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High Notes, Vol 26 No 27, September 05 2025

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Gurushan Thanabalasingam (8S) who won the Menzies Institute Speech Competition in the Years 7/8 category. His prize was $500 and a trip to Melbourne to deliver his speech before historians at an annual conference at the University of Melbourne. Well done indeed, Guru! Well done to Charlie Xue (7T) who finished 4th in the Slopestyle Ski Division 6 at the 2025 Australian Interschools Snowsports championships held at Mt Buller. A great result!

In the recent Youth Photographic Awards, Boris Zhang (12E), was awarded Highly Commended and a $150 prize for his work entitled The Uniform. Congratulations, Boris! In the Short Film section, Jiekai Miao (10E) won Highly Commended and $200 for his group project 5AM. Well done!

At the recent 2025 National Chinese Eisteddfod, High students had success. Group Category: 16-18 age contest (Years 11 + 10) - 1st place. Year 11: Max Gao, Timothy Wang, Roy Zhang, Johnathon Zhou, Aolin Tang, Diming Wu, Nicklas Li, Zhenyu Wang. Year 10: Daniel Zhu, Yuhai Wang, Tom Ye, Terence Wang and Ethan Hu. In the 13-15 age contest (Year 8) - 2nd place. Jonathan Xu, Lucas Zhou, Brishen Xue, Harold Jiang, Kellan Zhang, Will Meng, Joey Zhou, Andy Gao, Evan Ma, Marcus Chen, Futeng Zhou, Isaac Hu, Morgan Yao. In the Individual Category: 1st place: Tony Zhou (8F), Ricky Luo (10R), Nicklas Li (10F); 1st place non-native speaker: Macallister Giles (10F); and 3rd place: Zihan Chi (9T), Morgan Yao (8E). Congratulations to all High participants and thank you so much Willa Zhang for giving up so many of her lunch times to train our boys!

Well done to the 37 volunteers who gave up their Sunday mornings to serve on the SBHS/SGHS water station for the Sydney Marathon. Everyone worked tirelessly from 0600 and impressed the organisers with their service and demeanour during the morning. A special mention goes to Leo Wang (11S) for his sensitive and compassionate management of an elderly runner in distress. An impressive and caring action, Leo!

Parents & Citizens Association Centenary

Last Friday, we celebrated 100 years of the P & C’s service to the students and staff of High. There were >60 guests for a special breakfast. Joanna Chan and the Prefects co-ordinated and presented the food. MC John Prorellis introduced speakers, the cutting of the cake, the group photo by Jenni May and Lynnea Stewart, and the distribution of the celebratory badged coffee mugs to guest as a memento of the achievement. My speech to the gathering is reprinted below:

"Thank you all so much for joining us here in the Great Hall this morning. The purpose of our celebration today is to recognise and honour the century of service to High by members of the Parents & Citizens Association, a vital contributor to our students’ education since June 11, 1925.  The original Constitution welcomed ‘all persons interested in the welfare of the School.’ The P & C was designed to support High with leadership, financial help and countless volunteer hours. It explicitly prohibited exercising any control over Teaching Staff or interference with the management of the school. Its objectives were to assist the school with ‘requirements… not provided by the Education Department! And so, the P & C has done so well, for 100 years. Its biggest role is to manage the successful parent-run Canteen, which contributes >$65 pa to school projects.  It assists with Sport, Student Welfare and Prizes for students. Since 1985 it has been involved with the SHSOBU in the management of all of the school’s non-Department assets – physical, financial and legal – these days through its Board representation within ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Foundation Ltd. It has been a constitutional member of the Sydney Boys High School Council, since 1995.

"Above all the P & C Association, for me, has been about dedicated good people selflessly devoting their time for a worthy cause.  Helping public education to thrive is a noble endeavour.  The P & C and Old Boys have been there for the long haul and helped to make a good school great. Longevity of service has been the Association’s hallmark.  In its first 20 years it had some members like O.W. Earl who served as Treasurer for 14 years. In my time Presidents such as Dennis Briggs, Paul Girdler, Shane Brown, Julie Connolly and Ian Sweeting, provided great support to the school. Ron Trent was P & C President in 2018 and has been on the School Council even longer. Thank you to Tania Kirkland and Andrew Hybler for their recent leadership efforts.

"Much has been accomplished in the last 25 years, building on the achievements of the previous 75. I want to acknowledge the thousands of parents and students who have volunteered their time to help park cars on our site – an activity run by the P & C since the 1980s. In my custodianship, P & C support groups and more recently Incorporated Associations, have been the primary beneficiaries of the large sums of monies raised. The P & C assists the school with cash grants for projects; it provides morning teas and catering services at school functions; it manages the operations of the parent-run canteen; and it provides annual prizes for our boys.

"Thank you to Joanna Chan, staff and Prefects who prepared our breakfast this morning. I congratulate and celebrate all members of the Sydney Boys High School Parents & Citizens Association for 100 years of wonderful support to High.  I say thank you also on behalf of the cohorts of gifted boys who were the beneficiaries of your generosity and community spirit."

Wear It Purple

Last Friday we celebrated Wear It Purple Day.  This year’s theme ‘bold voices, bright futures’ is designed to empower LGBTQIA+ youth to have big dreams and to pursue them boldly.  Since 2010 this special day has celebrated rainbow youth and raised awareness of issues faced by LGBTQIA+ people.  At the same time, Wear It Purple Day has a broader appeal as it speaks to the social need for inclusivity for all and acceptance of difference generally. High boys need always to be mindful of respectful relationships with everyone, honouring the uniqueness of our human experience.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal