Sydney Boys High School

High Notes, Vol 22 No 30, October 08 2021

From the Principal

Welcome back to Term 4

By the middle of the term High will look and feel like a school again as students make a graduated return after lockdown.  I hope that students and staff took time out during the holidays to relax and get away from their screens for a while. The wider society is taking more and more interest in the wellbeing and mental health of its people. The realisation that it is OK not to be OK is hard for some people to come to terms with. We will all be working hard during the term to restore the sense of belonging and personal efficacy which are vital to students’ wellbeing.

Properties Update

The Cooler Classrooms program. Every learning space that will have Air-conditioning has had a control box installed into the room as part of initial works. The basketball courts are being resurfaced over the next two weeks. Classroom Technology Upgrade Project.  By next week our AV upgrades in 605, Senior Library, Junior Library and in the Common Room will be finalised. Room 611 has had a complete refurnishing and new layout, 802 and 704 have had upgrades to some cabinetry. We are near the end of our two-and-a-half-year $800k project funded by the Sydney High School Building Fund managed by the Sydney High School Foundation. The Governors Centre Wall of Gratitude has been built and landscaping will commence soon. I want to extend my thanks to John Prorellis, David Isaacs, Jim Crampton, Michael Silva, James Rudd and Stewart Carlyle for all their hard work in completing these projects.

Term 4 Planning

During our first week, all years remained online for their learning. Year 12 students were able to contact their teachers and visit the school by appointment.

Week 2  11-15 October
No change to online learning is envisaged. Year 9 will be on their examination block using online platforms. They will have no online lessons during the week. Year 12 arrangements are still in place. Online lessons for the rest of the years.

Week 3  18-22 October
No change to online learning is envisaged. Year 7 will have online examinations. They will not have online lessons during the week. Year 12 mock examination week. Optional one paper of your choice per day – 0930-1230. Exam conditions with invigilators. Accelerants may do one mock examination. Year 10 online physics test on Thursday 21.10. For everyone’s wellbeing, we will be holding our second Wellbeing Day on Friday 22 October. Staff and students will have a screen free day.

Week 4  25-29 October
All school years return onsite for a full timetable of face-to-face lessons with their teachers. All other years will stay with online classes.

Week 5  1-5 November
Year 12 commence their ‘stuvac’. Year 8 will do their scheduled examinations online and will not have scheduled classes during their examination week. Years 7, 9 10 & 11 will have their full timetable of classes at school.

Week 6  8-12 November
All years back on site for full timetabled lessons except Year 10. Year 12 HSC Examinations commence 9 November. Year 10 will have an onsite mathematics examination in the Great Hall on 8 November. Year 10 have online examinations and no lessons for the week.

Week 7  15-19 November
HSC continues. All years back for face-to-face lessons – full timetable.

We will keep everybody informed as to the specific COVID safe staggered return to school plan as we get closer to the school resumption date.

Return to face-to-face learning survey

We are busy planning for the staged return to school from 18 October. We understand the importance of knowing in advance the level of concern among parents and carers regarding their child’s return to face-to-face learning and have developed a 2-minute survey, asking about your intentions for your child’s return to school. This is an optional survey that is distributed to your school community. We will coordinate the survey and provide the school’s findings to you. 

Your school’s survey link:

https://research.det.nsw.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_5BAxh4fuj5wnsWO?RID=CGC_dlGGrTvgyDOEMU6&Q_CHL=email

We will be able to provide an overview of survey findings to support planning for our students’ return to school by Friday 15 October.  
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal