Principals Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

The teachers would like to express their gratitude to our generous parents and in particular our wonderful P&C for organising morning tea for staff on Friday 28 October for World Teachers’ Day. This was a very nice surprise and truly appreciated by the staff.

Student Support Officer

It has been wonderful to see so many students interacting with our new full-time SSO Ms Dooley this term. Ms Dooley joined the wellbeing team at the end of last term to create another layer of support for our students. Students who would like to raise any concerns or wellbeing issues about themselves or others are welcome to speak with their Year Advisers, Assistant Year Advisers, the Head Teacher of Wellbeing Ms Starr, the School Counsellors or either of our two Student Support Officers. Of course, parents and students can also raise any issues with any member of staff they feel comfortable speaking to across the school. Our SSO’s are also trialling a QR code on their office door allowing students to request an appointment/check in. The QR code will take students to a google form to book in.

School Uniform

I would like to thank the entire school community for their support in enforcing the correct full school uniform including all black shoes. Students will be given three warnings before penalties are imposed for being out of uniform. If there are valid reasons why students are unable to wear any aspect of the school uniform, please send an email to the school or write a note of explanation for your child.

Excerpt from the Footwear Guidelines for NSW Government Schools

Areas where safe footwear must be worn:

In accordance with the Safe Working Policy, the Department has identified areas of its workplaces where appropriate footwear must be worn by employees, students and visitors to ensure their safety. Areas where enclosed leather footwear (or other material confirmed by the manufacturer to be suitable, refer to Australian/NZ Standard 2210: Safety Protective and Occupational Footwear) is required are:

• Industrial Arts and trades workshop areas
• Science laboratories
• Canteen or Food Technology (kitchen areas)

HSC exams completed for 2022

This week will see the final exams for Year 12 completed with the Physics exam, the last cohort exam to be held on Thursday. Congratulations to all Year 12 Fortians for their resilience and hard work over the past few years. The school will now be able to reclaim the hall and the Fountain Quad from Friday.

SRC Halloween festivities

Fun was had by many students and staff dressing up for the day in Halloween costumes on Monday 31 October. The new SRC executive did a great job organising this event and decorating the school. Visa Gift Card Vouchers and Canteen Vouchers were awarded to the best costumes by group and individuals and lollies and chocolates distributed by the SRC students at lunch.

Kennedy Cup Competition

The race to the finish line is close with all five houses competing for the coveted Kennedy Cup. House meetings were held last week in preparation for the final house tournaments taking place this week – dodgeball competitions and a trivia contest. The students from the winning house for 2022 will be invited on a rewards day at the end of the year. We look forward to announcing the winning house at an assembly in week 8.

Year 7 2023 and Year 10 Peer Support Leaders

Final preparations are being made to welcome the new Year 7 cohort for next year to their orientation day on Tuesday 29 December. Students in year nine have been asked to apply for positions in the peer support team and will commence their peer support training before this orientation day. For further information about the peer support program please contact Ms Propsting or Ms Starr.

Congratulations

Ethan Lin of Year 11 who was successful in his application to participate in the NSW Constitutional Convention later this month.

Lee Sheen Pong of Year 8 for his participation in the 2022 Harmony Day Poster and Song Writing Competition.

Halloween at the Fort

SRC Halloween Event

What does a panda ghost eat? 

Bam-BOO!

On Monday 31st October, Fort Street SRC organised a Halloween event! Fortians came to school dressed up in spooky, fabulous costumes for a lunchtime costume competition!! 

The lower Kilgour Quad was decorated with lots of Halloween-themed decorations, including skeletons, skulls, and chalk drawings of Pac-Man ghosts. Fortians dressed up received free lollies from the SRC, and were in the running for canteen vouchers and gift cards! Students could parade around the Kilgour Quad, and our fabulous judges, a panel of teachers including Ms McMurray, Ms Cameron and Mr Morrsion, chose our winners. 

Congratulations to all the winners of the competition for all your hard work and effort put into your costumes!! Thank you as well to all Fortians and teachers who dressed up in costumes; very terrifying!!

Year 9 History Excursion

On Wednesday the 12th of October the Year 9 history classes attended an excursion to the State Library and the ANZAC War Memorial in Hyde Park to help them with their study of World War One. Students participated in a range of activities including piecing together a soldier’s war experience from items he brought back from the war, watching a play that re-enacted the letters and diaries of WW1 nurses, a guided tour of the memorial, letter writing activities and the analysis of photos and diaries as historical sources. Here are some of the student’s reflections from the day.

‘I thought that the nurse’s verbatim play was the most effective teaching device during the day as it brought history on paper to a real person which helped me better understand and experience what it was like to be in the war.’

‘I thought the most helpful activity we did was the suitcase activity where we were shown artefacts from a soldier in World War I. I found it very interesting to learn more about the personal life of a specific individual who fought in the war.’

‘The ability to see primary artefacts up close and hold them gave a new insight into what the lives of the soldiers were like.’

‘My favourite part was the tour around the memorial and seeing the statue “sacrifice”. It was deeply compelling and summarised all that we learnt about the consequences of war.’

‘I thought the artefacts activity was the most interesting because I wondered what items historians would use to discover who I was.’

‘I got to handle precious and rare artefacts dating back to the early 20th century that fascinated me.’

‘Yesterday’s excursion really helped me learn and understand aspects of World War I (WWI) on a more personal and emotional level.’

Melinda Wark

History Teacher

Aquaculture in Geography – Market to plate

This term, the new HSC Geography class have begun their course with a unit investigating the nature, spatial patterns and future directions of Aquaculture – The cultivation of aquatic species. With around 50% of seafood now coming from aquaculture production, and the share of wild caught fish gradually declining, this economic activity is vital in a climate changing world desperately trying to produce more food.

On Monday, students travelled to the Sydney Fish Markets to conduct some fieldwork on the variety, presentation and marketing of aquaculture species. Students sampled oysters and other species which are both high value and sustainable in their production practices.

While on Friday, we conducted a blind taste testing of three different fish species commonly produced through aquaculture. Students used their newly acquired understanding about fish to assess the relationship between price and quality. Some secondary research sources were then used to ascertain whether the three species tasted were produced sustainably.

As we further our study, it is quite clear that although aquaculture has the potential to deliver a sustainable protein source, current consumer preferences and production methods result in aquaculture being far from sustainable in practice. Later in the unit students will be investigating the economic and Political factors which affect the aquaculture industry. Our next excursion to the Great Barrier Reef will also include a trip to a Queensland barramundi farm to investigate farm processes.

Year 11 French visit to the Alliance Française

On Monday 24 October 2022, students in Year 11 French were accompanied by Madame Walker and last term’s University of Sydney intern on an excursion to the Alliance Française. There they further developed their skills in using the French language authentically and creatively in an immersion environment during an atelier théâtre.

At the conclusion of this drama workshop, the group traveled to Circular Quay where students were able to again practise their French while enjoying lunch at the Four Frogs Crêperie.

Sports tournaments at Fort Street

During Term 3 there were two very successful lunchtime sporting tournaments run. Both tournaments were organised by Year 12 students and had teams from all year levels enter. There was great participation and crowd numbers each day, leading to a packed Gym almost every lunchtime.

The first competition was an indoor Futsal tournament run by Matt Brewster. The tournament was run over several weeks and included many close games between evenly matched teams. The overall winning team was ‘Right Up The Dias’, who won the Final on penalties!

Following the Futsal tournament, there was a Basketball tournament run by Luke Noorbergen. This was also highly successful and featured a Grand Final between a staff team and a Year 12 team. The Year 12 team ‘Brick’d Up’ were too good on the day and won the competition comfortably.

Both tournaments created a buzz around the school and gave students plenty of excitement during a rainy Term 3. It was great to see so many of the Year 12’s supporting each other and taking part in different ways. It was also fantastic to see the senior student spent their last few weeks at Fort Street doing something so positive and memorable together.

Congratulations and well done to everyone who participated. Special thank you to Matt and Luke for running such successful tournaments!

Meet Ms Xu

What is your role at Fort Street?

I am a classroom teacher in the Social Science and English Faculty. I’ve taught English, Legal Studies, Commerce, Geography and Business Studies. I was the Year 12 Adviser for the graduating year 12 cohort of 2022. I am also the Teachers Federation Representative. I’ve also worked as a part of our learning support team.

What do you love about your role?

I love being in the classroom and interacting with Fortians. They are an intriguing and compassionate bunch who care personally about social justice and aesthetic experiences through literature. The other aspect I enjoy is our social and diverse staff, who bring a fun and bright outlook to their classrooms.

What other activities are you involved in at Fort St? Eg sport groups, Duke of Ed, drama club etc

Together with Ms Maddox I help out the Student Amnesty Committee and attend Environmental Committee events. I attend Inner City Teachers Association meetings as a Fed Rep and pass on union news to staff. This year we’ve had three strikes which our teachers (permanent, temporary and casual alike) took part in. This represents a big financial commitment for most of us, but we are hopeful that parents will understand why we are doing this. The shortage of teachers is impacting the Inner West more and more. Even a well-resourced school like The Fort (in my time here over the last 10 years or so) has felt its impacts. As a part of the Social Science faculty, I help run the ASX Share Market Game for students. This semester we had 128 students participate. This year we will also have 8 students from year 10 and 11 represent our school in mooting (courtroom simulation) for the UWS Michael Kirby Cup.

What was your favourite subject at school?

English.

What is something people may not know about you?

I made the happy transition from law to teaching a decade ago. During lockdown-online-teaching, when my class is playing quizlet, my two kids 11 and 9 dance behind the camera.

Do you have any pets?

I have two rescue dogs, two quails and four chickens.

Do you think pineapple belongs on a pizza?

Yes, with an abundance of anchovy.

Enviro group, composting and recycling

The last two terms have been huge for the Enviro group. With help from some staff members, some departing Fortians (class of 2022) and some parents at Fort Fair, the students of the Enviro group have planted almost 200 local native trees on the school grounds. This is an enormous achievement.  A group of Year 9 students has been watering the new trees a few times a week, and the saplings have responded with spring shoots and flowers. The ongoing process of mulching and weeding will keep us busy as the term progresses.

At Fort Fair we inaugurated our new food waste composting system. A team of 20 composters from all year groups follows a strict roster to ensure that the central student compost bin is emptied into our new Aerobin composter and washed daily, and that the staff compost caddies are emptied and cleaned once a week. The canteen and school kitchens also use the central compost bins to keep methane-producing waste out of our landfill. The next challenge is to teach more of the student body the importance of making the effort to use this compost bin. Methane, produced by food waste when thrown into landfill bins, creates 26 times more carbon emissions than the carbon dioxide produced by composting it. Keeping food waste out of landfill is a vital way of reducing the school’s carbon footprint and protecting our climate.

Students will also have noticed the two new bottle and can recycling stations in the school. The containers collected under the Return and Earn program will be collected by the St Vincent de Paul Society and the proceeds will go to maintaining the school grounds. Huge thanks are due to Ms McMurray and Mr Prothero for organising these. Again, we warmly encourage students to make use of these containers, protecting our waterways from plastic waste and keeping the raw materials used to make these objects out of landfill.

Congratulations once again to the Enviro group for their sterling work.

Elizabeth Maddox

Environment Group Co-ordinator, 2022

SRC Camp

On Thursday 13th and Friday 14th of October, the 2022-2023 SRC went to Mowbray Farm, Picton for an overnight camp. This was an exciting opportunity for everyone as it was the first proper SRC camp held since 2019, due to Covid. In 2020 the SRC held a day-long camp at the school of languages while last year, it was entirely over Zoom.

After a short bus trip, we arrived at the farm and settled into our cabins before taking a look around the large property. Firstly, we rode down in a trailer to see the animals and had the amazing experience of milking a cow, feeding sheep, pigs, and rabbits, and hanging around with the resident goat, Scooter. Then we switched with the other group and returned to the main area where we made delicious damper, served with copious quantities of Golden Syrup. We then headed to the field and learned to throw boomerangs, an activity met with varied success and followed by several minutes of digging around in bushland searching for a lost boomerang. Next, one of the most highly anticipated activities, we learned to crack a whip. Miraculously, we came out of it mostly unscathed and headed to dinner. That night we played a highly competitive game of trivia organised by the outgoing executive team, and had lots of fun.

The next day was mainly focused on planning. After an early breakfast, we headed upstairs and spent the morning organising upcoming events and arranging an overview of 2023 at the Fort. Different year groups came together in discussion groups, brainstorming how we can improve the way we represent the student body and hearing thoughts from across the year groups. After some great planning, we elected our new SRC President and Vice President, Kalanie and Savannah! We then headed home.

SRC camp was heaps of fun and I think we’re all excited to see the fantastic job our new exec team is sure to do in the coming year!

Emma Howes Y9

IMP News

Jazz Ensemble features in new podcast

The theme and most of the backing music in the new podcast, Hands Up, was composed and recorded by the Jazz Ensemble. The podcast, from the Public Education Foundation, is about the complexities, challenges and unique advantages of Australia’s public school system. You can hear the jazz ensemble and check out the first episode here.

New bell sounds

The SRC will be running a competition for the new bells sounds. IMP members are strongly encouraged to compose and produce short recordings for this competition. Mr Manchester is available to help with recordings if required. Please ask for help! The SRC will provide further details of the competition.

IMP Featured in Class Act Program on FineMusic FM

Three IMP ensemble were featured in the FineMusic radio series Class Act, which aired last Saturday 29 October.

The program is available online, and you can listen to a number of recordings from the past decade, expertly introduce by our eloquent Fortian musicians.

https://www.2mbsfinemusicsydney.com/classacts/

Keep an eye out for future Class Act programs, which will feature other Fort Street ensembles.

Back Akademie Australia Student Ticket Deal

The wonderful Back Akademie Australia have a student ticket deal for their next concert ‘Grazie in Grazia’ on Monday November 14, at 7:30pm, in City Recital Hall, Angel Place.

Student tickets are available for $30 here:

https://tickets.cityrecitalhall.com/6370/6371

Hear some of Australia’s finest early music experts performing music by Bach, Schutz, Monteverdi, and Gabrielli, including Moneteverdi’s great Mass of Thanksgiving, celebrated in C17th Venice at the end of a pandemic.

To hear more about this concert, listen to the upcoming episodes of Talking Bach, a podcast by Madeleine Easton, Back Akademie Australia Artistic Director.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/talking-bach/id1626077558

IMP Annual General Meeting

The IMP Annual General Meeting will be held next Monday 7 November, at 7:30pm on Zoom. IMP Members and families please check your inbox for details.

End of Year Concert

A reminder that the IMP Summer Concert will be held on Sunday 11 December, with a lunch market from 12pm, and concert beginning at 2:30pm in the Hall. All Fortians and their families are welcome to attend. Ticket details will be made available closer to the event, and all IMP Members and Families please keep an eye on your inbox for details about volunteering and donations leading up the concert.

P&C News

We need a new P&C Secretary – can you help? After three years in the role, our wonderful Secretary Peter Bestel is required to step down under our constitution. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at our monthly meetings, and ensuring that notices are sent and other administrative tasks are done in a timely fashion. The role suits an organised person, and the new secretary will have the benefit of the work that Peter has been doing to get our systems up to date. We are a very friendly P&C and always love to welcome new members. If you are interested, or have any questions, please contact Michael Easton, P&C President, on 0439 390 435, or email fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

P&C Annual General Meeting 9 November 2022 (On-Site Meeting)
All Parents and Carers

You are invited to attend the P&C Annual General Meeting 9 November 2022, On-Site Meeting:

7:00: P&C Annual General Meeting

7:45: P&C General Meeting

You are invited to attend the P&C Annual General Meeting in the school library. The Annual General Meeting is followed by the General Meeting for November. All community members are very welcome.

There will be no Zoom meeting for this event.

You are also invited to join the Fort Street High School P&C Facebook Group(https://www.facebook.com/groups/fortstreethighschoolpandc/).

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Fort Street High School P&C