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High Notes, Vol 11 No 19, June 18 2010From the Principal
High Talent End of Financial Year Giving If you would like to support your son in his particular interests at school, why not donate to the Australian Sports Foundation? If you go to , you can find ‘donations/ sports donations’ and view various projects. There are two forms, one for equipment and facilities, the other for sports development (primarily coaching and training of coaches). Make your tax deductible donations to the sport and funding option of your choice and send the competed form to the school by June 25th so the deposit can be processed and sent to ASF in time for the end of the financial year.
Reports: Years 7, 9, 10, 12
Participation in school activities
Michael Carr-Gregg – June 30.
Restricted Access to Cutler Drive
Driving Instruction Parent-Teacher Interviews
Year 7 will take place on
Years 10, 11 and 12 will take place on
Years 8 and 9 will take place on
Booking interviews with your son’s teachers
From ClassicsGreek and Latin Reading Competition at Sydney University
A Year 11 Latin Perspective… We arrived at Sydney University early on the day and, after a visit to the Nicholson Museum and an enlightening talk on Archaeology, we made our way to the performance room for our readings. Overall, the judges seemed impressed with the Sydney High group, even commenting that we were the first to completely memorise the piece. The finals will be held next month.
I would like to thank Ms Werner for her help and organisation of the competition, and Ms Matsos
for our preparation, and to congratulate all the boys who participated. Reading Greek and Latin at Sydney University
Preliminary Round, 9th June The Year 10 Latin students, who had to read aloud a passage from Book XII of “The Aeneid” of Vergil, were: Jonathan Adhika, Timothy Chin, Matthew Delaney, William Ho, Kevin Krahe, Sooraj Prakash and Suman Prusty.
Congratulations to all participants in this challenging competition. From the two LibrariesBook FairBooks are still trickling in from Borders Online. Thanks to all our donors. We are thrilled to receive these lovely new books which encourage our boys to read. Special thanks to Sherrin Ayres one of our English staff who dropped in to get help with Borders Online for taking so much trouble to donate to our Book Fair. Thanks especially also to Francis Salmon, mother of Josh Lane - Year 8 for dropping in personally to bring us 7 nearly new books from home as a Book Fair donation. This is most appreciated. Donations status – arrived/covered and ready to be first-reader, can be viewed on sydneyboyshigh.com via the Library Thing Website/book Fair catalogue – put in the search term “donations”. Boys are now picking up their donations.
STAFF READERS
NEW RESOURCES THIS WEEK
SENIOR NON FICTION From the CanteenIt was great to have the help of the following people last week. Thank you very much to....... Sachiyo James, Usha Arvind, Sue Rynsaardt, Paul and Judy Koerber (impressive tag team style - as one arrived, the other left!!), Ming Lee, Elsa Li, Yuko Sakata, Sally Allingham, Jim O'Sullivan, Anne Wall, Su Jen Yap., Helen Chong, June (Wu) Long, Lancy Feng, Soogie Sim, Frances Salmon, Jing Zhang
Plus a big thank you to Ming who came in to help at the last minute - she had been in the
previous week also. SBHS Debating
Premiers Debating Challenge
Newington Social
PLEASE NOTE:
Behaviour in Coaching We are lucky to have the calibre of coaches on staff and ready to assist the development of students as they mature into articulate and analytical debaters. In turn it is expected that all boys show their coaches and their fellow debaters the respect they deserve. This means: calling out, yelling in class rooms, not following directions, littering, using mobile phone/laptops are not acceptable behaviours and are detrimental to individual and group learning. At debates: rooms should be kept neat and tidy – boys should be returning the rooms to their original state, putting any scrap paper into the bin. Parents of junior boys are recommended to go over the behaviour expected within the Code of Conduct as continued misbehaviour will result in your son being removed from coaching group or excluded from future competition debates
More information can be found at and will be emailed to
you on a weekly basis. Music Notes
Music Tour 2010 to France & Flanders As we entered the small town of Villers-Bretonneux on our coach, the first thing that caught my eye as out of the ordinary was the Australian flags flying all around us, on the town hall, on the theatre where we were going to perform and even hanging off some of the non-official shops. As we entered the hall, all above us were hung green and gold banners and we placed our cases behind great green and gold curtains draping the stage. The flags and banners were for the one week commemoration of the ANZAC troops that fought and died there to initially capture and then defend the village against German counter-attacks. After the rehearsal, the group was treated to biscuits and drinks, all provided by the townspeople and served by some of the village women. Hindered slightly by our lack of French and their lack of English, we figured a system of miming and speaking gibberish sounding similar to French to communicate our thanks. For dinner, we went to the usual food emporium where we were given snails to taste. The majority of us tried them, though there were a few not willing to go there. Our proper meal did not arrive for ages, causing us to have to eat our food in 5 minutes, dessert and all and run back to the hostel to get changed into our uniforms and onto the coach for our performance that evening. Feeling slightly sick after cramming all that food down our throats and tumbling down the stairs racing to the coach, we were on our way to the concert.
The concert was one of our best, featuring all three of our ensembles. Reporters from channel 9
filmed an arrangement of Waltzing Matilda for use in one of their programs, mixing our schedule
up slightly, keeping us on our toes. After the concert, people from the village were practically
queuing up for opportunities to grab a photo or word with us, among congratulations of
“magnifique” and “professionale.” The bus trip home was one of the most
memorable of all our rides, co-ordinating silence and bursts of song according to the clock on
the bus. Among these were the School Song, the War Cry, 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall (Ok, so we
skipped a few...) and the Pokemon Theme Song. The celebration did not end even when we returned
to our hostel, with many of us only collapsing into bed well after midnight.
ENSEMBLE Rehearsal Times for 2010
Marching Band SBHS & SGHS SRC Talent Quest 2010The combined Talent Quest is an annual charity event that has been run by the SRC for a number of years, bringing the spotlight onto hidden talents within our schools that may have passed un-noticed. The Talent Quest consistently raises funds and awareness for the Black Dog Institute. The SRC supports this non-profit educational, research and clinical facility that offers specialist expertise in depression and bipolar disorder. You can read more about their work at The event took place last Monday after a week-long run of unprecedented auditions, a real accolade to the creativity and confidence of our students. I congratulate everyone who gave the auditions a shot, and I'm sure even more talent will surface for next year. The hall was at capacity in minutes, with rumours of the successful SBHS acts to perform and an interest in what Sydney Girls had to offer. The talents of Francis Pham, Miguel Castillo, Michael Zhang, Jim Nguyen and Year 12 band The Icebergs were unearthed in a great contest with Sydney Girls, who also found a great variety of acts to showcase. The panel of judges represented by Ms Berger deemed The Icebergs this year's winners - congratulations to Andrew Blomberg, Kieran Taylor, Justin Chan and Antony Paul. Everyone's combined efforts raised $1085, an excellent contribution to the designated charity Thanks to the SRC for all their help in putting the event together, and in particular the subcommittee (made up of students from Yr 7-12 from the SRC) who focused on the event for many weeks leading up to the day.
Samuel demonstrated great leadership skills in heading this Talent Quest subcommittee –on
behalf of the SRC thanks and well done!!! High SocietyThe Bulletin Board for Sydney Boys High P & C
Julie Connolly If you would like to have any parent community news or upcoming events included in High Society, please contact Julie Connolly, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; M: 0418 470 203. Joint P&C SBHS and SGHS – 7.00pm Wednesday 30th June, Great HallThank you to the ten families who have generously offered to help set up for our joint P&C meeting with SGHS featuring Dr Michael Carr-Gregg on Wednesday 30th June – we really need your help. We still need another ten families who can assist in laying out chairs theatre style following the parent-teacher interview session that will run until 6.30pm on that same evening. We have approximately 20 minutes to pack away tables and set out chairs - we need all hands on deck! Could parents indicate their availability to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and meet in the School Foyer at 6.20pm on Wednesday 30th June. In addition, Barbara Taylor is organising supper for the evening and needs parents to help set up the supper area near the Great Hall kitchen from 5.30pm on Wednesday 30th June. Please email Barbara directly This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you can help. Meet at the Great Hall kitchen. Upcoming Parent Meetings and Events
Monday 21st June, 3.00pm–6.30pm –
Thursday 24th June, 3.00pm-7.30pm –
Wednesday 30th June, 3.00pm-6.30pm -
Wednesday 30th June, 7.00pm – Volleyball Report
Year 8 Report Rifle ShootingSeveral weeks after Armidale, the Sydney High Rifle Team set out yet again for another trip to the country, to compete in the Wingham Open Prize Meeting. This meet is usually known as the Wingham Rain Festival, but this year, we were competing under bright blue skies and had a consistently dry shooting mound. The Sydney High Rifle Team saw great success this year. While this was an individual shoot, we entered a School’s Team that competed against Wingham High School and The Armidale School for the Mo Burdett Trophy. Although Wingham High posted extremely competitive scores, we managed to edge ourselves just in front by a mere 2 points, winning the trophy for the third year in a row. Individually, our results were no less impressive. Brendan Leo (Year 11) had a great weekend of shooting, winning five silver medals and two bronze medals to come 2nd in C Grade, only losing out to the C Grade champion by one point. Ryan Woo (Year 11) also shot well, and despite his lower aggregate score (coming 4th in C Grade) he won three gold medals by coming first at three different ranges. Peter Tran (Year 11) also shot well, winning the Tyro Cup; a cup awarded to those who haven’t yet won a competition. But aside from those standout achievements the whole team performed admirably, gaining much experience; for Bill Deng (Year 9) and Dominic Tran (Year 9) it was their first shoot at an Opens competition, and for Wilbert Wu (Year 9) and Adam Ceh (Year 10) it was their first trip to Wingham. This year some of us were luckily paired with professional A Grade shooters on the second day, a new system designed to help the younger shooters. And thanks to their mentoring, there were clear improvements in scores. Comparing the Day 1 to the Day 2 aggregates, we saw improvements of approximately 15% in our newer shooters Bill and Dominic, an incredible improvement in such a short amount of time. Aside from the seriousness of the competition shooting though, it was still a fun camping trip out in the country. At the end of each of the long days, we took the opportunity to finally relax. Whether it was warming up in front of our campfire, content from the hearty meals that the Wingham Rifle Club provided, or roasting marshmallows and making some damper, we enjoyed a brilliant trip augmented by Wingham’s friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Of course, all the people who made this possible must be thanked: Wingham Rifle Club, for providing us with such fierce yet friendly competition, our MIC Cathy Meaney for putting in all the effort and behind-the-scenes work to make this possible, and to Old Boy coaches Sam Kremer, Kevin Chan and Joe Banh for supporting us throughout the weekend. Also a huge thanks must go to Sam Kremer for driving the bus.
With our highly successful Wingham shoot being the second of our several lead-up shoots to the
all important GPS Competition, we look forward to what the next few weeks hold in store for us.
The West Wallsend Open Prize Meeting at Cessnock is coming up shortly. SBHS GPS Athletics Training Timetable - 2010
Sydney Boys High School Drama FestivalWatch Out!
Sydney Boys High School Drama Festival Student Tickets $5 Applications for Years 8 - 12, 2011Applications for Years 8 - 12, 2011 close on 29 July 2010. Application forms are are available from the school visit: and click the link to enrolments. Phillip Day Memorial ScholarshipFor existing or enrolling students in years 7 - 12 who meet the scholarship selection criteria. To apply for a scholarship visit for full details.
Hear Dr Michael Carr-Greg, 30 June 2010Fantastic Opportunity to Hear One of Australia's Leading Voices on Teenagers
7.00pm, Wednesday 30th June, Great Hall The Five Greatest Challenges for Parents in 2010The joint Sydney Boys and Sydney Girls P&C meeting for this year – 7.00pm, Wednesday 30th June, in the Great Hall – will feature Dr Michael Carr-Gregg speaking on The Five Greatest Challenges for Parents in 2010, including aspects of online safety, alcohol, sleep and other key issues. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear one of Australia’s leading voices on adolescents and we urge parents to attend this P&C presentation. Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's highest profile psychologists and is described by the Sunday Age, as one of the country's leading authorities on teenage behaviour. He specialises in the areas of parenting adolescents and adolescent mental health. Michael is the Consultant Psychologist to the Victorian Secondary Schools Principals’ Association and is a founding member of the National Coalition Against Bullying. He is an official ambassador for beyondblue and Mindmatters - one of 16 youth suicide prevention programs run by the Federal Government - and has served on the advisory committee for the Federal Government's Boys' Education Lighthouse School Programme. Educated in Kenya, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Michael is married with two sons. For seven years he worked as an Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne, before going into private practice in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. Michael has worked in private practice as a family therapist, child psychologist and clinical psychologist, as an academic, researcher and spent four years working as a political lobbyist. He wrote his PhD on adolescents with cancer at the University of NSW which resulted in the formation of CanTeen - a support group for teenagers with cancer in 1984. Michael has a high media profile working on national TV on Channel 7's Sunrise and The Morning Show as well as Fairfax Radio 3AW. He is a columnist for Girlfriend and Australian Doctor and has written six books, including the best selling Princess Bitchface Syndrome - how to survive teenage girls for Penguin in 2007 and has just finished another book When to Really Worry which was released in 2010. Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is an informed, entertaining and inspiring speaker addressing some of the most critical issues for our adolescents today. This is a great opportunity for High parents to hear his insights. Supper will be served following the presentation. |