Principals Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

It has been a busy beginning to another exciting year at Fort Street High School. A big welcome to our new families and a special welcome to our Year 7 students who have been full of smiles and curiosity and seem to be fitting in very comfortably and confidently to Fort Street. Thank you to Ms Lawson Year 7 Adviser, Ms Nolan Year 7 Assistant Adviser and to Ms Propsting and the Year 10 Peer Support leaders for supporting our new year 7 cohort to settle in and to develop friendships across the cohort.

We have also welcomed new staff to the Fort this year, Ms Bui who will be teaching across the English and History faculty. Ms Hurrell who is job sharing with Ms Maddox in the English faculty working on Mondays and Fridays. Ms Nguyen who is teaching in the Science faculty this year whilst Mr Webb is on leave. Ms Carter a new permanent appointment to the Mathematics faculty and Ms Shi who is also teaching in the Mathematics faculty.

We have welcomed back Ms Cho into the Technology Faculty after just less than a term last year in the CAPA faculty and are very happy to have Ms Triolo back in the front office again.

I would like to express an enormous thank you to the P&C and to all the families who contributed to the staff end of year thank you lunch, this was greatly appreciated by the staff, the remaining money raised by the P&C will be spent on lunch for the staff following our upcoming Annual Speech Day.

The swimming carnival was a huge success with few absences this year. It was great to see so many students participating in events and getting into the house spirit. The Kennedy Cup will certainly be fiercely contested this year.

Congratulations to the newly elected House Captains for 2023:

Joshi – Nina Gibian (Yr 10), Poppy Hooper (Yr 10), Calan O’Dwyer (Yr 11) and Ali Elrifai (Yr 11).

Kirby – Darcy Norton (Yr 10) Brianna Dann (Yr 11), Oscar Mabott (Yr 11) and Jehanzeb Qureshi (Yr 11)

Mawson – Arun Peiris (Yr 10), Koharu Seino (Yr 10), George Wei (Yr 11)and Chloe Zheng (Yr 11)

Preston – Chloe O’Keefe (yr 11), Nicholas Caus (Yr 11), Ben Ho (Yr 11) and Henry Martin (Yr 11)

Sheikh – Erick Zhang (yr 10), Daniela Guzina (Yr 11), Henry Daniels (Yr 11) and Runzhi Zhang (Yr 11)

Year 11 Wellbeing and Camp

Year 11 have already participated in an all-day wellbeing program ‘Love Bites’ which is a respectful relationships education program consisting of interactive workshops: one on relationship violence and one on sex and relationships, followed by creative workshops and community campaigns.

The school has been relatively quiet this week with Year 11 attending a three-day camp at Narrabeen Academy of Sport and Recreation.

School Improvement Project Updates

The Fountain Quad is currently out of bounds whilst one of the concrete set of steps leading to the first floor of Wilkins is being repaired. This work will be followed by the paving in the Fountain Quad being pulled up and replaced.

The outdoor gym structure has been installed in the valley next to the oval. This has been funded by the P&C and will very soon be available for all students to access during breaks, it is currently fenced off whilst we await Softfall to be laid at the base of some of the equipment.

The P&C have also purchased outdoor sport equipment for use by students during breaks to assist in the transition to no mobile phones and laptops in the playground during breaks. This equipment has just arrived and once we have purchased an outdoor storage container students will have access to footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, frisbees and the like.

It has been wonderful to see so many students active in the playground or reading books during the breaks rather than glued to their devices since the start of this year.

Upcoming Events in Term 1:

• Year 7 student and parent social night – Friday 10 February 5pm – 7pm School Hall hosted by P&C
• School Photo Day – Wednesday 15 February
• Annual Speech Day – Town Hall Friday 17 February – 9am arrival for students. Parents and visitors to be seated by 9.45am
• Year 9 student and Duke of Ed parent information night – Wednesday 23 February -6pm School Hall
• Year 7 PDHPE Incursion – at school periods 5 and 6
• SRC Rose Drive – Friday 24 February
• Year 7 Camp – Monday 27 February to Wednesday 1 March
• Year 12 Parent Teacher Interviews – Monday 6 March
• Year 11 Parent Teacher Interviews – Monday 13 March
• Years 7 and 9 NAPLAN – Wednesday 15 March – 24 March
• IMP Camp – Friday 17 March – Sunday 19 March
• Year 12 Assessment Period – March 27 – April 6
• Public Holiday – Friday April 7

Joshi House Kennedy Cup Celebration Afternoon

With the implementation of the new House System last year, we were thrilled with the response from the students. In true Fort Street fashion, students put their hand up to have a go and participate in different activities, making the new system a success.

Students from Year 7 – 12 all contributed to House Meetings, participated in House Events, earned Profile Points and generated House spirit. This has been very encouraging to see and the new House System is something we look forward to making even bigger and better in the future.

The House who accumulate the most points across the year, are the winners of the Kennedy Cup. The Kennedy Cup is named after former Fortian, elite athlete, university scholar and all-round legend, Clarice Kennedy. One of the most determined people to ever come out of the Fort, Clarice Kennedy’s is still an inspiration to us all.

At the assembly in Week 6 in term 4 last year, it was announced that the inaugural winner of the Kennedy Cup was Joshi House!

As a reward for working hard and winning the cup, the students from Joshi House were treated to a celebration afternoon. Joshi began the celebration afternoon with a victory lap around the school showing off the Kennedy Cup and the spoils of victory. Then the students were bussed to Victoria Park in Camperdown and enjoyed a free lunch and a picnic-style party!

It was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting and a fitting end to a very successful year for Joshi House. The Joshi House Captains Celina Trang, Taj Conelly, Kosta Giitsidis and Jun Quan and House Patrons Ms Kaur and Ms Walker led the festivities and there was a great time had by all.

Congratulations again to Joshi House. I wonder who will win this year?

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards

In the final weeks of Term 4 2022, a number of Fortians were awarded the prestigious Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at an elaborate ceremony in Sydney Olympic Park. Acknowledging the significance of this achievement, the award ceremony included an official smoking ceremony from Eora Nation elders, and was attended by the NSW Governor Margaret Beazley (and her entourage).

Impressive student performances were also presented, including poetry, didgeridoo and even bagpipe recitals, giving a nod to the award’s Edinburgh origins. Fortians from the class of ’20, ‘21 and ’22, including  Aidan Limnios, Alyssa Koit, Anthony Lee and Peter Tran, all took turns to shake the Governor’s hand and be presented with their Gold Award. This recognised the significant efforts made by these students to complete the course, not only finishing arduous hikes, but undertaking year long community volunteer programs and perfecting their music, sport or other skills.

Whilst attending this ceremony, I was pleased to notice Fort Street’s strong representation in the program and how it reflected the broad skillset that Fortians possess, beyond their academic prowess. I also look forward to seeing Fortians continue to participate in this program in order to develop their skills and enjoy unique and memorable experiences.

Mr O’Neill

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader 2022

Clubs and Committees

Fort Street High School has a wide range of programs that support student learning and enhance social and personal development. These programs operate as part of the extended before and after school timetable and are designed to complement the curriculum by enriching the core learning experiences for students. All activities undertaken are listed on student reports.

Last Friday students were invited to learn about and join some of the many fantastic clubs and committees we have here at Fort Street.

There is a huge range of interests covered and the SRC did a wonderful job at organising the event.

You can download a detailed ist of current Clubs and Committees here.

Below is a summary of which activities are on each day.

For People and Planet: Amnesty and Enviro

Human rights and protecting the planet – what could be more important? A crew of Fortians dedicate time each week to campaigning for environmental and political justice, and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that they are making a real difference.

Last year students from the Enviro group helped to change the law. They made submissions to the Environmental Protection Agency calling for cleaner air, and some months later received emails telling them that the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022 would shortly come into effect, tightening air emissions standards. Then the Enviro group, with a grant from council via the P&C, and help from the Amnesty group, members of the vocal ensemble and a good number of staff, planted and managed to keep alive over a hundred local native trees, forming a carbon sink for the future, creating habitat for native creatures and building a cooler microclimate for the school (large trees lower local temperatures by as much as 8 degrees). Our composting program is under way, reducing the school’s carbon footprint as staff, and an increasing number of students, place waste vegetable matter in compost bins around the school. (Food waste causes up to a third of global carbon emissions, so this is important.)

The Amnesty group will have been excited to hear that Maria Ressa, journalist and human rights activist from the Philippines, has been liberated, following their letters to the Philippine embassy on her behalf. The many petitions and emails they write are, statistically, preserving life and mitigating injustice in ways we don’t even know about across the planet. And the Amnesty fundraiser barbeque at the end of the year, with its vegetarian as well as carnivorous offerings, was a fun and lucrative accompaniment to the staff-student soccer match!

This year the Amnesty group will be led by Ms Margaret Hurrell. They will meet on Fridays at lunch in the Flexible Learning Space.

The Composting Team will be coordinated by Ms Angelica Catalan. The composters have a fortnightly roster, and their duties are acknowledged by house points. They should watch the Environment Group Google Classroom for updates.

The Environment group will meet with me on Thursdays at lunch, either in the Flexible Learning Space or on the sandstone steps on the oval (check Google Classroom for our plans).

New members are more than welcome!

Elizabeth Maddox

Year 7 Welcome Event

The Fort Street High School P&C would like to invite all new Year 7 families to a welcome event this Friday February 10.

If you would like to attend, and have not already done so, please ensure your RSVP using this form by close of business on Wednesday February 8. https://forms.gle/zqs7J8PEPwqEWD8fA

** The pizza options will include regular pizzas, vegetarian and gluten free. If you have additional dietary requirements you are welcome to bring along your own food.

Please join us in the school hall from 5pm – 7pm and come along and meet other Year 7 families as well as representatives from the P&C.

Please BYO your own drinks. Please note that no alcohol is permitted.

For updates please visit the Fort Street High School P&C page.

Safety Internet Day

Back to School Vouchers

Dear parents and carers,

The Premier’s Back to School NSW program is offering $150 worth of vouchers (3 x $50 vouchers) to help pay for school supplies like school uniforms, shoes, bags, textbooks and stationery and excursions.

Every primary and secondary school student in NSW is eligible for the vouchers.

Please read this/the attached letter from the Premier about the program and the vouchers.

You can apply for and access your vouchers in your MyServiceNSW account, in the Service NSW app, by calling Service NSW on 137788 or by visiting your local Service CentreExternal link.

To be eligible, your child needs to be a NSW resident and enrolled in a NSW primary or secondary school in 2023.

Please note that to use the vouchers you must present them in person when you make your purchase, for example at our uniform shop. Vouchers can only be used for the full amount of $50 and no change can be given if the purchase price is less than $50.

For more detailed information on how to access the vouchers as well as how to use them please visit the Service NSW websiteExternal link.