• we use (are still using...)Pentiums® running Windows95® (now Windows98®)or(Win2000®)or (WinXP®)
• HTML code was created and edited with Windows NotePad®
• Code was verified first in Explorer® 3.02 (now 4.0)(now 5.0)(now 5.5)(now 6.0)
• and then rewritten to suit Netscape® Gold 3.02 (now 4.0)(now 4.6)(now 4.76)(now 6.0)(now 7.1) (That grinding sound you hear is my teeth.)
• Most image editing was done with CorelDraw®, Corel PhotoPaint® or Adobe Photoshop®
• Animated GIFs were created with GIF Construction Set ® from Alchemy Mindworks
• Pages are optimised for 1024x768 display. Apologies to users with smaller screens.

What format for images?   Mostly JPEG, because of its superior compression choices for colour images. I've used GIFs for black&white or greyscale images, or if I want a transparent background, or for animations, or for small thumbnails with limited palettes.
In the quest for small image file sizes (I set an arbitrary limit of 50k max, and tried to aim for less than 30k if possible) some of the JPEGs have gone a bit dithery. I am well aware of this, and have carefully balanced quality against file size. If you examine the image file names, you will frequently find a suffix such as "...@40". This refers to the "quality factor" (as expressed by Corel® PhotoPaint) which is a figure from 2 (best) to 255 (grainiest).
Photoshop JPEGs will usually have a suffix "@an", where "n" is a digit from 0 (grainiest) to 10 (best) - although I would not bother with 10, as the file would be too big.

Postscript:   Tripod.com, where an increasing quantity of this site's images are stored, rejects the @ symbol as invalid in a filename. Therefore I have replaced them, where needed, with a dash ( - ).

Post-Postscript:   I have now abandoned the use of any "quality-factor" indication in the filename of JPG images. Any "@ n" suffix indicates an older image.

Post-Post-Postscript:   ...note that any references to Tripod.com are relevant no more. Since this site moved to www.faxmentis.nsw.edu.au, the services of Tripod.com are no longer used.

Post-Post-Post-Postscript:   ...note that any references to www.faxmentis.nsw.edu.au are relevant no more, since this site moved to faxmentis.org.

If you find an image which you particularly like, then email the author and I will, if I can, email you the full quality version... but don't hold your breath. Often the difference is insignificant and certainly not worth the considerable increases in file size (typically tenfold).

Frames?   Oh dear... time for some humble pie. The heading for this section used to be Why no frames? at which stage I prattled on self-righteously about the evils of frames.

So what happened?

Saul-like, I have experienced my conversion on the road to Damascus.
(Actually, I have never been to Syria - unlike many of my students. They continue to teach me many, many things.)
I shall no longer persecutest frames - it is hard for me to kick them at all now. (Acts 9:5 - KJV)

I still maintain that frames:

• chop up valuable screen space into small, difficult-to-manage spaces,
• are inordinately difficult to use well,
• are not supported by all browsers,
• are supported inconsistently by the popular browsers (Well, there's a surprise!)
• encourage messy, or untidy screen layout.

Well, notwithstanding all that, they still provide a very elegant way of keeping the principal navigation buttons visible and accessible at all times.

Sincere apologies to all Frameophobes. I understand. I was one, too... (I still have reservations...)

STOP PRESS
As of 5/2/99 this site now features a "no-frames" option. Simply click the "no frames" button at left and you will be taken back to the "About PHS" page, but without frames (and thus without the navigation buttons.)
At this point I haven't provided the option of staying on the same page and dropping the frames. That will come later.
All pages written after (about) 2000 feature a "break-out-of-the-frames" logo at the foot of the page. Use this to open the current page free of frames.

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Rationale
So... why did we design this site the way we did? (disclaimer)
i.e. What prompted the above technical decisions? Decisions about content and purpose are canvassed in the next section.
After viewing many sites, school-based and otherwise, a number of important considerations became apparent. Sometimes these are conflicting ideals - one may be compromised to enhance another - but they have all had considerable impact on the design of this site.

These considerations may be summarised as:

• The pages must be small enough to download quickly. We've all found it frustrating to wait a seemingly interminable time for a graphic to download (anticipation... anticipation...) only to discover it is a lame rendition of a text-based graphic. Ho-hum. This page breaks the "small" rule, but it is text-intensive to make up for it. It should load very quickly.
• Design of the pages should be uncluttered and easy to read. Background graphics have been kept to a minimum. Colours have been chosen to complement each other. (Although I note the warm "sepia" tone behind the historical images pages is rendered as sickly olive green by some monitor's palettes!)   Observant surfers will note a preponderance of shades of blue in use for backgrounds. This is a deliberate homage to the notion of the two blues.
• Navigation through the site should be painless and reasonably obvious. Hence the navigation buttons in the frame at left. I would expect most experienced users to rely on their "back" buttons. This is a complex and constantly evolving site, with over 644 pages and 1,486 images (over 2131 files!) at the time of writing (18/4/01)- and more coming. All (most) of them small, though! Links on the pages are intended to take you painlessly through the site, with "back" or the navigation buttons as your "safety exit"!
• The geographical location of a site is often expected to be understood as common knowledge. Sadly, I am often in the wrong hemisphere (let alone country) to recognise the name. Hence the possibly-overdone (but I like it) series of diminishing maps linked to the map of Australia on the home page.

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Purpose of the Site
Why is Parramatta High School hosting a site on the WWW?

We are very proud of our history and heritage at P.H.S.   The Heritage Committee at the school saw this site as an excellent vehicle for sharing some of our archive materials (photos and so on) and possibly for contacting and informing ex-students.

A calendar of upcoming events ("Whats On") is updated on a regular basis as a service for the school community.

Our school policies - on welfare, discipline and general administrative matters - are being posted here, again, for the benefit of the school community.

We would like to provide the casual enquirer with an accurate feeling for the physical atmosphere, and appearance of our fine and proud school. We do this through photographs ( aerial, kite-based, stereoscopic, historical and even satellite-based) and through text - mainly represented here by our aforementioned history section.

There is a wealth of information of a general educational nature, too!
The science faculty section features an extensive library of astronomical images taken around the Parramatta locale. We even have portraits of phosphorescent mushrooms!
The TAS faculty features a detailed design brief (please excuse the oxymoron) which describes the design and construction of the Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) rig used to aerially photograph the school.

We occasionally take the opportunity to showcase the work of some of our students. The art faculty has a gallery of students' work, and the TAS faculty is proud to highlight the many triumphs of the solar car team.

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Please bear in mind that opinions expressed on this page are those of the current web page designer.
You may argue with him at his email address.   (Mr J.Ralph, Head Teacher Industrial Arts)   See also below...

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Copyright©:   every effort has been taken to avoid breaches of copyright in the preparation of this site. Images and text have either been created by staff, students or ex-students of Parramatta High School, or are sincerely believed by the staff of Parramatta High School to be in the public domain. Notwithstanding that, should any individual or corporation present a reasonable and justifiable claim to prior and existing ownership of any intellectual property contained herein, please email the page designer and we will immediately remove the item so identified.

Liability:   the staff, students and associates of Parramatta High School can accept no liabilty for any loss or damage; material, financial, physiological or psychological which may be claimed to have occurred due to the electronic publishing of any of the material contained within this site. All reasonable steps have been taken to preserve the privacy of individuals mentioned in this site. Notwithstanding that, we undertake to remove any specific reference to any individuals so named at their request. Please contact the page designer.

Internet Policy:   Following is a brief outline of Parramatta High School's Internet Publication Policy.

This document is a considered reworking of the directions given to us by the Department of Education and Training, expressed in terms that are relevant to our school environment.

In summary:
• No student to be identified by surname (given name only - or anonymous)
• Any student identified must have provided written permission from parent/guardian
  (this includes permission to reproduce their original work)
• Staff photographs will appear only with the individual's written approval
• Photographs will be considered "historical" and therefore not subject to individual approval when the photographs are:
  • 15 years old (for staff and ex-staff)
  • 30 years old (for ex-students)

A student (or any other individual) may appear in a group photograph (unidentified personally) - or a locale illustration - without express permission provided that the image is of a general illustrative purpose, and does not rely on the identity of the individual for its illustrative value.
Notwithstanding the above, any individual may have his or image removed from the site immediately by simply contacting the web designer.

The PHS community is, as usual, invited to contribute to the development of this policy document. You know where to write.

Brickbats and Bouquets: If you have a complaint, a compliment, a suggestion, a question, an answer, notification of typos or grammaticals, or just a general message you would like to share with us, then please email the page designer.

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In issue No.2 of the Parramatta High School Magazine, published in December 1916, the Editress Miss Olive Mott made the following plea:

It delights me that, 83 years later, when the author and all her contemporaries are reduced to the dust from whence they came, that her wish has been fulfilled. The history of Parramatta High School has indeed been brought to life through those very volumes.

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The views expressed in this web page are not necessarily those of the staff of Parramatta High School, or of the NSW Department of School Education and they may even upset Joe, the cleaner... but what the hey... this is the Internet. All material remains the property © of PHS and should be acknowledged if used elsewhere.