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High Notes, Vol 14 No 18, June 14 2013From the Principal
High Talent
Joint Project Update The Steering Committee looks after the relationships between the two schools and monitors the overall project. For SBHS membership of the Steering Committee, the Presidents of the P & C (Ian Sweeting) and the School Council (Julie Connolly) have been endorsed by the School Council. One or two members of the Executive of SBHS will be invited to join the Committee. The process to realise the vision of the Governors Centre is starting. We need your financial support to make it become a reality!
Reports Parent-Teacher InterviewsYears 9 and 12
will take place on Years 7 and 11
will take place on Years 8 and 10
will take place on Booking interviews with your son’s teachersThis year we will again use a web based electronic scheduling system for arranging interviews. This produces better results for all participants, especially more compact time schedules for both parents and teachers. The system works as follows –
Mr R Dowdell SBHS DebatingYear 12s were rushed to complete a Regional Semi Final Debate on Thursday and a Final on Friday last week. They won both which is wonderful news. All other Years PDC Debates are well under way now. Both Year 7 and 8s won their debates against Ashfield Boys today. Year 9 and Year 11 have not been as lucky, but Year 10 have won their first round debates. Good luck to you all in the next few crucial weeks. Boys who are interested in watching PDC debates or chairing need to see the teacher in charge of the PDC groups:
Ms Rigby - Years 7 & 8 I have an invitation to the Hume Barbour for the Final of the Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 11&12 which is on Monday 5 August 2013, 11.30am - 1.00pm, The Great Hall, University of Sydney. These places will be limited and I will be looking for enthusiastic members of the Debating Community to attend. Come and see me if you would like a ticket. There are two more weeks of coaching left this term.
Next week on Thursday 20 June it is a DSG meeting. All parents are invited to attend
this meeting. If you are interested in attending but are not a committee member please contact me
before next Wednesday. This week’s debating roundup is one with a lot of fantastic news! After Year 12’s Eastside Finals victory over their rivals from Sydney Girls, there was a grand final rematch in the Hume Barbour Debating Competition the very next week! Going in with confidence from the week before, the team consisting of Wilber, Khushaal, Connor and Albert debated at the NSW Parliament house on the topic “That voting should be optional”. In what was a truly high quality and outstanding debate, our Year 12s won for the 2nd week in a row with a unanimous decision in their favour. A very positive result and we hope there’s more to come! A big thank you to Ms Rigby for driving the boys to Caringbah for the semi-final against Caringbah along with organising for an audience to come and watch the final against Sydney Girls. In some more positive news from Year 12, Connor Robinson and Wilber Koslowski both made the cut of 12 for the NSW State Debating squad! A very impressive achievement! Both Years 7 and 8 won their PDC debates against Ashfield Boys and are looking strong for their respective competitions. Year 10 has also had a successful start to the PDC rounds winning their first round debate. With FED and Eastside over, PDC will be taking over our focus for the next couple of weeks before the beginning of the GPS season next term! So stay sharp boys and congratulations on a great season thus far!
Tip of the Week: There is a noticeable trend in younger debaters trying to write
out their speeches word for word during prep. Some carry this harmful habit right up to their
senior Years. It is important to get used to writing out speeches in dot points so as to look
more confident and more prepared, rather than reading directly off paper. It is also a good way
to show the audience that you know exactly what you’re talking about. Charity Golf TournamentSir Roden and Lady Cutler Foundation Charity Golf TournamentThe Sir Roden and Lady Cutler Foundation provides a free community transport service for those most in need. Last Thursday 6 June the Foundation held its annual charity day at Concord Golf Club. Sydney High is a supporter of the Foundation providing office space at the school and parking for the Foundation’s vehicles. As part of its ongoing support Sydney High sponsored a hole at the charity day and sent senior students James Lin, Adilmorad Nadir and Matthew Zhang to help run the raffles. The school entered a team of 4 to compete in the 4 man ambrose competition. The team consisted of Jason Hong (Year 9), Shuming Wang (Year 12) and staff members Mr Bigelow and Mr Kay. This was the second year Sydney High has entered the charity day and the experience paid off as they won the overall trophy with a gross score of 61 (10 under par) and a net score of 55.5. Team High started the day nervously with a shaky par on the first hole but managed to string together 10 birdies in the following 17 holes to win the trophy now on display in the school foyer. Low marker Jason Hong provided the back bone for the group with his straight driving and accurate putting. The team strategy featured numbers man Mr Bigelow leading each shot with the range finder. Shuming would play second to refine the line followed by Jason and Mr Kay. The Bigelow-Wang-Hong combination was so deadly on the greens that Mr Kay didn’t need a putter for 12 of the 18 holes (he was very happy with this arrangement). A highlight for the team was when Craig Parry joined the group on the 15th green and played the 16 hole with them. At the presentation lunch Shuming Wang accepted the trophy from Lady Cutler and responded on behalf of the group and Sydney High. He thanked the participants for their support and spoke of the valuable work being done by the Foundation. Shuming concluded by recounting his experiences during his work with the Foundation’s volunteer drivers in the school holidays.
The charity day raised over $10 000 which will go towards computer upgrades for a more efficient
booking system and administration. Rifle ShootingOnly two weeks since the Armidale Sporting Exchange, the Sydney High Rifle Team set out once again to compete in the annual Wingham Rifle Club Open Prize Meeting over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. The SHSRC members consisted of Wilbert Wu (12, c), Dominic Tran (12, vc), Bill Deng (12), Jeremy Chan (11), Minghao Wu (11), Sam Phillis (11), Rex Yi (11), Nicholas Phillis (10), Timothy Tran (10), Evan Han (10), Jack Zhou (10), Terry Fong (10), Desmond Chiang (10), Keller Huang (10), Ciaran Farrell (9), John Huang (9), Wentao Ruan (8), and James Jiang (8). Arriving at the range, we set up camp in the last lights of the day, braving the crisp, cold, country air. The next day was only met by light rainfall, and change from the usual Wingham Rain Festival. Very impressive results were posted on the first day of the competition, especially from those who have never entered an Opens competition before. Standouts on the day include scores out of a total of 50, from Bill a 49 with 4 centres, 50 with 5 centres by Jeremy, and 50 with 5 centres by Wilbert, which placed them 2nd in C Grade 500 metres, 1st in C Grade 400 yards, and 1st in C Grade 300 yards respectively. As a result, Jeremy won a prize and was placed first in the C Grade day aggregate, while Wilbert took a work bench as a prize. Well done also to Dominic, who placed 2nd in the C Grade day aggregate, posting a 50.1 at 400y and 49.4 at 300y, as well as John who shot a 49.6 at 300y, despite it being his first ever prize meeting. Well done! After the first day of shooting, we had the chance to relax and enjoy ourselves, the Wingham Rifle Club providing trivia and karaoke for the night. The team each took turns stepping up to the microphone, swallowing our embarrassment and entertaining the clubhouse with our singing, retaining our reputation as the stars of the night! Day two of the prize meet saw an improvement in our shooting overall, with 13 of our shooters improving their scores. In particular, Nick improved from 110.7 on day 1 to 125.3 on day 2, and Jack improved from 128.9 to 141.8. Congratulations to Wilbert Wu, who shot extremely well on all three ranges (500 yards, then 600 yards twice), posting a very commendable 50.2, 50.1, and 49.7, dropping only 1 point the whole day. Congratulations must also go to Jeremy Chan, who shot a 50.3 at the first range, and 49.2 on the second range. At the prize presentation, Jeremy collected his 500 yard badge as well as another prize, plus 1st place in the C Grade grand aggregate, dropping only 6 points throughout the whole two days. Wilbert took 2nd place in the C Grade grand aggregate, dropping only 9 points over two days, Bill took 3rd place, dropping only 10 points, and Dom took 4th place, also dropping only 10 points. The presentation was followed by another delicious dinner from the auxiliary ladies at Wingham. Our yearly campfire concluded the trip and gave us time to relax and enjoy our time. Stories were shared over roasted marshmallows, pizza from a local store, and spuds, and some music was shared. The time came for us to return to our tents, unfortunately, for the last night at Wingham. Uncharacteristically, the rain never came, leaving our tents relatively dry, save for the dew of the morning.
Many thanks go to the Wingham Rifle Club for hosting this prize meeting every year. Thanks must
also go to the MIC of shooting, Cathy Meaney, as well as Old Boys and coaches: Sam Kremer (1992),
Justin Hill (2002), for giving up their entire long weekend to support us throughout the trip.
Thanks also to Ishan Nadkarni, Joe Banh, Brendan Leo, and Jacky Yang, who also came to support
us! Altogether, the team learnt many valuable lessons about shooting and the tradition of camping
at Wingham. AthleticsSBHS had an amazing Athletics season; increased involvement in training and a change in training culture set a new standard for the boys to strive for in all sports and for next athletics season. The boys rose to the new sports scheme and the consistent hard training paid off. Special thanks must go out to all those involved, students, coaches, supportive staff and a big thank you to all the parents, in particular to the parents who came and supported. The junior team came 7th – Intermediate 8th – Senior 6th. Below is the list of the athletes’ individual results.
2013 AAGPS - 11/05/2013
Anson, Ned -
Cai, James -
Chang, Ian -
Chang, Michael -
Chang, William -
Chen, Byron -
Chen, William -
Chen, William -
Chung, Steven -
Clements-Lendrum, Jonathan -
Comninos, Steve -
Dang, Peter -
Duong, Dennis -
Fowler, Noah -
Goh, Dylan -
Gu, Ray -
Guo, Kevin –
Haddo, Christian -
Hancox, Brendan -
Hoad, Luke -
Hong, Jason -
Ho-Shon, Ryan -
Huo, Jason -
Keogh, Daniel -
Kuang, Kenny -
Lee, Eugene -
Leo, Joshua -
Love, Elliot -
Mah, Dominic -
Mah, Leonard -
Meroni, Oliver -
Metcalf, Ivor -
Montuno, Eli -
Musgrove, Sam -
Musulin, Bailey -
Nguyen, Brandon -
Quan, Nathan –
Saha, Rick -
Schofield, Luke -
Song, Neil -
Strauss, Ben -
Tan, Jackson -
Tang, Wanyu -
Upatising, Pete -
Vatandoust, Shayan –
Wang, Flidon -
Wong, Lucas -
Yang, Carl -
Yi, Roy -
Yuan, Gordon -
Zhang, Edward –
Zhang, Nigel -
Zheng, Jeffrey -
Relay Seed Heats Finals
2 Sydney Boys High School -
3 Sydney Boys High School -
4 Sydney Boys High School -
5 Sydney Boys High School -
6 Sydney Boys High School -
7 Sydney Boys High School -
8 Sydney Boys High School -
9 Sydney Boys High School - Junior FencingSchool ChampionshipsThis weekend we had some very impressive results in both competitions. We started the day early with some warm ups, before practicing some bouts. Everyone was very eager for the win as we entered the poules. In the Sabre competition there was some bitter fighting in the poules, then Direct Eliminations started. Slowly High Boys got knocked out, but not without stiff resistance! Chen Yu Wang triumphed over stiff competition in the final to come first, after a very close bout, winning 15-14. Garry Huang placed equal third, after losing to Chen Yu 8-15. Simon Nguyen also placed third, after a narrow defeat 13-15. Peiyuan Li ended in fifth place, losing 8-15 and Aaron Tse came seventh, losing 10-15 after a long fight. Overall, the Sabre results were impressive. High won 3 out of 4 medals! There were some very strong clashes, in the Epee poules, and especially in the Direct Eliminations. John Tian stayed up top throughout and after a long, intense and suspenseful fight, he won his final bout 15-10, winning the competition! After a very long and tough fight, Arthur Chao lost 11-14 to the competitor who came second, after a passivity rule was invoked, placing sixth but not without style at the end, bowing out with a roar. Lut Ming Chan came seventh against a very skilled opponent, ending 9-15. Raphael Ng placed eighth, unfortunately losing 7-15. After that, Ahad-Anhiang Zafar came ninth, James Ye came eleventh, Kentaro Takahata came twelth and Peter Lin came thirteenth. The silver lining of the epee cloud was our gold medallist John Tian. It was a very educational weekend for the new fencers in Year 7 as they turned up and supported us and saw what real fencing is like. Overall it was a very pleasing weekend with quite a few medals, especially as we were competing against some very tough schools like St Aloysius. Well done to all fencers with their commendable results!
Photos to come next week. Parking for GreaseLimited ‘Grease’ Parking Saturday EveningIf you’re planning to attend Grease on Saturday evening parking will be limited due to the Rugby at Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park. Please consider catching public transport or arrive early. Some parking will be reserved. Thank you. From the CanteenOnce again thank you for being a canteen volunteer. ALL canteen profits are returned back to the school to help fund projects and facilities which benefit all our sons.? Thank you to our volunteers last week.
Mon: Dongmin Zhao, Yoshe Leong, Usha Arvind, Jeannie Vye. High FamilyThe Bulletin Board for Sydney Boys High P & C.If you would like to have any parent community news or upcoming events included in High Society, please contact Ian Sweeting P&C President This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The Governors Centre for Excellence in Education (GCEE) Fundraising CommitteeAs you are aware, Sydney Boys and Sydney Girls High Schools submitted a proposal to the Department of Education to fund and develop a shared multi-purpose facility (to be known as the Governors Centre for Excellence in Education) on the Cleveland Street frontage between the two schools. The department has recently given approval for the two schools to proceed with the proposal. The estimated cost of this much-needed building is $8 million and each School’s parent and Old Boys/Old Girls community is planning to contribute $4 million, raised through tax-deductible donations to the Schools’ respective building funds. SBHS parents and Old Boys have donated almost $2 million towards the project in recent years and it is planned to raise the remaining $2 million over the next two years while Development Approval is obtained and project planning is completed. The P&C is seeking the help of parents or parent contacts who have some expertise or experience in fundraising to provide advice to the GCEE fundraising committee. The P&C is also seeking the help of parents who would be willing to be part of the GCEE fundraising committee. It is envisaged that this committee would sit regularly over the next eighteen months to formulate and execute a fund-raising plan aimed at achieving the project’s financial milestones. Consequently, the functions of this committee are crucial to achieving the projected completion dates for this landmark building. If you can assist, please contact Ian Sweeting, President of the SBHS P&C, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Joint SGHS-SBHS P&C MeetingA further reminder that the next P&C General meeting is the joint SGHS-SBHS P&C meeting which will be held Wednesday 19 June at 7:30pm in the Multi-Purpose Hall at Sydney Girls High School. The guest speaker at this year’s joint meeting is Dr Ramesh Manocha. Upcoming Parking EventsPlease make sure you check with the co-curricular parking co-ordinator to confirm the exact start and finish times for particular events.
Saturday 15 June 7:30pm–Waratahs v British Lions (Basketball Supporters
Group) Upcoming Meetings & Events
Years 9 and 12 Parent-Teacher Night: Great Hall – 3:00pm to 7:00pm,
Tuesday 18 June. Ian Sweeting Applications for Enrolment: Years 8, 9, 11
Sydney Boys High School
Applications for Years 8, 9 and 11 Application forms available from the school at:
Moore Park |