"I love to lead by example, to try my hardest, lift others up, and represent my school with pride." Elsa Ensafi
Curious, alwaysElsa is a warm, curious Year 6 student from Sydney who throws her whole heart into the things she loves. Whether it's a tricky maths problem, a swimming final or a new piece of music, she meets it with the same gentle determination, she practises, tries again, and quietly finds her way through.
At home you'll usually find her lost in a book, painting at the kitchen table, or playing the piano and cello. She's endlessly curious about the wider world too, other languages, faraway places and the people behind them, and brings that same openness to everyone she meets.
"There's so much I want to learn, I never want to stop being curious."
Elsa pairs consistent results across every subject with a genuine love of ideas, from debating and reading to maths enrichment and her preparation for selective high school.
Strong results across her subjects, including the Class Award for English.
Achieved a strong result in the selective trial test, and is confidently preparing for placement.
A member of the school's Premier's Debating Challenge team, where she thinks on her feet and speaks with conviction.
Selected for both the Maths Olympiad and the maths enrichment program at Artarmon Public School.
Elsa has been chosen, year after year, for roles that ask for responsibility, teamwork and a clear voice, from the Student Council to her place as a School Prefect.
As a Prefect at Artarmon Public School, Elsa was chosen to deliver the Acknowledgement of Country in the official school newsletter, welcoming the community and paying respect to the traditional custodians of the land.
"We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and recognise their connection with the grounds we learn on every day, and we thank the elders of the past and present."
Beyond her titles, Elsa is known as a role model for teamwork, responsibility and communication, and she loves sharing her Persian heritage and celebrations with her classmates.
Elsa's artwork has been chosen for state exhibitions, printed across her city, and recognised in competition, work that blends careful observation with a love of colour and culture.
Elsa's artwork "Petals and Paws" won the Patient Pick award in the Hospital 50 category at Operation Art 2025, chosen by a panel including representatives from the Art Gallery of NSW, the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the NSW Department of Education.
Hospital 50 works are exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW and become part of the Children's Hospital at Westmead's permanent collection, so Elsa's piece now lives on for patients and families to enjoy. She attended the exhibition opening to see it on the gallery wall.
Elsa has twice won the Willoughby City Council Festive Flag Competition, in 2022 with "Special Santa for Willoughby City", and again in 2025 with "Willoughby's Global Ornaments".
Each winning design was printed as a full street banner and displayed across the city, public recognition of her creativity beyond the school gates.
A small selection of Elsa's original drawings and paintings, across coloured pencil, watercolour and mixed media.
Beyond competitions, Elsa's art carries her Persian heritage, her "Gol o Morgh" drawing earned a Special Prize at the 2025 Community Language Schools gala, her designs have been chosen for official Nowruz certificates and invitations, and her story was selected for the published Willoughby Wildlife Storybook.
Elsa is a dedicated pianist and cellist who plays both the Western classical repertoire and traditional Persian music, bringing the two worlds she grew up between to every performance.
Elsa performs regularly as a cellist, including concerts on the Chatswood Concourse stage with her ensemble, poised and composed in front of an audience.
Whether on cello or piano, she loves the focus and the feeling of playing a piece well for the people listening.
Elsa has played piano on the Sydney Opera House stage, an experience few young musicians ever have.
Currently preparing for Grade 5, building a strong classical foundation.
In progress · Grade 5Graduated through three consecutive Suzuki levels with the Suzuki Association of Australia.
Achieved · 2024
Elsa has progressed through every level of her school's string program on cello, and was chosen as Strings Captain in Year 4.
From the school orchestra to the Opera House stage, music is one of the constant threads in Elsa's life, on both piano and cello.
In the pool Elsa shows the same determination she brings to everything, training hard, racing with focus, and winning her age championship two years running.
Sport is where Elsa's determination really shows, she trains, competes and supports her teammates with the same whole-hearted effort.
Elsa is growing up between languages and cultures, and she treats that as one of the most exciting parts of who she is. She learns, reads and performs across three languages beyond English.
Her heritage language, spoken at home and studied at Andisheh Persian School, including reading, writing and calligraphy.
BilingualStudied for several years, with award-winning speech and poetry competition results.
LearningA language and culture she's drawn to, part of her wider love of travel and the world.
ExploringIn recognition of her achievements and her active part in the Persian community, Elsa has been nominated for the Minister's Award in 2026, an honour that reflects both her talent and her contribution beyond the classroom.
Elsa loves bringing her Persian heritage to her classmates, introducing celebrations like Nowruz and helping her friends discover the stories, language and art she grew up with.
Her artwork carries that heritage too, her designs have been chosen for official Nowruz certificates and invitations.
Elsa's curiosity reaches well beyond her own heritage. She loves discovering new places, languages, food and traditions, here trying on a hanbok while exploring Korean culture on her travels.
For Elsa, every language is a new way to understand people, and every culture is something to celebrate.
A complete summary of Elsa's awards, roles and milestones across academics, the arts, music, sport and community.
We're proud of the curious, determined and kind young person Elsa is becoming, in the classroom, on the stage, in the pool and in her community. We would be delighted to discuss her enrolment and scholarship application for Year 7, 2027, and to answer any questions.