Year 10

Welcome to Year 10 2026. I’m looking forward to working with you all this year as Head of Year. I am grateful to Emily Marsh, for all her help and support in the transition to the new group and I work closely with Fiona Pow as Head of Students – Year 10 to Year 12.

The girls have had a positive start to the term on Wednesday with our first-year meeting, Luminary time and getting straight into classes.

We welcome four new students this year, and we are excited to have some new faces share the senior journey with us – Eloise Dyster, Elsa Zhu, Jiwan Park and Evelyn Stupart. They have been working with their buddies to get used to new routines and spaces and making new connections in their Luminary groups, teams and classes.

I’m privileged to be working with such an experienced team of Luminaries – most of whom have worked with the girls since Year 7. Joining us is Jo Cilia and Ashleigh White in Sutton and Louise Piggott in Abbeythorpe. Jo and Louise bring a great deal of expertise to the senior space – Jo as Head of Futures and Pathways and Louise as Head of Library Services, as well as being experienced Luminaries.

Year 10 begins their Careers education program next week with the Careers Profiling Test and follow up interviews in Week 5 (week commencing Monday 23 February 2026). Please click here for further details.

In wellbeing this term, we focus on a number of key areas of social and emotional learning – navigating friendships, dealing with change, managing emotions, resilience and the importance of gratitude. Stress management is a key component of the Year 10 Luminary program as we help students to manage challenges – both academic and personal. In conjunction with the careers program, we will be looking at Character Strengths and using these tools to build self-esteem and resilience. The Academic Care space works within our Luminary program also and we will be looking at study skills for Year 10, the science of learning and team building.

As part of our commitment to support the parent community, your daughter’s Luminary will be contacting you to check in on your daughter’s transition to Year 10. Please flag any issues you wish to discuss for us to follow up. In my role as Head of Year, it is my aim to support you to support your daughter as you progress through Year 10 to Year 12. It is an exciting time with lots of things to look forward to – work experience and the Year 10 Immersion in Term 4.

I look forward to meeting you at the Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 4 February 2026 and the Parent Welcome Event on Friday 6 February 2026.

A reminder too about photo day on Monday 2 February, it’s important students are in full School uniform for photos next week. Find out how to order and read more about this by clicking here.

– Sharon Connolly
Head of Year 10