Principals Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 4! I hope that all families were able to enjoy some down time in the holidays with their children.

Welcome and farewell to staff

I would like to warmly welcome Mr Andrew Tennant to our English Faculty for Term 4 this year.
Mr Tennant joins us from Tempe High School for a term to experience working in a fully selective High School temporarily.

Sadly, we bid farewell to Ms Janette Levy our School Administration Manager. Janette has been at Fort Street High School for over twenty years and has been the SAM for three substantive Principals and many more relieving Principals during that time. Janette has had an outstanding career working for the Department of Education and has not only been exceptional at her role but has also been a supportive, kind and friendly colleague and mentor to so many staff members both teaching and non-teaching and a wonderful role model to many Fortians.

Commencement of HSC exams

It is crunch time for Year 12 as their HSC exams began on Wednesday of last week kicking off with two English papers. Feedback from the first English paper was very positive and immediately following this exam a number of Year 12 students had the opportunity to participate in a visit from both Channel Nine News and the Sydney Morning Herald in either video footage, photographs or an interview.

Year 11 (12) 2023 HSC information evening

Mr Morrison and I addressed Year 11 students and their parents at an HSC Information night on the first day back to school this term. At this evening expectations were made clear for Year 12 and students were prepared with the information they require as they embark on their HSC studies, including the people that are here to support them with all of their learning and wellbeing needs including their Year Adviser Mr Gabe Guy and Assistant Year Adviser Ms Mel Tidon, Head Teacher Wellbeing Mr Penny Starr, Careers Adviser Ms Kylie Salisbury and Student Support Officers Rose Dooley and Katie Mann.

SRC President and Vice President elections

I would like to congratulate the successful candidates who have been elected to lead the 2022/2023 Fort Street High School Student Representative Council. As President we welcome Kalanie Prabhaker and as Vice President we welcome Savannah Pradhan, congratulations again. House Captain elections will take place early next year.

Wearing of correct school uniform

Fort Street High School community is overwhelmingly in support of the wearing of a school uniform.

It is the responsibility of every parent who chooses Fort Street High School to work with the agreed parameters of the school to ensure students are easily recognised as Fortians by wearing school uniform. Students should wear the correct uniform each day and bring sports or drama clothing in their bags.

If your child has a genuine reason for not wearing the correct school uniform, please send her/him to school with a dated, handwritten explanation. This note should be presented to the Front Office before school on that day.

Students who are out of uniform without a valid reason will be given cautions and if this continues they will be placed on lunch time detention.

The uniform shop is operated by the school P&C and all profits are directed to the school. The uniform shop is open at school every Wednesday morning during the Term from 9:30 – 2pm. Uniform can also be ordered online https://fortstreet-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/uniform.html

If any families require financial assistance in relation to purchasing uniforms please contact the office.

Farewell Mrs Levy

We would like to wish Mrs Janette Levy our School Administration Manager (SAM) all the best for her upcoming retirement.

Mrs Levy first started at Fort Street High School as a casual in 1995. From there Ms Levy moved into the office and worked her way up to being our amazing SAM for almost 20 years!

Mrs Levy has been a wonderful support to students, parents and staff, always welcoming everyone with her warm smile. She has played a huge part in making Fort Street the great school it is and her knowledge and care will be greatly missed. We had a special morning tea to say thank you earlier this week.

We wish Mrs Levy all the best for the future and know she will love having more time to spend with her growing family, especially her beautiful grandchildren.

Mr de Bres joins Harrietville Chinese mining village excavation

Recently I participated in Season 3 of a Chinese mining village excavation in Harrietville, Victoria. The dig was organised by The Uncovered Past Institute, an Australia-based not-for-profit organisation that conducts archaeological excavations on historic sites with public participation.

For around fifty years from the early 1860s Harrietville was home to many of the thousands of Victoria’s Chinese gold miners. They built extensive gold mining infrastructure, huts, communal kitchens and dray tracks in the 19th century Chinese mining village, situated below Mt Feathertop in the picturesque Upper Ovens Valley in northeast Victoria.

The following site description comes from The Uncovered Past Institute’s website:

“The largely undisturbed site includes mine workings, water races, building foundations, and gardens: a rare survivor of the heyday of Chinese gold mining in Victoria. The foundations of at least 19 buildings were discovered during a survey undertaken during Season One fieldwork in 2017. Huge quantities of food, liquor, medicines, utensils, ceramics and even coins were imported from China for the Chinese mining communities. Many fragments of these were discovered during the first two excavation seasons in 2017 and 2019, along with fragments of European tableware ceramics and glass bottles.”

During the week-long program I participated in field work, site surveying, feature plan drawing and artefact processing. I attended presentations on Chinese ceramics, the importance of context of artefacts and the heritage significance of numerous local goldmining enterprises. I was also given a guided tour of The Harrietville Museum and other significant archaeological sites in the area.

One relatively new development in archaeology I learned more about was digital photogrammetry which was used to create digital 3D models of a double fronted fireplace at the dig site, using an iPhone app, fit for purpose.

I look forward to sharing the knowledge I have gained from attending Season 3 of the Harrietville Chinese mining village excavation with interested students in my History classes in the coming weeks.

John de Bres

History Teacher

Congratulations to our new SRC President and Vice President

Last week at their SRC camp, the SRC members finalised the presidential election. A huge thanks to everyone who voted.

I would like to congratulate Kalanie Prabhakar who is the new SRC President and Savannah Pradhan who is the new Vice President.

Thanks,

Mr Galvin

Year 8 German Master Chef

8R recently participated in the annual Fort Street German Master Chef competition. Students worked in small teams to research a traditional recipe from a German-speaking country and then went to work in the kitchen at home before bringing their mouth-watering creations to share with their classmates.

The amount of effort that the students put into their cooking was truly impressive and some teams even had test runs with different recipes to make sure that their entry would be perfect. The attention to detail really paid off as all the dishes were delicious and many were restaurant worthy.

Thanks to the guest judges Ms Cameron, Mr Gillespie, Mr Morrison, and Ms Vasiliadis. After all the students and teachers had cast their votes, there were some clear favourites – the chocolatey Black Forest cakes, a succulent Apfelstrudel, a creamy Käsekuchen, two Sachertorten and home-baked pretzels (Brezeln). But who was the overall winner? Congratulations to Priya, Uma and Alex J for winning the title of German Master Chefs 2022.

Kristina Reynolds

Languages

Supporting Parents to Support their Children – P&C presentation

At the last P&C meeting I gave a presentation on “Supporting Parents to support their children & teenagers”. This presentation covered the definition and symptoms of stress you may observe in your children and how to support them engage in helpful behaviours (to reduce their stress) and avoid unhelpful behaviours (which increase their stress). For those interested you can access the slides of the P&C presentation in pdf format on the school website here.

I work as a Student Support Officer (SSO) at Fort Street on Wednesdays and Fridays (along with Rose Dooley who is the full-time SSO). The other 3 days of the week I work at Macquarie University as a Programs and Development Manager.

I am particularly interested in helping our FS students manage their stress and anxiety, to help them recognise and manage some of the common associated behaviours of stress eg. procrastination, perfectionism, poor life/study balance etc. I use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help students understand the source of their anxiety and associated unhelpful behaviours, to build awareness and skills to engage in helpful behaviours that can lower anxiety.

If anyone has questions regarding the above presentation, or anything else, please feel free to email me at katie.mann4@det.nsw.edu.au

Katie Mann

Student Support Officer

UBS Finance Academy

The UBS Finance Academy aims to provide senior secondary school students with an understanding of the financial and banking industry by giving them a creative mix of theory, industry exposure and field visits.

As one of only 40 NSW Year 11 students, I was given first-hand insight into the operations of financial markets via workshops, ‘day in the life of’ presentations, mock case studies and a visit to UBS’s trading floor. The presentation on fixed income and equity research and being able to mee tkey industry players has increased my interest in pursuing a career in this highly dynamic industry.

I would highly recommend students who are interested in finance as a career to consider applying for the UBS Finance Academy next year and I also thank Mr. Chapman for organising this opportunity.

Owen Lin (Year 11)

SPECIAL REPORT: A Guide To Safe Partying

Teenage gatherings provide young people with important opportunities to interact and build on their social skills and experiences. Celebrations, partying and socialising are a fundamental rite of passage and one of the most important aspects of a young person’s life. However, it is possible for the best young person to get carried away with their peers and the euphoria of the moment.

For parents and caregivers, keeping your young person safe can at times feel daunting and is often a compromise and a challenge. Most teenagers try to do the right thing most of the time, but your leadership as a role model is crucial. Your child may appear to be physically large and mature, but this is not necessarily matched by their emotional maturity and responsibility in behaviour.

Every party has the potential to get out-of-hand as sometimes it’s hard for young partygoers to make good decisions. Communication and regular discussions are vital, particularly because young people are often faced with peer pressure to do things they prefer not to engage in. Hosting a celebration at home or at a venue can be a fun and memorable event but it is important to agree on the ground rules well before your event is announced to ensure there are no misunderstandings later on.

If hosting an event, you owe your guests a ‘duty-of-care’ and should ensure all reasonable steps are taken to keep partygoers safe. This Special Report provides caregivers with list of things to consider when planning a celebration. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report https://fortstreet.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-guide-safe-partying

UNSW Girls in Engineering Club

The UNSW Girls in Engineering Club is a fun, inspiring community for high school girls interested in a career in engineering. We provide opportunities to explore the diverse fields of engineering where you can connect and share ideas with fellow high school girls.

You’ll hear from inspiring role models such as UNSW Engineering students and female engineers who are already making their mark on the world. By joining the club you will receive: Exclusive invitations to Girls in Engineering Club events Monthly inspo delivered to your email, featuring profiles of female engineers, study tips and more!

Opportunities to be mentored by female engineering students Access to a closed Facebook community to connect with likeminded girls. Take part in regular workshops and challenges.

For more information visit https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/study-with-us/girls-engineering-club