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High Notes, Vol 26 No 2, February 14 2025

From the Principal

Summer sports Assembly 2025

"Our other area of interest for this morning’s assembly is summer sport. I extend a warm welcome to our special guest, Water Polo Olympic Silver Medalist, Danijela Jackovich. I want to acknowledge our teams on their efforts in Term 4, 2024 and exhort them to work hard together for the rest of the competition season in Term 1 this year.

"Thank you to our MIC of Cricket, David Smith, for his ongoing dedication to the role.  We welcome Billy Barge as first XI coach with Ramin Hossain guiding the 2nd XI. Thank you to the Cricket Committee - Rahul Tewari (President), Arun Sehgal (Vice President), Rajesh Lucknauth (Treasurer) and Amit Patil (Secretary). Parking is coordinated by Lakshmy Joshi and Shweta Doke. Thank you also to the match day helpers who organise the catering – Muhammad Hossain, Biplab Saha, Keith Barks and Zonaid Sharafi.

"In basketball, long-term MIC and Coaching Coordinator Ben Hayman, has assembled a big team. We extend our thanks to staff members - Andrew Wang, Jo Curry and Viv Paul. Old Boy Geoff Gerlach returns as the first-grade coach.  Our coaching staff are Aiden Phan, Maroune Rahme, Andre Baruah, Elijah Thomas, Keeto Browne, Adrian Pluis, Ben Nguyen, Edison and Vincent Dorahy, Aaron Waban, Jonathon Roberto, Mian Wang, Zhang, Patrick Lee, Anson Wen, Ary Bhalero, Jerry Lau, Stephen Li, Daniel Bian, Tian Chen, Garry Liu, Ben Udler and Nives Gilbert.

"Thank you to The Basketball Committee, for their support with scoring, timekeeping, the Canteen and after game functions – Shiraz & Rita Zhang, Kelland He, Carol Wang, Lindsay Wu, Michelle Adamson, Colin Wei, Rinaldi and Hui Baruah, Rosaline Perry, Pamela Jolly, Grace Guan, Herbert Lau, Li Huang, Francois Flocard, Al Bhalero, Dawesh Chand and Judy Zhu. Thank you all for your invaluable help.

"In sailing, I want to acknowledge long-serving MIC Matt Cotton for his efforts in building the sailing program. Thank you to Stuart Olsen and Domeniki Damianos, Shane Jennings and the Woollahra SC staff for their assistance supervising the students. Thank you to Hugo Leeming (Head coach), Sam Ezra and Zhitian Mai for their guidance, coaching and development of students’ skills; and to Scots College’s staff for their help in managing Saturday racing. I would like to recognise the work of the Sailing Committee Delia Leung, Florence Li, Rebecca Bui, Dustin Nguyen, Bill Shui and Sarah Lin and all our enthusiastic parent helpers in supporting sailing at High.

"Thank you to Jessica Millar, MIC of Water Polo for her management of the program this year and to Jake Rowlands who coached first grade and David Li second grade. Salvador Alfaro is doing a great job with our 16As. Thank you to Jake Rowlands as MIC Swimming. He was assisted by Ike Matsuoka in coaching our squad.

"Thank you to Kurt Rich for his ongoing role as MIC of tennis. A rebuilt David Deep is again High’s Coaching Coordinator and first grade coach. Irina Vasiliev served again as second grade coach. Thank you to Stepan, Will and Andy who coached our age groups.

"I congratulate all boys selected in GPS teams this season.  It is an honour and a privilege to represent your school in such a prestigious competition -a memorable experience and conversation point for life. It is always about self and team improvement through setting and pursuing collaboratively established goals. Good luck and stay strong!’

"PS I want to thank Daniela for her inspiring recount of her quest for excellence in academics and sport. She was invited to attend Stanford and earned her degree while playing water polo. She tried for USA team selection but was cut from the squad. Undaunted, she relocated to Australia, became a citizen, trialled for the Olympic team and was rewarded with a silver medal in Paris. A tale of talent and determination!"

Weights Room for 2025

High’s Weights Room offers exceptional value for money with unlimited visits for members. The room has appropriate equipment for preparing the bodies of teenage boys and crucially, it is constantly supervised. When handling weights, technique is vitally important, and boys need to learn the correct way to lift. Kurt Rich, our Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, is a well-credentialed and experienced trainer. His presence ensures that the boys are training safely and sensibly. So, as well as getting gym facilities, members have a trained supervisor and adviser to help them during their unlimited visits. The Weights Room operates much more effectively if all boys get their training in how to use the various pieces of equipment and in proper lifting technique, as soon as possible. Kurt Rich provides this service at the beginning of each year and can tailor individual programs for members after the introductory sessions. Having a fixed clientele makes his job more productive and leads to a better training experience for members and better strength outcomes for participants. Hence, we decided to close off memberships by the end of March each year. Boys who have not paid by that time can no longer attend the weights room in term one.

Costs for this service are held down to a minimum and reduced by boys taking out a full year’s membership. For 2024, a full year Weights Room membership costs just $315. As an incentive to Year 7 students, an introductory one-year membership is available for a mere $190. Our program is tailored to suit developing young bodies. Boys wishing to have full year membership must register and pay by Friday, March 14, 2025. There will be no extensions of time. In semester 2, half-year memberships will be offered to students for a short period of time at a cost of $175 for terms 3 and 4.

Welcome Night for new Parents

On Tuesday evening a large number of parents attended a welcome function hosted by the Sydney High P & C Association. Guests were entertained by a student music ensemble in the foyer of the Governors Centre. In the theatre, new parents were welcomed by Ms Tania Kirkland (P & C President), she stated the role and objectives of the P & C and outlined the role of the P & C and its representatives in the various governance organisations operating in the school. She asked questions of parents in relation to their expectations of the secondary schooling experience for them and their sons. My address outlined the history and function of the various High Family structures and activities. I urged parents to get involved in following the Saturday fixtures where their sons were competing and to engage with volunteering through our many Committees. I underlined the fact that the sixth day of every school week was funded entirely by parents and Old Boys, and I asked for their financial support to help us maintain our wide range of activities, resources and coaching services. Mr Barris (DP for Years 7,9,11) ran through a lot of orientation information to help parents and students become accustomed to their new environment. Mr Kris Daryanani, a 2024 new parent, shared his experiences, insights and several tips for parents to help them and their sons to quickly acclimatise and get the most out of their High experience. A Q & A session followed, with quite a few parents staying on to ask more questions of Mr Barris and me. Supper provided by the Sailing Committee and served by student sailors in the foyer, rounded off the evening. The atmosphere was very positive and enthusiastic. Thank you to all staff, parents and students who assisted in so many ways to make the evening a success. Next P& C meeting March 10th. I will be discussing HSC results from 2024.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal