Sydney Boys High School

High Notes, Vol 21 No 15, May 22 2020

From the Principal

High Talent

As the 2020 National Swimming Championships were cancelled due to COVID-19, Swimming Australia, the governing body of Australian Swimming, announced the 2019-20 TOP 25 ranking for each recognised age group event. Ike Matzuoka (11M) was ranked in the top 25 for 16 years boys in 200m Butterfly, 800m Freestyle and 1500m Freestyle in Australia. Congratulations, Ike.

Planned Return to Full School Operations on Monday 25 May

In Week 5, students will return to class full time from Monday 25 May.  It will be the normal ‘A’ week timetable. Our expectation is that all students will return to school and attend classes in the usual way, unless exempted by a medical practitioner. Our arrangements for sport will hold until Saturday competition is restarted, or the AAGP’s varies the length of the athletics season.  On Wednesday and Thursday, sport will be held in large groups.  Athletics will work with Kurt Rich in athletics selection trials.  Non-athletes will attend their chosen winter sports and will train.

In Week 6, Year 11 examinations run from Monday to Friday (1/6-5/6).  On Monday and Wednesday afternoons GPS athletes will train 3:30-5:00pm.  On Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, all students will attend their chosen winter sport 1:00pm-3:00pm to commence selection trials or non-GPS activities.  It will be Week 6(B).

In Week 7(C), Monday is the Queen’s Birthday Holiday (8/6).  On Tuesday 9/6 and Wednesday 10/6 Year 10 will have examinations in English, Mathematics and Science.  Wednesday will be a study day for Year 12 whose exams will extend from Thursday 11 June  until Friday 19 June.  During Week 7 the arrangements for Week 6 will be repeated except that Year 12 will not participate as they will be on study leave and then examinations.  So, no Monday athletics training due to the holiday, but training is on Wednesday 3:30pm-5:00pm for GPS athletes. Except for Year 12, on Wednesday and Thursday during sport time, all other students will do winter sport trials or non-GPS winter sport activities.

In these days and weeks of policy evolution, it is prudent to make short term plans only.  We wish to remain agile in order to reset our school plans as contexts change.  We are hoping for a return to Saturday sport soon.

A Guide to NSW School Students Returning to Face-To-Face Learning.

This Guide is for Parents and Carers
Information has been updated as at 19 May 2020, until further notice.

Schools Are Safe and Open for Full Time Face-To-Face Learning
All schools are returning to full on-campus learning from Monday 25 May. All school activities and operations will be in line with Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health guidelines as applicable. School students do not need to follow physical distancing guidelines, but should follow good hygiene practices like:

• Regularly washing hands
• Avoiding sharing drinks or food
• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be discarded immediately
• Bring your own water bottle

School Attendance
All students should be at school unless:

• They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition.
•  They are currently unwell.

Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported to learn from home in line with regular procedures if they are able to. These regular procedures are different to what was offered during the learning from home period. If you require work to be provided to your child whilst they are at home due to an underlying health condition, you should contact the school for assistance. Please note, students who live with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk by the AHPPC, should attend school unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise in writing. If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they are unwell at school, you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect them immediately. Please make sure your contact details are up to date. If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by the school.  

If you need any support to get your child back to school, please contact your school.

City of Sydney – Notice re: Parking

The City of Sydney advises:
We will resume full parking enforcement from Monday 25 May to ensure everyone has safe, fair and equal access to parking. This means you must park legally, follow the parking signs and pay for parking in ticketed areas in the City of Sydney area. Updated parking conditions follow decisions from the National Cabinet and NSW Government to ease coronavirus restrictions in a staged approach. We will continue to support and prioritise emergency services staff with free on-street parking and free 24-hour access to our Kings Cross and Goulburn Street’ car parks. The 1,400 permits we issued for emergency service workers will remain valid until 30 June to provide dedicated parking around hospital and emergency facilities. As restrictions are further lifted and more cars return to our area, we will continue to monitor the situation and take advice from state and federal agencies.

Full School Uniform Policy

Students returning to school on Monday are reminded that we are a full uniform school – a policy supported strongly by both parents and students. High is proud of the fact that its boys wear their school uniform. We expect boys to be in their appropriate uniforms at all times. In winter, there can be extreme weather events but where adjustments need to be made in clothing, the High Store has responded to the requests from the SRC to supply approved supplementary items. Uniform items are approved by the school community through the P & C. The school beanie and school scarf can be worn at all times as part of the official school uniform. Students feeling the cold should not improvise with random items of clothing of various colours and designs. It is permissible to wear white skivvies, underneath school shirts when it is really cold. Students are allowed to wear sports clothing on sports days (Wednesdays for Years 10-12 and Thursdays for Years 7-9) and can add the school tracksuit for warmth. When it is raining, umbrellas, disposable ponchos or the new school wet weather jacket are authorised. Non-uniform anoraks, jackets, caps, beanies, scarfs and wet weather gear are not permitted under any circumstances. Teachers are reminded to ask students to remove items of clothing that are not school uniform and warn them about the need to comply with the school dress code. Explain the options they have available. Put students on detention if they re-offend. If the student still does not comply with school uniform, report recidivist students to the relevant DP, for persistent disobedience in their failure to wear approved school attire.
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal