̽»¨ÊÓƵ

High Notes, Vol 26 No 6, March 14 2025

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Franklin Huang (10M) who has been accepted into the John Locke Institute's Oxford Summer School, where he will be taking philosophy and either economics or politics as an elective. Well done indeed, Franklin! Over 1000 students attended our recent school swimming carnival, managed by Jake Rowlands. Age Champions for the meet were: Kevin Yuan (12s) Rubie, Will Meng (13s) Fairland, Joshua Chen (14s) Eedy, Ryan Chai (15s) Saxby, Mark Yan (16s) Fairland, Jiazi Chen (17s) Torrington and Jason Yu (Open) Saxby.  School records set – Jiazi Chen – 50m backstroke (30.07), 50m butterfly (27.45) and 50m freestyle (24.67); Kester Jan 15s 50m breaststroke 33.04 (21 years at 33.44); Cassiel Yun (Open) 50m backstroke 33.68; Mark Yan 50m breaststroke 34.29; Jason Yu 50m butterfly 29.53 and Johnathan Zhou 17+200 individual medley 2:39:11. Congratulations, boys! High won the 3rd place playoffs in the GPS Water Polo 16As division with a close game, 5 – 5 (4-3) against St Joseph’s College. In the second division, High was beaten in the final 6-4, by St Joseph’s College. Our Water Polo program is growing in strength, thanks to strong swimming talent, good coaching headed up by Jake Rowlands, and enthusiastic management by Jessica Millar.

Everybody Belongs

Harmony Week, March 17-23, is an annual celebration of our shared humanity and the differences that make us stronger. It brings together Australians from all different backgrounds.  We reflect on and discuss our nation’s rich cultural heritage. We emphasise inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Thursday, March 20 is Harmony Day, celebrated by the wearing of orange coloured apparel.  Next Friday March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  It highlights the injustice and stigma that racism brings to individuals, community and societies. It focuses on the urgency of combatting racism wherever and whenever it arises in our society. See - more information.

Spelling Tests in Years 7-10

We have too many ‘cusp kids’ – at HSC mark 88 or 89. They don’t quite get Band 6. Why didn’t they get there? Often, it is because their expression, sentence construction, spelling or handwriting or a combination thereof, produced what I call an ‘apprehension of flawed excellence’ in the mind of the examiner – conscious or subconscious – that led to a reduction in an assessed mark by the examiner on one or more questions, even if just by one mark. Teachers have great difficulties in moving students from band 4 to 5 at the HSC in only two years if expression is holding them back. We need to fix this problem in the Junior School. Many faculties have vocabulary lists aligning with topics taught. It is easier to learn to spell words you will be using. The Executive agreed in March of 2023 to commence 10-word spelling tests for every class in Year 7-9 once a cycle, to increase spelling accuracy in context. More sophisticated, confident and accurate writers will deliver more band 6 outcomes at the HSC in more courses from the same base of ability, knowledge and understanding.

P & C Funding of Teacher Laptop Renewal

Back in 2020, we responded to the COVID crisis by putting laptops into the hands of teachers to help them with asynchronous and synchronous lesson delivery for students off site. Those machines are at the end of their useful life. Also, the desktops installed in classrooms for roll marking, Daily Notice displays and Vivi connection, have reached the end of their lives. Desktops will be removed from classrooms progressively. Last year, the P & C saw the value in funding a rapid transition into teacher laptop connectivity to the network in both staffrooms and classrooms. The laptops will all be the same model with identical peripherals, if they are replaced within three years. Last year, the program commenced and the P & C kindly donated $68k. Teacher laptops were distributed to Mathematics (13), Science (14), Industrial Arts (8) and Visual Arts (4) – 39 units in all. Around 95 old staffroom and classroom desktops were decommissioned. This year, the next faculties in line will be English, History and Social Science. This week the P & C passed a motion to grant $78k for the second year of this important project. On behalf of our staff and students we thank the P & C for their strong commitment to this important technology renewal project.

Weights Room 2025

Yearly memberships for the weights room close on Wednesday 26 March 2025. If you want to have unlimited access to a supervised weights program, act now. No further membership opportunities will be offered after that date until semester two. At just $315.00 for a full year of unlimited, supervised sessions, this is great value for money.

State Selective Schools Contribution Expectations

Melbourne High ($3,627), Hornsby Girls ($2,704), James Ruse ($2,521), Fort Street ($2,518), North Sydney Boys ($2,452) and Sydney Boys ($2,430). We operate a six-day school. High represents very good value for money. We appreciate and support the voluntary nature of contributions to public schools.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal