Pavani Divakarla, Karen Lin, Margaret Chen, Aparna Balakumar from the Class of 2013, who presented along with many other ex-students at the 2018 Careers Fair held at the school on Wednesday evening.

It was wonderful to see so many students, ex-students, parents and community members at our Careers Fair for Years 10, 11 and 12 on Wednesday evening. Over 60 presenters from a vast array of professions gave excellent talks on their positions and career paths. A number of ex-students were

also assisting with the university displays including Olivia Utharntharm, Xenia Lopes (both from the Class of 2016) and Adela Yip (Class of 2014). Over 270 current students and parents attended the evening. The attendees were well supported by the 24 student helpers and the many members of the P and C who helped in various ways on the night. The whole school community was highly appreciative of the event. My special thanks to Mrs Krithivasan (P and C Careers Fair Organiser) and Dr David Turner (HGHS Careers Coordinator) for their magnificent efforts in organising the night. All presenters were parents and their colleagues, community members or alumni who shared their valuable experience and knowledge with our students. There were also many parent and student volunteers working behind the scenes to provide food and hospitality to ensure that the evening ran smoothly. The Careers Fair would not have been possible without the commitment of all those involved with their wonderful spirit of goodwill. The generosity of the presenters in sharing their expertise with our students and parents is most appreciated. Our students are the beneficiaries of this invaluable experience.

Careers Fair message of thanks from the P and C It’s been such a pleasure organising this event for our girls, the future leaders of Australia. Firstly thanks for all the help and support provided by you, your staff and David Turner in particular. The presenters were really happy with the turn-around from the students and parents (as the presentation groupings really worked well) with the students and parents asking a lot of questions. I personally would like to thank David Turner and all P and C members helping me to source the speakers. Thank you to our P and C members Andrew, Armand, Parul, David, Kanchan for presenting and co-ordinating with other presenters. Thank you Niranjan, Mathi and Sharmin and Sumana for helping with the catering for the presenters and university students. Thank you Shubash for controlling the traffic. It was so cold outside! A great team effort of which we can all be proud! Mrs Madhu Krithivasan (Careers Fair Organiser)

HORNSBY GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL Term 2 Issue 5

29 June 2018

Email Address: hornsbygir-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web Address: www.hornsbygir-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Phone: 9476 5711 Fax: 9482 2525

Congratulations to the following students: Jade Tan Year 11 who will be in New Zealand for two weeks with the United Nations Youth organisation on a leadership camp and Emma Hancock Year 10 who has been selected for NSW Under 17’s volleyball, and Hellen Wang Year 10 whose art work has been selected to appear at the S.H.Ervin Gallery. The artwork is called ‘Fleeting Smile’.

STEMM Breakfast Seminar

On Wednesday 20 June 2018, 24 year 10 students attended the Science Technology Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) breakfast seminar and Careers Forum at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. This was driven by the findings of a UNESCO study which highlighted that, “women are often underrepresented in STEMM, and that their low levels of participation can be traced back to their school years, where a number of influences from society and culture, education and the labour market are all at play.” The seminar provided an opportunity for students to be inspired by some leading female professionals from the SAN hospital working in STEMM careers.

The presenters worked in variety of health related specialisations including Orthopaedic / Spine Surgeon, Radiation Oncologist, Gynaecologist and Robotic Surgeon, Medical Oncologist and specialist in cancer genetics, Midwifery and Radiology. All the presenters had very interesting stories describing their complex pathways of their career journeys.

Students had the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and representatives from the hospital. Feedback from students indicated that they found it a very worthwhile and informative experience. David Turner, Careers Advisor

Public Speaking and Debating News Congratulations to Sophie Shead who will be representing Hornsby Girls’ High School in the Plain English Speaking Competition State Final on Friday 6 July. The competition is open to students in all New South Wales schools and requires the students to deliver a prepared speech as well as an impromptu speech. This is the second year that Sophie has reached the State Final – an extraordinary achievement. We wish her well. Congratulations also to our Year 12 Debating Team of Avan Daruwalla, Lauren Lancaster, Vanessa Recinos and Sophie Shead, who have made it through to the State Quarter-Finals of the Year 11/12 Premier’s Debating Challenge. They defeated two very strong debating schools in our region to reach this point – Normanhurst Boys’ High School in the Regional Semi-Final and North Sydney Girls’ High School in the Regional Final. Many thanks to Mrs Phillips for her assistance in transporting and coaching the girls. The State Quarter-Final will be against Gosford High School on Thursday 5 July.

Creative Writing Success Congratulations to Damya Wijesekera who had a short story, ‘Mirror’ published in Oz Kids a magazine for children and young people. The magazine is published by the Australian Children’s Literary Board. You can read Damya’s story (and the rest of the magazine) here: http://www.ozkids.com.au/images/mag/ozkids_2018_02.pdf Well done also to Abigail Arrage, who entered a short story into the Write4Fun competition and made it through the first round. Damya and Abigail are both regular attendees at the Hornsby Girls’ High School Creative Writing Group which runs every Friday lunchtime in Room 211. Any students interested in creative writing are invited to come along to share ideas, read great literature and engage in some fun, stimulating writing activities.

Janet Walker, English Teacher

Titration Competition On Saturday the 16th of June, 24 Year 12 Chemistry students participated in the annual RACI (Royal Australian Chemical Institute) Titration Competition at Barker College. They competed against a number of teams from Barker College, Gosford High School, Hills Grammar and Mater Maria Catholic College. Students worked in teams of three and had to individually complete two titres to determine the molarity of a sample of sodium hydroxide and then use this value to calculate the molarity of another sample of acetic acid. As always, it was a challenging and exciting day for all involved and a team from Hornsby Girls High came first, represented by Iris Huang, Lauren Nyugen and Jade Yuen. The girls will be invited to represent their state in the National Finals during Term 3.

Brain Bee Challenge

On Thursday the 14th of June, Year 10 students Carmen Yih, Eva Lin, Sarah Zacharia and Rhea Saxena attended the 2018 NSW Brain Bee State Finals. The Australian Brain Bee Challenge is an annual competition for students to learn about the brain and its functions, learn about neuroscience research, find out about careers in neuroscience and to dispel misconceptions about neurological and mental illnesses. The event was held at the School of Medical Sciences at UNSW. In addition to the Brain Bee competition question rounds, students were given a sound localisation workshop, a tour of the Museum of Human Disease and neuroscience presentations by UNSW PhD candidates. Natasha Langley, Chemistry & Science Teacher

2018 Young Archie at the National Trust S.H Ervin Gallery Salon Des Refuses Exhibition The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the S.H. Ervin Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered into the Archibald Prize which were not selected for display in the official exhibition. The Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s most high profile and respected awards which attracts hundreds of entries each year and the S.H. Ervin Gallery’s ‘alternative’ selection has become a much anticipated feature of the Sydney scene. This exhibition concludes on 29 July 2018. This year our very own talented Hellen Wang of Year 10 has had her artwork selected to be exhibited at the Salon Des Refuses Exhibition, the student category. A beautifully rendered portrait in pencil, Hellen has been able to capture the character and personality of her best friend Grace. You are able to see Hellen’s work at the galley. This exhibition concludes on 29 July 2018. Fleeting Smile “My portrait is of my friend Grace. She rarely smiles and is an extremely introverted girl and doesn’t realise the hidden beauty within her personality. I wanted to convey to her that she is able to show strength and affection through her raw natural features. Each detail represents the uniqueness of her character”. Hellen Wang 2018

Isabella Pozzolungo, Head Teacher Visual Arts

Social Justice News

Our Underwear Drive on the 27th of June was a huge success! Thank you to all members of Social Justice for all the amazing baked goods and to everyone

who contributed donations or underwear. Thanks also to students and teachers who attended the bake sale. Overall, we were able to raise $465 and 30 pairs of undies. Remember that we will still be collecting underwear until the end of Term 2. Social Justice has been raising funds to buy underwear for those who cannot access or purchase it through the Salvation Army.

Rose Guiffre and Anouskha Kumar- Year 9 Social Justice Members

Zone Athletics Carnival Congratulations to the Hornsby Girls’ High School Athletics representatives, who competed at Sydney Olympic Park Friday 15 June. The 78 student team ran, jumped and threw their way around the Stadium as they competed against the Girls Schools in the Zone to place 4th overall. Special mention to our three Year 12 students who attended the Carnival with a looming exam period – Lauren Lancaster, Sarah Zeng and Lizzie Rawnsley and also to Kimberley Steel (Year 11), who participated in multiple events outside her usual disciplines, to ensure we had competitors in each heat of the day. Laura Wunderlich was named 17yr Age Champion of the Zone, owing to her outstanding efforts across 6 different events. Congratulations Laura. The following 19 students will progress to the Sydney North Carnival on 30- 31 July: Lauren Lancaster, Laura Wunderlich, Sarah Kim, Manisha Kulasinghe, Kimberley Steel, Meha Batra, Alex de Lima, Ella Bradford, Freya Roberts, Cate Timso-Louis, Grace Gibson, Katherine Louey, Akshara Abimanju, Sidney Zhang Fan, Tiana Xin, Penelope Brown, Kaiya Grebert, Aleyna Cam and Ayusha Pathak

Regional Cross Country

Congratulations to the 16 strong team who competed at the Sydney North Cross Country Carnival last week. They survived a very wet and muddy track to represent the school and Zone.

The following students have qualified to attend the NSW CHS Cross Country Carnival on Friday 27th July at Eastern Creek. Of the 17 girls who will represent the Zone, 4 are from Hornsby.

13 years Lisa Shinckel (res)

14 years Phoenix Ashworth (res)

16 years Freya Roberts

17 years Lauren Lancaster (res)

What an outstanding effort.

STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!! STOP PRESS!!

Subsequent to the printing of the previous Torch, The results for the Zone Cross Country have been revised. Hornsby did not place 2nd overall but came in 1st. Congratulations on an amazing team effort and result.

Tracey Sheppard, PE Teacher

18 June 2018

The ACCC’s Scamwatch service is warning the Chinese community in Australia to be

wary about two frightening scams targeting them that involve threats of arrest, and

extortion via fake kidnappings.

In 2018, Scamwatch has received nearly 1700 reports about these scams, with losses totalling $1.15 million. Losses have come

from either NSW, Victoria, Queensland or Western Australia; however the scam is targeting people nationwide.

“These scams are particularly nasty and worryingly we’re seeing a dramatic spike in the Chinese community being targeted. In

May, there was a 400 per cent increase in reports of these scams and losses more than doubled,” ACCC Acting Chair Delia

Rickard said.

There are two main variations of this scam. First, speaking in Mandarin, a scammer will call you directly or leave you an ‘urgent’

voice message to call back. The scammer will impersonate a parcel delivery service and/or Chinese authorities and claim you are

in serious trouble as they have intercepted a package addressed to you with fraudulent documents such as fake passports.

The scammer will then threaten you with extradition to China to face criminal charges in court unless money is sent to them. They

will claim this money is needed to prove your innocence while they investigate the supposed crime.

“In the past month, Scamwatch has received multiple reports of a cruel variation of this scam targeting Chinese students in

Australia,” Ms Rickard said.

“The scammer will again claim to student victims that they have been involved in criminal activity and threaten them, and even

their family, with criminal sanctions unless they pretend they have been kidnapped, including by taking photos of themselves

bound and gagged.”

“Scammers will then use these photos to extort money from the student’s family by claiming the student has been kidnapped,” Ms

Rickard said.

The most important thing members of the Chinese community in Australia can do to protect themselves from this scam is be

aware about how it works and warn their friends and family.

“If you’re ever called by someone making threats about arrest or deportation, it is a scam. It’s very frightening to receive these

calls and scammers use your fear against you so you’ll send them money or participate in a bogus kidnapping,” Ms Rickard said.

“Don’t fall for their threats. Instead, hang up the phone and report it to your local police. If you think the scammer has your bank

account details, contact your bank immediately.”

Members of the Chinese community in Australia can also report the scam at www.scamwatch.gov.au. People can also follow

@scamwatch_gov (link is external) on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.

A translated version of this media release is also available:

针对华人社区的威胁和绑架骗局 – Chinese Simplified ( PDF 145.95 KB ) .

Read more

Threats to life, arrest or other

Threats to life, arrest or other involve demands by scammers to pay money that you supposedly owe and threats if you do not

cooperate