principal’s report -...

JUNE 2017

Mary Poppins Highlights

Harding Miller Foundation

U16 Volleyball

Yr. 11 BOW (Visual Art) Visit to Cockatoo Island artworks

Textiles and Design HSC majorworks

Year 7 camp

PPP maths seminar - Maths problems solved .. challenge yourself

Year 7 debating

Amnesty International

Careers Expo

Girls in Property luncheon

Tennis Holiday camp / Drama & Music Workshops

Codespace Holiday workshop / Studysphere Tutoring

Katarina Nikoletich, Relieving Principal

Calendar for July on Page 4

Principal’s ReportThe term is fast drawing to a close and our year 12 students have been sitting their trial HSC papers for the past two weeks. Girls are reminded that the purpose of the trials is to provide a practice run for the real thing and to reveal strengths and weaknesses in the students’ preparation.

I cannot begin to thank the staff, students and community for the support they have extended to me as I took on the role of relieving principal.

It has been an extremely rewarding experience and taken me down many different paths.

We look forward to welcoming back Ms. Kelly.

I find it almost impossible to believe that another term is over and half a year has passed.

Term 2 is the term when the very serious school business gets well underway. Year 12 students sit their trials, reports go out for all other students, practical works are reaching “crisis” point as the pointy end of the year dawns on everyone.

To say the term has passed at lightning speed while encompassing so many activities, is quite the understatement.

The musical consumed the Visual Arts, Music and Drama department, was incredibly successful and then it was done and meanwhile all the other business of life at Riverside continued apace.

It was inspiring to see so many teachers from various faculties support the production.

A big thank you also to our hardworking, enthusiastic, untiring P & C. They provided refreshments each evening and several parents also joined the orchestra which greatly enhanced the overall sound of the production and helped the girls by providing strong leadership in the interpretation of the music.

Riverside played host to a number of conferences and meetings over the term including the City Country Alliance which saw principals,teachers and community members from across the state share experiences and teaching initiatives

Riverside Currents |June 2017 |

Karonga Students Say ThankyouWe were delighted to host Karonga school students at the special “Mary Poppins” performance (see story opposite).

This “Thank You“photo was part of a card, signed by the students, which we received after the performance.

We would like to acknowledge that the delight of the students as they sat for almost 11/2 hours, totally engrossed in the show, was the best thankyou ever.

P & C President’s ReportThe P&C congratulate the school students and staff for all the skill, effort and sheer hard work that went into making the recent performance of Mary Poppins such a resounding success.

A big thank you to the wonderful P&C volunteers who provided the catering for the school musical and ensured there was enough popcorn, lollies and drinks to keep the audience, cast and crew happy. And there is one person who needs a special mention...

Thank you to Mai Buchert who master minded the planning, purchasing and logistics for the catering and also helped out each night as well.

If you have not yet responded to our uniform survey don’t worry you still have time to have your say. To date we have had a wide range of comments and suggestions which is great but we are still keen to hear from you.

Don’t forget that you can support our key fundraising targets for the year – 3D printers, projection equipment and/or the master plan or simply provide a general donation at any time – just visit www.friendsofriverside.org.au/connect

Harding Miller Foundation awardsOn 17th May 2017, the Public Education Foundation held their annual Awards Night at the Sydney Town Hall .

This was an evening that celebrated the achievements of students, teachers and public school communities.

The evening was hosted by Annabel Crabb and the keynote speaker was three-time Paralympic Gold Medallist and OAM recipient,Kurt Fearnley.

As a Harding Miller Education Foundation scholarship recipient, we were honoured that Sabina Patawaran was able to attend and be part of the celebrations.


Over the Rooftops of Riverside The recent musical production of Mary Poppins showcased the amazing talents of Riverside students and staff.

Mary Poppins is a delightful musical which demands a high level of competence in singing and dancing (both tap and contemporary) and a full orchestra.

This performance was greatly enhanced by the use of our high tech lighting suite allowing us to use sophisticated projections such as the rooftops of London for the Chimneysweep’s song. Special mention here of parent, Jamie, our tireless lighting and sound guru.

This year we held an abridged performance for children from Ryde, Karonga, Strathfiel, Sir Eric Woodward and Clarke Road special schools. The children showed great delight as they recognised some of the familiar tunes and surprised everyone when they were able to sing along - word perfect. Our thanks to staff from these schools for their support.

Also in the audience were members of the Hunters Hill / Gladesville community centre. ( pictured above with cast members).

Ms Wang was thrilled with the committment of students and staff and added her special thanks to Ms. Young, Ms Jamons, Mr Lowe, Mr. Blundell, the backstage crew, front of house volunteers and special thanks to the parents who manned the refreshments tent, as well as their assistance with props and costumes.

Final night was a full house and everyone went home humming or singing, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious...dum diddly dum dum ..............”

I wonder how long this earworm plagued audience and cast ?


CALENDAR -July . Term 3

July 7 & 14 HSC V.A. holiday workshops

July Mon.17 Term 3 commences for staffJuly Tues.18 Term 3 commences for students

Fri. 21 CHS X-countryMon.24 AIME homework clubTues.25 Ski camp - Falls Creek Ryde Eisteddfod - OrchestraFri. 28 You Turn the Wheel - Yr. 11 road safety seminar Senior curriculum counselling sessionMon. 31 Macbeth excursion Yr.12 P.I.P. final submission due RAISE mentoring AIME homework club

On the Road to SuccessThe U16 volleyball team is on its way to another championship success with a 3-1 win over Concord High School. This means the girls will play Tuggerah Lakes Secondary Campus in the Sydney North final.

Results as soon as they are received. Good luck to a very hard working team and their coach, Mr. Lowe.

The luncheon is hosted by the Property Council of Australia and was attended by CEOs from such well known organisations as Lendlease, Westfields, centre development representatives, architects, project managers, town planners, and 150 invited students.

The purpose of the luncheon is to encourage girls to consider property as a career. They were introduced to the many aspects of a career in this very diverse field from community engagement, finance, project development, land aquisition, architecture, community consultation, future planning, smart cities initiatives and so many more.

The week aims to raise awareness and encourage greater female participation in the property industry, introduce the career options available in the industry to the participants and help high school aged girls make informed choices about their future career. It is hoped that this initiative assists more young women consider and choose to work in the property industry, helping to create a sustainable pipeline of talent for the growing industry.

The pilot will run in four public girls’ schools in Northern Sydney (Cheltenham Girls High School, Northern Beaches Secondary College, Mackellar Campus, Riverside Girls High School and Asquith Girls High.School) and involve the participation of approximately 120 girls in year ten.

**You may care to print this tennis application out for easier reading

Girls in PropertyIt is considered one of the scariest events in ones life ... speaking in public. Tasnia Ahmad, seen above delivering the student thankyou in front of 2000 people at the Women in Property luncheon at the Westin Hotel in Sydney, handled it with confidence and grace.

TENNIS COACHING ENROLMENT FORMPlease complete and mail to: PO Box 3423 Wareemba NSW 2046 or Email: [email protected]’s name: ___________________________________ Age: ________ Date of Birth:_________________________Address:__________________________________________________________________________ Postcode:___________Phone: Home_________________ Work/Mobile________________ Email address_______________________________Parent’s Name:___________________________________ School attending:_____________________________________Ability level (approx): □ Beginner □ Advanced Beginner □ Intermediate □ AdvancedPrefered days and times: _________________________________________________________________________________

Five Dock Park Tennis CentreJeff Viskovich Tennis School

20B Barnstaple Rd Five Dock ( Next to Tigers Five Dock club )

Junior Development Program

Tennis Coaching

After School Term 3 classesStarting Monday 17th July

through Friday 21stSaturday Morning classes

Starting 22nd JulyAll classes 1 hour per week for 10 weeks

Max 7 per group Cost $160ANZ Tennis Hot shots Free T-Shirt

● Children 5-16 years of age● Beginners to Advanced players

● Training squads for competition playersFor booking and enquires

please contact Jeff Viskovich0408 169 543

[email protected]

9am - 1pm

CampJuly 3rd to 6th

(Monday to Thursday)

$120 per child

Court hire $20/hr, $22 with lights

All programs under the direction of Jeff ViskovichFormer ranked Australian and overseas touring player

Tennis Australia club professional coach

FREE sausage sizzle

● Private lessons available$35 - 1/2 hr, $70 - 1 hr

For Children and adults, all standards and ages

● Cardio TennisNew program for adults and teenagers

Holiday Tennis Camps2017 2017


Year 11 V.A.students As the year progresses, students in the practical subjects including visual arts, music, dance, food technology and textiles and design, are busy preparing their works as a practice for the rigours of the HSC practical components.

Following a recent excursion to Cockatoo Island the visual arts students noted the diversity of the environment, including the textures in the built landscape.

On return they were required to interpret what they had seen into art works incorporating shapes,textures and colour.

The completed artworks based on a visit to Cockatoo Island.


Textiles and Design students create Fantasy GarmentsYear 12 textiles and design students are busily putting the finishing touches on their HSC practical garments. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream or the Medieval Tales these garments reveal imagination and patience as they near completion.


Amnesty International - Working to Foster Social JusticeThe Amnesty International team consists of students from both senior and junior grades, who meet every few weeks with Ms Parnian to promote social justice and human rights. They raise awareness and take action regarding human rights issues.

Last term, Harmony Day was organised by the students under the guidance of our supervising teacher, Ms Parnian. Our goal was to celebrate diversity in our school and the broader society. Through our Harmony Day events, we celebrated Riverside’s cultural diversity and united the students not as people from different ethnicities, not as people with different beliefs, but as Riverside girls.

This term, our focus was on refugee rights and once again, we encouraged the entire school to get involved.

On Friday the 16th of June, the Amnesty group organised a Write for Rights campaign. A stall was put up in the quad for recess and lunch where students from all grades stopped by and signed a petition for refugee rights.

Additionally, we had two volunteers from Amnesty International visiting the school for the day. They held a workshop for a year 10 Geography class in relation to their current topic of migration and refugees. The workshop fostered empathy and enhanced the student’s knowledge on international laws and Australia’s obligations to refugees. They also organised a workshop for the Amnesty group about gender inclusion and LGBTQI awareness and wellbeing.

It was an educational, motivating and inspiring day that involved not only the Amnesty group, but also the entire school.

Our aim is beyond fundraising, it’s to foster promotion of social justice within and beyond the school and create a school where diversity is embraced and welcomed. We strive to create a cooperative and united environment for the girls and above all, we strive to live by our motto, Facta non Verba.

It has been acknowledged globally that human rights need to improve but at Riverside’s Amnesty team, we don’t acknowledge social injustice, we take action against it. Well done to the Amnesty team for the achievements in these two terms!

Our participation in the Amnesty group has helped us develop a major skill and that is the ability to channel passion through action. Our passion for equality, justice and diversity is manifested through the many achievements, we as a team have obtained.

This ability to identify something that needs to change in our community and furthermore, the passion to actually make the change happen is a major skill we learn through Amnesty. This skill and numerous others like it are ones that we will carry throughout our high school years and will further promote equality and justice beyond.

“Amnesty is an effective way to bring the school community together and promote equality amongst all religions, races and sexes..” Iman Yr. 11

Dear Parents and Care ProvidersWe hope you will find these reminders useful as they might reduce your frustration when dealing with the new administration system.

* Absences

N.B. The DET no longer uses the word “late” for absences of any duration

- please use the word “absent” even if your daughter arrives a few minutes after the commencement of school

- all notes re absences, lateness or leave early requests should show daughter’s name, roll class and the date

- please reply to text messages with a reply text, a phone call or a note clearly indicating the details on the text which you received

- lateness (of any time) needs to be explained with a note

- please read any text you receive carefully as it will contain important details which you may need to include in your reply e.g. time of arrival at school

- HINT - take a photograph of any permission note you send in case it is misplaced between your home and school

- HINT - keep your password and login details for the parent portal in your phone

* Money

- payments may only be made at the office before school from 8.30 a.m., at recess 1 and recess 2.

- money cannot be collected at any other times

- teachers may not collect money with permission slips for excursions including permission slips with credit card details

* Illness

- in the interest of safety, students should never leave the school premises without letting the office know

- all sick students should report to the office who will contact home, where necessary

- the office would prefer that they are asked to contact home for all sick students

- students wishing to leave early should bring a note to the Deputy Principal’s office before school - have it signed - show it to the class teacher before leaving class - go to the office, hand in the note and then sign out

- parents coming to school to collect their daughter early need to ensure that a note has been provided


One Giant Swing to Narrabeen!Year 7 had the time of their life when they went on camp for 3 days and 2 nights at Narrabeen. Many of the year 7’s enjoyed the camp because of the company of their friends yet others appreciated the adrenaline rush they got from the daring activities.

These activities include bushwalking in wet weather, abseiling, canoeing, yet most challenging of all, high ropes 10 metres off the ground!

“All the activities were so much fun! I especially enjoyed the high ropes and the canoing. There was basically no time to be bored”, said Chloe W. Thanks to Ms. Jamons, Ms. Morris, Ms. Lin, Mr.Jenkins, Mr. James,

Mr. Moran, Mr. Russell for a memorable experience.

Liz Morris

Allen James

Bill Moran

Liz Morris

Allen James

Bill Moran


Careers Expo Points the WayWe have come so very far in the area of careers information. A premier event in assisting students to make informed subject choices in year 10 is the western Sydney Careers Expo at the Olympic Park.

The seventh expo spread over several venues and consisted of over 160 stands.

In addition students were invited to attend seminars in breakout rooms which focussed on subject choices, study smart - time management strategies, speakers from universities and TAFE N.S.W., design thinking, dream jobs in games, 3D animation and VFX, preparing for the workplace, HSC 2unit and General Maths preparation, Teaching as a Career and many more.

Students were encouraged to collect brochures which informed them about stand locations as well as the differences between TAFE, College and University study, Taking a Gap year, Studying Online and Studying Interstate.

The Services were well represented and Army came with their own vehicle - a tank!

Parents and carers are encouraged to read the booklet given to the students as a way of familiarising themselves with the variety of openings post year 12 or before.

Thanks to Mr. Blundell for organising our attendance at this event.

Inquisitive MindsA number of year 9 talented maths students recently participated with boys from Ryde Secondary College in a taxing but exciting and fun series of interactive lessons on strategic problem solving.

The initiative called, “ Problems, Patterns, Pictures and Puzzles”provides the students with the opportunity to challenge themselves with a number of original hands-on problems.

Finally they are given the opportunity to consolidate their learning with a take-home selection of Australian Mathematics Competition questions.

It was a challenging day and the results saw the “winners” with top scores were equally boys and girls. Congratulations to all participants and as one of the students was heard to remark, “that was such fun”.

Participants in the PPPP seminar pictured on the presentation of their certificates by Ms. Nikoletich and Ms. Lin.

Try this one for yourself ...................................

Venn Diagrams (2009)

In Mrs Atkins’ class, every student swims or cycles and half the students do both.

The total number of students who swim is the same as the total number of students who cycle.

If 24 students in total swim, how many students are in Mrs Atkins’ class?

Answer on last page.

Try this one for yourself answer on Page 10


This performance is expected to finish no later than 9 p.m.

Admission is free

Try this one for yourself answer: 32


1st MEADOWBANK SCOUT GROUP

ANGAS ST MEADOWBANK

1st Meadowbank Scouts has vacancies in all sections for youth 6 to 18 years. Scouting provides youth with the opportunity to enjoy themselves in the company of friends.

Our programs provide a wide range of attractive, constructive and challenging activities, including opportunities for adventure by hiking, camping, boating, caving and many indoor activities. This gives our youth the opportunity to gain the skills needed for lead-ership and responsibility in life.

Scouting provides a system of learning by active participation combined with a great deal of fun.

An award scheme encourages youth participation in the full range of activities and provides recognition of individual achievements.

The Group is open to both boys and girls from 6 to 18 yearsJoeys 6 to 8 years Tuesdays 6:15 to 7:15 PM

Cubs 8 to 11 Years Wednesdays 7pm to 8:30

Scouts 11 to 15 years Thursdays 7.00 to 9:00 PM

Venturers 15 to 18 years Thursdays 7:30 to 9:30 PM

Contact Ken Paton

or Beth Mitchell

98743752 0411 154 296

principal’s report -...

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