Head of Secondary Message, Term 1, Week 8 2026

It’s been an action-packed fortnight since Activity Week with Secondary students embracing varied opportunities inside and outside the classroom. I am delighted to share some highlights below, along with some important information about academic matters.

Stepping into Secondary

It was wonderful to see so many families at Wednesday’s ‘Stepping into Secondary’ event. The occasion allowed us to showcase all the great aspects of a Secondary education at AISHK, with senior students, staff and recent alumni sharing their reflections about the school and how it’s shaped them. The speakers did a fabulous job, sharing their passion for AISHK and the unique and strong sense of community it fosters. Many thanks also to the Year 11 students who ably led school tours.

Athletics Carnival

Always a highlight of the year, the Secondary athletics carnival was held on Tuesday at the picturesque Shing Mun Valley Sports Ground in near perfect weather conditions. This followed last week’s highly enjoyable interhouse football competition. While there were some outstanding times run and impressive distances thrown at the carnival, the real joy comes from the house spirit and camaraderie displayed by the students. There was excellent participation throughout the day with Jacaranda finishing a convincing winner. A big thank you to the PDHPE team for their huge effort in making these events happen.

Assemblies

Last week AISHK celebrated International Women’s Day at assembly with a panel of three highly successful women leaders (Rachel Huf, Stefanie Evennett, Susan McLean) sharing their career journeys and reflections on what the day means to them. This week we acknowledged Harmony Day, an Australian initiative that promotes cultural diversity and implores communities to stand strong against racism. Today, we celebrated all the adventures and new horizons of Activity Week with a special assembly featuring highly engaging student videos and presentations. Activity Week is a unique and special part of an AISHK education that students keenly look forward to every year.

Interim Reports

Term 1 interim reports for Years 7 to 11 will be released in the final week of term, on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st April. These offer a snapshot of how your child is tracking in each of their subjects after first term. Based on work completed and learning behaviours displayed thus far, it indicates whether your child is Exceeding, Meeting or Below Expectations for their class or course. A student who is Meeting Expectations is satisfying course outcomes, participating in class appropriately and completing set work. More detailed reports with comments and subject grades are issued to all secondary students in terms 2 and 4.

Summative Assessments

Earlier in the term, Mrs Bennett shared all the assessment guidelines and schedules for each year level via an email titled ‘Curriculum Highlights’. These important documents show you when summative assessment tasks – which our semester grades and reports are based on – are due in each subject. This year, to enhance parent visibility of the summative assessments issued to your child, we have developed a new feature in the iSAMS parent portal which allows you to see tasks assigned to your child. Teachers have begun using the new feature and we will share further details with you next week.

NAPLAN and Exams

Good luck to students in Years 7 and 9 who will complete NAPLAN tests next week. Each year, NAPLAN connects our students to the Australian educational context and provides families with a snapshot of their children’s progress compared to school and national averages. Results do not contribute to AISHK grades or reports, but nonetheless help us understand student strengths and growth areas. For our Year 12 HSC cohort, half-yearly examinations loom after Easter. While these do not count directly toward final HSC marks, they are an important milestone for students to build “match fitness” under exam conditions. The examination timetable will be shared with students and parents next week and Year 12 reports will be released in May once exams are completed.

Study Skills

A reminder that next month, we are delighted to welcome back Dr Prue Salter, one of the world’s leading experts in study skills. Dr Salter will provide two sessions for Secondary students and parents: on Wednesday 22 April (for years 7-9, with year 6 families also welcome) and Thursday 23 April (for years 10-11). Both sessions start at 6pm in the school hall and are highly recommended. Year 12 students have their own bespoke session on exam study and revision scheduled for June. More details will be shared next week.

Wishing all our secondary families a fun and fabulous weekend with family and friends.