From the Principal
Dear Parents/Caregivers, I hope you have had a wonderful week. ENCORE at the Opera House It was my absolute pleasure to be entertained to an evening of high quality, dynamic, magical musical performances at the Opera House on Monday evening, enjoying the Encore concert, a showcase of outstanding major works by HSC Music students in NSW. I went to support the Riverside 2025 Year 12 Performance Captain, Freya N, perform her HSC vocal trio with her brother, Morgan, and Ella D, the 2024 Performance Captain. It was a beautiful performance and I was beaming from ear to ear as a proud principal. Encore is a compilation of 2025 HSC music major works from students from public and non-government schools across NSW, with Freya the only student from a comprehensive high school. It was an exceptional achievement by this supremely talented student. We could not be more proud of Freya and her teacher, Ms Wang, who has taught and guided Freya in her musical pursuits since Year 7. Riverside has a rich music and performing arts program, providing extensive opportunities for our students, including HPGE students, to thrive and immerse themselves in a broad program of co-curricula pursuits, including music, dance, drama and visual arts. We are delighted to have so much quality amongst us at Riverside. Congratulations to Freya and Ms Wang for achieving such a huge accolade.
Open Day It was another week of celebration at Riverside after our highly uplifting Open Day on Tuesday afternoon. We welcomed over 500 visitors, parents and prospective students, through the door in the two hours of tours and presentations. As a school leader, a key part of my role, outside leading and managing teaching and learning and whole school operations, is managing PR, to sell the school to the outside world to promote enrolments. The great news is that we are very much on a growth trajectory since I began in 2022, with a consistent growth in Year 7 enrolments of 12%. And why is growth important? Growth is significant to ensure our school continues to flourish as enrolments drive the staffing allocation and school curriculum, particularly in the delivery of our extra curricula program which is one where we absolutely punch above our weight for the size of our school. Thankyou to every one of our staff, students and parents of the P&C who contributed to the success of the afternoon. It is always wonderful to invite people into our school so that we may showcase all of the wonderful people and programs that make our school the wonderful place to work and learn. I look forward to all of our local and non-local families submitting their expressions of interest to enrol their daughters in our exclusive single-sex public school by the river. International Women’s Day assembly One of the most special things about leading a girls’ school is the shared commitment to empowering young women through learning and leadership opportunities. This week we saw a tremendous demonstration of this empowerment in the whole school International Women’s Day assembly, led by our student leaders. Balance the Scales is the theme for 2026. Girls at Riverside are nurtured and inspired to be their own person, whoever that may be, and to believe that they can achieve whatever they choose to achieve, providing they are focused, determined and conscientious because no change happens by being half-hearted or complacent. Leadership requires drive and tenacity; just as learning success requires drive and tenacity. The qualities that it takes to change the world and balance the scales are the same attributes that it takes to change and improve your learning habits and behaviours. Riverside is a unique, special setting that strives to inspire all young women at our school to be powerful, courageous and successful, but the motivation must come from within. We can put in place programs and opportunities to support our young women to be the best they can be for now and in the world beyond school but every one of our young women must be intrinsically motivated to seek and seize these programs and opportunities. I request that you have a conversation with your daughter/s about intrinsic motivation – ask them if they can understand it and explain what it is and what they need to support them unleashing it to remain focused and positive to be the best student they can be every day. Whatever they need to light this passion for learning and success, we will endeavour to provide. Please feel welcome to share with us if you believe that we are falling short of providing this for your daughter.
Drop off at school – stay safe I would like to request that no one park over the school driveway when you are dropping off your daughter in the morning. Please remember that your convenience does not always equate to safety for our students and teachers. Please endeavour to drive beyond the driveway and drop your daughter off further down the road (towards the ferry stop). You may then also make use of the round about to return to Victoria Rd, without doing a U-turn over double yellow lines. Welcome to Year 7 Afternoon Tea A date for the diary is Tuesday 24 March for a Welcome to Year 7 Afternoon Tea for all families of Year 7. 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 10 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.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Louise McNeil Principal
Mindfulness Mondays
School Photo Day 11 March 2026
Faculty News
HSIE
Year 12 Geography Fieldwork - Barangaroo
Last Wednesday, the Year 12 Geography class completed their Rural and Urban Places fieldwork at Barangaroo. They had the opportunity to apply a range of geographical skills to investigate the processes that have shaped Barangaroo and to evaluate how sustainable the suburb is. It was a great day and a wonderful opportunity to see geographical concepts applied in a real-world context
Ms J Brooks
English
Year 9 Drama
Year 9 Drama students have made a fantastic start to the course this term, diving straight into the exciting and creative world of performance through our study of Improvisation and Playbuilding.
A major focus has been on improvisation techniques where students learn to think quickly to develop ideas creatively. Students have also been introduced to the Elements of Drama and Performance, particularly focusing on how they can use these to create meaning and audience engagement.
Through a range of improvisation games and short performance tasks, students have explored how imagination, voice, movement and teamwork can bring situations and characters to life.
It has been wonderful to see students embracing the collaborative nature of Drama in this very supportive environment. This strong start sets an exciting foundation for the year ahead. We look forward to seeing the Year 9 Drama students continue to grow as confident, imaginative performers.
CAPA
Encore 2026
On Monday 2 March, Years 10-12 Music elective students had the exciting opportunity to watch ENCORE at the Sydney Opera House, a concert showcasing exemplary HSC performance and composition works by music students from 2025. The program included a diverse range of instrumental and vocal pieces, both solo and ensemble, across a range of genres including musical theatre, jazz, classical, rock and music from different cultures. It was amazing to see the high-level artistry and collaboration demonstrated by all the musicians who presented such refined and engaging performances for the audience. We would like to recognise and congratulate the success of Riverside graduate Freya N for her selection at ENCORE this year. Her expressive and beautiful a capella rendition of 'Take Me Home' (Pentatonix) with Ella D and Morgan N, was the highlight of the afternoon.
Ms C Wang
Co-curricula Activities
The 2026 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
Celebrating our 25th anniversary, the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge is back for 2026 - and we can’t wait to see what you’ll be reading! Students can now log into the PRC website and start adding books to their online reading record.
Vaccination Consent
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
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