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 8, November 2017

The school received news earlier this month that Ms Roslynne Moxham has been appointed as a Director, Educational Leadership within the Department of Education. This new role is a fitting recognition of Ms Moxham’s many years of outstanding service to the Department of Education and a wonderful opportunity for her to continue her contribution to public education in NSW. Ms Moxham is one of the most experienced principals and educational leaders in Australia. She has been Principal of Fort Street High School since 2000, having previously been Principal of Davidson High School and Asquith Girls High School. Her strong leadership over many years at the Fort has shaped the values and culture of the school to make it the beacon of liberal education that it is today. The school sends Ms Moxham our warmest congratulations on such a well-deserved promotion.

The process of appointing a new Principal has already begun, and a panel convened by Ms Virginia Pacey (Director, Marrickville Network) with representatives from the school community will meet next year to appoint a new principal to start in Term 2, 2018.

November has been another busy month in the life of the school, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to see the breadth and depth of student achievement, both in and outside the classroom, that being in the role of relieving principal has allowed me. Some of the student activities and successes over the past month include:

The school’s Remembrance Day Assembly, which was a particular highlight for me. The students who spoke, Joshua Quek (10), Ameira Sant (9) and Alexander Migdialis (11), reflected powerfully on their families’ experiences of conflict in Greece, Malta, Singapore and South Korea. The assembly was also a chance to induct our student leaders for 2018, including the new SRC executive of Ashley Challinor (11), Sunil Jassal (11), Lily Lam (11) and Larissa Yang (11), as well as the House Captains and Vice Captains.

At the Remembrance Assembly Ms Katrina Jenns, mother of Rose and Kate Cousins (Fortians 2014 and 2016 respectively) was awarded the school’s Distinguished Service Medal. In the time when her daughters attended the school, Ms Jenns worked tirelessly to promote the Duke of Edinburgh program, which grew significantly both in numbers and importance, and also showed great commitment to the IMP through her support of the Chamber Choir which gained their first national title during her involvement. The assembly was also attended by Fortians from the class of 1967 as part of their 50th reunion celebrations.

Year 12 Drama students received news that Sam Martin (12) had been shortlisted for his individual performance, and Giacomo Degotardi (12) for his individual script project. Gracia Clifford (12), Emily Henderson (12),

Cole Johnson (11) and Sam Martin (12) were also selected to perform their HSC group performance as part of the OnStage program of best HSC works in the state. Congratulations to those students, to the rest of the Year 12 Drama class whose feedback and collaboration helped shape these projects and to their proud teacher and expert mentor Ms Carolyn Mattick.

A number of other Year 12 students have had success applying for university scholarships. Angela Zheng and Victor Tsang have made it through to the final round interviews at UNSW for the Women in Engineering Scholarship, and the Co-op Scholarship respectively, Henry Wen for medicine at UNSW, while Vivian Truong has been awarded the Sydney Scholars Award at the University of Sydney, valued at $50,000 over five years.

The Inter-School Social Justice Forum hosted by Fort Street and organised by Mr Hugh O’Neill, with Mr Alan Cameron (President of the NSW Law Reform Commission) as guest speaker and attended by students from selective schools across Sydney.

Our Year 7 Premiers Debating team - Declan Dann, Lana Ilic, Veronica Kwong, Vivian Le, Frankie Murphy and Carolina Pardo Teruel, won their zone final, before being defeated by Sydney Girls in the semi-final of the regional competition, and our Year 10 History Debating team (pictured) - Alison Hwang, Luce Neilson, Oliver Reucassel, Ameira Sant and Catherine Tran won the grand final of their competition against Menai High School.

Year 8 students participated in a scavenger hunt style excursion to the city and overnight camp on Cockatoo Island, organised by their Year Adviser Mr Hugh O’Neill, and Year 7 students had their end of year picnic at Clovelly beach organised by their Year Adviser Mr James Wright.

Year 9 and 10 students from the English Enrichment program held an afternoon tea, including readings from the creative projects they had been working on throughout the year. I was only able to attend this afternoon tea, but was very impressed with the quality of the work I heard. Extracts of the students’ work can be foun in this Mercurius.

Students of Chinese (Mandarin) were involved in two special days organised by Mr Teng Fei Dong and Ms Zoe Tian: China Day at Bonnyrigg High School where Year 10 students participated in cultural activities and performed a special item along with students of Chinese from across Sydney, and Confucius Day where students of Chinese from Years 7-10 participated in a range of workshops including Lion Dancing, Calligraphy, Drumming and Table Tennis.

The school’s Amnesty group, led by Evalena Chilas (11) under the supervision of Ms Jenny Xu ran a successful multicultural mufti day with a guest speaker from Amnesty International and activities to celebrate the vibrant mix of cultures within the school.

Year 8 and 9 students presented the projects which they had been working on in the Connected Curricula Program throughout terms 2 and 3. Year 8 researched anxiety and mental health, while Year 9 investigated a topic of their own choosing in the fields of Innovation, Human Rights, Space & Time, Sustainability and Customs & Culture. Thanks to Ms Catriona Arcamone for co-ordinating the project and to the many staff helpers.

In the Performing Arts, students have been busy rehearsing and finalising their projects for the Music, Art and Drama (MAD) evenings this week. Students in the IMP are also polishing their pieces for the IMP end of year concert on Sunday 10 December. I would encourage you to attend these events both to experience the incredibly high standard of the final products, and to acknowledge the considerable efforts of students and staff which have gone into producing them.

Behind the scenes the school has also been in the process of appointing a new canteen provider, after the current provider chose not to extend their lease. Thanks to Ms Christine Humphrys (SAS staff), Ms Natasha Pollock (P&C), Melanie Bruniges (P&C), Don Newby (Fortian 1967) and Ms Jenny Xu for the time and effort which they have contributed to the panel. We received many high quality applications, and are confident that the new provider will be able to provide a healthy, attractive service for the school community.

Staff have also been working hard to assess and report on students’ academic achievements from second semester. Reports for Years 7-10 will be issued in week 10. These reports contain achievement grades rather than marks, and focus on the skills students have developed and the outcomes they have displayed. We do not give ranks or averages, because we want students to focus on their own achievements and capabilities, not compare themselves to others in their class or year group. All students who have grown in their knowledge and understanding should be pleased with their progress. We hope that all students will use their semester two report grades and comments to reflect on what they have learned this year, and how they want to continue to grow in 2018.

Parents will soon be receiving school contribution sheets for 2018. The school in consultation with the School Council,

have decided to add a contribution towards the building fund of $500 per family for 2018. This is a voluntary, tax deductible levy, which will contribute to the ongoing improvement of the school environment. Currently the school has plans for significant upgrades of the Library, the kitchen facilities used by Food Technology and Hospitality students, the TAS rooms used for Robotics, the canteen area and the Rowe Quadrangle.

Joel MorrisonRelieving Principal

Congratulations toThe FSHS Opens Boys Touch Football Sydney North champions. Undefeated all year and a comprehensive grandfinal victory over a tough Concord side. We are very proud of the effort, teamwork and consistency they displayed all year.

MAD Night

Another MAD Night done and dusted. Congratulations to all the performers and prize winners and a huge thank you to the CAPA staff for putting on another quality creative and performing arts showcase

All students who have hired a locker will be issued a new locker at the beginning of next year.

Please remove everything from your locker by Friday 8th December including your padlock.

Any lockers left locked will be opened, and anything left behind will be thrown away.

Herculaneum Study DayYear 12 Ancient History students attended a Herculaneum Study Day at the Mitchell Theatre on Monday 27 November. The presenter, Dr Brian Brennan, is a research assistant at Macquarie University and author of several HSC textbooks on the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

In the first session Dr Brennan examined the effects of the eruption on Herculaneum and evaluated the work done on skeletal remains by key archaeologists. This was followed by a close study of the work of Amadeo Maiuri whose open-cut excavation of the city from under 20 metres of hardened volcanic material remains widely celebrated even if some of his subsequent restoration methods are now regarded as questionable. In the third session we were given a ‘visual tour’ of Herculaneum through photographic images, video clips and a town map. In the final session of the day Dr Brennan evaluated the success of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, established in 2001 as a collaborative response to counter the progressive degradation of the site, which continues to this day.

Dr Brennan enjoyed meeting the attentive students from Fort Street and happily posed for a “selfie” with them at the end of the Study Day.

John de BresAncient History Teacher

Social Justice Conference 2017On Wednesday 22 November, Fort Street hosted the 2017 Interschool Social Justice Conference. Around 100 students attended the conference from 10 different high schools across Sydney, including Fort Street’s Legal Studies students.

This year’s conference them was “Can the Law Deliver Social Justice” and students heard from a range of legal experts who presented their views. These experts included the keynote speaker, Mr Alan Cameron, Chair of the NSW Law Reform Commission, as well as representatives from the Homeless Persons Legal Servive (located at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre), UTS’ Anti-Slavery Australia organisation, the Rule of Law Institute of Australia and the Office of the E-Safety Commissioner.

Students were able to participate in workshops with these experts, gaining real world experience from those who work towards social justice each day. However, the highlight of the conference was the interactive panel discussion where students asked questions of a 4 person expert panel. Many insightful questions were posed across a range of issues, including how best to fight for social justice when of student age to identifying the merits of greater regulation of the gaming industry.

Mr Morrison closed the conference with a speech that at 3pm in the afternoon, would only work in front of Fortian students – he discussed Cicero’s thoughts on the interplay between law and social justice.

There was a real sense of the day being a success with students benefiting from meeting like-minded students from other schools and hearing from leading social justice advocates in our community. The conference also helped develop the social and political awareness of the students, reinforcing the values Fort Street seeks to impart on all those it educates.

Hugh O’NeillSocial Science and History Teacher and Conference Organiser

Year 10 Business Studies ExcursionOur excursion to Sydney Tower and also the Parliament provided real world applications to what we had learnt in Business Studies. We first met outside Pitt Street Mall and walked to the reception of Sydney Tower. We were greeted with a guide who provided an overview of what we were going to do during the tour. She explained the diversity of the food at Sydney Tower Buffet where most of its visitors were tourists (mainly China and other countries in Asia). For this reason, their variation in food aims to cater for different markets where spring rolls, dim sims etc are available. We learned how Sydney Tower purchases resources from Australia in bulk and also make all their food in the kitchen so that they have total control on the operations to maintain quality. Our class was extremely fascinated by the kitchen when we walked past as most of us had never seen a commercial kitchen before. There were work teams of about two-three working on separate dishes such as the mango cake. We were also informed that Sydney Tower Buffet offers three types of bread that are baked freshly everyday and although many of us wondered how waste would be managed if not everyone ate bread, the tour guide explained that they were flexible in making their dishes. This was achieved by making less for dinner if there were leftovers during lunch and also by monitoring the amount of bookings the day before can provide a good estimate as to how much food must be made without creating excess waste.

After the tour, we sat down at the buffet and we were given one hour to eat. The variety of the food was amazing as it ranged from savoury to sweet. The highlight of the buffet was definitely the desserts as the variety was incredible. It included cakes, ice cream, mousse, tapioca, churros etc where most of us went back for seconds. The buffet gave us a breathtaking view of Sydney as the floor moved 360 degrees around.

We walked to the Parliament House and first visited the lower house - the Legislative Assembly, followed by the upper house - the Legislative Council. We learned about the different parties including the government and opposition parties, and we participated in several role plays that provided insight for Legal Studies as some of us have picked Legal Studies for senior years. Our tour guide helped us provide an understanding of how bills are proposed when a laws are changed. Many of us got to stand up and read the scripts as though we were politicians and representatives for electorates. We were informed that we were able to visit these debates as they are open to public. The tour guide also explained that people in the upper gallery were often journalists for media companies that would write what each representative’s argument was to use for newspaper articles.

Overall, the day was extremely fun and rewarding experience especially after the completion of our HSC course. Thank you to Ms Jerrems for organising this event.

Chloe TranYear 10

Year 8 Amazing RaceOn Monday 13 November 2017, all Year 8 students participated in an Amazing-Race style run around the city, searching for clues and teachers, followed by a night on Cockatoo Island. Here’s how it went.

Late Monday morning, students met up at First Fleet park, before being given the trust to roam the city in groups of eight, provided with only a single clue to guide them. Once this riddle was solved the students would travel to the location in the clue and search for a teacher. Once found, the hidden teacher would give them the clue for the next site. This continued through all five locations, which included Parliament House, the old site of Fort St High School on Observatory Hill, Hyde Park, the Art Gallery of NSW and the fifth floor of the Centrepoint Tower. After wearily dragging themselves back to the meeting point of First Fleet Park, the students caught a ferry to Cockatoo Island to camp for the night.

On Cockatoo Island students were assigned tents and mattresses. During setup, the lucky ones actually got enough mattresses, while the others scrambled to try and find something to sleep on. In the evening, Mr O’Neill and the other staff displayed his supreme cooking skills, making the best sausage sizzle in the history of Year 8 camp. The teachers (un)willingly sacrificed their sleep to patrol and control the students who very willingly traded sleep in favour of “quiet” gossip or nonsensical babbling.

The morning featured various cereals, and pancakes ranging from beautiful, golden halos, to misshapen lumps of charcoal not fit for human consumption. Students participated in activities such as lounging around, tours of the islands with impromptu choral singing or original games devised by creative Fortians.

Students were then ferried back to Circular Quay on a private boat (except for 8F who had to catch a public ferry). Despite being tired within an inch of their lives, and having to do sport on our return, the camp was enjoyed by the entirety of Year 8, who left the island with great memories and sleepy eyes.

Mateo Baskaran, Tim Brew, and Oliver Martin,Year 8.

WAFTSScience challenge Year 10 mentor students went to UTS for a day of Science workshops with Tempe year 10s and their primary school mentees from Summer Hill, Ashfield and Wilkins.

Science Teachers’ Association Young Scientist Awards.Congratulations to Calvin Xu, Justin Cheung and Angel Senthilnatha who were awarded second place in Chemistry at the STANSW Awards.

Fort Street High School Exit Profile

The 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.

Important Dates

December1 Year 7 Picnic3-11 Year 12 Assessments4 2018 Year 7 Orientation6 School Council Meeting8 Recognition Assembly11 Year 9 History Dance incursion13 SRC Christmas Dance15 HSC Morning Tea15 End of term 4

January29 Staff Development Day - no students30 Year 7 students return with Year 10 Peer Support31 All students return

February5 Swimming Carnival5 IMP committee meeting6 SRC Year 7 Sport Day7 Year 10 and 11 Information Evening7 Photo Day9 Assembly14 Parent Welcome Night14 P&C Meeting

Year 9 English Enrichment excerpts

Excerpt from ‘Luxembourg’, a short story/script by Alana Hodzic, Year 9

ELANORE is wandering around Vianden Castle, running her fingers along the rough brick walls and inspecting little details of the castle. Nora trails behind, taking pictures in another chamber. The castle is mostly empty as it’s a busy work day for the majority of Luxembourg.ELANORE reaches a set of stairs and her steps slow as she climbs them, her hands gripping the railing. A picturesque landscape opens up and once she reaches the balcony, she stops, her sudden movement echoing down the staircase. She reaches her shaking hand into her jacket pocket, and pulls out a single worn photograph. The photo is of a young ELANORE and her father standing in that very spot. Tears well in her eyes and she lets them fall, landing on the photo. She stays that way for a time, quietly thinking. She hears footsteps from behind and turns her head to see NORA walking up behind her, smiling.NORA: I thought I’d find you here. I was just about to go.NORA turns to head back down the stairs, beckoning for ELANORE to follow. ELANORE steps a timid foot forwards, but hesitates, absorbing NORA’S words.ELANORE: Wait…Her voice echoes its way to NORA, who is now halfway down the stairs.NORA: Yeah?ELANORE looks down at the photo and glances back down at NORA, who is now running back up the stairs.ELANORE: How did you know?NORA: I saw it when I was doing your washing, and planned the trip today because I was curious.ELANORE raises her eyebrows at NORA. NORA is almost at the landing, and is panting heavily.NORA: Sorry for prying [pants heavily]. You know I always tend to stick my nose where it’s not wanted [pants again].ELANORE: No, it’s fine.Her facial expression betrays her statement.NORA: Now I’ve gone and made you upset. What is it with me today?ELANORE: But do you want to know? Hang on, don’t answer that. I’ve left you in the dark about everything for too long. Mum too.NORA walks up to ELANORE and smiles, looking at the now teardrop-splattered photo.ELANORE: He used to take me here and I would wander around, run my hands along the rough brick walls. But only when he wasn’t looking.NORA giggles, and ELANORE smiles up at her.ELANORE: This was our favourite spot. We’d sit on a picnic blanket and he’d tell me these amazing stories. He’d make them up each time. I still think they’re the best he ever wrote. And then he just left.NORA wraps her arms around her older sister, and ELANORE exhales and the photo drops to the ground, falling onto the place it was taken.NORA: He loved us, he just made the wrong decision.ELANORE: And continues to make it.NORA: He doesn’t matter anymore. You want some pastries?They complete their trip with a small snack of leftover pastries, sitting on the flagstones warm from the sun and looking out over the small city.

Excerpt from ‘Down to the Bone’, a poetry anthology by Aidan Limnios, Year 9

A caterpillar crawling deep withinMunching upon the small things.Little beats of ecstasy full of second guesses,A little flutter within the chest; an unprecedented feeling.

Now a cocoon of embarrassment, shied away…Shattered.

A butterfly fluttering – beauty from the uglyBlooming, courage to conquer fear, strength to battle hate

Houdini, no vessel can capture its essence,Like a fragile red rose.But for all its beauty, it grows many a thorn.With one harmless cut, comes a million more.

Wounds too deep, heads in the clouds, all your chips down

Year 9 EthicsOn Friday the 27th of October, Year 9 had the privilege of having a spokesperson from The Ethics Centre, Dr. Simon Longstaff, come in and give us an informative and thought-provoking talk. I think I can speak for the rest of our grade when I say that it was a very interesting and insightful experience.

He started off by posing several questions which got us thinking about our own ideas concerning ethics. He gave a useful introduction to the purpose and applications of ethics, showing us that it is vital to the day-to-day decision making that happens everywhere from banks to government departments. We learned about how being able to find the best and most morally sound solutions to problems is necessary across many areas, which is why organisations like The Ethics Centre are needed.

Later on, he also gave us opportunities to have interactive discussions about various ethical dilemmas that are relevant to our society today; for example, assisted dying and free range eggs vs. caged eggs. Many people volunteered their opinions and we were all encouraged to participate in considering the different viewpoints held by others. It was interesting to discuss our different opinions and perhaps reevaluate our own views on certain issues. We also got to ask different questions about ethics and pose our own topics of discussion for the year group.

Overall, it was a fascinating and engaging talk that certainly got us thinking and encouraged us to become more aware of ethics, something that has importance in our daily lives and in our society. The Ethics Centre website also holds much more information and resources to do with this area. Year 9 would like to thank Dr. Longstaff for giving us this interesting experience.

Sarah BogeYear 9

Australian Securities Exchange Competition185 Fortians participated in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Competition in Semester 2 2017. This competition involves investing pretend money in shares listed on the ASX that will hopefully increase in price.

This competition period was a generally rewarding time to invest on the stock market. The All Ordinaries Index rose 2.5% over the period. The best performing sector was energy, which was up 7.7% followed by information technology and health care both up over 5%. The worst performing sector was telecommunications which declined 9.09%. The top stocks were GXY - Galaxy Resources up 92.2% and A2M - A2 Milk up 64.6% followed by BAL - Bellamy’s and BKL - Blackmores both up over 50%. The worst performing stocks were SKT - Sky Network down 21.5% and CAB - Cabcharge down 21.1%.

Justin Trinh of year 12 came 12th in Australia and 4th in NSW this semester. This is exceptional given the thousands of students who enter the competition across Australia. After starting the competition with $50,000, he ended the competition two months later with $66,639. That is a whopping 33% return over a 2 month period. What an amazing performance! Justin invested in both of the top earning stocks – Galaxy Resources and A2 Milk in addition to a diverse portfolio of other investments including Nine Entertainment and Origin Energy.

Frank Jia continued his run of fantastic investment returns in the ASX Competition across several years, coming 2nd in the school and 104th in Australia, with a final investment portfolio worth $62,519. Frank employed his usual investment technique of buying a portfolio of mining and energy stocks such as Galaxy Resources and BHP using a set and forget approach.

91 out of 123 Fortian syndicates ended with a profit.

All year 7 to 12 Fort St students are welcome to enter the competition again in semester 1 2018.

Ms Jerrems

Edited Extracts from Remembrance Day speeches:

It’s fair to say that the majority of us in this hall are not of completely Australian background. As many other people in this room, I barely have any Australian heritage within my family – my mother’s side is from South Korea whilst my father’s side is from Malta. I’ve personally only been in Australia for five years myself - I was born in England and lived there for ten years.Today I’ll be sharing with you my perspective of Remembrance Day. My dad’s side of my family comes from Malta. More specifically, a town in the Southern Region of Malta called Birzebbugia. To me, Remembrance Day is about remembering Malta’s participation in World War 2 as well as one of my Maltese relatives who served for the country during this time. This relative is my great-great uncle, Carmelo Polidano who was a sergeant in the Royal Malta Artillery. The very special thing about him though, was that my uncle Carmelo received a medal of bravery from the Queen. This is a major part of my family history, which, surprisingly, I have only known about for a year or two.Other than remembering just my great-great uncle on this day, I also think about Malta and how much they suffered during the war. Did you know that the most documented period of Malta’s history was World War 2? This is because the war left Malta economically and physically devastated. Malta did turn out to be vital to reducing the effectiveness of the enemy's North African push, but that gain came at a critical price. In return, Malta was under constant attack, in a game of return fire. Malta was always high on the enemy's agenda. Stuka bombers based in Sicily were to pound Malta into submission. Malta's record, that of the heaviest sustained bombing, took place in 1942, and is known as ‘The Siege of Malta’.The Maltese people may have ended the war with the distinction of being the only entire population to be awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian honour for bravery. But as I said, they also ended the war devastated: in fact Malta holds the record for the heaviest, sustained bombing attack: they survived 6,700 tons of bombs.Ameira Sant (Year 9)

My name is Alexander Migdalias, and I’m currently in Year 11. I am the first person in my family to have been born in Australia. My father was born in Greece and immigrated to Australia when he was five in 1967. My mother is Singaporean Chinese. She grew up in Singapore and moved to Sydney in 1996.The suffering and destruction that war causes will be the focus of my speech today. I will draw from stories told by my paternal Grandfather and maternal Grandmother. My first story will span a number of decades, my second is set in World War II.My Grandfather was born in 1932, in a small town a day’s donkey ride from Kavala, its name is Nikisiani. It was a tiny town at the foot hill of the mountains. My Grandfather, Ayiri, was 9 when Greece was invaded and subsequently occupied, due to the remoteness of his hometown and his age, his recollection is somewhat limited. However he still does remember a few things. The Greek government at the time used conscription in order to draft men to help defend the northern border, however when the officials came to Nikisiani searching for men my great-grandfather Menelaus hid. He didn’t want to fight in a war, especially one that had not yet touched his small hometown. I think my great-grandfather was disillusioned with war, especially with the effects it had on society.Born in 1933, my paternal grandmother Wee Teow Kun was born in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia. A town 30km north of Singapore, her father who had been originally from Hainan ran a rubber plantation, the family were somewhat wealthy landowners. The family had some warning that the Japanese force was approaching, enough so that my great-grandfather was able to disguise a cave in order to provide a hiding place for the family. There was not enough food to go around, tapioca roots were scrounged from the ground and used for food. The youngest daughter was still breastfeeding, however her mother was not eating enough to produce breastmilk, she had to be fed mashed up tapioca and water. While hiding in the cave the second oldest brother fell ill with a fever, it was impossible to take him to a doctor as they would surely be discovered by the Japanese, he passed away. All the while they had to stay quiet for fear of passing Japanese patrols finding them. The family hid so that they could avoid the initial violence and conflict that is characteristic of any invasion and occupation, they would later come out of hiding and attempt to go about normal life. However until the end of the war, there would be a fear hanging over them, this was enforced by mandatory curfews, and running the plantation so that all production could be given to the Japanese military. Interestingly enough, my grandmother does say that there were Japanese soldiers who were very nice and sometimes gave them food. After the war finished they moved to Singapore.Fortians, when you go home today, ask your parents about the history of your family, as is the case with most of human history, there is sure to be some wars and conflicts involved. Your Ancestors, undeniably shaped who you would be far before your birth. It is important that we understand their stories.Alexander Migdalias (Year 11)

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/

Remembering 50 years of the HSC

The Class of 2017 have now completed their HSC exams are eagerly awaiting their results. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Higher School Certificate which was part of a new education standard that was developed from The Wyndham Report by Fortian (1920) Sir Harold Stanley Wyndham as Director General of Education NSW 1952-1968. The key changes included a wider range of subjects, including the arts and more languages, and implementing state-wide external examinations at the end of the tenth (School Certificate) and the twelfth (Higher School Certificate) years of schooling.

During the past 50 years, more than 2.3 million students have studied the HSC. One of the first was Fortian (1967) Bob Bow who recently posted on the Lost Fort Street Facebook page a copy of the first HSC timetable and HSC English Exam. We think about the class of 1967 and all those who came after them …trying to supress those nauseous feelings as they open the first page of their first HSC exam.Iain WallaceFort Street High School Archivist

Fort Street High School Parents & Citizens Association

ABN 59 424 414 672

E: fortstreethighschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au

2018 P&C Executive Committee Elected at the AGM, on Wednesday 8 Nov 2017

The Annual General Meeting of the Fort Street High School (FSHS) P&C was held on Wednesday 8 November in the school library at 7:00pm. The following FSHS parents were elected to the 2018 P&C Executive Committee:

Position Appointed Outgoing President Amanda Elliott-Brennan Natasha Pollock Vice President Elizabeth Campbell

Robyn Elmslie Elizabeth Campbell Dime Spasovski

Treasurer Kadir Sidambaram Lucy Young Secretary Ethel Talty Amanda Elliott Executive member Jenny Curtis Si He Executive member LuciaEvangelista Robyn Elmslie Executive member Dime Spasovski N/A Executive member Molly Lee N/A Executive member Melanie Bruniges N/A Executive member Yi Chen N/A

The following P&C Representatives and Sub-committee Co-ordinators were also elected on the night:

Position Appointed Outgoing

Canteen Committee Rep Position vacant Melanie Bruniges Fundraising co-ordinator Shruti Pednekar Shruti Pednekar IMP Rep Elizabeth Campbell Elizabeth Campbell School Council Rep Ethel Talty Ethel Talty School Finance Committee Rep Simon Elwig Simon Elwig School Foundation Rep Ethel Talty Ethel Talty Uniform shop co-ordinator Sally McEastonland Sally McEastonland

Thank you to Ms Karen Di Stefano for acting as returning officer. We would also like to extend a big thank you for all the hard work and time the 2017 P&C Executive Committee & P&C Representatives have donated to the school. THANK YOU!

P&C Welcome to New Parents 6:30pm - 7:30pm

1st P&C Meeting for 2018

7:30pm - 9:00pm

Wednesday, 14 February 2018 School Library

What happens at P&C meetings? • The Principal presents a report • Parents are encouraged to ask general questions about the school • The school seeks parent input into decision making • P&C sub-committees report briefly on any key new activities • Issues relating to our school and community are discussed • Decisions about spending P&C funds are voted on

Why get involved? “Research from Australia and overseas has found that students achieve better outcomes from their education when schools, families and the community work together to support student learning.” – Page 15, Strengthening Family and Community Engagement in Student Learning Resource. (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011).

• Find our more about the school including how it's run, why certain decisions are made

• Get to know staff at the school

• Get to know other parents of children at the school

• Have a say about things such as projects funded by the P&C, certain policies and procedures within the school

• Contribute to your child's experience in high school

How can I get involved? • Join the P&C and/or attend P&C meetings • Share your ideas, expertise and experiences with the school community • Participate in the school decision making process • Volunteer your time: at the uniform shop; at an event; on a P&C sub-committee or on a school committee

All contributions big & small are warmly welcomed and appreciated!