Principals Message

Cantabrian Superstars

This week’s Cantabrian Superstar recognition goes to Stefanie Miessel of Year 11. Over the holiday break, Stefanie participated in the prestigious Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge—an extraordinary experience that pushed her outside her comfort zone.

Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Canterbury Hurlston Park RSL, in partnership with RSL Services Clubs Australia, one Year 11 student from CGHS was chosen to take part in this life-changing journey. Stefanie showed great courage and initiative by volunteering to be considered for this opportunity, demonstrating the leadership qualities we value so highly at our school.

The 2025 Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge trekkers, including Stefanie, embarked on what was truly the adventure of a lifetime. Over 10 challenging days, these young leaders retraced the footsteps of Australian soldiers along the historic Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. They faced rugged and difficult terrain that tested not only their physical endurance but also their resilience and spirit.

Beyond the physical challenge, this journey offered a profound opportunity to learn about the values of mateship, courage, sacrifice, and endurance—qualities that defined the soldiers who fought on the Kokoda Trail and continue to inspire Australians today.

We could not be prouder of Stefanie’s commitment, determination, and willingness to undertake this demanding challenge. 

Welcome Back

Warmest welcome back to everyone as we begin Term 3! I hope you all had a restful break and are feeling refreshed and ready for another engaging and productive term. As always, this is a time filled with energy, focus, and exciting learning opportunities across our school community. We have hit the ground running with all students actively preparing for, and in some cases completing, their yearly assessment tasks.

Year 12 Reflections, Examinations, and Graduation

Our Year 12 students are nearing the end of their HSC examinations. I am incredibly proud of the maturity and dedication they have shown during this challenging time. One of my favourite moments in Term 4 is overhearing the post-exam corridor conversations between teachers and students. These brief but meaningful exchanges reflect the strong connection and mutual respect between our students and staff.

In week 10 of last term, the culmination of Year 12 activities was marked by a fantastic graduation ceremony. Our students looked amazing in their graduation gowns and stoles, filling the event with pride and celebration. We were fortunate to enjoy a huge turnout of supportive parents and families, which truly made the occasion special and memorable for everyone involved. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Ms Naisbet and her dedicated team for their outstanding organisation of the ceremony. Additionally, sincere thanks go to Ms Charalambous and the TAS faculty, along with the invaluable assistance of our Year 11 and 10 Food Technology and Hospitality students, who flawlessly catered for over 600 guests. This collective effort ensured a warm and joyous farewell for our graduating cohort and we are grateful for their support of this event. 

Transition to Year 12, 2026

As our current Year 12 cohort steps down, we have welcomed our Year 11 students who have smoothly transitioned into their roles as Year 12 and leaders of 2026. Their year-long HSC journey began with an energising and eventful camp, setting a positive tone for the challenging year ahead. I would like to thank Mr Nolan for the excellent camp organisation, and Ms Szymanski, Ms La Grassa, and Ms Jwamar for their supportive roles throughout this experience.

A Community with Deep Roots

This term marks the beginning of my second year as Principal at CGHS, and one lovely surprise has been meeting so many parents who are proud alumni of our school. During recent Year 7 interviews for 2026, this rich tradition was evident as several parents warmly shared their own experiences. These stories highlight the strong and enduring ties within our CGHS community.

In celebration of our school’s proud history, we are reconnecting with CGHS’s original motto, “Knowledge is Power.” This enduring message continues to inspire and highlight the vital role education plays in empowering our students.

Staff and students have also been involved in reviewing our current school values. I have been inspired by the thoughtful and passionate discussions about which values best represent who we are and who we aspire to become. It has been particularly uplifting to see school prefects and the Student Representative Council collaborating—some students from different year groups, meeting for the first time. I am committed to fostering more opportunities like this to strengthen student leadership and voice.

Celebrating World Teachers’ Day

Today, we celebrate World Teachers’ Day—a special time to acknowledge the ongoing dedication and professionalism of our teaching staff. Their commitment to supporting student learning and wellbeing is greatly appreciated across the CGHS community. We thank all our staff for their consistent efforts in creating a positive and productive school environment.

Every one of us has had teachers who have made a significant impact in our lives. Personally, I would like to acknowledge Mrs Kerry Evans from East Hills Girls Technology High School and Ms Connie Alves, former principal of Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, who were major influences during my high school and university years.

The NSW Department of Education has created an online platform for giving shout-outs to teachers. If you have a couple of minutes, I encourage you to send a message to a teacher who has positively impacted your life—your kind words will surely brighten their day.

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/events/world-teachers-day-in-nsw

Exciting Opportunities for Year 10

In the coming weeks, Year 10 students have a range of exciting activities lined up. I encourage every Year 10 student to get involved and make the most of these opportunities, including:

• Australian Business Week (in partnership with Ashfield Boys High School)
• Work Experience Week
• Careers Week

These experiences provide valuable insights and help students explore future career pathways.

Uniform Update

I am pleased to announce that following our recent uniform tender process, Reji Uniforms will become our official school uniform supplier starting in 2026. New uniform items are currently going through the approval process, with preordering set to open before the end of the year.

To provide convenience for families, Reji Uniforms will operate a pop-up shop onsite at CGHS regularly each week. Lowes will continue supplying the uniform in-store and online until the transition is complete. Please note that families are not required to replace uniform items immediately at the start of 2026; a transition period will ease this change. Look out for further information and updates throughout the term.

P&C Trivia Night

The P&C warmly invites you to join us for the upcoming Trivia Night! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with other families, have fun, and support our school community. Your participation makes a big difference and helps us provide valuable resources for our children’s education.

Come along, bring your enthusiasm, and let’s make it a memorable night together! We look forward to seeing you there.

🎉 TRIVIA NIGHT – GET YOUR TICKETS! 🎉
Don’t miss out on a night of fun, food, and laughs — all for a great cause!

👒 Theme: HATS! (Prize for the best-dressed table!)
$50 per ticket – includes meal
🧠 Trivia hosted by Karl from our local HP Bowlo
👥 Tables of 8 | 🏆 Prizes to be won!

Canterbury Girls High School – Cantabrian Hall
🗓 Saturday 8th November | ⏰ 7 pm start
🥂 BYO glass | 18+ event

🎟 Tickets are selling fast – grab yours now!
👉 https://CGHSTrivia2025.eventbrite.

Student Shout Out!

Student Shout-Out

We are thrilled to congratulate Gwen Surawski on being awarded a prize in the 2025 STANSW Young Scientist Awards for her outstanding project, “Turning Waste into Growth: A Comparative Study of Urine-Derived and Commercial Fertilisers for Sustainable Agriculture.” This achievement is particularly impressive given the over 500 entries received this year.

The Young Scientist Awards Ceremony will be held on the afternoon of Friday, 28 November 2025, at the University of Technology Sydney, where Gwen will be recognised for their excellent work —we are proud to celebrate your curiosity, innovation, and dedication to science!

Debating Teams Shout-Out

Our debating season has officially concluded, and what a fantastic year it has been for our CGHS teams! Congratulations to our Year 7 team Milla Eckersley, Casper Reynes (Sophia), Alexis Lewis, Sophie Wawrzyczny, Elsie Clarkson, Gracie Henderson and Edie Ruby Howe for making it all the way to the regional finals last week—a wonderful achievement that showcased their talent, teamwork, and dedication.

Our Year 10 team also had an outstanding year, finishing in the top 8 in the state in the highly competitive Premier’s Debating Challenge. Despite a closely contested and somewhat controversial loss to Georges River College Penshurst in their final debate – they demonstrated exceptional skill, confidence, and sportsmanship throughout the season.

A huge shout-out to Eliza Dawson, Ismini Stavropoulos , Marilla Gibian-Stuart, Elizabeth Turner, and Vanessa Armstrong for their hard work and commitment. Their passion for debating and the perseverance they showed in every round is something to be very proud of. 

Well done to all our debaters for representing CGHS with such distinction this year!

Attendance Awards

🎉 Congratulations 🎉 Claudia An from Year 11 and Adrianna Cini from Year 9 for receiving the attendance awards for Term 3 Week 6-10

Year 12 Graduation Week 2025

Making it through 6 years of high school is no small feat. It takes dedication, persistence and hard work to be resilient and face the challenges head on. In Week 10 of Term 3, Year 12 celebrated their final week of school ahead of their HSC exams in October. The week was filled with fun, excitement, trepidation and final moments that brought the culminated with their graduation assembly and one final hurrah at Luna Park. 

The cohort took part in Sprit Week, a chance to look back into their past and ahead into their future with dress-up themes that surprised us all. From wearing their primary school uniforms, to dressing up as their future selves and even putting on their best pyjamas, the year group made the most of the final days they had with each other and engaged in many activities across the week with a level of enthusiasm which was beyond impressive. 

The Graduation Breakfast provided a chance for the staff of CGHS to spend some time with the year group ahead of graduation, and in true tradition, were the audience to some hilarious, creative and surprising faculty farewell videos which the students will be sure to remember long after they graduate. 

Graduation Day proved to be an emotional day for Year 12; excitement that they were graduating, happiness at being able to wear graduation gowns and nervousness at their futures that lay ahead. The Graduation Assembly highlighted the achievements of students in both academics and sport. The Co-Captains delivered a beautiful final speech which brought a true sense of finality to their time at CGHS. With speeches from both Ms Cameron and Year Advisors Ms La Grassa and Mrs O’Donnell (virtually), students, staff, families and friends were able to reminisce on the memories of Year 12 during their time at CGHS, what they had learnt and what they were most looking forward to as they graduated. There were many tears during this assembly, happy ones of course, not just from students, but also staff and parents who have dedicated so much time and effort to supporting our school community over the past 6 years. 

To end on a high note, Yr 12 spent their final day of high school together at Luna Park. Led by Ms La Grassa, Ms Szymanski, Ms Jwamer and Ms Vamvoukakis, students enjoyed many rides together, shared lunch with each other and partook in many activities across the park. While some rides were for the thrill-seekers, other rides were seemingly tame until Ms La Grassa and Ms Jwamer were stuck on the Ferris Wheel for far longer than the allocated ride time. Safe to say, it was a day filled with unforgettable moments. 

At the request of some students in the cohort, the transcripts of the Co-Captains speech and Year Advisor Speech from the Graduation Assembly are documented in this edition of the newsletter, as a memento that the students can keep beyond their time at CGHS.  

It has been an absolute pleasure to be the Year Advisors for the Class of 2025. On behalf of Ms Serougi and Ms Szymanski, we wish the students the best of luck with their HSC exams and look forward to seeing what they will go on to achieve in the future. 

From the ones who will always be cheering you on, 

Ms La Grassa and Mrs O’Donnell

Canterbury Girls Sleepout for Change

Our Year 9 students are taking action to raise awareness and support vital programs addressing youth homelessness. As part of this initiative, they will make the ultimate sacrifice — spending a night sleeping over at school on Thu, 13 Nov 2025 to better understand the challenges faced by young people without secure housing.

We invite our school community to show your support for their compassion and commitment to making a difference.

Any donations you can make towards this would be greatly appreciated. Please click on the link to make a donation.

R U OK? Day

On Friday the 12th of September, the SRC held the annual R U OK? Day baking competition to raise awareness for mental health and inspire the school to have meaningful conversations with people in their lives who may be struggling. The SRC also held a lolly guessing competition and lemonade stand with all donations going to the R U OK? Foundation.

The 2025 theme for the baking competition was cupcakes. We had 12 entries judged by Ms Strachan, Ms Szymanski, Mr Luttrell and Ms Cooper based on taste, texture and appearance.

The winner of the competition was Joanna Greaves (Y8), winning a $30 voucher with Hailey Lee (Y8) coming 2nd, winning a $25 voucher and Alia Hawkins (Y10) coming in 3rd place winning a box of favorites!

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated. We had 2 jars of lollies each filled with 136 lollies and our 2 closest guesses were Toby Nguyen (Y12) with a guess of 133 and Addison Bourne (Y8) with a guess of 130. They received a jar of lollies each as their prize.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

By Phoebe-Grace Scott, Year 10, SRC Representative

All Schools Athletics

Record-Breaking Performance by Tallara Joseph-Riogi!

In September, at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, the All Schools Athletics Championships took place — and our very own Tallara Joseph-Riogi delivered an incredible performance.

Tallara broke the 16 Years Girls Javelin record, extending it by an impressive three metres with a phenomenal throw of 54.10 metres, surpassing the previous record of 50.87 metres held by World Championship dual medallist, Mackenzie Little.

In addition to her record-breaking throw, Tallara also claimed victory in the U17s Discus event and competed strongly in the Shot Put.

Congratulations, Tallara, on your outstanding achievements and for proudly representing our school at such a high level!

Year 8 Masterchef

Year 8 MasterChef students faced their epic cake challenge in Week 9.

Students wanted to grab the judge’s attention the right way, with an attractive cohesive design. Undercooked disasters got in the way. Stunning decorations thrived. Who crumbles – and who impressed the judges?

It’s really hard to bake and decorate a cake all in one day, let alone in just 2 lessons, so timing, planning, organisation and execution was key. Students had just one lesson to bake a moist sponge cake – a staple for any celebration. The next lesson they were whipping cream, icing, food colouring, and piping to decorate. All in all, students agree that it is the most enjoyable and tasty assessment in any school subject, nothing comes close 😋👨‍🍳

Bring on practical assessment tasks anytime in food technology!

It was hard judging the cakes but here is a standout by Annabella and Gwen.

The theme of our cake is centred around science, success and innovation. It is loosely inspired by our recent research projects, where we both explored different scientific investigations involving biology, chemistry and environmental science. The cake design incorporates a striking golden aesthetic to symbolise the idea of enlightenment and embody success and joy. The use of metallic tones and elegant detailing represents both the prestige of scientific achievement and the hidden value of natural resources and concepts when viewed through the lens of research. This design not only celebrates accomplishment but also transforms scientific ideas into a creative and visually meaningful expression of progress and embellishment.

MADD NIGHT 2025

Get ready for our next big celebration of creativity – MADD Night (Music, Art, Dance & Drama)!

📅 Thursday, 4th December (Week 8)

🕕 6:00pm

📍MPC (Multi-Purpose Centre

Cost:

$20 per adult

$10 per student & pensioners (CGHS Students for free)

MADD Night will showcase the amazing talents of our CAPA students, featuring soloists, small ensembles, dance performances, dramatic pieces, and visual art displays.

🎟 Tickets are available through School Bytes via the link.

After accessing the online payment portal, choose “Add item,” then use the drop-down menu to select the Madd Night 2025 Category for purchasing your tickets.

🤩 Don’t miss this exciting evening of artistic excellence at CGHS! 🤩

MUSIC

🎙️ CG#Sounds 2025 – Students Record Original Tracks in the Studio!

On Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 October 2025, our talented Music students took part in CG#Sounds 2025, an inspiring two-day recording project at A Sharp Recording Studios in Riverwood.

Across the two days, students recorded 13 songs, many of which were original compositions. This experience gave students the chance to step into a professional recording environment, performing under studio conditions and collaborating with our audio engineer extraordinaire, Michael Robson, to capture their best possible takes.

The recordings are now being mixed and mastered by Michael, and once completed, a listening link will be shared so families and the school community can enjoy the finished tracks.

CG#Sounds continues to be a highlight of our Music program, offering students a genuine insight into the music industry while celebrating their creativity, dedication, and performance excellence.

Congratulations to all students involved for their professionalism, enthusiasm, and outstanding musicianship!

Charlotte and the Chocolate Factory – A Sweet Success!

Our 2025 musical production, Charlotte and the Chocolate Factory, was a spectacular celebration of creativity, teamwork, and talent! Students across all year groups brought this original, student-devised show to life through music, acting, dance, costume, and set design. Both the Thursday and Friday night performances were a resounding success, drawing large, enthusiastic audiences.

👏 A huge thank you to our incredible cast, crew, musicians, and staff who made this production possible — your hard work and passion truly shone on stage.

🎥 Relive the magic!

Videos from both casts are now available to watch here:

Photography and Digital Media

Experimental Photomedia – Year 10PDM

This term, Year 10 Photography and Digital Media students have been exploring innovative ways of representing perspective, space and memory through a series of experimental photographic works. Their practical task included three components, each inspired by a contemporary artist.

Students created photo joiners inspired by David Hockney, assembling multiple images into dynamic portraits of place and time. Drawing from Isidro Blasco, they constructed three-dimensional photo sculptures that merge photography with architecture. Finally, inspired by Samin Ahmadzadeh, they produced handwoven photographic pieces, interlacing printed images to explore themes of identity and connection.

The resulting works showcase the students’ growing confidence with both digital and tactile processes.

Year 9 Photography & Digital Media

9PDM Reflections in Photography

Below are examples of students work in Photography. They were tasked with capturing reflections in the environments around them to create a mood, distortions, layers of reflections, street reflections and dream-like scenarios.

Visual Arts

Senior Art Exhibition

Congratulations to Ariunzaiya Lkhundev who won the People’s Choice Award for most popular Year 11 Body of Work in the Senior Visual Arts Exhibition.

Visual Arts

All Year 8 students have been enjoying learning to build ceramic vessels this semester.

Student Support Officer

Peer Support 2026

Here at CGHS we run a Peer Support program with select Yr 10 students and our entire Yr 7 cohort. We do this to support our junior students with their transition to high school and to foster and develop leadership skills in some of our older students.

Yr 9 students will have an opportunity this term to opt-in to 1.5 days of Peer Leader training to become our Peer Support Leadership Group for 2026. Students will receive further information shortly about how they can submit an Expression of Interest to become a Peer Support Leader for 2026.

Wellbeing Program T4

Yr 8 – Digital Thumbprint ‘Cyber bullying’ workshop – Thursday 4 Dec

Yr 9 – Peer Leader Training (selected students) – Wednesday 19 Nov & Thursday 20 Nov

Yr 10 – Love Bites/Day of Wellbeing – Thursday 13 Nov & Friday 14 Nov

Yr 11 – UTS ‘HSC Stress Management’ workshop – Monday 27 Oct

First Nations Leadership Group

During our latest visit with Canterbury Boys High School and The Settlement, we participated in a range of activities that required us to reflect on what we think a leader is, and what makes a leader. We then were able to explore what makes us, ourselves and draw that. We were then able to share what we drew and why specific things are important to us. 

Every fortnight one of our First Nations Leadership students receive an attendance award. This fortnight our award has been awarded to year 7 student Tully Perkins. Tully has worked to improve her attendance over the last three terms, and is the recipient of our First Nations Leadership attendance award. Great work Tully! 

Career News

In Week 6 Year 10 will be out on work experience. This is for many the first taste of the working world so it will be challenging. 

The range of placements is broad but most popular is going to Primary School to taste what it’s like to be a teacher. We have students off to a theatre, university and retail. 

Over 100 students will be off to work experience and will need a parent/carers support to get through. Assist your student with understanding the workplace and its expectations. My advice the week before is to confirm the work experience placement and check: what time to meet, where to meet and what to wear. 

If your student is sick during the week please inform the workplace and the school. Please provide a doctor’s certificate on return. 

All the best. 

Ms Rita Evangelista 

Careers Advisor 

P&C News

What’s the one night of the year where Canterbury parents and citizens get competitive, laugh too loudly, and insist they totally knew that answer all along?

👉 Answer: The CGHS P&C Trivia Night!

Get ready for a night of laughs, friendly rivalry, and a touch of chaos as teams battle it out for glory, prizes, and bragging rights.

📅 When: Saturday, 8 November
📍 Where: Canterbury Girls High School Hall
🍷 Why: Because it’s fun and it’s for a great cause

Grab your friends, assemble your dream (or most entertaining) team, and book your table before they’re gone.

🎟 Get your tickets now!

  Let’s make it a night to remember — or at least a night we’ll laugh about later.  

Cheers,
The P&C Team
P.S. No Google allowed during the quiz. We’re watching you. 👀📱

P.P.S. The bar will be open. That’s not trivia — that’s a fact. 🍷😉

Community News

‘Adolescents and Anxiety’ is a one-off psychoeducational workshop on anxiety for parents of adolescents. The workshop is 2 hours and will be delivered online by Good Shepherd clinicians. This workshop aims to:

• Increase parents’ knowledge of and empathy for anxiety in adolescents,
• Increase parents’ ability to identify potential experiences of anxiety in their adolescents, 
• Broaden parents’ scope for connection with adolescents, 
• Provide brief strategies for parents to implement and model, 
• Workshop strategies with parents to make them more accessible to implementation with their adolescents. 

Our team are excited to share that we will be running this workshop online Thursday 6 November 5:30pm – 6:30 pm and it can be easily accessed via TEAMS. Simply register by clicking the link below:

https://events.humanitix.com/adolescents-and-anxiety-workshop-for-parents-qyt66fk7

Community News

Discover Australia’s Boldest Student Horror Films at the Sydney Opera House!

We’re excited to invite students and families to experience the Best of Bloodfest Shorts 2025 — a showcase of Australia’s most thrilling student horror short films! On Wednesday, 29 October, the Sydney Opera House Playhouse will come alive with creative energy as young filmmakers bring their spooky stories to the big screen.

Join us for the red carpet arrivals at 5pm, with the film screening starting at 6pm. The event runs for about 75 minutes and is suitable for anyone aged 15 and over.

Bloodfest is more than just a film festival. It’s a celebration of student creativity and imagination, showing what happens when education meets the excitement of the film industry. Watching these talented young filmmakers can inspire students to explore their own storytelling abilities and maybe even enter the next Bloodfest Schools Competition in 2026!

Event Details:

• What: Best of Bloodfest Shorts 2025
• When: Wednesday, 29 October
• Where: Sydney Opera House Playhouse
• Time: 5pm red carpet arrivals, 6pm screening
• Duration: Approximately 75 minutes
• Suitable for: Ages 15 and over
• Tickets: Available to purchase via the Sydney Opera House website

Don’t miss this chance to see Australia’s boldest young horror filmmakers in action and discover where your creativity could take you!

Community News

Community News

Exclusive HSC study Sessions

Info:

Canterbury Bankstown Council Libraries will be open to all HSC students, offering full access to resources, quiet study areas and facilities to support their preparation.

Sessions are FREE. No bookings needed. Just bring your student ID for entry.

Dates: 1 September – 31 October 2025

Times: see the flyer for further information

Locations:

• Bankstown Library
• Riverwood Library
• Panania Library
• Chester Hill Library
• Greenacre Library

Further information please check out: cb.city/HSCStudySessions and see the flyer attached

Community News