From the Principal:

There have been a variety of opportunities this term to celebrate the achievements of our school community. Mrs Elaine Bricknell was honoured at Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday 4 November at the Come Together Awards: a Celebration of Excellence. Mrs Bricknell is currently a member of our School Administration team, she is the President of the Penshurst Girls Union, a parent and has been a volunteer for many years at our school. She was the leading organiser of our 50 year anniversary celebrations and the publication of the memoir The Girls in Blue: A History of Penshurst Girls' High School. Mrs Bricknell was also instrumental in the creation of our School Museum, a wonderful legacy for our entire school community. Mrs Bricknell is a deserving recipient of this award. The picture below shows Mrs Bricknell on stage as she is about to accept her award.

On Friday 14 November Kayla M. in Year 7 was awarded a Deadly Kids Doing Well award at the University of Technology. Kayla was joined by her family to receive her award along with many other students from across Public Schools NSW Ultimo schools.

Term 4 is always a busy term. Especially as it is a time when school staff gather information from throughout the year to comment on and assess student achievement. A highlight has been our celebratory Morning Teas where we acknowledge the work of many students. These students are invited, along with their parents, as they have made demonstrable and visible progress since Semester 1. We have already held our Morning Tea for Year 7 and it was an absolute pleasure to see so many students who have made such a successful transition to High School. Equally as pleasing was the effort many parents and extended family members made to attend the school and support their daughters by celebrating their success with them.

At the end of last term I attended the Class of 2014 Oatley Senior Campus HSC Graduation ceremony at Sydney Town Hall. It was inspiring to see so many students realise their dreams and achieve their potential, many of them graduates of our middle school Campus. This term we will be farewelling our Year 10 students as they too continue their journey, realise their dreams and achieve their potential. Many of these students have worked very hard and achieved excellent grades for their Year 10 Record of School Achievement (RoSA). They will be taking this dedicated work ethic with them when they transition to Oatley. Their remaining time with us will be spent consolidating their Stage 5 studies and preparing for Stage 6. Attendance at school is compulsory until the end of the year. Year 10 students will be undertaking important skills based work, as well as completing HSC: All My Own Work, an on line BOSTES course that must be satisfactorily completed before students can be enrolled in any Year 11 course.

Just as we ready ourselves to farewell a wonderful group of students we are also preparing to welcome our new Year 7 students for 2015. Our Orientation Day will be held on Wednesday 3 December 2014. This will be an opportunity to welcome our new students and their families to our school, as well as see more of the exciting opportunities our school offers its students.

Even as the school year draws to a close, our expectation of students to be in full school uniform does not change. I ask that parents support the school, and their daughters, in ensuring their daughters come to school in full school uniform, with all their equipment, on time and ready to learn. At this time of the year I also ask that any outstanding school contributions are finalised. If any family needs financial assistance in these matters, please contact the office.

Ms Noeline Ross

Principal