Dear Parents,

It is wonderful to see the continuing development of our new OSG Sydney campus. Each week brings visible progress, and the aesthetic intent of the design is now truly beginning to shine through. The evolving structure is a tangible reminder of the exciting new chapter that awaits our students and staff in 2026.

This week also saw the completion of MAP testing for our incoming 2026 Year 3 students. It was a delight to have this group together for the first time, and to see their enthusiasm and curiosity as they begin their journey with OSG. We are confident they will bring wonderful energy and joy to our Primary community next year.

Alongside this, Miss Kelly continues to lead a thoughtful and engaging internal transition program for our current Year 6 students as they prepare to move into Secondary. This week’s highlight was their visit to the Science Lab, where they were introduced to both the Secondary staff and facilities. It is a privilege to see students progress seamlessly from Primary to Secondary within the same school environment, and we are committed to making this transition as exciting and positive as possible for each learner.

Next week marks the beginning of the 2026 Student Leadership Team’s tenure, with their training day scheduled mid-week. We look forward to working closely with both the SLT and the newly elected SRC representatives across year levels as we continue to strengthen positive student culture and voice throughout 2026.

There is a real buzz of anticipation among our Primary students and staff as they prepare for Grandparents Day next week. Students are eager to showcase their learning and share their classroom experiences with their grandparents — an event that always warms hearts and strengthens our community bonds.

It has also been wonderful to see so many parents attending our weekly assemblies. Your presence and participation are a clear testament to the ongoing interest and support from our parent community — something we deeply value.

We look forward to welcoming our Year 11 students back to campus following the completion of their HSC exams, and to finishing the year strong as we celebrate the many achievements across our school community.

Warm regards,

Chris van Niekerk
Campus Principal — OSG Sydney

This term, our Primary students have been taking part in the exciting Run to Melbourne Challenge!

Each day, students have five minutes to run as many laps of the field as they can — with one lap equaling 100 metres.

Every lap brings their class closer to reaching Melbourne! It’s been fantastic to see everyone showing determination, teamwork, and school spirit as they chase their goals.

Which class will reach Melbourne first?

Stay tuned to find out!

This past week, we had the pleasure of welcoming our incoming 2026 Year 3 students to campus for their first MAP testing session.

The excitement in the room was truly palpable as our newest learners began preparing for their OSG journey.

It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm, curiosity, and readiness to engage with the learning environment that will soon become their own.

This milestone marks an important first step in their transition to OSG Sydney, and we look forward to watching each of them grow and thrive as part of our school community next year.

As our Year 6 students prepare to complete their primary school journey, Miss Kelly has been leading a wonderful transition programme designed to help them move to high school with confidence and ease.

Working closely with high school teachers, Miss Kelly has created opportunities for students to ask questions, build connections, and learn more about what to expect in their next stage of learning.

Through these sessions, students have been able to meet some of their future teachers and explore different aspects of high school life. Recently, they enjoyed meeting Mr. Udhas, who spoke about what they will be studying in Year 7 English.

This week, they visited the science lab to meet Mr. Sini, who gave them a taste of the exciting experiments and investigations ahead.

The students have thoroughly enjoyed these experiences and are looking forward to the remaining weeks of the transition programme as they continue to meet more teachers and prepare for this exciting new chapter.

Year 9 students recently engaged in an immersive History excursion designed to enhance their understanding of Australia’s involvement in World War I through interactive storytelling and direct engagement with historical artefacts.

The program featured a live performance that conveyed the experiences of a World War I soldier, followed by a structured writing workshop and a hands-on inquiry activity in which students analyzed genuine wartime sources to solve a historical mystery.

These experiences provided valuable opportunities for students to apply key historical skills — interpreting and evaluating primary sources, considering diverse perspectives, and effectively communicating their understanding through written analysis — thereby reinforcing core learning outcomes within the History syllabus.

Over the past few weeks, Alma Calow, in Year 8 at the Sydney campus, has been actively involved in some extracurricular science work.

As part of the Global STEM class, she did some research into how migratory birds can navigate such long distances.

Her work was so detailed and well thought out that we have decided to publish it in the international journal "Physics Education", with the Institute of Physics in the UK.

The front page shown here gives an idea, but the story of how the birds use magnetic fields and blue light and quantum physics all in one story is going to make a great read for physics students all over the world.

Migratory birds, B fields, Pauli and entanglement – all in one story

A. Calow and P. W. Wilson

1. One School Global, Sydney Campus, Australia
2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA

Abstract

The detail of how migratory birds utilize Earth’s magnetic field to navigate demonstrates wonderfully how physics is ever-present alongside biology. It is thought that these birds cannot navigate well at dawn or dusk, i.e. when the sky is often red rather than blue. In fact, the retinal blue receptors utilize quantum physics to effectively provide a map of magnetic fields for the birds. The detail of how this all works includes electron pairs, Pauli Exclusion Principal and magnetic flux deviations and are discussed briefly here.

Note to teachers

Students of Physics will understand that if a bird travels South, it will not necessarily be cutting any magnetic (B) field lines, and if Faraday’s law is somehow involved, as might be their initial guess, then there will be no change in flux. At best, whatever mechanism birds utilize to sense B fields, the sensitivity to change in B must be exquisite.

The Glossary below may be useful reading to aid students during this story.

Introduction

The journey of birds’ migration to escape harsh winter conditions and to feed or mate, is certainly an impressive long-distance feat. The Arctic tern, for instance, travelling on a pole-to-pole journey will fly up to 70,000km round trip. Scientists have rightly asked how these birds are able to orient and navigate the route to their destination. At first, it was thought that these warm-blood vertebrates were guided by three factors, the sun, the stars and the landscape. However, these factors are not constant, given night and day, and are likely too greatly affected by weather and seasons.

We are delighted to announce our 2026 Student Leadership Team.

We are delighted to announce our 2026 Student Representative Council. These students have been chosen by their peers and teachers for their leadership, integrity and dedication to our school community. We look forward to seeing their ideas and initiatives come to life throughout the year.

A Powerful Tool for Personalised Learning

We would like to remind parents about IXL, a new online platform launched earlier this year which supports learning in Math's, English, Science, and more.

With over 7,000 curriculum-aligned skills, IXL helps students build confidence and mastery at their own pace. IXL also integrates with MAP assessments to create personalised learning plans tailored to each student’s needs.

Students will use IXL during Lessons and Studies, but they can also access it at home to reinforce learning.

Teachers will guide students to use IXL at home from time to time, but home use is always optional.

How to Access IXL at Home

1. Go to: IXL - OneSchool Global

2. Click “Sign in with Single Sign-On”

3. Log in using your child’s school email and password

If you have questions, please contact your child’s Class Teacher or Homeroom Teacher.

Thank you for supporting your child’s learning journey.

Digital Learning

Digital Literacy and Year 7 2026 email.

Year 6 students have been working through Assignment 1: Digital Literacy as part of their Transition Course. This Assignment activates their email accounts for Headstart. We’re proud to report 99.99% completion — a fantastic effort!

Thank you to our Year 6 teachers for facilitating and well done to all students for managing their Study so effectively. This sets a strong foundation for their continued learning journey next year.

Parents of Year 6 students should have received an email last week requesting the signed ICT agreement. If you haven’t returned it yet, please do so as soon as possible — we’re aiming for 100% completion by Friday 14 November. If you have not received the email, or cannot find it, please contact your COA.

Thank you for your support!

Year 6 using their Study to complete their Digital Literacy Assignment

Teacher Training

Our Digital Learning team has completed the Intermediate Canva Training and is now working closely with our Canva consultant to shape what 2026 will look like for teachers and students across Australia. We’re excited about having a regional approach to building digital literacy and bringing creative, meaningful tools into classrooms to support teaching and learning at OSG.

Our teachers have been working hard to design high-quality Assignments for 2026, with a strong focus on what effective, engaging learning looks like at OSG. To support this, the Digital Learning team has been running Teacher Tutorials, attending Faculty meetings and Faculty days and after school Micro Sessions on topics like Design Basics, creating video content, and STEM Holograms. The feedback has been positive, and we look forward to continuing this professional learning into 2026.

Thursday 16 October – Friday 7 November – HSC Exams

Tuesday 11th November- Grandparents Day

Wednesday 12th November- SLT Training Day

Thursday 13th November- 2026 Year 7 Parent Webinar

Monday 17th November-Senior Year 2 (Current Year 11) return to school and commence their 2026 timetable

Monday 24 November – Thursday 27 November – Years 7-10 Exams

Friday 28 November – Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 2nd December- Welcome Day for Year 3 2026

Tuesday 2nd December- HeadStart- Students in Years 6-11 commence 2026 Timetable

Tuesday 9th December – Recognition of Excellence Ceremony & final day of Term 4