Discovery

Friday, 15 November 2019

Important Dates

Monday 18 November                         Year 3-5 Swimming Program

                                                                 Year 7 Open Water Program

                                                                 Year 7 2020 Orientation Day

Monday 25 November                         Year 3-5 Swimming Program

Thursday 28 November                       Year 9 Duke of Ed Camp

Friday 29 November                             Art Show Opening Night

Monday 9 December                           Year 3-6 Service of Thanksgiving and Presentation of Awards Celebration Evening

Tuesday 10 December                         Senior School Thanksgiving and Presentation of Awards Celebration Evening

Wednesday 11 December                   Last Day Term 4

From the Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Remembrance Day

At 11am on Monday, the Junior and Senior students joined together for a Remembrance Day Service and a minute’s silence. Year 9 student, Shannon Bardou reflected on what Remembrance Day means to her whilst Jacob Payet led the school in singing the National Anthem. 

Two of our elected 2020 School Leadership team members, Max Murphy and Swetha Kumar did a wonderful job representing Casey Grammar and laying a wreath at Greg Clydesdale Square in High Street Cranbourne. 

Remembrance Day is as much about the future as it is of the past and it’s important that we come together to commemorate and pay tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives for us.    

2020 Junior School Staff Update

Due to maternity leave and other staffing updates, including the introduction of an additional stream in Year 2 for 2020, I am pleased to announce the following staffing updates in our Junior School.

Brittany Testro who has been covering a maternity leave role will leave us to embark on an overseas teaching journey with her partner. 

Belinda Roffey will take on a specialist role in the Junior School teaching P-6 Physical Education as well as Religious Education.

To continue to provide exceptional learning opportunities for our students I am pleased to announce that Melissa Lush and Samantha Parnall will join the Junior School as Teaching and Learning Assistants. 

In our Library, Jess Burns will replace Mandy Horton as the Teacher LibrarianJess began at CGS in 2016 as a casual relief teacher in the Junior School before taking on the role of Junior ICT Teacher. 

In addition to the above, we will welcome the following Junior School Teachers:

Samantha Griffin - Samantha holds a Bachelor of Primary Education and her teaching practice to date has been in the upper year levels. Prior to teaching, she was an Australian National Taekwondo Team member and she was the 2010 champion in the Korean National Competition. Samantha designs learning opportunities and provides experiences that target the individual learning needs of all her students. She delivers a contemporary, personalised approach to student learning by encouraging investigation and application of learning. She is looking forward to joining our staff and is excited about the incredible possibilities ahead when working collaboratively with our staff in our new flexible learning centre.

Amy Mepstead - Amy holds a Bachelor of Education P-12 and will become a valued member of our Junior School team. She has held numerous leadership roles in her previous schools and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role. Amy is an enthusiastic, passionate and energetic educator. She believes that for children to grow, learn and achieve their potential, teachers need to explore a wide range of innovative teaching approaches and provide relevant learning opportunities that motivate and engage all children to develop the skills to become lifelong learners who are equipped for the future. She is thrilled to be joining CGS and looks forward to working collaboratively and creatively with fellow staff members.

Chloe Amantea - Chloe is a passionate, hardworking, creative teacher who has five years of experience within the Early Childhood and Education industries. Chloe holds a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and she forms strong, trusting, reciprocal relationships with children and their families. She believes that support and encouragement are paramount to ensuring students grow, learn and flourish. She uses her knowledge of child development and cutting-edge pedagogy to support her students’ holistic education.  Chloe looks forward to creating a rich, inclusive learning environment in her classroom and planning learning experiences that cater for the diverse needs of her students.

Rachel Harrison - Rachel holds a Bachelor of Education and will complete her Masters of Clinical Teaching next month. She is an experienced Junior School teacher having worked across all year levels at schools in Victoria, the Northern Territory and Queensland including the well-respected Townsville Grammar. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise. She is a firm believer in holistic education, personalised learning and ensuring all student learning needs are met and that every student can reach their full potential. Her aim is to create a safe, stimulating classroom enriched by the cultural and social diversity of the CGS community that provides learning opportunities that are rich, relevant, engaging, explicit and collaborative where knowledge, skills and experience are obtained through exploration, research, planning and reflection. She is excited to become a member of our CGS community, not only as a teacher, but also as a parent of a 2020 Prep student.

Our recruitment process across both the Junior and Senior School has been very successful and I am confident our 2020 teaching staff will bring amazing opportunities to our students and provide them with the highest quality education.  I look forward to welcoming our new staff members in the New Year. 

Bushfires

As we enter a very busy time of the year, we can find ourselves caught up in how busy we are, how stressed we are and how hard life is.  However, this week has been a timely reminder to stop and be grateful with the news of over 600 schools in NSW closed due to the possible threat of danger to students and staff arising from the catastrophic bushfires. 

Today, 300 fires continue to burn along the entire coast of NSW and Queensland and 200 of these schools remain closed.  Over 170 houses have been lost, four fire fighters have been injured and three people have lost their lives with some still unaccounted for.

These fires are not in remote areas, and the school students are just like ours. In fact the families losing their homes are just like us.  There are a lot of people hurting, they are losing many precious memories and many of life’s comforts that people work their entire life to acquire.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to the students, staff and families of the effected schools.

Kind regards,

Mr Richard Baird MBA, B.Ed, ASAM, MACE, MACEL

Principal 

2020 Senior School Booklist

The 2020 Senior School Booklists are now available, please click here to download your copy.

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

From the Head of Junior School

I trust our families enjoyed their mid-term long weekend. Due to our Melbourne Cup break, this last fortnight has been action packed given we fitted everything into eight days. Our P-2 students completed their intensive Swimming program during this time. Thanks to Mr Batey for organising this valuable part of our compulsory Physical Education curriculum.

Last week our Assembly was hosted by Mr Medlyn’s wonderful 2M students. They did themselves proud by educating us on how to ensure we have a healthy mind and body. The students explained the importance of healthy eating, regular exercise, getting enough sleep, learning which is good for mind and drinking lots of water. Their song and dance numbers included the pattern song, “Banana, Banana, meatballs” and it was a crowd favourite. Their PowerPoint showcased the wonderful learning that occurs in 2M every day. Congratulations to 2M and Mr Medlyn on a job well done.

On Monday, the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour, our whole school gathered on our school oval for a very moving Remembrance Day Service. Our students learnt about the reasons we pay tribute to our brave fellow Australians who have been involved in many wars in our country’s history.  Our students were a credit to our School and they stood solemnly as Mr Stuart Collidge played The Last Post and The Rouse and all observed a respectful minute’s silence. Thank you to our Chaplain, Mr McKenzie, for organising this Assembly.

Booth hosted this week’s assembly and what a way to start! Each student entered the PAC and made their way onto our big stage proudly reciting their Booth chant. We then learnt about the history of their House and the founder of the Salvation Army, Mr William Booth, who the House is named after. During the Assembly our Booth House Captains proudly presented two fabulous Booth blankets that had been knitted by many Year 3-6 students, to two visiting Salvation Army members. We also enjoyed a singing group, a dance troupe and the assembly finished with a song, We are Family that represented Booth House. Bravo to our Booth students and Mrs Evans. 

Mrs Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

Remembrance Day Service

Special Visit for 5N

The students of 5N were very excited to join in the celebrations of the Melbourne Cup. Harrison Williams is a student in 5N and his uncle is Craig Williams, the Melbourne Cup jockey. The students were able to try on Craig Williams' silks and hold the Jockey’s Cup.

Ms Sarah Nolan

5N Teacher

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS

From the Head of Senior School

This week the VCE Centre has been filled with nervous energy and a spooky kind of silence as the Year 10, 11 and 12 students undergo their examinations. For Year 10 and 11 students, these examinations are an important practise for the ‘real thing’ at the end of Year 12. It is encouraging to see the students working hard to achieve their best in the exams and honing their exam skills throughout the process.

Last week an intrepid group of staff and students ventured out on the Duke of Ed camp. Little did they know that the weather was going to be so unseasonally wet and windy. The dangerous winds which picked up later in the day meant they had to cancel their overnight camp. Fortunately, they were still able to fulfil the Duke of Ed requirements on their return to School and so they are all still on track to complete their Bronze Duke of Ed qualification. Thanks to Ms Angela O’Driscoll and Mr Anthony Brown who suffered from the wet and cold alongside their students on the camp!

By Monday, the weather had improved dramatically and we were able to conduct our Remembrance Day service outside on the oval. It was wonderful to see the whole school assembled together to acknowledge the sacrifices made during times of war. Thank you to Mr Stuart McKenzie for organising a beautiful service and special thanks to all the students who participated.

This week’s Summer Concert was a joyous occasion which again brought the Junior and Senior Schools together. It was a pleasure to watch and hear students from Year 3 - Year 12 confidently playing their instruments. The music of Casey Grammar is always of a high standard and it was a very special evening where the students were able to share their music with the wider audience of family and friends.

On Friday all Year 8 students went on the Water Safety excursion. The activities the students participated in were designed to teach them important skills to ensure their safety in and around water, reinforcing the lessons taught to them in the Year 7 Swimming and Water Safety Program.

The Casey Grammar Awards Evening – a Celebration of 2019 - on Tuesday 10 December is a compulsory school event for all Senior School students. Each student will be allocated a seat for the evening. Parents will be invited to book their seats via TryBooking later in the term. Please mark this date in your diary. If there is a good reason why your child cannot attend, could you please notify me via email so your tickets can be redistributed

Mrs Fiona Williams

Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School

Art Show

From the Head of Careers

In the last newsletter, we explored strategies for increasing your child’s interest in their career. In identifying five (5) important tips, we acknowledged the important role that parents/guardians play in supporting their child to explore their future career pathways.

To enhance your capacity to support your child, I have identified below the key differences between TAFE and University qualifications:

TAFE 

TAFE qualifications have been developed with the specific goal of preparing students with skills for work. They often have a very practical focus and support students to develop the skills required for their chosen profession. TAFE courses offer a range of qualifications, from Certificate 1 up to Graduate Diplomas. Generally speaking, the higher a TAFE qualification, the longer it will take to complete.

  • Certificate II and III courses can usually be finished in less than six months.
  • Diploma courses can take up to three years to complete.

The Victorian Government introduced the Free TAFE scheme in 2019. This scheme offers eligible* students to undertake courses in key study areas that lead to occupations in industries where there are likely to be more jobs. Some of these courses lead to work in important areas, including the prevention of family violence, rolling out the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Victoria and delivering major infrastructure projects.

*For further information re eligibility, please speak to the Head of Careers and Student Pathways or contact relevant TAFEs directly.

University

If your child aspires to be a Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Doctor, Accountant, Engineer or Teacher (for example), they will need to complete University qualification. These vocationally specific courses provide students with the skills and experience related to working in a particular field.

In addition to vocationally specific courses, students can also undertake general courses in areas including Arts or Science. When completing a general course, students can study a range of topics, or even do a double degree and combine their interests. At the end of a general course, your qualification will be recognised across multiple industries/roles; however, it will not necessarily prepare you for a specific type of job.

There are two (2) kinds of qualification that you can study at university:

  • Undergraduate courses (also called 'degrees') are the first level of higher education.
  • Postgraduate courses are courses of further study that you do at university on a specific subject after you have  completed your degree. Honours degrees, Masters degrees and PhDs are all examples of post-graduate study.

Degrees can take anywhere between three to six years to complete, depending on what the focus. Post-graduate courses usually take one or two years to complete. Again, this depends on the nature of the course.

Interesting statistics

  • Projections from the Department of Education show that most jobs in the next 5 years (2019-2023) will require a post-secondary qualification. Out of the 10 fastest growing occupations, seven (7) require a TAFE or VET qualification such as a diploma or certificate.
  •  Around 69% of Victorian workers have post-school qualifications, with a relatively large share holding a bachelor degree or higher.

For more information regarding the many opportunities education/training and employment opportunities available to your child on completion of their Secondary School studies, please contact me directly.


Year 9 Careers Program

Over the last four weeks, I have had the opportunity to deliver a Career Program for our current Year 9 students.

This program provided me with the opportunity to meet with the Year 9’s and introduce them to the career education support they will receive throughout their CGS journey. We also discussed the skills employers are seeking from prospective employees and the ever-changing labour market; including the impact of automation on the entry-level jobs for young people. The program similarly provided students with an overview of resume and cover letter preparation and interview skills.

We concluded the program with a Guest Speaker, Betsy Tolmer from Tripod. Tripod specialises in the delivery of targeted sessions, which aim to equip students with the skills, tools, and knowledge that will be critical to their future success. The students responded well to this session and she will return in 2020 to provide further support to our students in the development of their ‘personal brand’.

I enjoyed the chance to get to know Year 9 students and I look forward to supporting them from 2020 and beyond.


Job Opportunity

Dominos Pizza in Cranbourne are currently seeking Junior Team Members in the following positions: Customer Service Champions, Pizza Artists and Delivery Experts. Successfully applicants will;

  •  Be available two nights out of Tuesday, Friday & Saturday
  •  Work well in a team
  • Be punctual and reliable
  • Be enthusiastic and hard working
  • Thrive in a busy environment
  • Have great communication skills

Applications can be made in store (Corner Sth Gippsland/Camms Road) or online: http://jobs.dominos.com.au.

Mrs Sarah Blythman

Head of Careers and Student Pathways