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High Notes, Vol 26 No 31, October 17 2025

From the Principal

High Talent

Boris Zhang (SHS-2025) was the 3rd place winner ($50) of the Wollongong Art Gallery Window-Themed Photography Competition in the category for Years 11 and 12, for his photograph: The Hushed Glow. Jiekai Miao (10E) was also a third prize winner ($35) in the same competition in the category for Years 9 and 10, for his photograph: It’s just a burning memory. Well done, boys! Andrew Pye (SHS-2025) has been invited to the Australian Maths Trust State Awards in recognition of his Gold Certificate in the Australian Informatics Olympiad. Well done, Andrew!

Welcome Back to Term 4.

Term 4 is important because of examination results and decisions about future pathways. Year 12 has the high stakes HSC examination and tertiary entrance targets. Year 11 accelerants get a taste of the HSC, and the results may determine their pattern of study for Year 12. Year 10 has the compulsory Life Ready course to complete, stage 6 benchmarks to meet in some courses, as well as a final selection of a pattern of study for stage 6. Year 9’s examination results determine their eligibility for certain subjects for Year 10 (such as acceleration or online learning). Year 8 get to make their first major choice of curriculum – what two electives would I like to do? Year 7 must decide on whether to continue with two languages in Year 8 or just their favourite one. Consequently, the whole school must arc up and focus on maximised performance and informed decision-making.  Summer sports get fully underway. Outdoors we need to protect ourselves from the heart. Let’s work hard and have fun!

Staff Changes

Sarah Kim will be relieving for John Prorellis as Head Teacher Administration for the first two weeks of term. Robyn O’Driscoll will be relieving for Joanna Chan as Head Teacher Student Wellbeing until 29.10.25. Richard Kable joins us in LOTE teaching German.

Foundation Day Assembly 2025

My speech to the assembly is reprinted below:

"Special guest, Neil Green, School Captain 1975, Ms Rachel Powell, Principal Sydney Girls High School, Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Kellerman AC (1942), Mr Bruce Corlett AM (1961), Dr David Sweeting OAM (1977), Mr Jacob Ezrakhovich OBU President (2003), Mr Paul Almond past OBU President (1982), Professor Ron Trent (School Council President), Mr Phil Lambert (Life Governor) and Jill Lambert, Mr Fred Bolling OBU Executive (1967), Class of 1975 attendees, Mr Luc Tran (school captain 2024), Mr Ron Schwarz (senior prefect 1962), Mr Matthew Lam (vice-captain 2023), Mr Alan Wong (senior prefect 2020), Mr Graham Gard OAM (1956), Ms Xenia Palmer, Ms Saaini Sivaseelan and Ms Elsha Lim (SGHS), staff and students, welcome to our 142nd Foundation Day Assembly held on Gadigal land. I pay my respects to Aboriginal elders, past and present, and to any Aboriginal people here today. We are assembled to re-affirm our traditions, to reconnect with our cultural values, to honour leaders and leadership, and to endorse the candidature of the Prefect Interns who will make their own unique contributions to our history. We welcome back our Old Boys who graduated 50 years ago and compare their context and ours. High has the appeal of a long tradition, which gives newcomers comfort and confidence that quality education will be maintained. Returning Old Boys demonstrate the spirit at High that stays within our graduates and motivates them to stay connected.

"On November 11,1975, Gough Whitlam was removed from office by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. This was a severe shock to our constitutional government, with lingering ramifications in our political landscape. In May, Gerald Ford formally announced the end of the ‘Vietnam Era’, drawing a line under America’s failed effort to intervene in a civil war. Haldemann, Ehrlichman and Mitchell were convicted for their roles in the Watergate break-in and cover-up which brought about the resignation of Richard Nixon. Colour television broadcasting commenced in Australia, and the Sony Betamax video cassette recorder was launched. There was a hugely increased TV audience and doom sayers predicted the demise of cinemas. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft. We are now experiencing an AI world and quantum computing. Let us hope in 50 years there will be a celebration of today as the beginning of the settlement of the Palestinian Question which has bedevilled Middle East international relations for more than one hundred years.

"In The Record of 1975, the Headmaster, Greg Bradford, observed in his Headmaster’s Report that the ‘close association of (High’s) community generates strong feelings of independence and concern for the school’s place in a rapidly changing learning environment.’ Our strong community involvement and unique culture still define the High experience today. The pace of educational change has accelerated since 1975, requiring complex responses. Also in The Record, school captain Neil Green, observed that it is ‘up to the individual himself whether he joins with his friends and takes part in one of the organised groups within the school’. He asserted that ‘High’s sporting teams appear to enjoy themselves far more than their GPS counterparts, regardless of whether they win or lose’. School spirit is still a core driver of student involvement in school life. The modern context has more variety in offerings but has fiercer competition at the elite level than 50 years ago, because of the gradual professionalisation of sport at all levels.

"On Foundation Day we can take this time to recount our historical foundations in October 1883 and our enduring traditions. The school has changed physically in the last 50 years, yet the core that defines High is the same. We prepare our students for university. We rally support for GPS sport. Our returning Old Boys today include representatives from 1975 from first grade tennis, GPS athletics, the first XV in rugby and the 2nd XI in cricket. They are enduring examples of High Spirit.

"Today, in remembrance of the school’s founding, of its illustrious alumni, and of its student leaders, we celebrate a new cohort of student leaders as they take the Prefect’s Pledge. These Prefect Interns have had to meet performance benchmarks. They have had to show lived experience of leadership. They have had to meet academic standards. They have had to represent their school in two GPS competition sports in each of their final two years. They have had to reach at least platinum level in the Student Awards Scheme and score at least 100 points in Year 11. They need to comply with expected standards – wearing school uniform and modelling good behaviour and punctuality. They compose an online personal statement of why they would like to lead. They have faced an electoral college consisting of their peers in Years 10 and 11, the outgoing 2025 Prefects and the staff. They will have leadership training and be assigned specific roles. These representatives who will be standing before you are ready for the tasks ahead.

"We celebrate our founding as a school to prepare young men for tertiary study. We celebrate our institution that enlarges character through opportunities to pursue excellence. We celebrate a culture of camaraderie that has influenced positive character development in many cohorts of young men. The representatives of this year’s students are being inducted today. They will prove to be worthy bearers of the High tradition of leadership by example, across many areas of school life. I offer my congratulations to them and remind them to preserve the best examples from the past while adding their own initiatives to enhance the leadership culture of the School. One of the measures of effective leadership is the extent to which leaders create emotional commitment to the enterprise. I wish the 2026 Prefects good luck in their roles and trust they will be effective in building that commitment."
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal