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High Notes, Vol 6 No 38, December 09 2005
From the Principal
Tennis Courts Update
Building Fund Advisory Group The meeting agreed to add $22,589.69 to the Sydney Boys High School Building Fund term deposit of $86,000 maturing on March 22, 2006 and to reinvest the principal and interest. The SBHSBF account has $40,000 invested in a term deposit to mature before 22 March to be pooled with the other funds. The third term deposit for $125,000 will mature in September, 2006. As a community we are slowly making our way towards our first major target of $300,000. Help us to build a state of the art learning facility for High. Every donation counts. The building maintenance/refurbishment proportion of the CBF donations allocated to school projects was $5,000 leaving $5,819.06 to go towards the repair of the new pontoon pylon which failed a few weeks ago. It may cost $15,000 to repair. The Old Pontoon is failing and will have to be replaced. This project may cost $150,000. It was decided to commence a contingency fund of $25,000 per year in anticipation of the major expense and to continue to seek out cost effective alternatives. The group agreed that additional funds would need to be sought for any replacement option before 2009. The rowing community faces the prospect of possibly being without a second pontoon for a few seasons as a consequence of an early failure of the old pontoon.
Visual Arts Exhibition and P & C/Principal Reception
POPE Progress
School Certificate Test Results
Words of Wisdom
The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things
well
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself”
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you
can. Charities Committee
Recently the school received a congratulatory letter from Father Chris Riley’s program
YOUTH OFF THE STREETS acknowledging the great effort of pur Year 12 boys on the recent fundraiser
Shine Day. They acknowledged that it is always so heartening to see what a difference can be made
when a group of people are motivated for a cause. Hopefully the student body will continue to
make a difference to peoples’ lives in 2006. From EnglishVisual literacy has become an increasingly important part of the English curriculum both in the junior and senior years. It is a mandatory part of our 7-10 syllabus that we equip our students with analytical skills which will enable them to deconstruct and evaluate a diverse range of visual texts. These skills contribute to student success in Year 12 where a number of prescribed texts set for close study are in fact films. Year 10 recently attended a screening of Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride as part of their introduction to Extension 1 English. This viewing offered students interesting insights into the current directions that the gothic-horror genre is taking.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – a review by Raymond Roca The film turned out to be a creatively-realised fusion between the Gothic and comedy genres, telling the story of a young, nervous man, Victor Van Dort, and his adventures through the Land of the Dead after meeting Emily, a corpse, while practising his wedding vows to Victoria, an aristocrat he intends to marry. The Corpse Bride takes the viewer – or, shall we say, the responder – on an action-filled yet fairly predictable set of events, with Victor being captured in the Land of the Dead by Emily while Victoria falls into the hands of Barkis, the film’s antagonist. After many struggles, Victor manages to marry Victoria, saving her from Barkis, with the help of Emily, who happens to be Barkis’ previous wife, killed by the antagonist. Aside from giving it the playful and often eccentric air of a short film, the stop-motion animation used throughout the production enabled Burton to use a plethora of Gothic conventions, perhaps more than could’ve been achieved had traditional actors been used. The film’s setting, in Victorian England, was characteristically Gothic, as was the prominent inclusion of stately buildings such as cathedrals and palaces. Additionally, the film made multiple references to death and was based around the quintessentially Gothic storyline of a youthful hero saving his imperilled heroine from corrupt aristocrats or wicked monsters. The movie’s use of colour was also very Gothic, with a palette of greys and melancholy purples and blues used throughout, not to mention the generally pallid complexions of the film’s aristocratic families! However, the overall tone of the movie was not melancholy at all, as The Corpse Bride was filled with Burtonian subversions of the Gothic genre, most eloquently exhibited through the use of humour. The film’s many clever puns and jokes made for an experience that was more light-hearted than scary, more romantic than gloomy, contrasting with Burton’s more macabre Sleepy Hollow.
While not evoking the expected sombre emotions and thoughtful reflections of life’s themes
that accompanied the other Gothic texts studied in class – or perhaps because of this
– The Corpse Bride provided for pleasant, easy viewing, and left many in the movie
theatre surprised that the movie had come to an end, after only 75 minutes of Gothic
good-time. Yr 10 ExpeditionOn 9 November, an expedition team consisting of 60 Year 10 students headed for what could be argued as our best adventure yet. The team left school early in the morning to face the menacing Watagan Mountains. After a few hours of card playing and chip eating, on the bus, we finally arrived. The place was truly wondrous; civilization seemed to be miles away. The friendly instructors ensured us that we would have fun. We practised our orientation skills before heading off through the Watagans and back to civilization. Everyone took turns to lead. For 3 days we trekked the Watagans encountering the dangerous leaches, the bottomless cliffs and the feared red ants. As night approached we would set up camp. Sitting by the fire we cooked our own meals, which were surprisingly ‘delicious’. Natural rock-climbing and abseiling was a fitting experience to end the expedition. The expedition was exciting and rewarding, and I promise you won’t miss your video games or your favourite novels. For 3 days of your life you’ll realise how your ancestors once lived. The skills you will acquire from orienteering are priceless. Although it was tough, the rewards were great. I am sure that many people who embarked on this journey had to overcome many fears, whether it was the leaches, or the heights. This expedition is more than it seems, it brings with it victory and success.
For me the adventure was, "A journey of ordeal and difficulty that transform to be the most
fertile soil for spiritual growth” Academic Merit Lists Semester 2
Year 9
Ishan BAPAT
Year 8
Adrian ANG
Year 7
Puneet BAWEJA From the Office - Reminder To Parents
Change of Address Please ask your son to obtain a change of details form from the Main Office. A change of travel form is also required when changing your address. These are also available at the main office. Your son's travel passes will be affected if he does not have the correct address. Failure to complete these forms may result in your son not having a travel pass.
Absences
Letters Re Leave/Absence/Early Leave If your son has an Early Leave note he is required to have his note signed by either Mr Beringer, Mr Dowdell or Mr Prorellis before 8:55am and handed in to the Main Office immediately after. Each letter should be signed by parent or guardian with the name, date and roll class of your son printed clearly. Your son needs to pick up the red leave pass from the Main Office before he leaves the school.
Leave Family Regatta Day and Boat NamingsOn Saturday December 3 the inaugural daylight Family Regatta took place. Though strong westerly winds blew, the day proved to be quite successful as over 100 family members and friends of rowers took to the water. It was the first time that we had conducted the regatta in the daylight and participation appeared to be at an all time high. The Vien, Kim, Darcy, Blomberg, Deacon , Molloy, Tiedgen, Angell, Whiting, Reid, Lindeback, Livingston, Kim, Shuttleworth families were a few of the families who made it into boats. There were very few incidents with strict safety procedures being adhered to but one story worthy of mention is best relayed in the words of one of the participants, Vlad Boulavine: Last Saturday’s family Regatta had been a nightmare for my family, Declan McRae-Steele and his sister. The day began beautifully with boat naming and a delicious lunch but later turned into a living hell. Since the water was quite choppy only a few boats were taken out and multiple crews had to share them. Each crew had to go with a senior rower since multiple adults who had never rowed before were in them. My crew was the last to go out and since rowers had left already we decided to sneak out in the “Jeremy Glass” with me being the only experienced rower in the boat. From that moment on I thought that this would be the worst rowing session of my life. Our cox was Declan’s sister who could not tell her right from her left. It took around fifteen minutes to teach my Dad the sequences of the stroke. Declan was trying with all his might but was getting nowhere and my Mum didn’t even try since she was scared. I don’t blame her for that since the waves were getting bigger by the minute and some sort of yacht race had begun near us. My Dad and I couldn’t outrow the current so Chris Watson came in the speedie and took Declan out and put David Vien in his spot. He helped us dramatically but my Mum’s oars kept getting in his way and slowing the boat down. Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse as we approached the pontoon, multiple huge waves rolled over us. My Mum heroically jumped out of the boat as the rest of us began sinking. We were then pulled out of the boat that was already half under water. I will never forget that day and neither will my Mum. The day was also memorable since we named a quad Mark Prater and a scull Paul Girdler. With the quad, I spoke about Mark’s loyalty and service to the school while Dave Luscombe co-coach of the VIII spoke of Mark’s expertise and devotion as a coach while Blake Angell, Captain of Boats, spoke of Mark as the mentor and leader of our program both with juniors and seniors. Mark responded in his laconic style and we were reminded that this is probably the first time that a mother and son have had a boat bearing their respective names in the same boatshed. With the scull, Steve Tiedgen, President of the Rowing Committee, spoke of Paul’s service to the rowing program via endless working bees, regattas and camps and of his crucial school service as President of the P & C and member of the Foundation. Paul responded with gratitude and acknowledged the contribution of all his family but highlighted the need for all parents of rowing to be active in the P & C. The day was particularly moving for me since it symbolised the friendships I have developed over several years. Interested spectators from the past were Jeremy and Sue Glass, Nerida Newbigin and John Gerofi, Sheila and Bob Prater. Many thanks to the Rowing Committee, particularly Steve Tiedgen for the organisation and to the catering committee for the smooth catering and running of the land venture. Special thanks to Blake who did an excellent job organising the many duties so the rowing could happen and thanks to Dave Luscombe, Chris Watson, Robbie Girdler and Dave Daish for making sure nothing went drastically wrong.
This week we host the Melbourne High Year 10 rowers on our annual exchange. They will stay one
night at Abbotsford and then be billeted by our students. The following Saturday, December 17,
our Shed race over 4.5 kms takes place at 7.30am with all crews involved. The handicapper is Mark
Prater with Mr Gainford as referee. The idea is for all crews to finish at one time which is
quite a sight. From CricketThe last Saturday of our GPS competition for this year on the 26th Nov., provided some highs and lows mainly due to the unseasonable (but welcome) rain which affected several of our matches. All of our B teams were cancelled due to the state of the turf pitches at Newington and unfortunately the Under 15 A and Under 14 A teams could not get on at Shore which was a great disappointment to both teams as they had finished in good positions on Day 1 and were looking forward to recording their first wins for Term 4. However the highs included the near miss victory by the 1st XI which after a first innings loss almost pulled off an outright victory, falling just 11 runs short of their goal. I consider it a high as it brought out the High Spirit and proved to a team minus several regular members that they can match their counterparts from other schools. The 2nd XI struggled throughout their encounter with Shore and our batting overall highlights the need for players to examine their overall approach, their desire to score runs, their skills levels and be prepared to work harder on techniques to play on turf. A full report also appears herein. With Term 4 results by the 1st and 2nd XIs it has become more important for our future senior teams to be structured competitively so that we have a selection of players vying for higher honours and selection in these XIs. Our performances this term have been encouraging but with injuries, transfers and players unavailable due to a variety of reasons we have had to compromise other teams, thus upsetting their structures. In Term 1 2006 the restructure will commence, however I must quickly add that it will not be fully operational until Term 4 when it will be put in place. More to come in future editions CRICKET MICs MEETING was held on Monday 28th Nov at St Joseph’s College and concerns raised by members of High’s Senior XIs and other GPS schools regarding 20/20 cricket received considerable comments from all attending. When the decisions reached at the meeting are confirmed, details will be on the cricket website. BARBERIS CUP Year 9 team – will be in competition with Melbourne High as this edition of High Notes reaches students’ homes. Matches are being played at McKay Oval No 1on both days and all are welcome to enjoy watching some entertaining cricket. This event annually has had an influence on the improvement of the Year 8 and 9 players who have been exposed to the stiffer competition and has seen several reach our 1st and 2nd XIs It is important in our cricket calendar and requires the support of our cricket community. BILLETS are of concern as each year we are struggling to fill our commitment to host other schools that have willingly looked after our players and this year is no exception. We have ended up short of billets for 2 nights this week being Wed. 7th and Thurs. 8th December and as a result we will be reviewing our policy on team selections for future tours where our players are billeted by others. To those parents who undertook to billet more than one player my sincere appreciation for your support and understanding.
SYDNEY BOYS INVITATIONAL XI – V – CHELTENHAM COLLEGE (UK)
CRICKET KITS and SCOREBOOKS- all outstanding scorebooks and cricket kits held by players
and parents are to be returned to the school no later than Thursday 15th December. Your attention
to this would be appreciated to assist in the secure storage of our equipment during the vacation
period. Basketball - Shooting Hoops1st Grade: High vs Riverview ## Name FG 3PT FT PTS TR PF AST TO BS ST MIN 4 *H.Walker 9/23 3/11 3/6 24 9 3 3 2 0 3 38:09 5 R. Huynh 0/1 0/1 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2:41 6 L. D’Avigdor 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1:04 7 *D.Sun 6/23 0/3 1/2 13 4 1 5 4 0 2 31:22 8 V.Nguyen 0/2 0/0 0/0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 5:57 9 *F.Wong 1/11 1/2 2/4 5 9 2 8 5 0 5 40:00 10 K.Huang 0/1 0/0 1/2 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 7:56 11 W.Zhuang 2/3 0/0 0/0 4 5 2 0 0 1 1 14:25 12 *M.Farhat 1/3 0/0 0/0 2 4 5 2 2 0 4 25:35 13 *V.Wei 3/6 0/0 0/1 6 9 4 0 2 1 0 32:48
FG = field goals
1st Half 1st Half 2nd Half 2nd Half Game Game
Total FG 9/42 21.4% 13/37 35.1% 22/79 27.8%
3PT FG 2/8 25% 2/9 22.2% 4/17 23.5%
Free throws 3/6 50% 4/9 44.4% 7/15 46.7%
Riverview High Riverview High
Free Throw Pts 6 7 Total Rebounds 64 51
3Pt Points 3 12 Team Rebounds 11 9
Pts/Possession 0.47 0.5 Dead Ball Reb 4 4
Pts off turnovers 17 12 Off Rebound % 52.8 41.9
2nd Chance points 17 11 Def Rebound % 58.1 47.2
Pts off Bench 17 5 Total Rebound % 55.7 44.3
Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4 Total
Riverview 13 9 16 15 53
High 18 5 14 18 55
Mr Hayman’s Comments
Results from a survey on the first grade players’ aspirations for the season
1sts and 2nds training in our gym 23rd to 27th of January! Christmas Coffee
LAST ORDERS FOR 2005
Tuesday December 13 (end of lunch)
Variety Elbon Elbon Elbon Colombian Colombian Colombian Total
Special Special Special $
Style one Plunger Plunger Plunger Plunger Plunger Plunger
Style two Espresso Espresso Espresso Espresso Espresso Espresso
Pack Weight 250g 500g 1kg 250g 500g 1kg
Price $8.00 $15.00 $30.00 $8.00 $15.00 $30.00
Buyer’s Name _______ _______ _______ _________ _________ ________ ________
Type of Payment: Cheque___ Cash___ Credit Card___ Card Type Bankcard___ MasterCard___ Visa___ Expiry Date ___/___ Card Number _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Cardholder’s Name ______________________________________
(please print)
Cardholders Signature _________________________________ Bus Phone: ____________________Return to Index |
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Sydney Boys High School
