Principal’s Report

Principal’s Report

To be perfectly honest the school year of 2020 ended with a great big sigh of relief.

Staff Farewells
Sadly, we have said farewell to nine staff members across the school on the last day of term.
Ms Erica Yu in the Mathematics Faculty had temporarily replaced Ms Ning Cui at the beginning of term 4, her contract has now come to an end.
Ms Meg Vierboom in the English Faculty joined the Fort halfway through the year and has been successful in gaining a permanent position at Randwick Boys High School, we wish her all the best in her new appointment.
Ms Rosa Brown in the English Faculty commenced at the start of the year and has been an outstanding fit at Fort Street. Ms Brown is expecting her second child in the new year and we would like to wish her all the best and hope to see her return to the Fort in the future.
Mr Martin Cox has been working in the English Faculty for the past ten years backfilling various members of staff either on maternity leave or working part-time as they returned from maternity leave. The Fort has farewelled Mr Cox on several occasions so whilst we do not have a temporary contract for him in 2020 no doubt, we will see him back in some capacity in the future.
Mr Mark Egan has been working on a temporary contract in the library one day a week for the past 8 years and we are sad that he will not be returning in this capacity. Hopefully, we will catch up with Mr Egan from time to time if he is able to come in on a casual relieving basis in the library.
Ms Rae Spratt in the CAPA Faculty has been teaching Drama for the past 2 years and has also finished up her contract at the Fort.
Mr Randev Uppal has been working as the Sports Coordinator for 3 years now and has improved sport at the Fort considerably over this time. Students and staff would like to wish Mr Uppal all the best in his future endeavours.
Mr Noah Melser from the English Faculty has also accepted a permanent appointment elsewhere and will be moving to East Hills Boys after 11 years at the Fort. Catriona Arcamone delivered the farewell speech for Mr Melser, this is just a short excerpt, “For 11 years the whimsy of Noah Melser has diverted students, confounded staff and bemused executive. At the same time students have been enraptured, staff enlightened, executive impressed. Into the very stable warp of Fort Street, the weft of Melser magic has been woven. Let us hope that it remains in the fabric of this wonderful school for some time to come.”
Ms Caroline Jerrems has been a teacher in the Social Science faculty at Fort Street for the past 15 years. Caroline has accepted a new appointment at Cammeraygal High School closer to her home. Caroline has built the Duke of Edinburgh program at Fort Street to be the biggest Public-School program in the State. Caroline also initiated the annual market day where Commerce students work in groups to run a business, she has contributed to the Cancer Council’s 7 Bridges walk, Legacy Days, organised the Smith Family’s Student 2 Student reading program as well as the Bread and Butter Project, Caroline’s enthusiasm and dedication to the Fort will be greatly missed.

In 2021 we will welcome several new staff to the Fort including:
Mr Ed McMahon who joins us from North Sydney Girls High School and will take up the permanent position as Head Teacher English.
Mr James Wright has accepted a permanent position in the English Faculty at the Fort and joins us from Sydney Girls High School
Ms Chi Truong will also join the English Faculty in a temporary capacity for the year coming from James Ruse Agricultural High School.
Mr Geoffrey Geha will join the Mathematics Faculty, Ms Flynn will continue to teach in the Technology Faculty, Ms Ryan will return part-time to the learning centre and Ms Ezekiel will be commencing in the role as sports coordinator.

HSC Results
On Friday 18 December staff enjoyed a morning tea with the 2020 Year 12 Fortians who returned to celebrate their outstanding HSC results. In summary:
24 students were listed as HSC All Rounders, that is they achieved a result in the highest band in 10 or more units of courses
Fort Street was ranked 18th school in NSW

State Rankings

Eszter Coombs – 1st in English Extension 2 and 4th in English Extension 1
Jack Coleman (Year 11) – 1st in Mathematics Advanced
Julius Faith – 3rd in German Continuers
Emily Grimes – 4th in German Continuers and 5th in German Extension
Jessica Huang – 3rd in Chinese in Context
Emily Miers – 11th in Legal Studies
Daniel Yang – 17th in Mathematics Extension 1
131 students were listed as ‘Distinguished Achievers’ having achieved a mark of 90 or above in one or more subjects.

HSC Showcases

11 students were nominated for various HSC Showcases:
Encore: For Performance – Jamie Kwon, Emily Miers, Max Tosello and Jaden White. For Composition, Alistair MacDonald, Jaden White and Alexander Epps were nominated.
Art Express: Raphael Taib (selected), Alexander Wang (selected), Cheylon Devine and Jennifer Shu
On Stage for his script: Tom Stevens (selected)

Please check the school website for a full list of the distinguished achievers this year.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Fortians and their families the absolute best over the January holidays and hope that all students and staff are enjoying a well-deserved break after an unusual and difficult year. I look forward to catching up with everyone again in 2021. Staff will be returning to school on Wednesday 27 January. Year 7, 11 and 12 as well as Year 10 Peer Support Leaders return to school on Friday 29 January with all other students returning on Monday 1 February.