Remember to put your child's name on their uniform items!! This way they can be returned if lost...

CORRECT UNIFORM is a basic expectation for all students at NHSPA. 

The school has successfully negotiated with Pickles a 10% reduction in price across most uniform items. We are pleased to be able to pass this saving directly on to our families.  The updated prices are now active on the Pickles website. We hope this reduction assists our families and supports our ongoing expectation that all students attend school each day in full school uniform.

We remind you that we have secondhand uniforms that can be purchased through the P&C with a second-hand sale happening very soon for students. If there are any financial difficulties in purchasing uniforms please contact the school.

Rubbish Posters

As you have hopefully seen, our prefect team has put up some pretty amazing posters around the school to remind you all of the importance of putting your rubbish in the bin. It is very important to recognise that your litter is not only harming the environment, but is also feeding and populating our growing ibis population (yuck!). 

Year 12 Trials

Our Year 12 students have been very busy over the last 3 weeks completing their HSC Trial exams! All their hard work this past year has come a long way, with graduation just 40 days away! 

Keep up the good work Year 12, not that far to go. 

Here, we have our very own Year 12 students providing their HSC Trial advice to you:

• Set one or two goals before the exams begin so you are able to motivate yourself as the weeks progress, because it can be hard to maintain good study habits after completing lots of exams.

• Make sure to keep all your notes organised! Whether that’s by keeping a binder, using a file sorter or colour coding your subjects, do what you need for top tier organisation.

• Remember that it is called trials for a reason - this exam block is a time for you to test out exam strategies, pre-exam rituals and even pens! It is NOT the be all and end all.

HSC practicals

Following trials, our Year 12 dance students have commenced their HSC practical exams this week, completing the initial phase of their Higher School Certificate. Congratulations to all dancers! 

Textiles Show

Our lovely Year 12 Textiles and Design students have been working tirelessly to complete their major work projects. You will be able to witness their successful creations firsthand on Wednesday 19 August at 6pm in the Studio Theatre at the HSC Textiles Fashion Parade! 

Come along and bring your peers, it’ll be a night to remember!

Orchestra Opera House Concert

Next Monday, NHSPA’s Symphony Orchestra will be performing in their annual Cantabile concert at the Sydney Opera House. Performing with a mass choir made up of 700 students and also showcasing their hard work put into preparing the 3rd movement of Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony! 

Wish them luck! 

Initiatives offered via the Arts Unit are developed to provide performing arts opportunities to students of NSW Public Education schools statewide.

At Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, a specialist, selective entry performing arts high school in Dance, Music and Drama, we offer numerous enrichment and extension opportunities in the Performing Arts to develop the talents of our gifted students. 

For a student at NHSPA to be eligible to apply for an Arts Unit initiative, they must receive the school's endorsement.  This will usually be given by a Head Teacher and confirmed by the Principal.

Parents looking at opportunities for their students through the Arts Unit should get in touch with the relevant Faculty Head Teacher for guidance in this matter before seeking endorsement from NHSPA and submitting an application for Arts Unit programs.

Parents and students should be familiar with NHSPA's Dance, Drama and Music general co-curricular policies.  Familiarity with these policies in tandem with consulting the faculty Head Teachers will ensure the best contextual understanding regarding opportunities for our talented students.

Please speak to the relevant Performing Arts Head Teacher if you have any questions.

Maths Modelling involves applying mathematical quantification to solve real-world issues, whether that is planning and budgeting for a touring musical production considering different priorities (e.g profit, audience enjoyment) or evaluating the best way to distribute limited resources to inform protection planning for a large scale wildlife reserve. Each mathematical quantification leads to what is known as a ‘model’, which is then written up as a report. 

Over the past few weeks, Maths Modelling Club has been working on a new model; one that is quite relevant to NHSPA Year 10 students at the moment!

Choosing Senior Study subjects is one of the biggest milestones in high school thus far, and in light of the big decisions that are currently being made in our school community, we decided to create a maths model which provides a mathematical method to choose subjects. 

This particular mathematical method involves the use of a matrix system: where a certain amount of factors are quantified individually, then scaled to create a ranked verification system. For our Subject Selection Model, our three factors are academic strengths, personal interests, and future careers. Unlike a usual model which would have a set scaling for ranking, we have chosen to allow this element to be flexible; that is, the model will be scaled based on what the student values to be more important in choosing subjects. 

The following pictures are a few snap shots of our mock model, which is still currently a work in progress. This is not currently published, and we’d love to hear any feedback or additional considerations we should have a think about (using this link). We are hoping to have a fully functioning model available for the next bulletin - stay tuned for results!

Students: If you love this kind of thing or would like to learn a bit more about it, we’d love for you to join us! Maths Modelling Club meets in C7 every Monday Lunch - see you there!

Australia Shines at the International Mathematical Olympiad 

Every July, the world's best high school mathematicians sit down for the toughest maths exam on the planet: the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). This year's competition was held in Shanghai, and the Australian team came home with an outstanding result — finishing 28th overall out of all competing countries, with a team score of 135 points. 

The team brought home one gold medal (Amber Li, who scored an incredible 29 out of a possible 42), two silver medals (Jayden Pan and Cunmeng Wang), two bronze medals (Liam Celinski and Kevin Tang), and an honourable mention (Keith Wong). 

Every one of these students started out the same way you did — in a normal maths classroom, working through the same kinds of problems you see every week. 

Have a Go: A Junior Olympiad Puzzle

You don't need to be an Olympiad medallist to enjoy an Olympiad problem. This one is from the UK's Junior Mathematical Olympiad, and it doesn't need any special formulas — just careful thinking. 

When a group of five friends met up, Alice shook hands with 1 person; Bill shook hands with 2 people; Cara shook hands with 3 people; Dhriti shook hands with 4 people. 

How many people did Erin shake hands with? 

(Answer at the bottom of the page — no peeking until you've tried it!) 

Circle August 13 — It's a Fibonacci Date 

The Fibonacci sequence starts 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… where each number is the sum of the two before it. Written as 13/8, the date 13 August lines up two consecutive Fibonacci numbers — and if you add them together, 8 + 13 = 21, the very next number in the sequence. A tidy little coincidence hiding in the calendar. 

As we approach the halfway point for term three, Year 10 are preparing in earnest for Stage 6. There are a number of events happening over the next few weeks to add to the calendar!

Work Experience

Currently, Year 10 students are busy approaching businesses and institutions to organise their Work Experience placement for Week 5, Term 4. So far, students have been investigating some fantastic opportunities across a whole range of interesting and necessary vocational fields, including with various performing arts institutions, within scientific and engineering fields, health and frontline services, education, childcare, design, mechanical fields, trades, and so many others. Its fantastic to see students get excited about WE and start to really think about the possibilities and opportunities that lay before them.

All Year 10 students should ensure they complete their paperwork for WE and return it to Ms George by the end of Term 3. All relevant information is on the Year 10 Google Classroom. 

Subject Selection

We are also at the very serious point of Year 10 where students are investigating and making decisions about their pattern of study for Stage 6. The Subject Selection Information session is coming up next Monday. Students and parents will attend a talk from UAC about the pathways to tertiary study to help guide subject selection, and will have the opportunity to chat to Head Teachers and teachers from each faculty about the various courses offered by NHSPA. We look forward to seeing you there!

Subject choices will be due at the start of Week 6.

Wellbeing Education 

Our wellbeing focus for Year 10 this year has been guided by the Respectful Relationships Education framework. In response to some concerning global trends in values and beliefs towards diversity and inclusivity, we are implementing anti-racism and inclusivity education, challenging Year 10 students to confront thinking, behaviour and attitudes around stereotypes, socially constructed identities, and the role that language plays in how we perceive and understand one another. I have been impressed by the thoughtful way that many students have engaged with this learning, and the sophistication of their critical thinking about the ways that prejudice manifests individually and socially: they have been willing to challenge their own action and thinking, as well as one another, in respectful ways - something that they don't necessarily see modelled in public life! 

Building on this, on Tuesday 25 August, Week 6 all of the year 10 cohort will participate in a one-period workshop run by Consent Labs to deepen their knowledge and thinking about healthy self-expression, and engaging in safe and respectful relationships. Male identifying students will attend the Positive Masculinity workshop and female identifying and non-binary students will attend the Healthy Relationships workshop. You can find further information about these programs here. We ask that parents return permission and payment for participation in this workshop ASAP. If you are experiencing financial hardship, please contact the school - we don't want students to miss out on this valuable wellbeing education. 

To support learners in developing effective study habits the school runs an after-school study centre during term times on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons from 3:25pm-5:00pm in the school Library.

This is open to all students, providing a quiet environment in which focussed study could take place.

Whilst attendance every week is not compulsory, should your child wish to use this facility, it is recommended that they be regular in their attendance for effective learning to occur.

The study centre will be supervised by a staff member between the times above to assist learners with organisation, planning, and developing successful study habits should they so wish.

This is an excellent opportunity for students to form small study teams to work together to improve their understanding of concepts and spur each other on to achieve a personal best in their subjects.

Expectations for attendance are as follows:

Students

• respect the rights of other learners and so maintain a quiet learning environment.

• desire to improve their performance in subjects.

• use this time productively.

• be regular in attendance.

The centre has been shown to be an effective way for improving students' results, confidence, and organisation in an enjoyable, relaxed environment.

THE ASSC IS A QUIET SPACE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LEARNING AND SEEK HELP FROM STAFF