NGHS ESU - Presidents' Reports President NGHS ESU - Colleen Potts OAM (1958 Leaving Certificate)

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