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High Notes, Vol 25 No 4, February 23 2024

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Jacob Yin (12T) - Best Male Rower and Roman Samsonov (10M) - Junior Champion for their efforts at the CHS Rowing Regatta held last week in Grafton. Ethan Yu (9F) will compete again at the Australian Youth beach Volleyball Championships in March. Congratulations to our students selected in the Sydney East Region Volleyball team to compete at the CHS Inter-regional Carnival:  Karan Dahiya (12S), Captain of Volleyball, Jerald Yu (11F), Steven Yin (11E) and Andy Zhang (11F).

The ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Building Fund

The ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Building Fund is a capital fund managed by the Sydney High School Foundation Ltd on behalf of the school. The object of the Fund is to provide facilities and resources for the use of students at High. Some of these assets are located off-site. The Foundation owns, maintains and operates the Outterside Centre and manages the Fairland Pavilion. It also negotiates and manages Deeds of Licence with third parties for medium and long-term legal arrangements for the High Store and the Tennis Courts which the Principal cannot do. It delivered finance for one half of the c $14,750,000 major project the Governors Centre, a joint endeavour with SGHS completed in 2021 after 10 years of effort.

Contributions by parents for 2023 were $612,945. Monthly Giving from parents added another $33,890. This culture of intergenerational generosity is the principal reason why High has acquired the assets it enjoys over 141 years and the access it has to facilities at Moore Park, Abbotsford, Malabar, Sydney International Shooting Centre, Rose Bay and Centennial Park. The Foundation funded half of the installation of our new demountable science lab, c $475,000 in 2022. Our current projects are to build an international standard Table Tennis Centre c $500k; air condition the Junior Library for $125,000; build a retaining wall, pathway and entrance way at the Outterside Centre c $275k and build a meeting/lunch/physio room for the tennis courts c $235,000. Please help us to achieve these important goals in 2024 by making your annual contributions to the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Building Fund as so many of our existing and previous parents have done over many years.

Senior Awards Assembly 2024

"Good morning and welcome to our Student Awards Scheme Assembly held on Gadigal land. I pay my respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who are custodians of culture, and to any Aboriginal people here today. To all the Awards recipients, well done and thank you for your dedication and integrity in staying the course. Students who are strongly connected to our school tend to be fully involved in the Student Awards Scheme. US research shows that co-curricular engagement while at high school, if undertaken for two years or more, benefits individuals in multiple ways during tertiary study. Also, in a study of first year college students, their scores on a test of optimism were better predictors of their first-year college assessment grades than were their SAT test scores from high school. Our most successful years academically, come when our boys are also the most engaged in school life, when they have the most hope and self-efficacy, so you can understand why I would prefer everybody to be in the Student Awards Scheme. If you qualified for an award in 2023, I really want you to stay involved in 2024 and earn another one.

"When I first started this scheme, it had three levels, but because so many boys took up the challenge to get involved, other levels needed to be added. Over time, we have increased the levels to eight. Only Nathan McDonnell and Joseph Coates Awards are awarded on Presentation Night and have honour board entries for the recipients. Several boys have been so committed to school life that we have sought and received further recognition for them at state level. Today, students receive trophies manufactured

"in-house using our laser cutter. I want to thank Ms Dam and Mr Comben for the time and effort spent in manufacturing and engraving these handsome trophies each year. Mr Kay and Mr Barris have worked hard alongside our student management system provider Sentral to revamp the Awards Scheme to fit inside the architecture of the Sentral program. I want to thank them for making the Awards Scheme more accessible and efficient in its operation.

"How the revised scheme works is if you earn 30 points within a category (there are seven categories) then you are awarded a nomination for that category. If you achieve four nominations, you will receive a Bronze Award. Eight nominations earn a Silver Award, 13 nominations, a Gold Award; 18 gets you a Platinum Award; 24 a School Plaque, 30 a School Trophy, 37 a Nathan McDonnell Award and 44 a Joseph Coates Award. It is possible to earn a maximum of two nominations in one category in any one year. This restriction preserves some breadth of participation in the Awards Scheme. To receive any award, you must have three nominations in the current year. The administration of the scheme is electronic, with a running tally of points being kept for every student. For any discrepancies discovered with a student’s individual tally, the student must contact the teacher in charge of the program. The closing date for adjustments to be made to a student’s tally is by Friday Week 9 of Term 4 in the corresponding calendar year. No retrospective points can be allocated once a calendar year concludes.

"We depend upon coaches, MICs and program managers to submit text files of the names of boys who have satisfied requirements for the completion of an activity. Nonetheless, students need to check their files frequently to see if they have been awarded all the points they are entitled to. It is their individual responsibility to advocate for the points they deserve.

"I want to thank Mr Kay and Mr Barris for managing the scheme and Ms Ashton for her ordering, sorting, and checking of hundreds of awards each year. It is a lengthy and complex operation, but I think it describes the co-curricular life of our students accurately. I believe life balance is important – academics and co-curricular involvement complement each other in character development. That is why we go to so much trouble to record and recognise both aspects of personal enlargement. Learn organisation and self-management by involving yourself in school life. It will help your study.

"Last year for Years 9, 10 and 11, there were 5 bronze medallions, 40 silver, 50 gold and 46 platinum. Also, 55 School Plaques. We are making 196 Awards today. As well, 23 School Trophies, 19 McDonnell Awards and 9 Joseph Coates Awards at Presentation Night.

"To the students receiving an award today, you have shown by your broad participation in school life that you understand our primary purpose here – to grow as people, to enlarge ourselves through our involvement with other people. We try to develop our physical, emotional, cultural and cognitive intelligences. Stay involved in the Scheme right until the end. Don’t drop off in Year 11 or 12. Universities appreciate students who can demonstrate broad-based commitment over time to co-curricular endeavours as well as to academic success. It shows integrity. You do what you say you are going to do. It shows dedication – you stick at what you do over time to improve yourself. You grow your self-efficacy. Treat all others with dignity – that shows respect. Treat others as you would be treated – that demonstrates compassion.

"Congratulations again to everyone acknowledged this morning."

Paragraph Conscious Pedagogy: Narratives

Narratives share many of the language features of recounts. A major difference is that narratives build to a problematic climax which is then resolved. Also, narratives are characterised by judgements about characters and events. Narrative stages – orientation (exposition) – the who, what, where and when; complication (rising action) – the plot device on which the action turns; evaluation (climax) – the character’s response to the events taking place in the story; and resolution (falling action / dénouement) – the complication is resolved and the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters arising from the complication are explained or resolved. The knot is untied.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal