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High Notes, Vol 27 No 31, October 16 2026

From the Principal

Welcome back to Term 4

This week the Year 12 students are sitting examinations for a wide variety of courses. We all wish them the best of luck during the stressful weeks ahead. I trust they will check in with each other and communicate with their teachers for any assistance they may need. The curriculum for 2027 will be firmed up during the next few weeks, so students need to concentrate on choosing the most appropriate subjects or courses that align with their abilities and interests.

Staff Changes for Term 4

I will go on leave again as from Monday, November 2 for the rest of the term. Mr George Barris will be relieving Principal. Mr John Prorellis is on leave until Monday, October 26 and Ms Sarah Kim is relieving as Head Teacher Administration. Ms Natalie Luu remains as relieving Deputy Principal for Years 8,10 and 12; Ms Kerryn Ibbott continues as relieving Deputy Principal for Years 7, 9 and 11; Mr Jeremy Ohlback stays on as relieving Head Teacher, Teaching and Learning; and Mr Matthew Hood stays as relieving Head Teacher Science.

High Talent

Chris Li (11S) is a Gold Medal winner in the National History Challenge for 2026. His entry was deemed best in New South Wales in the Sport category. Congratulations on your fine achievement, Chris!

I am pleased with the popularity and success of the highly regarded Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, managed for our students by Ms Joanna Chan and delivered by an outside provider. Recent awardees were Sajan Thiagalingam (Gold); Max Feng, Caleb Ma, Christian Paipetis, Zihan Chi, Ryan Zhao (silver); Nadisha Don, Dhanush Ganapathy, Justin Ip, Jad Jaber, Jackson Lai, Vincent Lee, Robert Lei, Chi Ling, Charlie Liu, Danny Long, Justin Mao, Jason Nguyen, Ahad Rahman, Ahaan Sharma, Krishna Soundapparaju, Tavish Tewari, Justin Vuong, Abeeshnan Varathan and Eric Zeng. Well done, lads! During the holidays, sailing ace, Ben Hunter, competed in the Australian Youth Regatta and placed 3rd in his class at the under 23 level. Great result, Ben!  Our State Finalist in the JSSA (Junior Secondary Speaking Award) being held in Parliament House, is Marcus Tong (7T). An impressive effort!

Foundation Day Assembly 2026

My speech to the assembly is reprinted below:

"Good morning to our special guest, Mr Michael Christie SC (SHS – 1976), parents of Prefect Interns, staff and students, welcome to our Foundation Day Assembly. We also welcome; School Council Life Governors – Mr Geoff Andrews and Mr Dennis Briggs; Ms Jocelyn Yem (SBHS P&C President); Professor Ron Trent (SBHS School Council President); Old Boys Union representative Mr Fred Bolling; Order of Australia recipients – Professor Minas Coroneo AO, Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Kellerman AO (SHS-1942), Mr Chris Brown OAM, Mr Graham Gard OAM; Mr Jin Shim (School Captain 2025), Mr Liam Nottage (Vice Captain 2025); Past Senior Prefects - Mr John Fang (2025), Mr Ron Schwarz (1962); the SGHS 2027 School Captain, Ms Ashling Considine, Vice- Captain, Ms Jenny Zhou and Senior Prefect, Ms Vivienne Zhang; and finally, the Class of 1976 - Dr Ian Kamerman, Mr Chris Kyriacou, Mr Steve McFarlane, Mr David Morrow, Mr Simon Swifte, Mr Steve Wells and Mr John Wing.

"As close as possible to the day our school opened on October 1, 1883, we try to hold an assembly to celebrate our traditions, reflect upon our vision and values and to pass on the leadership baton to a new cohort of school leaders. Customarily, I have used this occasion to highlight High achievements and people from 50 years ago, in order to make the case for our intergenerational continuity of ethos at High. The attendance today of such a large number of Old Boys from many different decades, makes a strong affirmation about the impact of the High experience for all of us here today.

"We were established to send matriculants to the University of Sydney, the only university in Sydney at the time. Once the school established a routine, the student body wanted to play organised sports. The student union was the driving force because, initially, teachers were not allowed to participate, so our self-help culture was born. I believe we still have that personal responsibility attitude to learning in respect of our total curriculum. We have a long and consistent history of high academic achievement. Our membership of the GPS since 1906 demonstrates our commitment to sport. We moved locations twice to gain better access to sports fields, in order to join. I have felt that our school pride and hopeful positivity have grown over the last twenty-seven years of my principalship.

"Margaret Wheatley is an American academic who specialises in corporate leadership and management. She made an observation which resonates with me: ‘there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about’. At High, we care about nurturing scholar-sportsmen, we also care about enlarging ourselves through co-curricular activities. Through our developing relationships with our teammates, coaches, teachers and our contributing parents and Old Boys - we have built our community capacity to change lives for the better. To do that, we have cared for each other consistently and built lasting relationships. Our successful 75-and- 50- year reunions of Old Boys, demonstrate the longevity of valued relationships we develop at High.

"Paul J. Meyer was an insurance salesman who became a millionaire at 27. In that line of work, he must have been extraordinarily adept at quickly forming relationships with his clients. He was sure that ‘communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success’. We offer multiple opportunities for our students to make these human connections. The success of our alumni is a testament to what they learned during their school years about communication and a sense of belonging to a community of purpose. Our history is built upon the foundation of caring for and believing in one another. We are not a ‘swat factory’ but we are a compassionate community supported by our understanding of what we care about. On the 143rd anniversary of our foundation, let us remember what unites us, and where our striving is taking us. It is not in our stars, but in ourselves, where we will find unique ways of how to apply in life, what we cared deeply about while at school."
Dr K A Jaggar
Principal