News+and+Information

Seldon Pulls a Rabbit Out of a Hat
The Balgowlah Boys English faculty rapidly descended into chaos and anarchy on the morning of Friday the 25th of March at approximately 7:42am following a reminder from a raw and inexperienced Brainiac that English were on staff morning tea duty.

The culmination of a highly-stressful two weeks which has included the organisation of assessment tasks, excursions, the Premier's Reading Challenge, ELAN and NAPLAN ensured the response was suitably cynical and at times malicious.

A highly-reluctant Geoffrey Walker- known for his sporadic outbursts expressing his particular displeasure with the morning-tea concept- was quick to make his feelings known and the rest of the faculty all but gave up on holding a successful morning tea.

But lo! When all seems down and the going gets tough, a team inevitably looks to its leader for guidance and inspiration. Benjamin Seldon, fresh from the announcement only a week ago that he would be 'the chosen one' to steer the Balgowlah Boys English Program into academic greatness, was cool, calm and collected. Rumours of him venting his frustrations of the week out on the Brainiac the previous morning proved to be baseless, as Mr Seldon demonstrated a clear capacity to perform under pressure when the stakes are high. "Leave it to me, gents" he insisted, "I'll make this work".

Needless to say, when the bell for 11 o'clock morning tea rang true, a marvellous savoury-based spread was laid out and ready for the entire staff fraternity to consume. A source present at the meeting, who asked to remain anonymous, said he even saw Mr Walker have a slice of banana bread and a chocolate easter-egg or two.

Having made it through his first 'official' week as the Head Teacher of English, Mr Seldon's tireless work-rate and passion for boys' education has the local community excited at the direction the Bally English faculty is heading. Demonstrating poise under pressure, Mr Seldon truly pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

Year 9 Media Project a Success!
The year 9 persuasive writing 'Selling Australia' advertising project in the library this Monday and Tuesday was a great success.

Manfully led by the indefatigable Mr. May, Year 9 produced some excellent media projects utilising a diverse range of ICTs to enable the boys to articulate their personal vision.

In a curious follow up to the day Mr. May dropped the ball completely after 'The Brain', his erstwhile partner in crime over the two days, sent him a dolly pass as the commemorative beverages were being distributed to the faculty staff. Upon receiving a half dozen momentos of Japanese origin, Mr. May seemed to miss the none-too-subtle nudge from the Brain that the particular celebratory beverage in question was his 'favourite'. Seemingly insensible to 'The Brain's' penchant for self effacement, the Maziator took him at his word as Brainy insisted that the May-mobile keep them all because he had 'earned it'

Tragically for the newly appointed HT, this slip up meant he would have to dig into his own reserves to pick up the loose ball. When confronted by the media, Seldon was willing to acknowledge, however, that he had been trying to 'save a few' for himself and that 'really, the boys had earned it'. On the big bucks since Friday, Seldon admitted that the pressure was on to demonstrate largess and that he had failed at the critical time. 'I suspect, however, that the Maziator knew what he was doing all along and pulled a fast one', grumbled the new HT over the phone last night in a direct satellite link up.

Maybe so. Mr May isn't called 'The Ghost Who Walks' for nothing.

The Prodigal Son Returns
Friday March 18th

Logesh Palanikumar returned to Balgowlah Boys on Friday to present a seminar on 'Successful Strategies for English in the HSC'. Logesh placed 20th in the State in the 2010 HSC and has won himself something of a iconic status among this year's current Advanced English cohort.

Logesh offered some insightful tips for the HSC and the boys were very appreciative of the generous manner in which he is willing to help provide assistance for HSC success. 'What a legend!' exclaimed 'Mo-gesh', the student once known as 'Mohess', but who has since altered his public identity as a gesture of admiration for his academic hero.

Logesh's visit was arranged by Mr. Walker, who has been working tirelessly once again to help the students in year 12 achieve their best.

Seeing 'The Loginator' once again brought back some wonderful memories of the last two years for me personally. He was a fantastic student and it was an honor and a privilege to help him achieve such amazing success.

We wish Logesh all the best for the future and look forward with anticipation to having him in the school again.

Logesh's Links: HSC Top Achievers List 2010 //ctrl + f and enter Logesh to scroll to his name.// //Balgowlah success in 2010// //Balgowlah Top 20 in the State//

Romeo and Juliet
Year 8 English/Drama Excursion Friday March 18th

Brought to reality by the industry and leadership of the faculty's latest 'gun', Chris Breheny, the Year 8 boys ventured en masse to the Seymour Centre on Friday to see a performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, staged by the famous Bell Shakespeare Company.

While a great success, the real story lies behind the scenes in Chris Breheny's refusal to 'let this one get away'. Chris ignited the enthusiasm of the boys with his own passion and demonstrated a wonderful capacity for leadership in one so rosy-cheeked, as it were. Also known as 'The Brain', 'The Brainiac' and 'The True Prodigy', Mr. Breheny is something of a local sporting legend. Rumour has it he has made the glamour position of #15 his own at the Manly Marlins and is something of a smash hit with the local mums.

Breheny Links: The Brain 'The Brain' at work