More than 100 parents and staff logged on to the first P & C meeting for 2021 on Monday 8 February. The zoom format is admittedly less personal, but it multiplies the attendance at meetings by a factor of x6. I was pleased to announce that the AV and sound system for the Governors Centre was installed and tested during the holidays and that staff from both schools were trained in its use. I outlined our Technology Upgrade Plan for 2021, to complete the roll-out of another 16 teaching spaces with smart projectors, whiteboards and ‘Vivi’. The school will fund the $160,000 from the Sydney Boys High School Building Fund. I foreshadowed our intention to open up CANVAS to parents during 2021 to supplement information available through the scaled back School Reports. My observation was that ‘opex’ costs were rising rapidly as we expand our use of software, characterised by per user billing. Our recurrent costs are very high. For 2020, our DoE appropriation was $11.6m, our total revenue $15.3m, parents and Old Boys contributing. $3.7m. Our expenditure was $15.8m, depleting our Sydney Boys High School Building Fund by >$550k to fund The Governors Centre and the Classroom Technology Upgrade. The NSW Government made a commitment to implementing recommendations from the ‘Nurturing Wonder & Exciting Passion’ report. The K-12 curriculum is to be reformed by late 2024. Stage 5 electives in the ‘School Developed Board Endorsed Course Program’ will not be endorsed by NESA from 2022
School policy around applications by students to enrol in Distance Education Courses needs to be tightened and made more explicit. Effective immediately, no student will be supported by the Principal in any attempt to enrol in Distance Education in a course that is offered at SBHS. The Distance Education program modification is reserved for two categories – languages not offered at High and Standard Courses not offered at High. Close consultation with the Careers Adviser and Year Adviser is recommended before contemplating enrolment in any course offered off-site.
Harry Wu (12R) and his editorial team have updated and enhanced the student co-curricular information booklet, ‘Zenith’. It can be found on R:\School Admin\Zenith\Zenith Edition 2 or on the Student and Parent Portal. It is a valuable companion to the Student Survival Guide to be found on .
For much of what we do, High is a self-help, self-funded school. In order to help maintain all areas of the school, we offer a substantial discount to parents who pay all their invoices in full before Sunday, 14 March. It is not only a great demonstration by them of their commitment to the ethos of the school but also it’s an encouragement for others to follow their lead and it helps to create a critical mass of financial support for our programs. The non-salary contribution by the DOE finances less than one quarter of our co-curricular programs at High. The rest comes from the support of of parents and the efforts made by School family volunteers, helping in fund raising. Having substantial funds early in the year allows us to make sure that capital works are completed in the holidays, orders are made promptly and that the boys get the maximum benefit out of equipment and services deployed for them this year. Quality services, extra staff and high standards come at a price. A very large number of parents see the package as value for money and contribute in full.
The early bird discount is available for students who were invoiced in 2021 and doesn’t apply to students who were invoiced in October, 2020 and subsequently came to Orientation Day in November and had the opportunity to pay everything on the day and obtain the discount. Year 7, 8, 9 or 11 boys who were not made offers before Orientation Day are eligible for the discount. Students in Years 8-12 have the chance to make a saving by paying in full by 14 March.
Last year, 661 families (54.72 %), saw the benefit of supporting the school in all of its activities early in the year and thereby earned the early bird discount. Together they saved $136,549. I thank them sincerely for their support and reset our target to attract 55% of parents this year. Let’s carry on High’s self-help culture to make sure we achieve our goals for your sons in 2021 and beyond!
NB Due to a problem with the DoE ‘ebs’, we could not send out invoices on time this year, hence the extra two weeks for the end of the early period.
Early in the term we changed over some scanners that were end of life and
there have been a few glitches in the system this week. I apologise to parents
for any inconvenience or annoyance caused by unnecessary contact with you by the
school. That said, I reiterate the school policy that all students are
to scan on as soon as they arrive at school. We want to know who is on
our site in case of emergency. Until rolls are marked in period 1, c. 0905, or
c. 0930 on Fridays, we have no way of knowing that. Scanning on protects you in
two ways. First, we can look for you in case of emergency at home or at school,
knowing you are on site. Second, if there is a roll-marking error during the
day, you can establish your presence on site by the ID and time stamp produced
by the scanner. We have scanners in many locations around the school. If one you
attempt to use is malfunctioning for any reason, please let a member of staff
know so that it can be reset. We rely on you to be honest and responsible in
recording your presence at school.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal