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High Notes, Vol 10 No 22, July 10 2009

From the Principal

Last week of Term 2
As we come to the end of term I want to thank all staff and students for soldiering on in the face of significant adversity in the form of weather, illness and disruption to school routines. We kept as much of or teaching / learning programs as we could in place. I would like to wish the collective High community a well earned rest.

High Talent
The big success in sport was Mr Kay’s Open Volleyball Team’s win in the CHS Knockout Final. I believe High has won this major tournament in four of the last five years. Congratulations indeed, boys! Our Intermediate A Chess team (D Shi, D Nguyen, I Bonch-Osmolovsky, L Sheldon and R Lee) was successful in winning through to the NSWJCL finals competition after seven elimination rounds. Equally successful were our Junior A (D Mah. C Liu, E Ly, A Tayeh, D Chan) and Junior B (K Pan, J Chen, D Wei, J Ni, S Kumareswaran). Our Junior A team also placed third in the Secondary Schools One Day Tournament competing in a strong field of 24 teams. Congratulations to all the boys and to their coaches Messrs Feldman and Harvey. In the recent Sydney Eisteddfod Performing Arts Challenge, Krishna Visvaa (Year 9) won third place in the U15s while Daniel Fang (Year 7) and Amarbir Singh (Year 8), received High Commendations. Well done boys!

Issuing of Reports
All students should have had their reports before Parent Teacher Interviews. If your son has not shown you his report, please ask him for it. At this late stage of the term there is no excuse for not meeting obligations to discuss progress with the Principal and parents.

Parent Teacher Evenings were a success
I have had very encouraging feedback from parents and staff concerning our online, interactive booking system for parent teacher interviews. Most parents had all their interviews compressed inside one hour and could be on their way. The projected digital clock in the Great Hall kept people to the appropriate interview lengths. Perhaps the intervals between appointments could have been extended to 90 seconds to allow parents to move between rooms more readily. I believe waiting time was held to a minimum. If you have feedback I would appreciate an email.

Generation Y
Generation Y spans the years 1982 to 2000. They have more disposable income (up to 75%) and consume on credit. They were born into relative stability. They have been defined by the emerging technologies of the past decade. Text messaging by generation Y accounts for 74% of all traffic. They have taken up social networking sites and have interacted to produce a unique world view. Generation Y may base their decisions on the views of their networked peers rather than on data. New technologies have created a sense of intimacy based on check in calls and emoticon graphics rather than direct personal contact. This techno-consciousness has created socialising without responsibility. Effort to keep up with peers has a down side if group norms are not met, leading to alienation. On social and political issues, generation Y people feel a sense of powerlessness. As workers, Gen Y are self-centred and seeking promotion.

They expect a balance of autonomy and support from employers. Shaw and Fairhurst (2008) found that when looking for employment money was rated after: training, management style, work flexibility and staff activities. They can multi task and manipulate multiple technical gadgets. Fontana (2008) suggests that the employment process has been turned on its head with potential Gen Y employees scrutinising the organisation, not the other way around. Gen Y workers seek connectivity with ideas rather than organisations.

They desire to be challenged and understand how teamwork and networking can be used to solve problems.

Parents, you have one of these different individuals living with you and some teaching your sons. Let us hope that together we can meet their personal and educational needs. If we do not, they might find web 2 substitutes.
Dr K A Jaggar

From the Andrews Library

Junior and Integrated Book and Cyber Library

Senior boys are reminded that the holidays are fast approaching and that can mean time to catch up on some reading. The Andrews library has been accessioning loads of new senior fiction lately.

SPECIAL REQUESTS
All students are reminded that the Andrews Librarian loves to be asked to order books on request from students. Can you please email Mrs Crothers on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and tell her what you want to read. Mrs Crothers is right now ordering 21 special requests.

RESERVATIONS ONLINE
For some time the Andrews Library has wished to create a similar system for putting in book reservation requests to the system our wonderful IT guys created for renewals. This is in the pipeline. In the interim an email address has been created for all boys who wish to reserve any resource. Everyone is reminded that the Library catalogue which you can access from home from your portal will tell you if a book is available. If it is not, reserve it and our library will inform you that your book has arrived through an office boy visit. The email address to ask us to reserve items will be at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

HOLIDAY READING
Staff and students are reminded that our fiction collection is a special collection tailored to boys reading interests and has loads of great books there for both adults and students.

GENRE DOTTING AND SEARCH TERMS
To make finding a good book easy library users are reminded that books are dotted for the following genre: action adventure, crime fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, horror and supernatural/gothic fiction, humour, romance, science fiction, youth and adolescence. Worthwhile search terms are – “new fiction”, “popular books”, “junior fiction”, “mid-school fiction”, and “senior fiction” or “classic fiction”, “translated from ….” “prize winning book”, “shortlisted for …..”

BOOK REVIEWS
The Andrews Library will be encouraging readers to engage in a “The Andrews book blog” where readers can recommend the newest fiction to others by writing a quick review online. Again this is in the pipeline and may try to attract Year 9 contributors. In the meanwhile Mrs Crothers is happy to review two new resources she read in the last two or so days:

Black Rabbit Summer – Kevin Brooks
I think Kevin Brooks has another winner for his “slightly odd” characters formula. Black Rabbit Summer is very readable and keeps us expecting the worst. It is a little like the 2006 winner of the Orange prize, Lionel Shriver’s We need to talk about Kevin. It also revolves around the actions of child-psychopaths. It reflects our society’s dilemma when confronted with dysfunctional personalities who are also children. (How can we prevent schoolyard massacres?). In this case one of the characters, a child himself, has taken responsibility for finding this killer who appears to be a member of his friendship group. Meanwhile his friends are all gradually revealed to be psychopaths and the body count keeps growing. Of course this raises the eternal question of how skin deep our ‘civilisation” is and how many of us are psychopaths when you scratch the surface. This book confronts issues of puberty, sexual identity, bullying and discrimination and I would strongly recommend it.

The Cellist of Sarajevo – Steven Galloway
The dreadful religious/ethnic war in Sarajevo has horrified our post WW11 world as much as the Holocaust did and for the same reasons. There have been only several novels attempting to deal with the horrors United Nations forces and the citizens of Yugoslavia faced in this war. This novel deals with the confusion, horror, hopelessness and bravery of the population of Sarajevo, living under six years of siege and sniper attacks. Despite its subject matter it is a novel of hope and not despair. It is an excellent new resource for Year 12 or 11 English students studying the theme of war. By the way use Library catalogue and put in subject “war” to find other fiction and non-fiction resources on this theme. It follows the daily decisions of 3 different citizens as they attempt to deal with living under siege. Two are men – 40 year old Kenan, fetching water for his family and a difficult old neighbour, 60 year old Dragan who worked at the bakery and 20 or so year old “Arrow” a university lecturer/turned retaliatory sniper. The uncluttered structure of this novel makes its message crystal clear – the consequences of war are totally unacceptable - and makes it a suitable read for both juniors and seniors.
Mrs Crothers
Librarian
Andrews Library

Public Speaking

Daniel Fang, Krishna Visvaa, Christopher Pinto, Amarbir Singh, Andrew Tayeh and Raghib Siddiquee recently competed in the highly competitive Sydney Eisteddfod Performing Arts Challenge. All students delivered impressive speeches which were both entertaining and insightful. Special congratulations go to Daniel Fang and Amarbir Singh who won Highly Commended Awards and Krishna Visvaa who won 3rd place. We congratulate all students on their achievements and encourage them in future competitions.

Khushaal Vyas in Year 8 competed in the NSW State Final of the Rostrum Voice of Youth_public speaking competition on Saturday 27th June. The event took place at the NSW State Parliament. Khushaal was one of 6 students who won a place in the Junior Division of the State Final. This is an impressive achievement considering the competition was open to all secondary schools in NSW, with 600 students entered into the first round. We congratulate Khushaal on this amazing achievement. Early next term we have the local final of the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award.

This competition is run by the Department of Education and involves schools from across NSW. Sydney Boys will be sending two representatives, with students being required to deliver a prepared and impromptu speech.
R Howland

My Experience at the State Final of the Rostrum Public Speaking Competition
On June 26 at 2:30pm, I walked into the Hyde Park Inn Hotel. My reason? Because I was being given accommodation, along with other State Competitors for the Rostrum Public Speaking State Final! The rooms were spectacular! A balcony, kitchen, Foxtel television, and a double bed!

It was enough to make me forget why I was there in the first place! Anyway, we had that day just to look at our rooms and unpack. We then went to the NSW State Parliament House, where we would be competing. We had a run through of the program for the next day and went out to eat.

The next day, we went out for a very filling breakfast. A chocolate 3 stack pancake! We then walked to Darling Harbour for a Tour of the Harbour by ‘Water Taxi’. Along the way, we got to know each other and all of us competitors ended up becoming the best of friends. After that, we went to the ‘M9 Laser Skirmish’ at Darling Harbour. After 2 thrilling games, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the competition.

Nerves started running high. But for the first time in my public speaking career, I did not feel very nervous. I was very happy just to have met a great bunch of kids and to have gotten this far in the competition. (I know it sounds corny, but I’m being honest).

Once we arrived at the NSW Parliament House, we took our seats and began. The quality of each speech was fantastic!

Then we had the impromptu section. (Given 15 minutes to prepare a 3 minute speech). I was happy the way I performed. Unfortunately, I did not win the competition. Naturally, I was disappointed, but I looked at the great weekend I had and the fantastic people I met and I did not regret one bit of it. Hopefully next year, with even more experience I can perform even better and make Sydney Boys High School proud.

I’d like to just give a special ‘thank you’ to Ms Howland who organised these competitions. Without her dedication, none of this would have been possible for me.
Khushaal Vyas

Letters Re Absence/Lateness/ Early Leave

When your son returns to school from being absent he is required to provide a letter of explanation signed by a parent or guardian. If your son is going to be late for school a note is also required. Alternatively you may contact the school by phone on 9361 6910 and dial “4” for the absentee line.

If your son has an early leave note he is required to have his note signed by either Mr Beringer, Mr Dowdell or Mr Prorellis before 8:55 am and handed in to the Main Office immediately after. Each letter should be signed by a parent or guardian with the name, date and roll class of your son printed clearly. Your son needs to pick up a leave pass from the Main Office before he leaves the school.

Leave
If you require leave for your son please, apply in writing and address your application to the Principal, Dr Jaggar, stating the reason and length of time of the leave. Your son must then present this application to Dr Jaggar for permission for the leave. Please remember to apply before the leave and not after. The Principal must approve all leave applications.

Bardia Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac

UNSW Press is proud to announce the publication of: Bardia Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac. On 3 January 1941 Australian soldiers led an assault against the Italian colonial fortress town of Bardia. Two days later, after 55 hours of heavy fighting, the position fell to the Australians in a resounding victory. At a cost of 130 killed and 326 wounded, the Australians captured around 40,000 Italian prisoners and large quantities of arms and equipment. The success at Bardia was considered to be one of the greatest military feats in Australian history. But despite both the scale and significance of this monumental success, the Battle of Bardia has been largely neglected by historians and is not well known to Australians. In Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac Craig Stockings, a leading military historian, has written the first in depth account of this important but previously neglected battle. Providing a rare balanced account of the war in North Africa from British, Italian and Australian perspectives, he deals not only with what happened at Bardia but why the Australians were so successful, and reveals the real factors behind the Australian victory and Italian defeat.

Challenging in its perspective and controversial in its conclusions, this is a riveting account of the first battle planned and fought by an Australian formation in World War II. 9781921410253, July 2009, UNSW Press, 288pp, 235 x 155mm, HB, AU$59.95

Contents
To view table of contents click here!   (media.unswpress.com.au)

Endorsement
'Bardia is a load bearing pillar in the temple of Australian military history. It has, however, been lost to view historically overshadowed by the subsequent struggle with Rommel's Africa Corps in North Africa and the epic battles of the Pacific War. Bardia deserves better memory. Craig Stockings' excellent book restores it' Kim Beazley

About the Author
Craig Stockings was born in Sydney in 1974 and graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy with an honours degree in History and Politics. He holds degrees in education and international relations from Monash and Deakin Universities and a PhD in History from UNSW. His main area of academic interest concerns Australian military history and operational analysis. His previous book was a history of the army cadet movement in Australia entitled The Torch and the Sword (UNSW Press, 2007). Special 20% discount offer (www.unswpress.com.au) Order your copy via the web using this special Link to receive 20% off the normal price or phone UNSW Press on 02 9385 6689

The Lak Saviya Foundation

The Lak Saviya Foundation is a non-profit and non-government organisation established in Australia in 2002 and is also registered in Sri Lanka. The foundation aims to improve basic needs such as health, education, energy and housing requirements for less privileged people in Sri Lanka, also seeking to improve existing or build new infrastructure in rural areas of Sri Lanka. After contacting Lak Saviya Foundation late 2005, SBHS provided financial assistance for the tsunami-affected Kahawa Rathnasara Maha Vidyalaya School. SBHS has since maintained an ongoing relationship with Lak Saviya and the Kahawa Rathnasara Maha Vidyalaya School. SBHS is currently one of four sponsors for the foundation. Mufti days and barbeques have thus far been a great success, commonly raising 4 figure sums ($1000-$1800 on average).

“Almost everyone-regardless of income, available time, age and skills- can do something useful for others, and in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity……” - President Bill Clinton

High’s warming display of enthusiasm for helping the Lak Saviya Foundation and all charity commitments gives the Charities Committee confidence to continually set higher goals for providing the greatest possible assistance to those who need it. All your donations make a difference and will affect somebody’s life. SBHS will proudly continue to support the Lak Saviya Foundation and help bridge the privilege gap in Sri Lanka.
Kumudika Gunaratne, Samir Kinger

Parent Volunteers

To volunteer for the High Store please call Michelle on 9331 7075

To volunteer for the School Canteen please call Tracey or Karen on 9360 4027

SBHS Debating

Happy holidays to all! There is NO COACHING this week. Coaching will resume Week 1 in Term 3; stay tuned to your email accounts for more details. If you are not receiving the debating emails please email me on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

USyd Junior Debating Day – Friday 31st July 2009
Boys in Years 7 & 8 have the opportunity to participate in the University of Sydney Junior Debating Day on Friday 31st July. This is an all day event at the University of Sydney – for boys in Years 7 and 8 only. If this is something you are interested in attending please email me with the subject line “I am in [your Year] and want to debate at USyd”. Please also indicate if you have friends you would prefer to be in a team with or your preferred speaking position

UNSW Coaching Workshop – Sunday 16th August 2009
UNSW and SGHS have invited us to join them in a Debating Workshop day on Sunday 16th of August. The cost for the day is $25.00 per student. If you are interested or would like more information please email me with the subject line “UNSW Workshop”

GPS Program 2009

Date
31 July	St Joseph’s College v SBHS
7 August	Saint Ignatius' College v SBHS
14 August	SBHS v The King’s School
21 August	The Scots College v SBHS
28 August	Newington v SBHS
4 Sept	SBHS v Grammar
11 Sept	SBHS v Shore

Here is the upcoming GPS schedule. Please note that in the GPS competition Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 arrive at 5.45pm for prep from 6pm and debate commencing at 7pm.

Senior Debates (firsts, seconds and thirds) must arrive at 6.45pm for prep at 7pm and debate at 8pm.

Debates shown in bold will be at home.

More information can be found at and will be emailed to you on a weekly basis.

Please CHECK YOUR EMAIL regularly and ensure we have current contact details for both students and parents.

PARENTS: If you are not receiving weekly emails about debating please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and ask to be added to the parent group for your child’s year.

Dana Quick
Debating Coordinator

Music Notices

Piano Competition
The SBSH Piano Competition is back again in its 4th year running. The competition will be held in Term 3 from weeks 2-4 on Mondays and Tuesdays at lunchtimes in the Great Hall. There are two categories again this year; Junior (Yrs 7-9) and Senior (Yrs 10-12).

Performance time limit for Junior division is 3 mins and Senior division 5 mins.

Entry Fee is $5.00 made payable to the Music Staff. Please enrol by end of term 2 so that performance times can be arranged by the start of term 3. Please check the Music Noticeboard in Week 1, Term 3 for competition list and timetable

A printable form to enter the Piano Competition is available in the PDF version of the High Notes

Fundraising for Music Tour 2010 – ENTERTAINMENT Books
Entertainment Books (June09-June10) are on sale now through the Main Office with 20% of each sale contributing towards fundraising for the Music tour. Please support the students involved by purchasing an Entertainment Book which offers many discounts on dining and entertainment across all of Sydney and the Inner West.

A printable form to purchase an Entertainment Book is available in the PDF version of the High Notes

Phillip Day Memorial Scholarship

For existing or enrolling students in year 7-12 who meet the scholarship selection criteria. To apply for a scholarship:

Applications close on 30th July 2009

Developing scholar sportsmen is our tradition

Sydney Boys High School
Moore Park, Surry Hills 2010
Phone: 9361 6910

Enrolments for 2010

Application forms are available from the school, or from via the link to 'enrolments'. If you have siblings or friends who are interested in applying to Sydney Boys High School in 2010 for Years 8-12 we would appreciate you passing on this information. Limited places available.

Applications close 30th July 2009

Phillip J. Day Scholarship Dinner

You are invited to the Phillip J. Day Scholarship Dinner, 7pm on September 8 in the Great Hall.

$60 per head, alcohol will be available, BYOG.

Welcome: Neville Morgan (class of '65)
Pianist: Alex Belokopytov
1st Recipient: Alex Belokopytov
Speaker: Joseph E. McIvor (class of '01)
Subject: Capitalism and the Free Market are Dead

(A corporate, tax deductible professional learning opportunity)

A printable form to purchase tickets for the Phillip J. Day Scholarship Dinner is available in the PDF version of the High Notes.

Weights Room

The holiday opening times and training schedule for the weights room is available as an image in the PDF version of the High Notes

This is relevant to all weights room users, and includes reserved training times for Senior Rugby (1sts, 2nds, 16a)