Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,
As the end of term approaches Year 12 have returned to classes following their end of term one HSC assessments. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme gold walk will take place next weekend and into the last Monday and Tuesday of term.

I would like to thank Matt Manchester and all of the staff who attended the recent IMP camp for yet another successful IMP event. The afternoon tea and concert performances were both outstanding. I wanted to share a comment made by one of the guest conductors who has attended many school music camps. He wrote an email to express that this had been the most rewarding music camp experience that he had ever had. He wrote that the collegiality, commitment and diligence of the students was obvious and that the IMP at ‘The Fort’ is truly a beacon of excellence in the NSW Education department and the program an exemplary model of excellence that should be embraced by the DoE and every school in NSW.

I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the Fort St community and the ongoing willingness of our community to support numerous causes, fundraises and events throughout the year. I feel that this is a reflection of the selfless, caring and generous nature of this community to which we belong who genuinely think about others and about how they can contribute to bringing about change.
Three weeks ago students and staff participated in the World’s Greatest Shave during lunch in the school hall. So far funds raised by the community only just fall short of the $25 000 goal. This money will support families facing blood cancer to provide the emotional and practical support they need. It will also go towards funding vital research that will help more people survive blood cancers like lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma, while improving their quality of life.

At year meetings last week Year Advisers spoke of the devastating tragedy that had occurred in Christchurch New Zealand on Friday 15 March. A Year 9 Muslim student who was originally from New Zealand spoke to the Year 9, 10 and 11 year groups and a collection box was passed around to raise money to be sent to the victims’ families in Christchurch. I am proud to say that over $1 000 was donated on that day.

On behalf of the teaching staff I would like to thank the parents who baked and sent in food for the staff thank you lunch organised and coordinated by Leylee Gressel one of our Year 10 students mothers on Thursday 28 March. The staff certainly felt appreciated and enjoyed the enormous variety of food both savoury and sweet on offer.

Tell Them From Me Survey

I am delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

More information about the survey is available at: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school.

I want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 11 March and 12 April. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey is being sent home via email. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by Wednesday 3 April 2019. Copies of the form and FAQs are available from: http://surveys.cese.nsw.gov.au/information-for-parents.

Rebecca Cameron                                                                                                                                                                                            Deputy Principal – Years 7 & 9

Year 8 Medieval Day  

On Tuesday the 26th of March, we attended to a history incursion. In the morning we watched a medieval show. The presenter, James Adams, taught us about the variety of weapons and armour used in medieval times. This included chainmail, or ‘mail’ weighing 13kg – the denser the mail was, the more protection it guaranteed. Students were able to volunteer to wear the armour and there were also many weapons on display for us to see and touch.

Afterwards we learnt about medieval food and a dish that was eaten during medieval times, called paella. Paella used rice along with other seasoning and meats. We also made bread using flour, salt, yeast and water that we were able to eat later on in the day.

In the afternoon we played medieval board games or sports, such as chess, backgammon and fife.There was also a throwing game called boules.

Overall, this medieval history incursion was a very informative and enjoyable. It was fun to learn about the weapons and armour, and we also got to enjoy making and eating our own bread.

Grace Xu
Year 8 History 3

Instrumental Music Program

Annual IMP Camp

This year’s IMP camp was held last weekend at the Crusaders Conference Centre, Galston.  Students experienced three days of intensive musical training and performance amid a gorgeous bush setting, with amazing sunrises and sunsets.  This was the second camp at this new venue, but it was almost at capacity with 186 students making it the largest IMP camp ever. Numbers will be limited to 190 in future years so remember to get in quickly if you want to be part of this great experience next year.

Students could nominate two ensembles to rehearse and perform with, including Wind Bands, Orchestras, Choirs, and Chamber ensembles.​ This year there were twelve Ensemble B groups, ranging from a large vocal ensemble to Year 11 chamber groups. The Camp Item, in which all students participated, introduced historical performance practice and singing in German, via two movements from the monumental Christmas Oratorio by Bach.

As Camp Director, it is one of the great joys in life to hear music coming from every corner of the camp site, and to watch our wonderful and talented students completely engaged in music-making and learning.

Guest conductors and tutors loved being a part of such a collegiate and positive environment, and it was great to see older and more experienced IMP members mentoring and guiding younger students. Year 11 did a great job of mentoring younger students, and running evening concerts and games. This was their first foray into major IMP leadership roles, and they were smart, professional, and organised. Bravo!

The traditional concert to conclude the camp on Sunday afternoon was attended by hundreds of parents, friends, and relatives, who enjoyed afternoon tea and performances by many of the ensembles which provided entertainment before the final camp concert.

Grateful thanks to all the parents who donated time (and cakes) to the camp. Special thanks go to Kebinh Tran, the parent camp coordinator, and to Ms Mattick, Mr Chapman, and Ms Thompson, for giving up their weekend to help out on camp.

Instrument Hire Fees Due
A reminder that if you hire an instrument from the IMP, you will shortly receive an invoice and the charge will appear on your school account. Please make sure your hire fees are paid by the start of Term 2.

CHS Opens Boys Volleyball Knockout vs Cromer High School (Round 2)

Congratulations to our boys for a comprehensive straight sets victory (3-0) in their round 2 matchup against Cromer. The boys took a while to find their rhythm against an energetic Cromer team however they never looked back once they did. The boys will play Narrara Valley from Gosford in round 3 of the competition. These boys have shown tremendous drive, initiative and commitment by organising their own training sessions before and after school and even hiring the services of a coach, it was a joy to watch them in action.

A big thank you to Jocelyn Hu, Veronica Ly and Dara Nguyen who did a great job officiating the match.

Rowing

A group of 7 students ranging from Years 8 to11 were courageous enough to select Rowing as their summer sport for 2019. These students make their way to Leichhardt Rowing Club on the banks of Parramatta River in Lilyfield every Tuesday afternoon for an hour and a half of training under the guidance of experienced instructors and Mr Fischer (and more recently Mr Jayakody). As a part of their membership with Leichhardt Rowing Club students are welcome to attend the clubs own junior training sessions and competitions. Rowing is available to students all year round.

Fort Street High School Swimming Team

On the back of an enjoyable school swimming carnival at Leichhardt Aquatic Centre our elite swimmers represented the school with great energy and enthusiasm at the Northern Suburbs Zone Swimming Carnival at Macquarie University and were successful in retaining their crown as the champion school.

Last week select members of the Fort Street HS Swimming Team competed at the Sydney North Regional Carnival at SOPAC in Olympic Park. All swimmers did a great job and can be particularly proud of playing a role in Fort Streets overall placing of 6th out of all schools across the Sydney North region, well done to all swimmers.

The following students have progressed to the NSWCHS Championships to be held later this term;

Christopher Truong (12yrs) 100m Breaststroke

Alexander Howdin (13yrs) 100m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke

Alexander Thompson (15yrs) 100m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke, 100m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle, 200m IM, 400m IM, 400m Freestyle

U14s Relay Team – Jerry Zhou, Arun Leung, Kosta Giitsidis, Takumi Foster

6×50 Relay Team – Christopher Truong, Alexander Howdin, Jerry Zhou, Alexander Thompson, Jack Coleman, Artem Sydorenko​

Alexander Thompson was also crowned age champion for the U15s boys division, great work Alex.​

The complete set of results for the regional carnival can be found by accessing the link below.

https://app.education.nsw.gov.au/sport/Events/ViewResults?eventId=4393​

Ultimate Frisbee Workshops

Under the tutelage of the incredibly talented and humble Edmund Feng students meet on Monday and Friday afternoons on the school oval at 3:20pm to run through a series of drills and games. Edmund (Class of 2018) represented Australia in Ultimate Frisbee last year and has generously donated his time and skills in an effort to pass on his passion for the game to the next generation of Fortians.

These sessions are open to students of all ages, gender and ability for the rest of this term at the very least, students are advised to check the weekly sports notices for information pertaining to these workshops.

Inner West Council Young Creatives Awards

YoungCreativesAwards2019InnerWestCouncil

P&C

Student Smartphone Usage at Fort Street High School
In 2018, Fort Street High School P&C commissioned and funded a study into student utilisation of smartphones at Fort Street High School. For our focus item at our March 13th meeting, we welcomed Psychologist Jocelyn Brewer to present her findings and recommendations. Jocelyn gave a very informative presentation of current research around technology and teenagers and how students at Fort Street are faring. She found that despite adult perceptions, the students at Fort Street were generally very active and social at break times and when they were using technology, this was usually quite a social behaviour. In class, the use of smartphones did occur for learning experiences however since most children do have a laptop, smartphones were not seen to add value. While for some students they can be a distraction in the classroom, the perceptions of students and teachers were that finding something else to focus on would occur anyway for students less engaged in the classroom. The overall finding was that while they weren’t as detrimental as some might have thought, there was no convincing reason for them to be used within school time either.

SCHOOL TOUR FOR PARENTS, CARERS AND STUDENTS

As many of you will be aware, there are a number of school projects that the P&C hopes to contribute to funding in the short to medium term. We have allocated $150,000 for projects within the school this year, but we need to plan approaches to fundraising for the future.

The Focus Item at our next April 10th meeting is a School Tour (between 6:30 and 7:30) of areas and projects under consideration for funding. Students from the Student Representative Council (SRC) and any others interested will accompany the tour to help the P&C to understand the priorities of students within the school. At the May 8th P&C meeting, we will review past approaches to fundraising, gather new ideas and develop a plan for the future.
At the moment, the vast majority of funds raised by the P&C come from Uniform Shop sales. Historically there have been different avenues through which funds can be raised, the classic community building events such as sausage sizzles, drama night dinners and of course Fort Fest. We are also investigating grant applications for some projects at the moment and this type of fund raising is considered on a case by case basis as and when grant applications open and close.

However we know that funds can be raised from a number of sources and are forming a P&C Fundraising Sub-Committee to both develop these sources and also to help maintain the traditional community building approaches.

If you are interested in being any way involved with P&C Fundraising, please email fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au and we will put all interested volunteers in contact with each other.

SECOND HAND UNIFORM STALL
The P&C’s second hand uniform stall runs once per term before school from 7.45-8.45 am in front of the school office. This year’s dates for your diary are:
Term 1: Wednesday 13 February
Term 2: Wednesday 8 May
Term 3: 7 August
Term 4: 23 October

Parents and students are welcome to come and grab a bargain. Price guide: shirts, skirts, shorts, IMP (music program) and sports uniform items all $5 each, jumpers $20, trousers $10, winter jackets $40. Cash only, please bring your small change, condition of clothes as found, no change rooms, no refunds. The second hand uniform stall relies on uniform donations from the school community. You can do your bit to recycle our uniforms and save landfill. If you have clean washed uniforms to donate, please take them to the school library and they will be placed in the donations bin. All proceeds to your P&C. If you are a parent who would like to volunteer on the stall please contact Sally at mceastonland@gmail.com. Thank you to everyone who has donated and to our volunteers, our front office and library staff for supporting the stall.”

Fortians Union Dinner Invitation
The Fortians Union have kindly invited all parents, carers and citizens on the P&C mailing list to their Annual Dinner in October 2019, which this year also celebrates 170 years of Fort Street High School. Please see the invitation and the accompanying booking form.

P&C General Meeting Dates for 2019

Term 1:

10th April 2019

Term 2:
8th May 2019
12th June 2019

Term 3:
14th August 2019
11th September 2019

Term 4:
13th November 2019 (AGM)
11th December 2019

As with all our activities we welcome your feedback and contributions so please feel free to contact us at any time.