Welcome everyone to Term 2! I hope you had a very enjoyable Easter break. It is so good to have the students back looking extremely happy to see their friends and ready to put their very best effort into their learning.  

A very big welcome to some new and returning staff: Ms Francesca Heinz, returning to Visual Arts after maternity leave, Mr Steven Ly permanent Mathematics Teacher, and Ms Lisa Allison, permanent Head Teacher Visual Arts. Congratulations to Ms Jane Gray, currently Relieving Deputy Principal Wellbeing. Jane has been working as Relieving Head Teacher Administration for many years, and is now, after an open merit interview process last term, NHSPA’s substantive Head Teacher Administration.   

Term 2 started for teachers with two School Development Days. These two valuable days enabled  sustained professional dialogue and collaboration within faculties and across the school on High Potential Gifted Education (HPGE) strategies aligned with our School Excellence Plan. Teachers worked together as a whole staff, then in faculty groups and individually on areas such as: explicit teaching, differentiation strategies and resources, and the creative domain of potential. 

At Newtown High School of the Performing Arts we recognise that creativity is essential to the human experience and integral to all learning. The NSW Department of Education defines the creative domain of potential as natural abilities in imagination, invention and originality. Signs of high potential in the creative domain may include originality and innovation that have social value in organising ideas, images, words, sound, movement, and objects. Creativity is not confined to the performing or creative arts. The interdisciplinary nature of creativity results in multiple perspectives across a range of subject areas and fields of study (Puryear and Lamb 2020).  

For the wonderful students of NHSPA, Term 2 started with big smiles and the delight of seeing their friends. School clubs and extra-curricular activities are part of what make NHSPA such a rich place of learning for our students. The early morning ensembles and afternoon classes and companies have of course commenced in Music, Dance and Drama leading up to our Semester 1 Showcase season where the incredible talent of our Performing Arts students will be very much on display. I encourage you to purchase tickets to these Showcase concerts early as they are always outstanding.  

Year 12 students started Term 2 receiving valuable feedback on their learning after completing their Half-Yearly Examinations at the end of last Term. This week Year 11 students commenced their Half-Yearly Examinations. These are very busy times for Stage 6 students and they impress us so much with their efforts and with their capacity to respond intelligently to feedback so that it feeds forward into improving the next steps of their learning. 

Parent/Carer Teacher interviews for Year 10, 11 and Year 12 were held late last term and this week we had Year 8 and Year 9 interviews over TEAMs. Year 7 interviews will be in week 4. I thank our NHSPA community for their support of their child’s/children’s learning and their recognition of time and dedication of the teachers and staff at NHSPA. 

The Cross Country Carnival was held late last term at Sydney Park and it was fantastic to see our Year 7s running so well. The Year 10 helpers were terrific too. When one student told me I was halfway it was (despite being a slight exaggeration) very motivating, so thank you!  

The Athletics Carnival at Homebush last Friday was another great whole school day. Carnivals are always fun days and we have some very talented sports students, many of whom will be progressing to the Zone carnivals. A massive thank you Sports Coordinator, Ms Abbey Campbell and the PDHPE Faculty, and to the Year 11 and 12 House Captains who were amazing on the day. Congratulations to Musical (Blue) House who won the huge 12 x 100m House Relay (consisting of 12 legs with 1 x boy/girl from each year group), and their House Captains: Daniel Hirst & Lilli Howell, and House Vice Captains: Caterina Longhi & Katie Bromley. 

The Peer Bridge Wellbeing Program, a pilot research program in partnership with Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, Newtown Public School, Camdenville Public School, and Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, was an enormous success. A similar program will commence in Term 4 this year.  I would like to thank the Year 9 students who were involved over many weeks from last year as peer leaders and mentors to over 30 of our current Year 7 students. The program focuses on building positive relationships with mentors and promoting support for students in the complex transition years from primary to high school.  UNSW is behind the research and I am excited to be joining the research team for this year’s program. 

Air conditioning in St George’s Hall has been a goal since the school opened in 1990. We are getting closer! The heritage status of the beautiful hall that we are extremely fortunate to have as a performance space has made the installation of air conditioning difficult and expensive. I am hoping it might be ready well before the next Musical! 

• NHSPA AirCon Concept Presentation

• NHSPA AirCon Architects' Return Brief 

A reminder that it is a basic expectation at NHSPA that students attend school on time and in correct uniform. If a student is going to be late or absent the school needs to be informed with an explanation by a parent/carer. The P&C runs second hand uniform stalls - the next one is Wednesday May 21st. The new NHSPA student-designed hoodie will be available from the supplier, Pickles, in mid-May. Please contact the school if there are questions about uniform, how to acquire second hand uniforms through the P&C, or if you are experiencing financial hardship. 

I am very pleased that the ban on mobile phones across NSW schools has become established customary practice at NHSPA. Our school mobile policy is based on trust. The expectation is that phones are “off and away”. We thank parents/carers for not contacting their child during the school day. If you need to contact your child, please phone the school office and a message will be passed onto your child. It’s pleasing to see the school increasingly as a phone free zone during school hours, thus improving students’ social interactions, attention, and focus in class.  

Finally, later this term I will be contacting parents/carers with a very short (and completely optional) questionnaire in order to strengthen and build new community partnerships, identify alumni, and look at ways we can further enrich the learning experiences and opportunities of all Newtown High School of the Performing Arts students. 

Have a wonderful Term 2! 

Best wishes
  Dr Susan Green

School Term Dates for Students

• Term 1: Thursday 6 February to Friday 11 April

• Term 2: Wednesday 30 April to Friday 4 July

• Term 3: Tuesday 22 July to Friday 26 September

• Term 4: Tuesday 14 October to Friday 19 December

Year 11 students competed last Term in the first round of the Premier's Debating Championship (Year 11 B Squad) and won against Bonnyrigg High School.

Congratulations !

Maya Harriman-Khan

Matilda Saunders

Izzy Preller

Zoe Richardson

Mr David Ryan (Debating Coordinator & Coach)

Anna Barsukova, Year 9, represented Australia individually and as part of the Australian Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior group at the Aphrodite Cup in Athens, Greece and Sofia Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. 

The group qualified for the Hoop final in the Aphrodite Cup and reached both Hoop and Clubs finals in the Sofia Cup, making one of the best results in Australian rhythmic gymnastics history. 

The group qualified for the 3rd Junior World Championship which will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria in June 2025.

Congratulations Anna Barsukova !

Auditions for our Year 10 production of "Animal Farm" will be held in Week 3

Year 10 students have been informed via Google Classrooms and audition slots are already filling up.

This is a brand new adaptation of the novel which has never been performed in Australia before and so it is an exciting opportunity for our students to engage with new and dynamic work.

We welcome back Warwick Doddrell as our Director for this project who always has such a wonderful engaging process that our students love. We are very privileged to  have access to such amazing industry professionals and we are excited about what he has planned for this production.

Watch this space for more information about the production in the coming term.

ARTEXPRESS 2025 EXHIBITION

Year 11 Visual Arts students viewed the ARTEXPRESS 2025 exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, consisting of a range of outstanding Body of Works produced by HSC students during 2024. 

Additionally, we heard from exhibiting ARTEXPRESS 2025 artists in a student panel, discussing their practice and the production of their works, before viewing the exhibition. 

We also saw the video work ‘The Rites of When’ by Australian artist Angelica Mesiti and other artworks in the new building of the gallery. 

It was a wonderful day to enjoy viewing inspiring artworks.

Exploring Algebra and Celebrating Square Days !

This term, our junior students have been delving into the fascinating world of algebra and equations. 

Year 7s are embarking on their journey with formal algebra concepts, laying a strong foundation for their mathematical skills. Year 8s are revisiting and reinforcing their knowledge from the previous year, extending their understanding to tackle more complex equations. Year 9s are exploring binomial products, expanding their algebraic toolkit. Year 10s are diving into quadratics and factorising, preparing for more advanced mathematical challenges ahead.

In addition to our regular curriculum, we've had the joy of celebrating some signifcant mathematical dates recently.  On May 4th, 2025 (4/5/2025), we experienced a "square day" - a rare occurence where the day and month correspond to the square root of the year. Specifically, 45 x 45 = 2025, making it a perfect square day.  The next time this will happen is in 2116, so it's a once in a lifetime event for many of us!

The very next day, May 5th, 2025 (5/5/2025), we celebrated another square day as 5 x 5 = 25.  Here's a challenge for you: When will we next see a square day?

These occurences provide an excellent opportunity to engage students in the beauty and patterns of numbers.

As we continue our exploration of algebra and celebrate these mathematical milestones, we encourage all students to embrace the joy of learning and the wonders of mathematics.  

Stay tuned for more updates and fun facts in our next bulletin!

Year 9 Food Technology

Last term, Year 9 Food Technology students explored their cultural heritage by interviewing a family member about their migration story and the role their culture has played in shaping Australian cuisine. They then created a fusion recipe by adapting a traditional family dish to include a First Nations bush food ingredient, highlighting the diversity of Australian food culture. Students also researched and tasted a range of bush foods, gaining insight into their nutritional value and cultural significance.

To support learners in developing effective study habits the school will run 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