From the Principal

Welcome back
Welcome back to all returning staff, students and parents. After such a wonderful year of achievement in 2011, we look forward to an even better 2012 for all-round excellence. Welcome to High to all new students, staff and parents. Our catchcry for this year is –‘personalising gifted attainment’. We have increased our staff and restructured some of our activities to give us the human resources to try to get to know our students better, particularly in Year 7, so that we can meet their learning, social and personal needs better. Our Year 10 students will have a longer academic year without the pressure of formal School Certificate examinations. Our staff in various faculties are discussing how best to make good use of the additional time to engage and develop student learning.

High Talent
Congratulations to the first grade basketball team on their third consecutive Raschke Cup victory. Christian Jurlina, Craig Moller, Jasper Garay, Eamon Kelly, Scott Renzenbrink, Blake McGlenchy, Daniel Jones, Matthew McDonald and Mitchell Flynn did a great job, following on from their historic victory in the national schools competition last year.

Staff changes
Welcome to our new Technology Support Officer, Mynul Khan, replacing Anthony Azzi and Jan Noakes, our new School Counsellor, replaces Suzy Plummer. Welcome back to our replacement teachers: Jackie Chen (Chris Kourtesis), Bob Benett (Colin Harvey) and Ross Elliott (Taryn Evans). Both our specialist geographers, Dr Finnie and Dr Ganderton, accepted Head Teacher or equivalent positions within DEC. We wish them good luck in their new roles. Brett Jackson is replacing Celia Finnie this term.

Holiday work around the school
There has been a lot of work completed during the long vacation, using school funds. I want to thank Brett Harrison, our McKay Groundsman, for all his liaison and supervision work during the holidays. The Fairland Pavilion was prepared and painted internally. Sections of the Cutler Drive road surface were removed and replaced on a laid road base, while twenty-five metres of broken shoulder were repaired. Twenty-four sheets of alsynite replaced tin sheets on the COLA roof to let in more light to the complex. Several loads of leaves and debris were cleaned off the structure. Three ceilings on the first floor of the corridor in the main building were prepared, set and painted, giving the corridor a much better look.

New Parents Welcome Evening
More than 235 people attended our welcome to new parents (and students) evening this week. Thank you to Ian Sweeting (P & C President), Sylvia Peng (Year 8 Parent Group Representative), Sachiyo James and the sailing parent caterers and Graeme Moody who managed the refreshments. Behind the scenes, DP Con Barris made sure everything was arranged properly and that things ran smoothly.

Year 7 (and Years 8-11 new students) Welcome Assembly
My address to the assembly follows:

"Good morning and welcome back to High for the 2012 academic year. This morning we are honouring new students who have joined the High community. Our traditional rite of passage at this school is the clapping-in ceremony for Year 7. This is an acknowledgement by all of the High community of the academic success of each student who earns a place at High. You were all selected by means of a rigorous entrance test. We understand that each one of you is an academically gifted person with a range of natural abilities. Our task is to turn these natural abilities into talented performance in all areas of school life.

"To the new students joining us in Years 8-11, I extend a special welcome to you from the High family. You were selected because of your all-rounder achievements in secondary school so far. You have demonstrated talent in a variety of activities or excellence in one and competence in others. We welcome you and expect you to add value to the High culture. You have a great opportunity to establish yourselves at our school by quickly getting involved in the co-curricular program. I urge you not to waste a term or a year by waiting and watching. Get involved. Don’t stick to only what you are good at. You need to grasp every opportunity. Get organised and be prepared to work really hard. Set yourself incremental academic goals and strive to achieve them.

"Our focus this year as a school is on ‘personalising gifted attainment’. What does that mean for you? Our teachers will be endeavouring to work more closely with you this year to find out more about your learning process and individual needs. We will be trying to improve your learning. We will be ‘fussy about focus in class’ in order to get more out of each lesson. We will need you to pay attention and participate, not hide in your own world of recorded music or in a virtual world within a computer.

"We will expect excellence from you not just adequate work. Our teachers will be concentrating on consistency in completing tasks in class and at home to the required standard. We expect that you will participate positively and respectfully in class. I have asked teachers to follow up on all tasks set and to send home letters for non-compliance and to persist until the work is done by everyone. We are jealous of our reputation and success across the board. Together, if we work hard and help each other, we can maintain and enhance our outcomes.

"To Year 7 boys in particular I expect that in the years ahead you will all adopt our all-rounder culture and take advantage of the activities at High. We want you to work hard, train hard and play hard. We will also expect you to give some of your time and effort back into school and community service. High ritual comes full circle with a clapping-out in Year 12 at their final assembly. By then we will all be acclaiming what you have become. By then we can celebrate your growth and achievement as secondary students.

"I expect all boys to involve themselves in co-curricular activities - the Student Awards Scheme identifies the main ones available. Sport is a very important part of life at High. Our traditional involvement in GPS and CHS competitions makes us unique among secondary schools. Sport training is offered on at least two afternoons as well as Monday afternoon speed and agility sessions. Membership of our weights room is excellent value for money. My strong expectation is that you will play competition on Saturdays. Wednesdays and Thursdays, during designated sports all Years are instructed in the basic skills, rules and strategies of their sports in preparation for Saturday competition. Participating in GPS competition is an integral component of our ethos. We focus on team sports for educational reasons – group cooperation, team building, goal setting and motivation skills are most necessary in modern work contexts.

"Cooperative enterprise is the foundation of our effective school operation. We need your help and your parents’ help. They and you can help the school by: serving on committees, helping with parking, managing a team, scoring or helping at the canteens at school or basketball, rowing and rugby. If they are time poor, they can support school activities financially.

"At school and in class show your teachers and all staff members and volunteers in activities the respect they deserve. Ask them for help. Be responsible for your own learning. The pursuit of excellence is a lifelong discipline. I hope you all enjoy a rewarding 2012 at High."
Dr K A Jaggar

Student First Aid Requirements

Notice to All Parents It is a parent’s responsibility to notify the Front Office First Aid Staff if your son has a medical condition which requires medication. All medication such as Epipen’s need to be clearly marked with your son’s name and have a current expiry date.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

Kahawa Rathanasara Maha Vidyalaya Visit

In the Holiday break I visited Kahawa Rathanasara Maha Vidyalaya School Sri Lanka a recipient of many donations from Sydney Boys High School.

During my visit I met the Principal, Vice Principal, Teachers and the Librarian of the school and witnessed the devastation caused by the 2004 Tsunamis and their efforts to rebuild the school.

They are very grateful for the kind donations received in the past through the generosity of Sydney Boys High School students.

I decided to use my spending money to buy and donate some equipment requested by the school, a DVD player and some kitchen appliances and also took part in donating school books for the needy students.
Lastih de Fonseka
10E

From the Libraries

What’s Up in the McDonald Senior Library?

The beginning of a new year in the Senior school has started at a run with many students using the McDonald Senior Library to begin their studies for 2012. The HSC looms for Year 12s and those Year 11 students taking accelerated subjects and I have been amazed at the mature and organised students who are already settling down to work at this early point in the year. No doubt they realise how quickly the year will disappear and how important it is to work consistently to prepare for exams and keep up to date with assignments!

This year we will be adding many more new resources to the Senior Library collection. We would like students and teachers to make suggestions if they see particular areas to be developed. Our priority is to update all HSC resources and ensure that the collection meets the demands of curriculum.

We are currently investigating adding to our current access to e-resources by adding e-books to supplement the senior collection of fiction and study guides. So watch this space for news of this new venture.

The library has also undergone some rearrangement to provide an environment suited to quiet study, with one end of the library set aside with individual desks and a quiet reading zone with another area allowing groups to gather for quiet discussions. This arrangement can only work with the cooperation of all seniors using the library and with a severe shortage of space to house the number of students using it, keeping a good study environment will be challenging. We are still hoping to expand into the next classroom once it becomes available should other classrooms also become so. 2012 promises to be a busy and eventful year in the Senior Library with programs continuing like the Year 10 State Librarian visits and seminars on use of Online Databases as well as author visits, reading promotions and a film festival featuring anime and other interesting films suited to our senior students.

As the teacher librarian in charge of the McDonald Senior library I will be working hard to help students with their research tasks and acting as reader’s advisor while developing the library to its full potential which in turn assists learners to reach theirs!
Ms S Gordon
Teacher Librarian
McDonald Senior Library

Junior Library

DIVES OFF THE HIGH DIVING BOARD INTO E BOOKS
In 2012 the Andrews Library will stepping off into the world of E books. Initially we will be purchasing some American popular books and make further purchases of Australian content in the near future. E books are not yet available to Junior boys but we hope they will be up and running really soon. We will keep you posted in High Notes.

ALL YEAR 7 BOYS WILL BE ENROLLED IN THE PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE
This Challenge has made an incredible difference to the number of books our boys tell me they read last year. Nearly every boy in Year 7 read over 20 books and a lot had read 50 books in Year 6. We want our students to consolidate such an important literacy skill in their high school years. As educators we know good readers are good writers.

It is preferable to count Premier’s Reading Challenge books from our own Library’s loan records to verify participation. So keep reading our books Year 7 and continue the Challenge!
Mrs Crothers – Teacher Librarian

Die Deutsche Frage

Nummer 1, 2012

Just a quick explanation for all new students: The German question appears more or less regularly in this newsletter and is occasionally somewhat cryptic – but somebody has so far always come up with the correct answer and, of course, got his due reward – a chocolate bar.

So this is the first question in 2012: Ulli und Andrea?
Frau St Leon

High Family

The Bulletin Board for Sydney Boys High P & C

If you would like to have any parent community news or upcoming events included in High Society, please contact
Ian Sweeting
P&C President
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Welcome Back

Happy New Year and Lunar New Year to all, and welcome back. As always, these first weeks are extremely busy for parents, boys, teachers and staff, and we should bear this in mind in our dealings with the school, which has a lot to deal with at this time of year. The P&C wishes all our parents and boys a productive and enjoyable year.

New Parents Welcome

Last Tuesday evening, more than two hundred parents of our new High boys attended the New Parent Welcome in the Great Hall. All of us at the event were impressed by the enthusiasm of the parents in attendance and we look forward to getting to know them over the coming year. The P&C would like to express its gratitude to the following people for their involvement at such a busy time: Sachiyo James and the Sailing parents for their usual exemplary catering; from the school and sports department, Dr Jaggar, Messieurs Barris, Kay, Pavone, Moody, Kacimaiwai, Henning, Roslin, and Deep, Ms Hybler, Genias and Howland who were all generous with their time- presenting and helping out, with many staying back to speak to the new parents after the presentation; the Year 8 parents and boys who were there till the end, cleaning and packing up; members of the P&C and supporters groups; as well as individual parents. Thank you to all for your time and effort.

New parents will be receiving a number of emails over the following weeks concerning the 2012 Information Guide, and instructions on accessing the Parents’ Portal and School Website. We are looking for two additional parents’ representatives from the Year 7 parents. If you are interested in this role, please feel free to contact me on the email address at the top of this page.

Upcoming P&C Parking Events

Please find listed below upcoming P&C parking events. Each co-curricular supporters group has a nominated parking coordinator whose role is to ensure that sufficient numbers of parents and boys are available to meet the expected demand.

If you are unsure of the contact details of your co-curricular parking coordinator, you should email the parent sub-committee president of the various supporters’ groups. The P&C maintains a current list of names and email addresses in the P&C section of the Parents’ Portal (access via the intranet login on the SBHS website home page http://www.sydneyboyshigh.com/)

Sunday 5 February – Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets (Basketball)
Saturday 11 February – Sydney FC v Perth Glory (Cricket)

Big Night Out - Rescheduling

The previously advised date for the Big Night Out of Saturday 31 March 2012 is now not available due to a timetable clash with a school event We will be advising everyone of the new date as soon as we can..

Upcoming Meetings & Events

P&C General Meeting – 7:30pm, Wednesday 15 February - Details in next week’s High Notes - New parents welcome.

Ian Sweeting

SBHS Debating

Welcome
Welcome back to all our experienced debaters and their families and to all the new students who are considering joining the biggest school debating program in NSW.

This year we have introduced a number of changes which will allow students to make an informed choice about whether they should join debating and also to help younger debaters to develop their debating skills further and quicker.

Firstly if you are a new student and you would like to watch a debate and decide whether it is something you might be interested in taking part in then we have organised a Show Debate at Lunch Time in the Great Hall on 10th February. Please come promptly. Secondly there is going to be a Junior Debating Club for Years 7-8 which will be run by the Debating Prefect, Christopher Chiam and some other Senior debaters. The first meeting for this will take place in Room 402 on 24th February.

Coaching begins on 17th February and there is a COMPULSORY meeting for any Junior student who wishes to enrol in debating this year at lunch time.

Debating Co Payments are as follows:

Year 7 $100
Year 8 $100
Year 9 $100
Year 10 $110
Year 11 $110
Year 12 $110

This year we have invested in more coaches which means smaller debating class sizes. Debating is an activity for students who are keen and interested in developing their skills. Students are expected to be active participants in the after school activities and to take part in Friday evening debating where possible. With the smaller classes we aim to get even better results in debating competitions. It will be very apparent if students have enrolled just for award points and anyone who is not taking debating seriously will be asked to leave.

This year looks set to be a great year for debating and I am looking forward to working with many new students as well as the old familiar faces.

Rachel Powell
Debating Coordinator

More information can be found at www.sydneyhigh.org.au/debating and will be emailed to you on a weekly basis.
Please CHECK YOUR EMAIL regularly and ensure we have current contact details for both students and parents.
PARENTS: If you are not receiving weekly emails about debating please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and ask to be added to the parent group for your child’s year.

Basketball: Shooting Hoops

Raschke Cup Victory

High began 2012 strongly by claiming the Raschke Cup played at Kings on 28th January 2012. This is the third year in a row that High has won the mid season tournament, defeating St Ignatius 41-27, Kings 59-15 and Shore 32-28 before beating Scots in the finals 39-23. Well done to our successful 1st grade team!

Year 7s - Why You Should Do Basketball!!!

To all our new Year 7 students (and others), here are some reasons you should pick Basketball as a summer sport: (SBHS’s biggest Summer sport)

• High has one of the most successful basketball programs in Australia, having won multiples titles at GPS, CHS, NSW and Australian All Schools level.
• Every team receives coaching to best develop player skills and has a good chance of being competitive. (51% wins across 32 teams)
• Promotes a high level of teamwork skills that can be applied to other areas of life, both socially and academically.
• Provides a fun way to engage in physical activities.
• Relatively inexpensive, the only gear required is a ball and uniform.
• Many skills can be practiced and developed alone giving players a great opportunity to improve and achieve their goals, possibly even 1st/2nd grade selection
• Basketball matches go for 1 hour on Saturdays
• Great culture within the program as maintained by MIC Mr Hayman
• The majority of the school captains in the last decade have been in basketball

How You Can Join!

See Mr B or A Hayman in PDHPE or English staffrooms and just ask! You will be given a fair trial even if you have attended other sports previously.

Back to Back National Champions 2010-2011

Friday the 3rd of December marked the date that Sydney High would have a chance of becoming back to back undefeated National Champions. Sydney High departed straight after the Scots game, so team morale was high as we defeated the Scots team and the atmosphere of the trip was very positive. The team stayed the night at Albury to recuperate and have a good night’s sleep before leaving the next morning for Bendigo.

We arrived relatively early which allowed us to establish a competitive frame of mind for the next day. Coach B Hayman stated our main objective for the tournament was to maintain focus for the entire game and not react emotionally. Our first game was against Marist College which we demoralised 88-52 and successfully implemented our focused frame of mind.

There was little time to soak in the victory as we were playing the U17 Chinese National team later that day. The stands were packed with supporters and spectators watching the two competition favourites battle it out. The Chinese team sported very fast aggressive guards and very tall, lanky forwards (Tallest being 215cm). We were able to penetrate their defence as well as successfully minimise their scoring threats. Our lead slowly increased by each quarter and we eventually defeated China.

From then on, the team only had one game a day so there was plenty of time for us to relax, socialise and go over game plans. The remainder of the preliminary games were against Willeton and Guilford Young College where we won by 37 and 30 respectively - our performance improving with every game. We dominated our pool, placing in 1st position and also boasting the best For and Against record. This meant our crossover game would be against 2nd place in Pool B, Box Hill College.

Our semi-final was against the individually talented Box Hill who sported an Australian player and several big name players. This was to be our hardest game of our tournament. For the entire first half both teams traded baskets, one team would make an amazing play and the other would respond with one as equally impressive. By half time we were only up by 5. This continued during the entire 3rd quarter however in the last quarter, Box Hill were unable to keep up their performance vs High’s defensive pressure after a valuable time out and High pulled away with a solid win, 79-63.

After our glorious victory, the boys headed back to the Naar holiday residence for recuperative ice baths. It was during this time that we discovered that China had beaten Newington in the crossover match by 5, which meant that Sydney High were National Champions. The rules stated that China could not receive a coloured medal and since we were in the grand final, we were automatic champions. Although we won the title, we still wanted to win the tournament outright and be undefeated two years in a row. We started off neck and neck and at quarter time the score was 17-11 our way. China had improved however, High stepped on the accelerator and completely demoralised China with a very promising score of 45-18 at half time. Our dominating performance continued throughout the game and we eventually emerged victorious 79-53, and as back to back undefeated National Champions.

It was a mixture of individual talent and teamwork that resulted in our back to back championship. No one went out of their way to be a hero and take the spotlight. Everyone played for one another and sacrificed personal glory for the team’s benefit. It’s because of this that numerous members from the team were amongst the top scorers, assisters, free-throw and 3-point percentage leaders.

Lastly a huge mention must go to Mr Ben Hayman, Mr Alex Hayman and Bruce Gordon. Ben for his coaching skills and leading the team to a back to back championship, Alex for his expertise scouting reports and easy-going attitude at mealtimes and Bruce for taping, organising meals, doing the laundry and helping the team in any way possible. Sydney High couldn’t have been back to back champions without the guidance and support of these 3 dedicated role models.
Christian Jurlina
Captain of Basketball 2010-2011

Note: Christian Jurlina is humble in this, his final report and did not mention that he dunked on a Chinese 7 footer in the final - See Youtube. (B Hayman)

Sydney Boys High School Swimming Carnival 2012

The 2012 School Swimming Carnival will be held at the Des Renford Aquatic Centre (Heffron Park Pool) Robey Street, Maroubra on
MONDAY FEBRUARY 6 2012.

The carnival will commence at 8:50 am and finish by 2:45 pm (approximately).

Buses will be provided for Year 7 at a cost of $5 payable on the day and will leave from Cleveland Street at 8:30 am and return to school at 3:00pm. Students in Year 7 can make their own way to the venue if they wish to do so.

Students in Years 8-12 will make their own way to and from the Swimming Pool. If unable to make your own way to and from the venue you can catch the buses provided by the school at a cost of $5.

Public transport is available from Central Station to Maroubra Junction and Eastgardens.

The pool is located between Bunnerong Road and Anzac Parade, with the entry located on Robey Street.

School uniform is NOT required. (House colours) and sun protective clothing should be worn by students as shady areas are limited. Food will be on sale from the canteen at the pool. The Carnival will be held "rain, hail or shine!"

Roll call will take place at the venue. Students will be required to scan on entry.

Mr P Loizou
Swimming Coordinator

ORDER OF EVENTS

Carnival commences at 8:50am sharp
NOTE: The age group you compete in is the age you turn this year

1       12 years        200m            Freestyle
2       13 years        200m            Freestyle
3       14 years        200m            Freestyle
4       15 years        200m            Freestyle
5       16 years        200m            Freestyle
6       17+ years       200m            Freestyle

7       12 years        100m            Freestyle
8       13 years        100m            Freestyle
9       14 years        100m            Freestyle
10      15 years        100m            Freestyle
11      16 years        100m            Freestyle
12      17+ years       100m            Freestyle

13      12 years        50m             Breastroke
14      13 years        50m             Breastroke
15      14 years        50m             Breastroke
16      15 years        50m             Breastroke
17      16 years        100m            Breastroke
18      17+ years       100m            Breastroke

19      12 years        50m             Butterfly
20      13 years        50m             Butterfly
21      14 years        50m             Butterfly
22      15 years        50m             Butterfly
23      16 years        100m            Butterfly
24      17+ years       100m            Butterfly

25      12 years        50m             Freestyle
26      13 years        50m             Freestyle
27      14 years        50m             Freestyle
28      15 years        50m             Freestyle
29      16 years        50m             Freestyle
30      17+ years       50m             Freestyle

31      12 years        50m             Backstroke
32      13 years        50m             Backstroke
33      14 years        50m             Backstroke
34      15 years        50m             Backstroke
35      16 years        100m            Backstroke
36      17+ years       100m            Backstroke

37      16 years        800m*           Freestyle
38      17+ years       800m*           Freestyle
39      15 years        400m            Freestyle
40      16 years        400m            Freestyle
41      17+ years       400m            Freestyle                       
42      16 years        200m            Individual Medley
43      17+ years       400m            Individual Medley

* 800m and 400m swimmers will be timed in the SAME event time permitting

NOTE:
1. All places will be decided by times.
2. The 4 x 100m GPS Medley Relay takes place at 2.00pm

Rifle Shooting

Shooting in 2012 kicked off with a bang, at the 135th NSW Queens competition held at the Malabar rifle range, where over 200 shooters competed through pouring rain and searing heat, 10 from our Sydney High Rifle Club. Over the course of 10 days, over 2000 carefully placed shots were fired by our rifles at both the competition and the training camp in Canberra.

The 20th -22nd Jan training camp was attended by 10 of our team, Bill Deng, Wilbert Wu, Minghao Wu, Dominic Tran, Yujin Wu, Timothy Tran, Jeremy Chan, Jacky Yang, Robert Sternhell along with coaches (Sam Kremer, Abraham Chan, Jack Wachsmann, Kevin Chan and Ishan Nadkarni) and old boys (Brendan Leo and Ryan Woo). With the Malabar rifle range and the Hornsby rifle range unavailable to us, Canberra was the best option.

Everybody was excited to be shooting with the fullbore .308 rifles again, and on the first day of training shooting was done the traditional GPS way – partner coached. In this setup, a shooter is accompanied by a partner, the 'coach'. The coach, who wields a scope and sees wind flags along the range, is responsible for adjusting the shooters sights for wind. The shooter, on the other hand, is responsible solely for shooting at the centre of the target and faithfully obeying his coach. In order to succeed, it is vital that the shooter has faith in his coach’s wind reading abilities, and that the coach has faith in his shooter’s skills in marksmanship.

However, the NSW Queens, like most prize meetings outside of GPS, is individual. Shooters must read from their own scopes and interpret the wind by themselves, potentially affecting their concentration. This proved to be the case on day 2 of training, where many shooters shot lower scores than they did on day 1. A large overall improvement was seen on day 3 when the shooters regained their focus, which was a promising lead up to the Queens.

The 135th NSW Queens (24th – 28th Jan) was the first Queens to be shot with new electronic targets. This resulted in a less clumsy and more focused performance by shooters, which was evident by some great scores with 49s by Yujin Wu and Wilbert Wu during the first two days (McIntosh). One junior shooter, Timothy Tran, showed tremendous improvement after improving his personal best to a 48.2 at 700m. In the first two days, the team accumulated 5 Gold match medals, 4 Silver and 5 bronze as well as 3 aggregate badges. Notably, Yujin Wu came 4th in the McIntosh B-Grade aggregate, and Wilbert Wu came 2nd in the McIntosh C-Grade aggregate.

The competition continued with the three day Queens shoot, which included ten 10 shot matches at distances between 300m and 700m, and one final 15 shot match at 800m to finish off the entire competition. Conditions proved to be frustratingly windy for some, but for others, careful reading of wind and consistent marksmanship paid off. In particular, Timothy Tran posted a stunning possible of 50 and 6 centres on the final day, to take home the gold medal for match #22! Well done Timothy Tran, who is only in Year 9, a truly stellar performance! In B-Grade Yujin Wu posted a 50.6. The last 15 shot match at 800m was one of the best for Jeremy Chan, who posted an outstanding 73 and 8 centres (out of 75.15) to take the Silver Medal!

Well done to Wilbert Wu who came 2nd in the C-Grade aggregate and 2nd in the Grand Aggregate and Yujin Wu who came 2nd in the B-Grade grand aggregate. After the final presentation, our shooters collected over 11 range medals and 10 badges to finish off a fantastic performance at the Queens.

Thanks to all the old boys, Joe Banh, Brendan Leo, Jack Wachsmann, Ishan Nadkarni, Ryan Woo, David Chan, Abraham Chan, Matt Tong, Kevin Chan, Justin Hill and Sam Kremer who watched and supported us during the Queens. Your support may well have been the cause of these great scores! A very special thanks to Sam Kremer and Abraham Chan who were with us for the entire 10 days. Sam Kremer’s extensive wisdom and knowledge of shooting proved to be indispensable, and helped the team maintain an impeccable reputation at the range in terms of safety and manners. What will we ever do without you, Sam?
Yujin Wu
Captain of Rifles

Sydney Boys High School Tennis

High vs Scots

1st Grade
After a gruelling seven week trial season, the 1st grade team was looking to put away the disappointment of the trial season with a win over Scots in the first round of the season. The boys had a tough start to the day with one of the three doubles going our way. The doubles pairing of Rob and David showed determination to fight back from a set down to win a tough three set battle 1-6 7-6 10-7. In the singles, Patrick with an injury to his shoulder showed great courage in his match despite going down to a highly ranked opponent. Josh, who played his first GPS match put in an enthusiastic effort, however fell short of the win. Lachlan and David both went down to very strong, consistent opponents. Rob capped off a stellar day in doubles and singles beating his opponent 6-3 7-5. Anton’s persistent hard work throughout the trial season and improved shot making resulted in a comfortable straight sets win 6-1 6-1. Unfortunately, the boys weren’t able to repeat the win in the trial season falling to Scots 3 matches to 9, with injuries and players missing hurting the team’s overall performance. However, the boys will definitely be looking to bounce back in the upcoming fixtures in 2012.

Aussie Open Training Camp
During the summer school holidays, many boys from 1st and 2nd grade tennis attended an Australian Open Camp in Melbourne. The aim of the camp was for the boys to experience the atmosphere of the Australian Open, and to take inspiration from the players at the grand slam as motivation to train harder and to learn new shots. The boys spent three hours each morning for five mornings, training at a professional clay court facility. The rest of the day was dedicated to watching some amazing tennis at the Australian Open sitting with the rest of the crowd, soaking up the experience and getting sunburn. It was an amazing experience for the boys to have the chance to watch some of the best tennis players from all over the world. Hopefully, it will also inspire the boys to achieve better results in their upcoming matches. Frank Zhang

SBHS Rowing

Welcome to Term One 2012 Rowing!

It was great to see so many boys attend and enjoy the holiday rowing and the strength and conditioning sessions during January. These sessions help prepare the boys adequately for the upcoming GPS regattas. The boys will compete in a series of regattas scheduled for each Saturday during Term One, outlined in the table below -

Note -

• Sydney High Rowing will host the Junior Regatta on Saturday 25 February. We will need help from parents with this event.
• The GPS Head of the River will be held at Sydney International Regatta Centre on Saturday 10 March. All rowers and families are encouraged to attend this prestigious event.
• Crews, including Junior, Year 10 and Senior rowers, will be selected to represent High in the NSW CHS Championships at the Nepean River on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 March.
• All regatta entries and results can be found on the Rowing NSW website – www.rowingnsw.asn.au 

Other Events this Term –

• Year 10 rowers will be going to Melbourne with Mr Con Barris, and coaches Shahar Merom and Gareth Deacon on Tuesday 14 February returning Saturday 18 February. The boys experience rowing and racing with Melbourne High on the Yarra River.
• Rowing Boatshed Dinner is in the Great Hall on Wednesday 29 February.
• GPS Rowing Assembly is on Friday 9 March.

Exciting News –

• Our newly purchased VIII has arrived and will be named the ‘CWP Barris’ on Saturday evening, 4th February at the Rowing Cocktail Party (please see invitation in HN). A big thank you to the senior parents for their very generous donations towards the boat.
• SHS Foundation have installed 2 new fibreglass landings on the southern pontoon, which now gives us 3 pontoon landings in total for crews to use.

Thank you –

• Tam Tran and the team of parents and boys who helped park cars at the school in early January. … it was a record day of $5,398 to go to the rowing committee funds. ‘Parking’ is an important fundraiser and all rowing families should make an effort to help at least once during the year please.
• Thank you to all parents who have made a donation towards rowing equipment and facilities through the ASF.

If you would like to be informed about what goes on with rowing please come to our next committee meeting in the Staff Common Room on Tuesday 28 February starting at 7pm. If you are not receiving information via email please email your details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Taree Senior Camp Report 2012

After the success of last year’s trip to Taree, the Sydney Boys High Senior Rowers travelled up north in January in expectation of a tough 6 days of rowing. The Croker family were again hospitable enough to let us use their facilities; camping outside their house, giving us electricity, shelter and amenities, and even giving us a tour of the oar factory. On arrival, the boys set up their tents, rigged up the boats and the 8 men up for selection for the First VIII prepared to seat race. The last two seats were filled on the second day of our camp, after a grueling fifteen one kilometre races, with Steve Comninos and Alex Pereira regaining their spots in the VIII. With the First and Second VIII’s now filled, we were able to use the perfectly flat water of the Manning River to commence our training.

The crews really grew together on the camp, making crucial and encouraging improvements over the approximately 50km they covered each day, including long endurance rows and shorter, intense workloads. The First VIII were lucky enough to have the input of Michael Morgan in their training, who is an Australian and specifically AAGPS rowing legend, coaching countless Head of the River winners in the last 25 years. Along with our coach, Adrian Henning’s, input, the First VIII made some extremely promising improvements in their technique.

The long, exhausting rows made by both crews throughout the camp severely helped our physical and mental endurance, and the high workloads helped us to keep our technique consistent. Overall, the camp was a great success, benefiting both crews significantly and being one of the highlights of our season.

Many thanks must go to the Croker family for letting us use their facilities, and a special thanks to all the parents who camped out with us; preparing all our meals and keeping us in check. Sydney Boys High Rowing has always been fuelled by the parents who volunteer, and this camp was no exception.

A special thanks to MIC Julie Blomberg for organizing the camp again, as well as to 1st VIII Coach Adrian Henning and 2nd VIII Coach Mitch Estens for all their involvement.
Alex Pereira

Rowing: Boat Naming Cocktail Party 2012

The Sydney High Rowing Committee invites High rowing friends and supporters, including former rowers and rowing families, to a very special occasion with the naming of five boats.
Saturday 4th February 2012 5pm to 9pm
The Outterside Centre
5 Teviot Ave Abbotsford

Smart Casual $50 per person ($35 for students) includes all beverages and canapés

Boat Naming Ceremony 6.30pm

• CWP Barris – Sykes VIII (Let’s hope it’s in service as long as Con was MIC …. 25 years!)
• Anita Bezjak – Ausrowtec Quad Scull
• Peter Ambrose – Sykes Quad Scull
• Katharine Deacon –Sykes Quad Scull
• Geoff Andrews – Sykes VIII

From the Canteen

Welcome to all our volunteers for 2012, in particular all the new parents to the school. Canteen provides a wonderful opportunity to meet other parents, find out what is happening at the school and provides significant contributions to the P&C to fund worthy projects which benefit all of our sons.

In order to avoid disappointment, it is a good idea to put in a lunch order, as sometimes what you want may have sold out.

Unfortunately due to significant increases in running and supply costs, we have had to increase general menu prices for the first time in 2-3 years. Wherever possible canteen tries to absorb price increases so that we can keep menu items, especially the fresh food, as affordable as we can for the boys. The new price list is [available on the school website].

Thank you to our volunteers for the last week of Term 4.
MONDAY: Jie (Jane) Lin
TUESDAY: Elsa Li
WEDNESDAY: Su Jen Yap, Sally Allingham
THURSDAY: Alana Liang
FRIDAY: last day of school

Congratulations to Elsa Li who won the $10.00 prize for December to be used by her son Matthew in the canteen.
Thank you
The Canteen Team

From the High Store

Many thanks to Stam Farrugia, Jenni Rajendram (2010 parent) Cindy Tseu & Suzana Nimac for volunteering through the holidays by helping in the High Store. Your continued support is much appreciated.

From the Office

Letters Re Absence/Lateness/ Early Leave When your son returns to school from being absent he is required to provide a letter of explanation signed by a parent or guardian. If your son is going to be late for school a note is also required. Alternatively you may contact the school by phone on 9361 6910 and dial “4” for the absentee line.

If your son has an early leave note he is required to have his note signed by either Mr Barris, Mr Dowdell or Mr Prorellis before 8:55 am and handed in to the Main Office immediately after. Each letter should be signed by a parent or guardian with the name, date and roll class of your son printed clearly. Your son needs to pick up a leave pass from the Main Office before he leaves the school.

Leave If you require leave for your son please, apply in writing and address your application to the Principal, Dr Jaggar, stating the reason and length of time of the leave. Your son must then present this application to Dr Jaggar for permission for the leave. Please remember to apply before the leave and not after.

The Principal must approve all leave applications.

Sports Donations

GPS sports competition is very demanding on people and resources. At High we have ongoing needs for facilities development, equipment and development through expert coaching. If you would like to help through a tax deductible donation for a particular sport, the appropriate form can be posted to you by calling 9361 6910. Alternatively, you can go to our website www.sydneyboyshigh.com click on Sport / Sports Donations to download either Development Donation Form or Equipment and Facility Donation Form.