Fort St reet High School , Parramat ta Road, Petersham 2049T: 02 8585 1600 E: for ts t reet -h.school@det .nsw.edu.au W:www.for ts t reet .nsw.edu.au

Dear Parents, Carers and Fortians

MERCURIUST h e N e w s M a g a z i n e o f F o r t S t r e e t H i g h S c h o o l

Issue 4, May 2018

It is with much anticipation and excitement that we welcome Juliette McMurray as the new Principal of Fort Street High School commencing at the beginning of term 3. Juliette is currently the Deputy Principal of Rose Bay Secondary College and has also been the relieving principal. Juliette has been to a Fort Street staff meeting for initial introductions and over the next few weeks she is looking forward to attending the next School Council and P&C meetings to meet our community. I know we all congratulate and welcome her to The Fort.

We have started this term with two major unforseen staff changes. Last week we farewelled Mr Begg who was successful in gaining a classroom teacher job at Balgowlah Boys High School. We will all miss Mr Begg immensely as not only is he an excellent educator, he was heavily involved in programs outside of the classroom including the Duke of Edinburgh Program, student to student volunteering and the Great Barrier Reef excursion to name a few. This move will change Mr Begg’s daily commute from a two hour round trip to 10 minutes which will enable him to enjoy more personal time with his family. We all wish him well and thank him for his dedication to student learning over his time here.Mr Bayas has had to take some leave at short notice but we have been lucky to have Mr Niven return to us to take his classes.

We finished last term with our inaugural cross country carnival at Petersham Park. With the support of many staff, Mr Uppal organised an amazing day of physical activity for the whole school. Previously only competitors were involved but everyone agreed that it was such an enjoyable day that it should continue in this format. Some excited staff have thrown out a running challenge to the students.

Over the holidays the Department of Education has replaced the roof on the Wilkins building. This Building is heritage listed and the roof is now tiled with chocolate brown terracotta tiles in keeping with the original construction. Although this caused some disruptions, the contractors are to be congratulated for completing the project in one week less than planned and we are pleased to have a shiny new roof on our gorgeous building. We have also

had the tin ceiling repaired in the Wilkins stairwell so this area can now be used after a long hiatus.

We have commissioned a street artist to paint some murals in some areas of the school that need a little lifting. He submitted designs to a committee of students and staff and is now in the process of undercoating and painting with the help of students. We are all watching intently as the giant cicada in the Kilgour quad takes shape.

As always there have been many activities, events and achievements happening over the past month which are detailed within this newsletter and on our Instagram and Facebook pages. I must make mention, however, of our successful European IMP tour. Following their progress on Instagram over the holidays made me so proud of everything that is Fort Street. Our students are without doubt extraordinary, but they can not do what they do without the dedication and hard work of our staff who go above and beyond to give them the opportunities to fly so high. I received an email from a member of the public which says it all.

“We returned from Europe on the weekend, on the same flights (Vienna and Dubai) as your staff and students who had been on a music tour. We would like to highly commend the students on their behaviour and attitudes. No matter how tired they must have been they were wonderful ambassadors for, not only your school, but Australia. With students like these the future of Australia is in good hands.”

Karen Di StefanoRelieving Principal

Public Speaking

John Bivell was successful in representing the school at the Local Final of The NSW Plain English Speaking Award at SCEGGS Darlinghurst on Monday 14th May. He competed against SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Sydney Boys, Randwick Boys, Ascham, Kincoppal and Kambala. He will now proceed to the Regional Final of the competition. Congratulations to John and good luck with the next round.

Ms SchlamPublic Speaking Coordinator

Fort Street High School Exit ProfileThe school exit profile articulates the vision for student achievement. Successful Fortians will have:

• maximised their academic potential • developed individual skills and talents across a variety of areas• developed learning strategies to equip them to be independent, self-motivated and life-long learners• developed emotional resilience, self-reliance, interpersonal skills, the capacity to connect to others and

leadership potential • recognised their responsibilities to the wider community• developed a strong sense of social justice as well as a commitment to fairness and equity.

LIBRARY NEWS

The building component of the Library alterations include:

• The learning Centre being moved into the COL. Bars removed from windows, an alteration to the door to the balcony and railings changed to meet current standards.

• Careers Room and waiting area moved to the Library. This with the above Learning Centre move creates a school services area in the current entry area of the Library.

• Library desk and work space – altered to accommodate the new Careers hub. Includes a new Librarian staff desk that allows for clear line of site through the whole Library

• Security Screen outside the Learning Centre – Re-purposing the display cabinet in the Library to also be a barrier between the Learning Centre and Careers spaces. The remainder of the wall separating the Learning Centre and Careers Hub from the Library will be glass brick

• Toilets upgrade to current standards• Seminar room and senior study/seminar room as per the plan. These provide bookable spaces for students/

teachers.• IT Room (presently a study space next to the COMMs/Server Room) to meet standards for a bookable room• COMMs/Server room - opening window hutch to create an IT service counter for student enquiries.• Charging station/standing student desk area. Along a section of one wall allowing.• External bag area - new shelving.• There will be new carpet, furniture that will be portable to create spaces as needed and new shelving/which may

be integrated into the furniture.

CHS VolleyballOn Friday 11 May 2018 Fort Street’s senior boys volleyball team took on arch rivals, Ryde Secondary College, in a match to determine who would be crowned Northern Sydney Region CHS Boys Volleyball champions. The stakes were high. Not only would the winner progress to the state finals, to play against the 15 best school teams in NSW, but Fort Street was seeking redemption from the previous year where they had lost to Ryde.

Our team comprised of 10 Year 12 students, veterans from last year’s CHS campaign. Not merely fitter, taller and stronger than last year, they had become wiser in their game strategy and more confident in their abilities. They were also joined by one Year 11 student, Caleb Vukovic, to bring youthful exuberance and innocence, having not bared witness to the bitter pain of last year’s defeat.

Fort Street started with confidence, having not dropped a set in their previous 3 lead up matches. They also started with an amazing amount of energy, both on and off the field, with the boys playing with great positivity and volumous cheer. And when Fort Street won the first 8 points and then the first set, sweet redemption seemed a chance.

But Ryde were not to be under-estimated, having a well drilled team full of lanky bodies. And once the juggernaut got going and our energy waned, our boys found it hard to complete the job. Ryde won in 4 sets.

Despite their evident disappointment in losing, I was extremely proud of the way the team played and represented Fort Street. They were very athletic, extremely skillful, smart, dedicated, supportive, team oriented and maintained their sense of good fun. They should be proud of the way they developed as a team, showing much more grit and strategic thought in the way they played, and learnt how to get the best out of each member of the team.

So a big congratulations must go to the team for their hard work and fine achievements. Well done to Winston Sun,Zach Somy, Ke Jia Li, Daniel Guo, Matthew Lam, Edward Kwag, Daniel Wark, Nathan Cao, Kevin Xuan and Damien Feng.

Hugh O’Neill

Welcome back...

Wesley Lai and Finn Bryson, both Student Ambassadors for USyd, who came back to the Fort to talk to Year 12 about life at USyd as part of our series of Thursday lunchtime presentations about the universities, cadetships, scholarships, and life after the HSC.

Earth and Environmental Science Excursion to Regional NSW.

The Earth and Environmental Science excursion was a great success. The students were really impressed with how much they learned and how much regional NSW has to offer. We left FSHS at 7am on Wednesday 16 May, stopping briefly at The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains. After arriving at Mandurama we had session about sustainable agriculture and alternative farming methods, and the geological history of the region. We then visited the Canowindra Age of

Fishes Museum - a great museum - before staying at Newhaven Park House outside Bathurst. The following morning we visited the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst, another great museum with the only full T-Rex skeleton in Australia. In the afternoon we toured through the Charbon coal mine and studied the rehabilitation of the land. On Friday we had a small tour around Bathurst, including Mt Panorama and the Regional Art Gallery. This was

followed by tours through the Water Filtration Plant, Waste Water (sewerage) Plant and the landfill site. We then drove to Jenolan Caves for dinner and a night cave tour, looking at the geological history and palaeontology of the caves. We stayed in Jenolan that night. Saturday morning we had a guided walk through open caves and bushland, focussing on geology, ecology and palaeontology of the area before returning to Fort Street.

Gabriel GuyScience Faculty

NSW Ultimate Senior School State Championships

Though not mainstream, Ultimate Frisbee is a competitive sport, requiring high level athleticism and skill. It favours a diverse range of players, the tall and the short, the fast and the less fast. Successful teams benefit from having strategically minded players, and having a commitment to well spirited sportsmanship. For these reasons, Fortians are attracted to, and adept at, playing Ultimate. So on Thursday 10 May, 30 students from Fort Street, in two teams, competed at the NSW Ultimate Senior School State Championships, with high hopes of winning the competition. The Year 12 team started well, blitzing their first round opponents. The Year 10 team, in their first game, was brought down to earth by the smooth play of Baulkham Hills, who would later go on to win the competition. Over the course of the day, each team played 6 x 30 minute games, which proved to be both physically and mentally taxing. Whilst both teams toiled hard, the Year 10 team showed more consistency in not winning too many games, and the Year 12 team had more mixed results, eventually being placed as the 6th best team in the state. However, not to be out done, and for the second year in a row, the Year 10 team brought home the prestigious Spirit Prize, being judged by their opponents as the fairest and most sporting team in the state. In doing so, they did an outstanding job in representing the school. The most outstanding outcome of the championship came in 8 Fortians being chosen to play for the NSW at the Australian Youth Ultimate Championships in Adelaide in July. This is an incredible outcome and testament of the hard work these students have put in to becoming some of Australia’s best athletes in this game. As their quasi-coach, and as a certified Frisbee nut, I am immensely proud of these students and the efforts that all students displayed at the championships. Congratulations to Edmund Feng, Richard Trang, Richard Ly, Eric Ly, Damien Feng, Kayla Chen, Ameira Sant and Angelina Li.

I look forward to reporting on how these Fortians fair at nationals, and also on the Junior State Competition (for Year 7-9) to be held later in the year.

Hugh O’Neill

Fort Street High School presents an opportunity not to be missed:

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS PARENT AND STUDENT STUDY SKILLS EVENING

with Dr Prue Salter

TO: PARENTS & STUDENTS OF YEAR 7 (and Year 8 students who missed out last year or would like a refresher)

Would you like to know the study skills secrets to success in high school?

YEAR 7 PARENT/STUDENT ‘STUDY SKILLS’ EVENING

Wednesday 30th May 2018, 6.30-8pm @ Fort Street High School

(Note: please arrive 5-10 min prior to collect the family handout.)

Parent/Guardian(s) and students should attend together as the session is very interactive, the session will not be of full value unless both the students and a parent attend.

Both students and parents also need to bring along a pen (and one highlighter for the family) and the school diary.

The main areas that will be covered are:

• Managing homework and assignments effectively by

efficient time management.

• Learning to be more organised for school and at home.

• Working and studying effectively in high school.

An interactive evening for parents and students that outlines tools and techniques for students to achieve their personal academic best.

Dr Prue Salter is the founder of ELES (www.enhanced-learning.net) and an expert in the area of study skills. She has conducted over 4000 study skills seminars across Australia and Asia, has written 20 study skills resource kits for schools and is the creator of the online and interactive study skills website used by more than 120000 students (www.studyskillshandbook.com.au).

Prue’s PhD explores whole-school integrated approaches to developing students’ self-regulated learning skills.

Student responsibilitiesWhenever you're travelling with your School Opal card, stay safe and respect your fellow passengers.

Stay safe

• Stand behind the yellow line on the platform.• Board and alight the train in a way that's safe for you and other

passengers.• Move well inside the carriage in order to keep doorways clear.• Never board a train or holding the door open after the whistle has

blown. Some train doors are not like lift doors and will continue to close even if obstructed.

• Never ride bicycles, skateboards or scooters on station platforms.• Never play with sporting equipment on the platform.

Respect your fellow passengers

• Offer up your seat if all the seats are full and adults are standing. Don't wait to be asked.• Be polite. Wait for all passengers to leave the train before you get on.• Be aware of where you're standing. Remember, your backpack can bump into people behind you.• Have a look at the carriage before you get on. If it's full, spread out along the platform and use different

doors. You'll see your friends again later.• Take care with your school bag. Make sure it's not in the way of other passengers or blocking the

walkway or doors and keep it off the seat.• Help others. Keep an eye out for elderly people and those with disabilities. These people often travel by

train and they could do with your help. Also people with babies in strollers or prams may appreciate a helping hand.

• Understand your behaviour counts. When you apply for your School Opal card, you're giving permission for Sydney Trains to show security camera footage to your school principal or teachers should you be caught misbehaving and breaching the code of conduct.

Code of conductIn order to comply with the code of conduct for school students on trains and stations, make sure you:

• Obey all signage instructions on stations and trains.• Respect the needs and comfort of other passengers.• Behave safely at all times (e.g. avoid running or riding bikes, scooters or skates on stations and trains,

keep off the train lines, keep arms, legs and other body parts inside the train, refrain from touching train doors, safety equipment or any part of a moving train).

• Use non-offensive language and behave appropriately at all times on rail property (e.g. avoid swearing, spitting, fighting, throwing items, keep feet off seats).

• Protect rail property and report graffiti and vandalism. • Keep yourself and anything you are carrying clear of aisles, steps, thoroughfares and behind the yellow

line on platforms.• Take your rubbish with you and dispose of it thoughtfully.• Follow the instructions of station staff, drivers, guards and transit officers.• Carry your School Opal card during all school-related travel.• Spread out along the platform so as not to overcrowd one carriage. Avoid boarding carriages that are

already overcrowded.• Allow other passengers to alight before boarding and then board the train without delay.• Move inside the carriage and stand away from the doors during travel.• Adhere to the Rail Safety Act 2008 that bans all commuters from carrying knives, spray cans and

permanent marker pens.• Adhere to the law that bans smoking and drinking alcohol at stations or on trains.

Your pass may be confiscated and a fine may also apply if you don't follow the rules.

Page 1 of 2Student responsibilities - Sydney Trains

10/05/2018http://www.sydneytrains.info/travelling_with/safety_and_education/student_responsib...

Join the new LOST FORT STREET Facebook page!

See some of the Fort Street archives

and share some of your own photos and memories!

Check on the link below…

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2023669614544302/

“Learning Curve”

The usual road for those doing family history research is to head straight to the births, deaths and marriage records. Many don’t realize that documents generated from schools are an excellent resource to get a glimpse of your ancestors in their early lives. Records from schools can disclose significant vital details about your family from names of students and their parent’s as well as addresses, occupations and birth dates. These documents can also reveal additional personal details about your ancestors and can uncover if your ancestor was a high achieving athlete, consummate musician, dux of the school or a persistent troublemaker.

In Australia the earliest schools in the colony were established to provide literacy skills, religious education and domestic or industrial training for impoverished children. In Sydney Governor King founded the Female Orphan School in 1801 and under Governor Macquarie the Male Orphan School in 1819. Australia’s oldest school in continuous operation was established by Henry Wrensford who was granted a conditional pardon by Governor Macquarie and started Newcastle East Public School the school in 1816. In 1848 the Board of National Education administered the establishment of the public school system and model schools, such as Fort Street Model School in 1849, to assist with teacher training and certification.

Records from schools certainly offer information for the family history researcher particularly for children where there is no other documentation other than a birth certificate. The school records also place families in communities and we can see who lived in the neighbourhood and also attended that school. Education records for state government schools are typically held by the relevant state archives and there may be finding aid materials or research guides which will catalogue the most popular or accessible series.

What types of school records are available?The managing of educational institutions produces documents such as admission registers and attendance rolls which are the best source of information on individuals. The range of other records can also include log books, school magazines, minute books, newsletters, class photos, and brochures can offer an insight into the daily life of the school community.

Admission registersSome of the most useful details concerning student records can be found in the admission registers. They usually record factual information about the child’s name, age, name of their parents/guardian, address, parent occupation, date of admission, year and class grade and sometimes reason for leaving or next school to be attended. In the admission register for Fort Street you can see the admission details of the Sir Harold Wyndham the future Director General of Education in NSW. Here you can see details of his birth date and father’s name but also his religion, address and his previous school at Cleveland Street.

School magazinesAn important snapshot of the school is the school magazine. This is typically an annual document that summarises the academic year and school achievements in exams, sport, the arts and reports form significant representatives such as the principal and school captains. Fort Street High School has digitised their school magazines dating back to the first edition in 1899. This is an excellent resource for historians as the magazine can be downloaded and be searchable with optical character recognition (OCR) to find names and events more effortlessly. In addition school magazines sometimes has class photos in each edition. Photography was an expensive and inaccessible past time for many people so for some researchers the class photo may be the only image of their ancestor as a child.

Punishment books

Sometime you may be able to access punishment books of naughty students. These books give the name of the child who was punished, the date, the offence and type of punishment given. These can give a fascinating insight to the character of students and sometimes the injustice of the reprimand. Please be aware that punishment books in state archives have a limited public access.

Examination booksIf you are lucky you may find the contents of examination books. This may include some record student examination results for each subject, total marks and place in grade, while others contain samples of examination questions.

Old School files The old school files, typically found in state archives, deal mainly with the day-to-day administration and maintenance of the school. Occasionally students are mentioned, particularly when an application is made to the school or a request to help families in enduring hardship.

TeachersIf your ancestor worked as a teacher, administrator, was on the board of a school, or had any employment related to education then there is a chance that their name and details about them are included in the archives. Biographical information could be available on teachers as well as records of their qualifications and their remuneration. For many decades, however, women had to give up teaching when they got married so their time in the classroom was often brief.

Top Tips from other School Archivists It was common for people to use their middle name as their first name at the turn of the 20th Century, which wasn’t necessarily reflected in their school’s admission register.Bridget Minatel - Archivist Sydney Grammar School

The single most important resource is the school magazine. I had the magazines digitised and I can now search using the student’s surname. It’s a great way to find out about their school career.Debby Cramer - Archivist Presbyterian Ladies’ College

School archivists, through their own experience of searching for and interpreting information about past students and staff, learn all the tricks and techniques and all the features and foibles of their records: so don’t hesitate to ask the archivist (if there is one) for help.David Roberts - Archivist Newington College

If the records you’re looking at has images of the original document always look at the original image. There is often much more information on the original document than is transcribed such as ancestor’s address or the ‘reasons for leaving’ field in admission registers.Anna Brooks - Archivist Loreto Kirribilli

71st Reunion of the Fort Street Girls’ High School 1947

It was such a wonderful feeling and a great privilege to walk into a room of the loveliest ladies, all in their late eighties, some of them with tiring bodies but certainly not their brains. Most of the 1947 girls have been meeting at Potts Point every year since 1997. Some had travelled from as far away as Ballina and Narooma for the occasion.

It was lovely to hear their school stories from war memories of air raid drills 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. They were all in awe and mostly terrified of Fanny Cohen their headmistress, especially if their maths marks weren’t up to scratch. They hated the sports uniform, they said that they looked like Sir Francis Drake in pantaloons with a white blouse with a sailor collar and a navy blue bow at the front.

They agreed that Fort Street encouraged all girls to go on to 5th form and do the Leaving Certificate and made them see that tertiary education was possible for them not just their brothers, although sadly many of them came from families who could only afford to send their brothers to University and felt that as the girls would marry and have children, they could fill in their time by working in office jobs. Some of the girls did graduate and became doctors, lawyers teachers, nurses, pharmacists and writers.

Shirley Cox, who organises the reunions said that she could not believe how quickly time had flown. “It seems just like yesterday we were together and everything in between hasn’t happened.”

Chris Egan Archives

1947 reunion - Margaret Frazer

Mercurius P&C News:May 2018 Page 1 of 3

Fort Street High School Parents & Citizens Association

ABN 59 424 414 672

E: fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

Next P&C Meeting for 2018

Focus Item: TAS presentation and

tour of planned Robotics Area 6:30pm – 7:30pm

General Meeting 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Wednesday, 13 June 2018

School Library School Tour for Works Planning At our last meeting we were taken on a tour of the school to view the works that are in progress or planned over the next year. Thank you to Karen di Stefano for showing us around and helping us to see the improvements that are being made to important spaces for our kids.

Next Focus Item: The TAS department will be presenting to parents as the Focus Item at our next meeting in June. They will also take parents who attend on a tour of the woodwork room which is to be converted into a Robotics Area.

All parents are welcome to attend the Focus Item and/or the General meeting. We hope to see you there.

Mercurius P&C News:May 2018 Page 2 of 3

Fort Fest 2018 Sunday 17 June FortFest is here again! The Fort Street Festival has a rich and long tradition. Originally known as the Fort Street School Bazaar, it was started by students in 1897 to raise funds for the school. The SRC and students still maintain a vital role in the organising of this bi-annual event. Fort Fest is our MAJOR COMMUNITY and FUNDRAISING EVENT and we welcome all families to get involved. The day is non-stop FUN with Student Stalls, A Talent Quest, Fest Stalls – second hand books, plants, trash and treasure, International food to thrill your taste buds and musical entertainment from our talented IMP and visiting bands. There will also be picnic field games on the oval as well as Carnival rides. There are lots of different ways to support the Fest… Volunteer your time sign up here: https://signup.com/group/4170210920302400127 There are plenty of opportunities to help from the marketing/ pre-planning, to being a Stall Captain, to doing a 2.5hr shift on a stall on the day Donations: For the Raffles and Silent Auction we are calling for quality items and services e.g. Holiday accommodation, professional services, theatre tickets, vouchers, objet d’art etc Contact Shruti 2018fortfest@gmail.com From the beginning of term 2 we will be collecting donations at the school for the Second hand Stalls, so get busy over the holidays and collect: Books, Good quality trash and treasure e.g jigsaw puzzles. homewares, games…, Good quality clothes (no children’s clothes please) If you want to be involved with the Plant and Gardening stall please contact Alison via 2018fortfest@gmail.com ..and for the bakers, we will be calling for cakes for the café closer to the Festival date We will also ask for donations by year group for food and drinks but more on this later. FORT FEST merchandise will go on sale in term 2, twice a week before school. FF18 T-shirts, FSHS aprons, FSHS drink bottles, centenary tea-towels and mugs. We can't wait to do it all again... and see you at the Fest! Any questions, please email 2018fortfest@gmail.com Elizabeth, Jenny, Lorena, Sarah and Shruti

Mercurius P&C News:May 2018 Page 3 of 3

P&C Uniform Shop Volunteers Needed

Day: Wednesday (during school term) Time: from 10:00am – 2:00pm (as much or little as you can) Email: fshs2013@gmail.com

All offers of help warmly welcomed.

Second hand uniform stall - dates for your diary The second hand uniform stall runs before school (7.45-8.45 am) on the second Wednesday of each term in the canteen area (downstairs from the library - follow the signs to the library and turn left down the stairs in front of the library doors). Parents and students are welcome to attend and pick up some bargain spare items. The stall is cash only, sizes and condition as found, no change rooms, no refunds or exchanges. Price guide: shirts/shorts/IMP items/ties/sports uniform tops/shorts $5, trousers/skirts $10, jumpers $20, some uniform shop seconds at half price as marked. Dates: Term 3: Wednesday 1 August, Term 4: Wednesday 24 October Donations and volunteers: We rely on donations to recycle uniforms for the benefit of students and the environment. Your clean washed uniform items, including IMP and Arts Unit uniforms, are appreciated and may be donated at the library. Thank you to our library and front office staff for supporting the SHUS. All proceeds go to your P&C. Thank you to the stall volunteers - if you would like to volunteer please contact Sally M, stall coordinator on mceastonland@gmail.com

If you are interested in further information on any of the work of the P&C at FSHS but can’t make it to P&C meetings please subscribe to our Member/Supporter Update here: http://eepurl.com/cXWaEX.or email us at fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au.

To aid our volunteers please include the following in the subject heading: ‘Please subscribe me to the FSHS P&C Updates’.