Latest News | Meriden: An Anglican School For Girls

Students recognised for skill, courage, service

15 October 2020

Dr Greenhalgh has warmly farewelled the Class of 2020, a cohort that has risen to each challenge it has encountered during this unpredictable year. As part of a Year 12 Farewell Assembly, which was livestreamed to the Meriden community, the School Principal presented a number of significant awards that recognised the skill, courage and service of outstanding students as they prepare to undertake their HSC exams and graduate from Meriden. Dux of the School 2020 is Julia Chung. For her exceptional academic achievement across all her HSC subjects, Julia has been awarded the Senior Turner Prize, which is in memory of Bertha Brailsford

Eight Meriden Cadets accept awards

15 October 2020

Eight Meriden Cadets have been presented with awards recognising their service and leadership in the Trinity Cadet Unit. Corporal Vivian Chen was made Dux of the Junior Non-Commissioned Officers’ Course. Corporal Patrice Aravanis was awarded The Commanding Officer’s Commendation. This award is presented to a Cadet who has displayed conspicuously high levels of outstanding performance, service and leadership and general excellence as a Cadet. Corporal Emily Seeto was bestowed with The COL (AAC) Christie Award. Colonel Peter Christie is a past Commanding Officer of the Unit, 1982-1996, and an Old Boy of Trinity Grammar School. This award

Meriden Junior School opens new STEM and Music classrooms

22 September 2020

Meriden Junior School has recently celebrated the opening of specialised classrooms. The colourful, architecturally-designed spaces are being enjoyed by students for Music and STEM projects that involve collaborative, creative and critical thinking. The renovation has added to the Junior School Campus one high-tech STEM Lab, two classrooms, a Music Academy office, two Music classrooms, six Music tutorial rooms and three instrumental storage rooms. The STEM Lab is equipped with a 3D printer and a range of robotics equipment. It has a large floor space and moveable furniture, which means the room can be easily re-arranged when girls are finished coding

Keeping young girls safe in light of the latest dangerous online content

18 September 2020

This week, horrific footage was circulating for a period on Tik Tok, a social media platform overwhelmingly used by young people. As part of Meriden’s proactive approach to keeping students safe online and the School’s ongoing commitment to caring for the psychological and emotional wellbeing of young women, Meriden Principal, Dr Julie Greenhalgh, has written to parents to ensure a whole-community approach to tackling the ever-present and evolving dangers of the online world. In yesterday’s Newsletter article to Meriden parents, Dr Greenhalgh said the School is ever-vigilant in its multi-pronged approach to online safety,

Turia Pitt inspires students to change focus

17 September 2020

Year 8 students were excited to virtually meet with inspirational Australian, Turia Pitt, whose book, Unmasked, the girls have recently read. During the video call, Ms Pitt explained the lessons she had learnt as she rebuilt her life after sustaining horrific burns when an out-of-control grassfire swept across her path during an ultra-marathon in 2011. Ms Pitt suffered burns to sixty-five per cent of her body, lost seven fingers, spent over six months in hospital and endured over two hundred operations. She was told she would never walk or be independent again but she has since competed in Ironman Australia and the

A postcard from a Meriden Old Girl

3 September 2020

Meriden alumna, Ellen Shanahan, completed her HSC in 2019 and is currently undertaking an academic degree while playing in the competitive world of NCAA women’s tennis at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this Q and A, Ellen shares with us a little about this next chapter of her life in the USA. Tell us about your journey to the US and the time you have spent there so far. I arrived in the US on 10 August to begin orientation activities at Duquesne University, which are held for international students and for the incoming class of 2024. These activities were

From the Pacific Islands to Sydney: Girls make a path for others

3 September 2020

Penina Kamu and Te Akaiti Toa first met in New Zealand in 2014 at opposite ends of a tennis court, Penina representing Samoa, Te Akaiti playing for the Cook Islands. Fast forward six years and the girls are not only playing on the same team, the rising tennis stars are neighbours in the Sydney suburb of Campsie. Attending Meriden, Penina and Te Akaiti have quickly become family – to each other and to Meriden’s tennis team – and the girls are opening doors for other young Pacific Islander players to follow their dreams. The girls’ journey to Australia

US college the first step to international water polo dream

28 August 2020

Meriden student Nioka Thomas is the first female athlete from outside the USA to be invited to join the champion water polo team at the University of California, Irvine. Nioka, who has already represented Australia at a senior level, has recently accepted a place at UCI in 2021, where she will undertake an academic degree whilst competing amongst some of the best athletes in American college sport. Meriden Head Water Polo Coach, Chloe Wilcox, herself a former Olympian, congratulated the Year 12 student on this historic milestone. She said Nioka joins the UCI squad with a wealth of experience and unique skills

Meriden athletes stronger, more resilient than ever

20 August 2020

In an uncertain year, Head Coach Nicole Boegman-Stewart’s 2020 IGSSA Athletics Squad has leaned heavily on the consistency and positivity of her training regime – and it’s paying off. Days after news of the cancellation of one of the year’s final and most important track and field events, the IGSSA Athletics Carnival, Meriden girls have instead participated in a virtual trial event where they went head-to-head with athletes from their own team, with record-breaking results. The event held on Monday night saw Meriden athletes compete on the track in 100 metre, 400 metre and 1,500 metre events. On

Girls take out philosophy essay competition

20 August 2020

Who am I? Who am I really? It’s the question that has intrigued human beings since the beginning of time. This is the question Meriden Philosophy Club students considered when they entered the Philosophy in Schools NSW Essay Competition, with our girls taking out second and third places in the academically rigorous challenge. Year 12 student, Sarah Kostoglou, was awarded second place for her exploration of the interdependence of psychological and physical continuity theories in the formation of an individual’s identity. Year 11 student and Philosophy Captain, Dunja Dudic, was awarded third place for her examination of how