Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents, Carers,

Congratulations to Year 12 on the completion of their Trial HSC Examinations, the final round of school-based assessments. As a year group, I was proud of the way in which Year 12 conducted themselves throughout the two-week period. No doubt, many of them felt stressed or under pressure at times, but they showed commendable calm and maturity throughout. On Monday 12 August, to mark the successful completion of their assessments, Year 12 participated in a series of seminars, including a panel of returning Fortians William Li (2018) and Helena Ke (2016), a stretch and relaxation class from Mr Randev Uppal, and a session on managing finances presented by representatives from the ATO. Following these sessions, students enjoyed a BBQ picnic (cooked by Mr Theo Leondios) at Homebush for the rest of the afternoon. Thank you to Year 12 Adviser Mr Tim Hasenbein and Assistant Year Adviser Ms Liz Propsting for their efforts in organising this special day for Year 12.

Although their school-based assessments are complete, many Year 12 students are currently working hard on their performance and practical tasks. Languages students have already begun their HSC Speaking Exams, and major works are due for Drama, English Extension 2, Music and Visual Arts. We wish all students the best as they put the finishing touches on their works, and invite all parents and to come and see what they have been working on at our showcase evenings on Thursday 22 August (Drama and Music) and Monday 2 September (Visual Arts).

Education and Science Weeks

Over the past two weeks, we have celebrated both Education Week and Science Week. The school has been proud to have some of our students and buildings as part of the public campaign for public education. If you haven’t yet seen the video you can view it here: https://twitter.com/NSWEducation/status/1158139296861130752/video/1.

The culmination of Education Week was our Open Evening on Thursday 15 August. The school was proud to display what NSW Public Education has to offer, from the excellent performances on the Vocal Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra and Year 12 student Luca Tropea to the delicious food produced by the Year 11 Hospitality students; from the diverse talents of the Robotics students and the Year 12 Drama class, to the confidence, warmth and pride shown by our tour guides, and the unselfconscious enthusiasm of our student speakers. Special thanks must go to Samuel Alexander-Prideaux (Fortian 2017) who reflected on his time at the Fort in a very eloquent and insightful manner.

On Monday 12 August we also hosted our annual Science Fair, displaying student research projects from Year 9 and 10 students. I was impressed by the breadth of topics investigated, the creativity of students in designing their projects and the rigour they showed in analysing and presenting their results. The projects were judged by staff alongside parents and community members working in scientific fields. Congratulations to the students involved on the high quality of projects presented, and thank you to all who gave up their time to assist with the judging.

Maths Challenge

Congratulations to the students below who received outstanding results in the Australian Maths Trust Maths Challenge.

For the competition, Year 7 and 8 students signed up to work on a series of six challenging problems in their own time over a four week period, and showed sophisticated logical-thinking, problem-solving and creativity skills in submitting their solutions.

Staff Member of the Week

Fiona Schubert (English) and Rod Carritt (Social Sciences) were the holders of our trophy in weeks 3 and 4 respectively, in recognition of both their excellence in the classroom and their outstanding contributions to the school’s Wellbeing Team. Congratulations to both staff.

Joel Morrison (Deputy Principal)