Falcon Bulletin - Issue 01

B u l l e t i n

F a l c o n

ISSUE 1

PRINCIPAL REPORT

BY BRIAN FERGUSON

From The Principal

Welcome to 2024, the start of a new year and fresh opportunities for North Sydney Boys. I hope you all had an enjoyable break and were able to recharge with loved ones. This will be another big year and once again I am excited about what we will achieve together as a school community.

A special welcome to our new Year 8-11 students and our 2024 Year 7 cohort, who have just returned from their first camp.

I would encourage parents who have questions or concerns to contact the year advisers of each year group. The year advisers know their students well and are at the forefront of student wellbeing for your child. They will also coordinate with the relevant executive or senior executive where needed.

Lastly, I would like to thank all parents who have helped with our ‘vital eyes’ initiative. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and I am excited to receive your suggestions. We will be reporting any findings to the P&C and the broader school community.

Class of 2023 HSC Results

The Class of 2023 had outstanding success in the HSC. For the first time, North Sydney Boys High School ranked 1st in the state. A total of 158 students sat their HSC in 2023.

Of 955 exams sat, this cohort achieved 639 Band 6s, a success rate of 69%, up from 62.84% the previous year.

Seven students achieved the top ATAR of 99.95; 24 students achieved 99.85 and above.

There were 10 students who achieved state ranks.

And of the 158 students, 146 achieved at least one Band 6 or E4 result with 2 students achieving a phenomenal 8 Band 6/E4 results.

NSBHS ranked first in the state in English.

NSBHS ranked second in the state in Mathematics.

Crawford Shield

We are excited to be hosting this year’s Crawford Shield. Melbourne High School will arrive in Sydney on Saturday 23 March for two days of competition over Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 March. Our teams are busy training and getting ready to take on Melbourne in badminton, basketball, chess, cricket, debating, futsal, lawn bowls, music, table tennis and tennis. Fly, Falcons, fly!

Swimming Carnival

This whole school event will take place on Tuesday 5 March at Auburn Aquatic Centre. Full details and a permission note will be sent to all parents/carers shortly. This is considered a normal school day and we expect all students to attend. This is a great, fun day and everyone is encouraged to enter a race. Students should wear their house colours and cheer on their team to victory!

Harvey Yellow

Hinder Blue

Smith Red

Williams Green

The spirit of collaboration, as well as their generosity with their time and resources, was integral to the success of the Class of 2023. They came together as a cohort, supported each other and worked together to achieve these results.

We held a Celebration Assembly for the Class of 2023 on Friday 9 February to celebrate this exceptional achievement.

Leadership & Enrichment Activity Program

LEAP is a forum that gives students the opportunity to find out about the committees and clubs the school has to offer in addition to their classroom studies. The LEAP Club day will be held on Friday 23 February.

The various extracurricular groups set up their stalls in the hall to promote their committee or club. Musical and drama groups, debating, public speaking, chess, robotics, multimedia, Duke of Edinburgh, computing, history, economics, politics and philosophy clubs are just some of the clubs students can join.

Year 7 Camp

Our new Year 7s have had the opportunity to get to know one another and some of the staff at their inaugural camp at Fitzroy Falls. This is the first camp in the Outdoor Education program which culminates in Year 11 with the ski camp. The boys had a lot of fun and learned many new skills whilst developing friendships.

Welcome to New Staff

We welcome the following new staff in 2024:

Natalie Keyte English

Elias Kwiet English

Joshua Lott Mathematics

Wendy Cai Mathematics

Li Ya Dai CAPA

Eleanor Fattal CAPA

John Cassar Support Unit

Year Advisers

Our Year Advisers for 2024 are:

Year 7

Jacob Parker

Year 8 Ana-Maria Dumitrescu

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

Matt Tran

Emma Dell

Stefania Ross

Vincy Lai

Head Teachers

English

Mathematics

Science

CAPA

Languages

TAS

PDHPE

HSIE

Teacher Administration

Teaching and Learning

Wellbeing

Support Unit

Loveday Recny

Aida Sarofim

Kylie Chan

Jenny Grimley

Kathy Coady

Paul Kennedy

Adele Walker

Stuart Madgwick

Daisy Douglas

Adele Walker

Georgina Willma

Penny Carr

Deputy Principals

Each of our Deputy Principals is responsible for the following year groups:

Year 7 and 10

Year 8 and 11

Year 9 and 12

Michael Iverach

Matthew Dopierala

Yugen Pillay

2024 Term 1 Key Dates

SRC Senior Event 3:45pm

WInter Sport Selection Years 7-11

LEAP Clubs

Year 7 Parent BBQ 2:30pm-4:00pm

School Swimming Carnival

Year 10 Vaccinations

Year 12 Exam Block

Crawford Shield

Easter Weekend

Year 11 Exam Block

Last Day of Term 1

First Day of Term 2

Thursday 22 February

Thursday 22 February

Friday 23 February

Tuesday 27 February

Tuesday 5 March

Thursday 7 March

Monday 11 - Wednesday 20 March

Saturday 23 - Tuesday 26 March

Friday 29 March - Monday 1 April

Friday 5 April - Friday 12 April

Friday 12 April

Tuesday 30 April

KOKUSAI EXCHANGE

BY ALEX LIU, YEAR 11

North Sydney Boys x Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai

At the start of January, 20 students across years 11 and 12 travelled to Japan for the Student Exchange Program. After staying the night in Tokyo, we took a domestic flight to Hiroshima. While in Hiroshima, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where we discovered the profound and devastating impacts of nuclear war. After that, we travelled to Mijajimaguchi-eki to take a cruise to Miyajima Island and tried famous local cuisine such as okonomiyaki and oysters, and took photos with the deer at Miyajima Island. We left Hiroshima for Kyoto via the Nozomi Shinkansen on the Sanyo Line, the fastest train to run in Japan. In Kyoto, we stayed at the Miyako Hotel, which was directly opposite the majestic Kyoto station. The most memorable attraction we visited was the Kiyomizu-dera and the lively shopping street.

As we woke up on the morning of the second week, uncontrollable feelings of anticipation and excitement overwhelmed us. We were looking forward to being reunited with our buddies whom we had only seen five months before. Our buddies greeted us as we arrived and brought us home to settle down. Many went to Tokyo Disneyland for the first time ever the next day. The first day of school we were greeted by teachers, studied and became accustomed to the Japanese school life. Following the 7 periods and one lunch time our hosts escorted us to Akihabara after school. The first snow of Japan this afternoon marked the end of the first day of that enriching week of homestay.

Proceeding this, we visited Harajuku street including many stalls, participated in a traditional tea ceremony run by Kokusai students in their club and unique restaurants. The final day before leaving we went to Shibuya. Walking through the crowded city streets we arrived at the arcade where we spent most of our time. Originally planning to go to karaoke, we were unfortunately denied due to the no under-16 rule after 6pm (no worries Kurumi). Despite that we enjoyed each other’s company and became much closer over the period. The final day came and we were left with laughter, tears and bittersweet memories.

The power of showing up

Do something amazing for your community

Apply today to become a volunteer mentor and support a teenager in a high school near you.

Teenage years are tough –and the time you spend with them now, supporting them through life’s challenges can have a positive impact that can last their lifetime.

Full support and training provided.

127 Falcon Street

North Sydney, NSW, 2060

P: +61 (02) 9955 4748 - E: northsydbo-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au https://northsydbo-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

north sydney boys High School

ISSUE 1