Grammar School in Brighton VIC
Our boys have worked hard to construct creative and challenging products and have worked after school and on the holidays to get their pieces finished. We congratulate this year’s cohort for a successful year of building and folio work. I hope you all get to enjoy some family time together over these holidays. Good luck to our Year 12s as they commence the final stages of their Year 12 journey with the trial exams during the holidays. Congratulations also to the F1 in Schools team for their skill in not only making to the world finals in Singapore this week, but for their excellent results.
Samson Adams, our 2016 Wilson House School Captain, spoke fondly of memories of his Junior School days. It was certainly a buzz for our Early Learning Centre boys to high-five the Year 12s as they entered the Junior School. All Junior School boys and staff have enjoyed participating in our Year 12 end of year celebrations. From 2020, the final transition year, ‘old’ second-hand uniform items will no longer be available for sale. We expect stocks of ‘new’ second-hand uniform items will gradually increase throughout the year.
The year level was split across both campuses with the day filled with a mixture of academic classes as well as relationship-building activities. Highlights for the year 7s included exploring each other’s school environments and getting to know each other. The spotlight has been on Science this week with many fantastic events happening around the school to celebrate Science Week. The visit from ‘Rookeepers Wild Display’ was a highlight, with the week being capped off tomorrow with rocket launches on the Crowther.
Thank you to Hayley Blakiston for her organisation and to all Music staff for their continued great work with our budding musicians. On Tuesday evening, our Beginner/Training Strings, Concert Band and Choir ensembles performed at St Andrew’s Church. The standard of performances was outstanding considering this was for many boys their first concert. Many boys commented on how good the refurbished spaces looked and how they loved their time in the Junior School and were happy to come back and walk down memory lane.
Raffle tickets will be on sale from Monday 20 March until Tuesday 4 April. Prep – Year 6 will be able to purchase from the playground before school or by placing tickets in an envelope in the box at reception. Prof Englar-Carlson and I were both interviewed on ABC Radio’s Drive earlier this week about our Positive Masculinity program at BGS.
For those who gift $1000 or above, there is an opportunity to have your name be a part of the new Crowther multipurpose space. All gifts are tax deductible thanks to the Australian Sports Foundation. This adjoins the current site of Brighton Grammar’s early learning centre. The subterranean contaminants on the school grounds had been “capped” with clean soil to a depth of 35 to 60 centimetres to “prevent dermal contact”, the EPA said.
As you can imagine, significant differences and challenges arise on these programs for our boys. This year we look to continue to forge strong ties with our sister school, Firbank Grammar. The first of our combined events is being held tomorrow with the Year 12s holding a trivia night. Swap days with the Year 7 and 8s proved to be highly successful last year and we look forward to continuing this engagement throughout 2023 as the boys and girls participate in classroom activities for the day. Last week we celebrated the top scholars of 2022 at our Scholars’ Assembly. I would also like to note the academic achievement of two current Year 12 students who were awarded Top of the State Honours in 2022 – Tom Gianatti, Geography and David Yang, Chinese Second Language Advanced.
Our Year 10 boys will be departing for their AWAKE program on Tuesday 28 February. They will experience the outdoors both together and alone, connecting and building their relationships with each other and themselves. The year 11 students were initially suspended, but on Wednesday, the school said they were no longer students at Brighton Grammar. Every year the ELC hosts exciting events in which we invite you to join your son.
We discussed that although it is the day of greatest darkness, Solstice is also a time of great hope for the sun’s rebirth. As we embark on this holiday break, I hope you have the opportunity for some downtime as we can all benefit from practising self-care. All in the BGS community have worked hard to keep our boys engaged, active and positive, both academically and emotionally.
It is rewarding to see our boys respond to the various challenges they face whilst on camp; homesickness, change to routine, different food and sleeping arrangements and activities that may take them out of their comfort zone. These experiences build the boys’ resilience, and they have great support from staff and their friends. Work out a daily timetable that incorporates all his activities and interests. Explain that while your son is responsible for his learning, you as parents want to be involved and look forward to hearing all about his day.
New friendships and team rapport with more than 50 Victorian metropolitan and regional secondary school swimmers (able-bodied and multiclass) and competed as one team against the other States and Territories. With students from Years 5 to 12 participating in APS Sport competition, all boys have the opportunity to develop a healthy attitude towards competition and teamwork. Firbank Grammar School is a very highly rated combined school in Brighton, Bayside VIC. The private school has 1115 students with a student-to-teacher ratio of 1 to 8. I recommend parents attend next week’s Building Student Engagement webinar, the latest workshop offered in our unique Crowther parent program series, to learn strategies on how to help your son be engaged in all aspects of his life. This term always highlights the development and growth that has been mastered throughout the year, and although it is such a rewarding reflection, it also brings us to the realisation of the boys transitioning to their next step.