WEEK 8, TERM 4, 5 December 2025
acknowledgement of country
We recognise the Dharrug and Kuringai people, the owners and custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines and stories. We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieves their potential through education.
pRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Carers, Students and Colleagues, We continue to have great success in the four domains of High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE), creative, leadership/relationships, physical and academic. Creative domain: Last Friday Years 7, 8 and 9 attended the Friday matinee for Schools Spectacular. This year’s theme was ‘Remarkable’ and we certainly saw many incredible student performances. Congratulations to all students in Years 7, 8 and 9 and to our choir who performed, to our music teachers Ms McCarthy who directed the combined choir, to Ms Ridgway who was the assistant conductor for Schools Spectacular, to Year 8 student Vish Kathikeyan for her performance with the combined schools Marching Band and to Year 11 student Serena Hoffman for her performance in the combined Drama Ensemble. We are very proud of their all efforts on the day and the attentive behaviour of our students as audience members. Leadership and Relationships: Orientation Day was held on Tuesday for our Year 7s for 2026. Thank you to all our speakers and MCs Carina Quizon and Sidhi Saxena (Captain and Vice Captain 2026) and all students who led tours on the day. Our new students and parents were very impressed with the atmosphere as they toured the school. Well done school and thank you to the many student leaders who assisted on the day and to our 2026 Year 7 Advisers Mrs Graham and Ms Mylan. Thank you to Mrs Susan Davenport (Relieving Head Teacher Student Wellbeing) for organising the day. Physical domain: Running Club continues next week on Wednesday and Friday only, with Monday (week 9) cancelled due to other commitments. In Week 10 Running Club will be on Monday and Friday with no Wednesday morning session due to other commitments. Thank you to the 60 students who have attended various sessions over the year. Academic success: NAPLAN results were released today. According to the Department of Education Hornsby Girls High School is ranked 2nd in NAPLAN, edged out of first place by James Ruse. Well done Year 7 and 9. Further evidence we are the best school for girls in NSW! Our Head Teacher of English Dr Strauss was interviewed by a journalist from The Sydney Morning Herald and was quoted in Wednesday’s Sydney Morning Herald commenting on the approach we take with teaching at Hornsby Girls. Mrs Murray Head of Mathematics was also interviewed by a journalist from The Daily Telegraph and a photo of our Year 9 students was published on Thursday. Congratulations Year 7 and 9 students, Dr Strauss all members of the English Faculty, Mrs Murray and all members of the Maths Faculty and all teachers of Literacy and Numeracy. In further academic success the University of Technology Young Science Awards were announced last Friday. Year 9 student Atrin Bagherian received a significant award based on her Science Research Project inspired by her Science teacher Dr Sunny Jeong. About 100 students from across NSW were in attendance. Atrin’s science investigation was on a branch of chemistry that was analysing the Kefir bacteria that ferments milk to make a Persian drink called ‘doogh’. The judges were so impressed with Atrin’s scientific study that she was ranked out of 100 students 2nd! Atrin also received from the University for her extraordinary efforts a $200 gift card. Congratulations Atrin. Please also see below the extraordinary efforts of our Maths students who were acknowledged on Wednesday's whole school assembly with many certificates awarded by Mrs Murray (Head Teacher Mathematics) as part of our innovative Maths Enrichment Program designed by Mrs Murray. In preparation for Speech Day (Tuesday 16 December) can students please check their shoes? Could your shoes do with a polish? If so you are in luck. If you don’t have shoe polish at home we will be have shoe polish at school next week and we will be demonstrating how to polish shoes in the playground during recess and lunch. We have named next week ‘International Polish Your Shoes Week’ in preparation for Speech Day! Speech Day: We hope to see all parents and carers with their daughters at Speech Day at the Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday 16 December. Students should arrive at Sydney Town Hall and swipe on by 8:45am. Parents and Carers can enter the venue from around 9:30am under the direction of the Town Hall staff. The ceremony begins at 10am and will conclude around 12pm. Students will be dismissed at the conclusion of the ceremony. It is a wonderful celebration of our efforts and achievements throughout 2025. We will also be saying farewell to four members of staff Mrs McGuire (TAS), Ms Arch (Languages), Mrs de Meyrick (English and Drama) and Mr Payne (Mathematics). If you cannot attend on the day and your child needs supervised travel can you please contact the school office so that we can arrange this for you. Kind regards, Justin Briggs (Principal)
P and C Office Bearers 2026
P and C Office Bearers 2026 - Congratulations to all our P and C Office Beaers for 2026! President: Vivian Wei Vice President: Ruonan Ke (Sophie), Susan Yang, Kanchan Saxena Secretary: Irene Goh Treasurer: Sandy Soukhavong Assistant Treasuer: Ivy Qi and Apurva Kamat Event Coordinator: Vicky Yang Ground Coordinator: Renee Li
Deputy Principals' Message
Year 7 Orientation Day - On Tuesday 3 December we welcomed parents and students from 56 different primary schools for our Year 7 2026 Orientation Day. Our incoming students were introduced to the Principal - Dr Briggs, Relieving Deputy Principal-Mrs Hoogerwerf, Year 7 Year Advisors for 2025 - Ms Mylan and Ms Graham and our Prefects and Student Representative Council. Students and parents heard from a number of HGHS staff on a variety of topics that aimed to help in the transition from Primary school to High School. Our future students participated in ‘mini-lessons’ in PD/H/PE, Drama, Music and Languages. They also met with the 2026 SWL- being leaders to start building connections within the school to ensure they have a wide network of people who can support them as they move from primary to secondary school. It was terrific meeting them and we can’t wait for Year 7 to join us in 2026. Thank you to Year 9 who did a fantastic job of making our new students feel welcome. This buddy program will continue in 2026 to support Year 7 students who are joining us. Year 10 - Last week Year 10 were involved in the Life and Resilience Week program organised by the Wellbeing faculty. Activities include the Collaboration Challenge Showcase, Beach Safety day, Car Maintenance, Fitness classes and a range of wellbeing workshops that focus on Consent, Sleep, Drug Use and Positive Mental Health Practices. Thank you to the Wellbeing Team under the leadership of Ms Hoogerwerf and Ms Davenport for organising this week of valuable learning experiences for our students. This week it was the Illuminate Enterprise Challenge and Year 10 were again involved in this valuable program. Today their ‘Pitch Deck Presentations' occurred in the hall, culminating in demonstrations where students got to talk about their projects and voting took place. Thank you to Ms Boden for her leadership and the HSIE faculty for their assistance with the running of this experience for our students. Year 12 Assessment Block - Our 2026 HSC candidates will sit their first assessment tasks from the 8-12 December. The rescheduled Examination Day will be on Monday 15 December. Students are reminded to swipe in for each examination and swipe out again when leaving the school. If students are unwell on the day of an examination they should contact the school reception prior to 9 am and follow the illness and misadventure process. We wish our Year 11 students all the best for the Assessment Week. Schools Spectacular Excursion On Friday November 28 Year 7, 8 and 9 attended the Schools Spectacular Matinee Performance at Qudos Bank Arena. This was a very successful day. The theme for this year was “Remarkable” and we were witness to some truly amazing performances from over 5500 students in NSW public schools all across the state. HGHS had students performing in our combined choir, featured drama ensemble and the marching band. Congratulations you were all amazing. Elevate Education: The next webinar run by elevate is designed to assist parents to help them get a head start and set them up for success come the next academic year by equipping them with the skills they need to get ahead and stay ahead. Live Parent Webinar: How You Can Set Your Child Up for Success Wednesday 10th December 6:30-7:30pm (AEDT) Register your place in our parent support series Staff Development Day 2026 - Similar to 2025, in 2026, all NSW department schools will have 4 staff development days from Tuesday 27 January- Friday 30 January. These days will operate in a similar way to previous years where students are not required to attend so our staff can engage in valuable professional learning and planning time. All students return Years 7-12 on Monday 2 February with a Whole School Assembly starting at 8.45am.
Speech Day 2025 - Our Annual Speech Day and Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday 16 December at the Sydney Town Hall from 10am – 12pm. We warmly invite all parents and carers to this wonderful celebration of our students. All students should arrive at the Sydney Town Hall by 8.45am in full school uniform. Please bring your student card to swipe in for roll call. Roll call will be from 9:00am and then students will start to move into the hall to their designated areas. Performers, award recipients and student speakers should arrive by 7:30am at the latest. The coordinator of your group will confirm your arrival time. Students will be dismissed from the Sydney Town Hall at the conclusion of the ceremony around 12pm. If your child is absent on the day please contact the school.
YEAR 12 HISTORY EXTENSION EXCURSION
On 13 November, our Year 12 History Extension students attended a full-day seminar at the State Library of New South Wales designed to enrich their understanding of historiography and support the development of their major projects. The morning program included addresses from State Librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon and Museums of History NSW Chief Executive Officer Annette Pitman, followed by an engaging discussion with journalist and author Marc Fennell on investigating complex and contested histories. Students also benefited from a detailed presentation by Dr Fiona Radford and a panel discussion with recent high-achieving graduates, who provided practical advice on topic selection, research processes and the expectations of the course. In the afternoon, students participated in two specialised workshops. The first, “In Their Own Words: Oral Histories,” led by specialist librarian and Oral History NSW president Maria Savvidis, explored the value of oral testimony and its application within historical inquiry. The second session, “Historians at Work,” featured a panel of State Library researchers discussing their current projects and offering insights into professional historical practice. The seminar proved to be an invaluable learning experience, equipping students with both the skills and confidence required as they embark on their major research projects."
Ms Brennan - HSIE Teacher
SCHOOL SPECTACULAR
Ms Brennan - HSIE Teacher
YEAR 10 BEACH DAY
WALK THE TALK
Our social justice students continued to be involved actively in 16 Days of Activism, an UN initiative for the elimination of violence against women. Four year 11 students participated in the student committee alongside students from Knox Grammar School and Normanhurst Boys High School. The student committee worked closely with Hornsby Women's Shed, Hornsby Council and NSW Police. They planned activities and demonstrated outstanding leadership. As part of the 16 Days of Activism, sixteen students participated in Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Walk the Talk parade to say NO to gender-based violence on the 26th November. Two students from our committee gave heartfelt and thought provoking speeches after the walk. Our students on the committee reached out to many local schools to encourage them to participate in the walk. As a result we had the highest number of schools attend the event. It was a great show of solidarity to take a stand on this important issue. HGHS Social Justice Team
maths enrichment 2025
The Maths Enrichment is a program for students to expand their knowledge and skills beyond the school curriculum. This year we had 39 students taking on the opportunity to participate and they worked independently on a booklet of 12-16 problems before submitting their solutions throughout Terms 2 and 3. All participants learnt a great deal over the program and are to be congratulated for their efforts and achieving their personal best with 12 Credits, 4 Distinctions and 7 High Distinctions. Special mention does go to the following high achieving students with High Distinction awards Year 7 Alison Low Year 8 Siena Fernandes, Sophie Lee, Hailin (Jessica) Lu, Haiqi (Olivia) Lu, Ryana Reza, Zhiyao (Jada) Xi
Distinction awards Year 7 Aaradhya Pothuraju, Esther Shin Year 8 Eva Zhang Year 9 Atrin Bagherian
Credit awards Year 7 Aileen Guo, Yuyan (Claire) Tian, Catherine Trang, Yue (Ella) Yu Year 8 Maitreyi Tere Year 9 Alyssa Feng, Langqing (Nova) Liu, Shengya (Linda) Liu, Lindsay Low, Maya Otalora Caliman, Yiyun (Amy) Wang Year 10 Bhadra Nair Well done to all who took part! All students are invited to participate in 2026.
Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiad (APSMO) 2025
The annual APSMO Maths Olympiads have been operating since 1987 and approximately 100,000 students from around Australia and New Zealand were involved. The Olympiad consists of four separate contests held approximately one month apart between May and September. The overall aim is to encourage students to develop important mathematical problem solving skills in an enjoyable environment. Although students are competing against other members of their team and teams from other schools, they are primarily trying to achieve their personal best. In 2025, all of Year 7 and Year 8 participated in the Olympiad as a team within their Maths class. 8MKQQ and 8MTXX ranked in the top 10% of participating teams earning each class a Team Achievement Plaque.
The highest scoring individual students were presented with a High Achiever Medal from APSMO at a whole school assembly. Congratulations to the following students who were presented with a High Achiever Medal at a whole school assembly Year 7 Ruby Cai, Ella Yue Yu Year 8 Kate Liao, Ryana Reza, Reggy Wu, Gemma Lee
Year 8 History Site Study
Year 8 participated in ‘The Rocks Site Study’on Monday 1st December. The program, run by Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre, focused on the heritage precincts of The Rocks, and nearby Millers Point. The Site Study provided students with an inquiry-based examination of historically significant locations and integrated topic content to enable students to acquire History knowledge, skills, values and attitudes from experiences in the field. Students completed a field journal, visited the Rocks Discovery Museum to learn about indigenous people, colonisation and contact history, learned about Patyegarang and William Dawes at Dawes Point, visited an archaeological site in Millers Point and visited various sites in The Rocks. Thank you to Ms Harkin for organising this opportunity and to Mr Banks, Ms Brennan, Ms Cho and Ms Ioannou for attending this event.
UNSW Playconomics Competition
This semester students in Years 9-12 had the opportunity to participate in UNSW’s Playconomics Competition, a purpose built interactive video game. Recognised by UNSW Advanced Placement, the program enables students to earn university course credit with the UNSW School of Economics. Our students have achieved outstanding success in this competition. Hornsby Girls High School had 28 students in the Top 100 nationally, and five in the Top 20 nationally. Our students will be celebrated at the Awards Ceremony on December 9th at UNSW. Congratulations to the following Top 20 students: Leona Fang and Stephanie Su (Year 9) Keya Patel and Jaynee Vaghela (Year 10) Tanvi Marathe (Year 11) An extra big congratulations to Keya Patel (Year 10) who won the National Competition.
Year 10 Illuminate Enterprise Challenge
Year 10 have excelled in the Illuminate Enterprise Challenge this week. Tasked with developing innovative solutions to revitalise town centres, strengthen community connections and reduce social isolation, students responded with impressive enthusiasm and insight. Throughout the program, each group engaged deeply with problem framing, the Art of Storytelling, finance, marketing, prototype development and professional presentation skills. On Tuesday, teams showcased their initial concepts to local business owners and Hornsby Councillors, receiving valuable feedback to refine their ideas. They presented their final proposals to a panel of guest judges today. Our Year 10 cohort has demonstrated exceptional creativity, empathy and critical problem- solving skills, qualities that reflect both their talent and their commitment to meaningful community impact. Congratulations Year 10.
ASSEMBLY
P&C FUNDRAISER
Dear Parents, To support our school’s fundraising efforts, our P&C is excited to introduce three new products featuring a special design theme of Friendship and Unity. We hope these items will be both meaningful and useful for our students, while also celebrating the values we cherish as a school community. All profits from this fundraiser will go directly toward enhancing our school’s teaching facilities, helping us continue to provide the best learning environment for our children. Thank you, as always, for your support and involvement in our school community. Warm regards, Hornsby Girls High School P&C
SCHOOL LOCKER
archery competition
Jessica Lu and Olivia Lu are both in 8K. Recently they represented SOPA Archery Club and joined the Warringah Archery Tournament, competing against many strong teams from archery clubs all over the NSW. After fierce competition, finally Olivia Lu got the Gold Medal, and Jessica Lu got the Bronze Medal in Girls 14 Barebow Recurve. They have been dedicated to archery for a long time and kept training very hard every weekend. They are looking forward to higher national archery competitions in the future.