From the Senior School
From the Head of Senior School
Christmas has arrived in the Senior School!
On Friday, we kicked off our celebrations by inviting our Year 5 sisters to help us decorate the Senior School Christmas tree and participate in a range of Christmas fun. Throughout this year the students of Year 11 and Year 5 have been involved in a mentoring program, where students have been sharing stories, honouring their journey through the Junior School and Senior School, and building friendships. This event was an opportunity to wish each other well for the holiday season with hopes of continuing this program in 2024, when they will be the leaders of their respective schools.
Our Senior students continue to amaze us with their personal achievements. Special mentions this week go to Joy Ye, National Winner in the category of NSW Young Historian and to Julie Sheng who has won a national nature poetry competition in the Upper Secondary division called Poem Forest, run by Red Room Poetry. Please enjoy Julie’s poem titled Spider Orchid. More information on this competition can be found by clicking here.
Spider Orchid
By Chengjia (Julie) Sheng
I speak in flowers –
In silken threads of nectar,
Stitched by the languid arachne.
In crystalline petals quivering,
At the wooing of the wind.
In coquettish shoots prodding,
The sable velvet of the world.
A slender arch of rose-tinged white,
For a keen, crisp spring.
A curl of delicate green,
For a full-bodied summer.
A velveteen mink of pollen,
For a deep, dusky autumn,
But it has been a long winter for me,
A winter of harsh razed hinterlands.
It has been a bitter winter for me,
A winter of brittle seeds and wilted buds.
Look, here comes a hand, cruel and calloused,
That wrenches my soul from my belly,
And, with a tortured wail, plucks me by the roots.
From the Head of History Mrs Caragh Warth
Joy Ye of Year 11 recently submitted an essay From the Great Southern Land to the Land of the Rising Sun: Tourism and the Australian-Japan Relationship in the 19th and 20th Centuries to the National History Challenge. In exciting news, she was awarded originally Best in NSW in the Year 11 – 12 category. When she arrived at the Ceremony last Tuesday, 14 November, she found out the amazing news that she is off to Canberra to receive the National Winner in the category of NSW Young Historian. Congratulations Joy!
Responding to feedback
As the newsletter is published, the Year 12 students will be finishing their first round of assessment tasks and receiving feedback. While there may be some excitement, pride or disappointment upon receiving their results, it is really important that students look to the feedback for ways to improve.
Please remind your daughter to check in with her teacher if she does not understand her feedback or would like further support. If your daughter is disappointed, an initial emotional response can be understandable but doesn’t help in moving forward with clarity on how to improve.
Remind your daughter that the mark is not the essential point of focus, instead ask her about the feedback she has received. It is also useful to help your daughter reflect on the strategies she used in preparing for the task – eg were all aspects of the task covered, did she leave sufficient time for preparation and review? Remember too that feedback can look different in different subjects – there is generally some written feedback, some verbal feedback and some time for personal reflection. Engaging in this will help improve preparation for the next task. A good sense of perspective can also be very helpful.
From the Secondary School Parent Group
Pilar and Susan hope that parents and carers from Year 12 2024 can join us for this end-of-year event being held at the Yemma’s home on Friday 8 December. It promises be a fun evening and a great opportunity to reconnect before the summer break. For catering purposes, please RSVP asap to Susan (sma.liu@yahoo.com)
Cost: $42 per person
When: Friday 8 December at 7.00pm
Where: The Yemma’s home at 103 Junction Road, Wahroonga
RSVP by December 1st to Susan sma.liu@yahoo.com
Please advise of any dietary requirements.
Term 4 – Key Dates
23 November – Dan Haesler presentation – Winning’s a Lousy Teacher
6 December Speech Day Year 7 to 11
6 December Term 4 concludes
Nikki Wyse
Head of Senior School