2024 Annual Conference of the NSW Secondary Deputy Principal’s Association

On the 5th of September, Julian Essey (Year 9) and Amina Aljamo (Year 10) embraced the honour of welcoming the Deputy Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, Ms Deb Summerhayes, as a keynote speaker to the 2024 Annual Conference of the NSW Secondary Deputy Principal’s Association. Julian and Amina were incredibly impressive in sharing Ms Summerhayes’ biography with the 500 deputy principals present in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel. The professionalism both students brought to their address was extraordinary. Even more impressive was that the address they shared was only received at very short notice, given that they had spent many hours expecting to welcome the Secretary, Mr Murat Dizdar, who had to cancel at very short notice. Many thanks to Julian and Amina for the great credit they brought to Merrylands High School.

Year 11 Biology Excursion

Our Year 11 Biology classes enjoyed a spectacularly sunny day at the world-renowned Taronga Zoo. After a journey by train, ferry and bus, students we able to roam around and see the amazing exhibits and catch the good old seal show. Afterwards, we were all treated to some very special animal encounters, learning about the special adaptations of snakes, shinglebacks and possums. This excursion is a pleasure to organise as it is always a highlight for all Biology students in their senior years.

R U OK? Day

Our LEAP students participated in R U OK? Day by collaborating with their peers. They engaged and worked together in various tasks, including painting messages that emphasised the importance of kindness and looking out for one another.

Concreting Project

This term, Stage 5 students constructed timber formwork for a concreting project. The project required practical work, such as taking measurements, marking, cutting timber to size and finalising formwork as well as completing material requirements and costing. This practical project will help students understand applications of work they have completed in Year 8 and Year 10.

Vietnam War Discussions with Mr Szirt

This term, the Year 10 EAL/D History class learnt about the Vietnam War. They had the privilege of having Mr Szirt from the Maths faculty come and speak with the class about his experiences during the Vietnam War. The students were thoroughly engaged and interested in his experiences and had the opportunity to ask him questions to aid their understanding.

Year 9 Great Expectations – Special Celebrations

In Term 4, the Year 9 Food Technology class completed the unit of work Special Occasions – Celebrations. In this unit, students studied different types of celebrations across Australia and across all faiths. Students looked at the different types of ways (customs and traditions) people celebrated via food. Students thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different types of celebrations. Students got the opportunity to select a child's birthday and design an invitation and menu, but also provide details about location of the function, costing, people invited and so forth, as part of their assessment. Finally, students were able to design their own birthday cake for the specific type of child’s birthday. Below are several photos of our Year 9 students during the process of making their cakes and proudly showing their final product.

Art Gallery Excursion

Year 9 Elective Art students visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales on 28 November with Mrs Ollivain to see the Magritte exhibition of surrealist artworks and some other interesting art pieces in the Gallery’s permanent collection.

School Leaders Visit Parliament

Our student leadership team were invited to NSW Parliament House by our state representative Ms Julia Finn MP in their capacity as incoming future leaders. Students were treated to morning tea with Ms Finn and discussed current issues faced by students. While at Parliament House, students attended Question Time where they were welcomed by the Speaker.

Year 7 Timber

This term, Year 7 students were assigned their final woodwork project – to make a timber pencil case. Students had to measure, mark, cut, sand and polish each of their wooden pieces before assembling them into their pencil case. Timber units of work are designed to provide students with an opportunity to become familiar with woodwork and acquire the basic skills needed for senior classes.

Year 10 Geography – Sustainable Cities Project

Geography students in Year 10 engaged in project-based learning in Term 4, where they collaborated in groups to plan and design futuristic sustainable cities. Through the project, they learnt about management strategies for the sustainability of urban environments affected by population growth and rapid urbanisation.

Students from the EAL/D class showed their critical and creative skills in this project. Having spent a number of lessons working on their project in the library, these students demonstrated their hard work and dedication towards this assignment.

SRC Food Drive

A food drive fundraising event for the homeless and needy was organised by members of our Student Representative Council. A large amount of non-perishable food items was collected over four weeks. These food items were donated to the Cumberland Community Pantries. Merrylands High School is proud to serve our community, and we would like to say a massive thank you to all the families for their food donations.

Terrific T-shirts

Year 9 Textiles students were asked to make and design a t-shirt using jersey cotton knitted fabric. They had to calculate their size, select a pattern, cut out the fabric and sew the t-shirt together. The students then used Canva to create their design which was printed with an inkjet printer onto transfer paper. They cut out and fused their design to the front of their t-shirt.

Isabella S. finished making her white t-shirt early and decided to tie-dye her t-shirt with a sunset ombre theme before adding her Kanye West design transfer. Amani A. had “I made this shirt” for her transfer. Mabuba Q. included a butterfly and lightning in her design and Zahra G. included her cultural heritage in her transfer.

Year 8 Excursion to Luna Park

It is almost tradition for our Maths faculty to organise a whole-day excursion to Luna Park. The Year 8 students attending this year not only deepened their understanding of mathematical concepts and their use in the real world, but had a great time as well.

Swim School @ the Pool

Over 3 days in Week 9, students in Years 7, 8 and LEAP participated in Swim School. The program, held at Merrylands Swim Centre, allowed students to develop their lifesaving and swimming skills. Each day, students were given the chance to participate in two practical sessions in the water led by AUSTSWIM qualified instructors, develop essential aquatic skills such as floating, treading water and improving their basic swimming skills. In addition, students were provided with two theory lessons per day to develop their knowledge of sun safety, water safety and in delivering first aid in emergency aquatic situations.

Term 1, 2025 Calendar

Take a look at what’s happening in Term 1, 2025.