Year 10 Report
After spending ages cogitating over this
somewhat daunting task (we're sweating and our hearts are
palpitating), our Research and Development Task Force has
compared and contrasted previous articles in back copies
of the Fortian to produce a formula for The Perfect Year
10 Report. The vital ingredients, to be passed on future
generations to save them from wasting as much time as we
have, are to be mixed and grounded in the right proportions
to produce a tantalising feast:
- Time (preferably at the expense of
a maths period)
- Previous editions of the Fortian magazine
(preferably with jokes for us to plagiarise)
- METHOD (see, four years of science have
done us some good):
- Complain about (or as Mr Millward would like
us to do, praise) camp food/work/accommodation
- Make fun of the fun that you had doing the School
Certificate
- List out the achievements for the year
- Conclude with soppy recounts of the memories
of the year
Now, a demonstration of what we have just
described.
Despite Year 10 being described as being
a "bludge" - the main event of the year being the basic-skills-test-like
School Certificate - the truth is that Year 10 is pivotal
to one's education. The year is full of crucial lessons
and personal development, imperative to one's survival
as a teenager.
The excursion to Canberra was a fountain
of knowledge in itself, despite us being held up an hour
by someone who got lost (lesson learnt: don't leave home
without a deck of cards!). Our visit was comprehensive,
such as visiting Parliament House (where in the two Houses,
we saw a captivating room of empty chairs but no politicians
- thank God for that!), and the new National Museum of
Australia. We came back of fond memories of the exemplary
organisation and student behaviour (line inserted by Mr
Millward). Lessons learnt: Mr Millward does not sleep and
yes, he is always outside listening.
Excursions played a major part in keeping
the interest of the Year 10 population. One of these was
the Geography field trip to Cronulla, where some of us
managed to get lost at Central Station (we all agreed that
this labyrinth needs a postcode of its own). Learning about
erosion and coastal features was absolutely engrossing;
we also practised methods by which you can dry out your
drenched shoes. The ultimate in scholarly experience, the
movie Pearl Harbor, provided us with a solid foundation
in history, the Japanese language and (ahem...) male/female
dynamics.
Sometimes we even get to use the vast
amounts of knowledge gained over the year. Our opportunity
arose in November, with the School Certificate. Here, we
used the mystical and intricate methods of addition and
subtraction to nail the exam.
A certain person in the grade (cough,
cough) did nothing out of the ordinary this year. He only
won a prize in the Maths Comp, aced the Geography Comp,
thrashed everyone else in the Science and English Writing
competitions, came second in the state in some more maths,
and did alright in the Informatics comp (PRINT "Hello World" for
all you computing students)… nothing much.
We can't ever forget the sporting side
of our grade. Alannah Schuman's home cabinet must be overflowing,
and so must Wister Wu's and the McGuirk family's. We can't
imagine how many foils Jess Brooks must have gone through,
and how many cricket balls our outstanding cricket team
has lost over the past year.
Message from the Research and Development
Task Force: By the time you all read this, we'll be in
year 11. So here's a message for year 11, 2002: No matter
how badly you feel you're coping with responsibility, actual
work etc, don't envy Year 10 - our seating-position at
assemblies (the perfect combination of a good view, and
enough camouflage to gossip) far outweighs any amount of
homework which we must (yes, it's supposed to be done!)
complete.
We hope you're all satisfied with your
SC results. (N.B. Year 10 2002, we'll be checking the next
Fortian for compliance with The Formula)
Enoch Lau and Anna Lucewicz
P.S. We miss you, Fabio! (and the disloyal ones who are
leaving at the end of the year!)
|
