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High Notes, Vol 25 No 2, February 09 2024

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Oscar Shi (12S) who is again representing Australia at the Junior Asian Fencing championships in Bahrain. Well done to Ioannis Chatzinikolaou (11T) whose short film, ‘The Earth Dies Screaming’ was selected as a finalist at the Flickerup Shorts National Youth film competition during Flickerfest.

Weights Room for 2024

High’s weights room offers exceptional value for money. The room has appropriate equipment for preparing the bodies of teenage boys and crucially, it is constantly supervised. When handling weights, technique is vitally important, and boys need to learn the correct way to lift. Kurt Rich, our Head Strength, and Conditioning Coach, is a well-credentialed and experienced trainer. His presence ensures that the boys are training safely and sensibly. So, as well as getting gym facilities, members have a trained supervisor and adviser to help them during their unlimited visits. The Weights Room operates much more effectively if all boys get their training in how to use the various pieces of equipment and in proper lifting technique, as soon as possible. Kurt Rich provides this service at the beginning of each year and can tailor individual programs for members after the introductory sessions. Having a fixed clientele makes his job more productive and leads to a better training experience for members and better strength outcomes for participants. Hence, we decided to close off memberships by the end of March each year. Boys who have not paid by that time can no longer attend the weights room in term one.

Costs for this service are held down to a minimum and reduced by boys taking out a full year’s membership. For 2024, a full year Weights Room membership costs just $300. As an incentive to Year 7 students, an introductory one-year membership is available for a mere $180. Boys wishing to have full year membership must register and pay by Friday, March 15, 2024. There will be no extensions of time. In semester 2, half-year memberships will be offered to students for a short period of time at a cost of $165 for terms 3 and 4.

Welcome Night for new Parents.

On Tuesday evening a large number of parents attended a welcome function hosted by the Sydney High P & C Association. Guests were entertained by a student music ensemble in the foyer of the Governors Centre, where stalls for various co-curricular activities were on display. In the theatre, new parents were welcomed by Ms Tania Kirkland (P & C President), she stated the role and objectives of the P & C and outlined the role of the P & C and its representatives in the various governance organisations operating in the school. She asked questions of parents in relation to their expectations of the secondary schooling experience for them and their sons. My address outlined the history and function of the various High Family structures and activities. I urged parents to get involved in following the Saturday fixtures where their sons were competing and to engage with volunteering through our many Committees. I underlined the fact that the sixth day of every school week was funded entirely by parents and Old Boys and I asked for their financial support to help us maintain our wide range of activities, resources and coaching services. Mr Kay (DP for Years 7,9,11) ran through a lot of orientation information to help parents and students become accustomed to their new environment. Mr Michael Van, a 2023 new parent, shared his experiences, insights and several tips for parents to help them and their sons to quickly acclimatise and get the most out of their High experience. A Q & A session followed, with quite a few parents staying on to ask more questions of Mr Kay and me. Supper provided by the Sailing Committee and served by student sailors in the foyer, rounded off the evening. The atmosphere was very positive and enthusiastic. Thank you to all staff and students who assisted in so many ways to make the evening a success.

Paragraph Conscious Pedagogy: Text types – Reports

What do reports do?  Reports are essentially descriptions that classify and describe things in general and specific terms. They are particularly important in subjects which classify and describe the physical world. In order to achieve this purpose reports are frequently structured as follows -

General statement or classification: This section of the text can classify the thing being described, locate it in time and space and/or preview the rest of the description to follow.

Description: This section of the text sets out the description in the report. Typically, it will consist of paragraphs each of which deal with a different aspect of the description. Reports in the Humanities may make use of evaluative language, eg Picasso is viewed as one of the greatest modernist painters of the 20th century. Generally, however, reports are design to identify, classify and describe elements of a topic.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal