High Notes, Vol 6 No 13, May 20 2005
From the Principal
Winter Sport
Football participation on Saturdays is excellent this year with 371
boys playing. Rugby has increased its participation again this year to 232. Let’s hope a
big revival in the sport is promoted over the next few years. Volleyball attracted 104 players
this year. We are taking GPS cross country more seriously this year with 48 competitors. Rifle
shooting has 14 members. More than two-thirds of our boys are engaged in Saturday sport this
winter. I would really like the figure to be 80% at least! 51 boys had compulsory swimming for
term 2 because they did not meet the swimming standard. 22 seniors are playing competition table
tennis. 86 boys signed up for fencing but the number will be reduced. Around 150 boys are
participating in cross country on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Honour Boards
This week the Great Hall was reorganised to accommodate a new Dux of
the School Honour Board, a new Old Boys Prize board (donated by SHSOBU) and the new School Trophy
Board (donated by Year 12, 2004). Four boards will be relocated to a suitable display area in the
main building. It is a consequence of our long history that boards are filled up with names, new
ones have to be mounted and that some prioritising in displays has to be done. Matriculation
result boards and the Lodge Sydney High Board will be relocated.
The Armidale Visit
The TAS gym was packed for the basketball contests. In the junior
division our boys whacked the locals 56-17 in a game that was one-sided but willing. Meanwhile
our junior tennis players played a night match in tracksuit pants but lost 3-5 to some handy
locals used to night training. In the senior contest, the rival crowds chanted at each other,
with 200 High boys facing off against a similar number of TAS boarders. Our boys were whipped up
by Mushfiq Rahman and cheered every basket. With three regular first graders watching from the
sideline, our boys could not overcome a willing TAS outfit, losing 39-42 in a low scoring,
physical but exciting game. The TAS boys went wild at the final whistle. Despite the forecasted
threat of rain, the weather turned out to be fine and sunny as Saturday competition commenced.
The 13As came out full of running to overwhelm the TAS 14Bs 48-5. The boys played some attractive
football at times, tuning up their backline movements and rucking. By contrast, our 14Bs were no
match for TAS 14As, losing 0-36. Meanwhile, without Dejan, the open tennis team demolished TAS
8-0. Several of the matches reached a reasonable standard, however Brian Ly was hardly forced to
trot. On the Backfield our 15As took on a speedy TAS 16As and were shell shocked by rushing
defence and outflanking backline movements. After 4 first half tries against them, Mr Hannon
instructed the boys to keep their defensive line straight and kick in behind the defence towards
the corners. The team responded very well, playing a solid second half with no advance to the
score. Our first XV were pushed around the park by a big TAS scrum and clean ball was hard to
deliver to the backs. A TAS mistake under pressure was pounced on by Cameron Conway who scored
under the posts. TAS responded with first half points but High went to the break with a lead. In
the second half High’s lineout ball was spoilt and our scrum conceded ground, disjointing
the attack. Despite the obstacles, the High boys persevered. Injuries hampered the coordination
of our efforts on occasions but several second half tries were scored from good moves. Suren
Wickramasinghe chased a kick from inside High’s 22, gathered and sprinted 60 metres. Troy
Polis scored after a good rolling maul. High finished the last 10 minutes strongly, running out
winners 36-17. Mark Carroll played a great game at fullback. Pat McDonnell was sharp and elusive
at half back, scoring a smart try. I enjoyed the games and the atmosphere. The TAS weekend is a
highlight on our calendar. I hope we can expand the range of competition in the future.
High Talent
Anthony Morris came equal 3rd in NSW in the 14-15 years division of the
National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition. Sydney Boys High was ranked 6th. in
Australia in this age group. Steven Guo in the 16 years and over group came in the top 8 in
Australia. He is in the squad from which the Australian team for the International Geography
Olympiad will be selected. Congratulations boys! The students at High take national competitions
seriously and do very well at them. Sen Mitsuji was selected for the combined CIS football team,
our first such representative in well over a decade. Congratulations, Sen!
Vending Machines
Two new vending machines will be installed by Coca-Cola soon. They
will be selling approved drinks but no full strength Coke. Students are exhorted to treat these
new machines with greater respect than the previous ones or they too will be removed.
K Jaggar
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Entertainment Books
Available from Mr Barris in the History Staff Room for $60 These books contain vouchers which
entitle the bearer to discounts at many eating venues in Sydney. The books are great value and
will save you hundreds of dollars if you regularly eat out. Also, part of the purchase price is a
commission to Sydney Boys High rowing, which will provide financial help for the rowing
program.
C Barris
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Year 7 Parents
The first meeting of the Year 7 Parent Group meeting will be held on Wednesday June 1st at 6.30
pm in the Staff Common Room (near the School Office).
We encourage you to come along. Parent Group meetings are an ideal opportunity to meet other
parents in your Year, to raise questions, make suggestions and air any concerns you may have.
Parent groups run under the auspice of the P&C. Toni Lindeback (on behalf of Year 8 Parent
Group) Thank you very much
Barbara Taylor (for Toni)
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Science News
Results of Science Quiz no. 3
Question about “The genetics of the Don Sphynx” was the topic for this quiz.
Congratulations to Aditya Hatle (8s), Patrick Lai (7F), Nikita Slinko (7R) and Moustafa Taleb
(7R) for their correct answers. - The questions were:
The Russian hairless cat, or don sphynx, is an example of human intervention in animal
breeding.
(a) Gather information from secondary sources (eg the internet) to outline the history and origin
of this breed. (one paragraph)
(b) Are these cats actually hairless?
(c) Are there any other breeds of
(i) hairless cats
(ii) hairless dogs?
(d) What possible advantage would there be for breeding a hairless cat?
Answers are posted on the window of lab 302.
Special preview of quiz number 4
Next fortnight’s quiz is open to parents as
well! If you wish to enter and be in the running to receive a magnificent science quiz limited
edition certificate, then write down the answers to the following questions. Send them with your
son before Monday, week 5, together with a note signed by him to confirm that it is your own
work! (No e - mails thanks, as the compiler is rapidly becoming a grumpy old man and is still
grappling with I.T. [internet technology]) - The question is about mobile phones.
In last weekend’s edition of the Sydney Morning Herald (May 7 - 8) there was an article
about the environmental impact of those pesky mobile phones entitled “Recall
waiting”, which discusses the disposal of unwanted mobiles. The fourth paragraph states
that mobile handsets contain “hazardous materials and toxic chemicals”, yet does not
mention, apart from the plastic, what they are.
(a) Use secondary sources to identify some examples of these materials and chemicals.
(b) Assess the impact they might have on the environment. (one paragraph)
(c) Describe one of the many other offensive aspects of the use of mobile phones!
I will look forward to receiving your submissions!
I Cox
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Public Speaking
The Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition was held on Friday night. Well done to Dawei Qi, who
did an excellent job on short notice. His speech was entertaining and insightful. Congratulations
also go to Tom Kaldor who has made it through to the Regional Finals in the Plain English
Speaking Awards.
R. Howland
Public Speaking Co-ordinator
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Careers Intranet Site
This is where you can read your “Careers Views” news-sheet plus 25 information sites.
R Watson
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Communities
Journeys and Change: Ouyang Yu's visit
Monday's visit by Chinese Australian poet Ouyang Yu brought part of the Sydney Writers' Festival
to our Year 11 students. Here is the rather beautiful short poem Ouyang read near the end of his
talk:
"Far and Near" t
in australia
i am as far from any australians
as china is from australia
and i am as near to them
as a cloud
is near the sky
It is hard not to see this as being somehow related both to "Change" (Year 11) and "Journeys"
(Year 12). For much more about Ouyang Yu, go to
Neil Whitfield
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From Languages
German Excursion to Hitler’s “Downfall”
"On Tuesday after period
one Yr 11 German, the five of us (Kaivan, William, Daniel, Mathew, and me) and Mr Scheibel set
off to Fox Studies to see the latest German blockbuster 'Der Untergang' or 'The Downfall' as you
guys might know it. The movie, an 'Academy Award' nominee for best foreign language film,
portrayed the last days leading up to the downfall of Hitler from a German's perspective. It
lived up to its reputation and was very enjoyable to watch, even providing a few lines of very
dark German Humour! The movie provided us with the rare experience of listening to native German
non stop for two and a half hours (even though Hitler was played by Bruno Granz with a light
Swiss German accent). The movie opened our eyes and ears and gave us an insight into another's
perspective, allowing us to see through another's eyes. I highly recommend the movie to other
German and History students perhaps as well!
Frederick Lee
Year 11 German; (Class of Mr Scheibel)
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Volleyball Report #1
Last week saw the CHS Inter-Regional Volleyball Carnival. This was held out at West
Wyalong.
Yaegan Doran, Karl Kruszelnicki, Robert Lu, Fahmy Balgahom, Bill Zhang were selected to represent
Sydney East at the Inter-Regional Championships last week. Sydney East defeated Riverina, North
Coast, Hunter and North West. Unfortunately they lost to Western, Met South West, Met West, Met
North and South Coast.
Sydney East’s final placing was 6th in a very close competition. Karl was selected as a
reserve for the CHS State Team to play the Trans Tasman at the Gold Coast next month.
On the CHS Knockout front: High plays Belmore next Thursday to determine which team
proceeds to the State Finals. 1st Grade are preparing for a big match after Belmore defeated High
last year in the top 8 playoffs. The match starts at 1:30 pm.
The next Metro School’s Tournament is Sunday 12 June at Olympic Park. The divisions
will be under 16 and Open. As usual, High will also front their Under 15s to give them some very
hard match practice! Team members should be putting this date into their diaries!
GPS News
Saturday 14th May saw High compete in the first round (of a double round
robin) against Scots College. Fortunately the week before saw High with a bye. Three years on
into the GPS Volleyball Competition and Scots College can only field a 1st Grade team. Not to be
deterred, the GPS Volleyball Convenor allowed High’s 2nd Grade team to play against the
Scots team in the second set. Each match being the best of 5 sets.
First Grade 2005 consists of Yaegan Doran (c), Fahmy Balgahom, Robert Lu, Bill Zhang, Dominic
Grimm, Karl Kruszelnicki, Terry Ly, Jamie Tao, Victor Nguyen and Mike Zhang.
Second Grade 2005 consists of Sam Chhor (c), Ed Luong, Stephen Dong, Gary Chan, Ping Lu, David
Dizon, David Dou, Jordan Luong, Henry Dang, Balraj Hansra.
1st Grade Volleyball
They are still on West Wyalong time. So hopefully this will be
in next week!
2nd Grade Volleyball
Since Scots had only a 1st grade team and thus expected only
one match, our 2nd grade team was allocated the second set of the match while our 1st grade team
played the first and third sets. In the first set, 1st grade eliminated their opponents with an
impressive performance. It will suffice to say that Scots did not look in fantastic shape during
the first set. As second grade strolled onto the court for the second set, we expected a defeated
Scots side which could hardly spike much less receive. Scots however had wisened up a bit after
their demure performance in the first set, and scored the first 3 points with a surprisingly hard
serve. For the 2nd grade players, this was the first game of the season, and for many the first
official game that they have ever played. The early underestimation of our opponents combined
with a reasonable nervousness caused many careless errors early in the set, with our players
haphazardly trying to serve big, spike hard and receive. Only Balraj (Hansra) seemed to be
content doing soft serves which, seemingly paradoxically, gave us easy points. Scots played
defensively and consistently in the second set, letting us make the errors. This however was not
enough to push us off course, as we played the last half of the set with steady serving and
finished them off 25-19. 2nd grade will be aiming to improve their performance for further
matches this season.
Edward Leong
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SBHS & SGHS Universities Evening
For Parents and Students in Years 10, 11 and 12
Great Hall
Sydney Boys High School
7pm - 9 pm Wednesday 8 June
University and Faculty Representatives from the following tertiary institutions will be present:
- Australian National
- University Macquarie
- University University of New South Wales
- University of Sydney
- University of Technology, Sydney
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Absences from school
A reminder that whole day and part day absences from school must be explained. A copy of each
boy’s attendance information is placed in his home directory on the computer network on a
daily basis. If boys wish to avoid detentions, they should check this file (absences.txt)
[ed note: in their user directory], note unexplained absences and explain them. If there
are any problems, see Mr Dowdell.
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School Uniform
The school uniform expectations are listed in the School Diaries issued to boys. On some
occasions it may be necessary for a boy to wear non uniform clothing. On these occasions, a
parental note is required to explain the circumstances. The note should indicate when the boy
will be back in correct uniform.
Some boys come to school without a tie because they were not able to find it in the morning. This
problem would be solved by boys preparing their uniform the night before. Then, if the tie is
lost, a parental note can be obtained and arrangements made to purchase a tie from the High
Store.
A reminder that Rugby/Rowing etc jumpers are not part of the school uniform.
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The Onion Bag
Please see the PDF publication of this edition of High Notes or the Microsoft Word
publication of The Onion Bag on the football
page
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SRC Cultural Exchange
Boggabilla Central School/Sydney Boys High School
14.06.05 to 17.06.05
In week 8 of this term our school will be hosting Boggabilla Central School in a cultural and
social exchange. This follows the very successful visits in past years where BCS students visited
and attended the State of Origin Rugby League and on our visit we experienced life in a remote
community.
1 Our school is continuing to fund the newly created Creche at Boggabilla which has been
formed so that former and current female students may return to school and TAFE once they have
had children. Our role would be to fund certain utilities at the Creche.
2 Billets required for nights on Wednesday 15 June and Thursday 16 June. If interested
please contact Mr Barris. The billets, however, need to be in pairs and some are girls. Some
people have volunteered already.
Below is an anticipated itinerary for their visit that is very much subject to change.
Tuesday June 14 -
Travel to Sydney departing Boggabilla at 7.00am Accommodation at
the Outterside Centre.
Wednesday June 15 -
10.00 am - Arrive at Sydney Boys High School. Meet with students
and orientation. Sausage sizzle by SRC SBHS and then meet billets. Tour of the school. Game of
touch with billets. City v Country
1.30pm - Make way home with billets. Return to school by 5.00pm for meal in Hall and travel to
State of Origin at 6.00pm
Thursday June 16
9.00am - Meet at school for City Tour and then return to school to
meet billets for coastal walk. either - Bronte to Bondi or Bronte to Coogee or Coogee to
Bronte BBQ on Beach (weather permitting) bring swimmers, billets to accompany the students from
Boggabilla.
5.00 pm - Boggabilla students go to their host families
Friday June 17 9.00 am
Sydney Boys High - Farewell formalities Return to Boggabilla
This years trip is a rushed one due to the long weekend and everyone’s keenness to
travel to the State of Origin. We anticipate a return visit this year and priority will be given
to billeting students.
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