Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

IMP End of Year Concert
I was incredibly disappointed to miss this event as it was one that I have really been looking forward to since last years concert. I have been told that this was probably the best IMP end of year concert that Fort Street has had – the team certainly excelled themselves. Not only was the food outstanding but the vibe electric both before and during the concert. The performances were in all cases outstanding and in some cases genuinely breath taking. Once again, can I thank all the parents who participated in the festive lunch including set up and pack up and also to our amazing IMP and CAPA staff who work all year to provide such amazing opportunities for our students. Fort Street is so lucky to have such a wonderful and dedicated team and such an involved parent body.

P&C
I would like to thank our dedicated parents on the schools P&C committee for their tireless work and commitment throughout the year, the school is incredibly appreciative of their support. The P&C has continued to run the school uniform shop and has held second hand stalls each term, and has also support the Instrumental Music Program, this will continue in 2020.
The P&C has contributed over $200 000 to the school this year to pay for or contribute to various projects. These have included:
·      The School Library refurbishment
·      The conversion of the Tennis Courts to Futsal Courts
·      Science Fair Prizes
·      MAD Night Prizes
·      Astronomy Club – new lenses and equipment
·      DSLR Cameras with lens kits as well as tripods and flash units for studio lighting for Photography and Digital Media
·      Lego Mindstorm Robotics (7 sets) for Computing Studies
·      A Dragster Race System for the Technology Department

I would also like to acknowledge and congratulate the newly elected P&C members for 2020
·      President: Ethel Talty
·      Vice Presidents: Michael Easton, Michael Mera
·      Secretary: vacant
·      Treasurer: Tim Lyford
·      Committee Members: Suzanne Trimmer, Alison Austin, Robyn Elmslie
·      IMP representative: Suzanne Trimmer
·      Fundraising Committee: Alison Austin, Elizabeth Kenyon
·      Finance Committee Rep: Simon Elwig
·      Foundation/School Council Rep: Natasha Pollock
·      Sport Representative: Michael Easton
·      Uniform Committee: Tracey Chen

New Library
The new library refurbishment is almost complete with furniture being delivered over the Christmas break. We are anticipating that students and teachers will be able to commence using this fabulous new space by week 2 of Term 1, 2020. Details of the library launch will be emailed to parents in the New Year.

End of Year
During these last formal learning weeks of the school year, many student performances and displays of learning products have been showcased around the school. Last Wednesday and Thursday nights were MAD, at which students and members of all music, art and drama classes performed or displayed work to parents, friends and teachers. As always, the performances were outstanding and the diversity of talent, choice of performance pieces and instruments played (including voice) demonstrated the talents, skills and commitment of students and their teachers. Congratulations to all those involved in these evenings.
Various recognition assemblies have also been taking place and the final one will be this Friday for Years 8 and 9.

HSC Nominations
I would like to congratulate the Creative and Performing Arts HSC teachers for their outstanding success this year with student nominations in all three HSC Showcases this year.
Art Express Nominations – Ashley Challinor – Photography ‘The Familia Effect’ and Hazel Duwenbeck – Lino Print ‘Over the Fence’
Encore Nominations – Luca Tropea, Patrick Vastani, Patrick Wu and Michelle Yang
On Stage Nominations – Julien Parry – script

Debating Success
Our Year 8 debating team became State Champions on Friday successfully beating James Ruse. Congratulations to Matilda Gibian, Rose Kenyon, Archie Handler and Leonard Kelly.
Also this week the team that Danielle Villafana (Yr 10) was a member of at State Debating Camp won the State title.

Year 9 Connected Curricula
The Year 9 Connected Curricula project this year has so far been an enormous success. The project was launched on Monday 25th November with a panel of experts convened by Craig Reucassel (writer and comedian – host of ‘War on Waste’) and Robyn Williams (host of the ABC’s Science Show), Dr Byron Smith (Ecological ethicist), Dr Angela Maharj (lecturer at the Climate Change Research Centre), Beyhad Jafari (CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council), Jonica Newby (ABC’s Catalyst) and Jean Hinchliffe (Fortian Year 10). I am looking forward to Wednesday 11th December when each group will present their project.

New Students 2020 welcomed
This week we have welcomed the new students commencing in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 next year along with 150 Year 6 students from 71 different primary schools who will join us in 2020. It seemed as if all the Year 6 students and their Peer Support Leaders had an enjoyable morning and we are looking forward to getting to know all of these new Fortians next year.

Staff Farewells
As we come to the end of another year we must unfortunately say goodbye to a number of staff. Sadly we will be losing two members of the Mathematics Department – Sharon Lam, Head Teacher who commenced at the beginning of this year and is transferring as Head Teacher of Mathematics to Caringbah High School to be closer to home and Sally Baker who is retiring after a long and successful career in teaching Mathematics. We are hopeful that Sally will return to us regularly as a casual relief teacher to continue to share her expertise and experience with our students. We also farewell Penny Schlam (English/Drama) who is transferring to Sydney Boys High School. Penny is a long term member of the Fort for the past who has made significant contributions not only to the English faculty but also to Drama, Senior Drama productions and MAD nights.
Two of our much loved temporary Casual teachers will also be leaving us – Giorgio Speranza (PDHPE) and Genevieve Flynn (Vis Art).
We will also have a number of staff on leave in 2020: Head Teacher Science – Brian Webb will be on long service leave for the duration of Term One. Clare Cotton (PDHPE) has been seconded to the Department in a consultancy role and will be out of the school for most of the year and Fiona Schubert (English) will be on leave for the year with her family travelling around Australia.

School TV

SPECIAL REPORT: Surviving Christmas

Many people see Christmas as a wonderful time of celebration and an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. However, there are some that view it as a time of stress and hardship. This may be due to a combination of things: financial pressures, relationship issues and, quite often, loneliness, making it a very challenging time.

Often the true meaning of Christmas can be lost due to commercial exploitation, but there are a number of things you can do to create a magical Christmas, without the financial burden. Creating or maintaining traditions can contribute to a sense of comfort and belonging.

Unfortunately for some, there is also an ugly side to Christmas. Support organisations often report an increase in the number of calls from people seeking help due to their inability to cope during this time. If you, or a loved one, is finding that it is all too much, then it is important to reach out to a trusted friend, family member or medical professional.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be presented with a number of ideas on how to achieve a stress-free Christmas and where to seek help should they need it. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we 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 your special report:

https://fortstreet.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/surviving-christmas-au

Rebecca Cameron (Deputy Principal – Years 7 & 9)

Year 10 French Excursion

Year 10 French enjoyed a type of cuisine very popular in France.  They chose both savoury galettes and sweet crêpes.  Some of the toppings and fillings were made of butter, cheese, salt, nuts, jams etc sourced from the French countryside.  Students had studied gastronomy of the francophone world.  The crêpes were like crêpe paper, folded nicely.

Mark Backhouse (Head Teacher Languages)

Duke of Edinburgh Award Year 9 hike

On Wednesday the 27th of November, Year 9 finally finished their Duke of Edinburgh expedition hike. While the 3 days at Somerset were, to say the least, a bit of a mess, because of the weather which was so bad that our final day had to be called off. But thankfully the sun was shining this time and we all had a relaxing hike. Our year split into 2 groups, one hiking from Waterfall to Heathcote, and the second group hiking in the other direction. Within these groups, we had groups depending on how fast we walked: slow, medium or fast, with a teacher supervising each group. I was in the group walking from Heathcote to Waterfall, and I’d have to say the beginning of the hike was really fun. The terrain wasn’t difficult at all and the weather was perfect. My only regret would be wearing shorts and a T-shirt as I got hit by many bushes and shrubs which ended up in a surprisingly high amount of scratches. Of course, I was just lucky that I didn’t get bitten by any bugs, which unfortunately happened to my friend, although the pain quickly went away and didn’t stop her from completing the rest of the hike.

After our recess stop which we had at a small pool, we continued along a flat trail, with our spirits still high, excited that we were halfway through. Along our way there we saw the second half of our year coming back the opposite way and were happy to finally reunite and tell them about the journey ahead. But this was when things got interesting. As I was busy saying goodbye to the groups going the opposite way, I did not realise that mine had left. Meaning that I was stuck in the middle while my group was at the front, but in the end, I couldn’t have been more grateful for this mistake. When we reached a crossroad, the fast group made the decision to turn left, while mine stopped for a bit to check our map. We realised that we were supposed to reach a campsite, and luckily someone spotted a dodgy looking arrow pointing up some rocks. While I did not think this was the right way (the arrow seemed suspicious), I followed along anyway. It was only when I saw a sign that read ‘Waterfall Station – 2km’ that I finally let myself relax. It was finally over, although I couldn’t tell if I was happy or sad because of how much fun I had. But the walk out of the bush on the roads was probably the worst part even though it was not the longest, I felt as if I was being teased, knowing that the end was so close, yet so far. But when we finally reached the station, we realised that the fast group had not. After calling some of my friends with no replies (shockingly), Ms Xu let us leave anyway. It was only after I was with my friends in Maccas, that I heard the news about how the others finished close to an hour after us. I guess this is somewhat of a cautionary tale to always check your map before continuing on your hike, but overall the other groups still seemed to have fun.

I really enjoyed Duke of Ed and I feel like I made closer friendships and challenged myself to do new things. Normally a hike is not something I would find interesting, but I was astonished by how much fun I had.

Veronica Kwong, Duke of Ed leader

Year 9 Connected Curricula

Our very creative Year 9s presented their ideas in groups for their Connected Curricula project on Friday, as they address the program’s theme of “The wonder and awe of planet earth”. The ideas are still in the developmental stage but plenty of thought and energy are going in to the projects:

•  energy used – solar panels, rainwater guttering, venting to maximise cool air floor, light coloured roofing, solar panels slightly suspended off the roof
• energy and creativity used to create a brighter future
• using a game to teach people leadership skills
• population & climate issues – possibly using mars
• water filter implemented into Chinese factories
• documentary on how poor people are affected the most but contribute the least
• droughts and floods are combated by an organisation that looks at the human rights aspect of it
• Aussie agriculture, improving sustainability – bio chart
• agriculture – Lego animation video
• plastic recycling – creating new stickers a new system in which people can recycle
• sustainability living impacts, Minecraft interactive video
• ocean pollution – researching hemp plastic, fishing nets out of the material
• sustainable aboriginal farming techniques – sustainability – implementation
• endangered native Aussie bees – keeping biodiversity, establishing bee hotel
• education about bushfires, a board game – how people’s decisions affect the climate
• clothes in landfills – video about awareness about clothing that reaches landfills
• micro plastics – how they affect oceans aquatic life negatively, music video and rap – education
• chemical pollution in the oceans, creating an animation on how chemicals affect the environment
• solar and wind powered train, reducing electrical waste and sound
• carbon emissions by transport – sound tech to create levitating, info commercial
• alternatives to car engines, making a model solar car, creating a video
• emissions from automobiles, hydrogen powered cars, info commercial or video
• plastic in the ocean eaten by animals, plastic replacement materials, to dissolve in water make a prototype
• environment to maintain sustainability, burning fossils, 3d model to create prototype of filtering water
• lack of civil water infrastructure in Africa and south east Asia, water filtering – investigating all the different techs
• animal population, creating IVF machine, making a video on it
• urban growth, 3d model of futuristic city for all cities world wide
• repurposing plastic in the ocean to make long lasting oats and island, game and whiteboard animation
• sewerage management, environmentally sustainable sewerage system to implement into slum, model and video
• recycling plastics and micro plastics, recycled plastics to create bricks for housing, presenting it ted talk style
• electrical waste, de centralisation of power, solutions to this
• increasing number of species extinct – clinging dead species, negatives and positives, explored in video
• cities create so much pollution so looking into little solutions that cities can go under
• sustainable tiny house solution to people displaced by bushfires

Instrumental Music Program

P&C

New Committee
The P&C elected a new committee at our AGM on Nov 13th and we are looking forward to continuing to support the school’s dynamic principal Juliette McMurray and her wonderful team as it educates and nurtures our children.

Thank You
A big thank you to the departing year 12 parents who have greatly helped the P&C during their involvement with Fort Street High School; Amanda Elliott-Brennan, Dime Spasovski, Jenny Curtis and Melanie Bruniges. Also a sincere thank you to all the other parents that I haven’t been fortunate enough to meet, but I know have done so much with events and fundraising over the years.

Fort Fest
The P&C is working very hard to organise Fort Fest 2020, you will hear more on this in the new year but if you are interested in getting involved early, please email 2020fortfest@gmail.com for more information.
Fort Fest is an awesome community event and a great way to meet other parents and really just get involved in your school community in as big or as small a way as your time can afford.

Last Meeting
The last P&C general meeting of 2019 will be held on Dec 11th at Petersham Bowling Club and there will be an informal end of year celebration. The meeting will start at 7:30pm, but please feel free to arrive earlier if you would like to order a drink and/or home made pizza for dinner. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Ethel Talty
President
Fort Street High School P&C