DEPUTY PRINCIPALS' MESSAGE

Congratulations to all the students who received an Academic Achievement Award at our Year Assemblies this week and at our annual Speech Day Ceremony on Tuesday 16th December. There are so many outstanding achievements and personal bests from 2025 that were highlighted and not just academic pursuits but also across the creative and performing arts and many extra curricular activities.  At Speech Day, our School Captain of 2021, Kate Chipman provided the school with an excellent glimpse into what she has been doing since her graduation from HGHS and shared some wonderful advice regarding the importance of perspective and forging a path that is right for you as an individual. She reflected on her many wonderful memories with peers and staff at Hornsby and stressed the importance of not worrying about certain expectations and that life has transition phases and crossroads, something she is looking forward to figuring out exactly what is next for her.  Thank you to Mr Atkin our Speech Day coordinator, Ms Rigeway, Ms McCarthy, Ms Sutcliffe and Ms Cortez for the wonderful musical items that performed and for Ms Hoang for coordinating the Dance items. They were spectacular.  2026 School Development Days - All students 7-12 will return at 8.45 am for Term 1 on Monday 2nd February.  All Year 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 students are to swipe attendance prior to attending a Whole School Assembly to welcome students back.  Year 7 will commence the year with a three day Transition to High School program and should arrive and 8.45 am and proceed to our Hall.  7-10 Reports - Student reports have been published to the Sentral Portal this week. It is wonderful to see that our students have excelled in a variety of pursuits achieving their Personal Best in a variety of areas including Academic Achievement, School Spirit and Service, Creative and Performing Arts, Sporting Endeavours and through Community Service. We are incredibly proud of all your efforts this year and look forward to building on these skills in and out of the classroom in 2026. SRC Wellbeing Day and Prefects Christmas Concert - Thank you to the SRC for their superbly run Christmas themed Wellbeing Day. The school buzzed with the sound of happy students and staff enjoying the final week of the 2025 school year. This was capped off with amazing performances in the Christmas Concert. Well done to all who performed and to the Prefects for their excellent organisation. Thanks also to Ms Carroll and Mr Blake for supporting our students in planning and delivering these activities for the whole school to enjoy. Healthy Social Media Habits - At this time of year some parents become concerned about phone and social media use over the holidays. Please remember that the eSafety Commissioner website has a lot of useful factsheets, a parent newsletter and more to support you in managing your children. The resources can be found here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents  At this time of year some parents become concerned about phone and social media use over the holidays. Please remember that the eSafety Commissioner website has a lot of useful factsheets, a parent newsletter and more to support you in managing your children. The resources can be found here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents  Happy Holidays - We wish all our students and families a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday February 2nd, 2026.  Ms Wallwork and Ms Gilmore - Deputy Principals

ART EXPRESS

This year our 2025 HSC Visual Art Cohort was extremely successful, receiving 3 nominations for ARTEXPRESS! Congratulations to Scarlett Shin, Olive Gibson and Swarna Vankineni, who’s outstanding art making practice has been recognised and celebrated! Swarna Vankineni’s work was selected and will be included in the 2026 ARTEXPRESS exhibition, the location of which is yet to be confirmed. Scarlett Shin and Olive Gibson’s works were also selected for the 2026 Art North Exhibition which will be opening at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery! The opening of this show will be Saturday 7th March 2026 from 2pm and the exhibition will close on the 28th March 2026. This is a fantastic achievement!

2025 Wellbeing Highlights - A Year of Care, Connection and Growth

Year 7 Year 7 began the year by participating in a newly revamped transition program delivered by Enlighten, which supported students as they adjusted to high school routines, expectations and friendships. This program set a positive tone for the year and helped the students feel confident and connected from the outset. One of the major highlights was the Year 7 Camp at the Collaroy Centre, where students embraced a variety of exciting activities—many for the first time—and enjoyed the opportunity to challenge themselves, work as a team and build new friendships. Throughout the year, students continued to show enthusiasm and compassion, particularly during the Year 7 Charity Day, which was a tremendous success and raised valuable funds for Bear Cottage. It has been a fantastic year of growth, learning and community spirit for our Year 7 cohort.

Year 8 Year 8 started the year with a cyberbullying workshop by Connect Project Rockit. They learned to be respectful and positive when navigating the digital world. They then participated in a workshop by the Butterfly Foundation where they learned about body image and body positivity. This workshop helped students gain beneficial strategies for overcoming online appearance ideals, comparisons and appearance related bullying. Charity Day was a major event students participated in supporting Westmead Children’s Hospital. Students came together to help bake, make keychains and sell the goods on the day. They demonstrated enthusiasm and dedication to helping a good cause. Year 8 has had a tremendous year with subject selection and ensuring they chose a subject they will enjoy and excel in. Overall, it has been a remarkable year of growth and maturity for the year 8 cohort. Year 9 Year 9 students have had an eventful but arduous year, rising to every challenge with determination and spirit. They started off strong with our Charity Day in Term 1, raising $995.70 to Youth off the Streets. Then throughout both semesters, Year 9 put their head down and settled into the rhythm of assessments, tackling not only their school exam blocks but also completing their final NAPLAN ever! Their hard work truly paid off, with the cohort achieving an outstanding 2nd place in the state- a remarkable accomplishment. Among the year’s many highlights was the unforgettable five-day Great Aussie Bush Camp, where students pushed beyond their comfort zones and demonstrated resilience and teamwork alongside our dedicated camp instructors and teachers. This term Year 9 continued to shine through their involvement in Peer support training, their attendance at the Schools Spectacular, and their engagement in the Talk Money workshop, which strengthened their financial literacy—from making money and understanding workplace rights to reading payslips and navigating tax and superannuation. A huge congratulations to all Year 9 students for their effort, growth, and resilience throughout the year.

Year 10 Year 10 students have excelled this year, not just academically, but also as responsible, mature young citizens. Throughout the year, the cohort has had many opportunities to show their character, and they have never failed to impress. Whether it be electing the 2026 House Leaders and new SRC representatives, hosting visitors from our Japanese sister school, Nichidai Buzan, or having open dialogues regarding wellbeing and other issues affecting young people, Year 10 has approached these responsibilities with competence and enthusiasm. Year 10 have also had chances to develop capabilities that promote their development beyond the classroom. The cohorts ‘Life and Resilience' Week provided them with a wide variety of valuable learning opportunities such as Beach Safety skills, how to change a flat tyre, self-defense, and much more. These skills, designed to help students transition into adulthood, are further strengthened through many Year 10 students completing Work Experience, an amazing opportunity for students to gain an insight into what could be their future career path. Lastly, The Illuminate Enterprise Challenge gave students a dynamic, hands-on experience in solving real-world problems creatively and collaboratively. All in all, it has been a fantastic year of growth and development for the Year 10 cohort, who have positioned themselves in great stead for Year 11 and beyond. 

Year 11 Year 11 started their first senior year positively and enthusiastically. In Term 1, they attended an unforgettable, fun-filled 5-day camp at Jindabyne. The students climbed Mount Kosciusko, worked in teams to navigate through a maze and competed against their teachers in a trivia competition (in which the teachers won!!!). In Term 2, they eagerly held their fundraiser for the organisation Girls Not Brides in which they raised over $1000 to help young women gain an education and avoid early youth marriages. The students formed a Jersey Committee in Term 3 where the design for their Year 12 jersey was chosen unanimously and is now worn and enjoyed by them all. The Cottage, a place for relaxation, study and collaboration was handed over to the students in Term 4. Congratulations to all Year 11 students for their effort, growth, and resilience throughout the year and best wishes for all the students as they enter their final year of secondary school.

Year 12 We farewell the class of 2025 after 6 wonderful years at Hornsby Girls High School. It has been an honour watching them grow into the incredible young people they have become. Year 12 started the year with the Urban Challenge, setting the tone for a collaborative approach to their final year. They rose to the challenge of HSC assessments and examination blocks, and did so with determination and enthusiasm. We closed off the year with an excellent week of graduation celebrations, including the formal ceremony and dinner at Hornsby RSL and the annual clap out. We also want to congratulate all of the students on their incredible HSC results. This is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the whole cohort.  The class of 2025 will be dearly missed, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

Wishing you and your family a safe and restful festive season, and all the very best for the year ahead. The Wellbeing Team.

Music Students Finish on a High Note

CCMP and Music students pushed through to the very end of the year with outstanding performances throughout Week 10.  Symphony Orchestra and all choir students shared wonderful performances at Speech Day, showing that perseverance and teamwork can culminate in a fantastic result.  Congratulations to Ms Ridgway and Ms McCarthy for their immense efforts to pull everything together in what has been a very busy and interrupted rehearsal period.  Hornsby Chorale brought joy to classrooms around the school with their pop-up Christmas Carols.  Year 10 Music students shared some performances they curated for the residents of Regis Aged Care in Hornsby.  The residents were delighted by the students’ selection of music that held special meaning to so many of them.  Two members of the audience that were particularly excited and keen to chat with the students were a mother and daughter who were both HGHS Old Girls.  Thank you to Ms Cortez for organising this unique opportunity for the students and for teaching some of our Music classes throughout Term 4. Congratulations to the Year 9 students who have volunteered and completed training to become the school’s Tech Crew in 2026.  They also had the opportunity to test out their new skills by running the sound and lighting for the Prefect’s annual Christmas Concert.  It was wonderful to see so many students with musical talent taking to the stage to share performances with the school community. We would like to take this opportunity to thank students and families for their support of both curricular and co-curricular Music in the school.  We appreciate all of the time and effort that goes into practising, attending lessons, rehearsals and performing.  Not only do these activities lead to strong musicians inside the Music room but they also help to develop student focus, motivation, belonging, analytical thinking, resilience, adaptability, leadership and emotional regulation which are valuable skills across all facets of life. We hope you all have a relaxing and music-filled break and we look forward to creating more inspiring musical experiences with you in 2026.

YEAR 9 & 10 PASS EXCURSION - CABLE WATER SKI PARK PENRITH

Year 9 and 10 PASS students recently enjoyed an action-packed excursion to Cable Water Ski Park in Penrith. Students had the opportunity to try knee boarding and wakeboarding, demonstrating great perseverance as they navigated the course. Many successfully stood up on the wakeboard, showing determination and skill. The weather was perfect, adding to the fun, and the supportive atmosphere meant everyone encouraged each other throughout the two-hour session. Afterwards, students spent an hour on the aqua park, testing their balance and agility as they attempted to negotiate the water obstacles. Special thanks to Ms Sheppard and  Mr Barr for accompanying the students and helping make the day a success. PASS, or Physical Activity and Sports Studies, is an elective in Years 9 and 10 that focuses on both the practical and theoretical aspects of physical activity. Students participate in a range of sports and fitness programs, develop skills in leadership and coaching, and explore topics such as anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and the benefits of physical activity. Excursions like this one provide a fantastic opportunity for students to apply their learning in a fun and challenging environment. Ms Hall - PDHPE Teacher

YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD

Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday Celebrations in the Library

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice An author who pens words such as these had to be celebrated by the HGHS library on her 250th birthday. The library was festooned with Jane Austen inspired bunting and posters and Dr Cleary and Mrs Hale organised scrumptious treats for students and a viewing of the film, Sense and Sensibility. Many believe that Jane Austen’s portrayal of ordinary people experiencing the drama of their ordinary lives changed the modern novel forever. Her lasting legacy was apparent in our display of many modern-day novels appropriated from her work, particularly from Pride and Prejudice. A host of works celebrating the quality of her literary satire and revolutionary depiction of intelligent, young women navigating issues of power, class and gender were also available for borrowing. Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

FRED EXCURSION

On the Friday of Week Eight, a group of passionate FRED members travelled to the Waverton Coal Loader Sustainability Expo. Here, they conducted mini-lessons for primary school students on the subject of environmental sustainability. Over the course of the day, FRED taught pupils how to create a viable water filtration device out of everyday materials, such as charcoal and cotton wool, aiming to promote the ability to source drinkable water in a world where the precious substance is becoming increasingly more scarce. The activity was further extended into a competition for each group to see which student could create the cleanest water. Overall, the day’s activities were very successful, with the children learning valuable lessons about sustainability whilst having lots of fun!

Year 10 Week 8 - Illuminate Enterprise Challenge

Congratulations to Year 10 students who successfully completed the Illuminate Enterprise Challenge in week 8. Students showed excellent interpersonal skills and initiative to develop solutions aimed at reducing time on electronic devices and socialising in person. Two teams have been selected to participate in the National Finals next February. Congratulations to the following students: Ivory C, Allie K, Hannah M, Jewel S, Astrid W, Lane C, Ella C, Vivien C, Cynthia L, Claire S and Jasmine Z.

P&C FUNDRAISER

P&C NEWS

Our P&C would like to invite you to join our HGHS Parents WhatsApp group—a friendly space for parents to connect, stay informed, and work together in support of our daughters’ school community.  If you’d like to be part of the community, simply click the link below or scan the QR code to join us. We’d love to have you on board! ‎Open this link to join my WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FVwILc5CL6UHIicmd5GAET

community news