From the desk of Maria Iemma, Principal

School Newsletter - September 2025

HSC Trials Success and Final Preparations

We are pleased to report that our Year 12 HSC Trial examinations concluded successfully, with students demonstrating their dedication and hard work throughout the assessment period. Our Year 12 cohort is now engaged in crucial end-of-course revision and final preparations as they approach the HSC examinations, which commence on Wednesday, 16th October 2025 and continue until Friday, 7th November 2025.

This intensive revision period is vital for consolidating learning and ensuring our students are well-prepared for their final HSC examinations. We encourage all Year 12 families to support their children during this important time.

Year 12 Graduation Celebration

We are excited to announce that our Year 12 Graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, 25th September 2025. This special occasion will celebrate the achievements of our graduating class and mark the conclusion of their secondary school journey. Further details regarding timing, venue, and arrangements will be communicated to Year 12 families separately.

2025 Zonta Young Women in Leadership Award

Congratulations to Year 12 students Maheya & Sheza who are finalists in this years Young Women in Leadership Award. The winner will be announced during a ceremony on 9th September 2025. Good luck to both students!

Outstanding Scholarship Achievements

We are incredibly proud to congratulate the following students who have been selected to receive HOMES NSW – YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIPS 2025:

Year 10 Students:

Nour
Roukaya
Mariam

Year 11 Students:

Arabi

Year 12 Students:

Belinda
Delta
Fatima
Madeleine
Nesrine

These scholarships recognise exceptional academic achievement, leadership potential,

and community contribution. The award ceremony will be held at Parliament House on Friday, 12th September 2025. Congratulations to all our scholarship recipients – this is a tremendous achievement that reflects their hard work and dedication.

Additionally, many of our Year 12 students have applied for various scholarships, and our staff have been actively supporting these applications by writing recommendations. We wish all our students the very best of luck with their scholarship applications.

External Validation Assessment

Our school will undergo an External Validation assessment on Wednesday, 17th September 2025. During this process, we will be assessed against the NSW Excellence Framework, which evaluates our school's performance across key areas of educational delivery and student outcomes. The outcome of this assessment will be outlined in our next newsletter, and we look forward to sharing the results with our community.

Digital Safety and Mobile Phone Awareness

I recently attended the Annual Principals Forum with NSW Police, where important issues regarding young people and mobile phone usage were discussed. This forum highlighted the significant challenges and risks that exist in the digital landscape for our students.

It's crucial for parents to understand that our online world is very different from a teenager's online world. The platforms, apps, and digital spaces that young people navigate daily present unique risks and challenges that require our vigilance and understanding.

Important Reminders for Parents:

Educational Resources: The eSafety Commission website offers numerous online webinars and resources designed to help parents stay informed about current digital safety issues. We strongly encourage all parents to familiarise themselves with these resources to better support and protect their children online.

Nighttime Phone Management: We recommend that parents remove mobile phones from their child's bedroom at night. This simple step can significantly improve sleep quality, reduce late-night exposure to inappropriate content, and help establish healthy digital boundaries.

School Policy Reminder: Please remember that mobile phones are banned in NSW public schools. This policy is in place to create a focused learning environment and reduce distractions during school hours.

We encourage all families to engage in regular conversations about digital safety and to stay informed about the evolving challenges of the online world. Together, we can help ensure our young people navigate the digital landscape safely and responsibly.

Attendance

It’s always wonderful to have our students in classrooms, ready to engage and learn. Our teachers and school staff are committed to fostering growth and opportunity, and we are here to work with you to support your child to reach their full potential.

Consistently going to school has countless benefits – from learning, to creating social connections and improving wellbeing through access to support and quality education.

Students are required to attend school every day, whether it’s the first or last day of the term, Mondays, Fridays or days dedicated to sports carnivals, school excursions and incursions.

As we look ahead to the remainder of the school year, I’d like to remind our school community that we are here to work with you to support your child to thrive. We know that families experience a variety of challenging circumstances, and we are committed to working with you to address any barriers to regular attendance.

If your child is absent from school, please let us know why as soon as possible, even if it’s just a few minutes at the start or end of the school day. Of course, there will be times when your child is unable to be at school, like when they are unwell. Medical appointments should take place outside school hours where possible, and family holidays should be taken in term breaks.

If your child is feeling anxious about coming to school and you need support, please reach out to your child’s teacher or to me directly. There are also helpful resources for parents and carers on the NSW Department of Education Website.

Thank you for being a part of our school community and for partnering with us to ensure students access the endless benefits of regular school attendance.

NAPLAN 2025

The school demonstrated strong results in 2025 NAPLAN. Currently we are in the Excelling range for Value added across years 7-9.

Simply comparing schools with test scores isn't fair because schools serve very different student populations. A school with advantaged students might look "better" than a school serving disadvantaged students, even if the second school is actually doing excellent teaching.

What Value Added Does:

Takes a student's starting academic level (baseline)
Considers their personal characteristics (socioeconomic background, prior achievement, etc.)
Predicts what progress they "should" make in a typical year
Compares their actual progress to this prediction

Example:

Student A starts the year at a low reading level, comes from a disadvantaged background
Prediction: Should improve by 6 months of reading growth
Actual result: Improved by 10 months
Value Added: +4 months (school helped this student exceed expectations)

Why It's Important:

Shows which schools are genuinely effective at teaching, regardless of their student demographics
Identifies schools that help students make exceptional progress
Provides a fairer way to assess school performance
Helps identify schools that might need support or could share best practices

So, the "value add" here is the extra learning growth the school provided beyond what would normally be expected for those particular students.

We thank our entire school community for your continued support and engagement. If you have any questions about any of the matters outlined in this newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact the school office.

Warm regards,

Maria Iemma

Principal Beverly Hills Girls High School

High Potential and Gifted Education