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High Notes, Vol 25 No 7, March 15 2024

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Tony Wang (SHS-2023) who was awarded a UNSW Co-op Scholarship in Actuarial Studies.

Incentives to enrol at the University of Sydney

Year 12 students should check out the opportunities being offered in the Academic Excellence Scheme at the University of Sydney

Everybody Belongs

Harmony Week, March 16-24, is an annual celebration of our shared humanity and the differences that make us stronger.  We reflect on and discuss our nation’s rich cultural heritage.  Thursday, March 21 is Harmony Day, celebrated by the wearing of orange coloured apparel.  Next Thursday is also the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  It highlights the injustice and stigma that racism brings to individuals, community, and societies.  See for more information.

Rowing Assembly 2024

My speech to the assembly is reprinted below:

"Special guest, Karl Kruszelnicki (SHS-2005), rowers of Head of the River crews, parents, students, teachers, welcome to our 2024 rowing assembly. We gather traditionally on the day before the big event to honour and congratulate our crews as they prepare for their stern test at the Head of the River regatta tomorrow.

"I would like to congratulate MIC, Coaching Coordinator and Maintenance Manager, George Barris (SHS-2001) on his terrific dedication, organisation, and inclusive approach to rowing administration, which has resulted in participation in record numbers. More boys will be a lot fitter going into winter sports as a result of a summer in rowing.

"Well done to George and Steve Comninos (SHS-2013) for coaching the first VIII. Gordan Su (SHS-2018) managed the second VIII and Daniel Xu (SHS-2016) trained the first IV. For the rest of the IVs (2-4) thank you to Gilbert Win (SHS-2021), Jack Smiles (SHS-2022), Etai Zemack (SHS-2022) and Jack Bowditch. Thanks to The Year 10 VIIIs coaches: Terry Fong (SHS-2014), Robert Yuan (SHS-2016), Adrian Wong (SHS-2021) and Jack Ralph (SHS-2018).   Our Junior crews’ training was overseen again by coach Marguerite Pain. Thank you, Marguerite. She was assisted this season by Kevin Chen (SHS-2021). The Year 8 quads were trained by Nelson Cheng (SHS-2022). Some coaches doubled up with the Year 10 VIIIs and junior crews.

"I want to thank the staff who assist George to run the program – Joanna Chan, Vivian Paul, Con Barris and Rosa Brown. Thank you again to the Rowing Committee, particularly the President Binh Johnsun, for her ebullience, energy and organisational acumen. Well done to Dan Johnsun as Secretary and the highly involved team – particularly, Treasurer Niti Singh and Mohit Singh, Amy Liu, and Herman Wong.

"This year’s Head of the River results will be determined, in no small measure, by what individual members of the crew did to maintain strength and fitness in the winter months last year. The quantum of improvement over a season is around 25-35 seconds per 2000 metres. The two targets we set in 2001, namely the first target of the High boat’s time being less than the winner’s time +7.5-9.9% (primary goal), and then our time + 5.1-7.50% (secondary goal) are realistic, because they have been achieved by High boys - 42 and 28 times respectively.  The tertiary goal is winner +5% (the margin of excellence) - a rare feat achieved only 8 times since 1999. The first VIII should aim to beat the historical average High 2k time of 6.26.

"Twenty years ago, our rowing program had depth. In 2004, the first IV rowed into the history books with a 6th place and a 3.58% margin from the winner’s time. It was the best row by a first IV since I began keeping the records from 1999. The crew was Jeremy James, Yaegan Doran, Karl Kruszelnicki, stroke Sen Mitsui, coxed by Tom Mittelheuser. The boys were forced out of the eights program due to missing training to go on the Himalayan expedition over the long break. Their performance upstaged the first VIII crew of Bryan Wrench, Ben Mitchell, Dominic Grimm, Troy Polis, Joshua Scharfegger, Mischa Steen, stroke Liam Bennett and cox Jason Tan. That crew contained some very strong rowers and finished with the fifth best comparative time this century, with a 6.36% margin over the winner’s time. Their 6.10.31 elapsed time was the third fastest ever rowed by a first eight during my time at High. It was a great year. Let us hope this year is rewarding for our contemporary crews.

"The big problem rowers face is pain – both physical and psychological. Muscles burn when you hit the pain barrier. Falling behind starts a voice in your head that says - ‘this is too hard’. Your mental and physical efforts degrade. You stop pulling hard. You go through the motions. You resign yourself to a disappointing race. Collectively, if this happens, the boat slows dramatically. You eat more wash from other competitors and chase boats. You end up with a time much slower than the PB of the boat. How can we push past the pain barrier, so this sequence of negative events does not happen or is at least minimised or mitigated? Employ mental techniques to distract your body. Break down challenges into manageable steps. Visualise getting to the next milestone – the 1000, the 1500, the finish line. Use positive self-talk – ‘I have felt this before. I know I can survive and push through this.’ ‘Just concentrate on the next stroke. Make it a good one’. ’I will be proud of this row’. Listen to the cadence of the coxswain asking for the strokes. Control your breathing. Endure.

"I want to congratulate all the boys who have been selected to compete for High. You will become a part of a long tradition and your history will be written in our record books, as it was in 2004. Make your deeds something to be proud of in terms of your own goal setting. Good luck and give it your all out on the course right to the end, no matter what your position. Make your effort count. You owe it to yourself. your season of training and to all your comrades who shared the journey endured the pain and aspired to the same goal."

Paragraph Conscious Pedagogy: Procedures

Procedures give us instructions on how to make or do something. Their structure is – goal, materials, steps. The first stage states the aim of what we are trying to make or do. The second stage, if needed, lists the materials or equipment needed to achieve the goal. The steps are then listed in the order in which they have to be performed. The language of procedures is often technical and in the form of imperative sentences which express a direct command, request, invitation, warning, or instruction eg– fill a beaker, remove the backing plate screws; take two pieces of timber; empty 500ml of X into a beaker; place the lens in the saline solution; repeat the process three times. Procedures are laid out to minimise words – usually by having each step on a new line to indicate the sequence of steps (or numbering them). Procedural recount – details in sequential order the steps that have been taken to reach a goal. E.g. results of a science experiment, show how something was constructed or repaired. Uses past tense and adverbs that tell how actions were carried out.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal