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High Notes, Vol 26 No 11, May 02 2025

From the Principal

Welcome Back to Term 2

Term two is always the busiest as examinations, assessments and reports are prepared, marked, published and discussed for all academic years. As from next Monday, our Executive leadership will revert to its usual structure. I want to thank George Barris for his work in the Relieving Principal role and extend those thanks to Kerryn Ibbott who relieved for George as Deputy Principal (7,9,11) and to Matthew Hood who relieved as Head Teacher Science for Kerryn. During the holidays, John Prorellis and his team – Jim Crampton, David Isaacs and Daniel Xu – installed Vivi into the Industrial Arts practical rooms to complete the AV set up for the whole school. Scheduled blinds replacement or repairs were carried out in several rooms. The Cooler Classrooms work was also advanced.

NAPLAN Results

Our planning targets several years ago identified a 29% gap between reading and writing results in Year 9 NAPLAN. In 2024, this gap was reduced to 12%. This is evidence that our focus on Sentence Conscious Pedagogy is having some positive effect.

In our recent NAPLAN results our school mean results for reading, grammar and punctuation, spelling and numeracy were all at the ‘exceeding’ level in Years 7 and 9. Compared to 2024, our 2025-year 7 cohort results were about the same in reading and grammar and punctuation.  Improved means were achieved in spelling and numeracy. In reading in Year 9, 2025 there was an improvement in the bottom quartile but a slight drop in the mean. Grammar and punctation, spelling and numeracy had improved means. Our regular spelling test policy seems to be having a beneficial impact over time. Congratulations to all staff and students for producing these encouraging results.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards – Update

Silver Award recipients – Nestor Chan and Rajendra Krishnan (Year 11). Bronze Awards go to Charles Caro, Ryan Chai, Tristan Chee, Adam Flocard, Jack Francis, Kay Minh Nguyen, Alex Ruhfus and Michael Truong (Year 10). Well done indeed, boys!

Help Replace The Fairland Pavilion

Jacob Ezrakhovich (SHS-2003), President of the SHSOBU and Chair of the Pavilion Fundraising Committee, officially launched the fundraising campaign on Tuesday evening. David Greatorex (SHS-1950) and Alex Feldman (SHS-2003) spoke about the Fairland Pavilion and McKay Playing Fields, its history and its relationships with the Greater Sydney Parklands management.

My speech is reprinted below:

"A century ago, at a SHSOBU annual dinner, the Minister for Education, Thomas Mutch, announced the provisional erection of a new school building adjacent to SGHS in Moore Park.  The proviso was that the SHSOBU ‘shared the responsibility of equipping the school and providing playing fields.’  £800 was raised on the evening.  According to the pre-decimal inflation calculator, that sum would buy >$80k of goods and services in 2024.  R.T. McKay lobbied the Department of Agriculture and a permissive occupancy of 19 acres within the Centennial Parklands was signed with the OBU. We have always had great support from our Old Boys.

"The SHSOBU and the NSW Government have had formal legal arrangements between them ever since 1925.  Tonight, we are here to ensure that the relationships between the SHSOBU (now represented by the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Foundation Ltd) and the NSW Government (now represented by Greater Sydney Parklands) persists for another 50 years.  This can only happen if High is granted priority access to playing fields, through the GSP booking system.  This priority will be maintained for a further 45 years, provided that a replacement for Fairland Pavilion has commenced construction by 2029.  We are here to begin in earnest to raise the necessary funds to commence the building, and guarantee our access to the fields, where generations of Old Boys have played since 1932.

"One hundred years after that historic Old Boys dinner, High is still a very good school – better in many ways than you might remember it. Our academic results are high, with average ATARs in the range 91 to 93.  Recently, we won GPS competitions in Football and Volleyball, with three national schools teams titles in Fencing. We support fifteen sports with administrative structures, finance and leadership. Our chess and debating performances are strong. Our performance music program has very high participation, with more than a dozen ensembles and a showcase marching band. We have student-run co-curricular activities in community service, social justice and environmental responsibility. The Sydney High Cadet Unit continues to thrive. Student Wellbeing is a focus of staff and student cooperation. Our facilities and resources have improved dramatically.

"Returning to the McKay Fields in 1932, Old Boys Charles and Sid Hirst designed and built a dressing shed which opened in 1933.  As students were using the change rooms and the McKay fields, the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ P & C Association began to contribute the labour and finance necessary to maintain the sheds and fields.  In 1935 a Sports Ground Committee was established, with three representatives from each of the governance bodies the OBU, the P & C and the School.

"When the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Council was established in 1951 to coordinate school activities, the Sports Ground Committee became affiliated with it.  The P & C paid for a part time groundsman.  Hence, the SHSOBU and the SHS P & C Association shared joint responsibility for assets – Old Boys build, acquire or manage assets, the parents of succeeding student cohorts of student users, maintain them.  History calls upon us to work together again.

"In the late 1940s, Sid Hirst again was the architect for the proposed additional storey on top of the dressing sheds.  The three school bodies worked to raise £3000 and organised a guarantee of £1500 (a combined total of $285,000 in 2024 equivalent dollars).  The completed Fairland Pavilion was opened in November of 1952 and has served our school community ever since.  Back then, the school community participated in working bees, one of which erected > 400m of post and rail fencing in one day, in 1957.

"Since the establishment of the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Foundation in 1986, it has managed the administration of the Fairland Pavilion, McKay Playing Fields and the relationship between the School and CMPT.  ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Foundation Ltd is managing fundraising for the replacement pavilion project. Our school community has been committed to McKay and Fairland Pavilion for 92 years. It is at the end of its useful life, and we need to replace it.

"Back in 2000, Bob Outterside and I led a negotiation to obtain a Deed of Licence with the CMPT on a 4x5 year basis, as the previous agreement had expired.  The new License was signed off on February 16, 2001.  It expired in December 2019, but was deemed to continue until the terms of a new Deed of Licence could be agreed. Things then stalled and the Foundation (and hence the school) were in very real danger of having no priority access at all to the McKay Fields. There was a draft Fairland Pavilion licence prepared in March 2020. After many years of arduous negotiation by Old Boy Alex Feldman and Foundation Secretary John Taylor, inter alia, the current 5-year Deed of Licence was signed off on March 20, 2024. Securing the 45-year Licence is our next objective.

"We all make emotional investments. Mine are mostly in yachting, a sport notoriously hard on the wallet. The return on my investments are psychological and emotional only. The school community needs to make such an investment. We need $4 million dollars to secure 45 years access to McKay Playing Fields. We do not have much time to achieve this goal.

"Future cohorts of High boys are depending on us. Several schools and organisations are ready to make offers to GSP to take over a secure access agreement over the McKay fields. This is a turning point – time and tide do not wait.  Help us to secure High’s future."
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal