Hornsby Girls' High School

Hornsby Girls' High School
Location
Hornsby, New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates 33°42′23″S 151°6′5″E / 33.70639°S 151.10139°E / -33.70639; 151.10139Coordinates: 33°42′23″S 151°6′5″E / 33.70639°S 151.10139°E / -33.70639; 151.10139
Information
Type Public, Single-sex, Selective, Day school
Motto Faith with Fortitude
Established 1930
Principal Dr. Justin Briggs
Enrolment 730
Campus Suburban
Colour(s) Fawn & navy blue
Website hornsbygir-h.schools.nsw.edu.au
Hornsby Girls High School

Hornsby Girls' High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in Hornsby, a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Founded in 1930, the school's first principal was Sarah Agnes Angus Brewster.[1]

Academically, Hornsby Girls' is regularly ranked first in the Hornsby region in terms of Higher School Certificate (HSC) results and is repeatedly ranked as one of the top five performing schools in the state.[2][3][4]

They also have a student exchange program with three of their languages - Japanese, French and German. Their Japanese sister school is Shukutoku Yono which is situated in Saitama, their German sister school is Graf-Rasso in Furstenfeldbruck and have visited New Caledonia a few times in recent years.

Faculties

The 13 faculties in the school are: Computing Studies, English, History, Geography, Languages, Mathematics, Music, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PD/H/PE), Science, Social Sciences, Technology and Applied Studies (TAS), and Visual Arts.

Prefects

At Hornsby Girls High school, there is a prefect system with a School Captain, School Vice-Captain, two Senior Prefects and 20 other prefects. The Prefects aim to serve the school community in four main areas: School spirit and environment, service, public relations and policy, and events. A new group Year 12 Travel Prefects have been introduced from 2010. Their main responsibility is to monitor the conduct of HGHS students when in the public domain, travelling to and from school.

Prefects are responsible for many school initiatives and each year continue the tradition of the school's bi-annual concerts. The first major event organised by the newly elected prefects is the Christmas Concert. This is a light-hearted day concert for the whole school (usually consisting of Christmas songs, chamber ensembles, solo vocalists, dances, skits, and short plays from the two after-school drama groups), and helps to maintain the Christmas and holiday spirit in the last week of school. Prefects and Year 12 combined organise the annual LipSync concert as their last official contribution to the school. The auditions for LipSync are form a free day concert for all students to see. From these auditions, outstanding performances are chosen to participate in front of a large audience of the public and the school community at the evening concert. Lipsync is a concert of dancing, miming and LipSyncing. The 'Teachers' Act' is traditional, as are the 'Prefects' Act' and the 'SRC Act'.

SRC

The Student Representative Council (the SRC) are a democratically, peer elected group of students who liaise with teachers and the principal. Students can express their concerns about the school or make suggestions which might be beneficial to the school. The SRC also organises mufti days and school dances with Normanhurst Boys' High School. The Battle of the Bands is also an annual SRC achievement (in conjunction with Normanhurst Boys').

The SRC organise "Spirit Week" during Week 10 of Term 2. This special week is full of fun activities such as 'The HGHS Fugitive' and inviting teachers to run the multi-stage fitness test affectionately called 'the beep test' by the girls. Another popular event in Spirit Week must include "The Great Debate" combined with Normanhurst Boys'High School. This consists of four representatives from both schools who compete in a variety of games and challenges leading up to a humorous debate to determine a winner. This event is showcased to grades Yr 9–12. The main purpose of Spirit week is to give the students relief from the probable stress stemmed from half-yearly exams, and most of all, to promote and increase school spirit and a sense of belonging within the school community.

Special regular events

Co-curriculum

Hornsby Girls' offers students the opportunity to participate in a number of musical groups, namely the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and String Orchestra. Smaller musical outfits are other outlets, such as the flute choir and several chamber ensembles made up from those students who already play an instrument and wish to be involved in extra-curricular musical groups.

Other musical groups are the Junior and Senior Vocal Ensembles, who participate in a range of competitions, including the MacDonald's Performing Arts Competition and School Spectacular. They have received many awards, and high commendations from judges and critics. In 2008, they also appeared in Battle of the Choirs, screened on Channel 7.[5][6] In 2010, a small chamber vocal ensemble was introduced with the aim of allowing some students a small ensemble experience.

Hornsby Girls also hosts dance groups, featuring ballet, jazz, tap and contemporary styles of dancing. Hornsby Girls' also enjoys great success in the area of aerobics gymnastics, with individuals and groups consistently achieving state awards.

Students have also been involved in Model United Nations Teams run by Rotary. In recent years, two students were highly commended for their representation of Indonesia, equipped with policy, background and knowledge of cultural values.

Debating teams, mock trial teams, chess clubs are also established.

Other groups include:

Hornsby Girls also participates in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

Alumni associations

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brewster, Sarah Agnes Angus (1874–1957). Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  2. ↑ http://bettereducation.com.au/results/hsc.aspx
  3. ↑ McDougall, Bruce (26 December 2007). "Public tops private across the state --- Special report: The best schools region by region". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ↑ Doherty, L., Norrie, J. & Burke, K., "State school blitz of top HSC spots", The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 December 2005. Retrieved on 13 April 2007.
  5. ↑ Choir Wars. The Australian. 14 June 2008.
  6. ↑ Battle of the voice boxes. Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 2008.
  7. ↑ Hornsby Girls' Alumni Website – OGU Page Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved on 21 December 2009.
  8. ↑ Hornsby Girls' Alumni Website Archived 12 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved on 21 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "BOYD Anne Elizabeth". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  10. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "CLINGAN (Judy) Judith Ann". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  11. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "DEER Christine Elizabeth". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  12. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "GREENHALGH Julie Kristeen". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  13. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "LENN Robyn Jennifer". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  14. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "PARSONS Robin June". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  15. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "THOMAS Sally Gordon, Hon. Justice". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
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