Telephone: 9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 •
info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au • Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068
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Telephone: 9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 •
info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au • Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068
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Indigo Jet Scarlet (Post Compulsory) |
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School Email and Bulletin Board |
November 2007Principal’s report - 29 November
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My experience in the production has been great it’s allowed me to experience a lot more acting skills and singing skills.
The play went well and flowed without incident by the Friday night show.
I’m really glad I’ve gotten involved with the production it’s allowed me to change and develop my acting skills.
It has been fun, it’s given me the opportunity to get involved with a different group of people than I would normally socialise with.
Lukas A.K.A. Eddie
I enjoyed putting the blood brothers musical on a lot; it left a small hole when it was over.
The blood brothers production was successful even though just a week before people still needed their scripts. I think it was really good but I’m sure if we were to continue performing it would get better every time. Hopefully the next Fitzroy High musical will be just as good. We could not have done it without Helen.
Deanna S.
Blood Brothers was great, probably the best school production I’ve been in for a while. Though on the first night we had some ‘difficulties’, we still managed to pull through in a blaze of glory.
I played a few roles none of which were major pieces, but watching the others do their thing really made me feel some what humbled.
The last night was the best out of all and I am really sad to hear that Helen, a wonderful teacher of the performing arts and a very skilled performer herself, is leaving. I wish her all the best at whatever she chooses next and I hope perhaps she may be back in the future.
Tom Hoyle our music teacher has adapted the music superbly, he and his band of musicians are to be thanked in kind as well.
Altogether it was fantastic and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Simon I.
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Altogether I thought the production was great fun. I’ve met new people and everyone in my family loved it.
The first act we did was the worst. Hardly anyone knew their lines and we skipped three scenes because someone didn’t go on stage. The second act we did was also kinda bad because only five people showed up to watch, but we all knew our lines by then and didn’t make many mistakes.
The final act was the best. Everybody was used to the play and got all their lines correct and the audience loved the show. It was a great experience and I loved working with everyone.
Thank you so much for putting this together Helen!!
Sophia G.
At the start it was looking very messy, but as we progressed it came together really nicely. And everyone did really well, with their lines and the part they played. It was a good experience and we had a really good time. And I’m sure everyone who saw it liked it.
All thanks to Helen!
Hannah H.
Hi Helen,
I thought that it was really, really, really fun and I enjoyed the experience a lot!!! The whole thing was great and I really want to do another one! The cast was fantastic! I didn't think that we were ready to perform it but it came together really well even if people were learning their lines at the last minute! The last performance was the best!
Thanks sooooooo much for putting the whole thing together!
Lucille K.
Doing the production was so much fun and it was so exciting performing on stage in our costumes, doing all the dances and saying our lines and singing the songs. Everyone was panicking that we wouldn’t be ready but in the dress rehearsal it all just seemed to pull together with minimal ‘stuff-ups’. I can’t wait to see the video to see what we all looked like on stage. Afterwards I was really tired and exhausted but I would definitely want to do the next school production because the experience was just so enjoyable!
Hannah P
I have taken the opportunity to visit the Year 8 students on the Challenge Camp this week. They are certainly being extended but are rising to all the challenges they are presented with.
We have received the confirmed budget for the proposed building works. A total amount of $4.5 million dollars has been allocated to complete the work in the gym and the new building. We look forward to commencing the first component of this work in early December.
I urge everyone in our school community to attend a performance of the school production tonight or tomorrow. The students involved have put a tremendous amount of work into this performance and I am sure it will be an enjoyable experience.
We had a general assembly on Monday morning where we highlighted students’ achievements. I spoke to the school about the fact that we have a significant number of educators visit the school to look at our program and their work (over 200 this year alone). One of the things that these visitors invariably comment on is the quality of the work that they see. These observations are supported by data that we are accumulating about student performance.
To enable this to happen staff constantly seek to expand their skills. I am particularly pleased that three of our young staff are presenting workshops at the state wide Maths conference next week. Tom R, Tanya and Rachel have two workshops that are totally booked out dealing with the Maths program that has been put in place at Years 7-9 over the last two years. We believe this to be a high quality program and the data that we hold shows significant student improvement in Maths.
Tim Fitzgerald
On Monday 12 November, six students from Year 7 and 8 represented Fitzroy at this inaugural Junior Golf Tournament. The Stuart Appleby Foundation is trying to actively encourage teenagers of 13 and 14 to take up the sport and this tournament is one of the initiatives designed to give students a chance. No experience was required and the six who went certainly learnt a great deal about the etiquette and experience of golf. Played at Eastern Golf Club, the boys – Aiden, Murray and Paddy formed Team 1, and Conor, Indri and Lucas formed Team 2.
The tournament was in an ambrose format, meaning that each player hits off the tee, the best shot is selected and all other players pick up their ball and place it, within one handspan, alongside the best ball. Each person then hits a second shot from the same spot. The best shot is again selected. This continues until the ball is in the hole. On the putting green the best ball is marked and the other balls are played from this position.
The boys adapted well to these conditions and registered scores of 53 (Team 1) and 66 (Team 2) for 9 holes. Both teams got a little tired toward the end but this was to be expected, considering it was their first game. The winning team shot 32, which was quite unbelievable so we have little bit of work to do before next year. Well done to all the boys and thanks to Michael Fry for driving the boys out and scoring for Team 1 for the 9 holes.
Richard E, Harry M and Filippo P have recently received a commendation for a song they entered in the Australian Children’s National Song Writing Competition. The song was recorded at school in PLT (Personal Learning Time) by the students and Jon Delaney (FHS instrumental teacher).
Congratulations to all involved on their fantastic achievement.
We entered the Australian Children's Music Foundation National Song Writing Competition about 2 months ago – we actually wrote the songs in Term 1. We entered four songs and two of them were highly commended. There were first, second and third prizes, then two highly commended entries. Year 9 and 10 students from all across Australia entered, over 1,000 entries all together.
Our songs were called ‘Koolest Guy Around’ and ‘Nightmare’, both written by Richard (words and music), then Fil and Harry expanded on the guitar riffs and the drums. We all wrote them together, really.
We recorded with Jon Delaney and submitted discs of our work. We thought the recording on some of the songs was not the highest quality because we didn’t really know the editing program.
The songs were judges by Jenny Morris, Marcus Holden, Mark Callaghan, Rebecca Henry and Don Spencer. The website has a lot more information - www.acmf.com.au
Right now we’re recording a new song called ‘Truth of War’, with us playing as a band and string parts added. This is written by all of us.
Richard E and Harry M
As part of the Advance Program Year 9 students have participated in a five week circus skills program with Westside Circus. This is a local community outfit under threat of closure (due to funding cuts) so it was nice to be able to support them and build community links, as well as to learn some new skills and have fun too.
The Advance Program for Year 9 aims to promote teamwork, provide training, get involved in community work and also improve teenage physical fitness. The circus was a good vehicle for all of these. Some highlights – the kids loved the trapeze and watching them ‘do the mermaid’ gave us a lot of laughs. The juggling was pretty good and many students actually achieved the three-ball trick. Some did the four balls with two people trick. There was lots of tumbling, a mini tramp and the rope ladder. The photo shows Tash doing the mermaid. Rachel Dean |
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The school has been successful in obtaining a grant for over $40,000 to enable the use of recycled water in the change rooms and to water the kitchen garden and other areas around the gymnasium. The Built and Natural Environment Committee is overseeing this and other grants we have received and if interested I would encourage community members to attend meetings of this group. There is one tonight at 6:00 p.m. in my office.
Our aims are not only to have the school become more environmentally sustainable but also have students be active participants in a sustainable future.
The work in the gymnasium should start in early December for completion before the 2008 school year. The main building work will begin early in the new year. Again, if interested, the Built and Natural Environment Committee will be supervising both projects.
We have a small number of Year 11 students sitting Year 12 exams in the next fortnight. Good luck to all those involved who have worked extremely hard this year.
Students in Year 11 have chosen their subjects for next year and Year 12 units are set. Year 10 students are making their final choices at the moment. As I have mentioned previously we have been able to significantly expand the number of subjects offered at the senior level. Students at these levels and Year 10 are also able to include a wide range of VET subjects.
All VCE students for 2008 will be expected to purchase texts via a booklist which has been finalised and will be distributed during our transition fortnight.
All Year 10 and 11 students are expected to take part in our VCE transition program in the second half of November. They will be introduced to the subjects they will be studying next year.
I enjoyed my time at the school formal. Congratulations to the students who organised the event and those who attended a very successful night.
Congratulations to the Year 9 and 10 students who represented the school so well at the recent zone finals in basketball at Coburg Stadium. On the day I saw a committed, disciplined team who showed a high level of skill. Once again we missed out on the state finals by one game, losing to a school that has four times the number of students that we have.
Tim Fitzgerald
Principal
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Full of confidence after our district championship win the Fitzroy High School Year 9 and 10 Basketball team embarked on the Northern Zone finals. Our first game saw us pitted against a determined Viewbank team. In a game that ebbed and flowed the boys took control early in the second half to establish a 10 point lead. However Viewbank fought back and when Michael fouled out it looked like we might be in some trouble. Some outstanding shooting from Liam (5 three pointers) and leadership from Nick M and Viv M down the stretch ensured that we did not lose our composure. In the end it took a free throw from Liam to grind out a hard fought win 36-35. With a win under our belt we headed to our favoured court 1 to face Whittlesea. The boys looked slow and rusty early on and were being outplayed by our opposition. The boys cranked up their defence, lead by Toby, and Nick started to make some shots which helped. All of the boys got into the game as we run out to a 16 point victory. |
This set up a showdown with a Mill Park team rated 3rd in the state in 2006. The boys jumped out of the blocks and had the Mill Park boys on their heels as Liam continued to hit from his ‘favourite corner’. We were out to a 12-0 lead before Mill Park settled into their game. The boys continued to press hard but were outplayed by a very good team. The boys fought to the end going down by 28 points. It should be remembered that Mill Park had beaten their two other opponents by 62 and 65 points.
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By finishing a clear 2nd at this stage of the competition the boys are ranked in the top 16 teams in all of Victoria. For our Year 9 boys Blake, Dom, Michael and Toby it is the second time in two years they have been ranked this highly. All of the boys worked hard throughout the competition training up to 4 times a week at school and coaching themselves in many situations in both training and games.
As a school that draws on about 160 students for this team we have managed to defeat many schools who are much larger than us, this is a tremendous achievement by the boys. It has been a pleasure to work with all of the ‘basketballers’ this year and I look forward to working with them again next year.
Congratulations to the team: Blake, Dom, Elliot, Gareth, John, Liam, Michael, Nick, Nick (official scorer), Toby and Viv.
Ben Johnstone-McCloud
The School production, Blood Brothers opens in two weeks. As part of props and furniture we need a small cot or bassinette, a stethoscope, a broken old wooden chair, or broken old piece of furniture. If you can help out with any of these items, could you please contact Helen M, email: helenm@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au.
We have called rehearsals at school for the next two Saturdays – 10 November and 17 November. We require A FULL CAST for these rehearsals. It is a little scary that we open in two weeks but have not had a full cast attend scheduled rehearsals.
Rehearsals are from 12 noon until 4pm for cast and band. If anyone has a problem attending please see Helen Mutkins or Tom Hoyle.
Finally, thanks to the cast and band for some amazing work so far. We would really like to acknowledge great commitment, especially as a lot of rehearsals are outside of school hours. WE ARE NEARLY THERE!
Tickets are on sale at the Fitzroy High School Office. Click on the link for Ticket Order Form.
Helen Mutkins
On Monday, Indigo held a ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. Eschewing tea and scones for the more familiar tradition of a barbeque, we enjoyed snags and vegie burgers, ate lamingtons, and experienced Iced Vo Vos. The excursion formed part of our exploration of the notion of Australian Identity. Many students climbed the rock, which was a fascinating experience, whilst others enjoyed the sunny day playing cricket and tennis. Students were asked to reflect on their experience of Hanging Rock using descriptive language.
The wind blew harshly, its cold arms scraping bare the hollows of rock and shrub. The stone spires stretched their points to the sunny sky, as if to warm themselves from their cold petrified existence. In contrast to these bright heights, shadows lay below cliff and overhang, never to see light or life. But “never” is not very long today, with the tramping of shoes echoing upwards. Some people have arrived, bringing movement to the normally sullen peak. They move through the traverses and the secret passages in this curved and liquid maze, stomping on little shoots taking in their first gleam of sunlight. They climb onto the sulking rocks, and holler into the vast windy silence.
Josh P
I stood upon the edge alone,
The cool wind in my hair,
And the smooth stone beneath my feet,
Gazing out on the world in silent content,
Entranced by the timeless spell of the rock,
The last haven of complete serenity,
Where time has no meaning.
Jordan D
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I am free. Complete, whole and alone. A breathless feeling washes over me as I look out to the hills. This is the world, the whole world, now that I am here watching it. The wind plays with my hair as it passes by, then rushes down through the trees and across the plains. I turn and look at the rock. It is beautiful, unique and mysterious. I think of it as a castle, with turrets and towers, the trees are kings. I will be sad to leave. Tilly H A path goes up, leading you away from where you were. It points you in the safest direction but as you get higher you stop wanting to follow. Leaping from rock to rock feeling the different textures beneath your feet. Getting a sense of what and who passed before you, slipping on rocks worn smooth by winter long gone. Looking at something so old was like staring into the past. Creeping through the gaps between the rocks and looking out at the surroundings. How much would have changed in the years gone past, apart from the number of trees? The rocks were wild. They gave no hint of their secrets but let you imagine why they were what they were. Jessie |
While I stand on the edge, I look down and see my life flash before me as the wind pushing my hair back gets stronger and stronger, I have to stand back. When you see the hanging rock and all the trees it makes you feel adventurous, you start to walk up the path and then you notice all the hidden sections and other parts and you feel as though you’re in a fairytale and you have that urge to be a little bit rebellious and take a risk, you just want to follow the rail and see were it takes you. Once you’re finally at the top, you stand on the highest rock in absolute silence and you look at the world differently and you get a better perspective on life as it is. When you’re up there you can just escape reality and go off to that place perfect place where nothing can go wrong and you leave as a different person.
What you get out of this trip is so much better then any other experience, you can do everything at hanging rock; it’s perfect as a place to escape, to clear your head and to get a grip on what life really is and what it means. It is the perfect fairytale you would read in a storybook, and it even has the fairytale ending, it’s perfect! You don’t know what perfect really is until you go here.
Renay B
The wind tore at me like a hungry beast, threatening to pull me into the gaping jaws of a chasm. As I looked out across the meadows, occasionally dotted by trees, I wondered what it would have looked like a century ago. The lush green fields replaced by secluded, dark forests. The sound of the wind whistling through the rocks, a banshee wailing to be released.
As I scaled down the rock my fingers brushed against some lichen. I closed my hand and curious, I broke off a few pieces. It crumbled away like the lichen was a desert, swept this way and that like the unruly wind. I descended down the mountain, and the dry rocky environment gave way to the luscious secluded forest as I had imagined it while sitting atop the rock.
Dan L
I could hear the sound of nature, the bird’s wings flapping at their sides, the rustle of leaves against the wind and the voices of the children exploring each cave. I could taste water in the air as it carved around my body, the taste of nature and everything around it. I could feel the sharp jagged rock pierce my skin, the sun shining down on me to show me the way. I could see the ethereal beauty of the way each line of the rock formed, the sight of nature all fresh and unharmed, the way the trees and flowers swayed side to side like a ship on the open ocean.
Izzy S
On Tuesday this week, the year 8’s went Fusion Dance School with a great teacher, Jacinta. We did some dancing routines and it was a lot of fun. A lot of people joined in the confidence circle at the end of the lesson, showing off some great individual moves. Jacinta (the dance teacher), said that Fitzroy had a lot of talented dancers and that we gave 150% throughout our one hour class. John P
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After some initial anxiety, the mango fundraiser for the Kitchen Garden has been a runaway success! We ended up selling 232 boxes of mangoes, which will fill the school with their exotic aroma in mid December. An exact date will be provided as soon as we are made aware of it. The fantastic sum of $1160 was raised for the garden, which will go towards building our outdoor shelter and the construction of seating to curve around the blossom circle. Without these funds these projects would be a lot more difficult, if not impossible, so we would like to offer a huge thank you to all of those parents and community members who have supported our cause. The garden is looking fantastic at the moment, and the first harvesting of lettuce and spinach has been providing food tech classes with fresh, organic salad ingredients. Please feel free to wander in and have a look at what we are up to, and stay tuned for the date of our launch this term! |
Telephone:
9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 • info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au •
Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068 |