Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

HSC Major Works Showcase

It was an absolute pleasure to attend the HSC English Extension 2, Visual Arts, and Music 2 showcase on Monday, 2nd of September. As always, this event was a fantastic opportunity to witness the extraordinary talents of Fort Street students. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the dedicated teaching staff who have worked closely with the students to guide them through their major works. A special thank you to Ms. Lawson, Ms. Thompson, and Ms. Propsting for their incredible support.

Fort Street Reconciliation Action Plan

On Wednesday, 4th of September, interested students and staff gathered during lunch to discuss the creation of a Fort Street Reconciliation Action Plan. The meeting was well-attended, and it was inspiring to see so many great ideas generated. Thank you to Ms. Mattick, Ms. Nolan, and the SRC for organizing this important initiative. I look forward to seeing how these ideas take shape as we continue to develop the plan.

Gotcha4Life Rowing Event

From Saturday, 7th of September to Sunday, 8th of September, Fortians and staff participated in “Gotcha4Life,” rowing for 24 continuous hours on machines in the staff common room to raise awareness for mental health. A huge thank you to all the students who participated, as well as their parents for their support in bringing them to and from school over the weekend. Special thanks to the dedicated staff who gave their time, particularly Ms. Cove, Ms. Cameron, Mr. Gaal, Mr. Feng, Mr. Tennant, and Ms. Catalan. An extra shout-out goes to those who covered the “graveyard shifts”—Mr. Sariff, who stayed from 10:00 pm to 2:30 am, and Ms. Ezekiel, who supervised from 2:30 am to 10:00 am. Thank you to everyone who donated to this great cause.

SRC Elections and Leadership Camp

The SRC elections have been finalized, and the new leadership body for 2024/2025 has been established. Positions for President and Vice President will be decided during the SRC Camp on the last day of term. This camp will serve as an opportunity for the new team to plan for Term 4 and the upcoming year. Congratulations to the following successful candidates:

• Year 7: L. Feltham, S. Jo, U. Khan, N. Kunwar, J. Lu, A. Pitzing, M. Santiwong, E. Wang
• Year 8: N. Chen, A. Davidson, S. Ha, O. He, T. Lam, O. Townsend, J. Wen, N. Zhang
• Year 9: C. Alexidis, J. Chen, I. Lee, H. Li, E. Luu, V. Mahendran, J. Nguyen, B. Shamada
• Year 10: A. Badham, V. Bojjireddy, W. Chen, M. Leighton, W. Ly, D. Rees, I. Wang, G. Zarb
• Year 11: E. Alonso Love, C. Bentley, C. Burger, C. Dey, D. Diaz, E. Howes, J. Groves

2025 Timetable Planning

The timetable committee is hard at work planning the 2025 teaching schedule. This process involves balancing student preferences with available staff resources. We hope to confirm Year 8 into 9 and Year 10 into 11 electives in the first few weeks of Term 4. Unfortunately, there will be no Photography or French classes offered for Year 11 in 2025. Additionally, due to an unprecedented number of applicants for Extension 1 Mathematics, we will need to limit enrolments based on performance. We understand this can be a disappointing time for some students and their families, and we appreciate your understanding.

Fort Fest – 175th Anniversary Celebration

Excitement is building for our biannual Fort Fest, which will be held this Friday, 20th of September, in celebration of 175 years of education at Fort Street. We hope to see family and friends join us for an afternoon of food, fun, and festivities between 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm. Tokens for stalls and games are available for presale during recess and lunch this week and can also be purchased at ticket booths during the event.

School Anniversary Photo

On Thursday, 19th of September, all students and staff will participate in a special anniversary photo to mark 175 years of Fort Street. The photo, taken in the shape of “175,” will take place during Period 3 on the school oval. We look forward to this momentous occasion.

Upcoming events in Term 3:

Week 8 and 9: Year 11 exams, students are still to attend sport on Tuesday afternoons and most students will be back in class on Thursday 19th of September

Monday 16 September: Raise Mentoring Graduation

Tuesday 17 September: HSC Music Practical Exams

Wednesday 18 September: ABC Australian Story filming Murat Dizdar Secretary of NSW Education

Thursday 19 September: Whole school anniversary photo period 3, Year 7 Author visit

Friday 20 September: Fort Fest 3:30pm – 8:00pm

Sunday 22 September – Tuesday 24 September: Duke of Ed Gold Practice and Silver Qualifier Walk

Monday 23 September: Year 12 Picnic

Tuesday 24 September: Year 12 Activity Day

Wednesday 25 September: Year 12 breakfast, FLOP Assembly and evening graduation

Thursday 26 and Friday 27 September: SRC Camp at Collaroy and whole school assembly

Juliette McMurray

Fort Street Exchange

From 17 – 24 August 2024, Fort Street students studying Japanese from years 8 to 12 took on homestays as part of an exchange program with Suginami Sogo High School, Fort Street’s sister school in Japan.

The homestay involved feeding, housing, and showing our Japanese buddies around Sydney, a massive responsibility which the Fort Street students and their parents graciously undertook, but which nonetheless gave us the opportunity to get to personally know a native Japanese speaker and practise our language skills reciprocally, a real cultural exchange. That language practice was especially important for the year 12 Japanese class, who had their HSC speaking examination on the same Saturday that the Suginami Sogo cohort left Australia. It was a special and extremely beneficial opportunity for us before our last speaking test, and I was particularly impressed by some of the Japanese students’ dedication to working on and improving our conversation skills.

Exploring Sydney on the first day of the trip. Taken by Katherine Lee.

Beyond homestay, the Japanese students also came to school with us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. There they got to experience an Australian school environment for the first time, participating in class, making new friends during recess and lunch, and even spectating the basketball comp running at the time.

While we didn’t join Suginami Sogo when they went to Taronga Zoo on Tuesday, we did all go together to Manly on Thursday to get a taste of the Australian ocean. The day started off overcast but cleared up by the time we’d finished our fish and chips together, sitting on the Manly seawall in a long line across the beach. We also went up to North Head to get a view of Sydney. The view, high above the water, was absolutely breathtaking, an irreplaceable memory for both us and the exchange students and the highlight of the trip for me.

Everyone together at Manly.

The view from North Head. You can see Sydney way in the distance. Taken by Katherine Lee.

Knowing that I’d be spending the next day worrying about my HSC, Friday and the closing ceremony that ended it was particularly special for me. Mr Gillespie noticed that the Suginami Sogo students had become much more relaxed since they arrived on Sunday, and it really hammered home how close we had become over just a week, an idea which I found deeply moving. Seeing the Japanese and Australian students sitting together, chatting together, reading speeches in each other’s languages, and most importantly enjoying Mr Leondios’ sausage sizzle together right after was a testament to just how successful and enjoyable the experience was. I hope that we continue to maintain this relationship for years to come, and in particular that the students currently in year 9 and 10 get to enjoy homestay themselves next year in Japan. I myself look forward to returning to Japan in the future and meeting all of the friends I made once again.

Our last photo all together. Taken by Ms Wark.

Thank you so much to all the parents and teachers who took part in this exchange program, whether it be as a homestay or for taking the exchange students into your classes. Most of all, however, I’d like to express my gratitude to Mr Gillespie for his tireless dedication to arranging this trip, the homestays, and leading us during the period of the exchange. Without him this trip, as well as the one last year, could never have happened.

Nicholas Caus

Fortian 2024

Wear it Purple Day Speech

Below is a heartfelt and wonderful speech, delivered at assembly by proud Fortian, Kit White, on Wear it Purple Day 2024

Hi everyone, I’m Kit, my pronouns are they/them, and I’m here on behalf of the Diversity Committee to talk a bit about Wear It Purple Day.

Wear It Purple Day is held annually to advocate for and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people. It was founded in 2010 by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, in response to the death of eighteen-year-old Tyler Clementi, who took his own life after being outed as gay by his roommate. Tyler’s death prompted numerous young queer people to share similar stories of bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.

Wear It Purple Day aims to show support for queer people, spreading hope, love, acceptance, and the message that they have the right to be proud of who they are. Every year, on the last Friday of August, schools, businesses, councils, community groups, and thousands of people wear purple as a display of solidarity, support, acceptance, and celebration for members of the queer community.

Fort Street’s Diversity Committee first held Wear It Purple Day 9 years ago, in 2015. The first celebration I was here for, was in Year 7 in 2020, held in the miraculous period between the two lockdowns. In early Year 7 I came out as gay and discovered, as many queer kids do, that I coincidentally befriended almost entirely queer kids. There’s something to be said about our flocking together, the intrinsic camaraderie that makes queer people gravitate towards each other. Anyways, I was met with acceptance and support, but almost immediately after the entirety of NSW was plunged into the first COVID lockdown. Despite being only for a few weeks, it left me and a lot of my fellow Year 7s feeling disconnected from the school community, which is why Wear It Purple Day felt so meaningful that year. Seeing Petersham Station and Palace Street overrun by Fortians and teachers donning sparkly purple fits (or interesting red and blue ensembles, for the clever pedantic), I felt that as a young queer kid, I was not and never would be alone at this school.

That being said, it can be easy to take an accepting and inclusive environment like this for granted. Truth is, other schools, and the world as a whole are nowhere near as progressive and understanding as Fort Street. It’s important to acknowledge how blessed we are as a community to hold events like this, and for so many queer people to feel safe being out and proud. Today is about celebration, but I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the many queer people in Australia and even in this room who don’t feel safe being out and proud today. Days like this can be hard, for kids who have to make excuses to transphobic parents as to why they’re not wearing school uniform, or who don’t feel brave enough to come out of the closet and feel invisible when surrounded by so much joy. Wear it Purple Day is for them too. It is my hope that one day we can create a world where no queer person has to hide a part of who they are.

I’m sure you’re all eager to get involved with the celebration. We’ve got a couple of things going on today, all in the Fountain Quad: at recess, we have a wonderful stall set up just outside, where you can get pride flag pins, sign up for Diversity Committee, take photos, or find out more about Wear It Purple Day. This year’s theme is “Your passion, your pride”, and we’ve set up a message wall for anyone to share their passions, queer experiences, or words of support. At lunch, we’re holding a bake sale in the Fountain Quad, and in the Hall will be the Purple Parade and the Best Dressed Competition, with book vouchers for the most fantastic students in year 7, year 8, years 9 to 10, and years 11 to 12 and a crown for the best-dressed teacher. We look forward to seeing you there!

Standing on this stage, looking out at a sea of purple clothes and rainbow flags, I can honestly say I’m proud to be a Fortian. A progressive and open environment like ours doesn’t come from nowhere, and I thank everyone who came before me, the previous iterations of Diversity Committee, who shaped Fort Street into this wonderful community. I hope that everything we, the Diversity Committee, do will allow future students to share this pride and joy. Thank you.

Year 7 History Excursion

According to the historians (students) . . .

On the 30th of August, three Year 7 classes of Fort Street High School went on a journey to become historians.

Firstly, we went to Petersham station where we boarded a Waratah (train, not plant) to Circular Quay. During this journey, some of the class were debating the rankings of Sydney Trains from best to worst, which landed on The Sydney Metro, Waratah B sets, Waratah A sets, Oscars, Millenniums, Intercity trains, K sets and finally the sad Tangaras. After the train arrived at the desired station, the Fortians walked to their destination, which was The Big Dig Site.

When they arrived at the Big Dig, we received historical artefacts and observed them to piece together hypothetical information about the artefacts. This task allowed to unlock the Archaeologist achievement, which was a huge stepping stone to becoming true historians.

By Harry

As a tray full of peculiar objects was handed to us, we all looked on with confusion. Broken porcelain babies? A flat rock? An old weight? What was there to learn from these? At first it seemed impossible to glean any information from these, but as we looked closer, the stories began to become clearer. Porcelain babies? We saw a small piece of text printed onto the baby, it said ‘Germany’! This helped us learn that these babies were widespread children’s toys in the 19th and 20th century, and that many were manufactured in Germany. The piece of rock? By itself, it was simply a rock, but with context, we realised that you could write on them with slate pencils! It was a piece of slate! Our hypothesis was that it may have been used by children to draw or write on. The old weight? Closer inspection revealed to us that it was made in Birmingham. How did it get here? Was it sold, was it a family item? Our hypothesis was that it may have been used in scales to find somethings weight! Even if we weren’t fully correct, that day we learnt that history is all about looking at evidence to create a hypothesis about the past.

By Leo

We arrived at the school at around 8:20, and soon found my friends. After a painstakingly long wait, we walked to Petersham station. Soon we were at Circular Quay, and we headed towards The Big Dig Archaeological Education Centre. We quickly got to the site, and we met our tour guides. They taught us the questions historians ask when studying an artefact to piece together its history. We were given a basket of artefacts which we chose four from and answered those questions. I chose a doll, a brass pipe of some sort, a part of a bottle and a nail. We learnt how to think of uses of objects, ownership and time of use. We then formed ideas and talked about the history of sites near the Big Dig. We finished off by making a timeline of cards given to us (we broke the record for time), we had lunch, and then looked for information at Hyde Park. We investigated places and signs to determine answers.

By Hayden and Ayaan

IMP Update

IMP Update Term 3 Week 8

Farewells and welcomes

It is with sadness that the IMP farewells our wonderful sax tutor and Jazz Ensemble director, Rafael Karlen, who will be moving to Switzerland in September. All of us at the IMP will miss Rafael’s calm and incisive intelligence, his wonderful teaching, and his immense creativity. The whole IMP wishes Rafael and his family the very best in this next exciting chapter!

We also farewell Katie Robinson, our accompanist for Vocal Ensemble, who is starting a run as the principal keyboardists for Sunset Boulevard.

While both of these wonderful musicians leave big shoes to fill, the IMP is pleased to welcome Jem Harding, our new accompanist, and welcome back Stu Vandegraaff (a familiar face in the IMP) who will be stepping in to take Jazz Ensemble and the sax cohort.

NSW Arts Unit Auditions for Weekly Instrumental Music Ensembles in 2025

Applications are now open (closing 7^th October) for the 2025 Arts Unit Instrumental Music Ensembles and Fort Street students have a long tradition of a large contingent taking part. The weekly music ensembles foster advanced musical skills, performing in amazing concerts at Sydney Conservatorium, Sydney Opera House, and Town Hall. Students work with an incredible team of expert tutors and conductors.

Live auditions will be held on Saturday 26 October and Sunday 27 October 2024.

The Arts Unit ensembles include:

• Symphonic Wind Orchestra (SWO)
• Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE)
• Stage Band
• Jazz Orchestra
• String Sinfonia
• Symphony Orchestra

Approximate standard for the intermediate ensembles (Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Stage Band and String Sinfonia) is AMEB grade 4+. Approximate standard for the advanced ensembles (Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Jazz Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra) is AMEB grade 6+.

Apply Here: https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/form/instrumental-ensembles-app

Closing date for applications:  7th October 2024

Sydney Con Rising Stars Program

Applications for the 2025 Sydney Con Rising Stars Program are now open for strings, jazz, piano, organ, brass, woodwind, and composition. Instrument auditions may be either live, or via both video submission (round 1) and live audition (round 2), depending on the instrument. Entry to the composition program is by submission of a body of work which will be reviewed for consideration.

The Rising Stars at the Con program provides gifted school-age students with specialist tuition in a supportive environment that helps develop their musical and artistic skills. Supported by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music faculty, the program is based on proven values of quality instrumental teaching, structured academic development, regular performance and the benefits of a strong and supportive musical peer group.

The Rising Stars program runs on Saturdays for 14 weeks per semester, with 2 semesters each year, and entry is by audition only.

For more information, please refer to the ‘How to Apply’ page here:

https://openacademy.sydney.edu.au/courses/Programs/Rising+Stars

World Sub-Junior Powerlifting Championships

Fortian, Loic Chiang, won a silver medal for Bench Press and a bronze medal for Squat, and he finished 7th for overall total in the World Sub-Junior Powerlifting Championships. Attached are some photos taken during the competition.

Student Support Officer – Wellbeing Resources & Services

Dear Fort Street parents and carers,

The following wellbeing resources and workshops launch this month:

Discover the Free ‘ClearlyMe‘ App for Teens

We are pleased to share with you an evidence-based resource to support your child’s well-being: ClearlyMe, a free app designed by the Black Dog Institute specifically for adolescents. This user-friendly app provides a safe and supportive space for young people to explore their emotions, develop coping strategies, and access positive and helpful tools for managing their challenges. To learn more, you can visit the ClearlyMe website or download the app directly from the App Store or Google Play.

Resilience workshop – 29th September

Resilience with Ease – Overcome Stress, Enhance Your Mindset is a free 90 minute self care workshop which will be held at the Little B.I.G Foundation in Summer Hill. The workshop will ​explore how your perceptions influence how you respond to life’s challenges, and how emotions, experiences and unconscious beliefs get in the way of achieving the life you desire. This workshop is suitable for ages 16+, Spaces are limited – reserve your spot today – Little BIG Foundation

Raising Resilient Teens: Mental Health Forum for Parents and Carers – 26th September

Upcoming forum at Burwood Girls High School, created for parents and carers, featuring professional and youth panels discussing key mental health topics. Connect with fellow parents, carers and experts and explore resources from organisations dedicated to youth wellbeing. Please register through the QR code on the flyer attached.

FORT FEST SILENT AUCTION

The online auction site is now live!
​​https://www.32auctions.com/FortFest2024

A silent auction is a fundraising event where items or experiences are displayed for attendees to bid on. The highest bidder at the end of the designated time period wins the item.

Our generous local supporters have donated $7000 worth of fantastic goods, memberships and tickets! Every amount spent at the auction goes to the P&C for improvements to the school.

Items up for auction include:
A 9 week personal training program, family portrait session, dinner at the White Cockatoo Hotel, Belvoir Theatre tickets, 1 term of tutoring, bouldering gym membership, martial arts classes, a book pack…

The auction is scheduled to end on the night of Fort Fest – September 20, 2024 at 9:00 PM. At that time, winning bidder notifications will be sent to the highest online bidders and the P&C will be in touch to arrange the collection of prizes.

Beaten by a higher bidder? Never mind – you can still take part in Fort Fest and support the school by signing up as a volunteer on the night: https://signup.com/go/dEkEKJC