|
|
Home
 Publications High Notes Older Volumes High Notes, Vol 6 No 22, August 05 2005
High Notes, Vol 6 No 22, August 05 2005
From the Principal
High Talent
Latin and Greek Reading Competition
New Introductory Classical Greek Course
Bondi Secondary Principals Council Meeting - 29/7/05 From now on, schools will have the cost of insurance work deducted automatically from their accounts. We will need to be very careful when faxing for assistance. Everyone needs permission to travel. Watch out for excursions interstate, camps, conferences. All staff should send me a group wise email letting me know where you are going, the dates and the mode of transport. Assume permission has been granted.
Year 11 2006 Curriculum In English, Extension 2 will be limited to 10 places. Extension 1 will be limited to 80 places. In Year 12, 2007, there will be 5 Extension 1 & 2 Mathematics classes at 18 periods per cycle. There will be 1 2-unit class at 9 periods per cycle. There will be a further 3 extension mathematics classes at 13 periods per cycle. In English there will be 4 Extension classes of 14 periods each, 6 2-unit classes of 9 periods and 1 Extension 2 class of 4 periods. It is expected that the closer alignment of delivery will benefit the parity of esteem between the two subjects and improve access for rigour and remediation interventions in English. Students in Year 10 should take note of these arrangements. They essentially make Extension English compulsory. The second half of the 1-unit line can accommodate up to 192 mathematics extension students. For students doing 2-unit Mathematics on another line, 'Mind and Morality' 'Problem Solving in Science', 'Studies of Religion' or 'Digital Photography' may be offered.
Boys Schools Network Meeting - 28/7/05
Library Campaign - State MPs
Plain English Speaking State Final
GPS v Kings In first grade High opposed the argument that the Australian Government should limit Medicare funding to IVF programs. King's proposed that the funding should be cut by half, because the procedures were non essential and that there were better ways to solve the problem of childless couples - such as adopting African orphans. In an almost flawless display, Gabriel McManus, Tom Kaldor and William Clegg destroyed the King's line on moral, political and practical grounds. They argued for the rights of Australian couples to biological parenting, advocated adoption of Australian orphans first, opposed uprooting the best African orphans and assimilating them into a foreign culture and defended a citizen's right to access to a medical intervention to correct a disability like any other disability. I was very impressed by the tightness of their teamwork and the apparent cogency of their arguments. They were fluent, confident and engaging. Next day at King's, High had a hard day at GPS football. The second XI struggled to penetrate a tight King's defence. Both sides moved the ball around but couldn't put one in the net. In the first grade game High was never coordinated in attack and were out-muscled in defence. King's dominated the air heading back goal kicks into our half. In response our long balls were nodded back to the keeper. Our boys couldn't find feet with passes. Burak Akinci was injured at half time and had to come off. In the second half King's gained in confidence and our boys grew frustrated. Lapses of concentration cost us goals. We did not get into the game and lost 0-3. The social 3rd XV played hard in the forwards but squandered the little possession they did have by kicking it away. When they kept the ball in the forwards they looked good. They were worn down by a weight of King's possession, occasioned by a string of 5 penalties against them. They weakened towards the end of the first half and let in a try. The same scenario occurred in the second half. Our boys penetrated when they had the ball but they never got the necessary field position to apply pressure for long. In first grade our boys were jumped early by the King's tactic of spinning the ball very wide to their star outside centre who engineered a couple of tries. Pat McDonnell hit back with his usual blind side scrum move to score wide out. Sandy Cunningham converted with a good kick. After that, the King's side again exploited the defensive gaps in the backline to run in more tries. At half time it was 38-7 and things did not look promising. To their great credit our boys fought back in the second half, winning the half 12-5 with tries to Cameron Conway and Damitha Fonseka. It was a spirited performance from a side still weakened by injury.
Sydney Boys Building Fund Term Deposit Rugby Committee Meeting SummaryThe fifth meeting of the SBHS Rugby Committee for 2005 was held on 27/7/05. The following is a summary of the meeting: Attended: Rob Fetherston, Serdar Bolen, Kel O'Keefe, J Mittleheuser, Judy Fetherston, Derry O'Rouke, Adrian Vertoudakis, John Bull, G Stein.
G Stein From the Weights RoomTerm 3 has seen a marked increase in enrolments with many continuing on from last term and quite a few new enrolments. New plyo-metric boxes have been made (courtesy of the DT department), and are being put to good use by all those looking to increase their athleticism i.e jump higher/run faster. There haven't been many entries for the Gym Motto/Logo Competition so let's see if we can fire up a few more inspirational ones. Protein drinks are selling well with demand far exceeding supply. This should be fixed shortly. If you are looking towards the 4th term with your chosen sport in mind you should be preparing now, especially in regards to your Strength and Conditioning. Muscle/Strength/Athleticism gains cannot be achieved once the regular sporting season begins. These must be reached beforehand and maintained throughout the season. I suggest starting at least 8 weeks (minimum) before regular team training begins if you are looking to pack on some extra muscle and increase your strength. The ball's in your court if that's what you want so I'll see you in the weight's room, sooner rather than later. Please also take note that on Monday and Wednesday mornings any rowers in the gym will be given 'right of way'. Basketball will also be given a 'right of way' time as well in the near future as will other sports. This doesn't mean you can't come but it does mean that as this group have to get through a lot of work, you will need to make way for them on equipment at all times. Afternoons on all days are fairly quiet so you may like to change your gym times where possible.
Rowing A new strength and conditioning program has commenced so all rowers take note. You will be
required to attain a higher level of strength than previous years and to achieve this, time has
to be put into learning some specific lifting techniques. If you don't want to get left behind
the bunch then you better hurry up as some have been preparing for weeks already. Monday morning,
Wednesday morning and Thursday lunch time (12.30-1.30) have been put aside for rowers where they
will be given 'right of way' in the weights room. You should be working in pairs and arriving
early to beat the 8am rush. And remember as the saying goes, "THE HARDER YOU SWEAT IN PEACE THE
LESS YOU BLEED IN WAR" Athletics ReportBlue skies and a blazing sun welcomed the Sydney High Athletics team to the Sydney East Regional athletics carnival on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Twenty two athletes came out to Homebush to represent the school and were poised to put in some dominant performances. With Captain of Athletics and star long distance runner Paul Watzlaff unable to compete due to injury, the heavy burden was placed upon James Barker and Edward Ovadia. In true High spirit they came out on top, both running in very dominant performances in the 1500m with Barker claiming 1st and Ovadia 2nd. Barker then backed up the following day to win the 3000m with Ovadia running a close fourth. The future of High long distance also ran very well with U16 runner Ali Amin running 3rd in the 1500m. However it was not just the running in which High showed their prowess, Joel Ninyo winning his discus.
While the senior athletes showed how the long distance events should be done, it was the younger
of the High generations that showed how the sprints were done. Lachlan Street claimed silver in
the 400m and the 200m. He also put in a strong performance in the 100m and the hurdles to be the
top High student at the carnival. With Josh Hui unable to compete, Danny Fu stepped up to the
plate along with Joel Livingston, Nelson Ridges and Lachlan Street once again to compete in the
U14 4 x 100m relay. All boys ran brilliant legs with changes being made perfectly to lead them to
a heat win. Unfortunately their time was just beaten in the following heat, however the boys
claimed 2nd overall and will go on to represent the school and the CHS State Carnival in
September. Volleyball Report #8Last Saturday saw High playing Newington.
Second Grade Report This momentum was interrupted by several mistakes on the High side, but it continued when Sam penetrated Newington's defence with his strong, consistent spikes. This win streak not only won critical points but also shattered the Newington side's confidence. The end of the first set saw the High team comfortably taking it 25 - 13. The team talk once again addressed the mistakes that the High team were encountering in an attempt to minimize the points conceded. Newington quickly recovered after the first set and threatened High by hitting the ball to places where it was least expected. High responded aggressively with strong passing and hitting by both Gary and George. High's centre blockers, Henry Dang and Balraj also defended well at the net, shutting down numerous spikes from the opponents. We won the set 25 - 15.
High was fired up to take the game in three sets. Ed was no doubt the man of the match. He
single-handedly dominated Newington with his powerful top spin serves, winning 23 points. It was
too bad High couldn't get a clean sweep in the third set, but we still managed to humiliate
Newington, taking the final set 25 - 1.
First Grade Report Upon stepping onto the court, High immediately dominated the early stages with some exceptional hitting by both Yaegan Doran and Michael Zhao. Passing mistakes again became costly errors, but some 'tactical' substitutions by Mr Kay saw the early momentum regather. High took the set 25-13, with some good cover in the middle by both Karl Kruszelnicki and Dominic Grimm. Second set started rather slowly with some mistakes and good play from Newington to keep the scores close, but a good combination of accurate setting by Fahmy Balgahom and hard hitting by Robert Lu once again saw high taking the lead. Once again, poor passing resulted in a close set. High brought the set home with some great hits by Terry Ly and Victor Nguyen.
Strong passing by Alex Le and Jamie Tao saw High taking an early lead in the third. Accurate
setting and strong hitting saw High dominate the set. High won the match 3 sets to none, 25-13,
25-20, 25-14. Newington is shaping up to be in good contention with fast improvements in all
areas of their game.
High vs Scots They weren't strong enough to defeat High's First grade, but they were strong enough to take ONE set off a weakened and complacent Second Grade side. Upcoming events
NB The weekend following the volleyball luncheon will see High pitting their skills
against other schools in the next Metro Schools Tournament. From LOTE
Classical Greek Seventeen schools competed in this event. The task was to read out aloud two passages from significant works of 5th century BC authors, one prepared, the other "unseen", with 15 minutes of preparation time, from the stage before an audience of academics, teachers, parents & visitors and the other competitors. Perfect pronunciation, intonation and expression were the criteria. In September the Year 9 reading competition will be held (different competition, different place), and we'll soon be wishing our Year 9 Latin BONA FORTUNA.
So come on, Classical Students in Years 7 and 8, do your best work and be ready to represent the
school when the time comes.
German - Years 8 to 11 On Monday period 1 German students from Years 8-11 attended a performance called 'Der Schock: Struwwelpeters Welt' (The Shock: Shock-headed Peter) by 'Theatre LOTE.' The performance was about German folk tales and what children were once threatened with in Germany, if they once misbehaved, eg; having your thumbs cut off for sucking them! There were also other little stories such as the tale of the girl 'Paulinchen' a pyromaniac who accidentally set herself alight with matches, while playing with fire. Her two pet cats, Minz and Maunz were using their mobiles to chat, but not to call the fire brigade or an ambulance, when Paulinchen was on fire. They just watched her burn. The performance was really funny and everyone enjoyed it and it felt a little weird listening to almost an hour of non-stop German. Overall it was light-hearted and funny and I enjoyed it a lot!
Note by Mr Scheibel: In this modern version of Struwelpeter shown to us, cats have mobiles
and the boy Struwelpeter was played by a young lady. The original is an 1896 comic book intended
to warn children about the dire consequences of misbehaviour in those days. From the Library
Fundraising Barbeque at Bunnings Mascot We really need to succeed with the letter writing campaign to our member of parliament if we don't want to do 2000 barbeques.
Thanks to everyone involved Science NewsResults of Science Quiz no. 7 This was about the recent skateboarder who leapt over the Great Wall of China. His final speed at the bottom of the ramp was correctly calculated using energy considerations by Aditya Hatle (8S) and Nikita Slinko (7R).
Quiz number 8 will be posted next week. GPS Debating Results
Round Two - SHS vs TKS The firsts and thirds negated the topic, with the seconds affirming and winning on a split decision (the firsts and seconds are adjudicated by a panel of three people). We had a Fourths team debate against Sydney Girls team who came over to gain more practical experience. Thanks to the team and to Julia Bowes for adjudicating them. The 10B, 9A, 8A and 8B teams won their debates "that women's sport should be given equal recognition". Unfortunately the 10As' eight debate winning streak came to an end this week and the 9As had only a narrow win. Interestingly, the 7Bs won the negative- "that single sex school are better for boys". The results table is below and can be found at .
Year Round 1 Round 2
VS Joeys VS Kings
Firsts Won Won
Seconds Won Won (split)
Thirds Lost Won
10A Won Lost
10B Won Won
9A Lost Won
9B Lost Lost
8A Lost Won
8B Won Won
7A Lost Lost
7B Lost Won
This week we face Newington on their home turf.
Senior Debates commence at 8.00 pm, and I warmly invite and encourage boys to attend these
debates. Model United Nations Assembly
Randwick Girls High School June 30, 2005. MUNA is about developing appropriate minds for a peaceful and purposeful global future. MUNA events are mini versions of events negotiated in the same style and using the same protocol as in the UN. MUNA is a unique and important opportunity for students to research issues from different perspectives and gain a greater understanding of issues facing and shaping our world. It is a very challenging day for the students who have to synthesise their research with what is presented by other nations on the day and re-evaluate their stance with regard to what has been presented. Each team of boys were allocated a nation which has membership in the UN and spent 6 weeks researching three key resolutions which were negotiated on the day. With the help of their coach, Sydney Girls High School Old Girl and World Champion Debater, Julia Featherston, the boys were able to gain a solid understanding and level of analysis of their nation's stance on each issue.
The boys who participated were: At all times the delegates are bound to represent the views of the country they were representing on the day; they had to conduct quite a high level of research into the politics, history, geography, government, trade agreements, alliances and culture of each nation. The day consisted of preparing and delivering an introductory policy speech that outlined the current issues which impacted each nation, three planned resolutions which explained each nations stance on the matter and devising and negotiating an unplanned resolution which was a product of the issues that arose out of the discussions. The resolutions debated are as follows-
Unfortunately High were not victorious on the day with the North Korean Delegation coming second by a mere one point to a girls teams representing Zimbabwe. North Korea scored 40 points, China was close behind on 39, and beaten by a whisker were the French team on 38.5 points (and who started their policy speech in very fluent French!). Next year with more attention paid to preparing their table decorations and the more homely touches to their desks, I'm sure we have every chance to win the event!
All the boys had a fantastic experience at MUNA and we would sincerely like to thank Ms Kerry
Bannon from Randwick Girls High for all her incredible enthusiasm, energy and great organisation
of the day. Mathematics Faculty To Infinity and Beyond!Definition of infinity expands for scientists By Sharon Begley, The Wall Street Journal At the Hotel Infinity, managers never have a problem with over booking. If you arrive with a reservation and find that the hotel's infinite number of rooms (named 1, 2, 3 and so on, forever) are all occupied, the manager simply moves the guest in Room 1 to Room 2, the guest in Room 2 to Room 3, and on and on until every guest has a room and you get Room 1. In an "infinite set" such as the rooms at the Hotel, whatever you thought was the highest-numbered member of that set isn't. The next time you're in town, you have an infinite number of friends in tow, and you try the Hotel Infinity again. The manager is happy to accommodate a party of infinity even though his infinite rooms are, again, full. Knowing that your friends have an odd aversion to even numbers, he moves the guest in Room 1 to Room 2, the guest in Room 2 to Room 4, the guest in Room 3 to Room 6, etc. You and your friends get the odd-numbered rooms, of which there are, conveniently, an infinite number. If thinking of infinities makes your head spin, you're in good company. Georg Cantor, the early-20th-century mathematician who did more than anyone to explore infinities, suffered a nervous breakdown and repeated bouts of depression. In the 1930s, some fed-up mathematicians even argued that infinities should be banned from mathematics. Today, however, infinities aren't just a central part of mathematics. More surprising, says cosmologist John Barrow of the University of Cambridge, England, in his charming new tome, "The Infinite Book," scientists who study the real world are having to take infinities seriously, too. Not long ago, if the solution to an equation included an infinity, alarms went off. In particle physics, for instance, "the appearance of an infinite answer was always taken as a warning that you had made a wrong turn," Prof. Barrow says. So physicists performed a sleight-of-hand, subtracting the infinite part of the answer and leaving the finite part. The finite part produced by this "renormalization" was always in "spectacularly good agreement with experiments," he says, but "there was always a deep uneasiness" over erasing infinities so blithely. Might physicists, blinded by their abhorrence of infinities, have been erasing a deep truth of nature? Suspecting just that, some scientists now see infinities "as an essential part of the physical description of the universe," says Prof. Barrow. For instance, Einstein's equations say the universe began in, and will end with, an infinity of density and temperature, something long regarded as a sign that his theory breaks down at the beginning and end of time. But in a 2004 paper, Prof. Barrow calculated that Einstein's equations allow a point of infinite pressure to arise throughout the expanding universe at some time in the future. In addition to coming around to the view that infinities might be real, rather than signs of a problem with Einstein's and other theories, some cosmologists suspect that infinities at the beginning and end of time "have quite different structures," Prof. Barrow writes. Just as at the hotel, not all infinities are equal. And that is making the weird math of different-size infinities suddenly relevant in the physical world, too. To mathematicians, "equal" means you can match the elements in one set to the elements in another, one to one, with nothing left over. For instance, there is an infinite number of integers: 1, 2, 3, 4 ... . There is also an infinite number of squares: 1, 4, 9, 16 ... . You can match every integer with a square (1 with 1, 2 with 4, and so on), so the two sets are equal, as long as you never stop matching. But wait: Every square also belongs to the set of integers. That suggests that the set of integers is larger, since it contains all the squares and then some. Surely there are more integers than squares, right? Actually, no. Before his breakdown, Cantor asserted that if the elements in one infinite set match up one to one with the counting numbers, then those infinities are of equal size. The infinity of squares and the infinity of integers (and the infinity of even numbers) are therefore equal, even though the infinity of integers is denser. Decimals, however, are different, mathematicians say. There is an infinite number of them, too, but this infinity is larger than the infinity of integers or squares. Even in the tiny space between zero and 1, there's an infinite number of decimals with no certainty as to what comes next. What comes after .1, for example? Is it .11 or .2? Just as mathematicians found a distinction among infinities, so scientists trying to fathom the physical world may need to distinguish among infinities. In his study of infinities, Prof. Barrow noticed that a universe like ours that seems infinite in size, extending without bound, presents curious ethical dilemmas. An infinite universe must have infinite amounts of good and evil, he writes. Nothing we do, or fail to do, can change that, for adding a bit of good to an infinite amount of good still leaves infinite good, and subtracting a bit of evil from an infinite amount of evil still leaves infinite evil. "What is the status of good and evil," he wonders, "when all possible outcomes actually arise somewhere" ... or sometime? Small wonder infinity drove Cantor mad. Words of Wisdom:
When in doubt, think! Subject Choices 2006A meeting will be held in the Great Hall at 7:00pm on Tuesday 9 August to provide information about English Extension 1 and Extension 2 for Year 12 2006. The number of boys attempting Extension 1 and Extension 2 English will be restricted.
Ms Trompetter (Head Teacher English) will explain the requirements of the courses and indicate
the criteria to be used in determining which boys will be able to attempt these courses. Community Service AnnouncementSome Kids Can't Live at Home with their Mum and Dad Children need carers who can provide stability & can help them through the different & sometimes challenging stages of their lives. You can be single, married, with or without children of your own, & from any cultural background. It is important that you have experience with children. DoCS staff will work closely with you & support you with ongoing training & allowances. There are many children in our area who are in need of a safe & secure home environment because they are unable to experience this in their own homes. This may be due to abuse, neglect or family breakdown. The NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS) is looking for people who can provide crisis, short term, respite or long term care for these kids. We are especially looking for foster carers for children five years & older. We also need carers for siblings, so brothers & sisters can stay together.
Become a Foster Carer. |
Sydney Boys High School
