Cassandra Winfield, Dean of Learning Year 7-10 

Last Wednesday and Thursday, the Senior Library was transformed into a vibrant and inspiring space as our Year 10 students proudly presented their International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) Personal Projects. This annual event is a highlight on the School calendar, offering the community a glimpse into the diverse interests, skills and independent thinking of our students. Each display represented months of planning, research, problem-solving and creativity — the culmination of a truly independent learning journey.  

The Personal Project is more than just a significant academic milestone. It is an opportunity for students to step into the role of researcher, designer, communicator,and changemaker — all within a single, personally meaningful endeavour. From the moment students begin brainstorming their ideas to the final reflections and exhibition day, the process encourages them to look inward at their strengths and passions and outward at how they can make a difference in their communities.  

This year’s exhibition featured an extraordinary range of projects. Students explored a range of topics, including recruitment in the Australian Defence Force, creating virtual reality trips to the Moon, researching turning points in history, building Lego models, authoring books and planning nutrition for sportswomen. Each project reflected a unique blend of curiosity, commitment, and creativity and the range of topics was a powerful reminder of the diverse talents and interests within our student body.  

Read more about the MYP Exhibition, by clicking below: 

We’re excited to announce the launch of new sport pages on Tara Connect, your central hub for all School information.

Parents, staff and students will be able to access up-to-date fixtures and training schedules via Clipboard, check venue details, read important sport messages, and view photos from across the season.

You’ll also find dedicated sections for the Tara Aquatic Centre, Fitness Centre and all School carnivals.

These updates are part of our ongoing effort to make Tara Connect your go-to place for everything happening at School. Don’t forget to log in and check back regularly as we continue to update information across departments and keep you informed.

Tara Hub warmly invites all parents and carers to the upcoming Hub Community Gathering on Tuesday, 26 August 2025 at 7:00pm in the Chapel. 

Our Principal, Mrs Adele Ramsay, will be sharing key findings from the recent parent survey and unveiling the new Tara Master Plan—an exciting vision for the future development of our campus over the next decade and beyond. 

Event Details:

📅 Date: Tuesday, 26 August 2025

🕖 Time: 7:00pm

📍 Venue: Tara Chapel

📩 RSVP by: Monday, 25 August 2025

👉 RSVP here to assist us with catering Tara Hub Community Gathering - Tuesday 26th August 

We look forward to welcoming you to an evening of valuable insights and community connection.

We warmly invite all fathers and father figures to join us for a special Father’s Day Breakfast, celebrating the important role you play in your daughter’s life. 

Bring your daughter(s) and enjoy a relaxed morning filled with delicious food, meaningful moments, and the opportunity to connect with others in our school community.  

We look forward to sharing this special occasion with you. 

Please RSVP by Tuesday, 2 September 2025 

Booking here: https://www.trybooking.com/DEEJA

We are now accepting Active Kids and First Lap vouchers. To use them in our program, please forward the details to swimming@tara.nsw.edu.au with your child’s details.   

Don’t miss your final chance to secure tickets for our Junior School production Playful Tales, running from 6–8 August in the Tara Theatre. With each evening featuring a unique lineup of performances from different year groups, audiences can enjoy four short plays brought to life by our talented students. Show times are as follows:

Wednesday 6 August – Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5

Thursday 7 August – Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6

Friday 8 August – Year 5 and Year 6

Tickets are selling fast—book now to avoid disappointment!

Buy yours now Junior School Students - Playful Tales 2025 Tickets, Tara Theatre, Tara Anglician School for Girls , North Parramatta | TryBooking Australia

Year 4 students took part in the Aboriginal Dreaming Tour through The Rocks, enriching their understanding of Sydney’s cultural history and deepening their connection to Country.

This experience was part of their Unit of Inquiry, “Where We Are in Place and Time,” which encourages students to explore how communities and environments change over time. Walking through one of Sydney’s oldest areas, the girls learned about the stories, traditions and perspectives of the Gadigal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land.

The tour provided a meaningful opportunity to reflect on how Sydney has evolved and why it’s important to honour and protect sacred sites.

Through learning on Country, students gained a powerful insight into the past and the enduring significance of Aboriginal culture in shaping the identity of our city today.

Who knew learning about archaeology could be so delicious? Year 7 History students have been exploring the role of archaeologists through a hands-on (and tasty) activity—an archaeological cookie dig! 

Using cookies as excavation sites, students mapped out their "dig" on a grid, then carefully extracted the chocolate chips, treating them as ancient artefacts. Every find was recorded just like a real excavation. It was a fun, engaging way to uncover how archaeologists work—and a great excuse for a sweet treat at the end! 

Our Year 7 girls have been getting hands-on in Term 2 Design and Technology, building their very own solar-powered racers!

As part of the Stage 4 Engineering Systems project in our Technology department, Year 7 students have been learning how to solder, wire circuits, and build vehicles powered by solar energy. They’ve also been using high-temperature tools and bending acrylic to bring their own creative designs to life over the semester.

It’s a great mix of creativity, problem-solving and teamwork — and a fun way to build skills in design, project management and engineering for the future.

Nice work, girls — we loved seeing your solar racers in action.

This semester in Year 8 Geography, we’ve been learning about interconnections and trade, focusing on fast fashion and its negative impact on labourers, the environment, and the countries that produce it.

Although fast fashion is praised for its low prices and trendiness, it comes at a significant cost. For example, did you know it takes 2,700 litres of water to produce just one cotton T-shirt, often worn only once or twice before being thrown away? Cotton also uses some of the highest levels of pesticides, which harm not only the environment but also the health of farmers and surrounding ecosystems.

Using graphs and statistics, we explored how countries in Asia dominate the global fast fashion market, with China producing the most and Bangladesh ranking third, exporting over $28 billion USD in clothing. However, this demand often leads to unfair treatment of workers. In 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed after workers were forced to continue working despite warnings. Many factory workers in these countries earn as little as $0.20 per hour, making it clear that our cheap clothing often comes at a human cost.

To raise awareness, our class created a T-shirt design project showing both the positive appearance and negative reality of fast fashion. On the front, we wrote typical phrases like “I love fast fashion from shops like Shein and Temu, so affordable and totally my aesthetic.” However, on the back, we featured a bold red warning sign reading DO NOT WEAR, symbolising the hidden damage to both people and the planet that the behind-the-scenes workers wish everyone knew.

We also came up with practical ways our school community can reduce fast fashion’s impact:

1. Ration the Fashion – An initiative by the Environment Committee where students wear thrifted outfits to school and can enter a fun competition solo or in groups. There's also a clothes swap challenge, where friends trade outfits for a day and the best outfit swap is selected at the end of the week.

2. Thrifting – Buying from op-shops or second-hand stores is a sustainable and affordable alternative to buying new.

3. Think Before You Buy – Avoid impulse purchases. Instead, plan how you’ll wear an item in multiple outfits and reuse what you already own. Small decisions like these can make a big difference.

By learning more about fast fashion, we've discovered that making informed choices can help protect workers, reduce waste, and care for the environment. Together, we can choose fashion that’s not just stylish, but sustainable too.

Written by Allison and Hannah (Year 8)

As part of their Geography unit on biomes and sustainable agriculture, Year 9 students took on the Edible Insect Challenge!

The aim? To explore sustainable ways to improve global food security.

On the menu:

• 🦗 Cricket corn chips
• 🍪 Cricket choc chip cookies
• 🪱 Mealworms
• 🍭 Real ant candy

This wasn’t about the shock factor — it was about understanding that in many parts of the world, insects are a regular (and surprisingly tasty!) part of the diet. They’re high in protein, easy on the planet, and could play a role in tackling world hunger.

We’re proud to say most students gave it a go — and yes, they really did eat the bugs!

At the end of Term 2, a group of Year 10 students organised a Winter Drive to support women and families connected to Parramatta Women’s Shelter.

The initiative focused on collecting essential winter items and small gifts to bring warmth and joy to those doing it tough. Students gathered scarves, beanies, activity packs for children, and entertainment vouchers to help brighten the holiday season for local families.

The drive was a great example of student-led service in action, and it was heartening to see the wider Tara community get behind the cause.

Thank you to everyone who donated — your kindness and support made a meaningful impact.

Congratulations to our Year 11 and 12 Music students on a wonderful concert to end the term. The evening was filled with impressive performances that highlighted the hard work, skill, and passion of each student.

These concerts provide a valuable opportunity for students to perform live and share their music with an audience — especially important for our Year 12 students as they prepare for their HSC practical examinations.

Well done to everyone involved for making it such a memorable night.

On Saturday 28 June, when most students were enjoying the first day of the school holidays, six of our Chemistry students took part in the RACI NSW titration competition at Macquarie University. The competition is held at various Universities and schools across two days and involves determining the concentration of a solution of acetic acid as accurately as possible.

Congratulations to the team consisting of Selina, Lydia and Shirley for achieving a credit. Selina achieved a very impressive error score of zero, which means that she was able to determine the exact concentration of the solution. Georgia, Sarayu and Zoe also achieved sound results.

On Wednesday 23 July, Year 12 Chemistry students took part in Sydney University’s Kick Start program. This initiative provides high school students with the opportunity to carry out practical activities using equipment that is not available in schools. It also gives students a taste of university life.

Our students completed four activities, each focusing on a particular analysis technique. They used proton NMR and infrared spectrometers to analyse organic compounds, a UV-visible spectrometer to measure the concentration of a dye and they interacted with a model to gain a better understanding of the principles underlying mass spectroscopy. The excursion proved to be a very valuable experience for our students.

Congratulations to our Year 12 students, Jemima, Shirley and Selina, who have successfully completed the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award—a significant milestone that reflects their dedication and perseverance.

On 31 July, our girls joined other award recipients at Government House for a Morning Tea hosted by Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales, to celebrate this outstanding achievement.

Completing the Gold Award requires participants to engage in a range of challenging activities, including adventurous journeys, physical recreation, skill development, and community service. Each component has supported the girls in building resilience, confidence, and a strong sense of purpose.

We are incredibly proud of their commitment and growth, and we look forward to seeing how these experiences continue to shape them beyond school.

Congratulations to all our talented students who represented Tara at the Australian School Band and Orchestra Festival for the first time.

It was a fantastic opportunity for both our Stage Band and Senior Concert Band to perform alongside schools from across the state—and we are proud to share their outstanding results:

🥈 Stage Band received a Silver Award in the Don Burrows Secondary School Big Band event.

🥉 Senior Concert Band was awarded a Bronze Award in the Graham Lloyd Secondary School Concert Band event.

We sincerely thank the parents and family members who supported our students, whether by helping with transport or cheering from the audience. Your encouragement is deeply appreciated.

At Tara, sport provides every student with opportunities to grow and challenge themselves. Our girls are making their mark across a range of disciplines, from local competitions through to state and national championships. We are proud to celebrate remarkable achievements from our athletes on some of their biggest stages in their sports.  

Read more below

Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Club PERO Friendly Meet, held on 22 June at Tara Anglican School for Girls:

• Olivia, Chloe and Ava (Year 3)
• Audrey (Year 4)
• Celine (Year 5)
• Chloe and Isabella (Year 6)
• Jessica and Lin Lin (Year 7)

This was the next competition in the season for our Rhythmic Gymnastics students, and their performances across freehand, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon routines showed strong improvement and growing confidence on the floor.

Head Coach Rachel and the Rhythmic Gymnastics coaching team were proud of each gymnast’s commitment in the lead-up to the event and look forward to seeing their continued progress throughout the season.

There are some great events and opportunities coming up! Learn more about them via the links below. 

 Careers Newsletter for 31st July 2025

For more information please contact Mr David Berridge via email - dberridge@tara.nsw.edu.au