Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

Year 12 Graduation
There was excitement in the air on the last Wednesday of term as the school farewelled our wonderful graduating class of 2019.  The day commenced with a farewell breakfast, organised and prepared for Year 12 by their teachers with the help of Year 11, Mr Leondios and Mr O’Neill. The breakfast atmosphere reflected the warmth that is shared between Fortians and the teaching staff and also the fondness that our students hold for their school.
The breakfast was followed by a whole school assembly in which student representatives (Isabella Walker – Year 8, Austen Koit – Year 9, Ameira Sant and Benjamin Harmer – Year 11) shared stories and expressed thanks to our Year 12 cohort for their leadership and camaraderie. Ethan Koit and Hazel Duwenbeck gave the year 12 reply and spoke with gratitude when reflecting on their time at the Fort. The school was entertained by videos put together by the Year 12 students, a K-Pop dance and a beautiful music performance “Waltz from Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky performed by Luca Tropea and Patrick Wu.
That evening a formal graduation ceremony with parents and friends was held in the school hall. The evening consisted of a drama performance “Shhh”’ (written and performed by Lucy Bailey, Rosemary Hearne, Tara Luckock, Julian Parry and Oliver Reucassel), a music performance “Tarantella” performed by Michelle Yang and, Hugo Giles and Patrick Wu, a Year 12 Extension II English presentation by Betty Chen and a vocal performance “Starry Starry Night” performed by the Year 12 members of the Chamber Choir. I would also like to thank Ms Bridget Haire (Year 12 parent) for her inspiring address and Niamh Elliott-Brennan for her insightful and touching Year 12 speech.
Our staff have enjoyed being part of the educational passage of our Year 12 students over the past six years and have delighted in watching them develop into the incredible young adults that they are. Special thanks must be given to Tim Hasenbein and Liz Propsting for the nurturing and support they have provided to Year 12 and their families as Year Adviser and Year Assistant during their time at the Fort. Thank you also to Mr Morrison the much loved Deputy Principal for his exceptional guidance of Year 12 throughout their school journey.
I would like to extend my congratulations and a special thank you to our Year 12 students who are individually and collectively remarkable young people. We hope that, during their years at the Fort, they will have had many positive experiences. The fun of learning with like-minded people, the joy of being successful and learning from their mistakes, the opportunity to understand and value what makes each of them unique and the freedom to express themselves in a caring and respectful environment.
Remember to study hard, sleep well and eat healthy food over the next few weeks so that you are well prepared and can be at peak performance for each of your HSC exams. We wish you all the very best.

Encore Nominations
Congratulations to Luca Tropea, Patrick Vastani, Patrick Wu and Michelle Yang who have been nominated for possible inclusion in the HSC Music showcase even, Encore. Mr Ockwell is both a very proud and thrilled teacher.

Year 11 Exams
Year 11 students are no doubt excited that their examinations are completed and they have the holidays now to relax before beginning the HSC in Week 3 next term. Students are reminded to go to their Year 11 classes during the first two weeks back and that new extension courses will begin in week 3.

Year 9 Bronze Duke of Ed Expedition
Year 9 survived their Bronze Duke of Ed expedition! It would be drawing a long bow to say that every single student had fun, but they all coped well with very challenging weather. It was warm the first day but then it started raining Monday night and didn’t stop. The rain was absolutely relentless. While the students were shown how to waterproof their bags, for most students, everything was wet by the second night – their tents, their sleeping bags and all their clothes were wet. The teachers on the expedition and the Somerset staff made the decision to come home a day early, such extreme weather conditions have not been experienced by the Somerset staff previously. It was cold, the rain was forecast to continue, the wind chill was building and the students weren’t dry. The originally planned expedition for Wednesday had no exit points for sick kids to be evacuated and we didn’t think it was safe, instead a revised walk was completed. The students were very happy when it was announced that they were coming home early.

The school will be arranging a one day expedition in Term 4 so that every student can still qualify for their Duke of Ed award. Further information regarding this will be communicated in term 4. Adventurous journeys get changed up all the time because of changing conditions, but as mentioned, the students coped really well. There was a lot of leadership shown by students, they all helped their peers and they became more mature. They navigated well and made good choices about route planning. I’m sure that many of them were surprised at how much they achieved, and became more resilient and more connected, so they all achieved the objectives of the Duke of Ed program.

An enormous thanks to all the staff who made this expedition a success in challenging circumstances.

Congratulations to:
Emily Miers, Jamie Kwon, Alana Hodzic and Jasmin Young (Year 11) for their recent performance at the Sydney Opera House. These students were invited by the starlight foundation to help realise the wish of a young girl from Adelaide by accompanying her during a performance in front of her family, friends and carers.

Fond Farewells
It was with great sadness that the students and staff farewelled two members of our teaching staff on the last day of term. Ms Zoe Tian our Chinese Language teaching assistant received a very sudden recall to return to China at the completion of Term 3. Zoe has provided fantastic support for nearly three years to our Chinese language students and her commitment and contribution to the school has been greatly appreciated. Sadly we have also said farewell to Mr Jonathon Glover who has been teaching English and coordinating the debating program for the past two years. Mr Glover was successful at merit selection in achieving a permanent teaching position at Rose bay Secondary College commencing in term 4 and we wish him all the best.

Happy Holidays
I have no doubt that all of the students and staff attending either the German Trip, Japan Trip or Gold Duke of Edinburgh Tasmania Trip these holidays will be having an awesome time together and accumulating many life memories along the way. I would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break and look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday 14 October.

Soaked at Somerset: Year 9 Bronze Duke of Ed Hike

On Monday the 16th of September, Year 9 departed from the familiar grounds of Fort Street High School at 7 am to go on our Bronze Duke of Ed expedition, oblivious we would face over the next four days. Despite the predicted rainy forecast, spirits were high and after a long bus ride, we arrived at Somerset Outdoor Learning Centre. Getting into our groups, we were greeted by our friendly group leaders who prepared us for the challenging journey. Groups participated in activities such as archery and obstacle courses. The first day was straightforward with an enjoyable and somewhat tiring hike to the camping grounds. Upon setting up our tents for the night, our worst fears came to pass: rain. The rain poured the whole night but we tried to make the most out of the situation and get whatever sleep we could.

The next day we awoke to the now familiar sound of rainfall and packed our soaked tents and had breakfast. Then we were ready and excited to hike for 11.9km in the rain and cold. I mean, who wouldn’t be? After what can barely be called groupwork and some confusing route planning the groups trekked up to the first big hill of the day. Hiking in rain proved to be difficult and the strenuous walk was exacerbated by some very moist socks. During the walk, it was discovered that a group had actually been separated. Blame on slow walkers and possible truancy circulated, but luckily leaders from our groups switched to detective mode as they began piecing together where the lost students could have gone. Luckily they were found wandering aimlessly much like the rest of us.

Upon arriving at base camp, we were greeted with warm showers and hot chocolate. It was a much-needed respite and warmth from the journey. Morale was low at this point but the support from our friends and peers helped us carry on. Despite being forecasted to be warmer and less rainy on the third day, the weather was just as terrible. While preparing for the next hike we were informed on an unexpected but relieving change of plans. The camp would be shortened because of the weather and we would be sent home on that day. If it weren’t for that fateful outcome I doubt we would’ve survived the rest of the journey, let alone complete the hike. With the final hike shortened by about 7km, the groups found the motivation to finish the hike and get back to base camp. There was some doubt on the validity of the statement, people thought it to be too good to be true, but the groups used what vestiges of energy we had left in the hope it would be enough for us to return to the comfort of our homes. We all sped down the mountain, sliding down mudslides and leaping off rocks, thankfully some observant spotting from supervisors and classmates made sure no one died. Against all odds, we had prevailed. We packed up our soggy gear and in a frantic rush, piled onto the buses. The soft chairs and heaters seemed like paradise after sleeping in our sodden tents.

Duke of Edinburgh was certainly an interesting experience. We developed our communication skills and strengthened our bond as a cohort. After enough warm showers and good sleep, we will be able to look back on it and remember the bonds we made as groups. But we will mainly remember the rain. We would like to thank our year advisors, Ms Xu and Ms Schubert, and Ms Jerrems for organising both the camp and our rescue. The teachers and supervisors who gave up time with their families to keep us from dying were without a doubt supportive of us the entire journey. Ending off with a quote in true Fort Street fashion, made none-other than the surprisingly staminous Mr Gillespie, “There will be a happy ending.”

Joaquin Benavides, Veronica Kwong, Sachin Stevens, Jessica Trang, Kerine Yu

Australian History Competition

Fort Street has a great tradition in performing well in the Australian History Competition with a few National Champions including Daniel Holland in 2018.   This year we have three State Champions from our Year 9 cohort and one State Champion from out Year 10 cohort.

Congratulations to Year 9 students, Matilda Kearnes, Oliver Simmonds and again Daniel Holland. Congratulations to Tom Cannane from Year 10 who is presently overseas on a German tour.

Instrumental Music Program

New absence notification system

The IMP is changing the way you notify us of an absence. From Term 4 all IMP members will submit absence notifications via a web form. This form can be found on the IMP page of the school website, and is linked in the IMP Membership Handbook. This form sends an automated email to the conductor of your ensemble, and ensures that there is a central record of all absence notifications.

CLICK HERE to view the form. Please note that this form does not inform the school of your absence. If you are going to be absent from school please contact the school directly, using the normal channels.​

Please remember that IMP members are required to attend ALL rehearsals and performances. If missing a rehearsal or performance is unavoidable you must submit this form before the scheduled rehearsal. It is important that you submit your notification of absence as soon as you are aware of the problem. The night before a rehearsal is too late to notify your conductor of any absence other than illness.  You should still use the ensemble email address for direct communications with your conductor, or if you are unable to make it to a performance.

String Soiree on Monday 28th October from 3:30-5pm in R2

String Ensemble will perform the works they have studied this year. This will also be a performance opportunity for any IMP string player, at any experience level, who wishes to play solo repertoire to a friendly audience. Please discuss this with your teacher, and let Mr Manchester know ASAP by email if you’d like to perform. The IMP will provide an accompanist for this if there are sufficient players.

All IMP members are encouraged to attend, as well as family and friends

Happy holidays

Thanks to all IMP members for you hard work and dedication this term. Congratulations to all of you who have performed in public, and to all of the auditionees who have stepped up into more senior roles this term. Have a safe and restful break, but make sure you keep practicing regularly. See you all in Term 4!

P&C Update

Second hand Uniform Sale – Wednesday 23 October

The P&C’s second hand uniform stall runs once per term before school from 7.45-8.45 am in front of the school office.
Parents and students are welcome to come and grab a bargain. Price guide: shirts, skirts, shorts, IMP (music program) and sports uniform items all $5 each, jumpers $20, trousers $10, winter jackets $40. Cash only, please bring your small change, condition of clothes as found, no change rooms, no refunds. The second hand uniform stall relies on uniform donations from the school community. You can do your bit to recycle our uniforms and save landfill. If you have clean washed uniforms to donate, please take them to the school library and they will be placed in the donations bin. All proceeds to your P&C. If you are a parent who would like to volunteer on the stall please contact Sally at mceastonland@gmail.com. Thank you to everyone who has donated and to our volunteers, our front office and library staff for supporting the stall.

Fort Street P&C 2020

We are calling for expressions of interest for positions on the P&C for 2020. A number of our office bearers are leaving this year as their child at the school completes the HSC. We are inviting any and all parents who are interested to take this opportunity to have a guiding role in the P&C. We are in particular need of people with skills in communication and administration and/or who just really want to be involved. We also really want to encourage parents who may not want a role but would like to be a general member to come along to the next meeting and see what happens.

Entertainment Books

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P&C General Meeting Dates

13th November 2019 (AGM)

11th December 2019

This month on SchoolTV – Blended Families

Blended or stepfamilies, come in all shapes and sizes. Today, the term “blended family” is more commonly used as opposed to “stepfamily”. Although their original meanings differ slightly, today both terms are used interchangeably. This is mostly due to some of the negative connotations associated with fairytale characters such as the evil stepmother or stepsister.

The blended family is the fastest growing family dynamic in the world with one in five families now being a ‘step’ or ‘blended’ family. However, when families “blend,” it rarely progresses smoothly. Some children resist change, and parents become frustrated when the new family doesn’t function in the same way as the previous one.

For many step-parent’s, the greatest challenge lies in determining what their role is within the family. The process can be both rewarding and challenging. Children affected by the union of a new couple may not be excited at the prospect of becoming part of a new family.

Although blending families requires adjustment and patience from everyone involved, in this edition of SchoolTV, parents will be given some guidelines of real expectations that can help their new family work through the growing pains. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month’s edition https://fortstreet.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/blended-families

Support the Year 8 Charity Committee – 7 Bridges Walk

The Year 8 Charity Committee is raising money for the Cancer Council again this year by participating in the 7 Bridges Walk on Sunday 27 October.   We would love if you would donate to our fundraising page via this link: https://www.7bridgeswalk.com.au/fundraisers/2019-Fort-Street-High-School. Please also share with your family and friends.

Please help us reach our goal of $15,000! We have already raised $3,000!