Mercurius issue 10 – August 2023 - 10 Aug 2023
Principals Report

Principals Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Guardians,

Last night marked a momentous occasion as approximately 500 guests crossed the threshold of Fort Street High School for our highly anticipated Open Night. Due to COVID interruptions, this was the first open evening we have held since 2019. The evening unfolded into an immersive experience, where visitors embarked on a tour of the school guided by our enthusiastic student volunteers. The tour granted access to our vibrant classrooms, granting glimpses of our dynamic educational environment. The culinary talents of our exceptional Year 11 Hospitality students shone brightly, as they skillfully provided delectable refreshments for our guests.

The evening continued within the school hall, where a presentation took centre stage. The atmosphere was enriched by the melodic notes of Year 12 student Yexuan Y, who mesmerised the audience with a soul-stirring piano performance encompassing Claude Debussy’s “General Lavine” and an emotive piece by the IMP Vocal Ensemble “How Can We Know ‘Til We Go” by Alice Chance. Applause reverberated through the hall as Year 7 students Persephone L and Shaad F graciously shared their initial experiences, offering a heartfelt glimpse into their journey at Fort Street High School.

Guiding the proceedings with grace and poise, Kalanie P and Savanna P took on the roles of hosts and presenters, the occasion was further enriched by the presence of Daniel Holland, our esteemed 2022 Dux, who returned to his alma mater to reflect upon his transformative journey through Fort Street. The resonant words of Michael Easton, a devoted parent and President of the P&C, underscored the enduring value of a Fort Street education, echoing through the stories of his two children who flourished within these halls.

I would like to extend my appreciation to the many teachers who provided faculty exhibits showcasing the depth and breadth of our educational offerings. Additionally, I am enormously grateful to the student volunteers who wholeheartedly dedicated their time and energy, staying late into the evening to ensure the event’s success. Their enthusiasm and dedication are testament to the vibrant community that defines Fort Street High School.

Congratulations:

Year 12 students have now completed their trial exams, the last big hurdle before their HSC exams commence in mid-October. There are just five weeks of school left before the final week of school in which Year 12 participate in celebratory activities. I know that all our students will be putting in their best efforts over the coming few months to make the most of their final days at the Fort.

Junior Science Olympiad – many students participated in this year’s Junior Science Olympiad. There were 16 Distinctions awarded to Fortians from Year 8 and Year 10. High Distinctions were awarded to Year 10 students Timothy L, Akshaya R, Toby S, Ethan X, Yujing Z, this is an outstanding achievement for these students.

Sport

Regional Athletics – during this week’s Regional Athletics event held on Monday and Tuesday, our school proudly celebrated the exceptional achievements of four outstanding students who have earned the honour of qualifying for CHS (Combined High Schools) competition. These talented individuals have showcased their prowess and dedication on the track and field, earning their well-deserved spots in the upcoming CHS event – Loic C in the discus, Harrison M and Calan O in the 800m, and Leon L in the 100m.

Rugby – Fort Streets first Rugby Team achieved an awe-inspiring triumph that will resonate for years to come, breaking a decades-long hiatus in spectacular fashion. Their recent showdown against Moriah College resulted in a resounding victory with a final score of 31-5. With this victory, the Fort Street team has not only claimed victory on the scoreboard but has also solidified their position as a force to be reckoned with in the realm of school rugby. We look forward to next week’s game.

Basketball – the 15s girls CHS basketball team secured a thrilling victory last week, etching their names in the annals of sporting triumph. In a nail-biting clash against Killarney Heights, their unwavering determination and teamwork paid off, as they emerged victorious by a mere 1-point margin. With this remarkable triumph propelling them forward, the team advances to the quarter-finals with well-earned confidence. The upcoming match against Northern Beaches Secondary College promises to be another great game as they continue to exemplify the spirit of Fort Street High School both on and off the court.

 

Upcoming Events:

Thursday 10 and Friday 11 August – School Musical Performance 7pm – 10pm

Monday 14 August through until Friday 18 August there will be House Competitions running each lunch break organised by our House Captains and Mr Vaughan.

Tuesday 15 August – Year 12 Careers Afternoon 1pm – 4pm in the Hall

Wednesday 16 August – Year 12 Drama and Music Showcase

Wednesday 16 August – Year 10 Engineering Incursion

Wednesday 16 August – second Rugby team match 3pm – 5pm

Thursday 17 August – Year 9 and 10 Wellbeing Incursion with external provider Twenty10

Thursday 17 August – Year 12 Legal Studies Excursion to Mt Druitt Court

Friday 18 August – Year 10 Volleyball Schools Cup

Friday 18 August – Year 9 English Excursion to Seymour Centre for performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Sunday 27 August – Working bee

 

 

 

Tickets still available for the school musical

Tickets still available for the school musical

There are still tickets available for our unmissable school musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!

The feedback after Monday’s preview performance was fantastic, so you don’t want to miss out on this fantastic show.

The performances are on Thursday August 10 and Friday August 11 at 7pm and will be held in the school hall.

Book your tickets here https://www.trybooking.com/CKFGY

Bring your family, bring your friends for a fantastic night out!

 

What Matters? Competition Success

What Matters? Competition Success

Inspired by Gough Whitlam’s commitment to involving young people in shaping Australia’s future, the Whitlam Institute’s prestigious What Matters? writing competition invites students from years 5-12 to answer the simple question ‘what matters?’. Entrants are free to express their views on any matter they care about in a variety of forms. Fort Street had a number of students enter the competition this year. Out of nearly five thousand entrants from across 691 schools, three Fortians were shortlisted in the 2023 competition.

In the 7/8 category, Oliver Townsend was shortlisted for his exploration of mortality, ‘Embrace the Light’.  In the 9/10 category, Eleanor Alonso Love’s essay ‘Text for Help’, on the impacts of smartphone culture also impressed the judges. Their pieces can be read here: https://www.whitlam.org/what-matters-2023-shortlist

Congratulations to all these brilliant young writers.

 

Legacy Public Speaking

Legacy Public Speaking

Fort Street students have thrown themselves headlong into the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Awards, a prestigious national competition for young orators. After hotly contested tryouts, two very talented students were entered to represent the school: Kiyasha Chakraborty of Year 7 and Divyan Gnanasivam of Year 8. At a heat hosted at the school on 17th July, Kiyasha delivered excellent prepared and impromptu speeches and was unlucky not to proceed further. Divyan won his regional heat on 4th August and will progress to the regional finals.

Rugby team Victory

Rugby team Victory

It was a warm Wednesday afternoon at Queens Park, when 12 Year 9 + 10 Fortian boys rocked up ready to play their first ever Rugby game against Moriah College.

With lots of nerves and excitement, the boys took to the field to play a 10-a-side Rugby match. It started as a close affair with the Fortians receiving the kick off and were instantly halted by a solid Moriah defence. However our patient attack, coupled with a penalty and some good passing saw the boys break the dead lock, with Lachlan McIntyre grabbing the first try, which gave them a much needed boost of confidence and energy. From there it was a rather one-sided affair, as the Fortians ran away with the game, and managed to keep Moriah in their own half for a large portion of the game due to some excellent defensive tackling from the likes of Grant Gao, Max Hutchinson, Jacob Read, Joe McGee and Charlie Dey.

The end score was 31-5, with Thelo Harris and Jacob Read both scoring 1 line-breaking try each, and Alex Patterson scoring 2 excellent tries. Our next game will be at 4:50pm Wednesday the 16th at Queens Park against a formidable Kesser Torah College.

UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering work experience

UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering work experience

Every year UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering runs a week-long immersion experience for students in Year 10, each day visiting a different workplace, observing different Engineering disciplines.

This year students from 91 schools across NSW took part, and Fort Street’s Sarah Tadros was selected by the UNSW organisers to receive a gift voucher for writing the best written report about her experience, focussing on her impressions of the day learning about Surveying and Geospacial Engineering. Sarah’s favourite experiences during the week were visiting the Cochlear headquarters and learning about the latest developments in Electrical Engineering.

Congratulations to Sarah for her report!

Students keen to apply for this popular program in 2024 should check their emails from Ms Salisbury, Careers Adviser, early next year.

 

HSC Music and Drama Showcase

HSC Music and Drama Showcase

You are invited to come along and see some of the fantastic HSC works our senior students in Music and Drama have created.

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the hard work of students in Music and Drama and a good opportunity for students and parents to come together before thesePreview Changes (opens in a new tab) students graduate at the end of the term.

It is also an opportunity for younger students to see what’s possible as a senior Music and Drama student.

Please join us in the school hall on Wednesday August 16 at 6pm.

Everyone is welcome.

Fort Street Working Bee

Fort Street Working Bee

Working Bee for staff, parents and students

Sunday 27 August 9am to 1pm

We are looking for parents volunteers to help at our upcoming working bee. There are 2 main areas that we require assistance with and they are listed as the different groups below. We would appreciate if parents could contribute 2 hours of their time. We would require volunteers to provide their own gardening gloves if working on one of the outdoor groups.

We are also looking for a volunteer to manage the building of a new compost. If this is something you have the skills for please tick yes to the Compost Bin question in the sign up form.

To assist on the day we also require the use of a trailer, wheelbarrows and shovels. If you are able to bring those along on the day, please also tick the appropriate boxes in the sign up form.

Children are welcome to come along but must be under the supervision of an adult at all times.

If you would like to come along please complete the sign up form https://forms.gle/EWftiZ8598SrcTVU8

 

Reading for fun improves children’s brains, study confirms

Reading for fun improves children’s brains, study confirms

This article originally appeared here in Mercurius last year, but in case it was missed and for our new Fortians, I’ve included it here again.

As the Teacher Librarian I am always encouraging our students to continue reading for pleasure as there is compelling evidence that it has a positive impact on their learning outcomes. Please follow the link below to a short article in the Guardian newspaper by Dr. Alice Sullivan regarding research she has undertaken in this field.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/16/reading-improves-childrens-brains

 

Reminder – charge your laptop

Reminder – charge your laptop

As a BYOD (bring your own device) school it is important that students come to school with a fully charged laptop each day. Please remind your children to recharge their laptops overnight so they are ready to learn every day. We understand that older laptops may not keep their charge and for this reason the library has many power points that students can access at break times to recharge their devices.

 

Meet Mr Shakibaei

Meet Mr Shakibaei

What subject do you teach?

Legal Studies and Commerce

Why do you love the subject?

They are about the real world and continually change as the world around us changes

What was your favourite subject at school?

Economics

An interesting fact about yourself that you’d be willing to share. 

I was once told to get a life by Shaun Micallef while at the Sydney Opera House watching the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform

Do you have any pets?

A dog when I was a child, my pet plants all died

Why did you become a teacher?

I used to work in accounting and was very happy to change career

What do you love about being at Fort Street?

I went to selective school when I was a teenager, so teaching here feels like coming home

Do you think pineapple goes on a pizza?

Yes, Hawaiian pizza is my favourite

University of Sydney Infinity mathematics workshop

University of Sydney Infinity mathematics workshop

University of Sydney is holding a free workshop on Wed, 16 Aug 2023. In the workshop they will have a deeper look into counting to infinity and try to figure out if all infinities are equal or one thing can be more infinite than another one. They will explore the mathematics of infinity through discussion and solving problems.

This event will be presented by University of Sydney mathematician, Milena Radnovic.

For more information visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/infinity-mathematics-workshop-tickets-658144155887