Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

Term 1, 2019 has been another successful term. The last day of school was particularly eventful and busy including a Year 7 drama incursion, year meetings, and an all day visit from a team of producers from the Department of Education’s Communications Team who were onsite at Fort Street filming a small section of the 2019 NSW Education Week promotional video starring Jean Hinchliffe – Year 10. The focus of this short video is student voice. When this video is made available I will ensure that there is a link to this on the school website. On the last day of term the Fort also had a visit from the Inner West Courier who are putting together an article for their next edition on successful NAPLAN results, if you live in the area, keep an eye out for the article.

Week 11 kicked off with the Year 10 PDHPE dance assessment periods 1-4 in the school hall. It was such a delight to watch so many students dressed for the occasion and obviously having a lot fun participating in the various dances. Clearly many students had put a lot of time and energy into this assessment task. The school cross country at Petersham Park on Wednesday was another great success with most students participating – some more seriously than others.

Unfortunately, on a more negative note, it has been disappointing to see such a deterioration in the compliance with school uniform over the past few weeks. The weather has shifted as we move into mid-Autumn, however, there are suitable warm uniform options for students available in the uniform shop. The next second hand clothing sale will take place in Term 2 on Wednesday 8th May, before school between 7.45am and 8.45am outside the administration block. All students are expected to be in full school uniform at all times and I would ask parents to please assist the school in supporting the school uniform policy.

Over the holiday period the school annual carpet cleaning and pest control will take place along with a number of other maintenance jobs. I would like to wish everyone a great break over the Easter holiday and look forward to catching up with the Fort Street community in Term 2.

Year 10 Geography Clifton Gardens Excursion

On Friday the 29th of March, Year 10 Geography Students headed off to the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences at Clifton Gardens to study microplastics. We met at the school at 8 early in the morning and took a long bus ride to Clifton Gardens Beach. There we were met by guides that first led us to the Lecture Theatre where we all sat in rows of seats, ready to watch a presentation upon the general topic of ocean environments and microplastics.

We were educated upon the harmful causes of environmental change within our marine environment due to microplastics and other pollutants, and what we as humans can do to manage and prevent any more of this sort of harm from being caused. Alongside that, we also learned about some rather interesting things such as how whales can have a positive impact on our climate as they release fecal plumes (which is extremely rich in iron and nitrogen) into the photic zone of the ocean to feed phytoplanktons, which are microscopic organisms that live underwater and have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Afterwards we headed towards the Marine Discovery Centre. It contained two historic rooms: the Coastal Room and the Sydney Harbour Room. These rooms had a series of beautiful displays that showcased what SIMS is all about – research of the marine, coastal and estuarine environment. We learned about current flows, contour intervals, marine creature eggs, and stormwater. This was informed through really educational interactive models, videos, VR headsets, maps, and much more.

We then enjoyed recess at the Clifton Gardens Beach for 20 minutes before heading off to do a Stormwater Study. We got into groups of five to do a practical activity that involved us testing how safe and good the stormwater in the area was by finding out its acidity level, alkalinity level, turbidity, and how much phosphate and dissolved oxygen it had. Overall, each group had generally safe, good water.

As the day went by, we also were educated upon stormwater managements used in real life to help manage plastics and prevent it from getting into our oceans, and how effective each management strategy is. Each group was given a strategy that they had to physically create with materials provided. We went through each group’s strategy with full attention as some created impressive, intricate models, while others did wonderful interpretive dancing to display their management strategy.

Once we were done with that, we enjoyed lunch and finished the day participating in a citizen science project conducted by Scott Wilson (a senior lecturer in environmental science at Macquarie University), that involved us finding a lot of macroplastics and microplastics. We first laid out a quadrant that was approximately 50cm by 50cm somewhere on the sand a bit away from the shore and scraped 5cm to 10cm of sand from the edges of the quadrant to the centre. We then proceeded to sift the collected sand into two sieves, one designed with smaller wire mesh for microplastics to put at the bottom and the other a bit larger for macroplastics to put on the top. We then used water from the ocean to get rid of as much sand as we could so we only had plastic left. We then continued to use tweezers to pick out all the plastics and place them into a small tube. The amount of plastic found was extremely shocking and saddening.

The day was coming to an end as we all exhaustedly packed our sand-filled belongings, ready to head back to school. It was definitely an unforgettable educational day that was an extremely eye-opening experience for our entire grade.

Anna Nguyen
Year 10

Snorkelling with Elective Geography

Students in Yr 10 Elective Geography have been studying Oceanography. In this course they have been learning about marine ecosystems, the thermohaline circulation, ocean sovereignty as well as the basics of diving.

The students were able to apply that knowledge of diving by snorkelling at the Bronte-Clovelly Aquatic Reserve. Chris, an instructor from ABYSS Diving, took our student divers through the rules of safe diving, but more importantly, he focused on the physics and physiology behind those rules.

Students were taught:
●      An understanding of buoyancy concepts
●      Knowledge of the dangers of separation from the group, hyperventilation, hypothermia, pressure/depth relationship of ears, sinuses, mask and lungs, and how to equalise pressure in ears and mask air space
●      Clearing a flooded snorkel and mask
●      Surface diving techniques, including equalising ears when descending
●      Entry and exit methods
●      Rescue techniques
●      Correct finning technique
●      Hand signals (OK and not OK)
●      Appropriate safety practices such as the buddy system

It was a blue sky day. The air temperature was 27 degrees and water temperature 24 degrees. While cooking their BBQ lunch, the students discussed the many marine animals they had encountered such as stingrays, drummer, luderick, goatfish and the blue groper (Achoerodus viridis) which has an iconic status within the eastern suburbs community.
Chris left reminding the students they were future ambassadors for the ocean and to “take three for the sea” in reference to taking out any plastics they see.

Year 10 PDHPE Ballroom Dancing

Monday 8thApril. It was show time. Do or die. After a whole terms’ worth of hard work, it was finally time for year 10 to showcase their new ballroom dancing skills. We glided, spun, dipped and flipped our way across the makeshift dancefloor of the school hall. On the day of the performance, everybody dressed up in their chosen dance style, and the result was certainly eye-catching. There were 50’s style dresses, suspenders, polka dots, bowties, and even some moonboots. The day ended with a dance off, where the best couples got to showcase their exceptional jive moves to the rest of the students and teachers – and we were not disappointed. People dove under their partner’s legs, lifted and threw each-other sky-high, and even pulled off side aerials!
Even though it was a compulsory assessment task, we had so much fun learning how to cha-cha, waltz and jive over the course of this term. Although it may have been a little daunting at the beginning, each couple broke through that wall of awkwardness – and fear of cooties – to create an amazing, elegant and graceful routine, each with their own unique flare.

By Alyssa Koit and Stella Sharwood

Year 8 – French Film Festival

Recently the Year 8 French classes attended the annual French Film Festival.  They saw the animation, “Dilili à Paris” about a girl from our neighbouring French-speaking New Caledonia who goes about solving some crimes during the artistic heyday of the Belle Époque in Paris.

Afterwards students enjoyed petit fours on school grounds which were sourced from a local Vietnamese master pastry chef.

During lessons we discussed the famous French painters, composers, writers and inventors among others who made cameos in the movie.  Merci to Madame Maddox for organising the outing.

WAFTUS

WAFTUS – Science Challenge

On Thursday, April 4 the first workshop for Science mentoring program WAFTUS (Wilkins Public, Ashfield Public, Fort Street High, Tempe High, and Summer Hill Public along with UTS) took place at Fort Street High School in the school library during periods 1 and 2.

Selected Year 10 students from both Fort Street High and Tempe High attended this mentoring information and training session. Associate Professor Mary Coupland (School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences) from UTS and Dr Nural Cokcetin, (pronounced Chock-chetin), a microbiologist doing research with medical uses of honey (also from UTS) were the guest speakers for this session along with the primary school teachers from Ashfield Public, Summer Hill Public and Wilkins Public.
Dr Cokcetin’s presentation on the uses of honey for medical uses was very interesting and informative.  Students from both high schools were captivated by the work of Dr Cokcetin and the benefits that her work has brought to the field of medicine where, everyday medication sometimes fails to treat vulnerable patients.
The second workshop and training session will be on Thursday, April 11 at Tempe High School. During this session, high school students will revise the aspects of Science Investigation and address their communication skills with children who are much younger than they are.

The mentoring program starts in Term 2, spanning 10 weeks, and focuses on developing a Science research project where Year 10 students from both high schools will mentor the primary school students from grades 3 – 6 at Wilkins Public, Ashfield Public and Summer Hill Public in designing and carrying out a scientific investigation.

Ms Jamble

Senior Drama Production – 5 June – SAVE THE DATE

The Senior Drama Company will present Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses on Wednesday 5 June. This play explores myths and how we use these to make sense and meaning in the world. This beautiful play is being refined by student director Lennie Neagle-Millar and is shaping up to be a wonderful production.

The Senior Drama Production is one of the schools important community building events and I would like to invite all families and friends of the school to come along and enjoy an entertaining night of theatre.

Water Polo

Fort Street High School will hold weekly water polo training sessions at Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre from 7:00am to 8:00am. Boys will train on Tuesdays supervised by Mr Semaan, and girls on Thursdays supervised by Ms Wilkins. Training sessions will commence in Term 2 Week 1 and continue throughout the year.

Students must pay an entry fee for the venue each week, as well as a $100 levy to cover the cost of pool hire. The levy will be invoiced each term. Transportation to and from the venue will not be organised or supervised by the school.

These weekly training sessions benefit Fortians by improving cardiovascular health and overall physical strength. The psychosocial benefits of a team sport are also valuable. Playing water polo is a fantastic way for Fortians to develop social skills including teamwork, communication and strategic thinking. Water polo is a great way for Fortians to achieve aspects of the Fort Street exit profile, including:
developed individual skills and talents across a variety of areas – developed emotional resilience, self-reliance, interpersonal skills, the capacity to connect to others and leadership potential.

Please complete a permission note and return it to Mr Semaan in the Rowe Staff-room.

TEDx presenter Jean Hinchcliffe

Last week Jean Hinchliffe in Year 10 spoke at TEDx Youth talk. As a lead organiser within School Strike 4 Climate, Jean campaigns for legislative action against the sourcing and usage of fossil fuels, along with pushing for Australia to become fully carbon neutral.

For those interested, especially those who love TEDx talks, here is a link to the whole presentation – Jean starts at 24:10:

https://tedxsydney.com/youthlive2019/?utm_source=TEDxSydney+Master+List&utm_campaign=91fd131073-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_53e7eafe3d-91fd131073-81998007

Student responds to Christchurch attack

Barisha Tashnin, a Year 9 student, made this beautiful speech on Harmony Day after the Christchurch attack:

Assalamualaikum everyone, my name is Barisha and I wanted to take a couple minutes to speak to you guys about something quite close to me. I’m sure a lot of you all already know what happened last friday on the 15th of March but for those who don’t, there was a terrorist attack that occurred in 2 mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. This attack took the lives of 50 innocent people and left another 50 injured. This hit home for me because it was an attack on every part of my identity. I am a Muslim New Zealander. These attacks significantly affected the Muslim community not only in New Zealand but all around the world. This was a horrifying experience for me and other kiwis because I never would have thought that something like this would ever occur in my peaceful home.

This was a hate crime that was carried out by extremists due to Islamophobia. Their intentions were to kill innocents and spread this Islamophobia but it did the complete opposite. Churches, communities and everyone has come together to stand with us Muslims and show us support in this time of tragedy. It’s brought everyone closer together drawing countless New Zealanders and Australians out of their homes to place beautiful flowers and messages outside of their local mosques. It has shown a gratifying amount of love and support and it’s honestly been so overwhelming.

I believe and hope that this attack has opened the eyes of non muslims out there to my religion. Just like other religions, Islam is a beautiful religion of peace and mercy contrary to what the media portrays it to be. I would just like everyone to know that we muslims do not count the small group of extremists out there that claim themselves to be a part of Islam. They are not muslim, they go against every rule we have regarding violence.

My parents have always told me that violence was never okay, I was taught to greet everyone with ‘assalamualaikum’ which means peace be upon you and to smile at everyone because that was a form of charity in Islam. I was taught by my religion to accept everyone regardless of religion, race and sexuality. I was raised with the same values as you and so has every other muslim kid out there. We are not any different.

Extremism has no place in our society and we need to work harder to cultivate a peaceful world. It only takes a few silly comments or sharing memes about someone’s faith to start cultivating that hate. So, I urge you to educate yourself and reach out to your muslim classmate, friend or neighbour to learn more about us. You’d soon realise that we have more in common than you’d think. Like you, we also love eating pizza, going to the beach and having a fun netflix night with friends. The biggest thing you and I have in common is that we all just want to live in a peaceful and harmonious society.

This terror attack has broken my heart and the hearts of many others but it almost feels like these broken pieces are being put back together with all this love and support. And I am so thankful for that.
As cheesy as this may sound, it’s after times like these when we should all try to love and support one another regardless of our differences and come together as one community.

I’ve given your year advisor a box to collect money to donate to the victims and their families so if you could contribute even just a couple of cents, that would be amazing. I will also be collecting money tomorrow during period 1 so that’s another opportunity to donate if you’d like to do so. Thank you.

SRC Report

The SRC has been off to a great start this year and we are already working hard to advocate for positive change and encourage wellbeing and school spirit in Fort Street. Our current SRC members were inducted last November and we will soon be joined by new Year 7 SRC members who will be elected towards the end of Term 1.

Earlier this term, the SRC held the Year 7 Sports Day, which is where SRC Leaders collaborate with Peer Support Leaders to run a day for Year 7s where they can meet new people and have fun. We ran sports such as soccer and basketball, and played games like Bang and Mafia. The day was a great success and all the students enjoyed themselves and got to know more of their year group, as well as some friendly Year 10s and 11s.

For the first five weeks of term, the SRC was working hard on our annual Rose Drive, selling roses for students and teachers to buy and send to friends. We sold a grand total of 1,200 roses, which were all distributed on the 1st of March by SRC members who were dressed accordingly to the Valentine’s theme. Accompanying the roses were affectionate letters to the recipients. This year’s Rose Drive was a great success and it certainly brightened up the school day and boosted school spirit.

Recently, the SRC has also been working with the P&C Committee who are generously funding some new developments in the school. To decide what these developments will be, the SRC has conducted a survey for the school to provide their input. We have received almost 700 responses and will be using these opinions to benefit our school shortly. Ideas include, improving the tennis courts, turning a classroom into a lecture room and installing more water stations around the school.

Additionally, SRC has been collaborating with the school’s canteen to explore the possibility of having student representatives volunteer there. This would be valuable to the SRC as it would help us to gain insight into what changes can be made. It would also be beneficial to the canteen staff to have volunteers to assist them regularly. It would then ultimately benefit the whole school as the SRC’s involvement and perspective will allow for improvements in the canteen to be made.

The executive SRC members have recently been busy preparing for the year by attending multiple Prefect Afternoon Teas, where they have collaborated with other leaders from schools such as Sydney Boys, North Sydney Girls and Homebush Boys. Events such as these provide members with insight into leadership at similar schools and from this many ideas can be brought and implemented into Fort Street’s SRC. The connections between students that are made on these summits are also valuable as the students can continue to collaborate throughout the year.

As Easter is approaching, the SRC’s annual Easter Egg Hunt is also coming up. Once a year, Easter eggs are up for grabs for the students (and teachers!) to win. Tokens are scattered all around the school which you can then cash in for chocolate at recess and lunch. This year, we are also hoping to expand the Easter events by making more games for the school to participate in. Details about the events will be given closer to the time, but be ready to hunt for tokens!

The SRC is always interested in input from the student body they represent. All students are welcome to attend the SRC Monday meetings or they can speak to the representatives from their year at any time. Additionally, every month the SRC holds Feedback Friday at year meetings which is an opportunity for students to give input to the SRC.

P&C

April General Meeting – School Tour

The April general meeting of the P&C was held last Wednesday and was preceded by a tour of the school led by our SRC representatives Audrey and Jade. We were able to see all the areas of improvement that have occurred over the last 12 months as well as a “wishlist” of improvements that the P&C might be able to provide funding for. The SRC consulted the student body and the most popular idea was to transform the tennis courts into futsal courts. Audrey and Jade said that these are being continually used for soccer by students, from 7:30 in the morning until some time after school however the surface is poor and renovation is required. Another idea was to fund a volleyball court on a part of the oval. These ideas will be discussed further at our next meeting in May and once the school has provided the P&C with quotes for these works. We invite parents to come along to the May meeting (Wednesday 8/5 at 7:30) if they would like to contribute to this discussion and decision making.

Welcome to Year 7
A welcome to Year 7 families event was held at Petersham Bowling Club on April 5th. Forty Year 7 Parents attended and a very enjoyable evening was had by all. Thank you very much to Alison Austin, Year 8 parent for organising this event.

Fortians Union Guest & Annual Dinner Invitation 
We were very pleased to welcome the President of the Fortians Union – Denice Smith as a guest at the April meeting. Denice told us a little about the Fortians Union. A reminder too that 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 here – Dinner Booking Form 2019.

Focus Items 2019

Suggested focus items for the remainder of 2019 are as follows:
May –  Gifted Education
June – Head Teacher CAPA (Creative & Performing Arts) C. Mattick
August – Head Teacher Maths (S. Lam) Newly Appointed.
September – Student Wellbeing (including technology management)
December – Head Teacher English (N. Melser)

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 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.

P&C General Meeting Dates for 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.

The 72nd Reunion of Fort Street Girls’ High School leaving year of 1947

It was a great privilege to meet 1947ers. They are the loveliest women, all in their late 80s who were so full of life and had an extraordinary zest for living. I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to hear about their lives beyond school years and share their school experiences.

The stories and memories that they told about their time at the school during the war years will add immeasurably to the rich history of the school.  From the air raid drill practice in the tunnels under the roadway next to the school on Observatory Hill and being introduced to chewing gum and nylon stockings by the American soldiers was an unusual experience for impressionable young girls in those days.

It was interesting to note that most of them were in awe of and often terrified of Fanny Cohen, their Head mistress,  especially those whose maths marks weren’t up to scratch. The girls of today in their Lycra sports clothes would be aghast to hear about the loathed sports uniform that made everyone look like Sir Francis Drake in pantaloons with its white blouse, sailor collar and navy blue bow at the front. I was glad to hear that the War rationing spared everyone from having to wear gloves and the summer Panama hat.

It was impressive that the Fort Street staff at the time were encouraging girls to go on to 5th form and sit for the Leaving Certificate. They wanted the girls to see that tertiary education was possible for girls not just for the boys.

Past students still recall their time at Fort Street Girls’ High with fondness and many still keep in contact with their school friends. These ties were the result of each of the students “making their own fortune”, not always a monetary one but a wealth of friendships instead. I hope the present-day students will recognize the opportunity for such wealth today as those in past years have done.

Chris Egan – Assistant Archivist