term 4 week 10 SOUTH SYDNEY HIGH SCHOOL

HSC Honour Roll Distinguished Achievers

16 Students were named in the HSC Honour Roll for achieving a Band 6 or E4 in one or more courses.   Congratulations to Jack, Abby, Charlene, Charlie, Penny, Jamie, Laila, Anthony, Lewis, Evan, Phillip, Sarah and Giselle.

Let us Be Known by Our Deeds

This week, South Sydney High School was proud to give back to our local community.   Zoe, Kyle and Jack, alongside Mr Patmore and Ms Deeks, visited a local charity to deliver pantry items we’ve been collecting as part of our school drive. These items will be bagged and distributed to community members experiencing financial hardship. We are incredibly proud of our students for showing such kindness, generosity, and a strong understanding of the importance of giving back. A huge thank you to our students and their families for the generous donations.

St Brigid's Green Maroubra

Year 10 girls - Zoe, Trinity, Carly, Chloe and Sophie, brought festive cheer to St Brigid's Green Aged Care Centre with their beautiful carol singing—a proud moment.

Presentation Day Assembly: Honouring Our Students’ Hard Work and Achievements

On 12th December, our school gathered for the annual Presentation Day Assembly, a special event dedicated to recognising the impressive efforts and accomplishments of our students throughout the year. During the assembly, awards were presented to students across a variety of categories. Academic awards celebrated those who demonstrated outstanding achievement and improvement in their studies, reflecting their commitment to learning and personal growth. Sporting awards recognised students who showed excellent skills, sportsmanship, and dedication in school teams and competitions. Creative arts awards highlighted talents in areas such as music, visual arts, and drama, acknowledging students who contributed creatively to our school community. Additionally, community service awards honoured students who made a positive difference by volunteering and supporting local initiatives. A highlight of the day was the presentation of major trophies and certificates, which were met with applause from peers, staff, and family members in attendance. The assembly also featured performances by our school drumline, vocal group and band, whose musical presentations helped create a lively and celebratory atmosphere. We congratulate all award recipients on their achievements and thank the teachers, families, and students who contributed to making the day special. Presentation Day is a wonderful opportunity to recognise hard work and inspire all students to continue striving for success in the coming year.

Our Award Recipients for 2025

Farewell and Thank You

As we come to the end of the term, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and best wishes to the following staff members who are leaving South Sydney High School:

• Joe Doyle
• Beth O’Callaghan
• Kristen King
• Brigitta Holland
• Casey Hedge
• Loui Hall

Thank you for your dedication, hard work, and the positive impact you have made on our school community. Your contributions have been truly valued, and you will be greatly missed by students, staff, and families alike. We wish you all the very best in your future endeavours and hope that your next chapter is filled with success and happiness. Thank you for everything you have done for South Sydney High School.

Big Picture Academy Success

Congratulations to Talia on her nomination for Early Childhood Trainee of the Year! We are incredibly proud of her dedication, warmth, and hard work. This recognition is a testament to the passion she brings to supporting our youngest learners every day.

Student Success in the NSW Education Minister's Student Council

This Thursday morning, we had the pleasure of finding out that Aryan S in Year 9 was successful in his application to represent our district in the NSW Education Minister's Student Council (DOVES). Aryan has been a key member of South Sydney's Student leadership team since arriving at SSHS in year 7 and we are incredibly proud of his achievement and look forward to keeping up with his leadership journey moving into 2026.  What is DOVES? The Minister's Student Council (DOVES) was created in 2021, following a request from the NSW Government to develop a formal structure to access student views. The Council meets twice a term either virtually where they also participate in workshops and hear about NSW Department of Education initiatives. The council provides advice on education and school policy as well as feedback to aid in the planning and development of department programs. Well done to Aryan

Water Polo Success

Congratulations Joshua in Year 7! We are proud to congratulate Joshua for his outstanding participation in the recent Under 14 State Water Polo Cup, representing the UNSW Club. His dedication and hard work are truly commendable.

Return to School 2026

Return to School Equipment Lists for Students

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will open for extended trading from 20 January 2026. See flyer for all dates.

Open Day 2026

Season’s Greetings to Our Community

As the year draws to a close, we would like to extend our warmest wishes to all members of our community. May your Holidays be filled with joy, peace, and cherished moments with family and friends. We also wish you a safe and relaxing holiday season and look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for the new year ahead. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us!

SSHS Christmas Cheer

Uniform Warriors

Attendance Heroes

capa showcase

Congratulations to all the students who performed, exhibited, and worked backstage at tonight’s Creative and Performing Arts Showcase! We are so incredibly proud. What an incredible show of talent!

Acoustic Wednesday

We had a really lovely Acoustic Wednesday this week, wrapping up our CAPA performances for the year. The room was packed full of a keen audience and talented performers.

A quick summary: Song 1 - Our very own Aaron Caton kicked off the show with a cover of Oasis' Talk Tonight. It was a great performance and if you're nice to him he might just show you a video! Song 2 - Talia and Bronte from Year 11 played a cool acoustic cover of a Cage the Elephant song. Song 3 - Achai put his uke down this time and let his vocals shine while singing "Hey Lover" by The Daughters of Eve. He had the crowd swaying along. Song 4 - Max from Year 8 didn't even know what he would play until he finally sat down at the keys and out came a beautiful rendition of unchained melody! Song 5 - Croidhe and Harley from Year 7 played a lovely (clean) version of a song called Watermelon by John + Jane Q Public. You can watch it in the highlights. Harley is changing schools next year, so it was a lovely way to celebrate her talents as we send her off. Song 6 - Finally, we closed the show with Last Christmas, performed by Diana in Year 9, Jordan and Trinity from Year 10. They had the audience swaying along, clapping along and then received an enthusiastic standing ovation from the front row. Thanks to those of you who came along to this concert, or who have come along to any of these concerts this year.

High potential & Gifted Education

Celebrating our ICAS Achievements

Each year, students across Australia and around the world take part in the ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools), a prestigious series of academic assessments designed to challenge and extend learners in key learning areas. ICAS is well-known for its rigorous, curriculum-based testing that assesses higher-order thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and in-depth content knowledge. Participation alone is an achievement, as students voluntarily choose to stretch themselves and engage with tasks that often exceed standard classroom expectations. This year, we had 31 participants across the school, and we are incredibly proud of all students. Their willingness to take on a challenge and strive for academic excellence embodies the values we promote at our school. Whether sitting ICAS Mathematics, English, Science, Digital Technologies or another subject area, every student who participated should be commended for their enthusiasm and effort. We are also delighted to celebrate the outstanding success of several students who achieved formal recognition in the competition. ICAS awards are benchmarked against a national cohort, making every certificate an impressive achievement. The award categories include:

• High Distinction – Awarded to students who score in the top 1% of all participants in Australia. This represents exceptional performance and deep mastery of the subject matter.
• Distinction – Awarded to students who score in the top 10% nationally. Students in this category have demonstrated advanced skills and strong analytical thinking.
• Credit – Awarded to students who score in the top 25% nationally. This achievement reflects a solid understanding and a high level of competence across the assessed skills.
• Merit – Awarded to students who score in the top 50% nationally. This certificate recognises commendable performance above the average range.

We congratulate the following students on their outstanding results. Their curiosity and commitment to learning make our school community stronger, and we look forward to seeing many more students challenge themselves again in 2026! Writing

• Emi Takahashi, Year 7 -High Distinction (top 1% in Australia)
• Indie Heron, Year 9 – Credit
• Estelle Monceaux, Year 8 – Credit
• Eden Monceaux, Year 8 – Credit
• Dante Wu, Year 10 – Credit

English

• James Davis, Year 7 – Credit
• Eden Monceaux, Year 8 – Merit
• Indie Heron, Year 9 – Merit
• Wiley Peterson, Year 8 – Merit

Science

• Nehemiah Epp, Year 9 – Credit
• Wiley Peterson, Year 8 – Credit
• James Davis, Year 7 – Credit
• Zac Trestrail, Year 7– Merit

Mathematics

• Nehemiah Epp, Year 9 – Credit
• Shana Baum, Year 9 – Merit

Spelling Bee

• James Davis, Year 7 – Merit

Angela Pyliotis: HPGE – Enrichment – Literacy Coordinator

From the Library

Access to Holiday Reading

Enjoy Summer Reading Anytime with Our Digital Library.

At South Sydney High School, we want to keep students inspired to read all year round—even during the summer holidays! I’d like to remind you about our free ePlatform digital library, offering thousands of eBooks and audiobooks accessible 24/7. Why use ePlatform this summer?

• Read or listen anytime, anywhere—no library hours or late fees
• Thousands of age-appropriate titles for every interest and reading level
• Helpful tools to support all learners, including font and colour customisation
• Audiobooks to boost vocabulary and comprehension

Whether your child loves reading or needs a little encouragement, ePlatform makes exploring new stories easy and fun. Getting started is simple:

1. Download the free ePlatform app, visit https://sthsydneyh.wheelers.co/ or access Oliver
2. Log in with your child’s school credentials
3. Browse and enjoy books anytime!

Encourage your child to dive into summer reading and discover new adventures today.

Holiday Reading Bingo Challenge

Try the holiday reading bingo challenge and mark off a row on the bingo card or complete the entire sheet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Merry Christmas to the South Sydney High School community and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2026!

Ms Maddocks, Teacher Librarian

Sport News

Touch Football

Our Boys and Girls Touch Football teams hit the field last Thursday for four exciting games against Rose Bay Secondary College! It was a fantastic day of fun, teamwork and learning. Huge congratulations to all the players and staff involved!

Australian Volleyball Schools Cup Tournament RECAP

Congratulations to our Boys Volleyball Team on an incredible effort at the National Schools Championships — placing 5th out of 38 teams and playing against the best in the nation!

A not-so-short recap on last week's volleyball tournament. I'm pouring my heart into every detail because this was a very meaningful and successful trip by all metrics. I often get positive feedback on these recaps, so for those of you who want to be part of this journey, thank you for your support; this story goes out to you! Week 9 in Term 4 marks the biggest volleyball event of the year - Nationals on the Gold Coast. This year was our truest test of fate, with almost everything going our way. No illnesses or injuries, no early starts and a favourable pool to ease our way into the tournament. A truly rigorous and exhausting trip with 10 matches against a mixture of skill levels seen across 38 teams in Year 11 Boys Division 1.  The first two days saw the start of our pool matches. Day One was like no other. Highlight after highlight with a sprinkle of hiccups along the way. The highest of highs saw impeccable connections by our outside hitters, Tristan and Jahrone and an out-of-body setting performance by Harrison. But on the other end of the spectrum, we misread some serves and a string of poor passing caused some tension and mental fragility in the team. We exerted our dominance in the first set against Cannon Hill Anglican College (QLD), choked away the second set in even more spectacular fashion and stormed to a five point lead in the third set. However, closing out the match has always been a team crutch and as the final moments of the match drew closer, we were forced into more and more errors until the lead evaporated. The final set was tied but we lost the first match on a point countback. The second match brought the same level of intensity and it became overwhelmingly clear that the first two matches were going to be the hardest in the pool. Marsden State HS (QLD) was a team built around 6'2' athletes of Polynesian description and the sheer presence of the team was intimidating. As one of the shorter teams in the competition, we had to adapt our offense to avoid some big blocks. The first set quickly got out of hand with some passing mistakes again, but we rallied back and gained some momentum despite losing the set in the end. The second set, we ramped up our own defence with back-to-back monster blocks by Tyrome to shut down their main attacker and make them second guess their options. Serve reception improved and Sora anchored the backline to set up our counterattack. With an explosion of energy and unprecedented cheering we roared back into the match and swept the next two sets.  Paralowie (SA), the team we beat in the finals two years ago had shown some growth but still used basic strategy and systems of play. We were extremely confident going into this match as the hardest of the pool matches was already behind us and this win would guarantee us in the top 24 with a favourable cross-pool lead. But as fate would have it, we completely underestimated their hunger for revenge, their scrambling ability and firepower off their attacks. The poor officiating was also working against us with missed calls costing us up to a 6-point swing. Alas we were defeated in straight sets and awaited the final bout between Cannon Hill and Marsden to decide our fate. There were only a handful of scenarios which kept our dreams of medalling alive and the pieces had to fall perfectly. In the meantime, we cruised past the final pool team: Churchie (QLD). We were awakened by the unexpected loss and dominated this match, even allowing our freshman Ryan to maximise his experience.  And our lucky streak continued with Cannon Hill winning 2-1! If they had won in straights sets against Marsden, Paralowie would have gone through with a superior set ratio and the head-to-head win against us, meaning our medalling chances were close to zero. This was the one and only outcome which kept our top 8 dreams alive. Day 3 marked the start of cross-pool play where the top 3 teams of each of the 8 pools would be paired up to face the opposing pools' teams. This day would go down as the darkest day in my coaching career as I made not one, but TWO errors in the clutch that could potentially cost us a final 8 berth. Against Scotch College (WA) we were tempered by our overconfidence in the previous day, but we knew if we played to our average strength we would go through with ease. And we did just that in the first two sets, using more variety in our attacks, and exploiting higher tempo plays with our middle hitters, Anthony DJ and Finlay. In the third set, I decided to change up our positions to exercise some versatility and gain some experience in case of injuries. This proved to be mistake number one, as the changes and insecurities in these alternate positions cast some doubt amongst the players and we spiralled to  a losing set with compounding miscommunication. In hindsight this was a major error, as a 3-0 victory compared to the 2-1 victory could be the difference between advancing to the final knock out brackets. Redcliffe HS (QLD) was the final challenge of the day and just like every match moving forward it was must-win. This team was captained by the tallest setter of the competition who was extremely versatile and a state MVP in their outside hitter. We turned on our engines and shifted it to another gear after I broke the news that we could be knocked out due to my coaching mistake. Some incredible blocks from Tyrome and DJ took the wind out of the sails of their main attacker and Anthony N also excelled in his defensive role and turned a lot of long rallies into our favour. Although we prevailed in the first set, Redcliffe struck back in the second edging us 27-25. Losing tight sets was becoming the theme of the team and tension was at its absolute peak. We knew if we traded points with them in the third set we would win with a point countback, and I tried to pull out all the stops to prolong the changeover and inch our way towards the hour time limit. But karma struck with an almost fatal mistake, where I wrote down the wrong rotation in our serving order. Luckily, Finlay was able to step up with the unannounced serve and Harrison followed it up with the game-winning block. A sigh of relief as we narrowly closed out this match with a point advantage.  Day 4 was another light day with a 3-0 victory over Caulfield Grammar (VIC). We were able to show our team spirit and cohesiveness against a team without any offensive threats. I was also able to iron out some player positioning and tactics to help us in future rounds. But just like before, our journey into the top 8 rested on the outcome of Cannon Hill versus Redcliffe. Due to my oversights in the previous day, we had a very slim chance to qualify. Cannon Hill had to win or Redcliffe had to blow them out of the water 3-0. Completely polar results, leaving no room for downswings. To our dismay, Redcliffe swept the first set and we had no idea who to cheer for. Cannon Hill clawed back the second set from a 10-1 deficit, an otherworldly choke from Redcliffe, which again we couldn't decide if it worked in our favour or not. But it meant that if Redcliffe won the third set they were through to the top 8 and we were not. On the edge of our seats, with our hearts in our hands, the barest of margins and the most miraculous of miracles, my pessimism was overturned and Cannon Hill secured our spot in the quarterfinals! Because of our lucky draw in the pool stages, we were matched up against the most difficult team from the most difficult state. Glasshouse Christian College (QLD) had just won their state cup and had multiple players with greater experience and one who'd played internationally. Luckily again for us, that player was probably recruited by the AIS and was not available for this tournament so at least in our minds, we had a chance. We took advantage of this knowledge and increased our proficiency in almost all areas. Our passing was more reliable but our conversions on the attack was just not there. We were playing slightly more scared than them, not swinging hard and tipping a lot more than usual. They played like a well-oiled machine, proving themselves to be the best defensive team we had played against. Although we had 3 point leads in both sets, their experience shone through and they were able to grind us out in the end.  With our medal hopes dashed, a brief sense of melancholy stayed on the bench after the quarterfinals, but we were determined not to let our journey end here and fight our way to the top 5. Sydney Grammar (NSW) was undefeated going into the top 8 but was swept by title favourites Scots College (NSW) in the quarterfinals. We were both reeling from our loss but we stepped up more in crucial moments, picking up balls they thought they had put away and frustrating them with our backline defence. It did not take long for them to force different attacks and overplay their offence and we swept them 2-0.  The final day of play was to determine the 5th and 6th places. We matched up against Rowville Secondary College (VIC) who were silver medallist last year. With no more play after this, we put everything on the line and left nothing in the tank. We were having fun, swinging freely and overwhelmed them with our diversified attacks. If we played like this or like the peaks of day one, we were convinced that we were a medalling team. And we showed just that, with superior serving and serve reception, a 2-0 victory meant that we can now claim to be a top 5 team!  The boys will remember this event as one of tempered fate and missed opportunities, but we can all agree that this has been our most consistent display of camaraderie, execution and willpower. A tiresome yet rewarding week couldn't have been possible without the sweat and tears of our assistant coach Dylan, the reliable support and accompaniment of Mr Callaghan, our chief fundraiser and cheerleader Mr Varker and all the behind the scenes work from the SASS staff. A shout out to the Maths Department for keeping everything running smoothly when I am participating in all things related to Volleyball. And finally, if you want to be a part of this amazing program, one that continues to grow and put the South Sydney name in the volleyball circles, please reach out to me.   Mr Shan - Volleyball Co-ordinator

tas news

Food Tech

As we wrap up the term and the year, our three Food Technology classes got into the festive spirit with a deliciously creative final project—designing and building their very own Gingerbread Houses from scratch! Over the past two weeks, students have been busy sifting, measuring, beating, kneading, rolling, shaping, baking, and assembling their edible masterpieces. The results? A collection of unique, mouthwatering creations that showcase their hard work and creativity! Check out the photos below to see what our Year 10 students have cooked up this holiday season.

Industrial Arts - Wood Work

Year 7 students designed and crafted wooden cheese boards, using the laser cutter to etch their unique designs onto the surface. A little oiling at the end and their boards are ready for the festive season!