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Riverside Currents Week 7 Term 1 2025

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

It was another exciting week here at Riverside, with the musical rehearsals well under way, Naplan testing commencing and the most important day for many on Wednesday… Photo Day.

As with Photo Day, Naplan is simply a snapshot of a moment in time. Many students and families feel a lot of pressure around this series of assessments, but it is important to remember that Naplan is not a reflection of all your daughter’s abilities. It does not measure who they are as a human and all the great work they do each day. Our staff may look at Naplan results to assist with teaching strategies around literacy and numeracy but there are many other sources of data we use to assist with learning, Naplan is just one. The key message I would like to share here is; Naplan testing happens, just like Photo Day. Your daughter may feel nervous and be upset with the result, but as with the photo, in time, other things will become more important and the results will pale in significance. I would encourage the focus to be on doing your best, polishing your shoes, brushing your hair and focus on the business of learning each day, rather than placing lots of importance on a series of tests that just show a tiny, narrow slice of your daughter’s progress in literacy and numeracy.

The school would like to pay special tribute to Sophie K in Year 9 for all of her achievements in Artistic Swimming. Sophie recently completed a two week training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport and has been selected for the High Performance Team. She was also selected as one of the twelve finalists for the Sports Star of the Year Award for 2024/25 by the Ryde Sports Foundation. Congratulations to Sophie for all these incredible sporting accomplishments and well done for also balancing these commitments to continue to achieve excellence at school.

Have a lovely weekend.

Melissa Gleeson

Deputy Principal

Welcome to Year 7 Afternoon Tea

A date for the diary is Tuesday 25 March for a Welcome to Year 7 Afternoon Tea for all families of Year 7. Please see the details below and remember to RSVP. This is a casual event to provide the opportunity for parents to meet their daughter’s teachers. It is not a parent teacher interview. Year 7 will receive interim reports in Term 1 Week 11 to provide initial feedback to parents and final reports in preparation for parent teacher interviews in late Term 2. We hope to see you for some cake and chat.

Faculty News

Science

Year 11 Biology - Field of Mars Excursion

Riverside's Year 11 Biology students traded textbooks for hiking boots and ventured into the Field of Mars for a hands-on investigation of invasive species' impact on local bandicoots. Under the summer sun, students diligently collected data on the intricate web of biotic and abiotic factors influencing bandicoot populations across two distinct sites. This fieldwork provided invaluable insights into the delicate balance of Australian ecosystems, revealing the complex interactions that sustain our native wildlife. Despite the challenging heat and humidity, our students displayed remarkable resilience and curiosity, transforming a hot day into a truly rewarding learning experience.

Mr R Gorrez

Maths

Greater global awareness of mathematical sciences are vital to addressing challenges in areas such as artificial intelligence, climate change, energy and sustainable development, and to improving the quality of life in both the developed and the developing worlds.

UNESCO’s 40th General Conference proclaimed 14 March of every year International Day of Mathematics in November 2019 (40C/ Resolution 30).

In many countries, 14 March (3/14) is already celebrated as Pi Day because π, one of the world’s most widely-known mathematical constants can be rounded to 3.14.

Did you know that in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact ( also a movie with Jodie Foster), the extraterrestrials embedded a message in the irrational number pi (the circumference of a circle divided by its radius).

This year students were invited to attend a bracelet making session hosted by the Mathematics Faculty. The students were asked to choose their own colours to represent the digits of the irrational number known as pi .

They got to choose a flower or a heart to represent the decimal point.

In addition, 8K showed their artistic and creative flair in creating colourful displays with radial symmetry to celebrate the day.

Both activities were a very pleasant and a mindful way to engage with the beauty of Mathematics.

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/mathematics

SRC

Harmony Week - 17 - 21 March

Co-Curricula Activities

Sydney North Basketball Team

Congratulations to Angelina B from Year 12 who was selected to play in the Sydney North Basketball Team to compete in the NSWCHSSA Championship from Tuesday 6 May to Thursday 8 May in Castle Hill. We wish her the best of luck!

Sydney North Hockey

Congratulations to Ella T in Year 10 who was successful at the Sydney North Hockey Trial. She has been selected as a member of the Sydney North Hockey Team to compete in the NSWCHSSA Championship from Tuesday 13 - Thursday 15 May 2025 in Parkes. We wish her the best of luck!

Open Netball

Our Open Netball won their opening round game against Willoughby Girls High 29-21 on Tuesday morning.

Congratulations to all the players who performed exceptionally well against tough opposition. A special thank you to our team officials Estelle M, Ruby C and Evelyn B (umpire). We will play Cherrybrook THS in the next round.

Year 11 & 12 Premier's Debating Challenge

For the first time in many years, senior students from Riverside Girls High School participated in Round 1 of the Premier’s Debating Challenge against North Sydney Girls.

This year, the senior team consists of Peggy H, Summer S, Louisa J, Issy P, Yehansa D and Caitlin B.

In order to cater to the load of senior studies, these debates will be conducted virtually which still allows for an authentic debating experience, rich in competition and collaboration.

The subject for Round 1 was EDUCATION.

The agreed topic was “That all secondary students should have to complete a vocational TAFE Course as part of their studies” and Riverside Girls argued as the Negative Team.

After one hour of preparation and a rigorous debate, our girls narrowly lost to NSGH.

Our debaters are to be congratulated on their efforts!

While this is a knock out competition, our team has one life which we will use to debate against Yanco Agricultural High School before the term ends.

Ms M Purisima

Public Speaking

The Dame Enid Lyons Oratory Competition

On Wednesday evening, Year 12 student Emily Hele participated in the inaugural round of The Dame Enid Lyons Oratory Competition at Meriden School.

This new public speaking competition targets students from all-girls’ schools and provides them with an opportunity to challenge their oratory skills in a new environment.

Emily was the 6th speaker in a line up for 8 orators and was provided with three prompts on the day to choose from. She was then given 15 minutes to prepare 6-8 minute speech.

These were the prompts -

“For women fear too much, even as they love…” - Hamlet III, Scene ii
“If someone says ‘you can’t do that’, I wonder why they think ‘of course we can, we just need to figure out a way.” - Veena Sahajwalla
“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he just mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” - Mary Wollstonecraft

Emily chose option 2 and spoke with flair, eloquence and included clever intertextual references to literature and philosophy.

The competition will consist of three rounds upon which the finalists will be announced and then invited to the grand final hosted at the Sydney Opera House.

We still await the results from Round 1

It was a very exciting and proud moment to have a representative from Riverside Girls HIgh School participate in this rigorous competition.

Riverside continues to encourage and foster a passion for debating and public speaking. Keep your eyes peeled for future articles sharing student success in these extracurricular fields.