Student & School Community Achievements, School Management & Communication

Principal's Report

I would like to begin my report by thanking our school community for their ongoing support and wonderful feedback over the term. We started the term learning from home and are now in a position where school is operating most of its usual routines. We are looking forward to the return of some field trip excursions and competitive sports as of next term. I have been so impressed by the number of activities and programs on offer at our school and I have seen how keen the students are to resume their programs. Listening to the bands rehearsing in the hall in the morning has been a delight. 

I attended my first online P&C meeting last Wednesday and it was lovely getting to know parents and find out a little more about our school community. The parent feedback survey has also yielded plenty of results that are helping me to get to know the school more deeply and this information will assist us greatly as we move into school planning. So far we have had nearly 200 responses to our survey and we are hoping to receive more. Following on from this, once we are allowed numbers of adults in the school, we will run some consultation forums related to school planning. We have also implemented a similar process with our students so that we can get a full picture of our school and its needs over the next 5 years. 

Year 12 have embraced the return to school and I am excited to see so many students active in classrooms, contributing to other aspects of the school through leadership programs and engaging in additional study opportunities. We are running workshops on Wednesday afternoon during sport time and I encourage all students to get involved with these as we head towards the Trial HSC exams next term.  

Coming soon will be subject selection talks where Year 7 and 8 students choose electives and Year 10 students learn more about their HSC options. There will be a lot of material to support this and I encourage you to contact the school if you do require additional information.  

As we near the end of Term 2, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday break. 

Ms Belinda Conway

Black Lives Matter

There has been a lot of discussion in the school of late regarding racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. It has been wonderful to hear of examples of great class discussions, students providing written expressions of their feelings through poetry and many other things. 

Last week during Personal Best time we provided the opportunity to address these concerns and feelings through some class discussion and provision of time for student voice. Students could choose to write something, read about something or participate in a facilitated discussion. The topics may be specific about America or Australia or might be more general conversations about racism.  

We felt it was important to provide opportunities for students to be able to express in a more formal way what they are seeing, hearing and talking about in society.

Also relating to student voice, all students were invited to complete a short survey about the school. It is 'Two Stars and a Wish'- basically, two things they think of as good aspects of the school and something they wish could happen/ be in place. 

Mr Nolan, our Indigenous Student Leadership coordinator, and Ms Nand, the school’s Anti Racism Contact Officer, then prepared the following to assist ongoing class discussions. 

The Meyne Wyatt monologue on racism, as aired on Q&A, was used as a stimulus for discussion. 

The purpose of this was to help students better understand what is occurring, to give them a say and to create ideas for future school initiatives to help combat racism.

The following discussion starters were provided as well as a link to a Google document to collate responses:?

1. Why is the Black lives matter movement currently occurring?
2. What is systemic racism?
3. What are the consequences of racism?
4. What can we do as a school to combat racial prejudice and inequality?

Zonta Sydney West Citizenship Awards

Thanks to the President of Zonta Sydney West Diana Humphries embracing Zoom, the annual presentation event for the nominated citizenship awardees from participating schools went ahead on June 23. 

Canterbury Girls’ highly worthy recipient of the award Ava Haywood White, a member of our SEA leadership group, was accompanied online by Head Teacher PDHPE Ms Dunn and Year 11 Year Adviser Ms Neves. Congratulations to Ava for being our school representative at this annual event, and for presenting her speech via the new format of a Zoom meeting, replacing the annual dinner. 

School Leaders Awards

Tony Burke MP for Watson has again kindly extended an invitation to senior school leaders in the local area to the School Leader Awards 2020 in recognition of their successful nomination and investiture. 

Tony, together with Ms Sophie Cotsis MP, Member for Canterbury will present the Awards on June 25 to our Co-captains Chaltu Strachan, Saba Saleem, Arame Nicholls and Michelle Lee. 

Congratulations to our 2020 leaders, who continue to find ways to lead the challenge through the unusual experiences put in their paths as school leaders this year. Many thanks to Ms La Grassa, who has filled in as Prefects Coordinator in Ms Yassmin’s absence. 

Staffing update

Ms Conway would like to thank the amazing staff who have put their hands up and continue to put their hands up for whole-school roles. Schools rely so much on this good will and it is wonderful to see that so many people at CGHS contribute. 

Congratulations and thanks to:

Kerry Charalambous- Year 9 Co-Year Advisor

Mandy Cheung- Year 7 2021 Co-Year Advisor

Sue Di Rosario- Year 11 Co-Year Advisor

Diega La Grassa- Temporary Prefects Coordinator​

Aarti Nand- ARCO​ (Anti Racism Contact Officer)

Letter from Principal 15 June

I thank you for your participation in the survey I sent out recently regarding feedback for the school in preparation for the school plan. If you have not yet had time to do this, please click here. Many of you would have seen in the media that restrictions are easing both in society and in schools. We have been working through DoE and Health regulations and would like to give you some additional information regarding what will be happening in the school. The following will now be able to return into our school routines: 

Allowed as of Monday 15th June: 

• Activities related to external counselling, NDIS provided services, family support services etc where external workers may need to work with students in the school
• Year meetings limited to approximately 15 minutes
• Choirs (within the school)
• External tutors coming into school for year 12 subjects (e.g. music tutors)
• Face to face TAFE attendance

 Starting in Term 3:

• Day field trips to outdoor locations
• Inter-school competitions for sport, debating, etc.
• All school sport and activities including competitions
• Work experience for students
• SRE

In Term 3 the Department of Education expect to make an announcement related to camps, excursions, graduation ceremonies and other school based activities that involve large numbers of adults. Strict hygiene and distancing requirements are still in place and as such, we will need to continue limiting the amount of adults coming into the school. As such, I appreciate your understanding in continuing to communicate with the school via phone and email at present. We will let you know as soon as these restrictions relax.

The school awaits further advice in Term 3 about excursions and camps before finalising new dates for Duke of Edinburgh activities. 

Information about how the school will manage Year 12 Graduation celebrations at the end of Term 3 will be provided once we know if there is any further lifting of restrictions around parents and adults on site and school assemblies. It may be necessary to manage the Year 12 Graduation in a briefer and more limited format to our usual traditions. We thank students and families for their patience and understanding. 

Year 12 HSC Support

To ensure all students can prepare for the Trials and HSC following the period of Learning from home, the NSW Department of Education has committed resources to provide digital access for all Year 12 students. Please contact the school to advise if digital access is an issue for your family at present - we can provide dongles and devices to Year 12 if required. This occurred during the Learning from home period as necessary and can be extended or begun now. 

As Year 12 Progress interviews have been conducted in recent weeks, the importance of time management in preparation for the Trial exams  in Term 3 weeks 3-4 has been pivotal to discussions. 

A copy of the interview questions is attached below for families to be aware of the points covered in this check in. 

Please see the item “Welcome Back Year 12” in the May newsletter for some additional points. 

The NSW Department of Education has set up an online platform HSC Hub to support students consolidate their learning now that the period of learning from home has concluded. Students and their teachers will have access to a range of resources and this will be available shortly - please check for further updates to students and families in emails. The school is also sourcing some third party curriculum software licensing to further expand the resources available to students as they revise for Trials and continue preparing for HSC. 

We welcomed ex-student and 2019 High Achiever Olga Makin last Friday June 12 to address Year 12 via Zoom on study skills and time management - all students have received a copy of her slides. Olga was a great source of motivation for students and had many practical suggestions as well as encouragement to persist. She is now undertaking studies in law. 

Upcoming optional curriculum workshops to support Year 12 are running at the times below:

On Wednesdays the workshops will run 12.55 - 2.45pm.  Venues at school  will be advised by teachers.

week 8 June 17    Ms Jones with all Chemistry

week 9 June 24    Ms Delmas with all Biology

Weeks 8 & 9  Tuesdays  from 12.10pm in Personal Best/Lunch with Ms Slattery / English staff

ENGLISH free webinars for HSC students from English Teachers’ Association

week 10 July 1      Ms Kaur with Maths Ext1 (A8)                                   

week 1 July 22      

Nand with Business Studies /  Szymanski with Studies of Religion

Other subjects may offer a workshop either during the July school holiday break, or during lunchtimes, Period 5 Thursday or other Tuesdays in Period 4.

Workshops scheduled in the July break or out of school hours will be notified to the families of students involved. 

Year 8

Subject Selection for Year 9 2021- Year 10 2022

Link to Subject Selection Handbook

Year 10 

Subject Selection for Year 11 2021- Year 12 2022

Link to CGHS presentation

Link to NESA presentation 

Link to UAC presentation  

School Properties Update

We are going ahead with installation of a speaker system in the Rusty Cott pavilion in the main quadrangle for use in assemblies and other events in this area. This will be a great improvement on the portable system which is no longer able to reach our larger student population. A future upgrade could see additional provision for ‘plug and play’ live performances at this site without the need to lug in additional bulky and heavy equipment.

Around in the new COLA we await the finishing touches to signage and the plaque for the “Sue Holden Amphitheatre”. In this area we are currently obtaining quotes for screen, sound and lighting to be installed as mentioned in the previous newsletter. 

Additional landscaping, drip irrigation and planting is due to take place in the gardens adjacent to Princess St. 

The white COLA roof is causing some glare in the adjacent kitchens. To address this we are obtaining quotes for window tinting, blinds or another suitable external solution. 

Students will have noticed the new section of toilets with 6 additional cubicles in the block behind the canteen area. We are ensuring either new cubicles are installed or additional privacy screening attached to the existing cubicles, before these are made available for general student use. 

In the Library we are upgrading the school counsellor office to improve the lighting and soundproofing in the room. The Learning Support Team is considering how to best place staff in the available Library spaces to deliver services to students on the team’s caseloads. Stay tuned for further updates as we additionally look at options for improvements to staff facilities and learning spaces around the Learning Hub. 

We draw your attention to the CGHS P&C 2020 online fundraiser for families interested in donating to specific projects targeted for family support. This includes some of the above improvements as well as an expansion of the Dance Studio to a more flexible performing arts venue and introduction of a STEM maker space into the range of learning venues available in the school. Learn more about this Fundraiser on the last page of the newsletter. 

Tell Them From Me Survey extended to end of Term 2

This State wide survey of school communities has been a challenge for schools to complete during the Learning from home period, and even as we return to school. 

Thanks to a great push to get students logged on and completing the survey we now have well over half of student responses submitted. Additionally many students have responded to Ms Conway’s quick “Two Stars and A Wish“ survey via Google Forms. 

Again we ask ALL students to find their username and password in their emails OR request it from their Personal Best teacher or Year Adviser; who have been the staff encouraging students to finish Tell Them From Me. 

This survey provides valuable data about student engagement in learning and school participation, connection and belonging. As such it is valuable data to support our planning for student wellbeing and optimising learning opportunities. 

Please encourage your daughter to complete the survey by the end of Term 2. 

Families can assist us in this by checking with their child(ren) if this has happened.  The survey can be done at any time. Any student who cannot locate their username and password should follow the instructions in the emails sent and it will be resent to them.

Please use Google Chrome.  Usernames and Passwords are case sensitive.

Link to the survey log in is here: https://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/login.htm

Link to a video about the survey is here:  https://youtu.be/qXDk2PLihYE 

Message from the SAM

Thanks to parent/caregivers for their patience and support regarding the Parent Portal.   Your feedback and assistance with testing procedures was an immense help. 

Thanks to all staff, especially the SASS, GA & SLSO for their hard work and support throughout this term.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday.