Student Representative Council update

Dear Fort Street Community,

The first rays of freedom are about to light up the dawn of a “new normal, post Delta variant” life. After a period of lengthy COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, we are once again faced with anticipation for travel to resume, hairdressers to open and most importantly for schools to return to face-to-face learning later in Term 4.

For many students, these school holidays have probably been quite dull and uneventful compared to past ones. Being at home all day certainly occasions some level of stress, boredom and anxiety. Over this period of involuntary separation, the SRC has continued to look at strategies to keep our school community connected.

This update will report on recent achievements and be the final update from the current SRC team before the newly elected members are sworn-in in Term 4.

Fort Street Future Leaders Week
You may be aware of the inaugural Fort Street Future Leaders week which was held in Week 7 Term 3. The event aimed to provide leadership and motivation training to students, with a view to promote and foster leadership initiatives in our school and beyond. The online event involved the Year 11 SRC Executive members who conducted individual interviews with various special guests including, The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG (Fortian 1955, former Justice of the High Court of Australia), Hon Tanya Plibersek MP (former Deputy Leader of the Labor Party), Chris Gambian (CEO Nature Conservation Council NSW), Natalie Lang (Branch Secretary of the Australian Services Union NSW and ACT), and Erin O’ Leary (young activist and co-founder of Youth Against Sexual Violence).

These interviews may be accessed via the following YouTube playlist link: Leaders Week Videos

SRC Exec Team Instagram Takeovers
In Term 3, each of the eight Year 11 SRC Executive members took turns to run the SRC Instagram account for a day. The primary aim is to maintain student connection by sharing the routines, tips and lives of the Year 11 members currently engaging in the home learning environment. We received lots of positive feedback from students throughout this initiative. You are able to check out our routines on the SRC Instagram (@srcfshs).

SRC Social Media Wellbeing Campaign
The SRC has also been working hard to produce fun, informative and motivational content for our Instagram account (@srcfshs). The Year 10 members have been busy creating Instagram Posts and Stories containing music/book/film recommendations, exercise routines, cooking recipes and much more, to help students find ways to take a break and relax. I encourage all staff, parents, carers and students to follow our Instagram account to view past and upcoming content.

Year 11 Charity Committee
The SRC was also keen to continue supporting the Year 11 Charity Committee who throughout Term 3 were promoting positive mental health and sharing wellbeing strategies for students. The media team from the Charity Committee has gathered some interesting origami designs to assist students find ways to express their creativity. These designs can be found on their Instagram account (@charityfshs22).

SRC Handover
Congratulations from the SRC Executive team to all 40 SRC members who have done a fantastic job at representing their respective grades over the past year. These school leaders had the opportunity to develop and learn leadership skills including project management, public speaking, as well as involvement in various charity and community fundraising events. These interpersonal skills would be useful in their future careers and working life.

Congratulations once again to the outgoing SRC team!

SRC Takeover
On Friday 17 September, an SRC Election was held to elect the 8 new representatives for each grade. The results of the elections have been sent to all students. The newly elected team will be published in the next SRC Mercurius update. Well done to all students who nominated themselves for the roles. If you missed out on this opportunity, rest assured that there will be plenty of other opportunities in the future for you to develop and showcase your leadership skills.

The next SRC Executive team will be elected from the new Year 10 Members early in Term 4. This team will work closely with the School Executive and SRC Coordinator to lead the SRC in its activities and initiatives with a view to improve student lifestyle and wellbeing. The Year 10 members will be able to nominate themselves for the following SRC Executive roles: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Community Liaison Officer, Data Analyst and Publicity Officer. The results of this Executive election will also be announced in the next SRC Mercurius update.

On behalf of the SRC, I also take this opportunity to thank the School Principal Ms Juliette McMurray, the senior school executive and SRC Coordinator Mr Michael Galvin for all their support and guidance throughout the 2020/21 SRC tenure. The success and positive feedback from all our events and initiatives would not have been possible without your help.

To the readers and the school community, thank you also for supporting our SRC team and our activities. I ask that you continue to support the succeeding team as they begin their tenure.

Do you have any feedback and ideas on any school related issues? As always, we would love to hear from you! Please contact your friendly SRC via email (srcfshs@gmail.com), Instagram or simply let one of our members know.

Hope you all stay safe and well during this very difficult time. All the best!

Kind regards,

Peter Tran
SRC Vice-President
Year 11