Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

This week is NAIDOC Week with the theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ and at the Fort we will be taking time to reflect and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of the First Nation Peoples – recognising them as the traditional owners of the land.
The newly elect SRC have put together some events for students to get involved in and will share a report on these in next week’s edition of Mercurius. Our own Darcy Degois-Bullen (Year 7) appears in a NSW Department of Education NAIDOC Week video which can be viewed on the Departments website or using the following link.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/aec/aboriginal-education-in-nsw-public-schools/naidoc-week#NAIDOC0

This week Year 12 will complete their final exams before celebrating on Thursday night with the School’s Formal Graduation ceremony. Year 11 have now commenced their Year 12 2021 HSC Courses, Year 10 have just completed their formal assessment period and Year 8 have completed Science VALID testing last week also.

Over the next few weeks many students will be participating in various stages of the Duke of Edinburgh Award with Bronze, Silver and Gold hikes taking place at various times throughout the rest of the term. I would like to thank all of the staff who have volunteered to accompany students on these trips overnight and for some on their weekends.

Since we still cannot bring the whole school together in a school assembly, each year group will be having a recognition assembly for their own year group. Year 11 will have their assembly this Friday 13 November. Year 10 on Friday 20 November, Year 8 on Friday 27 November, Year 9 on Friday 4 December and Year 7 on Friday 11 December.

This week on Wednesday 11 November the P&C will hold their Annual General Meeting and new P&C positions will be elected. I would like to thank the current P&C executive – in particular P&C President Ethel Talty for their hard and consistent efforts this year working closely with the school, together we have achieved a lot.

Year 8 Charity Walk

Last year, almost 50,000 Australians died from cancer. Cancer Council supports Australians by raising money and awareness to help reduce cancer’s impact.

This year, the Year 8 Charity Committee is holding The Cancer Council 7 Bridges Walk: Fortian style! We are doing the greatest walk of all to support life-saving cancer research.

In light of recent events, we are not able to participate in the usual walk but that’s no reason to stop supporting the Cancer Council. Please support us by donating at our page: https://www.7bridgeswalk.com.au/fundraisers/FortStreetHighSchool15152 or by sponsoring your child.

The walk will be held on Friday 11th of December. The year 8 Charity Committee is organising a fun day for all participants, with a beautiful long walk around the local area.

Please donate to support cancer patients and to help find a cure for cancer.

$30 funds essential research.

$65 funds transport to treatment.

$250 helps fund a clinical trial of new immunotherapies for patients.

$350 helps support a cancer patient.

Donate to our Fort Street team at: https://www.7bridgeswalk.com.au/fundraisers/FortStreetHighSchool15152

Halloween Costume Day

(Pictured: Year 11 winners; Phoebe, Marley and Ella dressed as characters from the spooky stop-motion Coraline, and Carla from Year 10, who gave a wonderful performance on her unicycle!)

Given the bleak and dismal mood that 2020 has offered to us these past ten months, last Friday’s Halloween costume day at Fort Street provided an uplifting and jovial respite for everyone at the Fort. The SRC combined powers with the school executive to, on short notice, enthusiastically plan the event for the school community. For most of 2020 mufti days have been few and far between – unless, of course, you count the eight or so weeks of consecutive mufti (or possibly better termed “pyjama”) days which we all endured (or enjoyed) earlier in Term One and Two. School committees and other like minded groups were forced to put their plans on hold in the name of pandemic suppression and social distancing, and this only served to make the Halloween Costume day even more festive for everyone in the school. Students were encouraged to come dressed in their spookiest Halloween costumes, and even some teachers joined in on the fun by dressing up and handing out lollies – individually wrapped and in a socially distanced manner, of course. The best costumes from each year group, chosen based on merit and general spookiness, even won some amazing prizes in the form of $50 gift cards! It was amazing to see the variety of costumes and fabulous hard work that had gone into creating them. The day – which has never been celebrated at Fort Street until now – was a resounding success and managed to brighten the mood of almost everyone, and we can’t wait to celebrate it again next year in (hopefully) better times!

Fort Street SRC Exec Team 2020/2021

NSW Schools Constitutional Convention

On Monday 2 November, I was privileged to represent Fort Street to attend the annual NSW Schools Constitutional Convention.

This year’s Convention brought together 130 passionate students across NSW, who participated virtually due to COVID-19. Aimed at fostering discussion amongst young Australians about the Australian Constitution and system of government, the Convention was an invaluable opportunity for me to gain a deeper understanding into contemporary issues surrounding the Australian Constitution.

We were honoured to have Professor Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law & Director, Constitutional Reform Unit, University of Sydney Law School, joining us to offer her immense knowledge surrounding the Constitution during her highly informative and insightful keynote address. During her keynote address, Professor Twomey focused on a number of issues surrounding the Constitution, some of which related closely to current events. I found the constitutional issues surrounding the Federal and State Governments’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic to be particularly intriguing. These issues included the constitutionality of border closures, the role of the ADF in assisting with quarantine and border restrictions, among others. It was interesting to see how the Constitution remains highly relevant and influential in these unprecedented times.

We then were offered the opportunity to ask Professor Twomey questions relating to the Constitution. Questions from other students were highly insightful and thought-provoking. It was inspiring to hear from so many great young minds across NSW schools, all of whom demonstrated tremendous knowledge of complex constitutional concepts. The Convention has broadened my knowledge and exposure to contemporary legal issues, effectively supplementing the coursework completed in HSC Legal Studies.

Early next year, 30 delegates will be selected to represent NSW in the National Constitutional Convention. Over 100 delegates from different states and territories across Australia will gather in the nation’s capital to discuss important constitutional issues during the three-day event. Fingers crossed for my successful application!

I would like thank Mr van de Hoek and Mr O’Neill for supporting my participation in the Convention.

Ryan Ho Year 12

Kino for Kids German Film Festival

Learning another language like German opens a window to another world. Films can provide an opportunity to experience cultural diversity, help to develop an understanding of different cultures and are therefore a strong motivator for intercultural learning.

Every year the Goethe Institut holds a German Film Festival in cinemas around Australia, including special screenings for school classes. Determined not to let Covid 19 get in the way of such a worthwhile program, the institute moved Kino for Kids online this year, allowing teachers to stream the films in their classrooms.

Last week all German classes from Years 8 – 11 enjoyed watching one of the range of German children’s and youth films that were on offer. Fresh popcorn helped to make to make our classroom cinema experience just a little bit more authentic. Year 8 went on an adventure around the world with Checker Tobi​, Years 9 and 10 solved a mystery with TKKG and Year 11 went time-travelling with Cleo. Year 7 will view the movie Rocca changes the world ​ later in the year.

Kristina Reynolds (Languages Faculty)

Schools Spectacular 2020 Remixed

Congratulations to Alana, Luca, Emily, Jaden and Jasmin who have been selected to perform in a very special virtual item for the Schools Spectacular 2020 Remixed. The item, specifically for Year 12 graduates, will unite over seventy students from NSW. The virtual recordings featuring talented Year 12 dancers, vocalists, instrumentalists and signing performers will be mixed in preparation for the special edition of the Schools Spectacular, which will be broadcast soon.

Music with Year 9

Our Year 9 elective music classes have been studying the traditional music of Bali “gamelan”. This recording is of a piece called Baris. This piece is traditionally performed with a dancer and represents the “warrior Dance of Bali”. You can see the students playing the melody on Xylophones at various rhythmic rates that layer and interlock with each other.

SRC Elections

E book subscription

We now have an ebook subscription with Wheelers books. There are over 2000 titles available and they can be read on any device. Just click on the link and log in with your school username and password. Easy! Any questions, just ask Ms Page, your Teacher Librarian.

https://fortstreet.wheelers.co/

P&C

P&C AGM and Membership
As notified the P&C AGM will be held online at 7pm, November 11th. As the P&C is meeting online and people won’t be able to physically attend and pay the $1 P&C membership in person, we encourage anyone who wishes to be a member of the P&C or who volunteers for the P&C to join by paying $1 into the following bank account:

Fort Street High School P&C Association
BSB: 032-267
Account: 247674

Please also email fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au a completed and signed copy of the  P&C Membership Form

End of Year Lunch Collection
In what we hope is the beginning of a new annual tradition, the P&C are running a collection for the End of Year School Staff Lunch to say thank you to all teachers and staff at Fort Street High School for the wonderful work they do every year in educating our children. Please visit the following link for the details: https://app.grouptogether.com/EndofYearThankYouFortStTeachersStaff

Uniform Shop Volunteers

Staying Up to Date
If you would like to be informed about P&C activities or would like to know how you can get involved, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cXWaEX or join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fortstreethighschoolpandc/ As always our email address is fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

Ethel Talty
President
Fort Street High School P&C