10
MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School December 2016, Term 4 Fort Street High School, Parramatta Road, Petersham 2049 T: 02 8585 1600 E: [email protected] W:www.fortstreet.nsw.edu.au Dear Parent, Caregivers and Fortians, What a wonderful year was 2016, full of excitement, new ventures, challenges and successes. In this the last Mercurius of 2016 I have the pleasure of celebrating some fine achievements. Those of you who are linked to our twitter account will have seen some of my congratulations. Others will have read of Fortians’ 2016 successes in the newspapers and seen some of the TV interviews. Before I mention the HSC results, I wish to sincerely thank the 2016-2017 SRC and Ms Ryan for their work in continuing to build a sense of community. The end of year dance which was followed closely by the end of year talent quest were huge successes. I thank staff who made cameo appearances as part of the talent quest as well as those who gave up their family time in the last week of school to supervise the dance. Higher School Certificate Results Our HSC results are ones of which to be proud. They are a significant improvement of those of 2015 in terms of band 5 and 6 results. In 2016, Fortians results translated into 403 student performances in band 6 and 529 student performances in band 5, a total of 932. There were 100 students who were placed on 88 or 89 marks, a high band 5 result and just 1-2 marks short of a merit listing (90 marks or over). Our highest achievers are as ever fine examples of the characteristics of our exit profile (see page 2). Highest Achievers 2016 I am pleased to announce that Dominic Dwyer is the dux of the school for 2016. Dominic was placed 1st in the state in Modern History and French Continuers. He was awarded 96 in English Advanced, 47/50 in Extension 1 English, 50/50 in Extension 2 English, 98 in Modern History, 98 in Visual Arts, 99 in French Continuers and 48/50 in French Extension. Dominic was interviewed on Channel 7 news. In addition to his academic success Dominic was a fine debater at school. Kate Cousins was placed 2nd in the year. Kate was awarded 1st place in the state in Earth and Environmental Science; 5th in the state in Music 2 and 19th in the state in Biology. Kate was awarded 96 in Biology, 98 in Earth and Environmental Science, 91 in English Advanced, 94 in Mathematics 2U, 99 in Music 2 and 50/50 in Music Extension. Kate accelerated in Chemistry and was awarded 94 for that subject at the 2015 HSC. Kate enhanced her academic success with her fine sporting results, participation in a number of IMP ensembles and achieved the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award during 2016. Kira Horneman was placed 3rd in the year. Kira was awarded 95 in English Advanced, 47/50 in English Extension 1, 95 in Geography, 93 in Modern History, 48/50 in History Extension, 98 in Music 2 and 47/50 in Music Extension. Kira was a strong member of the IMP and leader of the orchestra in addition to her academic pursuits. Ike Schwartz was placed 4th in the year. Ike was placed 16th in the state in PDHPE and 16th in the state in Biology. Ike was awarded 94 in English Advanced, 95 in Economics, 96 in Biology, 97 in PDHPE and 93 in Mathematics 2 Unit. Ike completed Chemistry as an accelerated student at the 2015 HSC and was awarded 93 for that subject. Ike

MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

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Page 1: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

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

December 2016 Term 4

For t St reet High School Parramat ta Road Petersham 2049T 02 8585 1600 E for ts t reet -hschooldet nsweduau Wwwwfor ts t reet nsweduau

Dear Parent Caregivers and Fortians What a wonderful year was 2016 full of excitement new ventures challenges and successes In this the last Mercurius of 2016 I have the pleasure of celebrating some fine achievements Those of you who are linked to our twitter account will have seen some of my congratulations Others will have read of Fortiansrsquo 2016 successes in the newspapers and seen some of the TV interviewsBefore I mention the HSC results I wish to sincerely thank the 2016-2017 SRC and Ms Ryan for their work in continuing to build a sense of community The end of year dance which was followed closely by the end of year talent quest were huge successes I thank staff who made cameo appearances as part of the talent quest as well as those who gave up their family time in the last week of school to supervise the dance Higher School Certificate ResultsOur HSC results are ones of which to be proud They are a significant improvement of those of 2015 in terms of band 5 and 6 resultsIn 2016 Fortians results translated into 403 student performances in band 6 and 529 student performances in band 5 a total of 932 There were 100 students who were placed on 88 or 89 marks a high band 5 result and just 1-2 marks short of a merit listing (90 marks or over)Our highest achievers are as ever fine examples of the characteristics of our exit profile (see page 2) Highest Achievers 2016I am pleased to announce that Dominic Dwyer is the dux of the school for 2016Dominic was placed 1st in the state in Modern History and French Continuers He was awarded 96 in English Advanced 4750 in Extension 1 English 5050 in Extension 2 English 98 in Modern History 98 in Visual Arts 99 in French Continuers and 4850 in French Extension Dominic was interviewed on Channel 7 news In addition to his academic success Dominic was a fine debater at school Kate Cousins was placed 2nd in the year Kate was awarded 1st place in the state in Earth and Environmental Science 5th in the state in Music 2 and 19th in the state in Biology Kate was awarded 96 in Biology 98 in Earth and Environmental Science 91 in English Advanced 94 in Mathematics 2U 99 in Music 2 and 5050 in Music Extension Kate accelerated in Chemistry and was awarded 94 for that subject at the 2015 HSC Kate enhanced her academic success with her fine sporting results participation in a number of IMP ensembles and achieved the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award during 2016

Kira Horneman was placed 3rd in the year Kira was awarded 95 in English Advanced 4750 in English Extension 1 95 in Geography 93 in Modern History 4850 in History Extension 98 in Music 2 and 4750 in Music Extension Kira was a strong member of the IMP and leader of the orchestra in addition to her academic pursuitsIke Schwartz was placed 4th in the year Ike was placed 16th in the state in PDHPE and 16th in the state in Biology Ike was awarded 94 in English Advanced 95 in Economics 96 in Biology 97 in PDHPE and 93 in Mathematics 2 Unit Ike completed Chemistry as an accelerated student at the 2015 HSC and was awarded 93 for that subject Ike

has been a student representative on the School Council a student advocate for healthy lifestyle presenting issues to the students around the healthy canteen strategy He was awarded the Wests Ashfield Community Citizenship Award during 2016

Christina Nguyen was placed 5th in the year She was awarded 90 in English Advanced 4850 in Extension 1 English 4950 in Extension 2 English 91 in Chemistry 93 in Physics and 95 in Extension 2 Mathematics Christina completed Mathematics 2U and Mathematics Extension 1 at the 2015 HSC and was awarded 99 and 4950 respectively Christine is an outstanding writer and has received many awards in the community for her writings She has been interviewed about her writing in the media and at writersrsquo festivals

Alan Phan 6th place Min Keane 7th placeVivien Le Naomi Murn and William Thackway ndash 8th place Will Thackway was also placed 7th in the state in Geography Matthew Xu and Willem Proos 11th place Helene Ke and Nadine Nguyen 13th place Helena was also placed 6th in the state in Visual Arts

Rosie Mylrea Denise Chan Ava McConnell and Sharanya Napier-Raman 15th placePhaedra Carroll 19th place Dominic Bicego 20th place Ruth Lin 21st place Rebecca Kang and Daniel Park 22nd place in the year Congratulations also to Sarah Desney who was placed 1st in the state in Hungarian Continuers Sarah studied Hungarian at Saturday School

Dawnlicity Charls one of our accelerated Year 11 students was placed 1st in the state in Mathematics Extension 1 and 7th in the state in Mathematics 2 Unit (6 students tied for 1st place)All RoundersThe All Rounders list comprises students who achieved 90 of more marks in at least 10 units of students for the HSC Congratulations to the 2016 All RoundersDominic Bicego Phaedra Carroll Denise Chan Kate Cousins Dominic Dwyer Kira Horneman Rebecca Kang Helena Le Min Keane Vivien Le Ruth Lin Ava McConnell Naomi Murn Rosemary Mylrea Sharanya Napier Raman Christina Nguyen Daniel Park Alan Phan Ike Schwartz William Thackway Matthew Xu and William Yang

Fort Street High School Exit Profile

The school exit profile articulates the vision for student achievement Successful Fortians will have bull maximised their academic potential bull developed individual skills and talents across a variety of areasbull developed learning strategies to equip them to be independent self-motivated and life-long learnersbull developed emotional resilience self-reliance interpersonal skills the capacity to connect to others and

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

Co-Curricular ProgramsThe Instrumental Music Program (IMP) and Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme continue to expand These programs are funded by the students who participate and operate on a cost recovery basis In order for DoE to remain viable an administration cost of $100 has been added to the baseline costs for participation Costs of hikes are additional to the administration cost We will review the cost of both Tournament of the Minds and Robotics so that they operate on a cost recovery basis in 2017 DebatingIn 2016 we expanded our debating program and added more debating coaches In addition we employed a debating co-ordinator In 2017 we hope to further expand the debating program We will offer an evening to outline the debating program so that interested families can sign up It is anticipated that we will offer debating coaching in each of years 7-10 in 2017 numbers permitting The cost for the debating coaching program will be at approximately $10 per hour The details of the total costs will be disseminated at our meeting in early term one Thank you for your support of your children and of our wonderful staff during 2016 I wish each of you a happy restful and safe holiday and look forward to working with you in 2017

Roslynne Moxham Principal Director Public Schools NSW Inner City Strategy

School Contribution sheets will be emailed on 9 January 2017 to all

families Please check your inbox

Important DatesJanuary27 Staff Development Day30 Year 7 and Year 9 Peer Support students return31 All students return31 IMP New members nightFebruary6 Swimming Carnival8 PampC Meeting including Year 7 parent welcome and Year 7 amp 8 Trivia Night9 School Photo Day17 Speech Day22 Year 7 Vaccinations

March1 Year 12 Information Evening1 School Council Meeting1 Foundation Meeting8 PampC Meeting8-10 Year 7 Camp

Thank You

I would like to pass on my appreciation and thanks to two young men from Fort Street HS Unfortunately I do not know their names but recognised their school from the pocket of their blazers

As I boarded the 735am train from Burwood to the City entering the 2nd carriage my right foot slipped on the trainrsquos slippery surface and I fell My left leg went between the train and the platform and I landed on the platform itself In a total daze at what happened 2 young men standing near the door assisted me up gathered my bag and umbrella and passed these to me I proceeded to a seat and gathered my thoughts and ego

There were adults also standing by the door but it was the boys who actually assisted me Irsquom sorry that I did not get their names but I was very impressed with their willingness to help me Both boys were very well dressed and very polite They are a credit to your school Fort Street HS

Email received from a member of the public December 2016

Year 10 Japanese Excursion

On the 2nd of December students of Year 10 Japanese visited the Nihongo Tanken Japanese Language Centre in Kirrawee Upon arrival we were greeted by our teachers for the day Taka and Mieko Afterwards we divided into our pre-assigned teams of Spring Summer or Autumn for games and activities

The centre was a Japanese-style building and garden with the lsquolook and feelrsquo of Japan both in and out This real-life experience allowed us to fully immerse in Japanese language and culture and understand the features of a traditional Japanese room The day started with self-introductions and interviews where we learnt more about our classmates We later had morning tea which was orange juice crackers and Koalarsquos March cookies snacks We also played pictionary in a computer room filled with stuffed toys and dolls along with anime and J-pop posters It was enjoyable dressing up in costumes and props and watching role plays of a romantic restaurant date one of which featured Mr Gillespie himself We also made onigiri (rice balls) and ate an obentou (Japanese-style packed lunch) in the Japanese garden where we sighted a wild possum Lastly the final activity was a quiz-show inspired game which was both lively and enthusiastically competitive Soon afterwards we all received certificates printed with a team and class photo from this memorable day

Overall it was a very fun and useful learning experience Filled with games and activities the whole day at the centre allowed us to actively engage in a stimulating and authentic Japanese environment where we used and further developed our Japanese language skills Ultimately it also helped us bond with classmates whilst making good use of our writing reading listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was spoken in Japanese Taka and Miekorsquos demonstrations of ldquodorsquos and donrsquotsrdquo in teaching us customs and phrases used in everyday life were very insightful

On behalf of the students of Year 10 Japanese we would like to thank Mr Gillespie for organising this excursion and everyone else involved for giving us this opportunity to learn outside the classroom

Michelle Cheung and Cherry Wang

Year 8 Chinese Excursion to the Chinese Garden of Friendship Darling HarbourThank you to Mr Dong and Ms Li for arranging this tour of a Chinese style garden so that students could acquire a better sense of how the Chinese display the beauty and symbols of nature in harmony with architecture They enjoyed refreshments there a selection of Western and Chinese food They also visited nearby Chinatown to soak up the busy atmosphere of both a touristic and functioning community of Chinese entrepreneurs

Mark BackhouseHead Teacher Languages

To help students and parents understand the ATAR system the University of Sydney along with the Sydney Morning Herald produced a video where Professor Jacqui Ramagge Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics explains how scaling works and answers if itrsquos possible to play the ATAR game You can view the link here

For any questions about course selection please call 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) Our contact centre with be open during the university shutdown period to assist with these enquiries

Monday 19 to Friday 23 December 9am to 5pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December 9am to 5pmTuesday 3 to Friday 6 January 9am to 5pm

Finally a reminder for students to join us on Info Day where they can talk with student ambassadors and staff get expert course advice explore our facilities attend information sessions and join a campus tourDate Thursday 5 January 2017

Time 9am ndash 4pmLocation The University of Sydney Camperdown

The UNSW CompClub hosts a variety of workshops over (slightly more than) a week for high school students to come and explore the wonders of computing across different areas

January 6th - 13th 2017

Workshops run 10 am - 4pm and are FREE

Were currently offering

Introduction to Programming - Friday 6th Jan 2017Introduction to Web Development - Monday 9th Jan 2017Dynamic Web Development with Python - Tuesday 10th Jan 2017Introduction to Robotics - Wednesday 11th Jan 2017Introduction to Circuitry - Thursday 12th Jan 2017Python Power - Friday 13th Jan 2017

Registration

Places are limited

Register here

Cost FREE

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 2: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

has been a student representative on the School Council a student advocate for healthy lifestyle presenting issues to the students around the healthy canteen strategy He was awarded the Wests Ashfield Community Citizenship Award during 2016

Christina Nguyen was placed 5th in the year She was awarded 90 in English Advanced 4850 in Extension 1 English 4950 in Extension 2 English 91 in Chemistry 93 in Physics and 95 in Extension 2 Mathematics Christina completed Mathematics 2U and Mathematics Extension 1 at the 2015 HSC and was awarded 99 and 4950 respectively Christine is an outstanding writer and has received many awards in the community for her writings She has been interviewed about her writing in the media and at writersrsquo festivals

Alan Phan 6th place Min Keane 7th placeVivien Le Naomi Murn and William Thackway ndash 8th place Will Thackway was also placed 7th in the state in Geography Matthew Xu and Willem Proos 11th place Helene Ke and Nadine Nguyen 13th place Helena was also placed 6th in the state in Visual Arts

Rosie Mylrea Denise Chan Ava McConnell and Sharanya Napier-Raman 15th placePhaedra Carroll 19th place Dominic Bicego 20th place Ruth Lin 21st place Rebecca Kang and Daniel Park 22nd place in the year Congratulations also to Sarah Desney who was placed 1st in the state in Hungarian Continuers Sarah studied Hungarian at Saturday School

Dawnlicity Charls one of our accelerated Year 11 students was placed 1st in the state in Mathematics Extension 1 and 7th in the state in Mathematics 2 Unit (6 students tied for 1st place)All RoundersThe All Rounders list comprises students who achieved 90 of more marks in at least 10 units of students for the HSC Congratulations to the 2016 All RoundersDominic Bicego Phaedra Carroll Denise Chan Kate Cousins Dominic Dwyer Kira Horneman Rebecca Kang Helena Le Min Keane Vivien Le Ruth Lin Ava McConnell Naomi Murn Rosemary Mylrea Sharanya Napier Raman Christina Nguyen Daniel Park Alan Phan Ike Schwartz William Thackway Matthew Xu and William Yang

Fort Street High School Exit Profile

The school exit profile articulates the vision for student achievement Successful Fortians will have bull maximised their academic potential bull developed individual skills and talents across a variety of areasbull developed learning strategies to equip them to be independent self-motivated and life-long learnersbull developed emotional resilience self-reliance interpersonal skills the capacity to connect to others and

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

Co-Curricular ProgramsThe Instrumental Music Program (IMP) and Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme continue to expand These programs are funded by the students who participate and operate on a cost recovery basis In order for DoE to remain viable an administration cost of $100 has been added to the baseline costs for participation Costs of hikes are additional to the administration cost We will review the cost of both Tournament of the Minds and Robotics so that they operate on a cost recovery basis in 2017 DebatingIn 2016 we expanded our debating program and added more debating coaches In addition we employed a debating co-ordinator In 2017 we hope to further expand the debating program We will offer an evening to outline the debating program so that interested families can sign up It is anticipated that we will offer debating coaching in each of years 7-10 in 2017 numbers permitting The cost for the debating coaching program will be at approximately $10 per hour The details of the total costs will be disseminated at our meeting in early term one Thank you for your support of your children and of our wonderful staff during 2016 I wish each of you a happy restful and safe holiday and look forward to working with you in 2017

Roslynne Moxham Principal Director Public Schools NSW Inner City Strategy

School Contribution sheets will be emailed on 9 January 2017 to all

families Please check your inbox

Important DatesJanuary27 Staff Development Day30 Year 7 and Year 9 Peer Support students return31 All students return31 IMP New members nightFebruary6 Swimming Carnival8 PampC Meeting including Year 7 parent welcome and Year 7 amp 8 Trivia Night9 School Photo Day17 Speech Day22 Year 7 Vaccinations

March1 Year 12 Information Evening1 School Council Meeting1 Foundation Meeting8 PampC Meeting8-10 Year 7 Camp

Thank You

I would like to pass on my appreciation and thanks to two young men from Fort Street HS Unfortunately I do not know their names but recognised their school from the pocket of their blazers

As I boarded the 735am train from Burwood to the City entering the 2nd carriage my right foot slipped on the trainrsquos slippery surface and I fell My left leg went between the train and the platform and I landed on the platform itself In a total daze at what happened 2 young men standing near the door assisted me up gathered my bag and umbrella and passed these to me I proceeded to a seat and gathered my thoughts and ego

There were adults also standing by the door but it was the boys who actually assisted me Irsquom sorry that I did not get their names but I was very impressed with their willingness to help me Both boys were very well dressed and very polite They are a credit to your school Fort Street HS

Email received from a member of the public December 2016

Year 10 Japanese Excursion

On the 2nd of December students of Year 10 Japanese visited the Nihongo Tanken Japanese Language Centre in Kirrawee Upon arrival we were greeted by our teachers for the day Taka and Mieko Afterwards we divided into our pre-assigned teams of Spring Summer or Autumn for games and activities

The centre was a Japanese-style building and garden with the lsquolook and feelrsquo of Japan both in and out This real-life experience allowed us to fully immerse in Japanese language and culture and understand the features of a traditional Japanese room The day started with self-introductions and interviews where we learnt more about our classmates We later had morning tea which was orange juice crackers and Koalarsquos March cookies snacks We also played pictionary in a computer room filled with stuffed toys and dolls along with anime and J-pop posters It was enjoyable dressing up in costumes and props and watching role plays of a romantic restaurant date one of which featured Mr Gillespie himself We also made onigiri (rice balls) and ate an obentou (Japanese-style packed lunch) in the Japanese garden where we sighted a wild possum Lastly the final activity was a quiz-show inspired game which was both lively and enthusiastically competitive Soon afterwards we all received certificates printed with a team and class photo from this memorable day

Overall it was a very fun and useful learning experience Filled with games and activities the whole day at the centre allowed us to actively engage in a stimulating and authentic Japanese environment where we used and further developed our Japanese language skills Ultimately it also helped us bond with classmates whilst making good use of our writing reading listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was spoken in Japanese Taka and Miekorsquos demonstrations of ldquodorsquos and donrsquotsrdquo in teaching us customs and phrases used in everyday life were very insightful

On behalf of the students of Year 10 Japanese we would like to thank Mr Gillespie for organising this excursion and everyone else involved for giving us this opportunity to learn outside the classroom

Michelle Cheung and Cherry Wang

Year 8 Chinese Excursion to the Chinese Garden of Friendship Darling HarbourThank you to Mr Dong and Ms Li for arranging this tour of a Chinese style garden so that students could acquire a better sense of how the Chinese display the beauty and symbols of nature in harmony with architecture They enjoyed refreshments there a selection of Western and Chinese food They also visited nearby Chinatown to soak up the busy atmosphere of both a touristic and functioning community of Chinese entrepreneurs

Mark BackhouseHead Teacher Languages

To help students and parents understand the ATAR system the University of Sydney along with the Sydney Morning Herald produced a video where Professor Jacqui Ramagge Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics explains how scaling works and answers if itrsquos possible to play the ATAR game You can view the link here

For any questions about course selection please call 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) Our contact centre with be open during the university shutdown period to assist with these enquiries

Monday 19 to Friday 23 December 9am to 5pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December 9am to 5pmTuesday 3 to Friday 6 January 9am to 5pm

Finally a reminder for students to join us on Info Day where they can talk with student ambassadors and staff get expert course advice explore our facilities attend information sessions and join a campus tourDate Thursday 5 January 2017

Time 9am ndash 4pmLocation The University of Sydney Camperdown

The UNSW CompClub hosts a variety of workshops over (slightly more than) a week for high school students to come and explore the wonders of computing across different areas

January 6th - 13th 2017

Workshops run 10 am - 4pm and are FREE

Were currently offering

Introduction to Programming - Friday 6th Jan 2017Introduction to Web Development - Monday 9th Jan 2017Dynamic Web Development with Python - Tuesday 10th Jan 2017Introduction to Robotics - Wednesday 11th Jan 2017Introduction to Circuitry - Thursday 12th Jan 2017Python Power - Friday 13th Jan 2017

Registration

Places are limited

Register here

Cost FREE

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 3: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

Co-Curricular ProgramsThe Instrumental Music Program (IMP) and Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme continue to expand These programs are funded by the students who participate and operate on a cost recovery basis In order for DoE to remain viable an administration cost of $100 has been added to the baseline costs for participation Costs of hikes are additional to the administration cost We will review the cost of both Tournament of the Minds and Robotics so that they operate on a cost recovery basis in 2017 DebatingIn 2016 we expanded our debating program and added more debating coaches In addition we employed a debating co-ordinator In 2017 we hope to further expand the debating program We will offer an evening to outline the debating program so that interested families can sign up It is anticipated that we will offer debating coaching in each of years 7-10 in 2017 numbers permitting The cost for the debating coaching program will be at approximately $10 per hour The details of the total costs will be disseminated at our meeting in early term one Thank you for your support of your children and of our wonderful staff during 2016 I wish each of you a happy restful and safe holiday and look forward to working with you in 2017

Roslynne Moxham Principal Director Public Schools NSW Inner City Strategy

School Contribution sheets will be emailed on 9 January 2017 to all

families Please check your inbox

Important DatesJanuary27 Staff Development Day30 Year 7 and Year 9 Peer Support students return31 All students return31 IMP New members nightFebruary6 Swimming Carnival8 PampC Meeting including Year 7 parent welcome and Year 7 amp 8 Trivia Night9 School Photo Day17 Speech Day22 Year 7 Vaccinations

March1 Year 12 Information Evening1 School Council Meeting1 Foundation Meeting8 PampC Meeting8-10 Year 7 Camp

Thank You

I would like to pass on my appreciation and thanks to two young men from Fort Street HS Unfortunately I do not know their names but recognised their school from the pocket of their blazers

As I boarded the 735am train from Burwood to the City entering the 2nd carriage my right foot slipped on the trainrsquos slippery surface and I fell My left leg went between the train and the platform and I landed on the platform itself In a total daze at what happened 2 young men standing near the door assisted me up gathered my bag and umbrella and passed these to me I proceeded to a seat and gathered my thoughts and ego

There were adults also standing by the door but it was the boys who actually assisted me Irsquom sorry that I did not get their names but I was very impressed with their willingness to help me Both boys were very well dressed and very polite They are a credit to your school Fort Street HS

Email received from a member of the public December 2016

Year 10 Japanese Excursion

On the 2nd of December students of Year 10 Japanese visited the Nihongo Tanken Japanese Language Centre in Kirrawee Upon arrival we were greeted by our teachers for the day Taka and Mieko Afterwards we divided into our pre-assigned teams of Spring Summer or Autumn for games and activities

The centre was a Japanese-style building and garden with the lsquolook and feelrsquo of Japan both in and out This real-life experience allowed us to fully immerse in Japanese language and culture and understand the features of a traditional Japanese room The day started with self-introductions and interviews where we learnt more about our classmates We later had morning tea which was orange juice crackers and Koalarsquos March cookies snacks We also played pictionary in a computer room filled with stuffed toys and dolls along with anime and J-pop posters It was enjoyable dressing up in costumes and props and watching role plays of a romantic restaurant date one of which featured Mr Gillespie himself We also made onigiri (rice balls) and ate an obentou (Japanese-style packed lunch) in the Japanese garden where we sighted a wild possum Lastly the final activity was a quiz-show inspired game which was both lively and enthusiastically competitive Soon afterwards we all received certificates printed with a team and class photo from this memorable day

Overall it was a very fun and useful learning experience Filled with games and activities the whole day at the centre allowed us to actively engage in a stimulating and authentic Japanese environment where we used and further developed our Japanese language skills Ultimately it also helped us bond with classmates whilst making good use of our writing reading listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was spoken in Japanese Taka and Miekorsquos demonstrations of ldquodorsquos and donrsquotsrdquo in teaching us customs and phrases used in everyday life were very insightful

On behalf of the students of Year 10 Japanese we would like to thank Mr Gillespie for organising this excursion and everyone else involved for giving us this opportunity to learn outside the classroom

Michelle Cheung and Cherry Wang

Year 8 Chinese Excursion to the Chinese Garden of Friendship Darling HarbourThank you to Mr Dong and Ms Li for arranging this tour of a Chinese style garden so that students could acquire a better sense of how the Chinese display the beauty and symbols of nature in harmony with architecture They enjoyed refreshments there a selection of Western and Chinese food They also visited nearby Chinatown to soak up the busy atmosphere of both a touristic and functioning community of Chinese entrepreneurs

Mark BackhouseHead Teacher Languages

To help students and parents understand the ATAR system the University of Sydney along with the Sydney Morning Herald produced a video where Professor Jacqui Ramagge Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics explains how scaling works and answers if itrsquos possible to play the ATAR game You can view the link here

For any questions about course selection please call 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) Our contact centre with be open during the university shutdown period to assist with these enquiries

Monday 19 to Friday 23 December 9am to 5pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December 9am to 5pmTuesday 3 to Friday 6 January 9am to 5pm

Finally a reminder for students to join us on Info Day where they can talk with student ambassadors and staff get expert course advice explore our facilities attend information sessions and join a campus tourDate Thursday 5 January 2017

Time 9am ndash 4pmLocation The University of Sydney Camperdown

The UNSW CompClub hosts a variety of workshops over (slightly more than) a week for high school students to come and explore the wonders of computing across different areas

January 6th - 13th 2017

Workshops run 10 am - 4pm and are FREE

Were currently offering

Introduction to Programming - Friday 6th Jan 2017Introduction to Web Development - Monday 9th Jan 2017Dynamic Web Development with Python - Tuesday 10th Jan 2017Introduction to Robotics - Wednesday 11th Jan 2017Introduction to Circuitry - Thursday 12th Jan 2017Python Power - Friday 13th Jan 2017

Registration

Places are limited

Register here

Cost FREE

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 4: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

Year 10 Japanese Excursion

On the 2nd of December students of Year 10 Japanese visited the Nihongo Tanken Japanese Language Centre in Kirrawee Upon arrival we were greeted by our teachers for the day Taka and Mieko Afterwards we divided into our pre-assigned teams of Spring Summer or Autumn for games and activities

The centre was a Japanese-style building and garden with the lsquolook and feelrsquo of Japan both in and out This real-life experience allowed us to fully immerse in Japanese language and culture and understand the features of a traditional Japanese room The day started with self-introductions and interviews where we learnt more about our classmates We later had morning tea which was orange juice crackers and Koalarsquos March cookies snacks We also played pictionary in a computer room filled with stuffed toys and dolls along with anime and J-pop posters It was enjoyable dressing up in costumes and props and watching role plays of a romantic restaurant date one of which featured Mr Gillespie himself We also made onigiri (rice balls) and ate an obentou (Japanese-style packed lunch) in the Japanese garden where we sighted a wild possum Lastly the final activity was a quiz-show inspired game which was both lively and enthusiastically competitive Soon afterwards we all received certificates printed with a team and class photo from this memorable day

Overall it was a very fun and useful learning experience Filled with games and activities the whole day at the centre allowed us to actively engage in a stimulating and authentic Japanese environment where we used and further developed our Japanese language skills Ultimately it also helped us bond with classmates whilst making good use of our writing reading listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was spoken in Japanese Taka and Miekorsquos demonstrations of ldquodorsquos and donrsquotsrdquo in teaching us customs and phrases used in everyday life were very insightful

On behalf of the students of Year 10 Japanese we would like to thank Mr Gillespie for organising this excursion and everyone else involved for giving us this opportunity to learn outside the classroom

Michelle Cheung and Cherry Wang

Year 8 Chinese Excursion to the Chinese Garden of Friendship Darling HarbourThank you to Mr Dong and Ms Li for arranging this tour of a Chinese style garden so that students could acquire a better sense of how the Chinese display the beauty and symbols of nature in harmony with architecture They enjoyed refreshments there a selection of Western and Chinese food They also visited nearby Chinatown to soak up the busy atmosphere of both a touristic and functioning community of Chinese entrepreneurs

Mark BackhouseHead Teacher Languages

To help students and parents understand the ATAR system the University of Sydney along with the Sydney Morning Herald produced a video where Professor Jacqui Ramagge Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics explains how scaling works and answers if itrsquos possible to play the ATAR game You can view the link here

For any questions about course selection please call 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) Our contact centre with be open during the university shutdown period to assist with these enquiries

Monday 19 to Friday 23 December 9am to 5pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December 9am to 5pmTuesday 3 to Friday 6 January 9am to 5pm

Finally a reminder for students to join us on Info Day where they can talk with student ambassadors and staff get expert course advice explore our facilities attend information sessions and join a campus tourDate Thursday 5 January 2017

Time 9am ndash 4pmLocation The University of Sydney Camperdown

The UNSW CompClub hosts a variety of workshops over (slightly more than) a week for high school students to come and explore the wonders of computing across different areas

January 6th - 13th 2017

Workshops run 10 am - 4pm and are FREE

Were currently offering

Introduction to Programming - Friday 6th Jan 2017Introduction to Web Development - Monday 9th Jan 2017Dynamic Web Development with Python - Tuesday 10th Jan 2017Introduction to Robotics - Wednesday 11th Jan 2017Introduction to Circuitry - Thursday 12th Jan 2017Python Power - Friday 13th Jan 2017

Registration

Places are limited

Register here

Cost FREE

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 5: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

To help students and parents understand the ATAR system the University of Sydney along with the Sydney Morning Herald produced a video where Professor Jacqui Ramagge Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics explains how scaling works and answers if itrsquos possible to play the ATAR game You can view the link here

For any questions about course selection please call 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) Our contact centre with be open during the university shutdown period to assist with these enquiries

Monday 19 to Friday 23 December 9am to 5pmWednesday 28 to Friday 30 December 9am to 5pmTuesday 3 to Friday 6 January 9am to 5pm

Finally a reminder for students to join us on Info Day where they can talk with student ambassadors and staff get expert course advice explore our facilities attend information sessions and join a campus tourDate Thursday 5 January 2017

Time 9am ndash 4pmLocation The University of Sydney Camperdown

The UNSW CompClub hosts a variety of workshops over (slightly more than) a week for high school students to come and explore the wonders of computing across different areas

January 6th - 13th 2017

Workshops run 10 am - 4pm and are FREE

Were currently offering

Introduction to Programming - Friday 6th Jan 2017Introduction to Web Development - Monday 9th Jan 2017Dynamic Web Development with Python - Tuesday 10th Jan 2017Introduction to Robotics - Wednesday 11th Jan 2017Introduction to Circuitry - Thursday 12th Jan 2017Python Power - Friday 13th Jan 2017

Registration

Places are limited

Register here

Cost FREE

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 6: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

Fort Street High School

Parents amp Citizens AssociationABN 59 424 414 672

E fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

Orientation Day Address5 December 2016

As I was unable to attend this yearrsquos Orientation Day Jenny Curtis stepped in as the PampC representative on the podium to address the perspective Year 7 students and their parentscarers Jenny who has a daughter who just finished year 12 and another who will be finishing year 9 is a long-term PampC member and currently sits on the School Council as a parent representative Joining Jenny was Kit Chan who has a daughter finishing year 8 who volunteered to deliver the PampC message in Mandarin A big thank you to both Jenny and Kit for welcoming the 2017 Year 7 parentscarers and children to Fort Street Sincere thanks also to Ms Moxham for her support we value this annual opportunity to introduce the Fort St PampC to the new members of our community

ldquoWe welcome this opportunity to greet the new parents and Irsquod also like to pay respects to the original peoples on whose land we are meeting today Greetings to all of you with children starting here at Fort St High School next year Wersquore delighted to take a few moments to talk about how parents are getting involved with our Fort community We also especially welcome the diverse language groups that we have here in the room

I personally am excited for my children to attend a school that is as culturally diverse as this city we live inhellip and as a PampC we are always seeking ways to build bridges so that we can work with each other Irsquove met many really lovely and interesting parents at this school and itrsquos made our time here so enjoyable

To give you an idea of what parents can do it ranges from helping-out at the uniform shop which is fully parent run to getting involved with our Instrumental Music Programme Twice a year this programme puts on a spectacular musical performance preceded by a brilliant dinner in the courtyard put together by an army of parent helpers itrsquos always brilliant And everybody is welcome to help out or simply attend There are also parent helpers at the Music and Drama nights and of course there are various advisory committees for example the canteen committee and school council

Very close to MY heart is the FORT FEST which happens every 2 years This is a student led event with many student stalls of every description The parents also support the event this year we had more than 150 parent volunteers on the day Preparing food selling books plants clothes and everything imaginable coordinating music baking cakes and barista-ing like therersquos no tomorrow It was an amazing event with so many smiling faces It reflected to me a school community that was enjoying the chance to celebrate our connection with each other A particular highlight for me was the opportunity to share each otherrsquos cuisines

Irsquom hoping that in 2017 there will be an opportunity for us to stage a fundraising Harmony event that will give us the chance to taste each otherrsquos exotic and extraordinary cuisines once more Keep an eye out for a call-out on how to get involved

Through some of these activities we are proud to have provided funding for many school projects and important initiatives that would otherwise not have been possible AND proud to be supporting the exceptional work that the teachers and staff here do every day

Our PampC recognises that people have very busy lives but any contribution you can make big or small is greatly appreciated by the whole school community We have many busy people giving a little of their time and it makes all the difference

Keep an eye out for the PampC news which is always featured in the Mercurius - our school newsletter There are occasionally call-outs for help and we urge you to respond OR drop us an email (see above) anytime as we are always open to new ideas and welcome anybody who wishes to share their thoughts and ideas Involvement is not limited to those who like to attend meetings but if you do the PampC meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month during school term Everyone is welcome

We are very thrilled to be welcoming you all into lsquothe Fortrsquo community

Jenny CurtisParent Representative on the School Councilamp PampC Memberrdquo

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 7: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

PampC MeetingsWe encourage all parents and carers to attend the PampC meetings so they can join and enjoy full participation rights in the activities of the PampC PampC meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of each month (during school term) at 730pm in the school library

Please keep an eye out for meeting announcements as the PampC is always open to new ideas and welcomes anybody who wishes to share their time and expertise to help make the Fort even better

Agenda items and questions you would like raised at should be sent to the PampC Secretary Amanda at least one week before the meeting

Who can join the PampCThe following individuals are eligible to be members of the schools PampC Association

bull parents and guardians of pupils attending the schoolbull all citizens within the school communitybull members of the school staffbull the Principal is an ex-officio member

Individuals must pay an annual $1 membership fee to become a member of the PampC All financial members have the right to move motions and vote at subsequent PampC meetingsA membership form can be found on the PampC page of the Schoolrsquos website

School Finance Committee Meeting

I attended the School Finance Committee meeting organised on the 6 December 2016 as a representative of the PampC The Finance Committee led by a Deputy Principal and consisting of teachers administration staff a School Council representative and PampC representative meets annually to consider requests from faculties and whole school programs for funding At this meeting we discussed and allocated the schools discretionary spend of approximately $350000 over all the departments within the school

A lot of work had gone into the pre-meeting planning process with each department putting forward a budget for teaching resources textbooks office supplies technology library requests and resources plus teacher relief

Unfortunately the requests were significantly in excess of the amount of money available We then spent most of the day going through every line item of all 38 departmentsareas to determine what could and could not be funded out of the $350000 for the 2017 school year

Annually the school requests support for upgrades in technology and speech day prizes as well as other specific items I expect the Principal will table those requests in February 2017

The school plans spending based on the school priorities in the planning cycle and the revision of curriculum by BOSTES as well as replacement of items New directions in teaching and learning require us to continue to review large item purchases

If anybody has any questions around the budget planning process at Fort Street please contact the Principal

Simon ElwigPampC RepresentativeSchool Finance Committee

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 8: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

UNIFORM SHOP NEWSThe end of the year is always a very busy time for the PampC run uniform shop Gladys our Uniform Shop Manager supported by the PampC Uniform Shop Coordinator Sally does an excellent job supplying all the uniform needs of the incoming year 7 students (plus other students who willbe new to the school in 2017) A huge amount of time and energy goes into ensuring this process runs smoothly and enough stock is available to ensure nobody leaves disappointed

The PampC Executive would like to extend itrsquos sincere thanks to Gladys for all her efforts The Fort St PampC are lucky to have such a dedicated and capable individual overseeing the running of the Uniform Shop

Gladys would like to extend a warm thank you to the following individuals who helped on Orientation Day 2016 Yennie Huang Zhi Jia Wu Muling Zhou Denise Berg Cate Stuart and Sally McCausland She would also like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered their time throughout 2016 Thu Huynh Cate Stuart Denise Berg Mandy Yu Helen Giles Jie Huang Winnie Shen Stephanie Huang Jen Burn Sue Tesoriero Jian Jing Zhou Priscilla Pun Yennie Huang and Zhi Jia Wu Coordinator Sally McCausland

The Uniform Shop provides an essential service to the school community and is also the PampCrsquos major source of funds The PampC could not continue to provide this service without the help of parent volunteers So the PampC Executive would also like to extend our thanks to the above volunteers and to Sally McCausland who has supported Gladys throughout 2016

Thank you

Help neededKey Roles

ampPampC Sub-Committees

We are pleased to announce that we now have a parent willing to take on the Treasurerrsquos role Thank you Molly for stepping up We will make this position official at the first PampC meeting in 2017 Molly said she had been looking at ways to contribute to the school for a while and was excited to see the position advertised in the last Mercurius If you are like Molly and wonder how you can contribute please contact us at the above email address we would be happy to hear from you

We are still looking for help with the following key roles

bull Assistant Treasurerbull Fundraising Coordinatorbull Communication Secretary

Further information on the roles and the time commitments involved can be obtained by emailing us at the above address

If you donrsquot think you can take on such an important role but would still like to contribute the PampC are still looking for people to join the following committees

bull Fundraisingbull Grant Writingbull Communicationbull Parental Engagement

Not only does the whole school benefit from parental involvement but your own child will directly benefit too It is a great way as well to role model to your children how to contribute to the community and help be a part of a team working towards the same goals

The more parentscarers are able to contribute time to the PampC however large or small the greater the school benefits and the more we can achieve

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 9: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

Uniform ShopVolunteers Needed

Day Wednesday (during school term)

Time from 1000am ndash 200pm (as much or little as you can)

Email fshs2013gmailcom

If you can spare an hour or two of your time please email the PampC at the above address with your name availability contact number your childrsquos name and school year

All offers of help warmly welcomed

Proudly run by the FSHS PampC

Dates to remember in 2017PampC Welcome to New ParentsWellbeing Support Program

630pm - 730pm1st PampC Meeting for 2017

730pm - 900pmWednesday 8 February 2017

School Library

The first PampC meeting of the year coincides with the Year 7 welcome dance This is a perfect opportunity for new parents to attend a PampC meeting From 630-730 there will be an informal gathering and also a presentation from the school on its Wellbeing Support Program

This program is relevant to all year groups so all members of the school community are welcome to attend So please consider coming along

Welcome drinks for 2017 year 7 parents amp your children

Friday 10 February 2017630pm

Petersham Bowlo77 Brighton St Petershamthepbcorgau

The 2016 year 7 parents cordially invite the 2017 year 7 parents and their children to welcome drinks at the Petersham Bowlo Drinks and food is available from the bar Meet us on the green where kids can play while we chat Hope to see you there

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau

Page 10: MERCURIUS - Fort Street High School€¦ · MERCURIUS The News Magazine of Fort Street High School ... reading, listening and speaking skills as the entirety of the excursion was

Special PampC MeetingMonday 3 April 2017

730pm School Library

Fort Street PampC have scheduled a special meet-ing to discuss the school canteen and PampC

fundraisers on Monday 3 April at 730pm in the school library

All parents are invited to attend this special meeting to find out more about the Departmentrsquos Nutrition in Schools Policy and the Fresh Tastes School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy We will be discussing the level of PampC involvement and support of the canteen going forward and how this policy could influence PampC fundraisers We are interested in finding out what parents want so come along and have your say

If you would like more information please contact Mel our representative on the school canteen committee at the above email address

From the 2016 ExecutiveWe would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who have donated their time and money to help the PampC in 2016

We couldnrsquot do it without you THANK YOU

To all the current amp future members of the Fort Street Community we hope you have a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 1 2017

Contact us at fortstreethighschoolpandcaffiliateorgau

The PampC Federation is a strong supporter of the Gonski funding model and has recently signed a joint statement from The NSW Public Education Alliance calling for a fair just and prosperous nation for all our children

But Gonski is currently threatened so please sign the petition

SIGN THE PETITION AT

igiveagonskicomau