|
|
Home
 Publications High Notes Older Volumes High Notes, Vol 12 No 28, September 09 2011
High Notes, Vol 12 No 28, September 09 2011
From the Principal
High Talent Congratulations to our Senior Chess team for their gallant second in the NSW schools representative selection tournament. In the contest to represent NSW at the Australian Schools Championship, High, represented by Dawen Shi, Edward Naoumov, Jonathan Ren and Eric Xu, was edged out by Knox in a hard fought contest. Well done to our skiers who represented High at Falls Creek in the Nationals: Tim Collier, Tom Connolly and Julian Edgtton. Congratulations to Star Qiu (7E) who was selected to receive a Commended Award as part of the Minister’s Awards for excellence in Student Achievement - Community Languages Schools. Congratulations to the Year 11, 2nd grade GPS debating team who completed the season undefeated to become GPS Champions. This week they had a victory in the Karl Cramp PDC Competition final - the 14th time in the history of the competition that a High team has won. Robert Sternhell, Julian Edgtton, Christopher Chiam and Suman Prusty, successfully opposed the proposition “that we should refuse to fund schools which teach Intelligent Design”. Their articulate and organised opponents, NBSC-Manly, tried to link religious education instruction into the debate, thereby broadening the base of the argument to one about the purposes of education policy. Their line was that in a secular society, if all religions could not be catered for by schools, then the state should fund the teaching of none. Their model proposed allowing people to choose religious education and religious schools, but not to expect funding from the public purse. Alternatively, religious education could be taught out of hours. High’s rebuttal was based on the idea that school funding attaches to curriculum in general and that various parts of it may be taught in various ways but the core will be delivered by schools and they should be funded for doing so. A parallel line was the damage that potentially could be caused by the affirmative’s model to students whose religious beliefs were imbued in them and in large measure defined their personalities and social allegiances. It was among the best finals debates I have witnessed.
Knowledge Management Policy
SBHS Golf Invitational
Acceleration Policy
Information Evenings
NAPLAN Results 
SBHS RugbyHigh Rugby = High Spirit
Qantas Walla-Rugby Week Submit your teams online at by Monday night 12/9/2011.
End of Season Reports Rugby World Cup 2011 kicks off tonight with New Zealand facing Tonga. The Wallabies play Italy on Sunday at 1:30pm. GO WALLABIES!
Die Deutsche Frage
Nobody has claimed the chocolate bar yet – the first clue was Uhren, Uhren, Uhren. So here
comes another clue: Zahlen!? An eagle-eyed pupil will spot it – eventually!
From the CanteenFarewell and THANK YOU to our Year 12 Prefect HelpersYour assistance in the canteen at recess and lunch has been invaluable and very much appreciated by the volunteer parents serving with you as well as our canteen staff Tracey, Karen and Katie. Thank you especially to those boys who have come in to help when they have not been rostered on but they could see that help was needed. Your help, especially when we don’t have enough volunteers serving, has meant that fewer students miss out on been served. As you approach the end of your schooling at High, we wish the Prefects and all the Year 12s all the best for the HSC and your future endeavours.
Many thanks to these people for your help in canteen – we couldn’t do it without
you!! Your names will go in the draw for this month’s $10 lunch voucher Holidays are soon!!!
We are nearing the end of term so the canteen will be running down stock in preparation for the
holidays. Check at canteen before you order to be sure we have what you want
SBHS DebatingDebating Prefect Final WordsThe year ended with raging success among our senior teams against Newington. Debating whether or not to end the NT intervention, our thirds and seconds were both excellent, convincingly winning, and in doing so confirming themselves as outright premiers in their respective competitions. Well done to all! A special mention also to our seconds, who debated in the CHS state final for Year 11 on Monday and took out the Karl Cramp trophy for High for the third year in a row. Robert Sternhell, Julian Edgtton and Chris Chiam have gone the entire year undefeated, and our First Grade next year is shaping up to be a formidable force. In Firsts, we negotiated a tough debate against Newington to win our fifth GPS debate of the season, and take outright second on the table. Unfortunately, Grammar beat Kings, and defended their premiership. As a whole, the three senior teams dropped only three debates all season, to be the most successful of the GPS schools this year.
After six years of eight-month-long seasons of coaching and debating, it feels strange to think
that Friday evenings are once again my own. I feel that those who don’t debate are too
quick to name the debaters as the only heroes of a win – this couldn’t be more wrong.
The reason High’s teams traditionally peak in senior years is thanks to the tireless work
of motivated coaches. It will be sad to see the backs of so many this year, but particularly my
coaches of the last four years, Michael Coutts and Kelvin Yu. Both have been encouraging, but
always quick to let us know where we’ve fallen down. Most importantly though, both have
been great to learn from, and I’ve had a lot of fun – which is, after all, the point
of debating. Also, to the parents that have been our mode of transport and majority form of
support over the years, and who have worked most Fridays to produce the best supper in the GPS,
thanks very much! And lastly, Ms Powell. Nothing happens without an MIC, and nothing happens
successfully without a good MIC. She has been amazingly dedicated, and has brought a newfound
enthusiasm to the program in just her first year in control. I have no doubt that, with Ms Powell
at the helm, next year will be one of High’s best in debating. So it is with more than a
little sadness that I conclude my last debating report, and my High debating career.
Karl Cramp State Final
This Monday, the Year 11 team took on Manly NBSC in the state final of the Premier's Debating
Challenge. After being undefeated in the GPS, our team was keen to finish off the debating season
on a high. Negating the topic "that we should not fund schools that teach creationism," we ran a
case centred around the principle that these religious schools had the right to teach this
education given that parents understand they will teach it and hence consent to it. In the end we
managed to win unanimously in a close debate which gave us the Karl Cramp trophy for the third
year in the row and gave this Year group PDC success for the second year running. A big thank you
to Mr Webb for organising the debates and taking us to the various venues.
AthleticsSchools Knockout CompetitionMr Devlin’s athletes displayed optimistic spirits heading out to SOPAC, Homebush to compete in the All Schools Knockout last Wednesday 31 August. Last year we were successful in qualifying for Nationals in the Senior Division and this time we were striving for even greater success. Sydney High fielded 9 teams: An A, B and C team in the Junior (U15), Intermediate (U17) and Senior (U19) Divisions. Unlike most carnivals, it was a point-based carnival determined by individual performances rather than placing. The top two teams of each division automatically qualified for Nationals while close 3rds and 4ths could also progress if they were within the top 10 of the Australian rankings. The atmosphere was exciting as it was the first time in the season we would be competing under lights (even past 9pm) and was a good opportunity to experience an atmosphere similar to professional competition. There were around 90 teams in total competing in all divisions and we understood that every event would be difficult. The fact that several competitive GPS schools were present definitely motivated us to perform at a high standard. This was demonstrated through the performances of the following athletes: In the Junior Boys 100m Dash Leonard Mah produced a (12.31) to claim 5th while Bovan Lin finished further back but topped his 13s Age (12.74). In the Senior 100m Dash Scott Renzenbrink ran into 5th (11.56) while Joshua Leo came 6th (2:19.97) in the Junior Boys 800m Run and Lloyd Perris 5th (2:07.67) in the Intermediate Boys 800m. Denny Chandra threw to 4th (11.37m) in the Senior Boys Shot Put 5kg and the Senior Team A narrowly missed out on a top 3 finish by less than half a second in the 1600m Sprint Medley (8, 4, 2, 2), placing 5th. There were some clear standouts on the night. Eamon Kelly was 2nd in the Intermediate Boys Shot Put 4kg (14.30m) missing out on a win by a mere 3cm. On the other hand, Ivor Metcalf narrowly jumped into 1st in the Intermediate Boys Long Jump by 3cm (6.26m), ran 2nd in the 100m Hurdles (13.56) by just a margin of just 0.04s and showed his dominance in the High Jump (1.91m) clearing 2nd place’s best jump by 11cm. Chris Morrow further proved that Sydney High is near-unstoppable in the High Jump, soaring to 2.00m to claim 1st in the Seniors by the nearest margin of 15cm. On top of this Chris also came 3rd in both the Senior Boys 110m Hurdles (15.75) and Long Jump (5.74m). However, my eyes were focussed on pure effort rather than clear-cut talent on this night. My favourite performance was the gutsy effort of Jonathan Clements-Lendrum of Team B during his 400m leg of the Intermediate Boys 1000m Sprint Medley (1, 2, 3, 4). His team was mid-field and not in top 3 contention when he received the baton. To make it more dramatic he had Lloyd Perris of Team A just on his shoulder. However Jonathan was not perturbed and dug in deep, holding off Lloyd and running down two other competitors in the final straight. It was a mighty performance demonstrating an underdog team B rising to the occasion to topple Team A (and was worth the wait of about 3 hours). The carnival concluded with the following SBHS team placings: Intermediate Team A (3rd) and Senior Team A (4th). These results reflect the high level of the competing schools and with a more committed and organised approach from our students, next year should see some positive improvements to High’s results.
Special thanks to Mr Devlin, Mr Codey and Josh and Jason Tassel who attended and gave much
appreciated advice to all students in attendance. Athletics Report High/Grammar InvitationalThe day was unusually warm, with a light breeze and clear skies, a near perfect day for the track. Marking the first few days of spring was the heat, an unpleasant change in some ways to the athletics, picking up beads of sweat under the sun. Yet, this change did not tamper the efforts displayed by all athletes, especially from the younger generation of High athletes. The 13s age group was lead impressively by Bovan Lin, coming first in the 200m in a blistering time of 25.53 secs and 2nd in the 100m piping a time of 11.90. Nafis Rahman, another notable performance, came third in the 1500 despite a very strong field of runners, running a time of 5.13. Calvin Zhou leapt 4.94m to claim first in the long jump. In the 14 years, Leonard Mah came a very close 3rd in the 100m, with a time of 12.03secs, just beating the Newington runner. Joshua Leo ended the success for the 14s, blasting the rest of the field by a considerable amount in the final event the 400m, in a time of 55.1. The 15s fared well against the other schools, with Byron Chen retaining his winning streak, coming 1st yet again in the long jump, jumping well below his PB with a distance of 5.53m. Ivor Metcalf stamped his authority on the 16s field from his first event, winning as usual his 110m hurdles running 14.16. He continued by winning the long jump with a whopping 6.42m jump. He then jumped up an age group in the 17s for high jump coming an impressive 2nd. Harry Heo came 2nd in the 16s high jump with a 1.7m leap. The 17s age group were by far the strongest on the day, led by Scott Renzenbrink who was just beaten in the 100 coming 2nd with a time of 11.03 but bounced back by winning the 200m in style with a run of 22.47. Jesse Moffat came third in the 110m hurdles and the 17s 4x100m second with a time of 46.81, beaten on the 3rd to 4th change although they had led for a majority of the way. In the Opens age group, Frank Torak as usual dominated the 3000m as well as the 1500 winning both by a large margin. Running 9m20s for the 3k and 4m02s for the 1500 these would only be the start of the successes for this age group. Ashwin Rudder came 2nd in the 100 with 11.47secs, Chris Morrow ended the successes of the day, coming 1st in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.82 and 3rd in the Long jump.
Since last week, there have been large improvements for the team overall, with individual
athletics beating their old PBs by large amounts and outperforming competitors who had beaten
them before. There has been steady improvement by athletes in all areas, and from now until the
finals, we can only get better. Eastern Suburbs Zone Athletics Carnival Report 2011On the 28th of June 2011 the Eastern Suburbs Zone Athletics Carnival was held at ES Marks Athletics Field. Once again High was looking to continue its dominance at the event and went in with a strong team of athletes ready to win. High performed extremely well at the carnival, winning it overall with the most points out of the schools that competed. In the 12s Age group notable performances were run by Dylan Goh, winning the 100m and placing 2nd in the 200m as well as Ervin Zhou who won the 200m and 80m hurdles. The Sydney Boys relay team for the 12s also won in the 4x100m. In the 13s standout performances were Bovan Lin winning the 100m 200m and High Jump. The 13s also won the 4x100m relay. The 14s saw strong performances from Leonard Mah and Joshua Leo winning multiple events between them; the 14s also won the 4x100m relay. The 15s’ Eugene Lee also deserves a notable mention, dominating in his age group and winning the 400m and the 800m. The 16s age group saw GPS champion Ivor Metcalf obliterate the competition, winning the High Jump, Triple Jump, Long Jump and hurdles easily. In the 17s and Opens High also dominated with notable mentions to Adam Booth, winning the 800m and 1500m and to Chris Morrow who dominated the jumping and hurdles events yet again. Overall the carnival was a fantastic preparation for the upcoming GPS season, in which High is looking to do even better this year. The Sydney East Area Carnival Report 2011
The Sydney East Area Carnival was held at Sylvania Waters over the days of the 1st and 2nd
of August 2011, on two beautiful days with good conditions for running. High shone in a number of
events throughout all age groups, with Bovan Lin in the 13s placing 2nd and 1st 100m and 200m
respectively, as well as Calvin Zhou placing 3rd in the Long Jump. The 13s boys age group also
placed in the 4x100m relay looking promising for the GPS Carnival later this year. In the 14s
Leonard Mah placed 3rd in the 100m with a good run 12.4 seconds and the 4x100m team also placed.
The 15s age group saw Anton Brokman come 2nd in the 800m, Dominic Mah also placing 2nd in the
100m Hurdles and Byron Chen again placing 2nd in the Long Jump. The 15s relay team also placed in
the 4x100m relay, the last age group to make relays from High due to a number of absences in the
older age groups. The 16s age group was extremely successful, with model athlete Lloyd Perris
coming 1st in both the 800m and 1500m run. Ivor Metcalf also shone in multiple events winning an
unbelievable 4 events in the 110m Hurdles, the High Jump, the Long Jump and the Triple Jump.
Notable mention also goes to Allen Fu winning the Shot Put with a throw of 11.82m. The 17s+ age
group was also relatively successful, seeing Chris Morrow winning the 110m Hurdles and the High
Jump, with a jump of 1.90m and myself placing 2nd in the 200m. Adam Booth also did extremely well
placing 2nd in the 3000m, and 3rd in both the 800m and 1500m events. Well done to all athletes
who competed in the carnival and good luck for the State competition later this week.
High Cricket 2011-2012 SeasonUpdate For All Cricket Players at Sydney Boys High SchoolThe 2011-2012 cricket season is about to start and so all prospective cricket players should read the following and put some of these important dates into their school diaries. Cricket Season Launch 6.00pm to 8.00pm, Friday 14th October at Sydney Boys High School Outterside Centre, Abbotsford – Cricket Event for the whole Family - BBQ dinner, special guest speakers. Please put the date in your diary. The OFFICIAL TRIALS FOR ALL TEAMS will commence on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd September. The venues for each age group will be notified shortly. The CRICKET COMPETITION AGAINST OTHER GPS SCHOOLS will commence on Saturday 15th October. In the meantime some exciting pre-season events have been organised for players in the OPEN cricket teams:
Mr David Smith has indicated that he is unable to continue in the role of MIC Cricket for the upcoming season. We would like to thank him sincerely for his dedicated efforts over the past season. An announcement re his replacement will be made shortly. We would like to thank the Meroni family for their generous donation of a set of cricket shirts for our First XI side to wear in selected matches this season.
Mrs Julie Connolly is the new President of the Cricket Committee. She is most anxious to enlist
the support of as many parents as she can during this season. It promises to be an exciting year
for our teams. The GPS format has changed dramatically with the introduction of some T20 games
and an increased number of 50 over per side contests.
The High Rowing ChallengeIt's back on - The Sydney High Rowing Challenge starts Saturday 10 September 2011 at the High Rowing Sheds
Parents, friends, old boys and school community
Enjoy early morning rowing for 6 Saturdays with experienced coaches and coxswains.
Donation: $300 per seat (tax deductible)
More information and registration - contact Julie Blomberg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 0416 061759
SBHS Buses Available for Hire53 SEATER BUSFrom $220 (plus GST) for half day travel within a 20 km radius 20 SEATER BUSFrom $125 (plus GST) for half day travel within a 20 km radius Call us for a comprehensive price schedule!
Kevin Eadie
|
Sydney Boys High School
