Principals Report
Term 4 continues to be a busy term for both staff and students. From next week we welcome Mr David Sherwin into the relieving Deputy Principal role. Mr Sherwin will remain in this position until Ms McMurray’s return and will be the deputy responsible for Years 7, 9 & 11. Mr Sherwin is an experienced educator and leader who has extensive experience as a substantive Head Teacher HSIE and relieving deputy principal. Mr Sherwin is also known to staff and students at Fort Street, and I am confident he will transition into the relieving deputy role with great success.
I would like to congratulate the Fortians who have been selected to represent their peers on the SRC for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. In particular, I would like to acknowledge our new SRC President Eleanor Alonso Love and Vice President, Dante Diaz. I had my first weekly meeting with the new SRC executive last week and was impressed by their enthusiasm, their forward planning and the many great ideas they have for delivering impactful projects for the student body next year. This week the new SRC executive joined forces with the House Captains to run a highly successful Halloween event. It was great to see so many students and staff embracing the event by dressing up in costume. Special thanks to the SRC executive and House Captains led by Mr Vaughan for making this event such a success.
World Teachers’ Day
Our teachers at Fort Street are a wonderful team who make a difference educating and inspiring Fortians every day. On Friday 27 October we celebrated World Teachers’ Day, providing the school community an opportunity to acknowledge our teachers and say thanks for the significant contributions they make. The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2023 was “The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage”. UNESCO released a statement stating the need to reduce the shortage in number of teachers and increase their strength globally. They have committed to examining how education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers. In order to recognise the hard work and dedication of the teachers of Fort Street, our newly elected SRC provided teachers with a lovely morning tea which was appreciated by the staff. On behalf of our school community, thank you to all our wonderful teachers for everything you do inside and outside the classroom.
Raise Mentoring
Last week 16 Fortians graduated from the Raise Mentoring Program. Our students did an amazing job presenting to the group about what they valued most about their mentoring sessions and each communicated their appreciation for the time they spent with their mentors. Thanks to Ms Dooley for her support and organisation of the program throughout the year, and a special thanks to the Raise Mentoring volunteers who make this program a success each year.
Gold Duke of Ed Practice Hike
Over the weekend of the 20 -22 October, Mrs. Helen Thompson and Ms. Rose Dooley led ten students from year 11 on the Gold Duke of Edinburgh hike to Port Stephens. It was a challenging 30 kilometre hike where the students worked together to camp and navigate their way along the new Tomaree Coastal Walk. The students and staff showed great determination in enduring the heat and at times, difficult terrain and are all to be commended on their endurance. I would particularly like to thank Mrs. Thompson and Ms. Dooley for giving up their time to accompany the students. These programs survive on the goodwill of teachers and these teachers have gone above and beyond in supporting this extremely worthwhile program. I would also like to thank Mr. Mike Thompson who accompanied the hikers as the emergency support driver. The feedback from both the staff and students involved in this hike reminds me once again about how valuable the Duke of Edinburgh program is in pushing our students out of their comfort zones which gives them the opportunity to attain a great sense of personal accomplishment. I would encourage all students to explore the opportunities provided by the school in regards to this programme in developing personal strength and resilience.
HSC Ends
We have come to the end of the HSC Exam period and I would like to congratulate all of our Year 12 Fortians for the manner in which they have conducted themselves during this stressful time. We wish them all a well-deserved break and look forward to celebrating their achievements with them when the results are released at the end of term. Year 12 students will all need to come into school between 8-10 November to return any outstanding textbooks and complete the formal signout process. All year 12 students are invited to come and celebrate the release of the HSC results for morning tea with the school staff on Friday 15 December at 10a.m. We would love to see all the class of 2023 back together to celebrate their achievements.
Schools Spectacular
Schools Spectacular 2023 ‘Fabulous’ will be happening on 24 and 25 November. This year marks the 40th anniversary of this incredible ensemble performance, celebrating the exceptional talent of students from Public Schools. As always, Fort Street is well represented with students from years 8 – 12 involved as singers and in the orchestra and stage bands. Performances are Friday 24 November 11 am and 7 pm, Saturday 25 November 1 pm and 7 pm at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. Tickets for the show are available through Ticketek.
Kennedy Cup
Things are heating up in the race to see who will take out this year’s Kennedy Cup. Friday November 3 sees the final event of the year take place; the House Musical Chairs competition. Once the results from this competition have been tallied, the final result will be announced and plans will begin for celebrations for the winning house, including a presentation ceremony for the coveted trophy and the Kennedy Cup Picnic for the winning house in week 10.
Year 11 Begin Year 12 Courses
Year 11 have officially started their HSC courses which has seen some changes to individuals’ timetables to make room for new extension courses. With the start of their final year of school, students are also given flexible attendance. We would ask all students to remember the importance of following the processes of signing in and out of school if they are using this flexible attendance provision. I would also strongly encourage students to be developing effective study habits, using their study periods wisely, as this time, if used effectively, can help reduce the stress around mounting work in this very busy final year.
Uniforms
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school community for the vast improvements we have seen in the quality of student’s uniforms. We are a year on from when we made the request to the school community to improve how the uniform is worn and I have been very impressed by the change we have made. I appreciate the support parents give to the school in assisting their children to adhere to the school uniform policy. While there have been great improvements, I would ask for a renewed focus on ensuring that all aspects of the uniform are worn, including the wearing of correct, appropriate black school shoes. I would also stress that it is the expectation that all students are in full school uniform both at school and as they travel to and from school. We have made such a great headway in the consistency of students in correct uniform, I would like to continue this as we come towards the end of the school year.
Robotics
I would like to extend my best wishes to Hugh Phan, Issey Ley, Jayden Nguyen and Jack Sumner in Year 10 who will be travelling to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific 2023 Robocup Competition in early December. This is an incredible opportunity to compete against teams from all over the Asia-Pacific region. I am sure the school community will join me in cheering the students on as they face this exciting challenge.
Teacher(s) of the Week
And finally a huge congratulations to Ms Propsting and Ms Dooley (Weeks 2 and 3) for being recognised by their colleagues for their immense contributions to the students of the school.