Dear Parents/Caregivers,
I hope you have had a wonderful week.
Year 12 Reports
It is a big, exciting day for Year 12 today as they have received their Half Yearly Reports.
I always enjoy meeting with our HSC students to deliver this formal reporting mechanism, filled with individualised feedback and suggestions for improvement as they prepare for the final six months of their HSC studies at Riverside. Please ask your daughter to share her feedback and results with you and to discuss any concerns or questions that she may have as she embarks on her final learning and assessment. I also like to take the time to remind all Year 12 students that the HSC journey is a partnership and that every teacher, mentor, Year Adviser, Deputy Principal and myself are here to support them in this journey. It is also important to remember that in times of stress or difficulty, we have a School Counsellor at school five days per week and they are aware to prioritise Year 12 students at this often intense stage of their schooling. The reports will be uploaded to Sentral at 3:10pm for any student who is absent from school.
Our accelerated students will also receive their reports electronically at 3:10pm.
Year 11 will be the next cohort to receive their reports.
Cyberbullying Workshop
As our ongoing commitment to supporting our students manage their online communication and relationships, Mr Palmero and Ms Miller organised the annual Cyberbullying Presentation for Year 7 this week. The feedback was that it was instructional and practical and provided many worthwhile strategies to empower students in Year 7 to take the initiative to reduce their online activity, in an effort to reduce the chances of them becoming embroiled in cyber nastiness, either as the victim or perpetrator.
There are an increasing number of reports in the media, including from the e-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, about the sinister and insidious nature of tracking apps and the sharing of passwords. Honesty and trust is an important part of any healthy relationship; however, when a relationship begins to fail or falter, as they invariably do amongst young people, location apps and services may serve to facilitate negative behavioural interactions or harm – harassment, stalking or coercive control in the extreme. I urge that all parents continue to have these conversations with their daughters to suggest that location capabilities are not active on their phones or apps and to explain that if they sense that their movements are being tracked (people, other than their parents, telling them they know where they are or requiring that they share their location) that they report it to their parents straight away. Student safety is our primary concern; however, our jurisdiction to prevent harm does not extend beyond the school gates. I am also aware that as a parent it is a fine line between using tracking apps to ensure our children are safe and putting them in danger by normalising the use of them. I realise it is a thing but it needs to be considered and discussed with your daughters in an open and honest way to ensure their eyes are always open and they are confident they are making informed choices.
Year 10 Subject Selection Information Evening
Year 10 have been presented with their Stage 6 curriculum booklets. This information provides the basis for all decision-making for subjects for Preliminary and HSC courses (Year 11 and 12), including all of the courses available to study at Riverside. If you are a parent of a Year 10 student, please RSVP to the Subject Selection Information Evening on Tuesday 27 May at 6pm in the Hall. We look forward to seeing you all at this very important evening.
HPGE Test
To all of our parents with younger daughters – just a reminder that the registration link for the HPGE test is open and can be found on our website: https://riversideg-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/events/2025/5/hpge-test-2026.31_may.html
Have a lovely weekend.
Louise McNeil
Principal
Co-curricula Activities
The School Musical - The Little Mermaid
Tickets are on sale now for our 2025 School Musical, The Little Mermaid.
A beautiful story, unforgettable songs and an incredible cast of students are ready to bring this classic to life on stage.🧜
Book your tickets now - https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1397612
The Little Mermaid - Parent Volunteers Needed
The P & C will be selling refreshments at The Little Mermaid Production on 4th, 5th and 6th June, before the show and during interval. If you can help out please complete the google form below to indicate your availability or contact Zoe on 0405 917 933 to volunteer.
Plain English Speaking Award - Public Speaking
Caitlin B and Yehansa D in Year 12 competed in the North Sydney Finals of the NSW Arts Units Plain English Speaking Award. It was so inspiring for them to meet other creative speakers and listen to their interesting stories and subject matters.
Getting to create an 8-minute speech on whatever topic they wanted, Yehansa spoke about the importance of music as social protest, and Caitlin spoke about apathy and the value of acting over indifference.
Their 3-minute impromptu speech was in response to the unseen prompt "Behind Closed Doors," and they both performed well!
Whilst they didn’t make it to the finals, they both gained valuable experience and enjoyed it!
Ms M Purisima
VIC State Championships
Congratulations to Sophie who won two gold medals (Solo and Team) and one silver medal (Duets) at the Victorian State Artistic Swimming Championships held on March 29–30.
At the National Championships held from April 13–17, she earned a gold medal in the Team event. Including the three gold medals from the NSW State championship, Sophie has won a total of six gold medals and one silver medal this season.
Right after Nationals, she went on to participate in the National Team Training Camp. This was a new initiative where athletes from all levels, Youth, Junior, and Senior (Olympic Team)—gathered along with all the National Team coaches for a joint training camp. Well done again Sophie on your fabulous achievements 🏆
Sydney North Girls Basketball - NSW CHS Champions
Congratulations to Angelina B who competed in the Sydney North Girls Basketball Championships last week and won Gold 🏆
After finishing first in their pool, the girls had two incredible wins over Sydney West in the Semi Final and Sydney East in the Grand Final to take the Gold!
Cross Country
Despite several weather-related setbacks and delays, we were thrilled to finally hold a successful ‘competitors only’ cross country carnival. Light rain made a brief appearance, but it didn’t dampen the spirit or determination of our runners.
Congratulations to all competitors for their incredible efforts and sportsmanship throughout the day. The level of competition was outstanding, with many impressive performances.
A special mention goes to Lucy H (15yrs), who recorded the fastest time of the day, completing the course in an exceptional 12.51 minutes and Bronte N (14yrs) securing the second-fastest time overall of 13.28 minutes.
Well done to all involved for making the day such a success!
Cross Country Age Champions for 2025 are;
- 12 years – Eloise D
- 13 years – Alma B
- 14 years – Bronte N
- 15 years – Lucy H
- 16 years – Estelle M
- 17 years – Ellie V
- 18 years – Alicia L
Good luck to all the students who have qualified to represent Riverside at the Zone carnival which will be held at Meadowbank Park on Monday 26 May 2025.
Ms T Nagle
Riverside Athletics Carnival 2025
On Wednesday 7 May, Riverside Girls High School held its annual Athletics Carnival at SOPAC – Athletics Centre. We were fortunate to enjoy a beautiful, warm day—perfect for a full day of track and field events.
The carnival was filled with fantastic performances and several school records were broken. Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievements:
- Mikayla D (16 yrs) – Shot Put – Record: 11.24m
- Mikayla D (16 yrs) – Discus – Record: 33.78m
- Zara P (17+ yrs) – 200m – Record: 27.46s
- Zara P (17+ yrs) – 400m – Record: 1:02.65 min (Ellie V also broke the previous 17+ yrs 400m record with 1:03.78 min)
We also celebrate our 2025 Age Champions for their consistency and excellence across events:
- 12 years – Eloise D
- 13 years – Emma L
- 14 years – Jacqueline P
- 15 years – Amelia R
- 16 years – Mikayla D
Throughout the day, students proudly competed and supported their Houses, earning valuable points through both participation and volunteering. Congratulations to Coen House, crowned the 2025 Champion House for Athletics with a total of 1,943 points.
A heartfelt thank you to all staff who worked behind the scenes and on the day to ensure everything ran smoothly, and to the parents who came along to cheer on our athletes.
We now look forward to cheering on our students at the Zone Athletics Carnival, also to be held at SOPAC on Friday 6 June 2025.
Ms T Nagle
Careers
Please visit https://riversideghscareers.com/ for the latest information on careers and life beyond school. You can use this site to locate universities, TAFE and any other type of course across Australia, information about the HSC and job vacancies. Feel free to drop into the Careers office if you have any questions.
Ms J Low and Ms T Soares
OPENS FOOTBALL TEAM 2025
Our Opens Football Team has done us proud. The players have represented us with distinction on and off the field, giving their all for the team, their school, and one another.
We’d like to give special recognition to our Year 12 players —
Pax G, Alicia L (Captain), Evelynn (Evey) P, Maya P, Charlie V, and Zara P (Co-Captain) —
who have contributed so much to the football program during their time at Riverside Girls High School. Thank you for your leadership, dedication, and service to the school through football.
We also extend our gratitude to the parents and caregivers for their ongoing support and assistance on match days. Thank you to our dedicated admin staff, whose work behind the scenes helps keep everything running smoothly.
We look forward to seeing what the next generation of footballers at RGHS will achieve.
Ms A Ghorra
Dates for the diary
P&C
If you would like to volunteer for various P&C activities, please sign up via the link below.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHE1OojbX6yWoo85D7kbRofz_1TmQOixDenmj-b-AkkxoJ4Q/viewform