Welcome Back!  I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays. I also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. I am so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. I welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and I look forward to working with you and your child(ren).

All signs point to another incredible and productive school year. Our skilled and devoted staff is already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our enthusiastic office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials and updating student files. Our hard working and conscientious custodians have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the school. We are indeed a dedicated and caring community with the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring women and promoting high-level learning.

New Staff Each year brings positive change. This includes a few additions to our staff. Congratulations to Mary Karas who has been appointed Head Teacher TAS and Kay Glitsos as Head Teacher Secondary Studies. Tony Vosnakis will be relieving as Head Teacher Quality Systems Administration. We are delighted to welcome Helen Maynes, Omar Maysser and Ferizi Nicholas in HSIE, Jaihu Lin and Kawing Chan in Mathematics, Raelene Knight in Science, Emily Okros in TAS. These teachers bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their roles. We also welcome our new counselor, Michelle Grace, who we were able to obtain through the National Chaplaincy Program. She will bring a solid skill set and a gentle, sensitive approach to meeting children’s health and emotional needs.

Facilities Update The importance of regular physical activity is broadly recognised. It is also understood that childhood is the time to develop the habits of mind and behaviours that will lead to active and healthy living throughout life. We know that these attitudes, skills and behaviours do not come pre-programmed and must be learnt. Firstly, we have upgraded our oval to a quality learning space for physical education. We have also lined out hand ball courts and are in the process installing outdoor table tennis tables. Our purpose is to encourage our girls to spend less time on their devices and more time embracing physical activity.

Since my arrival in 2019, the girls have made pleading requests for an upgrade in bathrooms. We have completed the painting and tiling but are still awaiting final fixtures and artwork.

Much needed work has also been done to upgrade our Library and Hall with fresh paint and pinboard installation. The Library is preparing to meet targets within the School Plan for a future focused learning space.

Student Placement A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2020 school year.

Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level.  Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.

Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff work hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Beverly Hills Girls High School is eagerly looking forward to enriching your child’s life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher.

Teaching and Learning

Our targets for 2020 include literacy and numeracy, formative assessment and the implementation of positive behaviour for learning. The school has introduced the Renaissance Accelerated Reading program to our Stage 4 curriculum and a learning and response matrix ALARM to our Stage 5 and 6 cohort to combat Literacy. Programs for numeracy include ‘Smarter Maths’ and ‘Maths Online for our Stage 4 and 5 students. Our teachers are currently being developed in administrating Learning Intentions and Success Criteria to increase their knowledge and understanding of formative assessment. Positive Behaviour for Learning is in the implementation stage for 2020.

Thank you to all who are helping prepare for the new school year. Your commitment to insuring that Beverly Hills Girls High School continues to be a celebrated and successful school is awe-inspiring. I eagerly look forward to greeting students and families again. It remains an honor and privilege to serve as your principal.  Please stop by and say hello. Together, I know we will make this school year one of growth and achievement for all our girls.

Please join us for our next P&C on Wednesday 11th March at 6.00pm. We would love to meet you!

Maria Iemma

Principal 

Welcome back to 2020! I, for one, am very happy to start a new year having had a relaxed break. Our thoughts go out to communities that have been affected by both fires and floods and to schools that have not been able to be ready for the start of the New Year.

This year, I will be supporting the Student Advisers as they provide pastoral care to Years 7, 9 and 11. I will also endeavour to get to know  your daughters and you, their families.

Please continue to support your daughters to wear the correct uniform every day. If students are out of uniform, the process is that they should have a note from their guardian explaining the reason why they are out of uniform. This note should then be taken to Mrs Williams for Years 8, 10 and 12, or myself for Years 7, 9 and 11. The uniform shop is open every Friday from 8.30 until 3 pm. Also, we ask that you monitor the acrylic nails the girls are wearing. Some nails are sharp and long and this can lead to serious hazards and are dangerous to other students in the playground and during sport. Acrylic nails, like natural nails, should be kept short to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students is met at our school. Long acrylic nails can be something the girls do in school holidays but are certainly not part of the school uniform.

A reminder that school starts at 8.45 am every morning. Broadarrow and King Georges Roads are becoming more congested with traffic, resulting in many of our students arriving late to school. Starting school on time allows students to feel stress free and maximise on their learning.  Parents, encourage your daughters to go to bed at a reasonable time and to pack their bags the night before to assist them to get ready on time each morning. One of our aims this term is reducing lateness, and ask for your support in this matter.

We are looking forward to a very productive year.

Raquel Spratt

Deputy Principal

Welcome staff, students and parents to the 2020 school year. We especially welcome our Year 7 students and students new to Years 8-12 as well as their parents and carers to our successful learning community.

We’ve had a busy start to the term. Year 7 participated in an Orientation program and are currently involved in a Peer Support program. School Photos have been taken of all girls and they are to be congratulated on their presentation and cooperation on the day. We have held a Morning Tea to congratulate our high achievers in the 2019 HSC, and Open Night for prospective students and their parents will be on Monday 24th February. The school will be hosting the selective schools test for Year 6 students on 12th March and we will celebrate Harmony Day - a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity and to share what we have in common on 21st March.

Communicating with Parents and Carers

With so much happening, we understand the importance of informing students and parents of these important dates well in advance. At present this information can be found on permission notes brought home from school as well as on the schools website and Facebook pages. Communication is the key to the school being able to respond to the complex needs of our students, in particular when health or family circumstances change. No enquiry is too trivial, so I encourage all parents/carers to contact the school and seek the advice or support of our staff in ensuring their child is best able to manage their learning opportunities with us. In the near future we intend to upgrade our systems for communicating with parents. This will be in the form of the Parent Portal.

The Portal will allow the school to send instant push notifications to parents to notify them of a new message from school. It will allow parents to make payments and record them and eliminate manual handling of payments and increase payment convenience for parents. It allows the school to communicate swiftly and easily, including informing parents about homework requirements. Most importantly, important data and information in the form of reports will be readily available to parents and carers. The Parent Portal will become a reality later this term. Please keep a look out for an email from the school with further details on how to subscribe to the Portal. If you have changed your email address, please ensure that you send in your new details so we can update our records.

Changes in the Curriculum

As a school, we are embracing some significant educational changes:

From 2020, students in NSW will need to demonstrate a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive their Higher School Certificate (HSC). The minimum standard for the HSC 2020 is linked to NAPLAN 2017 results. Students who received a Band 8 or higher in their Year 9 Reading, Writing and Numeracy NAPLAN tests have already met the standard and will not need to sit the minimum standard online tests.

Students will need to sit the online tests in the areas in which they did NOT score Band 8 or higher. These tests are based around the Australian Core Skills Framework and the minimum standard is set at Level 3. This means that students who demonstrate the standard have the basic functional skills used in everyday life, for work and further study.

Beverly Hills Girls High School is committed to supporting our students to meet the HSC Minimum Standards. To achieve this, we have implemented a HSC Minimum Standards Tutorial Program, which will provide additional learning opportunities and targeted tuition aimed at supporting students to improve their skills in literacy and numeracy. Students who did NOT score Band 8 or higher in one or more of their Year 9 Reading, Writing and Numeracy NAPLAN tests will be required to participate in the Tutorial Program. The program will be embedded into a Learning Enrichment course and will be timetabled for every Monday period 6 and Wednesday period 4. This course will operate in the same manner as all senior courses with attendance data monitored and recorded and student progress assessed and reported on.

Technology across the School.

AS part of our 2018-2020 school plan we are endeavouring to review how we use technology in the learning process and plan how best to use technology in the future. The school boasts a large number of computers set up in our 6 computer labs as well as 6 banks of laptop computers which are extensively used across the school. Each of our classrooms are equipped with data projectors and we are looking to increase our access to digital learning platforms. Our wonderful Parents and Citizens (P&C) group recently donated $10,000 to purchase a 3D printer which will be available for use by all students.  As always, their generous support is highly appreciated. I would encourage as many parents as possible to come along to P&C meetings (see dates in this newsletter) to support our school, not just in fundraising, but in informing and shaping our school’s future directions.

School Procedures

I would like to take this opportunity to remind students and their carers of some vital procedures that are in place to ensure the safety and welfare of your daughter.

• If you have changed address,email or phone numbers recently could you please notify the front office. It is important that we keep our student records up to date
• Classes start each day at 8:45am. Students are required to be at school by 8:40am and must not leave the grounds until the end of the school day. Students who are late to school must sign in at the office.
• Requests for early leave from school require a detailed note and reason from a parent/ carer. Most requests are confirmed with a parent/ carer to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students. Appointments should be made outside of school hours and it is not acceptable to schedule appointments during sport time.
• Students who are sick must follow the school procedures, which includes, presenting to the class teacher. Teacher may refer to sick bay via a signed note. The Sick bay officer will attend to the sick student and take appropriate action which may include calling parents. Students should not present at the front office without a note from their class teacher and should not call home before being seen by the First Aid Officer.

Our Year to Celebrate

This year is our 60th Anniversary and we intend to celebrate. The date is set for Friday 20th November, when we will invite past and present students, staff, neighbours and the wider community to join us at school to celebrate this momentous occasion. Details are yet to be finalised and a planning meeting will be occurring in the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in being on the organising committee, please contact the school and leave your details.

Christine Williams

Deputy Principal

The results achieved by Beverly Hills Girls High School students in the Higher School Certificate are a reflection of the students’ dedication and hard work, as well as the high-quality teaching and educational environment provided at Beverly Hills Girls High School. Once again, the school community should be very proud of the students who sat for the HSC in 2019. 164 Year 12 students completed the HSC. Of these students, 150 students have been contacted providing their career destinations and Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) results and it is a pleasure to report an array of outstanding results from them. Ninety nine (98%) are engaged in full time tertiary study (University, TAFE or Private Providers / Colleges). An outstanding 126 students (78%) of the students received offers from a full range of prestigious universities and reflect the diversity of their career interests. This percentage is well above the state average for university offers.

Congratulations to Sara Ali achieving HSC Dux of the class of 2019.  She will be studying Double Actuary Studies at the University of New South Wales.

2019 HSC Distinguished Achievers 

Distinguished Achievers

Of the 162 students who were eligible for an ATAR, an outstanding 126 students (78%) of the students received offers from a full range of prestigious universities and reflect the diversity of their career interests. This percentage is well above the state average for university offers.

University of New South Wales (11 students), University of Technology (17 students), Macquarie University (7 students), University of Sydney (12 students), University of Western Sydney (45 students), University of Wollongong (5 students), Australian Catholic University (9 students), University of Notre Dame (2), Torrens University (3), Charles Sturt University (2), Whitehouse Institute of Design (1).

This year, the university courses which students enrolled into were diverse and reflected the interest and abilities of the 2019 HSC students and reflecting our motto “Be Somebody” with the belief that women can do anything. Some of the degrees chosen by our students are:

Teaching (Secondary / Primary)), Accounting, Business, Commerce, Economics, Mathematics & Finance, Law, Arts, International Studies, Social Science, Social Work, Media & Communication, Architecture, Occupational Therapy, Interior Design, Visual Communication, , Speech & Hearing Science, Engineering, Science, Music, Health Science, Bio Medical Science, Medical Science, Criminology, Forensic Science, Health Sciences, Computing, Information Technology, Nursing, Psychology.

Of the remaining 2%, students have chosen to study at TAFE or at a private provider with courses in Nursing, Animal Studies & Hairdressing.  

The advice for current senior students is to take the time to research carefully and take every opportunity available in the school for help in career decision making. Visit the Careers Room, attend careers expos, talks and excursions. By the end of September, the current Year 12 students will be ready to apply for TAFE, private providers, University courses or an apprenticeship/ traineeship.

Susan Pangis

Careers Adviser

In 2020, Year 10 students will have the opportunity to participate in one/two week(s) of Work Experience. This program is a legitimate part of secondary schooling and integral to the Career Education Program at this school.  The aim of the program is for students to gain first-hand experience in a work situation and develop an understanding of the process involved in choosing a career.

We would appreciate your assistance in encouraging your daughter to participate in this worthwhile program. Students who leave work experience organisation to the last minute, often miss out of their desired career choice. All placements and paperwork for Work Experience are to be finalised 3 weeks before the date of any work experience.

The following weeks have been set aside for any student wishing to do work experience, this year dates will be flexible, and students can negotiate with the Careers Adviser and their teacher to go on work experience for the week.  If these dates are not suitable with employers, students can discuss this with the Careers Adviser.

Term 2 2020

Week 8 June 15-19 2020

Week 9 June 22-26 2020

Term 3 2020

Week 2 July 27-31 2020

Week 3 August 3-7 2020

Week 9 September 14-18 2020

Term 4 2020

Week 7 November 23-27 2020

Week 8 November 30-December 4 2020

Week 9 December 7-11 2020

This experience happened quite unexpectedly. I was just walking down the corridor and saw  the photography competition poster on the wall,  and suddenly I became curious about photographs. I wanted to explore the theme of 'My Belonging' and, along with the other school contestants in the competition, I found new ideas and understanding.

This was a great experience.  While taking the photos, our friendships bonds were discussed and strengthened resulting in increased harmony among us. True belonging was found.

Marzia M, Year 10

Each young person’s journey in navigating the working world is unique. In supporting student transition into the workforce, the unit ‘Jobs for the Girls’ provides guidance to improve student work-readiness and ensure they develop the skills required when settling into a job.

Students engage in writing applications of employment and resumes, prepare for various types of interviews and familiarise themselves with relevant legislation and professional behaviour. They learn the right forms and styles of communication and gain confidence that they will take with them into all their future work endeavours. In fact, we have been so successful, several of our students found a real job while doing the class learning activities. We couldn't be prouder.

Further to this, students learn to value volunteering by partaking in the 'Be Connected Community Program’, empowering older Australians to learn the skills to thrive in a digital world.  The growing connection between students and their 'buddies' was lovely to see.

Agape Avgenakis and Zeinab Hamka, Classroom Teachers

Our unique curriculum structure, ASPIRE, was designed for us to provide students with a personalised learning pathway that is tailored to students’ needs allowing us to extend our students ‘ capacity in a myriad of ways. One such example is the LearNing Matters Course that we designed especially to enhance the literacy and numeracy skills of our students. Under the leadership of our Deputy Principals and Head Teacher Teaching and Learning, a team of BHGHS teachers from multiple faculties within the school, engaged in professional learning on the Literacy and Numeracy progressions, before working together to create resources and units of work, which were introduced for the first time to last year’s Year 8 cohort.

The course was divided into two distinct units, literacy and numeracy, and involved students engaging in a range of learning activities to strengthen student skills and help them develop an appreciation for the role literacy and numeracy plays in each of our lives.

Following a successful implementation, the Unit has been thoroughly evaluated by staff and students and, in its second year, there have been a number of changes made to the units which we feel will only bring greater benefits to our students.

Such was the success of the inaugural year of LearNing Matters, we have now developed a way to offer a similar course to students in Years 11 and 12. The Stage 6 Course has been created after extensive analysis of data and thorough research, and is offered to identified students as a means of helping them become more profession-ready as they move towards the end of their secondary schooling experience.

We believe this program has had, and will continue to have, a profoundly positive impact on our students.

Candice Byrnes and Agape Avgenakis, Classroom Teachers

I had the privilege of being invited to the Art Gallery of NSW to accompany our students of refugee background, sisters Haneen, Year 8 and Rawan, Year 9. Their drawings capture their feelings when they were in primary school after arriving safely in Australia. The display was part of an exhibition by the famous modern Australian artist, Ben Quilty. 

Ben's project, entitled Belonging, was carried out in 2017 to help students from Syria use art as a way of healing. 

Their artwork is also included in Ben's book entitled 'Home'. Ben worked with Syrian refugee students in overseas camps,  and then wanted to return to OZ to capture the emotions of refugee students here, such as Haneen and Rawan, as they tried to rebuild their life. We are immensely proud of our girls for their artwork, resilience and the excellent progress they are making here at Beverly Hills Girls High. 

Helen Anaxagorou, EAL/D Teacher

With the beginning of a new year and a new decade, the Student Representative Council (SRC) has been meeting regularly to ensure that 2020 is a memorable year for our school, filled with opportunities for reflection and growth.

One of the first projects the SRC embarked on this year was the celebration of Valentine’s Day. In the hopes of spreading kindness to one another and further enhancing the positive culture we have here, students wrote messages of love and care on hearts which were placed around the school. Students were also given the opportunity to take photos of themselves and their friends in handmade booths on the day. Whilst this was only one day, these activities served as a reminder that each student here is loved and valued and that Beverly Hills Girls High School is a great place to be.

We continue to work closely with the Intensive English Centre (IEC), in our longest-running initiative, Successful Aspiring Students Supporting You (SASSY), where students volunteer their lunch to assist students from the IEC in enhancing their reading skills and in adapting to their new lives in Australia.

Through the support and generosity of our staff and students, the 'Bevo Bundlers’ knitting club has been extended to run for another year! Last year we co-knitted a number of blankets which will be donated to families in need in time for this winter. This year, the ‘Bevo Bundlers’ will continue knitting blankets but will also be working to crochet little koala heads. These koala heads will then be sold in the hopes of raising funds which will be donated to victims of the recent bushfire tragedy, evidence of our willingness to positively impact the lives of others in our wider community.

We are also working on a number of key initiatives and will endeavour to keep you informed of our progress in coming assemblies and newsletters.

Hi, our names are Tasmia and Siknoor.

Our Year 7 experience has been great so far! Before starting high school, we were very nervous, especially on our first day when we walked through the school gates. However, once we met all the teachers, our peers and found our way around the school, it felt like home.

To us, this school is peaceful, productive and provides us with an effective learning environment where students and teachers work together to learn and grow. We realised from our very first day that everyone fits in perfectly. For example, on the first day of school everyone made new friends straight away.

We could not ask for a better school. BHGHS clearly proves that Women Can Do Anything and we look forward to getting involved in all the exciting opportunities available at this wonderful school.

Beverly Hills Girls High School has a long and proud tradition of providing quality education for young women who study here with us. Nurturing the talents and abilities of young and individual women working within our inner belief that 'Women Can Do Anything', basically drives all the leadership and learning in this school.  

One of the best subjects when learning at this school is English. English is, certainly, the most vital and important subject a student will learn in school as it gives them the ability to achieve the highest potential they could possibly have. In English, we learn to improve our sense of vocabulary, punctuation and learning how to speak proper English so we will be able to communicate effectively with others in  this advanced English speaking country.

So far in English, we have been  studying the unit, ‘Me, Myself and I’. In this unit, we will share our personal stories through spoken, visual and written texts such as letters and autobiographies,  allowing us to showcase who we are. In case you didn’t know, the definition of an Autobiography is literally SELF (auto), LIFE (bio), WRITING (graph), or in other words,  a story of someone’s life written or otherwise told by that person. All the English classes are going to be writing an Autobiography as their assessment task, and this will help the teachers to have a better understanding about their students’ lives and what the young women are capable of in their writing.

The advanced class will be writing the autobiography too,  but they will also be writing biography-like speeches of an inspiring and empowering women they look up to. The students doing the biography will have to speak in the persona of the role model they have chosen and try to convince the class as to why she is/was a motivating individual.

We are also learning the structure of ‘letters’, thinking about the differences between a formal and a personal letter and how to actually write one. What not to add, and what to add, such as emotive language and past tense are some of the factors we have been considering.   Later, we will also be looking into different types of texts such as creative texts like poems and stories. Our English teachers are trying to help us to be creative and enjoy writing and coming up with ideas of our own. 

When it comes to English at BHGHS, we take it very seriously. Our school library is a creative, quiet and calm learning environment packed with over 20, 000 books and 30 computers and laptops. Many of us tend to visit this area to study and do the homework that has been assigned by our teachers.  Many others use it as a resource area for their assignments, from finding the useful information in the books or logging onto the internet to do their research. Many just use the Library as a hangout place to talk to their friends, work quietly and play board games. Either way, it is a generally enjoyable place to hang out with your friends or to study in and we would recommend to everyone. The library is above the science labs and opens Monday to Thursday at recess and lunch and Friday at lunch. 

Speaking of the library and books, in Advanced English Class, we’ve been reading some amazing and inspirational books as well, like “Chinese Cinderella” by Adeline Yen Mah and “Anne Frank; The Diary of a Young Girl”. 

We also have some book reviews from students:

Book Name: The Girl and the Seven Thieves

Author: Olivia Snowe

It is a twice-told tale about a famous fairytale which is related to Snow White and the seven dwarfs. The story explains that a sweet but young girl is homeless because of her evil stepmother’s threat. A new life is started upon making friends with seven thieves that the girl comes to meet while roaming the streets of New York. While thinking that the thieves are good she starts her life with them.

I really enjoyed the book as it was really creative and around the end was mysterious and sad for the girl.

Adeena F, Year 7

Book name: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

Author: JK Rowling

This book is undoubtedly darker than the previous ones, as Harry learns more and more about the secret forces that are a danger to Hogwarts. The people began to get more complex, and an awful lot more interesting. Once I started I couldn’t stop and when I finished I just kept on reading and would never get bored.

Aliza A, Year 7

English is actually a subject that we will never get bored of, well for us at least!

Thank you for reading this report of what Year 7 English is doing for now.

Maheya H and Azka I, Year 7

Growth Mindset in Mathematics

Research has shown that when we make mistakes our brain actually makes more connections.

Here are two good tips!

1.    Instead of saying:

 “I am not good at this” say “I am not good at this yet” 

2.    Ask yourself “What mistakes have I made and what can I learn from them”

We believe that all students can learn in Mathematics.

Maths Online

All Students in Year 7 to Year 10 have access to Maths Online.

Please speak to your daughter about this program and encourage them to use it at home to extend their learning.

The website is at https://www.mathsonline.com.au/  where you read further information about it.

How do I access Maths Online?

Your Maths Class Teacher would have supplied your daughter with their login and password details. If they lose this, they can always ask their teacher for another copy.

To access MathsOnline, simply go to the above website and enter login and password.

Why is it good?

It is good because it provides your daughter with learning videos, quizzes, online tests and exercises on all topics from Kindergarten to Year 12. It provides an opportunity to go over previously learnt work (even in earlier school years) or even extends learning by practicing topics in future years.

Your daughter can use it independently or a teacher or tutor can use it to support and encourage the learning of Mathematics.

We encourage students to try as many topics and use this program to support their learning.

Compulsory Maths Online Task

All students will have to do at least one compulsory task with MathsOnline.

PiRates Peer Tutoring

Encourage your daughter to take advantage of our free lunchtime peer-tutoring program.

PiRates Tutoring runs every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at Lunchtime in Room 1

Students are welcome to attend anytime. Where they get help with homework, study, maths Online or help with any mathematics questions that they may have.

SMARTERMATHS NAPLAN Online

All Students in Year 9 have access to this Numeracy Program, which is to assist in preparation for NAPLAN.

How do I access SMARTERMATHS NAPLAN Online?

If your daughter is in Year 9, last year she was already been provided with a login and password. Also her classroom teacher can provider her another copy.

Why is it good?

It is good because it has many numeracy tests to try.

It provides Numeracy Band results similar to NAPLAN.

It adapts to your daughters level of Numeracy and gradually increase in difficulty as she improves.

It is an excellent way to improve numeracy.

The website is at https://www.smartermaths.com.au/naplan/ , which provides further information.

How do I access SMARTERMATHS NAPLAN Online?

Simply go to this website https://explore.smartermaths.com.au/ and enter your login and password.

Don’t forget Pi Day on 14th March!

On this day, there will be activities and prizes for students such as bake a PI cake, recite PI and making PI paper chains.  This Year we will celebrate Pi Day, one day earlier on Friday the 13th March.

We have a busy year ahead of us in 2020. We are amalgamating Social Sciences and History for the first time at our school. This exciting new venture will open up many new opportunities for our students.

Also in 2020, we see the  introduction of the new Syllabus for Elective History and Commerce. Our staff are busy planning new units and exciting opportunities for our students to enjoy and learn in these subject areas. 

Year 12 History Extension students are working busily on their Historical Projects with Mr Aligiannis. Society and Culture classes are busy with Ms Zahariadis working on their Personal Interest Projects. Business Studies, Legal Studies, Economics and Geography are all working on various units preparing our students for their HSC.

We welcome new staff into the faculty this year, both Mr Ferizis and Ms Omer have joined our teaching team and faculty. We also welcome Ms Maynes returning from maternity leave.

Both Year 11 Modern History classes will be participating in an excursion to see the film 1917 as part of their WWI study. Year 12 Ancient and Modern Students will be attending HSC study days at Sydney University. Parents will be advised via permission slip of cost for the day attendance. The date for the Year 12 Study Days will be the 5th-6th June.

On Saturday 28th March, Ms Liakopoulos and Ms Maynes will be attending a Professional Learning Day for Stage 6 History, organised by the History Teachers Association of NSW at the Catholic University at Strathfield.

Celebrating our successes and achievements in 2019, our top Ancient History students managed to do extremely well in achieving Band 6 results. Our top Extension History students received the highest bands of E4. Some of our Business Studies achieved Band 6 results as well. Congratulations to the students and staff in those courses. We look to furthering the success of this year’s HSC cohort. 

During Education Week 2019, the Department of Education chose 42 students from across NSW to participate in ‘Secretary for a day’. I was fortunate to be accepted into this program to learn about the workings of the Education Department, and was at the Paramatta Head office from the 4th to 6th of August 2019. I participated in workshops, forum discussions, the student voice business units and met the Secretary of Education, Mark Scott.

Arriving on Sunday, 4th of August 2019 at the Park Royal in Parramatta, the 41 other metropolitan and rural students from around NSW and I, then travelled on foot to the Department’s newest office. The program began with indigenous storytelling and a cultural workshop facilitated by Uncle Lex Dadd. The second day focused on student leadership, influence and change and we did this through interactive presentations and workshops facilitated by slam poets, ABC presenters and 2018 Secretary for a Day students. In between the workshops, students had the opportunity to have an informal lunch and discussion led by the Secretary, about the Department’s vision and key priorities.

Part of this experience saw us being matched to a business unit to participate in ideation and consultation workshops. My workshop was 'The Review of Senior Secondary Pathways' with Education Futures and Governance which involved reviewing the existing pathways into work or further education and find new strategies to help students better understand the options available to them. From this workshop, we developed recommendations that will have a direct impact on the information and tools in place for future senior secondary students from rural to metropolitan areas. One weakness we identified was the need for greater awareness of the different pathways for parents, which prompted a resolution of establishing a forum for parents where universities and TAFEs can provide further information to them about the available pathways.

‘Secretary for a Day’ was an exceptional experience, where I walked away with knowledge of student leadership and creating a positive school environment. This program has given me the opportunity to meet new people, partake in projects that will create positive change for students and gain an understanding of the measures and processes the Department of Education puts in place to ensure the quality of the academic, wellbeing and leadership support students receive. 

By Heyli C, Year 12

Beverly Hills Girls High School is committed to providing enriching activities for all our students and we have a long and successful history of offering differentiated learning pathways for those students who are gifted and/or talented in aspects of their learning. 

This may involve offering acceleration in a particular subject. In last year's HSC, our top Mathematics results were achieved by a student in Year 11, who completed her Maths course a year early, performing extremely well. 

We offer advanced level classes in our core subjects, and our flexible learning delivery system, ASPIRE, offers us the scope to provide enrichment course to our highest achieving Stage 5 students.

Additionally, in exciting news, for the first time this year we have introduced a Gifted and Talented stream in Year 7.  These students completed a range of testing and assessment in order to gain their place in this class, and we welcome them to our school community.

Our G&T learners come from diverse backgrounds and they bring very different abilities, talents and experiences, and each has expressed their own personal expectations of their learning journey and goals.

Since commencing with us, they have engaged in rigorous, relevant and challenging learning opportunities aligned with their specific learning needs, strengths, interests and, of course, the appropriate Syllabuses.

We are looking forward to Term 2, when the students in this class will work on a STEAM cross-KLA project based task. We can't wait to see what they come up with.

Stay tuned. 

On Thursday the 12th of February, students in Years 11 and 12 Visual Arts classes attended an excursion at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to see Art Express – a collection of the best HSC artworks from high school students from around the state. The students gained valuable inspiration and ideas for their own artworks which they are in the process of creating. 

*artworks taken from the Art Express website 

As a school we are continuously looking for ways to improve our communication with our students, parents and the wider school community. In response to this, the school will be launching our Sentral Parent Portal early in 2020. Accessible from your mobile, tablet or computer, the parent portal will give parents and carers the opportunity to stay in touch with the school from anywhere anytime. The Sentral Parent Portal will let you:

• Be notified of absence, respond to unexplained absences or advise the school in advance of planned absences
• Stay informed with your targeted news feed
• Receive regular academic notifications of your child’s progress
• Message your child’s teachers
• Respond to direct teacher/school messages via email, SMS or Portal
• Receive email and portal notifications, including reminders
• Access to the BHGHS newsletter
• Receive your child’s Student Report electronically
• Provide permission and make payments for school activities

Please note to have access to this valuable resource we need a current parent email address, as this will allow the school to send parents’ login details. If you have changed your email address or wish to check if the school has your correct details, please contact the school via the school’s email beverlyhg-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au or call on 9150 4280.

2020 student subject fees will be charged to your daughter's accounts during March. These accounts will be sent home for your attention.  Accounts may also reflect outstanding fees from previous years. Please attend to payment of these fees promptly.   

Thank you.

Finance Office