{"id":8684,"date":"2026-02-23T03:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T03:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/?post_type=article&#038;p=8684"},"modified":"2026-03-11T02:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T02:25:52","slug":"principals-report-131","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/article\/principals-report-131\/","title":{"rendered":"Principals Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers,<\/p>\n<p>Welcome back to the new school year! It has started off extremely busy with many exciting events taking place over the past three weeks. These include the whole school swimming carnival at Ashfield Aquatic Centre, the Year 11 Camp to Narrabeen, the German Language students hosting their buddies from our sister school in Germany, School Photo Day, and the Year 7 student and parent welcome BBQ. The BBQ was followed by a highly informative study skills session with Dr Prue Salter, who provided expert support to families and students on learning efficiently at home, managing distractions, organising learning resources, planning workload, and staying on top of assignments. We hope Year 7 families found this session valuable.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday 9th February, we held a successful Clubs and Committees Day, introducing students to the extensive range of extracurricular opportunities available at our school. If your child expressed interest in any clubs or committees, you will soon receive an email outlining when and where these groups meet, and if there are any associated costs. Please complete these forms promptly if you wish for your child to participate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome to Year 7 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A very warm welcome to our new Year 7 students and their families! Introducing a new cohort always brings renewed energy to the school. The Year 7 class of 2026 appear vibrant, happy, and energetic as they explore the school and find their favourite spots to relax during breaks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There have been several staff changes for 2026. Please join me in welcoming the following teachers to Fort Street:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Deputy Principal: Ms Kate Dunn (overseeing Years 7, 9, and 11)<\/li>\n<li>English Faculty: Ms Drinkwater<\/li>\n<li>Mathematics Faculty: Mr Finance<\/li>\n<li>Science Faculty: Mr Hasenbein \u2013 welcome back from paternity leave<\/li>\n<li>CAPA Faculty: Mr Reveleigh (teaching Drama and leading Debating and Public Speaking) and Ms Irvine (teaching Music)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Uniform<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thank you to parents for supporting the wearing of the Fort Street School uniform. I am confident that there are options to suit all students. The uniform shop is open on Wednesday mornings during term, from 10 am to 2 pm. Additionally, a second-hand uniform stall is held once a term at lunchtime; details are advertised on the school Facebook page. Uniforms can also be purchased online \u2013 instructions are available on the school website.<\/p>\n<p>Please note that full school uniform includes all-black shoes, preferably fully enclosed black leather shoes, which are required for participation in science labs and Technology rooms.<\/p>\n<p>Students in Years 8 to 11 should only wear the Sport Uniform on Tuesdays. Year 7 students should bring their sport uniform to change into only when they have practical PDHPE lessons or sport.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Special Religious Education<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Special Religious Education (SRE) and Special Education in Ethics commenced last Thursday during Period 1. These classes are delivered by Department of Education-approved providers. At Fort Street, options include Christian SRE, Hindu SRE, and Ethics. Students attend these classes only if parental consent was given on their enrolment forms. You may change your choice at any time by completing an online form on the school website or by emailing the school.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, a Fort Street alumnus facilitates a weekly Friday lunch prayer session for Muslim students. Students wishing to participate should bring a permission note to the front office, where they will receive further information about the meeting location.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Upcoming Events<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Week 5<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>Tuesday 24 February<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Year 12 HSC Minimum Standards Test (after lunch, periods 5 and 6)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Wednesday 25 February<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Year 7 Camp departs (returning Friday 27 February)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Thursday 26 February<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CHS Open Girls Soccer (Pennant Hills)<\/li>\n<li>Open Girls CHS Netball<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Friday 27 February<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>International Women\u2019s Day SRC fundraiser BBQ<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Week 6<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>Tuesday 3 March<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clean Up Australia Day (Environment Team)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Wednesday 4 March<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Year 9 History\/Geography Excursion<\/li>\n<li>Year 8 French Excursion \u2013 French Film Festival, Leichhardt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Thursday 5 March<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Year 11 and 12 Visual Arts Excursion<\/li>\n<li>Year 7 Peer Support and Year 10 Peer Support Leaders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Friday 6 March<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Northern Suburbs Zone Swimming Carnival<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I look forward to an exciting term ahead!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Fortians, Parents and Carers, Welcome back to the new school year! It has started off extremely busy with many exciting events taking place over the past three weeks. These include the whole school swimming carnival at Ashfield Aquatic Centre, the Year 11 Camp to Narrabeen, the German Language students hosting their buddies from our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-8684","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/8684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/fortstreet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}