In early May Year 8 Fort Street students had a great day immersing themselves in medieval history. The school was very fortunate to be visited by James Adams, a medieval weapons and armour specialist who provided a highly unique and hands on experience for the students. A number of willing volunteers not only tried on chain armour, metal helmets and clasped weapons, but even yielded to the pillory and other tools of punishment, albeit for a time shorter than some teachers may have wanted.
The second half of the day saw students show their creativity and collaborative skills by building elaborate castles made only from card board and other items to be found in Mr Maker’s draws. Fortians put together amazingly detailed builds, some complete with motte and bailey, others showing high medieval concentric guard towers, and even some clearly showing inspiration from the opening credits for Game of Thrones.
A big applause to all participants, but the prize went to Noam, Sebastian, Oliver, and Genevieve for their expert build, voted first amongst fellow castle builders.
Principals Report
Dear Fortians, Parents and Guardians,
As usual the past two weeks of term have been eventful, filled with achievements, challenges and exciting developments. Our annual Athletics Carnival was held on Wednesday 24 May at Sydney Olympic Park. It was great to see so many students participating in events and wearing House Colours. There have been many excursions and activities just in the past two weeks. Year 12 Drama students attended a performance of The Removalists at the Actors Centre in Leichhardt, students from Years 7-10 participated in the History Competition, all Year 10 had the opportunity to see Macbeth at the Seymour Centre, Year 11 Biology students attended a field excursion at the Education Centre, Sydney Olympic Park and Year 12 Biology students visited the UNSW Museum of Human Diseases. To end the week students participating in the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award have headed off to the Blue Mountains National Park to complete their practice hike.
The SRC Future Leaders Conference was a huge success with over 260 student leaders from more than 35 school’s across Sydney spending a day at the Fort meeting each other, sharing ideas and listening to some amazing guest speakers including the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, Advocate for Children and Young People Zoe Robinson, writer, academic and broadcaster Dr Sunil Badami, lawyer and human rights advocate Heather Pym, STEM ambassador Diana Zhang and Deputy Commissioner of Volunteering for St John’s Ambulance Marian Casey and also spending some time in student led workshops learning about the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Our SRC and House Captains did an amazing job hosting this event on the day. In particular I would like to congratulate the SRC executive who planned and implemented this event and to the Year 9 SRC who worked all day behind the scenes catering for the event. This truly was a great example of student voice and agency in action.
Teachers are coming to the end of the Semester 1 reporting period. These reports will be available on the Sentral Student and Parent Portals by the end of term for all year groups. Our students continue to excel in all their pursuits and I am proud of the hard work and dedication they display week after week. I encourage parents and guardians to review these reports and to reach out to our teachers for any necessary support. Parent Teacher nights are scheduled for Thursday 22nd June – Years 7 and 10 and Wednesday 28th June for years 8 and 9. Bookings for interviews will open to parents a week before each event and can be made through Sentral Bookings. This provides an excellent opportunity for parents and guardians to meet with teachers and to discuss their child’s progress. The Year 12 Academic Review team is slowly making its way through individual meetings with every Year 12 student as they approach their Trial HSC exams, we hope that Year 12 find these meetings useful.
UNIFORM: As the cold weather continues I would like to remind students to adhere to the school’s uniform policy. The uniform shop is currently fully stocked with winter jackets and jumpers. Student assistance is also available if required, please contact the school if you require this.
COVID-19 Safety Measures: Despite the progress in controlling the pandemic, we must remain vigilant. Please continue to follow the recommended safety protocols, including wearing masks, practicing good hand hygiene, and maintaining social distancing whenever possible. Let us prioritize the health and well-being of our school community.
Upcoming Events:
Monday 12 June – Kings Birthday Long Weekend (Public Holiday)
Wednesday 14 June – Zone Athletics Carnival
Wednesday 14 June – P&C Meeting
Thursday 15 June – Regional Cross Country
Friday 16 June – Multicultural Day (mufti day – students encouraged to wear cultural dress and bring cash to buy food from the stalls)
Monday 19 June – Friday 23 June – Work placements
Thursday 22 June – Years 7 and 10 Parent Teacher Interviews: School Hall
Wednesday 28 June – Years 8 and 9 Parent Teacher Interviews: School Hall
Wednesday 28 June – Year 8 Subject Selection Information Evening for Parents and Students to choose electives for years 9 and 10.
SRC Future Leaders Conference
Hi Fortians, SRC Execs here!
The first in-person Future Leaders Conference, organised by the Fort Street High School Student Representative Council, was held on the 26th May 2023, where 245 student leaders from over 30 public secondary schools across Sydney and the Central Coast came to Fort Street High School. The theme was “Reclaim Our Future”. We had schools from as north as Merewether and Gosford, as far south as Macquarie Fields and Caringbah, and as far west as Penrith. Thank you to all the amazing public selective, partially selective and comprehensive schools who attended! We were honoured to organise this celebration of public education.
Year 11 Fort Street students and Year 10 Peer Support joined FSHS SRC and the guest students for the morning session with the keynote speakers the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG and Zoë Robinson, with MC for the day Kalanie Prabhakar (SRC President). We had the opportunity to ask questions in response to the speakers’ silver bullet that will change the future. The Hon. Michael Kirby gave an amazing speech about working towards ending discrimination, and how he helped to stop discrimination against First Nations peoples in the cinema at Walgott, Central NSW, when he was President of Sydney University’s SRC. Zoe Robinson gave a really engaging presentation, and we heard all about the work she does as the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, and as a highlight, her experiences defending death row inmates in Texas.
The day continued with an impactful panel session facilitated by the awesome facilitator, Dr Sunil Badami, and panel members Diana Zhang, Marian Casey and Heather Pym. Diana Zhang told us about her innovations working towards diagnosing Parkinson’s, and amazed us with her talents in both music and science. Marian Casey provided insight into her volunteering experiences as Deputy Commissioner of St. John’s Ambulance, mentoring of over 3,000 volunteers across NSW, and her achievements in improving the diversity of St. John’s Ambulance – including creating a St John’s Ambulance float for Mardi Gras! Heather Pym inspired us by her co-creation of Future Leaders for Gender Equality, and her advice on finding a passion and becoming a leader. We felt so inspired by their incredible experiences, and their tips and tricks on how to be a leader. We thank Dr Badami for running an incredible, entertaining session!
Fort Street High School Year 10 SRC and Executive ran the afternoon session that informed youth on the Uluru Statement of the Heart. We discussed the themes of the Statement, Voice, Treaty and Truth, and listened to the Uluru Statement being read for the first time – coincidentally, six years ago on the 26th of May!
We ended the Conference with a group photo at the sandstone seating on the Oval, in front of a “Sea of Hands” that each guest student placed in the shape and colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. What an amazing day!
The Future Leaders Conference was a free-of-charge event, providing morning tea and lunch to all guest students, that aimed to be accessible to all public schools. We thank the P&C for supporting this event and covering the costs for the Future Leaders Conference. We would also like to give enormous thanks to Ms McMurray, Ms Cameron, Mr Galvin, Mr Morrison, Mr Leondios, Ms Long, and all office staff for helping out tremendously with this event, and for their continuous support of the SRC.
Checkout our video from the event:
Multicultural Day Friday June 16
Hi Fort Street,
Multicultural Day is a fabulous event happening on Friday 16th June (T2W8) where all Fortians and teachers are encouraged to wear multicultural dress on this day to celebrate Fort Street’s diverse environment.
All students are encouraged to hold stalls on Multicultural Day including:
Traditional/art workshop (e.g. calligraphy or origami or henna)
Food and drinks stalls
Dancing tutorial
Cultural dress-ups of traditional clothing
Traditional musical instruments
Cultural games
Sign up to hold a stall on the SRC Multicultural Day Stall google form or use the QR Code found on posters around the school .
Looking forward to seeing you all on multicultural day next Friday!
Thank you,
Fort Street High School SRC Executive
Year 9 Indigenous Banquet
On the 17th of May, the Year 9 Food Technology Class hosted an Indigenous banquet consisting of paperbark fish, Dorrigo pepper pasta, warrigal green fettuccine, wattle seed damper, salad with an Italian dressing, kangaroo meat skewers, wattle seed and davidson plum jam ice cream and lemon myrtle cordial. Each of these were prepared and cooked using traditional Indigenous methods and techniques, giving the food an authentic taste with rich flavours.
The purpose of this banquet was to develop an understanding of how to utilise traditional cooking techniques and ingredients in order to further our cooking skills. Throughout the process, students developed new culinary skills, broadening their horizons and expanding their cultural knowledge.
Some students experienced the opportunity to improve their time management skills, and the whole class managed to come together in a grand display of teamwork!
Great job chefs!
Written by Avery L, Emidori L, Emily N, Daniel R
Year 9 Anzac Memorial and State Library Excursion
O
n May 1 Year 9 Fortians assembled at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park to tour the memorial’s displays, places of reflection and a play depicting the experiences of nurses during World War One. The students said this of their experience:
The part of the day I found the most interesting was our tour of the ANZAC Memorial. We got to look through exhibits that held artifacts, displays and outfits from the wars, particularly WWI.
The Hall of Silence, the Hall of Memory, Well of Contemplation and the room with the dirt samples of the towns and places soldiers came from and fought on helped to visualise the scale of the war and empathise with the people from that time.
I found the play as the most enjoyable part of the excursion, as it was intriguing how the play was so captivating and dramatic with only one actor.
Students then had lunch in Hyde Park where they got to witness a May Day march by various union groups. Students were intrigued by the parade and happily posed in front of the workers waving their flags. This was not a planned part of the excursion, but tied in really nicely with themes students had explored earlier in the course regarding the Industrial Revolution and the growth of the trade union movement in the 1800s.
In the afternoon, students arrive at the State Library where they got a brief tour of the famous Reading Room in the Mitchell Wing, before engaging with some interesting presentations of original WWI artifacts including soldiers’ diaries and a suitcase full of war memorabilia. This is what students had to say:
At the State Library, the hands-on experience with artifacts on World War 1 was fun while also being informative. Prior to that experience, I had never known that soldiers would collect items from the war and found that investigating who the person was based on their belongings was extremely interesting.
I also enjoyed the suitcase artifact activity as it put to use my deduction and inference skills through teamwork and investigating WW1 items.
When we went to the library I enjoyed being able to touch and see all the real WW1 artifacts and trying to decode the identity of the person was interesting as well because it’s uncommon to be able to actually handle the real original items.
These experiences are really valuable not just because students get to experience artifacts and stories that are not available to them in the school classroom, but because they get to see the city and its important public institutions. The students should be proud of their respectful and inquisitive approach to the excursion.
English Extension 2 Showcase Success
Congratulations to Mr Andrew Tennent, who joined the Fort Street English faculty as a permanent member of staff at the end of 2022.
Mr Tennent’s student Andreas Karadjis has been selected for inclusion in the 22nd edition of the prestigious WordXpress Young Writer’s Showcase, an annual publication which showcases the most outstanding major works submitted from around the state in the HSC English Extension 2 course. Andreas’ piece was a play script entitled ‘The Liminal Portrait of the Auteur: Control, Personality and Interior Meaning.’
This is the second consecutive year that one of Mr Tennent’s Extension 2 students have been selected for this rare honour.
15’s CHS Basketball
On Monday, the CHS 15 Girls and Boys Basketball teams went on a road trip together to the Central Coast, to play their first-round knockout Basketball games. Being the dedicated Basketballers that they are, the students arrived at school at 7:30am and piled into a bus brimming with enthusiasm.
The first game was the Girls team against Henry Kendall High School. As it turned out, our team were too much for the opposition to handle and we beat them convincingly 65-12! All the players on the team contributed and special mention goes to the two Year 7’s – Avivi and Nea – who were playing in their first Basketball games for the school and contributed mightily to the win. Also of note, was our team leader Ashley Huang, who achieved the rare distinction of captaining both the Fort Street 15 Girls and Open Girls CHS Basketball teams in the same year! Check her out in the video giving a sweet assist to Koharu ‘Money’ Seino.
The second game of the day was the Boys team playing against Gorokan High School. After getting off to a slow start and being down 12-2, our boys gritted their teeth and clawed their way back. In a thrilling game that went down to the wire, our boys ended-up running out of time and losing by three points. It was a tough loss to swallow for the team, but they showed a lot of character and learnt from the experience. We had a very even team from top to bottom, but some highlights were provided by Oscar Ma battling the giants inside and by Abhijay Beer, tenaciously covering every inch of the court.
Thank you to all the players for their commitment and effort. It was a very enjoyable day out. Well done!
FSHS Athletics Carnival 2023
On Wednesday 24th May, the FSHS Athletics Carnival was held at Olympic Park. On a beautiful clear morning, staff and students descended upon the Olympic Park warm-up track dressed in their House colours, anticipating an eventful day. The carnival did not disappoint, as good conditions led to huge student participation and a marvellous day all round.
Track and field events were running simultaneously and there were clusters of activity all around the venue. Many a great performance was on display and some students actually managed to compete in every single event!
Two big highlights on the day were the open age ‘Top-10 Fastest in the School 100m sprints’ and the traditional 4 x 100m relays. These two events had the students lining the track, cheering their respective Houses on.
All students should be commended on their excellent behaviour, participation, sportsmanship and House spirit. As it turned out, Mawson House were too good and were the clear overall winner on the day.
House Placings:
1st: Mawson
2nd: Preston
3rd: Kirby
4th: Joshi
5th: Sheikh
Congratulations also to the following students, who put in a consistently effort across the day and walked away as age group champions:
Age Group Champions:
12 Girls: Nea Tarrant
13 Girls: Aoibhe Carty
14 Girls: Beatrice Shimada
15 Girls: Miranda Leighton
16 Girls: Anika Sinha
17+ Girls: Alyssa Khaw
12 Boys: Kayvis Lan
13 Boys: Leon Cui
14 Boys: Henry Wakeling
15 Boys: Lachlan McIntyre
16 Boys: Oskar Deuschle
17+ Boys: Calan O’Dwyer
Thanks to Chloe Zheng in Year 11, for documenting the event with her camera and taking some great shots! Thank you as well to all the staff for their assistance throughout the day. A big shout-out and special thank you to Ms Ezekiel for her efforts organising and running another great carnival!
Zone Cross Country 2023
During Week 5, the annual Zone Cross Country Carnival was held at Macquarie University Sports Ovals. The top-10 finishers at each age group from our Fort Street Cross Country, were invited to compete against the top-10 finishers from other schools in our Zone. Fort Street was well represented, with a team of over 90 students! It was a beautiful sunny day and our students performed extremely well, with 35 students advancing to the Regional Cross Country (to be held in Week 8) and 12 students placing in the top 3.
Due to our high participation rate and the number of students who placed, Fort Street scored the most points on the day and were the winning school overall!
Thank you to Ms Ezekiel, Mr Redford and Mr Feng for their hard work during the lead-up and on the day. Thank you and congratulations to all the students who participated and made the day such a success!
IMP Winter Concert
The IMP Winter Concert is fast approaching and is an event not to be missed. This showcase of all the instrumental and vocal ensembles is also the opportunity to farewell the outgoing Year 12 students from the IMP.
The concert is preceded by the fabulous winter dinner market, where a variety of delicious meals, as well as hot and cold drinks will be available for purchase. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents in a relaxed setting before the concert. Please bring your own water bottles and keep cups to help us in our sustainability efforts.
The concert will be held on Friday 23 June, beginning at 7pm, with dinner from 5.30pm.
Open Day is an opportunity to learn about NIDA’s courses in the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Diploma programs, meet our expert teaching staff and our talented students and alumni, tour the world-class facilities, see our students in action in various productions and behind-the-scenes roles, and discover why NIDA produces some of the world’s most influential and in-demand storytellers across stage, screen and beyond.
If you are interested in a creative career and want to explore possibilities in the performing and dramatic arts, then don’t miss NIDA Open Day 2023 – register now.
The full program for Open Day will be announced soon. Visit nida.edu.au for more information.
Discover your path with a Home Affairs GAP Year
RSPCA Winter School Holiday Program
At RSPCA NSW, we believe education is the key to creating lasting change. Our School Holiday Program aims to help young people develop their knowledge, skills and understanding around improving the welfare of companion, farmed and wild animals alike in a fun, hands-on way. Children and teens will learn how to better understand and care for our furry, feathery, and scaly friends in order to give them a happy, healthy, and enriched life. They will also go behind-the-scenes on a shelter tour to meet our animals and have fun creating enrichment toys for their own pet or to donate to our shelter animals.
📅 Monday 3rd July – Friday 14th July
Age groups: we offer a range of programs to young people between the ages of 5 to 17 years.
