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NGHS ESU - Presidents' Reports
President NGHS ESU - Colleen Potts OAM
(1958 Leaving Certificate) |
NEWCASTLE GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL EX-STUDENTS UNION
PRESIDENT REPORT OCTOBER 2023
Now that most of us have received our 5th Booster we are learning to live with COVID and have settled into the new norm.
In the stressful economic environment in which we find ourselves we were able to keep our 2023 Luncheon at 2022 pricing. Many thanks to South's and their new caterers for making this possible.
We welcomed 185 ex-students to our Reunion Luncheon on Saturday September 9.
The continuous Tea / Coffee Station from 11.00am till 5.00pm was a much appreciated addition and many ladies continued to catch up and renew friendships long after the close of the formal proceedings.
Carolyn refined her online Invitation and Ticketing process and everything ran smoothly. Thank you Carolyn for all those hours of work on our behalf.
Our Guest Speaker, Laraine Dunn gave an entertaining account of her experiences riding her bicycle, solo, over long distances in Australia and the UK.
We used South's Audio System to play our CD of the Anthem by the Royal Military College Duntroon then the traditional piano accompaniment to the School Song <1929 followed by the School Song post 1929 for the Passing Parade. We then all stood and sang our School Song and Auld Lang Syne .
Sadly only one of our 1940's Ex-students was able to attend the Reunion Luncheon this year but it was wonderful to be able to welcome so many of our 1970's Ex-students. Let's hope these numbers continue to grow.
It may have been because the tables were set very close together but there was a distinct buzz of excitement in the atmosphere the entire afternoon.
On Sunday morning Dr. Janene Rosser, Principal of Newcastle High School, Hosted a magnificent Morning Tea in the NHS Cultural Centre, formally NGHS Hall.
130 Ex-students listened to Janene's vision for the school, the DET plans for the re-build and other school information during her power point presentation followed by a well received Q and A session.
The ladies then wandered through the Halls, Offices and Class Rooms of the old NGHS building thinking of years gone by - this walk down memory lane was appreciated by all who attended.
Joy Conner represented NGHS Ex-students Union at the NHS Year 12 Graduation Ceremony in September and presented our awards to the Captains and Outstanding Academic Achiever for 2023.
The Committee decided to present a boxed medal, engraved with the NGHS Badge and a cheque for $100.00 as the award to each recipient .
With our Heritage Items from the cabinet safely stored in the Museum we had to remove our cabinet from Staff House at NHS as Staff House will be demolished during the re-build. A purpose build display wall for Heritage Items will form part of the new NHS Entry. As the cabinet was no longer required at the school, the committee donated it to a very grateful Stockton Historical Society to house their memorabilia.
Now that Internet Banking has become the norm the Committee decided that it would be prudent to have all the Executive able to authorise on the Greater Bank Account. Two signatures are required per transaction. Negotiations are underway with the Greater Bank New Lambton.
Thank you for being part of the NGHS Ex-students Union Committee and supporting me throughout 2023.
I look forward to working with you all again in 2024.
I wish you all a healthy, happy family Christmas .
Colleen Potts OAM
President
Newcastle Girls High School Ex-students Union
OCTOBER 2022
PDF
We have endured yet another year of challenges, frustrations and uncertainty worldwide with the different strains of COVID bringing restrictions, varying isolation rulings and mandatory mask wearing.
2022 has seen most of us not just double vaccinated but in addition having received two booster shots.
Life is slowly becoming more like normal as we learn to live with COVID.
As visitors were still not allowed on campus when school returned in February, Dr. Janene Rosser, Principal of NHS, meet with me off site at "The Barn" in Adamstown.
Janene showed me the DET Plans for the rebuild of NHS (which were still under wraps)
and estimated that the work would begin mid 2023. I negotiated access to the school
for Robin Gordon and Carolyn Rigby to complete their Inventory of the NGHS Heritage Items housed on the NHS Campus.
Carolyn documented our Heritage Items, complete with colour photographs, into two categories -
1. Items in the Caesar Smith Collection
2. Items which narrate part of the History and Fabric of the school but are not part of the Caesar Smith Collection.
I wrote a covering Heritage Statement outlining the responsibility for managing and regulating those Heritage Items stating that the Items in the Caesar Smith Collection were given to the City of Newcastle and are currently managed by the Newcastle Museum . Thus the items in the Cabinet in Staff House are on loan from the Museum.
This culminated in an 18 page Document that was tabled, passed and adopted by NGHS Ex-Students Union at our March 19 Meeting. A copy of the Document signed by President Colleen Potts, Vice President Carolyn Rigby and Patron Robin Gordon was presented to Dr. Rosser to be kept at NHS and consulted during the DET rebuild.
Judy Lindsay continues to work with the NBHSOBA at the Newcastle Library cataloguing and digitising NGHS memorabilia.
We removed the Caesar Smith Collection from our cabinet in NHS Staff House and our Historians, Judy Lindsay and Judi Cooper, presented a magnificent display of items from this collection at our September Reunion Luncheon. The cabinet collection will be safely housed in the Museum until items can be on loan again at NHS after the completion of the DET rebuild. We will continue to display memorabilia at our annual reunion luncheon.
On September 10, 190 Ex-students enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of friendship and trips down memory lane. South Newcastle Leagues Club looked festive with Red and Blue Balloons and the new caterers presented excellent alternate drop of mains and deserts. The Tea / Coffee being available till 4.30pm and the display of Heritage Items ensured that our ex-students stayed to chat long after the official part of the reunion luncheon had finished.
Carolyn streamlined the Invitation & Ticketing Process this year with a combination of Online & Australia Post .
Our guest speaker, Pauline Chiarelli gave a very entertaining account of her life's journey from her school days.
Dr. Janene Rosser gave a PowerPoint presentation of her vision for NHS and outlined the proposed DET demolition and rebuild of parts of NHS. The NGHS Heritage building facing Parkway Avenue, the original NGHS Hall and the brick Hunter High building will remain. A new three storey building designed to blend in with the current Heritage building will be erected on the corner of Parkway Avenue and National Park Street and a two storey Basketball/ Multipurpose Centre will be constructed on the corner of Smith Street facing National Park.
When completed the school will house 1400 students.
Dr. Janene Rosser was presented with a copy of the book " The Lost Poems" to be kept at NHS.
This year all ex-students received a NGHS Crest Bookmark with our website details so they could go online and view more Photos and Images of our Memorabilia and read through the Documents .
South's no longer have a piano available in the Windsor Terrace so we had to turn to recorded music on CD. Through South's audio system, I played a rousing rendition of the Anthem by the Royal Military College Duntroon then the Traditional Piano accompaniment to The School Song < 1927 for the Passing Parade followed by The School Song post 1927 and Auld Lang Syne.
Bookings have been made with South's for Saturday September 9th, 2023 and Saturday September 14th, 2024.
2024 will be the 70th NGHS Ex-students Reunion Event.
In 2023 we will be offering a " NHS Afternoon Tea and Walk Through The School " on Sunday September 10th as part of our Reunion Celebrations
On behalf of our Ex-students Union, I presented our three Engraved Glass Awards at the NHS Year 12 Assembly held in the school hall on September 23rd. One for each
School Captain and one for Outstanding Academic Achievement 2022.
Thank you for being part of our Ex-students Union Committee and supporting me throughout another challenging year. Thank you to our executive, Carolyn, Joy, Robyn and Dianne.
A special thank you to Steve Smith for his advice and assistance in setting up the new online invitation and ticketing process which received many comments of support.
I look forward to 2023.
Wishing you all a healthy, happy, family Christmas
Colleen Potts OAM
President
NGHS Ex-students Union
PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2021 - PDF
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