spring Fair Committee!

Kind regards,

Justin Briggs (Principal)

Spring Fair Special Edition

Thank you to all the Parents and Students who have Donated and Volunteered. Please see the list here: Donators and Volunteers List

Deputy Principals' Message

Year 7 - The next Vaccination clinic will take place on Friday 19th September.

Next term Year 7 are preparing for their first ever grade Charity Day. This will occur on Tuesday October 28th. Look out for more information regarding this closer to the date. Thank you to Ms Hall and Ms Davenport and Year 7 for organising this.

Year 8 -Year 8 have been very busy making choices for their Year 9 pattern of study in 2026. Students have submitted their choices of 3 elective subjects to undertake in 2026. This is very exciting as this is the first time that students will have some level of autonomy over the curriculum they study. Our Head Teacher of Administration, Mr Li, will now process the choices made and determine lines based on student demand for subjects. Year 8 will receive information confirming their subjects when this process is finalised. It is likely confirmation of elective subjects will occur early next term.

The Charity Day for Westmead Children’s Hospital will be held on Friday 19th September. The theme is ‘Back to the Playground’. At lunch there will be a bake sale and key chain meet up. Students are encouraged to bring lunchboxes, keychains and charms from the past to decorate their backpacks. This will be a mufti day, however no ugg boots can be worn as these are not appropriate for practical classrooms or staircases in our heritage buildings.

Year 9 - Commerce students have been working hard on developing innovative business ideas to run a store with the target market of students at HGHS. This annual event provides students with an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and collaborate to run a business that has had to plan marketing, operations, finance and resourcing. Our students thoroughly enjoy this learning enrichment activity and we thank the HSIE faculty for providing this valued opportunity.

It has also been a super busy period of time for Year 9 working on Term 3 assessment tasks. The impressive range of tasks across all subjects demonstrate our strong focus on the HPGE four domains of potential including intellectual, physical, creative and social emotional. Well done to Year 9 on their positive approach to their assessments.

Year 10 - Year 10 Accelerated Ancient History, Geography and Software Engineering students will also attend the information session on HSC Assessment rules and procedures next Wednesday 17th September. Information regarding this has been posted in their Year 10 Google Classroom and will be shared with parents at the conclusion of the presentation next week.

Today we were impressed with the Year 10 Food Technology Pop Up Restaurant this Wednesday. The food was great quality, the marketing innovative, and the atmosphere enhanced by the sounds of happy students and teachers. Well done to Year 10 and the TAS faculty.

In Week 1 of term 4, Wednesday October 15th we will be running our House Leader Elections for 2026. Students are encouraged to nominate themselves for House, Sport or Music Captains. We look forward to hearing your speeches in term 4. Good Luck.

Year 11 - Well done to Year 11 for their impressive and determined approach to the recent Yearly Assessment Block. HGHS staff and our invigilating team recognise the strong communication skills you all used when managing your way through this assessment block and when using Illness and Misadventure processes. We hope you all have a very restful holiday and are able to set up good sleeping, eating and recreation routines for your HSC year.

Next Wednesday 17th September Ms Wallwork will speak with Year 11 about their promotion to HSC students in Term 4. Information will be provided on HSC Assessment rules and procedures, changing patterns of study including picking up extension subjects, and the commencement of privileges in Term 4. An email will be sent to all parents with copies of the HSC Assessment Manual for 2026, Senior Privileges permission notes and a copy of the HSC procedures presentation.

If parents can ensure that all relevant forms and School Bytes consent forms are submitted by Thursday the 25th September this would be very much appreciated. Students have been provided with details on where to lodge paper based forms.

Congratulations to all students who have been elected as Prefects in 2026. The Prefect Induction Assembly will be held on Thursday 18th September. Year 7 and 11 will form the audience for this occasion. Parents and caregivers of our 2026 Prefects have been emailed information regarding attending this induction ceremony.

Year 12 - On Wednesday Year 12 had their final Year Assembly with their Year Adviser Ms Carroll and Deputy Principal Ms Gilmore. We spoke regarding arrangements for Graduation and organisational expectations regarding the HSC next term.

The doors will open for the Graduation Dinner on the 22nd September at 5.30 pm for a 6.00 pm start. All students have been asked to check their table arrangements and let Ms Gilmore know if there are any errors or changes. We are looking forward to a wonderful night celebrating the end of 13 years of formal schooling for our HSC graduates.

Year 12 are then expected to arrive at school by 10 am on Tuesday 23rd September to set up and perform their end of year concert. The school is looking forward to seeing the talented singing, dancing and performing of our students.

On Wednesday the 24th September Year 12 will need to arrive at 8.45 am to meet with Ms Carroll and Ms Gilmore in the hall to prepare for the ClapOut school assembly. Please note that this is a student only event and guests are not permitted to attend.

On Thursday 25th and Friday 26th HSC students will have the opportunity to complete practice HSC examinations. A timetable has been provided to students in their google classroom. The examinations do not count towards the HSC and are offered simply for students to practise writing under timed examination conditions.

HSC Examinations will commence on Thursday October 16th and finish on Friday November 7th. Students have been informed that they should attend at least 30 minutes prior to the examination and that they must be wearing full school uniform including appropriate school shoes. All rules regarding the HSC are found in the ’2025 Higher School Certificate Rules and Procedures’ which was provided to students at the commencement of their HSC year. Parents wanting to read this manual can find it here:

2025 Higher School Certificate - Rules and Procedures

Year 12 will be formally able to sign out from school on Thursday 6th November, Friday 7th November and Thursday 13th November. Students will be sent an individual form to print out and bring to school along with school texts and equipment to be returned. Please check the online accounts for amounts invoiced in the Parent Portal prior to the date that your daughter will be signing out.

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

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

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

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

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 and Black Dog Institute

year 9 Great Aussie Bush Camp, 2025

Two weeks ago, on the 25th of August, 118 Year 9 students went to the Great Aussie Bush Camp in Tea Gardens for five days and four nights. The vibes were at an all-time high as students gathered under the COLA, and it wasn’t long before they were off on their coaches for the two-hour drive up the coast.

Upon arrival, students were immediately sent off to lunch before settling into their allocated cabin rooms. Not long after, they began their first of fourteen action-packed activities. Students engaged in a wide range of camp activities including high ropes, leap of faith, vertical challenge, survivor challenge, abseiling, dual flying fox, fencing, kayaking, and many more.

On Tuesday afternoon, students hopped on a bus to Jimmy’s Beach. The weather was spectacular as students floated on pool rings, built sandcastles on shore, and captured unforgettable memories—all to music and laughter.

As the days went on, the energy slightly plateaued, but students continued to embrace the adventure. Each activity provided opportunities to develop resilience, step out of their comfort zones, and encourage their peers. It was inspiring to see students working together, problem-solving, and giving things a go.

Evenings were far from restful, with a full line-up of night activities. From our nightly bonfire talks, Challenge Night, Trivia Night to the final night’s disco, students kept the momentum going.

Throughout the week, we were fortunate to have beautiful weather. We celebrated birthdays, student achievements, and even witnessed teachers stepping out of their comfort zones—all in the spirit of adventure.

A heartfelt thank you to all the teachers and students who made this camp an unforgettable experience.

SRC ELECTION 2025 YEAR 7-10

YEAR 7 2025 ➡️ YEAR 8 2026 (4 Reps)

• Dana Kim
• Jenny Liang
• Sabrina Sah
• Elizabeth Yao

YEAR 8 2025 ➡️ YEAR 9 2026 (4 Reps)

• Ying Calamante
• Chloe Chan
• Kate Liao
• Jemma Soukhavong

YEAR 9 2025 ➡️ YEAR 10 2026 (6 Reps)

• Atrin Bagherian
• Alina Chen
• Lucy Chen
• Tara Gilkeson
• Olivia Ryu
• Phoebe Wu

YEAR 10 2025 ➡️ YEAR 11 2026 (8 Reps)

• Sriya Danda
• Yolanda Huang
• Abi Kim (Head of SRC)
• Maahi Sahare
• Sienna Samarawickrama
• Jaynee Vaghela
• Ziqi Zhang (Deputy Head of SRC)
• Melissa Zhou

CLASS OF 2020

Thank you to the Class of 2020 who held their re-union on Friday 5 September. They enjoyed catching up with each other, their teachers and touring the school.

Fred (Friends of Recycling, the Environment and Dirt)

On the 21st of August, five selected FRED students (myself included) had the privilege of attending the 2025 Environmental Leadership Workshop, held at Taronga Zoo on Cammeraigal land. The rainy day began with a Mental Health seminar, where we discussed opinions, thoughts and anxieties about climate change - these talks were held by Kal Glanzig and Cooper Chapman, both climate change and mental health activists. Then, alongside numerous other schools, we participated in leadership activities in relation to climate change. By collaborating with North Sydney Boys High, our team illustrated our ideal leader - encouraging, friendly, wears secondhand doc martens - and shared our design amongst the other keen environmentalists.

FRED then spoke about the sustainability initiatives in place at Hornsby Girls - both past, present and future - including the veggie patch and Fredtastic Fashion. We also collected inspiration from the other school environment clubs at the workshop, before touring the zoo in search of any animals braving the downpour.

All in all, despite the gloomy weather, the day was very enjoyable! FRED will travel to the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability later in the year for part two of the Environmental Leadership Workshop.

Sporting Achievements Recognised at Full School Assembly

At last week’s full school assembly, students who were declared Age Champions in Swimming, Cross Country, or Athletics were presented with their medals.

In addition, students who competed at Sydney North competitions this year were awarded pennants, while those who represented the school at CHS level for a particular sport received bannerettes.

It was fantastic to see a record number of students representing our school at these high levels of competition. We are incredibly proud of everyone's success!

Students competed in a wide range of sports, including Athletics, Cross Country, Swimming, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Cricket, and Sailing. While most competitions have already taken place, the CHS Cricket competition will be held next term. We wish our cricketers the best of luck as they prepare to compete at this elite level.

Ms Hall and Ms Sheppard

Year 7T & X Geography Excursion to Observatory Hill

On Friday the 29th of August, 7X and 7T went on a field trip to the Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre in Waverton. The day began with a train ride, our first stop being Balls Head Reserve, where we gathered by a vast, peaceful pool of water near the recreation area. The surroundings were calm and scenic, filled with varying sizes and coloured houses. From there, we set off on a bushwalk trail that followed the shoreline of Berrys Bay. We saw ancient Aboriginal artworks, explored real life examples of weathering and erosion (what we’re learning in geography) and walked through a former mining tunnel. Though no longer used for mining, the tunnel has been repurposed as a public walkway and is now home to a colony of bats. We gained so much from this and are grateful for the day we had. Thank you too Mr Truong, Mr Moss and the passionate Environmental Education team.

Dana Kim - 7X

🧑‍💻Simple Steps to Staying Safe Online

In today’s digital world, being safe online is just as important as being safe in the classroom or on the street. This article shares practical e-safety tips for young people, including how to protect personal information, recognise online risks, and make smart choices when using social media and other platforms. With these skills, students can enjoy the benefits of technology while staying safe and responsible online.

Protecting personal information: Keep your password strong and private. Use a mix of letters, numbers and symbols, and don’t share your passwords with friends. Think before sharing any personal information, photos or videos. Always log out on shared devices (at school/library). Remember, once it’s online, it’s hard to delete completely. Check your privacy settings - see The E Safety Guide to find out more.

Recognising risks: Watch out for suspicious messages and links, fake accounts or profiles, strangers asking for your personal details, scams and offers that are ‘too good to be true’, negative content, cyber bullying, and grooming Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe is a warning sign - tell a trusted adult immediately.

Making smart choices: Think carefully before you share any content or click on a link offering something suspiciously good. Think also about your digital footprint(what people can see from your online activities or if they google you). Never share your personal information with strangers or if you have any doubt about privacy. Don’t assume what you read online is true - always fact-check.

Choose kindness, and talk to a trusted adult if you have any concerns.

Navigating difficult situations: - Cyberbullying - Any form of making someone feel uncomfortable or upset online by sending mean and negative messages, comments or images is cyberbullying. It also includes things like online hate and trollingIf this happens to you, resist the urge to retaliate, but talk to a trusted adult, think about asking them to stop, and follow these steps below.

1) Collect evidence - Take screenshots and recordings if appropriate, note the names of people involved and the URLs (web addresses), and keep a record of how long/frequent this has been happening.

2) Report harmful content - The E Safety Guidehas reporting links and can try to have the content removed, and point you in the right direction for further support.

3) Prevent further contact - Use the in-app functions to ignore, block, hide or mute the other person so you don’t keep seeing them.

4) Get more help - Cyberbullying can make you feel sad, embarrassed, angry, hurt, scared or isolated. If you feel you don’t have anyone to talk to, you could reach out to Kids Helpline and other counselling and support services

For more detailed tips on what to do if you or someone you know is bullied online and how to help them, or you’re called out to be a bully and not sure what to do, click on this link Cyberbullying

All the information above and more can be found on the eSafety Commissioner website.

They also run webinars for parents and caregivers to give them knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safer online experiences. There are many coming up in TERM 4.

Topics include:

• Social media age restrictions explained - a guide for parents and carers
• Sexual extortion - What parents and carers need to know
• Algorithms and adolescents: The rewards and risks of recommender systems for young people
• The changing face of cyberbullying: Protecting your child in 2025
• Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into secondary school
• Understanding and using parental controls to help protect your child online

Click hereor anywhere above on topics to find out details.

🎉 Spring Fair Instagram Competition – Winner Revealed! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in our Instagram competition and helped spread the excitement for the upcoming Spring Fair! 💜

👏 Congratulations to Evie Choudhary! 🎁

Her fantastic post about the Spring Fair received an impressive 118 likes and 26 comments, earning her the top spot and our Mystery Gift Box prize!

📢 The prize will be awarded on Spring Fair Day – Saturday, 6th September, at the Information Desk.

Thank you once again to all who participated — you've made the countdown to the Fair even more fun and festive! 🌸

MISATO heming - year 8

Misato and us parents just wanted to let you know that Misato ran the TCS mini marathon (5km) on Saturday 30/8. She was nervous the night before (my sister in Tokyo usually runs with her but unfortunately she couldn’t make it this year and the event also increased the distance from this year), but she completed her very first 5km run and also did well time-wise.

COMMUNITY NEWS