Principal’s Message
As term 2 draws to a close, we are half way through 2018. Over the past month The Fort has seen many and varied activities in addition to the high quality education that is delivered daily. We have spent a wonderful Sunday at school celebrating our biannual Fort Fest. This was once again an amazing day made possible by the support and hard work of many parents, staff and students. We must especially thank the Fort Fest parent committee for their organisation and dedication in providing an opportunity for our community to spend a day together listening to great music, eating fantastic food and having fun across many activities.
Last Friday evening I spent a wonderful evening listening to extraordinary music and farewelling Y12 musicians at the mid year IMP concert. Congratulations to these students who have spent the last six years involved in the music program at Fort Street which I know has enriched their time here.
Once again Fort Street High School are the Zone Athletics champions. Congratulations to everyone involved and we wish all students good luck for their races at the regional level.
Throughout this term, Mr Prasad has been running Astronomy viewing on Monday and Thursday evenings (when weather permits). We thank Mr Prasad for giving about 50 students the exciting opportunity of viewing the night skies.
The WAFTUS Science challenge was completed last Tuesday. This is a great community program between Wilkins, Ashfield, Fort Street, Tempe, Ultimo and Summer Hill where Y10 students mentor their primary counterparts who complete a scientific investigation of their choosing. It was fascinating to see the variety of scientific research completed and I congratulate everyone involved. A special thank you to Eva Jamble for her leadership of this program. (see details in the article later in this newsletter)
The Visual Arts excursion to Melbourne was again a huge success with Penny Starr and Helen Thompson taking 20 students to the MOMA exhibition from New York. The opportunity to be exposed to these international works of art enriches students’ education and broadens their life perspectives.
We have spent much time and effort discussing the infrastructure improvements needed around our wonderful school. After consulting with our P&C, School Council, Foundation, staff and the student body we are moving forward with the refurbishment of our school library, the school’s kitchen (for teaching Food Technology and Hospitality), the gym and hall change rooms and toilet facilities and conversion of one of our woodwork rooms to a robotics/electronics laboratory. This work will be completed over the next 12 months. We will also be renovating some classrooms in consultation with the teaching staff who are keen to teach in spaces that encourage collaboratively learning. I would like to thank Rebecca Cameron for organising the street art that is now gracing some outdoor spaces. Everyone is unanimous that they look amazing and have given a much needed lift to our playgrounds.
Finally, this will be my last Mercurius, as I am retiring at the end of this term. I would like to thank the staff, students and parents for making my time here at The Fort so memorable. This is an extraordinary place of learning and I feel very blessed to have been able to work here as both a deputy principal and relieving principal. Thank you all.
Remember my two rules 1. Stay safe 2. Have fun
Karen Di Stefano