WEEK 2, TERM 1, 6 February 2026

acknowledgement of country

We recognise the Dharrug and Kuringai people, the owners and custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines and stories. We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieves their potential through education.

pRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Dear Parents and Students, Welcome back to another exciting year at Hornsby Girls High School. We especially welcome our new Year 7 students and parents and fourteen new students in Years 8 -11. The school year commenced with an assembly where we acknowledged the wonderful effort of our Year 12s from last year who achieved extraordinary success in the HSC, the extraordinary efforts of the school community at Speech Day, the superb effort of the Prefects in organising the Christmas Concert and introduced our new staff. The Class of 2025 HSC results were outstanding with 32 Premiers All Rounders, with eight State rankings. The Class of 2025 achieved 362 Band Six results with a 51% success rate for Band 6s in each subject. Well done to the Class of 2025 and thank you to all their teachers for their outstanding efforts. The school was ranked 8th in NSW. Seven students received state rankings including Alice Hynes in History Extension with 1st in the state. Congratulations to Alice and her History Extension teacher Ms Brennan. Summer Pan was the dux with 99.9 and our median ATAR was 96.2 with 22 students receiving and ATAR of 99 plus. The Class of 2025 returned on Friday at recess for a congratulatory assembly. Thank you to all our wonderful teachers for inspiring the Class of 2025 to achieve these outstanding results.

Thank you also to the whole school for your efforts at Speech Day last year to the students who received awards, or who performed, or who were part of the audience. The whole community is very proud of your efforts throughout the year. We should also acknowledge the efforts of our teachers and support staff on the day whose efforts were coordinated by our Speech Day Coordinator Mr Atkin. Thank you, Mr Atkin. We also need to acknowledge and thank our prefects led by our school captain Carina Quizon and vice-captain Sidhi Saxena for their organisation of last year’s Christmas Concert. It was a wonderful way to finish the year with our talented students performing to celebrate the end of the year. On Friday 13 February we will be having our School Photo Day (thank you to Mr Li and Mrs Seach for organising the day), and on Friday 20 February we will be having our Annual Swimming Carnival. So there is lots to look forward to over the coming weeks. Year 7 commenced the year with many group activities as part of their transition to high school to orient themselves to high school. Thank you to Mrs Hoogerwerf (Head Teacher Wellbeing), Mrs Graham and Ms Mylan (Year Advisers) for organising these three fun-filled days. The Year 7s are now ready to start their learning journey at Hornsby. For our Year 7 students and parents we have the P and C Meet the Teachers Evening from 6pm – 7pm in the Central Quad on Wednesday 18 February. Year 7 students also attend and will introduce their teachers to their parents in an informal setting for a chat and a bite to eat as a way for us all to get to know each other. The P and C have kindly catered for this event with nibblies for parents, teachers and students. From 7pm – 8pm the students will be doing relationship building activities with Year 10 Peer Support Leaders. Parents will be in the Hall for a short P and C Meeting concluding at 8pm where members of the P and C will be introducing themselves and the activities planned for the year. We welcome our new members of staff to the school. In CAPA our new music teacher is Ms Mok. In Student Wellbeing our new Learning and Support Teacher is Mr Andrew. In French our new permanent member of staff is Ms Tobin. In English our new permanent member of staff is Mr Leonard. And also in English our permanent member of staff who taught at Hornsby last year and loved it so much he has come back permanently to us is Mr Whittard. We welcome our five new members of staff and wish them all the best at our fine school. All the best for another great year at Hornsby Girls High School to all students, parents and teachers. Justin Briggs (Principal)

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS' MESSAGE

Welcome back to the 2026 school year for all our students and their families. To those students and families who are new to the school we hope that you have enjoyed your first week and are enjoying making new friends and meeting your new teachers. The first week of the school year has already been a busy one! Year 7 have engaged in their three day transition to secondary school program with enthusiasm. Years 8, 9 and 10 have completed a refresher lesson on resilience strategies. This is part of our commitment to the Resilience in our Teens program where the focus is on encouraging our students to take on challenges and persevere to try things even when they seem hard. Year 10 and 11 have completed sessions on assessment processes and an assessment manual has been made available on their Grade Google Classrooms. Parents and caregivers will receive an email with the manual attached. These assessment manuals should be referred to whenever parents, caregivers and students have questions or concerns about assessment processes. This morning we also welcomed back the HSC Class of 2025 for Morning Tea and it was exciting to hear all the news about what they have been doing and the courses they have enrolled in for university in 2026. In 2026 we will be overseeing curriculum, assessment and wellbeing as follows:

• Mrs Amanda Wallwork Deputy Principal - Years 8, 10 and 12
• Ms Vanessa Gilmore Deputy Principal - Years 7, 9 and 11

We can be contacted using the school phone number or school email address. We look forward to working with parents, caregivers, students and staff this year. Canteen Our school canteen provides a lunch order service only. Lunch can be ordered using the FlexiSchools App. Orders must be placed by 8.30 am on the day of the order. Sometimes students forget to collect their lunch or are not aware that they have a lunch order. Please make sure that your child is aware that they have a lunch order to collect from the canteen and that they need to collect it at the start of lunch.  If students in Years 8 -12 do not collect their order, the office will email both the parent and student. If a student in Year 7 does not collect their order it will be delivered to them in Term 1 only. In Term 2 the email system will then apply. Homework At this time of year we are often asked how much homework students should be completing each day. While homework is important, our school policy attempts to help students balance their study with extra-curricular activities and rest time which is important for wellbeing and academic achievement.  As a guide we advise the following:

• Years 7 & 8- Homework should take a total of 1 hour to complete all tasks.

| Mathematics - 20 minutes | English / Reading - 20 minutes | Other HW - 20 minutes |

• Years 9 & 10 - Homework may take up to 2 hours to complete all tasks.

| Mathematics - 20 minutes | English / Reading - 20 minutes | Other HW - 20 minutes |

• Years 11 & 12 - Homework and study may take 3 hours to complete. Students develop a homework/study timetable for their subjects. Homework set by the school is prioritised over homework set by coaches or tutors. 

All students need a quiet space to complete their homework and should not be awake late at night completing homework and assignments. A regular bed time without use of technology during the late hours of the night should be expected of your child. If you have concerns about homework and workload please contact your child’s Year Adviser. Year 7 - Meet the Teacher Evening Year 7 parents and students are invited to the Meet the Teacher Evening held at HGHS from 6pm on Wednesday 18th February. This will be an informal opportunity for parents to meet their child's teachers for this year. At 7pm all students will be involved in Peer Support activities run by our Year 10 SWL-Being Leaders while parents are invited to attend our first P&C meeting for the year. We hope to see all our new families next Wednesday evening.  NAPLAN 2026 NAPLAN will be held for Year 7 and 9 in Term 1 on the following dates:

• Wednesday March 11th - Writing
• Thursday March 12th - Reading
• Friday March 13th - Conventions of Language
• Monday March 16th - Numeracy

Further information regarding lockdown browsers and technology requirements will be sent to parents and updated in future editions of the The Torch. Safer Internet Day On Tuesday 10th February we will mark Safer Internet Day with Project Rockit Workshops for Year 7 and Year 10. If you would like more information about Safer Internet Day more information can be found here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/whats-on/safer-internet-day  The e-Safety Commissioner also provides webinars for parents. This webinar may be of interest to parents of Year 7 students transitioning from primary school. A flyer for this can be found at the end of this newsletter. The Australian Government’s ‘Social Media Ban’ for under 16s commenced on the 10th December 2025. This ban places a responsibility on social media platforms to ensure that children under 16 are not able to hold social media accounts. Many parents and caregivers may still have questions about the operation of the laws and what they can do to support their children. The eSafety Commissioner website provides answers and advice to parents regarding the implementation here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions/faqs 

Ms Gilmore and Ms Wallwork - Deputy Principals

HGHS Swimming Carnival

The Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday, 20th February at the Hornsby Aquatic Centre. Students are required to sign in with their ID card outside the pool by 8:40 am. The venue is a short walk from school or from Hornsby Station. Please refer to the map below for directions. Carnivals are an important part of the school program at Hornsby Girls High School. They provide a competitive atmosphere while promoting support and encouragement of school and house spirit. Attendance at all three carnivals is compulsory for all students and appointments should not be scheduled on these days. Students who do  have an appointment on that day and will be away or have to leave early must apply for leave in advance and provide a medical certificate for their absence.  Information regarding the carnival has been emailed to parents/carers via School Bytes.  If you haven’t already done so, please complete the consent form at your earliest convenience.  Students are to dress in house colours or their school sports uniform. Swimming caps are compulsory and can be purchased from the PDHPE Staffroom or the marshaling area at the carnival for $2 each. Students are encouraged to participate in as many races as possible to earn house points. In addition to the regular 50m, 100m, and 200m events, we will once again be running the Lizard Lane, where swimmers of all abilities can take a quick dip in the water. During the lunch period, we will also be hosting a 25m Race Your Mates event, where students can race their friends and even use a swimming noodle if they wish. We are looking forward to a fun event! Jane Hall - Carnival Convenor

Year 7 Student reflections of their first week at Hornsby Girls HigH

Kelci, “I am nervous but excited to meet all the new people – my favourite part so far has been Visual Arts class” Sophie K “The scavenger hunt really helped me know the school – playing games ( Uno No mercy) before school has been lots of fun” Daphne P “ Starting Hogh school has been better than I had expected – I like music class and I really liked The Journey part of the Transition days” Aarthana “Transition was useful to make friends and get to know my grade, my favourite part was The Journey where we made our own journals.” Cecily “The environment is nice and CLEAN! The first few days were fun and really supported me – they let us wear the wrong uniform and we didn’t get in any trouble” Pradhi “Starting high school has been different..but I was familiar with timetables as have lived in India and this helped me to be more organised. Hornsby Girls is fun!” Jenny “ I thought there would be lots of homework – but actually it is not that bad”  Christa “I got lost a few times already but my classes have been fun!” Aditi “I was scared at first but I have learned to love it. I love the independence!” Emily L “ Everyone here is so positive and energetic” Sunny “Technology is lots of fun – making friends can be hard at times.” Rachel “I don’t usually like geography but was surprised and really liked this class” Navya “My favourite part of Transition was writing a letter to my Year 12 self – it helped me think about my future and posed a lot of questions to our future selves” Miley “The second day “The Journey” was nice and the Rachel the teacher was really lovely and the activities were fun” Chelsea “It has been hard to find my way but also lots of fun – I am sure I will get used to it”

2026 AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR

Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Astronaut Back in 2023, Dr Briggs put forward the challenge to design a mural that would inspire our female students in the field of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths). Once establishing a committee and after much debate and research, our Women in Science mural celebrated the achievements of three incredible female scientists - Professor Fiona Wood, Associate Professor Kaye Morgan and Australian of the Year 2026 astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg. Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first person qualified as an astronaut under the Australian flag. In April 2024, after graduating from the European Space Agency’s astronaut training program, Katherine became eligible for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond. As a school community beginning 2026, we can look to the future with ambition, hopes and dreams - knowing that with dedication and hard work, we can all reach for the stars and realise our dreams. Isabella Pozzolungo - Head Teacher Creative and Perming Arts The following is an extract from an interview with Katherine Bennell-Pegg conducted on the ABC on 26 January 2026 Australia Day: "When I was very young, I used to like lying on the grass looking up through the gum tree canopies in my garden," she remembered. "My mum had studied physics at university, and she would explain to me what I could see, and when I learnt that some of those pinpricks of light weren't stars but planets — whole worlds no-one had ever seen up close with their own eyes — for a young kid in early primary school, that just sounded like the greatest adventure." It was her high school years, she said, that turned the nebulous daydreams of the back garden into tangible goals. "In Year 8, school asked us to all write down three things we wanted to be when we grew up, and I just wrote one: 'astronaut'," Ms Bennell-Pegg said. "My parents and my school were great, and rather than patronise me they sent me off to figure out what that would take." Ms Bennell-Pegg — who lives in Adelaide, and has two daughters — is currently the director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency, an organisation that was established in 2018. A major theme of her Australian of the Year acceptance speech was the need to secure the nation's future not just in space but in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). "So many Australians are stepping away from STEM before they see what they're capable of. We are leaving too much talent on the launch pad," she said. While she hasn't been to space, she's leaving that hatch open. "Every day you need to believe it's going to happen," she said. "I hope I go to space but this is very new for Australia so step by step — we'll see what the future holds." Regardless of the outcome, the journey has been its own reward. "The wonderful thing about an astronaut dream — for any parents out there whose kids aspire to that — is that the back-ups are all really fantastic," she said. "You can have a career first in almost any STEM field and becoming an astronaut is just that cherry on the top." Further information - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/australian-of-the-year-katherine-bennell-pegg-on-space-and-stem/106269082 https://www.space.gov.au/Katherine-Bennell-Pegg