Farewell Ms. Cameron

I would like to take a moment to bid farewell to a very special member of our school community, someone who has been an integral part of the fabric of this school and with whom I’ve had the privilege of working closely with for many years. If you haven’t already heard, today marks Ms. Cameron’s final day with us at Fort Street. She will be leaving us to take on a new role as the Principal of Canterbury Girls High School.

While I have every confidence that Ms. Cameron is more than ready for this exciting next step in her career, I also know that leaving Fort Street—a place she has called her professional home for the past 13 years—is no easy feat for her.

Ms. Cameron’s journey in education began in 1999, as a Visual Arts teacher at Westfield Sports High School. A decade later, in 2010, she took on the role of relieving Head Teacher Administration, where she honed her expertise in the complex world of timetabling. In 2011, she joined the Fort as Head Teacher of Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), and in 2018, she stepped into her current position as our Deputy Principal.

Ms. Cameron’s contributions to our school have been nothing short of extraordinary. From designing the beautiful library renovations to planning the upgrades around the upper Kilgour fig tree, her influence is visible all around us. Her vision also brought us the vibrant street art murals that now colour our school grounds, leaving a lasting legacy of creativity and innovation.

But Ms. Cameron’s impact extends far beyond her roles and projects. She has been a tireless advocate for students and staff alike, always willing to solve problems, offer support, and brighten the school environment—whether through a well-placed plant, new furniture, or a thoughtful gesture.

Her unwavering dedication, hard work, and boundless energy have touched every corner of Fort Street, and the culture of our school is richer because of her. Personally, I will miss her every day—her partnership, her humour, and her willingness to jump into whatever wild scheme we’ve cooked up, whether dressing up for Halloween, multicultural day, wear it purple day or just having a laugh.

I know many of you will feel her absence as much as I will, but today, we also celebrate her incredible achievements and the new journey ahead for her. Canterbury Girls High School is gaining a truly outstanding leader, and while they are lucky to have her, we are the ones who have been fortunate to call her our own for so long.

Please join me in congratulating Ms. Cameron on her new role and in wishing her every success as she steps into this exciting new chapter of her career.

Juliette McMurray

Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of a very busy Term 3. We have packed in a number of wonderful events and achievements, celebrating the incredible efforts of both our students and staff.

Year 11

Our Year 11 students have now officially completed their preliminary courses and exams and are about to embark on the next big step: their HSC courses, which begin next term. We wish them all the best as they move forward in their studies.

Year 8

Year 8 has been active, participating in either the Geography excursion or the medieval incursion—both of which provided engaging learning experiences outside the classroom.

Australian Story filming

Amidst the busyness of our day-to-day, we also had the privilege of hosting the filming of Murat Dizdar, the NSW Secretary of Education and a proud Fortian from the Class of 1990, along with Justice Michael Kirby, for an upcoming ABC Australian Story segment focused on public education. It was a proud moment for our school.

175^th Anniversary Photo

I would like to extend my thanks to all students and staff for their patience and cooperation during the coordination of the 175th school anniversary photo on the oval. Below is a shot taken from inside the school, we will share the finalised photo once its complete.

Fort Fest

One of the biggest highlights this term, though, was undoubtedly Fort Fest. If you weren’t able to stay for the festivities, you truly missed out! Thousands of people came through, and the energy throughout the evening was nothing short of electric. From the fiercely competitive bubble soccer and air hockey in the gym to the game challenges in the hall, there was fun to be had everywhere. And let’s not forget the outstanding food! A special thank you to all of the students who performed in the IMP ensembles—you were incredible. I received countless compliments throughout the night about your talent.

SRC Camp

Looking ahead to next term, we will be inducting the newly elected SRC for 2024-2025. The SRC is currently at their two-day planning camp, where they’ll not only work on goals for the upcoming year but also elect their new President and Vice President. I’m sure we can expect great things from them in the coming months.

Junior Rugby

I would like to acknowledge the outstanding win of our Junior Rugby team. Congratulations to Kevin Pham, Luke Patterson, Adam Jebara, Conor Truong, Oliver Townsend, Aldrich Wu, Benjamin Doumit, Mohsin Fouladi, Yathavan Uthayaseelan, Regan Tiwari, Hao Chen He on winning the David Horwitz Rugby Cup.

Duke of Edinburgh Hike

Last weekend a group of 54 students completed a combined Silver and Gold hike along the South Coast Trail of the Murramarang National Park. I was lucky enough to join them on the first day of the hike myself and we enjoyed beautiful weather and spotted lots of wildlife including an echidna, dolphins and whales. Thank you to Mr Latimer, Ms Johnston, Ms Dooly and Ms Thompson for taking the students on this wonderful hike.

Year 12

Lastly, this week we all enjoyed the Year 12 Farewell FLOP assembly—it was certainly a lot of fun! The graduation ceremony later that evening, of course, struck a more serious and reflective tone as we officially farewelled our Year 12s. We wish all of our Year 12 students the best for their upcoming HSC exams.

Upcoming Events

Friday September 27 – last day of Term 3

Monday October 14 – first day of Term 4

Monday October 14 – Year 11 Consent Lab Incursion

Tuesday October 15 – HSC begins

Wednesday October 16 – Year 9 History Excursion

Thursday October 17 – HSC 2025 Student and Parent Information evening

Wednesday October 23 – Year 10 Geography Excursion

Thursday October 24 – Duke of Ed Gold Qualifying Hike

Juliette McMurray

Fort Fest 2024

With perfect weather and a huge turnout, Fort Fest was a wonderful community event!

Thank you

The P&C could not have run this without the support and enormous effort of many people. We would like to thank the following in particular:

The student body – The incredible Year 10 SRC Leaders headed up by Miranda Leighton, the SRC in general, Daya Yu (Fort Fest logo designer), the many student stall leaders and volunteers, the School Tour leaders, the IMP performers and all the well-behaved students who gave our guests a great impression of the school.

The staff – The wonderful office admin staff, Neil the General Assistant, the teaching staff of Fort Street, Matt Manchester and the IMP conductors, Iain Wallace (museum host and archivist) and the school executive staff, especially Juliette McMurray, Rebecca Cameron and Carolyn Mattick for their leadership.

Our generous local businesses (please support them!) –

Brighton on the Corner cafe, Toys and Tales, Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym, Australian Martial Arts Academy, BlocHaus bouldering gym, Inner West Council, Lug + Carrie, Plus Fitness Leichhardt, Bunnings Ashfield, Harry Hartog Bookseller, White Cockatoo Hotel, Woolworths Marrickville Metro, Kmart Marrickville Metro, Bon Appetit Catering (Fort Street School Canteen), Reverse Garbage, New Theatre, Belvoir Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Scout Pilates, Better Read Than Dead, Queens Park FC, eleade soccer training, Biryani Corner (Homebush).

Our silver sponsors – Milk&Honey Photography, Vision Personal Training Leichhardt and Math Words not Squiggles Tutoring.

The P&C – Fort Fest organisers Helen DeWolfe, Emma Pearce and Elizabeth Kenyon, treasurer Hung Ngo and communications coordinator Kirilly Druery.

The parent community – The incredible food stall crews and their captains, the many volunteers on the night, the families who helped their child with stall decorations and prep, the people who spread the messages in the social media group, the families who donated books, games and chocolate, and everyone who came and supported Fort Fest by being there on the night.

Online Auction

The online auction was lost in all the other activities, so we have extended the deadline to 9pm, Friday 27th September, to give people a last chance to bid on the great items and raise extra funds for the school.

https://www.32auctions.com/FortFest2024

What next?

We are not sure how much was raised just yet, as stall holders still have receipts to submit, but once the total is determined, the P&C will be consulting with the SRC to choose the most deserving projects to receive the funds. Several potential improvements to facilities and requests for additional resources are already on the table.

If you enjoyed this event, and would like to be involved in planning future fundraising or hearing more about where the money will go, join the P&C! The P&C holds meetings at 7:30pm on the second Wednesday of each month during school terms. The first meeting of the term is in the school library and the following meetings each term are held via Zoom.

Otherwise, we’ll see you at the next big event – the IMP Concert in Term 4!

Year 12 vs Teachers Soccer Match

On Friday the Year 12’s played against a team of Fort Street teachers. It was a spirited game for all involved, including the roaring spectators. Ultimately, the Year 12’s won with the final score being 4-2!

Congartualtions to year 12 and a pat on the back to the teachers for bringing the competition.

IMP Update

IMP Ensembles a Highlight at Fort Fest

There was a festive atmosphere at Fort Fest last Friday, with all IMP ensembles performing throughout the course of the afternoon and evening. Outdoors in the picture-perfect afternoon weather, large audiences were treated to 4.5 hours of entertainment by the IMP students in the Lower Kilgour Quad. The evening wrapped up with an impressive performance by the Symphony Orchestra under the stars.

IMP students are to be commended on their professionalism and maturity, as well as their musical skills. Old Fortians who, attended the 175^th Anniversary event, provided lots of positive feedback on the performances.

Fort Fest was a great chance to showcase the work of the ensembles this term and there was a lot to be learnt about performing outdoors! As JO said, “it’s never not a music lesson”.

The future of the IMP is very bright!

Stress Less with Dr Jessica Belcher

On Monday 14 October, Macquarie University is hosting a webinar helping parents support their teens to cope with Year 11 and 12 study stress.

Throughout this webinar, Dr Jessica Belcher will draw on current research to discuss why students feel stressed, what stress might look like, and when parents need to worry about their teen’s stress. Jessica will also give some helpful tips on what parents can do to help their teen manage stress throughout their final years of high school.

Please register online to access this webinar: https://events.humanitix.com/helping-parents-manage-their-teen-s-and-their-own-hsc-stress-webinar