Rooty Hill High School - Term 1 Missing Link 2025

MISSING LINK

Term 1 2025

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Congratulations to the school for another wonderful start to the year. 2025 - one quarter of the way through this century and we are now starting to see how our world will be shaped in the weeks, months and years ahead. At the end of Term 1, Donald Trump is President of the USA and on Saturday 3 May, our school will be a polling station for the federal election.

I would like to mention some highlights of the term: • • • • • • • •

• •

We welcomed 12 new staff members to our staff team.

We welcomed 1,106 students back for 2025.

We published our school student behaviour management plan, completed the Annual Report and revised the SEP (school excellence plan). All these important documents are available on the school's website.

Almost 200 students were recognised for achievements at the Excellence Assembly (see the special Excellence Assembly Missing Link).

We had a very successful Swimming Carnival and Cross Country Carnival during the term.

Year 7 made a very good start to high school with 60 students completing School Ambassador training, all students participating in peer support and every student making progress in subject based learning.

Years 7 and 9 completed NAPLAN and the attitude and effort of students was very pleasing.

We recognised the importance of several religious and cultural events including Chinese New Year, Ramadan, Lent and Easter. This included our annual Iftar on Tuesday 25 March where families are invited to join staff and senior students to "break the fast" at the end of the day during Ramadan.

Thanks to all involved and a very special thanks to our guest speaker, Dr Ghufran Alhassasani from Western Sydney University, who is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences and whose PhD investigated how the brain changes when in a lot of pain.

We received advice from the Department of Education that we would be receiving additional funds for "small group tuition" from Term 2 for those students needing extra help in reading and numeracy in Years 7-9.

And, to finish the term we had a wonderful Harmony in Diversity Day on Thursday 10 April.

During all these highlights we also made significant academic progress. Our ongoing focus on collecting and analysing evidence was important in seeing why we had success in the HSC in 2024 and how we can improve. Our student data analysts and staff produced very detailed analysis and recommendations for planning for 2025 across all years and we are very pleased with that work.

For the last 12 months, one of our staff members Buen Diaz has been leading work we are doing in producing video records of our school's life, of our events, of our academic achievements and of all the small and large elements that make a very successful school.

who attended and supported the event. Thank you for making the night a truly special one.

Along with AI (artificial intelligence) and online learning, recording our stories and history visually has become significant. In future, we think all students will need high end visual storyteller and editing skills.

This links directly to one of our big decisions in Term 1 to use our social media, videos and online promotional materials with families seeking to enrol in 2025-2027. We have never had a very good response to a traditional Open Night. Instead, we have been told that our parents and community enjoy coming to events and following their children via social media and online communications.

We would be interested in your feedback so, if you think it would be useful to have a face-to-face Open Day/Night for 2026, please let us know. Demand for places in the school continues to be very high and I hope that reflects the confidence of the community and the families in choosing this school.

Please follow along with us and connect in whatever ways work best for you. We hope you had a great holiday break and now we are ready for Term 2!

Christine Cawsey AM Principal

YEAR 7

Community Iftar Dinner

Year 7 made a fantastic start to their high school journey.

They quickly adapted to the new arrangements of school start up and embraced the change with confidence. Since then, they’ve had a full and exciting start to the year, settling into their new classes and subjects, meeting new teachers, and making new friends.

Written by Ms Dadger On Tuesday, 25 March, RHHS proudly hosted our annual Iftar Dinner, bringing together over 250 parents, students, staff, and community members to share in the spirit of Ramadan.

The event was a vibrant celebration of unity, cultural understanding, and the values of compassion and generosity.

Hosting an Iftar at our school is an important tradition that reflects the diversity and inclusivity of our community. It offers a meaningful opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together, break bread, and strengthen the bonds that tie us as a school and community. Events like these promote mutual respect and foster a sense of belonging for our students and families.

This year’s Iftar was not only a cultural celebration but also a demonstration of student leadership in action. Our students played a key role in planning, organising, and running the evening — from setting up the space, welcoming guests, and leading games, to hosting raffles and raising funds for MATW and ACSA Sisterhood. Their dedication and enthusiasm helped make the night both impactful and enjoyable.

We are incredibly proud of our students and grateful to all

Year Adviser Message

In addition to their academic progress, students have been actively involved in a range of activities, including Peer Support, NAPLAN, Gala Day, Swimming Carnival, Mufti Days, Ambassador Training, SRC Training, the BEAT Program, and much more.

Congratulations to all the students who have had such a positive and successful start to the year!

Mrs Tapuska Year 7 Adviser

Peer Support Program Written by Yasemin Almoaiel Peer support was lovely. It was a helpful program that helped me to get out of my comfort zone. I am thankful for my peer support leaders, friends and teachers who helped me through these few amazing days.

Many thanks to all the teachers and Year 9 students who helped to create this program. Altogether I have enjoyed these school programs very much and learnt new skills I can use while at RHHS.

Valentine’s Day SRC Fundraiser Written by Alyssa Richmon-Cassells & Rhianna Micallef This day was so much fun being able to dress up with all my friends. We decided as a group to ensure we looked our best, stood out, and made sure we dressed in bright red to share in the love of Valentines Day. It was good to be able to help the school fundraise for the student trust. Thanks to the SRC for organising.

NAPLAN Written by Ashley Farthing NAPLAN was held this term, and we were all a little bit nervous, but we pushed through our nerves and gave it our best shot. This was the first year I had completed all of the NAPLAN tests on a laptop, and this was a fun experience.

It was fun to all be in the hall together and I think Year 7 did a good job.

Ambassador Training Written by Paina Wilson 54 students were part of an amazing program called Ambassador Training. A few teachers spoke to us throughout the day including Ms Cawsey, Mrs Andrews and Mrs Tapuska about how to be a good leader and helped us to work through different activities about being a leader. I am really looking forward to being an Ambassador for RHHS and I'm also excited to be doing jobs around the school. It was a good day, and I learnt so much!

Gala Day Written by Leon Tuazon The Peer Support Gala Day was very fun because people were able to enjoy a BBQ, an ice block and even play sports with their friends. I enjoyed this day because we got a chance to connect with others and have an opportunity to have fun and play a variety of sports including basketball, soccer and oztag.

My team and I had fun participating in games across the school. We would like to thank all the Peer Support leaders and the Year 11 Sports Coaching class for organising such a fun day.

Swimming Carnival Written by Diesel Thompson In February, we had our annual school Swimming Carnival.

The day was full of fun activities such as novelties where we played lots of different games in the pool and had lots of laughs.

We had a best dressed competition and of course the main events which included the races. It felt amazing to dive into the refreshing cool water and swim our hearts out hoping to touch the wall first. It was good to see so many students participating in the carnival and we had lots of fun.

Harmony in Diversity Day Written by William Condello Our school celebrated Harmony in Diversity Day, where we were able to acknowledge and experience all the different cultures that we have at RHHS. The opening ceremony paid respect to all our different cultures and especially our First Nations Peoples with an Acknowledge of Country. We were then entertained by my peers performing cultural dances and showcasing their musical talents throughout the day. It was a great day, and I was able to celebrate with all my friends and we all had a wonderful day.

MacqLit Program Written by Indyana Carbines, Tessa Francis, Aylirra Smith, Riley Starr & Jai Tracey In MacqLit, we have learnt about different things to do with words. We are learning how to spell new words, what digraphs are and how to use sounds and syllables to spell words when we are stuck. We are learning how to write sentences and take turns reading paragraphs out loud. We have also been having fun testing how fast we can read by being timed and then timed again to see if we can beat our score.

As we learned about the Chinese culture, we stumbled upon all types of Dynasties like the Shang or the Qin Dynasty.

During this whole new experience, I am looking forward to speaking and writing Chinese confidently during Language classes.

Ms Sun draws the characters clearly and gives us the correct techniques to help us with our handwriting. I was able to introduce myself in Chinese which consists of my name, age and nationality. I would like to learn more characters and sentences in Chinese in Term 2.

We have been revising our vowel sounds and have learnt that a syllable must have a vowel sound and that in a word, if there is a digraph, you can’t split between a digraph to make a syllable. MacqLit helps us with our spelling, reading, and writing in all our classes. It helps us write neater and pronounce words correctly. We find it best helps us in English and Geography by allowing us to sound out words to spell and practicing writing sentences with the correct punctuation.

We do all of this while following the PERSIST values. We really do enjoy this program; we love everything about it.

We love how we read more, how it has helped us build up confidence. We have been able to connect with other students in our year group and get to know our teacher. We are having so much fun.

• • • •

Jai - My favourite part is being challenged to read faster and beating my previous score.

Riley - My favourite part is testing how many words I can read in 10 seconds because I always win Aylirra and Tessa - My favourite part is when the teacher tells us a sentence, and we have to try and write it correctly Indyana - My favourite part has been connecting with others and making new friends.

YEAR 8 Year Adviser Message As we reflect on the first term, I’m incredibly proud of how Year 8 embraced new challenges and achieved so much already. From engaging in hands-on class projects like science experiments, cooking, woodworking, and creating beautiful artworks, to learning a new instrument, their enthusiasm for learning has been inspiring.

In addition to their academic pursuits, students have showcased their team spirit, competing in the Panther Trophy Rugby League Tournament and excelling in the volleyball championships. It's been a term filled with hard work, growth, and plenty of memorable moments. Here's to many more successes in the year ahead! Well done Year 8!

Miss Ratnappuly Year 8 Adviser

SRC Training Day Written by Mikaela Ner The SRC Training Day consists of various activities that are focused on how to be an SRC member, which is good to know due to whether you're an official member or not, it's still useful to know.

LOTE Written by a Year 7 Student In LOTE, we learn a lot of new things. We learnt about Hanzi and Pinyin. Learning a new language that was not close to me was very interesting. It's like a new way of learning. Instead of counting normally with your fingers we learnt how to say 7 “qī ” which we pronounced as “chi”.

My favourite part was the number song, it was so funny, but I learnt the numbers at the same time. The paper cutting activity was fun and after we folded and cut pieces of paper it revealed a Chinese character!

There were also various communication activities to get to know the SRC Chairs and nominated SRC members. This is also helpful in being a member due to having to communicate and be around the peers of RHHS. In addition to activities and fun stuff to do, we also learnt how to create and design an event; getting together in groups, brainstorming and planning for an event of our choosing with the theme: Harmony and Diversity Day (HIDD).

We also worked together in groups to create and design a presentation for our plans in a Google Slide. In my group we presented and discussed about doing cultured stalls for HIDD.

One thing about being an SRC is about knowing similarities and differences between each other, we were taught this by sharing each other's culture and recognising what's similar and different about each culture, it really brought us together and allows us to acknowledge what we have in common and what's different between us in a way that it's also communicating and centred on HIDD. I say the day was successful, now that I got to know people I've never met or talked to before, it's allowed me to make more friends and have others to talk to around the halls and around the school.

have gotten used to the different academic subjects and assessments.

These challenges, which initially felt overwhelming, have become opportunities for growth. Being in Year 8 means that we are more comfortable with our peers and have established many new friendships. Being in Year 8 also comes with many new opportunities, such as the Origin Explorers Day, choosing your electives, camp, meeting different people in classes, and an end-of-year excursion.

Swimming Carnival Written by Fahima Bare

Also, knowing what I know about SRC, it's made me more than capable in being an SRC member, and confident that I could do the job and represent the school in a very fun and inclusive way.

The Swimming Carnival was an amazing experience for the school to socialize together and compete in swimming competitions.

Volleyball Schools Cup Written by Empress Matibag

Students competed in various swimming categories like breaststroke, freestyle, and novelty events. It was a great opportunity to develop skills such as respect, responsibility, and teamwork as a school.

The Volleyball Schools Cup is an exciting event for students because it combines competition, teamwork, and creates connection bond with other schools. It allows students to follow their passion. It also helps players feel the challenge of intense matches which teaches athletes perseverance, determination, and how to handle pressure.

Volleyball isn’t all about winning, it’s also about passion, teamwork, and personal growth. The Volleyball Schools Cup was an amazing experience, it helped us develop new skills, stay physically active, and compete in games while showing sportsmanship. It was a great opportunity to strengthen our volleyball skills. Thanks to Mr Levi and Miss Fuiono, we had an amazing time.

The Swimming Carnival was extremely fun, and Year 8 enjoyed it because we connected as a grade while establishing new friendships. The Swimming Carnival is something that we look forward to every year and can't wait to experience all over again.

On behalf of the Year 8 students, I would like to thank Mr Harper for organising this event as well as the PDHPE faculty for assisting with the various events. Ultimately, I would like to thank all the teachers who came to the carnival and helped run the events and our school for making this carnival fun and enjoyable.

Class Projects Written by Liam Mondala

YEAR 9

The practical investigations in Science, we conducted in class, were an engaging and fun experience that helped us build important skills. We all worked on our own, different experiments, enabling us to learn and write our scientific reports.

Year 9 kicked off the year with energy, leadership, and a strong sense of community. This term, students dove into their first electives—like PASS, Engineering, Photography, and Commerce—while also rising to academic challenges and celebrating sporting success, including the Under 15s Rugby Team becoming undefeated Colebee Zone champions and the Girls Volleyball Team earning their sixth gold medal since Year 7.

One group worked on the correlation between the mass of water and the time it took for it to boil, while others created things such as catapults out of paddle-pop sticks. Another team worked on creating saltwater bridges, which is where two beakers are set up next to each other, one empty, one filled, with a piece of paper towel connecting the two beakers.

Each of these experiments helped us expand on our understanding, problem solving skills, and teamwork. I would like to thank the Science faculty and the Science teachers for organising these fun experiments to write about for our reports.

New Year, New Me Written by Haani Muhammad Bakhsh Coming back into the school as a Year 8 student rather than a new Year 7 student. Now that I’m Year 8, we've settled into the high school environment and made it my own. I

Year Adviser Message

A standout highlight was the Peer Support Program. Year 9 Peer Support Leaders led weekly sessions to support the new Year 7 students, building their own confidence and leadership skills in the process. Their kindness and authenticity left a lasting impression.

This term, Year 9 also explored what it means to build a village—supporting your people, letting them support you, and showing up when it matters. Year 9 students continue to embody these values, and I’m proud of the way they’ve started 2025. Let’s keep it going, legends!

Miss Elford Year 9 Adviser

Peer Support Program Written by Asimina Halatanu The Peer Support program was held every Wednesday and was a way to help Year 7 students feel more comfortable and adapt to the big change that high school brings. It helped them understand more about the school, an opportunity to meet new people and brought their grade closer together.

However, this program wasn’t only for the benefit of Year 7 students but also for Year 9 students as well. Year 9 students had the opportunity to improve leadership, confidence, responsibility, and teamwork skills. We continue to be peer support leaders for Year 7 students until we graduate, hoping that they have people to ask for advice and help.

encouraging them to engage with Year 7 and have fun while participating.

I’d like to thank Miss Elford, Mr. Treharne, Mrs Andrews, and Mrs Tapuska on behalf of both Year 7 and Year 9 for this amazing and valuable experience, which improved everyone's skills and knowledge. We all learned valuable skills that we can use for years to come. We were very excited to share this fun day with the 2025 Year 7 cohort.

I would like to thank Miss Elford, Mrs Andrews, and Mrs Tapuska, because without them, this program would not have taken place, and I wouldn't have the friendships I have or the skills I've gained.

Swimming Carnival Written by Karla O’Neill

SRC Written by Raina Kongkon

The Swimming Carnival was held in Week 2 and was lots of fun. The day was filled with swimming races, hanging out with friends, and good weather. The races included freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Year 9 did well, and many of us made it through to zone to represent RHHS. I would like to give a special shoutout to Karla, Thivain, Ethan, Ehan, Kushala, and others who competed at zone. I’d like to thank Mr. Harper and the PDHPE faculty for organizing the swimming carnival.

The SRC team had been preparing for Valentine's Day before the year even began, ordering flowers, and then carefully wrapping each one. Over a few lunch breaks, we sat in the small cola selling the pink and red roses, giving the option to write an anonymous love note.

On Valentine's Day, we travelled to classrooms to collect gold coins, we also handed out the flowers from the unknown senders to the recipients, all of which were either pleasantly surprised or extremely embarrassed. Fun times.

Year 7 Gala Day – Year 9 Peer Mentors Written by Mitchell Walker

Thrive Advisory Group Written by Daloba Conde

The Year 7 Gala Day took place every Wednesday, from period 2 - 4 and was filled with fun activities, was an engaging and enjoyable experience for both Year 9 Peer Mentors and the new Year 7 students.

This term, 6 students presented to visitors to our school called “The Thrive Advisory Group”. We presented on how our school uses data to help Miss Elford and Mrs Andrews understand our needs as a grade, and what can help us do better at school.

This exciting event, organized by Mr. Treharne, Miss Elford, Mrs Andrews, and Mrs Tapuska, ensured that the Year 7 students would be engaged with the activities and have a day of fun. The Year 7 students learned many valuable skills that can help them in the future, including teamwork, communication, and even leadership.

We had lots of practice beforehand, which helped prepare us for larger presentations to bigger audiences. It taught us valuable skills such as leadership, confidence, and communication. A fun highlight of the activity was the games we played before the presentation to reduce our nervousness, and the impressed look on the guests faces.

This was an excellent experience that not only benefited Year 7 but also helped the Year 9 Peer Support group by

Some guests included staff from the Department of Education and representatives from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and other universities. Overall,

this experience improved our public speaking skills and sense of responsibility through representing the school. I would like to thank Miss Elford and Mrs Andrews for helping us, and Ms Cawsey for giving us the opportunity.

YEAR 10 Year Adviser Message Year 10 had an eventful term, filled with a variety of academic, sporting, creative/performing art and whole cohort achievements. This term, Year 10 participated in several programs such as Breathe Easy All Together (BEAT), Future Focus, Future Ready, Students as Lifestyle Activists (SALSA) and much more. For their first term as senior students, they have achieved so much.

Mr Mangali Year 10 Adviser

BEAT Program Written by Daveleen Mulbah The BEAT program (Breathe Easy All Together) was a group of 30 selected students who came together and learnt the ill effects of vaping and e-cigarettes and the different marketing strategies that they use to manipulate young people.

SALSA Program Written by Maddilyn Taylor During Week 10, several students were chosen to participate to become a student Peer Leader in a program called SALSA (Students As LifeStyle Activists).

Throughout the program the Year 10 Peer Leaders took part in different activities that improved our knowledge about how to motivate other high school students to increase their physical activity and how to improve their diet.

The SALSA program gave us the opportunity to gain different skills such as confidence, leadership, and public speaking skills.

After this, we were tasked with presenting these lessons to a Year 7 class, which was a huge success. The BEAT program was an amazing opportunity for us to use our leadership, communication and creative skills as well as help inform the Year 7 students of the dangers to their health and how to prevent it. This program was very engaging and fun and taught us about the importance of health.

Gateway Program (UNSW) Written by Ekaterina Lapteff On the Monday 3 March, over 60 students had the opportunity to have University of NSW ambassadors attend our school and give a presentation about how our skills can help us with our future.

Future Focus Program Written by Maddison Briffa 29 Students were selected to participate in the Future Focus program where we travelled to the University of Sydney. In this program, we had a tour of the campus and took part in multiple workshops to help us understand subject selections that will best suit our future. We also were given websites that talk us through applying to university and see what we need for a future career and had Ambassadors sharing their experience of university.

This opportunity was a helpful experience for those who would like to attend university or those who are unsure what to do as it provided us with a wealth of options whether it be studying Engineering or studying Astronomy.

We learned about the different skills, values and attributes that would help determine what career choice would be best for us, with the help of activities involving sorting cards and finding out which value represented us most. We discovered what paths the University Ambassadors took using their own skills, and participated in activities that helped us identify what future would be best for us.

It was an immersive experience, and with Year 10 supposedly being the year to help us set our future, hopefully this will be one of many experiences that support and prepare us for the future.

Harmony in Diversity Day Written by Ava Scobie Harmony In Diversity Day was a beautiful and entertaining experience. From the performances to the food trucks and the various activities always makes RHHS a place where you want to be.

This celebrational day congregates all diverse cultures within our school and gives everyone the chance to acknowledge and honour their own as well as others. This day starts off with a huge opening ceremony, showcasing the flag bearers, traditional dances, storytellers and the percussion ensemble.

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“Today gave be a great insight in what being a leader means and could look like. Today gave a great sense of confidence as I was able to interact with lots of people”.

RHHS is a UNSW Gateway partner school. For more information about the opportunities and academic support that are offered to students at UNSW Gateway partner schools, visit their website here: https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/how-toapply/undergraduate/admission-pathways/Gateway

Harmony In Diversity Day was not just the opportunity to highlight all cultures, it also brought the Rooty Hill community together as one and was a great way to end the first term. Overall, this day must be one of RHHS’s highlights.

YEAR 11 Year Adviser Message Year 11 had a busy start to the year, settling into their new subjects, new patterns of revising and making decisions for the future. We welcomed 12 new students into the year group and several students decided to leave school to pursue apprenticeship opportunities. Students have also been busy deciding on senior jacket designs and names for jackets, which all going well, should arrive sometime in Term 2.

Congratulations to all students who have been involved in leadership opportunities, sport and Harmony in Diversity Day during Term 1.

SALSA – Fuelling Our Passions with the Health Hackathon To read the article ”Fuelling our passions with the Health Hackathon” written by Taiba Hussein, Yonalee Polwaththa Gallage & Professor Smita Shah, please refer to the following link: https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e003270.

YEAR 12 Year Adviser Message

Ms Short Year 11 Adviser

University of NSW Gateway Leaders Program On 19 March, 13 Year 11 students participated in the UNSW Gateway Leaders Program. The day began with a leadership workshop run by UNSW Gateway University Ambassadors called “Who am I as a leader?” Students explored individual values, purpose and passions for social impact and explored the kind of leader they want to become.

The second workshop was run by the incredible Jo O’Reilly who asked students “How do we communicate with purpose?” Jo is an accomplished professional speaker, former comedian and has worked extensively with UNSW and the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) to develop leadership skills and potential in all kinds of people. Jo’s workshop is a practical and inspiring workshop that explored what it means to have a leadership presence that aligns with your values and purpose. Students were reminded that leaders do not always have to have the loudest voice and that we all have leadership potential.

Student feedback from the program: • ”The most valuable aspect of today was the opportunity to come out of my comfort zone and interact with others I typically wouldn’t”.

Year 12 continued to exhibit the school values of PERSIST during what has been an exciting and busy first term of 2025. I am very proud of what they have achieved as a year group so far and am very excited to see them through their final year of high school!

Miss Pozoglou Year 12 Adviser

Swimming Carnival Year 12 attended their last Swimming Carnival in Week 3 of this term. Students were able to enjoy a lovely sunny day at the Mount Druitt Swimming Centre. It was great to see so many students dressed up in the “Under the Sea” theme and watch some great performances from Year 12 swimmers.

Including Chrystan, Alex and Jayden.

Excellence Assembly The outstanding achievement of students in Year 11 2024 were recognised during Week 3 at the Excellence Assembly.

Newly elected school captains Laurel Lyttleton and Jayden Chua hosted the assembly, and Laurel was also recognised as the Year 11 DUX. Congratulations to all of the Year 11 students who achieved special awards at this assembly.

Harmony Week Community Performance Written by Jasmine Browne (Year 10) On 20 March, Year 12 students were invited to perform at the 2025 Harmony Week Cultural Fest, hosted by the Mount Druitt Ethnic Communities Agency (MECA) in partnership with Multicultural NSW and Blacktown City Council.

The event celebrated Australian multiculturalism, inclusivity, and belonging. The festival opened with a captivating Samoan dance by Sautualasi, Elisha, Keliyah, McKenzy, Angelina, Rita, and Isabella, with backstage support from Princeton. This was followed by a graceful Classical Chinese Fan Dance performed by LOTE teacher Ms Sun. Both performances mesmerized the audience and created a vibrant atmosphere.

Western Sydney University (WSU) Fast Forward Excursion 20 Year 12 students who participate in the WSU Fast Forward program attended the Parramatta Campus in Week 4. They attended two workshops, which aligned with their career prospects, and watched some excellent keynote speakers throughout the day.

Jamberoo Excursion Due to popular demand, Year 12 was able to participate in another excursion to Jamberoo Action Park on the South Coast. There was a great turn out, amazing weather and a day full of fun for everyone. This excursion will be a highlight of the year for many students.

Additional Recognition/s Congratulations to the Year 12 students who performed at Harmony in Diversity Day and the Iftar. Congratulations to Shaun Siliva who performed in the CHS production of Shrek as Donkey!

SPORT Written by Mr Harper Term 1 was an exciting and action-packed start to the sporting year at the school, showcasing incredible student talent, and commitment to the PERSIST values, especially participation, enthusiasm, respect, success, and teamwork.

On 24 March, the Senior Student Leadership Team had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Halogen Leadership Conference held at the ICC in Sydney. The event brought together hundreds of young leaders from across NSW to be inspired, challenged, and empowered.

Term 1 started with the annual Swimming Carnival held at Mount Druitt Swimming Centre, which was a huge success, with over 700 students in attendance, cheering on in great spirit. It was a fantastic day filled with energy, pride, and outstanding individual performances. From this event, 26 students were selected to represent RHHS at the Colebee Zone Swimming Carnival. Their hard work and determination paid off as RHHS won the carnival overall!

A further 16 students qualified and represented the Colebee Zone (and RHHS) at the Sydney West Swimming Championships — a remarkable achievement!

Throughout the day, students heard from an impressive lineup of speakers, including Premier Chris Minns, who shared valuable insights into leadership, resilience, and the importance of community engagement. Students also enjoyed networking with peers, participating in leadership activities, and reflecting on how they can positively influence their school and wider community.

Special congratulations to the Under 16 Girls 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay Team. Summer Thompson (Year 10) qualified in an individual event and Diesel Thompson (Year 7) qualified in four individual events for the 2025 NSW Combined High Schools (CHS) Swimming Carnival. We are incredibly proud of these students for competing at such a high level and representing our school and zone with pride.

It was a truly inspiring day that reinforced the value of student voice and the impact of strong, values-driven leadership.

This term also saw the formation and participation of numerous school knockout teams, including the Open Boys soccer, basketball, volleyball, cricket, and touch football teams along with the Open Girls volleyball, netball and touch football teams. Many of these teams have already progressed into the next rounds of competition and will continue their campaigns into Term 2. We wish them all the best!

Halogen Leadership Conference Written by Ms Dadger

We would also like to congratulate the following teams: • Under 15 Boys Soccer Team, who represented RHHS against Greystanes High School.

• Under 15 Boys Rugby League Team who went through undefeated in the 2025 U15 Colebee Cup

which saw 6 members of the squad selected to represent the zone at the 2025 Sydney West Rugby League Trials.

Along with the school teams' many sporting achievements, there were also many individual achievements including numerous students who were selected to represent the school in the Colebee Zone teams for boys and girls volleyball, rugby league, touch football, volleyball, basketball and oztag.

It has been a fantastic term of sport, full of achievement and school spirit. RHHS commends all students who participated for demonstrating the PERSIST values, especially participation, enthusiasm, excellence, and success.

We can’t wait to see what Term 2 brings!

Sydney West Volleyball Written by Mr Levi Khalia, Sautualasi, Chris, Mason, Tala, Melvan and Chrystan represented RHHS in the Sydney West Girls and Boys Volleyball teams, that competed in the 3-Day CHS State Volleyball Championships at Minto, Mt Annan, and Oran Park.

They demonstrated exceptional skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship throughout the tournament. The boys team finished 3rd overall and the girls team finished as silver medallists in the championship final.

Sautualasi was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the girl’s team, and Khalia made it to the East All Stars Volleyball Team. Special congratulations to Sautualasi and Khalia for successfully making it into the CHS Volleyball team.

NSW Volleyball Schools Cup Results Great results at the Term 1 NSW Volleyball Schools Cup with 5 teams receiving medals: • Year 11 boys team – Gold Medallists • Year 10 girls team – Gold Medallists

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Year 9 girls team – Gold Medallists Year 8 boys team – Gold Medallists Year 12 boys team – Silver Medallists

ATTENDANCE RECOGNITION 100% Attendance in Term 1 2025 Year 7: Mariam Abdulrahman Kirby Aguado Christopher Atos Thon Atuich Lance Baldeswis Farhiya Bare Mark Bautista Chanelle Bernil Amiah Jeane Breaux Vin Joshua Casuco Nishanth Chandra Gabriel Choudeiry Harrison Clapham Delilah Cordtz Chloe Rich Daylo Chaztiel Dominguez Spencer Elliott Xantle Zhey Estrada Amelia Gazo Aisha Gurung Xavier Holmes Ervic Isidro Harper James-Pullen Muskaan Janif Year 8: Luis Abarca Alghasim Balla Fahima Bare Christian Bedot Rachael Bourne Kobe Castanares Calvin Casupanan Arwin Dargantes Priscilla Darwon Mihran Haidari Tyson Hoban Ali Jalil Shekinah Kura Mark Ryzel Legaspi Year 9: Aaliyah Acosta Natasha Ah Ehan Ahmad John Jr Jenayah Ali Trinity Amosa James Aoun David Arona Tristan Belan Eshan Bhuiyan Aizel Reign Cellona Anton Dargantes Jacy De Leon Mercado

Ejeni John Samuel Kalic Fatuma Kanneh Shiloh Kura Roman Lapteff Axton Mason Samantha Melocotones Sarah Mickiewicz Rhyme Mondal Jacob Nash Ivy Nucom Michelle Pye Kayla Ramos Enrique Sebastia Lukas Starr Thaksika Thevakumar Talia Toleafoa Jessica Viemero Paina Wilson Alvin Yacat Kashaf Zaidi Shanae Zammit Hadia Ziayee Ejeni John

Jack Shang Zhao Long Li Zeth Maralang Ester Mashikura Jacob Mcmahon Liam Marcus Mondala Mikaela Ner Mackenzie Pittman Sarthaksinh Raulaji Jarryd Santiago Lilly Smith Jyrah Tongamoa Yashaswi Twati Zacha Velasco

Ethan Gao Nathan Metua Elijah Kalic Malik Maaz Ali Naderi Vivienne Nguyen Rham Peralta Khang Phan Atharv Prasad Jayden Rapa Anthony Reyes Maryam Rezaee Sam Scobie

Ethan Dillon Ashna Gandhi

Noah Sinnett Catherine Veng

Year 10: Aaron Acosta Anthony Amirkhan Melis Bilgic Serena Bingas Lisa Bourne Jasmine Browne Hannah Collisson Justin Delos Reyes Ceylin Diler Ecrin Diler Jacob Gale Chloe Gamsby Evan Gao Muhammad Hussain Angelo Israeil Ekaterina Lapteff Romeo Lavina Anthony Le Kelvin Li Julian Lintag

Colin Malsi Addison Marsh Daveleen Mulbah Mitch Neich Matthew Ner Natasha Nonu Darrel Nucom Elijah Ponce Celesti Prasad Juan Gabriel Pugosa Alfred Ramos Clarissa Randell Xavier Reynolds Laith Saleh Ava Scobie Khian Jasper Sta Maria Summer Thompson Alyssa Urfano Jordan Vella

Year 11: Samira Ahmed Saja Akl Sarah Akl Andre Bettridge Aneesha Chandra Aaron Dargantes Leyla Derin Kasak Gautam Amy Gower Taiba Hussain Firaba Hussaini Gracie Kumar Year 12: Cidra Akl Marwa Amini Kayla Bustamante Cuadrado Zander Cassar Chrystan Cayton Chellsea Diakowsky

Mohammad Maliki Mikayla Mantua Myah Nguyen Vianca Pelayo Yonalee Polwaththa Gallage

Tiana Ramos Charli Russell Zahira Sadiqi Jimmy Santiago Emir Selvi Lewis Tierney Jovan Tukuitonga

Joshua Dillon Laurel Lyttleton Rohan Prakash Michael Sy Phoenix Ussher-Jackson Ellizah Williams

CAPA PULSE Alive Written by Mr Mobbs-Green On 21 March, selected RHHS students had the incredible opportunity to participate in Pulse Alive, a massed dance performance held at Sydney Olympic Park. The massed dance category in Pulse Alive brings together students from NSW public schools to learn and perform a unified choreography.

Congratulations to the students for representing RHHS with dedication and successfully completing two major segments of the massed dance category.

The CAPA faculty would like to congratulate all students involved in this year’s PULSE Alive performances at Sydney Olympic Park. This year, 17 students represented in the Mass Choir and 10 students represented the Combined Dancing ensembles.

Two Year 12 students, Shaun Siliva and Priya Muduliar, were selected as Featured Vocalists. Congratulations on representing RHHS and upholding the PERSIST Values.

Their hard work and commitment are truly commendable!

LIBRARY The Amazing Library Written by Yasmin Almoaiel A book so thick with an outer shell With pages recycled and reused.

Children’s faces brighten up when they get a book unused Pages closed at a sound of a bell Oh! What a beautiful miracle has bloomed.

The library so big and wide makes me think of what’s inside, In this magical place you will be flipping the pages in haste.

Mini Golf in the Library?!

There was an unusual development in the Library during Week 7, as the space was transformed into a mini golf course to celebrate Metrology Week. Students tested their skills in measuring distance and speed as they navigated the makeshift course. Metrology is the science of measurement, and some of the other activities included a Rubik’s cube solving race, guessing the weight of books and a competition to see who could remember the most numbers in Pi. In addition to the fun of Metrology Week, students have also been visiting the library to borrow books, attend fortnightly Thursday craft workshops, and enjoy book displays on Minecraft, the Creativity Wheel, Valentine’s Day and Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS TERM 1 2025 Year 7: Mariam Abdulrahman Kirby Aguado Rishan Ahmad Paris Aialeo Omar Al Jamhour Isha Alcantara Lorelye Allen Alexa Ang Christopher Atos Thon Atuich Lance Baldeswis Farhiya Bare Mark Bautista Chanelle Bernil Amiah Jeane Breaux Vin Joshua Casuco Nishanth Chandra Gabriel Choueiry Harrison Clapham William Condello Delilah Cordtz Chloe Daylo Willow Delaney Amelia Dib Chaztiel Dominguez Caitlyn Dunn Spencer Elliott Xantle Zhey Estrada Annika Faminial Ashley Farthing Tessa Francis Hannah Fryer Aaliyah Fuiono Samuel Gale Rihanna Gauci Amelia Gazo Zayn Gloria Aisha Gurung Alizah Haider Lachlan Hallam Xavier Holmes Sani Zahra Hussain Ervic Isidro Jackson Israeil Harper James-Pullen Muskaan Janif Ejeni John Samuel Kalic Fatuma Kanneh Stephanie Khan Madyson King Eva Koirala Anish Konnur Alara Kosem Shiloh Kura Roman Lapteff Haris Mansory Ruby Marshall Axton Mason Nikki Mehta Samantha Melocotones Sakura Men Sarah Mickiewicz Rhyme Mondal Jacob Nash Jade Nato Samara Larrarte NelsonLarrarte Ivy Nucom Max Ou Jacob Parczyk Grace Poudel Aryan Prasad Michelle Pye Kayla Ramos Amelia Rankin Haddi Rezaei Toby Rigby Hudaa Saeed Enrique Sebastia Lukas Starr Jacob Stutchbury Thaksika Thevakumar Diesel Thompson Thompson

Thon Thon Mabior Talia Toleafoa Jai Tracey Zaleeqi Tutuka Tansy Ussher-Jackson Jessica Viemero Oliver Walter Connor Willcockson Elizabeth Williams Paina Wilson Isaac Wixted Alvin Yacat Samantha Yang Rauf Yosufi Kashaf Zaidi Shanae Zammit Hadia Ziayee Year 8: Luis Abarca Sione Alalea Alghasim Balla Fahima Bare Christian Bedot Mohammad Bonyad Zada Rachael Bourne Isabella Brown Andrea Cabacungan Kobe Castanares Calvin Casupanan Brooklyn Cayabyab Alexandria Cowley Ahmed Dannawe Arwin Dargantes Priscilla Darwon Neo Ektoros Savanna Ezzat Angus Foreshew Lianah Giacalone Muez Girma Mihran Haidari Taniela Haumono Eleah Hewitt Tyson Hoban Shiraz Hussein Shanista Irshita Ali Jalil Levi Joseph Shekinah Kura Ryzel Legaspi Jack Li Faith Lowe Zeth Maralang Ester Mashikura Jacob McMahon Faith Mendoza Liam Mondala Arzoo Nabizada Mikaela Ner Rachel Ofisa Joshua Onesemo Londyn Paluch Mackenzie Pittman Quincie Pugosa Tusken Rakoroi Sarthaksinh Raulaji Rhyse Rihara Laki Rimoni Marcus Risati-Joe Azlan Saeed Jarryd Santiago Lilly Smith Benni Tafolo Yehuda Taufan Uapukupuku Touariki Teariki Azize Tekin Jyrah Tongamoa Robert Toomalatai Yashaswi Twati Zacha Velasco Logan Willcockson Year 9: Aaliyah Acosta Natasha Ah Lam

Ehan Ahmad Mannix Aialeo Mossa Al Zwain John Jr Alejandro Jenayah Ali Trinity Amosa James Aoun David Arona Emanuel Arona Nathanial Asamoah Hamidulla Azizi Hasibullah Azizi Cyrus Bailey Tristan Belan Chloe Berthon Eshan Bhuiyan Amelie Bogaz Marie Carnay Aizel Cellona Riley Clark Daloba Conde Lebron Da Cunha Anton Dargantes Shriya Das Jacy De Leon Mercado Year 10: Mohammed Abdulrahman Aaron Acosta Tala Ah Lam Zainab Al Hameed Shahad Al Nemer Hussien Alayed Aurora Alejandro Zahra Al-Khled Anthony Amirkhan Chris Baluyot Melis Bilgic Serena Bingas Lisa Bourne Maddison Briffa Isabella Brooke Jasmine Browne Jordan Buist Khaila Chavaria Alivia Chojnacki Hannah Collisson Anastasia Davis Justin Delos Reyes Ceylin Diler Ecrin Diler Jacob Gale Chloe Gamsby Evan Gao Samiuela Haunga Bailey Hodson Raiyan Huda Maira Hussain Muhammad Hussain Angelo Israeil Mia Knox Ekaterina Lapteff Romeo Lavina Anthony Le Kelvin Li Julian Lintag Jamielle Lopez Colin Malsi Addison Marsh Alarna Matatia Peyton Maybury Callum Midson-Mould Maxene Mojica Gabrielle Morales Joshua Moyse Daveleen Mulbah Asli Nacakli Mitch Neich Matthew Ner Natasha Nonu Christopher Norton Darrel Nucom Leo Ohi Alecia Ostric Steven Parmar

Elijah Ponce Brayden Portelli Celesti Prasad Juan Gabriel Pugosa Leandra Pulega Alfred Ramos Clarissa Randell Justyn Raquedan Xavier Reynolds Marcus Rivera Laith Saleh Wesley Sang-yum Jasmine Santiago Ava Scobie Khian Sta Maria Naveen Subha Lillyarna Suitupe Papatani Taufoou Summer Thompson Daniel Too Timothy Tumbaga Alyssa Urfano Jordan Vella Marcela Wilder Riley Willcockson Sofia Yamin Year 11: Petra Adamovic Samira Ahmed Saja Akl Sarah Akl Nuha Anarwala Chloey Baikie Andre Bettridge Evelyn Bogaz Aneesha Chandra Aaron Dargantes Leyla Derin Khalia Evagelia Daniel Alandra Fuiono Kasak Gautam Jeeya Gawai Amy Gower Jarred Hide Taiba Hussain Zaheen Hussain Firaba Hussaini Gracie Kumar Natalie Lee Yong Guang Lim Ryan Lucre Mohammad Maliki Mikayla Mantua Micholai Marquez Riley Marshall Cooper Masterson Benjimen Moore Jemuel Nallas Myah Nguyen Tristan Nunez Vianca Pelayo Grace Pham Yonalee Polwaththa Gallage Tiana Ramos Charli Russell Zahira Sadiqi Jimmy Santiago Emir Selvi Ma Jacqueline Sinclair Lewis Tierney Jovan Tukuitonga Elizabeth Vella Samuel Vista Year 12: Jessica Abram Daniel Ademovic Melissa Adlington Henrietta Ah Lam Cidra Akl Fawz Al Jamhour Marwa Amini Melissa Amos Ysabella Annecchini

Christopher Aoun Hooria Asghar Ramon Ayoub Ahmad Aziz Billy Bicol Nabaa Boram Sabaa Boram Kayla Bustamante Cuadrado Roxanne Cajumban Abigail Camat Zander Cassar Lebron Castanares Chrystan Cayton Avantika Chand Himanshi Chand Jayden Chua Melvan Coombes Nichola Croft Tori Croft Avnith Datt Vincent Delos Reyes Chellsea Diakowsky Joshua Dillon Gabriel Dizon Alyssa Flanagan-Rogers Caitlin Flood Natalie Gamsby Lilley Gotts Harlem Grant-Cairns Saeed Hamayoun Breanna Hargreaves Sautualasi Heron Faridoon Hussaini Zaida Hussein Keliyah Jennings Cyrus Knott Tyarn Lees Matthew Lim McKenzy Lolo Laurel Lyttleton Kirralea Marsh Alaska Marshall Zane Mason Georgia McAndrew Adriel John Mendoza Jeyda Mentesh Celena Merched Priya Muduliar Awais Mushtaq Saad Mushtaq Charlie Ngatoko Angelina Ofisa Isabella Pakas Wynter Paluch Rosaleah Paulo Alexander Perry Mariam Popal Rohan Prakash Kristopher Quilao Zahra Rajayee Rita Reuelu Jadon Rissom Syed Fazal Mustafa Rizvi Monique Robert Saarim Saeed Divine Sang-Yum Lotfali Sarwari Shaun Siliva Consaij Siloi Prince Sta Maria Emily Stephenson Ashmita Subba Michael Sy Danica Tahana Duc Hieu Tran Duc Nghia Tran Phoenix Ussher-Jackson Joshua Vella Mason Villanueva Angelique Vinensig Brionne Vulimaibau Brody Willcockson Ellizah Williams Emily Xian Lena York

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Rooty Hill High School Learning, Leadership & Achievement North Parade, Rooty Hill NSW 2766 P.O. Box 70, Rooty Hill NSW 2766 Phone: 02 9625 8104