Principals Report

There has been a great variety of activities happening at the Fort in the past few weeks.

The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG visited Fort Street for a whole school assembly on Friday 12 May. Michael Kirby is chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights violations in North Korea; former Justice of the High Court of Australia, President of the International Commission of Jurists and Fortian class of 1955. He was generous with his time and spoke to the students about the great progress we have made in acceptance and tolerance of LGBTQI minorities, how grateful he remains to the Public Education he received growing up and then focused his talk on the sessions he has attended recently for the UN Human Rights Council on the 10th Anniversary of the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea.  Michael spoke about what has happened in response to that report and his thoughts on whether nuclear safety can be secured without defence of, and for, human rights of all Koreans? Michael allowed plenty of time for questions from the audience and it was wonderful to see so many Fortians with inciteful questions interacting with Mr Kirby. In fact it was difficult for Michael to get away to his next appointment as he had many curious students lining up with questions for him as he departed. Fort Street genuinely appreciates the time Michael gives to Fort Street and look forward to his keynote address at this weeks SRC Future Leaders Conference.

The SRC will be hosting their Future Leaders Conference this Friday and close to 300 students visiting our school. The SRC have done an amazing job at organising this event, including organising the impressive line up of guest speakers – The Hon Michael Kirby, Zoe Robinson, Brydie Zorz,  Dr Sunil Badami, Heather Pym, Diana Zhang and Marian Casey.

Our drama students have been busy, with a group of 7 drama students representing the school at the Shakespeare Carnival – Lila Bachfisher, Edain Davies Barnier, Owen Druery, Keith Huang, Dexter Stewart and Callum White. The group were highly commended for their performances. The Theatresports team competed in the ImproAustralia inter-school competition and have made it through to the semi-final which will be held at Enmore Theatre on June 18. Congratulations Teresa Lay, Gina Hong, Min Park, Edain Davies Barnier and Keith Huang.

We also had over 100 Fort St students take part in In Concert on Monday at Sydney Town Hall. Students performed as part of the combined secondary choir, the NSW Public Schools Symphony Orchestra, the NSW Public Schools Singers and the NSW Public Schools Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

In Sport, Fort Street was well represented at the Zone Cross Country this week with 83 students taking part at Macquarie Park on Monday. Hopefully their legs had some time to recover in time for the whole school Athletics Carnival that was held today out at Sydney Olympic Park.

The Year 12 Charity Committee ran a great World’s Greatest Shave event last Friday and managed to raise $13,759. Well done to all of the organisers and the brave staff and students who volunteered to be shaved, waxed or get their hair coloured. There are some great photos in the full article in this issue of Mercurius and on the school website.

The P&C are looking for a new President and Secretary for this year and we would love to welcome some new parent volunteers to join this great group of parents. Take a look at their article for more information and for how to get in touch.

Upcoming Events:

May 25 – Year 10 and 11 Model United Nations

May 26 – SRC Leadership Conference

May 26 – CHS Knockout Basketball

May 27 – June 3 – Reconciliation Week

June 1 – Year 7 and 8 Wanderers School Cup (soccer)

June 8 – 9 – Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Silver Hike

World’s Greatest Shave at Fort St

On the 19th of May, the Year 12 Charity Committee organised the annual World’s Greatest Shave Event in the Hall to raise funds for the Leukemia Foundation! Leading up to the event, we held a boba stall at Fort Fair and at the End of Year Party hosted by the SRC last year, and we raised a total of $791 before 2023 even started!

Over the course of the year, our shavers approached family and friends, and with the help of everyone, we raised a total of $13,759 leading up to the day. Congrats to our top 2 fundraisers, Ms Nolan at $3,282, and Maya Badami in Year 9 at $1,938!

Many students came and participated in the shave! With the help of their friends, many of them left with bald heads, a new haircut or bright streaks of hairspray. Alongside our student shavers, we saw many teachers shave, cut and colour their hair, or even wax their legs. Mr Tennant, Ms Nolan, Mr Carritt, Mr Razzaghi, and Mr Prasad, who participated in a bidding process and rocked a green mohawk, just to name a few. At the end of the event, we raised an additional $1,328.50 from the BBQ, snacks, biddings and donations, bringing our total to just over $15k.

Although we didn’t reach our goal, we would to thank everyone who came on Friday to support the cause! We would also like to thank Ms Tidon for supervising us and helping us organise every Wednesday lunches, Ms Imhof, Ms Druery and Mr Leondios for helping us organise the BBQ, as well as Mitch, Heath and Campbell from the Leukemia Foundation for their continued support leading up to the day.

If you would like to see more photos from the event, visit the school website https://fortstreet-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/gallery/2023-world-s-greatest-shave-at-fort-street.html

We wish the best for next year’s Charity Committee to achieve the elusive $30k goal!

Class of 2023, Year 12 Charity Committee.

Ms McMurray and the Vinnies CEO Sleepout

Year 8 students last year participated in a two day, overnight connected curriculum program on the school oval referred to as ‘tent city’ or ‘slum survivor’. Year 8 students this year will also participate in this program in term 4.

In support of this inaugural program last year at the Fort, I decided to participate in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. The community support around this was extraordinary and donations reached over $20 000 so I have decided to participate in this again. This winter I will spend one of the longest, coldest nights on the streets sleeping under a cardboard box to help raise money for people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness can affect anyone – women, men and children. It has devastating consequences for individuals and families. But you can help!

Support me during the Vinnies CEO Sleepout and your donations will help the St Vincent de Paul Society empower more people to get off the streets and into stable accommodation. Vinnies provides counselling, education, health and employment services to help people to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty.

Every donation is meaningful. Just 100 dollars can provide a whole family with a warm, nutritious meal this winter. Together we can combat homelessness in our community. Please help me raise funds today! The impact of your generosity will be felt well beyond the 22^nd of June.

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout happens for just one night, but it raises vital funds to support people all year round.

If you are so inclined you can visit my donations page at

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/juliettemcmurray

Thank you for your support – it is truly appreciated.

Ms McMurrary

Fort Street at the ENMORE!!!

A big congratulations to the Intermediate Theatresports team for making it through to the semi-final of the ImproAustralia inter-school competition. The team is one of eight who have beat schools from around Sydney to make it to this prestigious final.

The final will be held at The Enmore theatre on Sunday 18 June at 2pm. It would be great to have the Fort Street community turn up in support of the team on the day. Use this link to get your tickets for a great afternoon of entertainment. https://www.enmoretheatre.com.au/event/theatresports-schools/

Congratulations to Teresa Lay, Gina Hong, Min Park, Edain Davies Barnier and Keith Huang!

Carolyn Mattick

Head Teacher Creative and Performing Arts

Year 12 Earth and Environmental Science

On Friday 5 May, Year 12 Earth and Environmental Science took a train to their excursion at the Australian Museum in Sydney CBD.

Their focus was the Australia Through Time activity, where students analysed important Australian fossils, sustainable resource management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, and climate change in Australia.

Students also visited the recently opened Australian Minerals and Petrology collection, where they explored the important rocks, minerals, meteorites & geological resources of the country.

My little geologists took their time discovering the museum and its collections. I thank them for their passion, interest and excellent representation of Fort Street High School and Earth and Environmental Science.

Mr Guy

IMP News

IMP students perform at the Sydney Town Hall

On Monday 22 May, over 100 Fortians performed at the magnificent Sydney Town Hall as part of In Concert – a secondary choral festival run by The Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education.

Fortians performed as part of the combined secondary choir, the NSW Public Schools Symphony Orchestra, the NSW Public Schools Singers and the NSW Public Schools Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

The concert opened with excerpts from Orff’s Carmina Burana, and also included new works by Australian composers, parts of Holst’s The Planets, as well as Mozart’s Ave Verum performed with the Grand Organ. In a night of highlights, the orchestra and combined choir were thrilled to perform several songs alongside the renowned singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke.

Congratulations to all our Fortians on a stellar performance.

More exciting news for Clara Moloney…

In our last edition of Mercurius we reported that Clara Moloney, an IMP cellist from Year 9, has been selected as one of 2 junior finalists in the NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition.

In addition to this, Clara has been chosen to perform a solo on the Opera House stage at the Jacaranda Concert as part of the NSW Department of Education’s Festival of Instrumental Music. She has also been accepted into the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy in July. This will involve a week of intensive workshop where participants are coached and mentored by ACO musicians. Congratulations Clara and we wish you all the best for these exciting endeavours.

Environmental Committee

At the Fort Street High School Environmental Committee, run by Ms Maddox and co-presidents Gina Hong and Michelle Tran, we not only aim to increase the diversity and maintain the natural environment of Fort Street, but also advocate for environmental justice concerning areas globally with a focus on Australia.

A subcommittee of the Environmental Committee, which Ms Catalan coordinates, also composts the school’s fruit and vegetable scraps. These composting bins can be found at the Oval near the cricket nets, at the Kilgour Quad and also near the Canteen. There are also staff compost bins at the Front Office, Cohen and Rowe staff rooms. 

Students from year 7 to 12 assist with the school composting by collecting these bins and emptying them at the aerobin in the Rowe Quad. They work in pairs on scheduled days that rotate each term. We would like to congratulate these individuals who have taken on a significant role and responsibility within the school community as the food waste cannot be left overnight. 

Ms Catalan also does an enormous amount of work to ensure that composting duties and composting at the school runs smoothly. Ms Karanikolas at the Front Office is also a vital link in the chain of communication that makes this possible. Thank you to the students and the teachers that assist that make composting possible at our school!

The school is encouraged to use these composting bins because food waste produces three times the carbon emissions as that of the aviation industry. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that a third of all food produced worldwide is taken to landfill, and each tonne taken to landfill produces the equivalent of one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions in the form of methane. 

Recently, we have also been partaking in weekly to fortnightly gardening sessions that involve maintaining Fort Street’s plants. One of our sessions focused on filling up bags with mulch, and adding a surrounding layer of it around the trees along Palace Street that we planted over the last few terms to protect them from weeds and keep them hydrated.

The Environmental Committee will also be involved with a new initiative at our school called Greening Australia: Cooling the Schools. Greening Australia works with schools to connect students with nature through free planting sessions that empower them to create wildlife habitats, reduce urban heat and increase tree canopy cover in schools. On Thursday, May 25th, they will be giving Fort Street a visit, as it has been chosen for a huge planting project in Term 3. Representatives from the initiative will assist the Environment Committee in planting 200 canopy and understorey plants around the school.  

Taking part in this initiative allows Fort Street to be more involved with First Nations’ environmental direction, as students directly learn about the environmental and cultural benefits of planting native trees for First Nations cultures, urban cooling and biodiversity.

In terms of activism, we cover many environmental issues, ranging from fossil fuels to endangered native species. A fossil fuel company wants to drill for climate-wrecking gas in Western Australia’s oceans; its Burrup Hub project is the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia today, producing gas until 2070, and severely endangering marine life at risk. 

In addition, we have also engaged in activism regarding a superannuation fund, which claims it’s encouraging meaningful change for generations to come. However, it currently invests billions in companies with fossil fuel expansion plans, undermining our chances of avoiding catastrophic climate change. This includes more than half a billion dollars in oil and gas giants which are expanding fossil fuels in a way that is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement. As an act of prevention, all Environmental Committee members signed a petition to end fossil fuel use in Australia, and wrote to the superannuation fund to let them know that we don’t want them investing money in expanding fossil fuel companies. 

More recently, the Environmental Committee has engaged with the threats that logging poses to Koala populations. NSW’s most significant koala populations are under threat due to logging that has been prioritised by NSWForestry in the Pine Creek State Forest, which has intensified logging to the announcement of a Great Koala National Park. Members have written letters outlining why the logging of prime koala habitats should be suspended, as it will destroy them, and the Great Koala National Park will be in name only.

Through regular planting sessions, the Environmental Committee contributes to the diversification and thorough maintenance of Fort Street’s natural habitats, as well as advocating for better treatment of Australia’s environment through writing, signing and sending letters to organisations and ministers with significant power.

Overall, the Environmental Committee is a vital part of Fort Street’s community that allows all to get involved with the safekeeping of our environment!

Written by Akshaya Rameshbabu and Sammy Anand on behalf of the Environmental Committee

Lost Property

The lost property trolley is overflowing with items including drink bottles, soccer boots, sports shorts, jumpers, and pencil cases, all with no names on them,

Please ask your child to check the trolley for any items belonging to them. The lost property trolley it placed outside of the office every morning.

To avoid items not ending up in lost property please ensure all of your child’s belongings are clearly labelled.

Any items not collect by next Friday June 2 will be donated or thrown away.

Regards

Office Administration

Be a part of the P&C!

Donations need for Secondhand Uniforms

Our secondhand uniform stalls are very popular and our stock levels are running low.

If you have any unwanted uniform items that are in a good clean condition  we would love to have them! Any donations can be dropped to the front office at school.

Secondhand Uniform Team

This month on SchoolTV – The State of Youth Mental Health

Parents and carers can play a crucial role in their children’s mental health. As a result, staying informed on the current state of youth mental health is vital, as it not only affects individuals, but also families and communities. According to recent research, the frequency of mental health disorders among young people is increasing, with anxiety, depression, and self-harm being among the most common challenges.

One of the reasons being attributed to this rise is the heightened stress and anxiety that many young people face in today’s society. Academic success, social media, and family issues are all influencing factors. Many young people are still suffering the long-term consequences of the pandemic, such as social isolation, uncertainty, and loss.

Parents can play an important role in their children’s mental health. Creating a safe and open environment for your children to talk about their emotions, thoughts, and feelings is vital. Encouraging healthy habits like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and proper sleep can help reduce their stress levels and boost your child’s overall mental health. There are also many resources and services available to children, adolescents, and their families, such as school counsellors, various mental health organisations, support lines, and of course, mental health professionals. It is important to remember that seeking help is a show of strength, not weakness, and that early intervention is critical in addressing young people’s mental health difficulties.

This edition of SchoolTV, discusses some of the major mental health issues affecting young people and how to support a child experiencing them. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always 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 this month’s edition https://fortstreet.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/state-youth-mental-health