Principal’s Report

Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2, I hope that all students and staff had the opportunity to have a real break over the Easter Holidays and to share time with family and friends. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all our teaching and non-teaching staff in providing the best possible experiences for Fortians throughout Term 1 of 2021.

Congratulations

I would like to extend my congratulations to Jean Hinchcliffe who has been invited to give the keynote address at the annual Proudly Public awards to be held at Sydney Town Hall on Monday 31 May.

The event recognises the achievements of scholarship recipients and celebrates the many wonderful things that happen in public schools across Australia. Over 1, 000 students and public educators, Members of Parliament, the NSW Minister and Secretary of Education and public education supporters attend the event. Past keynote speakers have included High Court Justice Michael Kirby, Paralympic Champion Kurt Fearnley, Professor Larissa Benrendt, Socceroos captain Craig Foster and Nobel Prize winning physicist Brian Schmidt.

This will be the first time that the Public Education Foundation has had a student keynote speaker.

ANZAC Assembly

On Friday 23rd April the school held a commemorative ANZAC Day assembly. This is the first time since Term 1, 2020 that we have held a whole school assembly so it was particularly special to hear Gaudeamus and the school song once again fill the hall. I would like to thank in particular Hugo Ceran-Jerusalemy (Year 10) for his thought provoking reflections on ANZAC Day, Jonathan Kelley (Year 12) for performing The Last Post on the bugle and for the IMP’s spectacular and spine tingling performance of Perthshire Majesty by Samuel Hazo.

I should also mention that congratulations is also in order for Maya Taib(Year 11) who was unable to be present at this school assembly as she was representing Public Education at the Department of Education’s official ANZAC Day ceremony.  Maya was playing the bugle performing The Last Post.

School Musical – Matilda

Fort Street has only ever produced one school musical that I am aware of and that was in 1997, ‘The Seven Little Australians’. Ms Carolyn Mattick (HT CAPA) and Ms Liz Propsting (Music Teacher) have been rehearsing the cast and crew for the Fort Street Musical ‘Matilda’ which will hopefully be performed in front of a live audience in Term 3, Week 7. If you have sewing skills or could perhaps lend a hand with building stage props and backgrounds, please come along to the information session to find out how and when you could help out. The meeting will be held in the school library before the next P&C meeting at 7pm on Wednesday 12 May.

School Canteen

After much campaigning I am very happy to announce that students and staff can now make purchases at the school canteen via eftpos. Our canteen provider ‘Bon Appetit’ has also made a commitment to transition to biodegradable and other more sustainable packaging. This transition has now commenced.

Major Projects

The sandstone blocks have been delivered and work will soon commence on the tiered seating and retaining wall along the oval. By mid-way through this term a second outdoor volleyball court will also be constructed side by side the current outdoor volleyball court at the back of the oval.

Work has also commenced on the new covered outdoor learning area in the Rowe Quad. The ground is currently being levelled out and stairs connecting the Rowe Building directly into the Quad have started. This space will cater for an entire year group to meet undercover outdoors.

COVID-19 Update

We have commenced Term 2 with a significant easing of restrictions. Despite this, staff and students should not attend school if they are unwell, even with mild symptoms of COVID-19. Any person with COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home and should not return until they have received a negative test and are symptom-free.

Parents, carers and relatives are now welcome in our school. On Wednesday 21st April it was my pleasure to invite almost 100 visitors into the school for an Open Morning tour of the school and presentation held in the library. Parents are once again welcome onsite to visit the uniform shop on Wednesdays between 9.30am and 2.00pm each week to purchase items, return or exchange items and/or to pick up online orders.

There are no longer any limits for singing groups or in-class educational activities. This is particularly good news for the IMP and hopefully we will be able to host the IMP concert this year.

Juliette McMurray

SRC Report

Hello everybody! We hope you’ve had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday with your family and friends.

The SRC has been quite busy over the past few weeks, attending several external events and hosting our very egg-citing annual Easter egg hunt.

Every year, the SRC hosts an Easter egg hunt during a school day close to the Easter long weekend. In previous years, the hunt involved students finding plastic tokens around the school, and trading them at an SRC booth in exchange for chocolate eggs. This time around, on Thursday 1 April we decided to shake things up and spring a surprise easter egg hunt upon the student body, directly hiding the eggs around the school instead of tokens. Thank you to all Fortians who participated, we loved seeing your eagerness and enthusiasm when hunting for eggs!

In the past month, the Year 11 SRC Executive members have had the opportunity to attend many Prefect Afternoon Teas (PATs). We were able to attend forums hosted by Hornsby Girls’ High School and Burwood Girls’ High School, which provided us with opportunities to network with other young leaders in school communities, socialise, and of course, exchange ideas and proposals regarding the bettering of schools and engagement of communities. We are extremely grateful for the chance to attend such external events and are currently in the process of planning for our own PAT.

Loving to work collaboratively and closely with all members of our Fort Street community, we want to hear your ideas and feedback on any school-related issues which will help drive positive change at the Fort. You can contact the SRC through our email (srcfshs@gmail.com),  Instagram (@srcfshs) or simply letting one of our members know.

Audrey Truong

SRC President

Year 11

P&C

SPECIAL REPORT: Vaping & E-Cigarettes

Vaping is becoming a trendy pastime that is growing in popularity across Australia, especially amongst teenagers. It is the act of inhaling a vapour created by an electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette. Many teenagers are succumbing to peer pressure around this risk-taking activity due to the ease of accessing and hiding vapes. They are often cheaper than conventional cigarettes, making it more cost-effective and attractive to young people.

Although under 18s are not legally allowed to purchase any type of e-cigarette or vaping product in Australia, teenagers are finding ways to access them online. Australia has strict regulations in place for nicotine-containing products, and attempts are being made to regulate vaping and ban the importation of them. Many of the flavoured liquids associated with vaping, contain not only high levels of nicotine, but other potentially harmful additives. Many of these “e-liquids” contain chemicals that are likely to be toxic, that when inhaled or vaped repeatedly, can cause severe damage to the lungs.

Vaping is often marketed as being the “healthy” alternative to smoking. However, doctors strongly advise that if you do not smoke, then you should not start vaping. Most teenagers are unaware of the associated risks and potential impact vaping can have on their development and overall health. Parents are encouraged to discuss the dangers of nicotine addiction and include e-cigarettes in the discussion alongside alcohol and drugs.

This Special Report highlights the facts around vaping and e-cigarettes and what are the potential risks. 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/special-report-vaping-au

University Information Days and STEM webinars

UNSW

Year 10 Subject Selection Evenings (Online)

Wednesday, 28 April
Wednesday, 12 May

For more information and to book click here

Sydney University

Lunchtime university presentations for Year 12

Once again Fort Street will welcome university representatives back to the Fort to give lunchtime presentations to Year 12 students throughout term 2.
Week 1: Scholarships workshop
Week 2: UTS Bachelor of Accounting Scholarship workshop
Week 3: Western Sydney University
Week 4: University of Sydney
Week 5: UTS
Week 6: UNSW Co-op scholarships info and workshop
Week 7: UNSW
Week 8: Employers’ degree of choice; graduate employment prospects
Week 9: Macquarie University
Week 10: early-offer schemes: how and when to apply

All Year 12 students are encouraged to attend to learn about what universities are offering for 2022. Bring your lunch, bring an open mind; Lecture Theatre every Thursday term 2.

WAFTUS

WAFTUS is a Community of Schools Scientific Research Project that involves Wilkins Public, Ashfield Public, Fort Street High, Tempe High, Summer Hill Public and University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

After a year’s break due to COVID 19 Fort Street High School is participating in Term 2 WAFTUS (Science Challenge) with neighbouring primary and high schools.

In partnership with the Inner West Community of Schools, 20 Year 10 students from Fort Street High school and 10 Year 10 students from Tempe High school will visit the local primary schools and act as mentors to the students from years 3 to 4 as they carry out scientific investigations.

This event provides the high school students with the opportunity to develop and refine both their scientific understanding and leadership skills.

The training session for the high school students (mentors) was on Friday, March 26 at Fort Street High School from 9 am to 1 pm. We had many distinguished guests for the training session from local primary schools and UTS.

The highlight of the session was a speech from Professor Liz Harry from UTS. Professor Harry is a distinguished microbiologist who researches the ways that bacterial cells multiply, in order to develop novel antibiotics, including treatments based on natural products such as honey. She talked about her career in Science and the importance and impact of scientific research.

During morning tea students were able to talk to Professor Harry and other guests and ask questions.  This also allowed the students from both high schools to meet and talk. After morning tea the guests left Fort Street and the high school students participated in a workshop for scientific investigations. The day was a success and the students feel confident to act as mentors to the primary school students. The program starts on Wednesday, April 28 and will conclude on Thursday June 24.

Ms Jamble (Science Faculty)

Frohe Ostern!

Clean Up Australia Day

The student organised Environmental Committee of Fort Street High School participated in Clean up Australia day on Wednesday 10 March 2021. Students participated from a number of year groups, with strong representation from Years 9 and 10 in particular. Led by Mary (President) and Ernest (Vice-President) of the Committee, the clean up commenced in the school carpark and moved throughout the oval, behind the basketball and futsal courts, along the perimeter of the Palace Street fence line and then moved through the canteen area. The final stop for the clean-up was the historic area at the front of school on the Parramatta Road side. Students picked up rubbish and recyclables in the shade of the copse of Morton bay fig-trees and we took some group photos of the committee in front of the heritage listed Wilkins Building façade.

The students were exemplary in their commitment to the activity, enthusiastically donning protective gloves, masks and competing as grade cohorts to collect the most rubbish. We collected some 15 bags of rubbish, recovering approximately 75 kilos of waste from the gardens and grounds of the school. The environmental committee meets every Thursday Week B at lunch in K18 and is always keen for new members to join.

IMP 2021 Camp

On the wettest weekend in IMP memory, 177 students and 24 school and IMP staff took part in the 2021 IMP Camp. For this camp the students were arranged in completely new ensembles, and worked on completely new repertoire. For three days they took part in intensive rehearsals and tutorials, designed to extend them as musicians, and give the students the opportunity to make friends with musicians from other year groups. The learning that took place was phenomenal.

There were three main activities at camp:
Ensemble A (the large ensemble, either Wind Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band, or Training Band)
Ensemble B (students elected to be a part of one of the 11 ensemble B options: Vocal Ensemble,  String Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Body Percussion, Jazz Improv Workshop, Horn Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, and Sax Ensemble)
Camp Item – this was a whole-camp item, where the camp joined together to sing, accompanied by a staff band.

Despite the extreme wet weather, nothing could dampen the spirits of the students or the tutor, who were all excited to play together again!!
65% of the participants had never been on an IMP before, due to the last-minute cancellation of the 2020 camp at the start of COVID lockdown but they were admirably shown the ropes by the older members of the IMP.
As is customary, Year 11s acted as leaders and mentors for the camp, running evening concerts and games. They were a wonderful group, and The annual Ceilidh (folk dance) also made its return, featuring a staff folk band, and an exhausting evening of dancing.
The camp culminated in a virtual camp concert (with our usual enormous audience still not able to gather yet). This included performances by all Ensemble As, and Camp Item, and a montage of clips from Ensemble B, who would normally perform at the Camp Afternoon Tea just before the Concert.

Here’s a video of Camp Item (everyone involved)

Camp Item video

Matthew Manchester
Fort Street High School
IMP Coordinator
Director of Bands

Fort Street Alumni at work at Fort Street!

Fort Street students are very fortunate to be able to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a number of our alumni through some new programs which have been trialled and are now running in the school. These wonderful people are graduates from 2011 through to 2020. Some are undertaking their undergraduate university degrees, some doing a Masters of Teaching, several undertaking the writing of theses for Masters Degrees and several about to commence their PhD (Oxford University) or complete their PhD (UNSW).

We have a number of School Learning Support Officers (SLSO) positions being filled by our past students, who are doing wonderful work both in and out of classrooms and in the Learning Centre and twice-weekly Homework Centre, working with students from Year 7 to Year 12 across all subject areas. They are assisting students with organisational skills, literacy, essay writing, breaking down assessment specifications and any number of things which will help our students be the best learners they can be.

There is also an alumna (2011) running tutoring programs for small groups of students whose progress was affected by the pandemic closure of the school last year to ensure they are able to meet all subject outcomes. Some of our wonderful student thinkers attend the Philosophy Club, under the tutelage of a 2013 alumnus.  Some have returned as music tutors and debating coaches – ensuring Fort Street continues to produce brilliant musicians and winning debaters.

A few alumni are working as volunteers in the Homework Centre after school.  A great number are working as one-on-one mentors for the twenty English Extension 2 students developing unique and individual Major Works across a plethora of subjects and forms.

We are so fortunate to have the enthusiasm and expertise of these outstanding young people who, in their desire to “give back” to the school that nurtured them, will ensure that the next generation of Fortians are in turn gifted with a wonderful school experience.

Ms Catriona Arcamone

Earth Hour

On Friday the 26 March the students of Fort Street High School supported the Earth Hour initiative. The students of Environmental Committee suggested to all staff and students at the school to switch off lights and plan lessons without the consumption of energy. Students also promoted the proposal of plastic free lunch boxes to their peers and committee members undertook to further advertise waste reduction next term. In 2021 192 countries and territories switched off for Earth Hour. That’s 98% of countries and territories on the planet!

Fort Street High School switched off alongside millions of people and, in Australia, over 379 Schools, 550 Businesses and over 200 Organisations, Councils and Landmarks.

International Social Media Association

The International Social Media Association is holding a special event in the Leichhardt area on 4 May that is designed to help students teachers and parents to avoid the risks and pitfalls of social media. This event is aimed at helping people to understand how to avoid getting into trouble online and to give people ideas and strategies to navigate some of the challenges that social media present to us all.

The event is being held at Le Montage 38 Frazer St, Lilyfield.  There is no cost to attend.

Further details can be found here:

Take Control (of your social media)

Learner Drivers

Inner West Council in partnership with The City of Canada Bay are providing a free online workshop via Zoom for parents and supervisors of learner drivers, offering practical advice on how to help learner drivers become safer drivers.

Date: Thursday 29 April 2021

Time: 6pm to 7.30pm

Location: Online via Zoom

To secure a booking for the workshop parents can click here.

Bookings are essential.