From the Principal
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Trial HSC Examinations
As I mentioned last week, Trial HSC exams begin on Monday. They will run in the Hall and out of classrooms for Disability Provisions, for just over two weeks. During this time, the school will run with no bells and Science Lawn will be out of bounds for all students. We strive to support Year 12 in creating the most quiet, calm environment possible for them to concentrate. We have also employed external invigilators, most of whom will also supervise the HSC exams, so that the students may have the opportunity to get to know and feel more comfortable with these external staff members supervising them. It also gives staff time to mark, provide feedback, write reports and reset ready for Year 12 to return to complete and revise their courses. We wish Year 12 well and hope that they are able to eat and sleep well to prepare themselves for the pressures of the back-to-back exams throughout the period. It is an intense time but I urge all students to remind themselves that they can only ever do their best. Preparation and routine is the key to success in the upcoming weeks during the exams and in the lead-up to the HSC. Year 12, you’ve got this!
Year 12 major works – Music, Drama, Visual Arts, Design and Technology, Textiles and Design, History Extension, Society and Culture and English Extension 2.
On the theme of Year 12, we are rounding off the preparation of major works for subjects including Music, Drama, Visual Arts, Design and Technology, Textiles and Design, History Extension, Society and Culture and English Extension 2. To kick off the major work season, there will be an HSC Drama Night (Trial HSC Examination performance) on Friday 8 August in the Performance Space beginning at 6:00pm. Parents of students are welcome.
School Attendance
I would just like to remind all parents of the importance of scheduling holidays during school holiday periods. I am aware that things happen where families may be required to take their daughter out of school for emergencies; however, purchasing reduced price tickets for a family holiday during term is generally not a reason for which I will approve extended leave. For fear of stating the obvious, it is absolutely your prerogative as a parent to take your child out of school for a holiday, which, I acknowledge, is also a wonderful learning and social opportunity; however, the leave won’t always be approved and the student will not be given extensions for assessment tasks or assigned work to complete when they are away. It is very important that all students attend school, on time, every day unless they are unwell, have an appointment or are required to accompany their family on emergency family business. This is particularly important for all Stage 6 students (Year 11 and 12) and it is stated clearly in the Assessment Booklet that all students receive at the beginning of the year. In order to ensure fairness and equity across all assessment, student extended leave is assessed on a case-by-case basis by me, but will rarely be approved if a student is in Stage 6
North West Zone Athletics
It is with great pride that I celebrate the efforts of every student who competed at the North West Zone Athletics on Monday and Tuesday. I would like to state publicly how proud I am that our school provides so many opportunities like this for all students to develop themselves as well-rounded young citizens through learning, performing arts and sport at Riverside. It is a credit to the teachers who mentor, train and supervise them, as well as the students who always put up their hands to have a go. This is the spirit of Riverside and this is the spirit that creates amazing, successful individuals who will flourish in the world. The future looks very bright from where I stand each day.
Film By... Film Festival Competition
Film By... empowers both teachers and students with the art of storytelling through filmmaking. This initiative opens doors for participants from public schools across NSW to explore their creativity and hone their skills in the captivating world of cinema.
Students have the opportunity to enter the competition by producing a film of no longer than 3.5 minutes.
We will be hosting Film By The River at Riverside in Term 4. I encourage all budding film makers to enter. Details on how to enter can be found at the link below:
All Year Advisers have also posted the link on their Year Group Google Classrooms.
I am looking forward to viewing the entries from Riverside.
Please see Ms Ghorra or Ms McNeil if you have any questions.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Louise McNeil
Principal
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy). Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
Faculty News
English
Creative Writing Incursion
TAS
Year 8 ICT have been busy working with Lego Mindstorms. They have built programmable robotics, allowing them to build and code their own robots. The system includes a programmable "brick" that acts as the robot's brain, motors for movement, and various sensors to detect the environment. Users program the brick using a visual programming language, giving instructions to the motors and other components based on sensor input.
Co-curricular Activities
Vocal Ensemble at Twilight Aged Care
On Tuesday 29 July, thirty one students from Years 7-12 in the Riverside Girls Vocal Ensemble performed a delightful program of music to local residents at Twilight Aged Care in Gladesville. Accompanied by Ms Wang on piano, the songs they presented encompassed genres from film, popular, traditional African and Australian music. The program also included four captivating solo vocal items by Yehansa (Year 12), Georgia (Year 10), Poppy (Year 9) and Sneha (Year 8). A big thank you to Ms Nylund, our conductor for leading all of the performances.
Later this year, twenty five students from the Vocal Ensemble will have the exciting opportunity to represent Riverside in the Combined Secondary Schools’ Choir as part of this year’s Ryde Schools’ Performing Arts Festival held at the Sydney Opera House.
North West Zone Athletics Carnival
Stage 4 Debating Round 3
Congratulations to our Year 8 debaters who are now through to the knockout stage of the Premier’s Debating Challenge. On Thursday 31 July, Year 8 debated against our Year 7 team. It was the first in-person debate for both teams this year.
Our debaters showed they have made a lot of progress developing their skills, with the adjudicator providing some very constructive feedback after the debate.
Thanks goes to Year 11 debaters, Peggy H, Issy P, Summer S and Louisa J for their help coaching and chairing the debate. The knockout stage of the competition starts in September.
Ms C Mulcahy
REELis Film Festival Competition - VOTE NOW All Years
Congratulations to the following Year 8 students, Isabela M-M, Mila J, Kira S and Evie W for their film 'Strangers in the Dark' which has come in as one of the 20 finalists for the 2025 REELise Film Festival Competition.
They would love if you could please spare a minute to vote for them.
The link to watch their short film can be found here and the code to use is 93683. You can vote here - Vote here
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