Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Riverside Arts Night
What an amazing night we enjoyed on Wednesday night, showcasing the diverse talents of our students through visual arts, music and dance. The evening was a tremendous success, made possible by the efforts of Ms Tyson, Ms Mitchell, Ms Hendriks, Ms Wang, Mr Palmero, Ms Hearne, Ms Thomas, Ms Gleeson, music tutors and our SASS team. An event such as this is truly time consuming to deliver and for that I thank every staff member acknowledged or who stood alongside their colleagues to support them in any small or big way. As I always say, I am a very lucky and privileged principal to be amongst such amazing staff and students.
Teaching and Learning Moments
Women in Engineering
Thankyou to Ms Lemon and Ms Soares for organising the Transgrid presentation to Year 10 students this week. The presentation was delivered by one of our parents, Dragana H, and her colleague, an ex-student, Shilpa K, both Senior Engineers at Transgrid. The aim of their presentation was to inspire the students with information about careers in the Power Industry. The Year 10 students were engaged and appreciative of this opportunity to hear from these influential women in engineering.
Wheelchair Basketball
One of my greatest joys as a principal is to visit classrooms and learning spaces to experience our students’ immersed in their learning. Thank you to Ms Low and Ms Miller for inviting me into the gym to see Year 9 participating in a wheelchair basketball match in their PE lesson yesterday. The students were engaged, competitive and united in their determination to participate in this authentic learning experience. It was a delight to share their enthusiasm and engagement.
MOU with Macquarie University
I mentioned a few weeks ago that Riverside has begun a partnership with Macquarie University. This week I signed the MOU to formalise the partnership and begin the planning and implementation of opportunities to promote the interests, knowledge and skills of our students, made possible by the expertise and facilities available to us through Macquarie University. Exciting times ahead.
Table Tennis Tables
We are excited to announce that the table tennis tables are now openly available to all students to use during recess and lunch. The paddles and balls are all stored on the tables for easy access. There may even be opportunities for student v teacher matches. I look forward to seeing our students branching out into table tennis to complement the activity of our students playing handball and football on the oval. We encourage all forms of activity during recess and lunch and are also awaiting the installation of a brand new, easy to put up and down, volleyball net for the quadrangle. We thank our P&C for their efforts in fundraising to support us in making all of this possible.
Performance Lights
We would also like to celebrate, and thank our P&C, for the purchase and installation of amazing, multi-functional stage lights in our Performance Space, home of all Drama activities at Riverside. These will be a gamechanger in terms of functionality and ease of use for all lessons, particularly in preparation for HSC Drama performances and the School Show which will begin auditions and rehearsals before too long.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Louise McNeil
Principal
Classics By the Cove Wednesday 27 November - 6pm
Riverside Arts Night
Congratulations to our talented creative and performing arts students for their excellent work in the Riverside Arts Night. The event took place last Wednesday with a stunning display of our Years 7-11 student artwork, followed by a series of amazing performances from our Music and Dance students. Every student, and their work, is a credit to their approach to learning in the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) – their ability to embrace creativity, take risks to generate works that communicate ideas important to them, and bring energy and integrity to their chosen media. Congratulations also to their teachers: Ms Gleeson, Ms Hearne, Ms Hendriks, Ms Mitchell, Ms Thomas and Ms Wang, supported by Ms Tyson, who have expertly guided them throughout the year. Thank you also to our ensemble tutors who have worked with our students.
The CAPA team would also like to thank Freya our Performance Captain for hosting the night and the wonderful crew that worked on audio, lights, and behind the scenes. Well done, to our Art Gallery curators, who helped create and present the multiple pieces of art. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the tireless work of our Front Office staff who helped us to bring this night to fruition.
We can’t wait for more creative and performing arts endeavours in 2025.
Ms T Mitchell
Faculty News
CAPA
National Art School Intensive
Tell me about your experience at the National Art School Intensive course and how it is influencing the way you are approaching your Body of Work.
The course was really enriching and we learnt about the connections between art and the world and developed our skills as artists. It definitely made me think more and more about not just what I like to make, but what I would be trying to convey with it. Concepts are a big part of the body of work, so getting to experiment with numerous different conceptual prompts helped a lot with brainstorming ideas for year 12. We worked on a total of 6 projects in digital photography including the ‘Wrong Portrait,” which is what I chose to exhibit. For this we had to experiment with portraiture in some way that is unconventional or unexpected, thus making them ‘wrong.’ On one of the last days of the course our class went to the Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibit at the MCA. He has a lot of amazing long-exposure photographic works which I found to be really interesting.
Issy P
HSIE
30th Constitutional Convention
On the 5 November I attended the Parliament of NSW for the 30th Constitutional Convention. We began in the upper house where the legislative council sits. After a brief introduction, the day began with the president of the NSW Legislative Council, the Honourable Ben Franklin, who spoke about the rich history of NSW parliament, being 200 years since the NSW Legislative Council’s establishment. Then Professor Anne Twomey spoke about ideas of freedom of opinion and political expression in Australia as well as issues surrounding it. Afterwards we divided into groups where we discussed questions about freedom of opinion and expression, voted for delegates and voted in a ‘referendum’ regarding limitations on freedom of expression, with the majority agreeing that freedom of expression should be limited to an extent. After this we assembled in Australia’s oldest legislative chamber to listen to summaries of each group's discussion, and then the delegates were revealed. Overall, it was a valuable experience which allowed me to learn more about our legal system and issues surrounding the right to freedom of expression in Australia.
Caitlin B - Year 12 Legal Studies Student
Co-curricular Activities
Schools Spectacular Dance Rehearsals
Schools Spectacular has been an iconic event that showcases the talent of NSW public schools since 1984. This event, held at Qudos Bank Arena, showcases a cast that includes approximately 2,300 dancers, a combined choir of 2,500, an 80-piece full symphony orchestra, and a 25-piece stage band. This year Riverside successfully auditioned to be a part of the Combined Dance category, as well as have a number of students from Riverside be selected as featured dancers, vocalists, hosts and musicians.
Rehearsals are well under way this term, with our Combined Dance students already having attended 3 rehearsals at Netball Central and Qudos Bank Arena, with another 3 to come before the big shows on the 29 & 30 November. The Combined Dance category will be performing in Segment 9# “The Environment” in this year’s themed show “All for One”. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketek across all 4 shows, alternatively, you can tune in to Channel 7 two weeks after the live shows.
We wish all of our Riverside participants the best of luck during Show Week (Week 7)!
Ms T Hendriks-Styles
Volleyball Schools Cup Tournament - Year 7 & 8
Last Friday our amazing Year 7 & 8 Volleyball team competed in the Semester 2 Schools Cup Tournament against other public, catholic and private schools around Sydney. The tournament was held at the Sports Hall in Sydney Olympic Park and consisted of the team playing 3 games, before moving to the semi finals and then finals. Our Riverside team won every single game up until the gold match, where they just came up short by 2 points in the end! The girls walked away as Runners Up and a silver medal which I am so proud of! I’d also like to thank their coaches J. Leung and H. Young (former student) who have put in countless hours to support our team, as it clearly paid off. It was incredible to see such a junior team play so strongly. We are looking forward to what next year brings this team!
Ms T Hendriks-Styles
Performance Space Upgrade - New Stage Lights Illuminate the Path for Creativity
Our performance space has undergone a stunning upgrade with brand-new stage lights installed this week! This addition is an opportunity for our students to explore new creative possibilities, develop their skills in the elements of production and design, and experience the magic of live performance from a whole new perspective, with professional quality lighting.
This week, whilst students in Year 10 Drama were playbuilding physical theatre pieces, they were able to experiment with creating different moods, settings, and atmosphere, through the changing styles and colours of the lights. In these playbuilding exercises, students were not only taking on the role of performer but able to take on the role of the director.
Year 11 Drama students have also found the new stage lights beneficial as they commenced studying the Australian play Fangirls. In Drama, plays are studied experientially and we were able to create the lighting cues stated in the script, whilst students performed a moved reading of the play. This will no doubt elevate their understanding of the play and provide them with examples they can discuss in their HSC Examination.
Thank you to the P&C for funding our improved lighting system.
Ms R Young
UTS Discovery Day - Creative Industries
On Wednesday 6 November, 20 students from Year 10 made their way to UTS for the final Discovery Day of the year; Creative Industries. Students were treated to a day exploring courses through breakout sessions in Digital and Social Media, Writing, International Studies, Fashion and Textiles, Criminology, Social and Political Science, Journalism and Music and Sound Design. When asked, Year 10 students have said that these Discovery Days at UTS have opened their minds to possible post school pathways, and have loved being immersed in the University Campus lifestyle.
Ms J Lemon
TransGrid Year 10 Industry Talk
On Thursday afternoon, Year 10 welcomed Dragana H and ex-Riverside student Shilpa K from TransGrid to RGHS to talk about future careers in the Power Industry.
As the energy sector continues to play a pivotal role in driving sustainable development and meeting the world's energy needs, TransGrid believe it is important to familiarise high school students with the industry's potential and the diverse career opportunities it offers. The guided presentation involved discussion around potential career pathways, particularly in Engineering, and the opportunities TransGrid can offer.
We were also lucky to learn about The Australian Power Institute – a non-profit organisation that focuses on the development and enhancement of the power engineering profession in Australia and how they can also assist and young women forging a career in Engineering.
Year 10 were engaged and enjoyed the presentation. Thank you TransGrid!
Ms J Lemon
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 Lemon and Ms T Soares