Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,
I would like to thank all of the Year 7 parents who attended the Year 7 Parent Forum eveningsover the past few weeks, these were a great opportunity for some of our key staff to get to know our Year 7 parents and also to receive some feedback from and gain a better understanding of some of the key issues and concerns of parents new to High School. I would also like to thank Jenny Curtis (Year 12 parent) for the work that she did in facilitating these sessions.
Year 12 Semester One reports have been distributed and every Year 12 student has had a reflection interview with a member of staff. I would like to thank Mr Morrison, Mr Chapman, Ms Lam, Mr Melser, Mr Hasenbein and Ms Salisbury for their time at the Year 12 maximise your ATAR information night held in week 4, the evening was informative and inspiring.

Coming Up:
Year 7 Study Skills Information Evening- Wednesday 29th May – School Library 6.30pm – 8pm
School Athletics Carnival– Thursday 30th May – Sydney Olympic Park
SRC Conference– Monday 3rd June
Public Holiday– Monday 10th June

Congratulations:
Plain English Speaking Award
On Monday 6th May, Lucy Bailey (Yr 12) and Max Collingwood (Yr 11) represented the school in the local finals of the Plain English Speaking Award at Ashfield Boys HS and were successful in becoming finalists.  On Thursday 23rd May they attended the Sydney Regional Final and competed against a tough field, we are very proud of these talented public speakers.  Lucy’s prepared speech was on the meat industry and Max spoke on Chau Chak Wing. The impromptu topic was “A Balancing Act.” Lucy addressed consumerism and Max spoke on the balance between conservatism and progressivism.

Theatre Sports
In week 3, our senior team competed at the Improv Australia’s Senior Heat at PLC. Unfortunately they did not make it through to the next round but they did perform exceptionally well – congratulations. Our Junior team competed in the Australian Intermediate Heat at Ashfield Boys in week 4 and came equal 3rd to Newington and PLC, this team will now proceed to the semi-finals in early June. A further congratulations to the senior team who have been helping this team to prepare.

National High School Mooting Competition
Aarohi Tanawade (yr 12), Yolana Truscott (Yr 12) and Niamh Elliott-Brennan (Yr 12) were involved along with 104 other teams from 85 schools in the National High School Mooting Competition at the Bond University Campus in Queensland on Friday 10th May. The Fort Street team were extremely successful in the competition and have made it to the Grand Finals.
Niamh and Yolana were among 40 students selected for Honourable Mentions for Advocacy – these students impressed the judges with their abilities as oralists, demonstrating a deep understanding of the law and facts and their ability to articulate legal arguments and respond to judges’ questions.

Premiers Debating Challenge
Aidan Ellwig Pollock (Yr 12), Ethan Koit (Yr 12), Finnegan Collins (Yr 12) and John Townsend (Yr 11) participated in the Premier’s Debating Challenge. They put up an excellent debate but unfortunately were beaten.