Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope that all students and staff have had a wonderful spring holiday. Students across Years 7 to 11 have all made impressive starts to the term, settling into their routines very quickly since their return to school last week.  As we move into the warmer months I expect all students to be in full school uniform both at school and as they travel to and from school. I appreciate the support parents give to the school in assisting their children to adhere to the school uniform policy.
Our thoughts are with Year 12 as they continue with their HSC exams over the next fortnight finishing on the 8 November. We wish our students all the best.
Year 11 students, having completed their Preliminary courses in the last three terms have begun their HSC course work this week. There has been a slight variation to the school timetable to accommodate for the newly established extension classes (History, Science, German, Maths and English).

Being World Teachers Day this Friday 25 October, the staff at the Fort were acknowledged for the wonderful work they do every day of the year on behalf of our students. At Fort Street High School, we are proud that we are working to make a difference in the lives of our young people.

Congratulations to:
All students and staff who attempted and completed the seven bridges walk on Sunday 27 October. The total raised throughout the campaign was $11,404.
Jean Hinchliffe – Year 10 for her performance at the State Drama Festival on Thursday 24 October (evening performance) and Friday 25 October (matinee and evening performance) at the Seymour Centre as a member of the NSW Public Schools Senior Drama Ensemble.
Staff Member of the week – Brett Scovell (Mathematics teacher) and Janette Levy (School Administration Manager) who are both extremely deserving candidates of this award in weeks 1 and 2 of Term 4, 2019.

Fort Fest
Our biennial FortFest is being held next year on Sunday 31st May 2020. As always, it’s going to be a terrific Fort Street High School and community event. It is a fantastic opportunity to promote a positive school image amongst our local area, get lots of school families together and raise some welcome funds for the P&C and therefore the school.

As you can imagine, a great deal of time and effort goes into the preparation and running of an event like this and as much help or support you can offer would be greatly appreciated. In this early stage there have been a few parents who have agreed to start the process of organising FortFest2020, but they are looking for a team of about 14 or more to begin the preparations this term and follow them all the way until the day itself. They will be meeting once or twice this term and then as required next year.

The specific roles they are looking to fill are:

Site Manager
Parent Stall Manager
Student Stall Manager
Publicity Manager
Volunteer Manager
Auction / Raffle Manager
Sponsorship Manager
Entertainment / Activities Manager
Decorations Manager
Merchandise Manager
Sustainability Manager

Information on all these roles can be found on the attached document or on the signup.com website link – https://signup.com/go/dHAJuoO

If you have a specific skill in one of these areas, or would like to work as a small group in one area, please consider signing up.

The more people who take on more jobs early, the less work there is for everyone to do, the more diverse minds they will be drawing on and ultimately the better FortFest2020 will be.

The first planning meeting for this term will be on a Monday night early in November.
If you have any questions please send them to the designated email address: 2020fortfest@gmail.com and the team will be happy to answer them for you.

Juliette McMurray