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High Notes, Vol 27 No 2, February 13 2026

From the Principal

High Talent

Congratulations to Abhinav Nayani (12T) on his selection into the combined GPS cricket squad of 22.

New Parents Welcome Evening

On Tuesday evening around 200 parents and staff 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 Jocelyn Yem (P & C President). She outlined the purpose and objectives of the P & C and described the role of the P & C and its representatives in the various governance organisations operating in the school. She discussed the ways in which parents could assist the strategic purpose of the P & C. 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, Old Boys, and parking proceeds. I asked for their financial support to help us maintain our wide range of activities, resources and coaching services. Ms Ibbott (rel. DP for Years 7,9,11) ran through a lot of orientation information to help parents and students become accustomed to their new environment. Professor Chyi Lee, a 2025 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 long Q & A session followed with many parents interested in grouping, study skills development and the impact of AI on learning. Supper provided by the Sailing Committee and Canteen Committee and served by student sailors in the foyer, rounded off the evening. The atmosphere was very positive and enthusiastic. Thank you to Ms Ibbott, parents and students who assisted in so many ways to make the evening a success.

Weights Room for 2026

High’s Weights Room, open each morning during term time 0700-0900, 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 Friday March 27, 2026. 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 2026, a full year Weights Room membership costs just $330. As an incentive to Year 7 students, an introductory one-year membership is available for a mere $200. Our program is tailored to suit developing young bodies. Boys wishing to have full year membership must register and pay by Friday, March 27, 2026. 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 $185 for terms 3 and 4.

Summer Sports Assembly

"I extend a warm welcome to our special guest, Keeto Browne. I want to acknowledge our teams on their efforts in Term 4, 2025 and encourage 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 back Billy Barge as first XI coach with Gihan Ebert guiding the 2nd XI. Thank you to the Cricket Committee – Saiprasad Nayani (President), Anil Nittala (Vice President), Sreelatha Kolli (Treasurer) and Amit Patil (Secretary). Parking is coordinated by Lakshmy Joshi and Shweta Doke. Committee members – Suraj Sanka, Yogesh Kulkarni, Taran Aujila, Ashutosh Krish (who also looks after sponsorship and fund raising). Thank you also to the match day helpers who organise the catering –Aiying Law and Zunaid (1st XI), with Suren (2nd XI).

"In basketball, our veteran MIC & Coaching Coordinator Ben Hayman, has returned for another season - thank you Ben for all you do for the program. We extend our thanks to staff members - Viv Paul, Jo Curry, David Knox, Hazel Stephens and Lisa Jennings. Thank you also to our dedicated coaching staff: Lu Ming, Xannon Shirley, Jeffrey Qiu, Willard Fan, Callum Chen, Leo Zhuang, Anson Wen, Ary Bhalero, Jerry Lau, Andy Zhang, Lucas Adamson, Tommy Zhang, Shane Clarke, Victor Chen, Iver Liang, Michael Murphy, Elijah Thomas, Liam Cowan, Andre Baruah, Maroune Rahme and Angelo Kwo. Thanks to our GPS coaches - Keeto Browne [second grade] and Aaron Waban [first grade]. Thank you to our very committed Parents and Old Boys serving on the Basketball Committee and Association: Shiraz Biscevic, Grace Guan, Rita Zhang, Salena Nguyen, Judy Zhu, Kelland He, Israt Munir, Ken Shan, Colin Wei, Herbert Lau. Hayley & Matthew Pang, Hui Baruah, Kelland He, Pamela Jolly, Vidhya Balaji, Li Huang, Francois Flocard, Hiram Yeung and Dawesh Chand.

"In sailing, I want to acknowledge and thank our energetic MIC Matt Cotton for his usual seamless management of the sailing program. Thank you to our staff, Domeniki Damianos and Shane Jennings. Thank you to our coaches -Tom Whitehead, Zhitian Mai and Neil Ghosh. For the Sailing Committee have been doing a great job.  From parking events, holiday programs, Christmas Party to tonight’s New Parents Welcome Evening - Arissa Lee, Vivian Wong, Sarah Lin, Bill Shui, Wendy Xin, Grace Zhou, Diane Hunter, Sarithya Guy, Fei Gao and Sandrine Tomei. Thank you to Woollahra SC and staff and to the assistance provided by Scots Staff.

"Thank you to Jessica Millar, MIC of Water Polo for her management of the program again this year and to Jake Rowlands who coached first grade; David Li second grade and Salvador Alfaro with our 16As. Our thanks go to our parent helpers, Magdolna Imre and Pascal Ibrahim.

"Thank you to Jake Rowlands, a great role model for our boys, as MIC Swimming. He was assisted by Ike Matsuoka (SHS-2021) and Salvador Alfaro in coaching our squad. We were grateful for the staff assistance from Peter Loizou, and supporters at the GPS Finals, including Mick Ormsby, Jamie Kay, Jess Christodolou, Lena Park and Neill Song.

"Thank you to Kurt Rich for his ongoing role as MIC of tennis. Thanks to Lena Park for her assistance on Saturday mornings. Stalwart, David Deep, is again High’s Coaching Coordinator and first grade coach. Irina Vasiliev mentors second grade. Thank you to Stepan, William Chen (SHS-2023), Lucas Chen (SHS-2024), Tanish Sarathy (SHS-2025) and Andy Watterson who coached our age groups. Thank you to all the parents of first and second grade who prepared the food and drinks for the players at home fixtures.

"I congratulate all boys selected in GPS teams this season.  It is an honour and a privilege to represent your school in such an historic and challenging competition – an unforgettable life experience. It is always about self and team improvement through setting and pursuing collaboratively established goals. Strive hard! Good luck!"
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal