Day: December 14, 2016

HSC results 2016: Parramatta students top the state: The full list of First In Course


THE top achievers for the HSC have been announced across 74 schools.

One hundred and twenty nine First In Course certificates were handed out this afternoon, with 34 going to government schools and 40 going to Catholic and Independent schools.

Eleven students from the Parramatta and Cumberland areas placed first in the state in an HSC subject.

Jamie Lipsham, 18, from Cerdon College in Merrylands, took out first in entertainment industry examination, which she said has helped her realise what she would like to study after high school.

“I want to study a double degree in sound design when I go to university, so having this course available has meant I could see what it was like, and I really liked it.

“I was so stocked when I found out I was first,” she said.

“I think a lot of the students would say that having a fun class, with great teachers helps get good results, that’s what happened for me.”

Trent Hugler from Parramatta High School claimed first in ancient history, Mona Al-Sulaiman from Al-Faisal College in Auburn was first in Arabic continuers, and Jimin Cha, from The King’s School placed first in Chinese continuers.

“It feels like a weight off my mind,” Jimin said.

“I can say that I did my job for my school and my teachers by doing well.”

Sydney Grammar School was awarded seven certificates, while Fort St High School had four students receive the honour.

Faces of the future. Some of the 129 students who topped their subjects in the 2016 HSC course.

James Ruse Agricultural High School also had four, while Sydney Girls High School had three students receive certificates.

James Ruse High School in Carlingford had four students receiving awards including first in chemistry, Rohan Krishnaswamy; first in mathematics extension 2, Kevin Xian; first in economics, Spencer Hu; and first in information processes and technology, Albert Fung.

Other top students include Alessandro Sobral, first in studies of religion 1 from Parramatta Marist; Cindy Li, first in English as a second language from Carlingford High School and Maryam Mehrabani, first in Persian background speakers from Arthur Phillip High School.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said: “This is a proud day for all the students who archived a First in Course result, as well as for families and their teachers,” he said.

“It is an incredible achievement.”

DOWNLOAD THE FULL FIRST IN COURSE LIST HERE

He used the opportunity to point to reforms being introduced from next year which will require Year 9 students to achieve a Band 8 in NAPLAN to be able to sit the HSC.

THE 2016 HSC ALL-ROUND ACHIEVERS LIST (PDF)

“It’s always about preparation, can we help students be better prepared for their HSC … Yes we can,” he said.

“It’s about making sure students have the fundamentals in early high school, if you have that preparation right … The stress on you is going to be less.”

The top achievers for the HSC have been announced across 74 schools.

One standout was 16-year-old Finnegan Waugh who sat the HSC maths exam in Year 11 and managed to top the subject.

The St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, student was described as “incredibly bright”.

“Throughout the course Finn was always humble, polite, hardworking and generous to his peers,” his teacher Magdy Habib said.

Remembering the Kalavryta Holocaust – December 13, 1943

Today, one of the worst atrocities in all of World War II history is remembered, when over 1,200 male residents of the town of Kalavryta and surrounding villages were gunned down on a hillside overlooking the town by the Nazi German invaders.


In November 1943, the German 117th Jäger Division began an operation to root out Greek guerrilla fighters in the mountainous area surrounding Kalavryta. During the operation, 77 German soldiers were captured by Greek rebels and killed. The German command responded ferociously, ordering a harsh reprisal operation signed and ordered by Karl von Le Suire on December 10, 1943.

The operation began from the coastal area of Achaea in Northern Peloponnese as German troops marched towards Kalavryta, burning every village in their path and murdering civilians along the way.

When they arrived in Kalavryta, they locked all women and children in the town’s school and ordered all male residents 12 years old and older to a hillside overlooking the town, where they were made to stand in a straight line and gunned down with machine gun fire.

Almost 500 men and boys were gunned down in this single incident, which began at 2:35pm on December 13th. Since that moment, the hands of the town’s main church have not moved— leaving an impression on visitors to recall the exact time the atrocity took place.

Following the mass murder of these innocent civilians, the Nazis went on a rampage, burning more than 1,000 houses and looting and burning every building in the town. The following day the Nazi troops burnt down the Monastery of Agia Lavra, a landmark of the Greek War of Independence.

The school where the women and children were assembled was set on on fire by the Nazis but they broke windows to try to escape. The Germans tried to beat them back inside, but ultimately allowed them out, according to the town museum. Other accounts speak of a sympathetic Nazi who unlocked the doors and let the prisoners out, where they scattered into the surrounding brush.

The German occupation of Greece was one of the most brutal in Europe, according to noted historian and author Mark Mazower, whose book “Inside Hitler’s Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-1944.” remains a main go-to book for Greek World War II history.

Numerous survivor-account books have been written about the Kalavryta Holocaust including Hitler’s Orphan: Demetri of Kalavryta by Marc Zirogiannis, and Just Another Man: A Story of the Nazi Massacre of Kalavryta by Andy Varlow.

In 2007, then film student Alethea Avramis was awarded a prestigious award for Best Honors Thesis entitled “Kalavryta, Greece, and December 13, 1943.” Avramis, now an award-winning filmmaker shot a short documentary film called The Last Widow, featuring an interview with Efthymia Vaya, the last remaining widow survivor from the massacre. Her project was an in depth analysis of the tragic events leading up to the massacres.

Source: GREGORY PAPPAS 

Hunter students top Higher School Certificate 2016

Three Hunter students have received first place in the state in their subjects
HUNTER students have outsmarted thousands across the state to receive first place in a range of HSC subjects.

Alexander Young from Newcastle Grammar topped the state in Music 1.

Hannah O’Callaghan from All Saints College St Mary’s Campus received first place in Studies of Religion 1.

Olivia Cowie from Maitland Grossman High came equal first in the Entertainment Industry exam.

The students were awarded at a ceremony in Sydney on Wednesday.

Students will receive their HSC results online, by email and through text from 6am on Thursday.

Students will receive their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank from 6am on Friday.

Source: SMH

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