Discovery

Friday, 26 July 2019

Important Dates

Monday 29 July                                       Year 9 Northern Territory Information Session

                                                                    Year 9 Information Session

Wednesday 31 July                                 Junior School Parent Teacher Interviews

Thursday 1 August                                 Year 10, 11 & 12 Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday 2 August                                       Year 5 Family Life Incursion

Wednesday 7 August                             Year 8 Information Night

                                                                     Year 10 2020 Subject Selections Due

Thursday 8 August                                 Class of 2018 - 1 Year Reunion

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to Semester 2.  It’s fantastic to see our students back on campus, energised and enthusiastic to return to their studies for the final two terms of the year and what will be the final full term for our Year 12s.

As many of you will have seen, the building works have progressed steadily over the holiday break.  It’s been fascinating to watch the machinery and labour that has taken place so far.  I’m pleased to say that the building is currently on track and will be ready to house Junior School students at the beginning of 2020. 

Other work that begun over the holidays was the construction of two half basketball courts/keys, futsal goals and netball rings.  These are close to being finished and will be a fantastic addition to the playground facilities.

The inaugural Year 4 Overnight City Camp took place this week.  Students explored the city sights with a highlight, a viewing of The Lion King at IMAX Cinemas.  Our Chaplain, Mr McKenzie and I made a surprise lunch delivery to the students at Captain Cook's Cottage.  It was great to see the joy on their faces and to hear about their morning adventures.  

Thank you to Mr Bushell, Mrs Morgan, Ms Roffey, Mr Brown and Mrs Schreuder for leading our students on the second Snow Camp.  The students were lucky to have perfect weather and a large snow dump just before arriving.  I would also like to applaud the attending students for their commendable behaviour and their enthusiasm to make the most of their camp.  It is always pleasing to hear how well our students represent Casey Grammar in the community.

In Week 3, we will welcome students from Kaichi Junior and Senior School in Japan. This opportunity arose via our involvement with OutBeyond (our Year 7 and 8 camp provider).  The students aged 15 to 17 years, will immerse themselves in the Casey Grammar community by attending classes, assemblies and other activities throughout the week.  I look forward to providing an update of their time here in the next newsletter. 

Finally, I’d like to welcome back Mr Anthony Brown from long service leave as well as thanking Mr Subban for standing in as Head of House (Reid) in Mr Brown’s absence.  I would also like to mention that we have added a new member to the CGS community, with the arrival of Mrs Riviere-Pendle's first child, Isaac John. Both mum and baby are doing very well.

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

Principal 

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

From the Head of Junior School

It was wonderful to welcome our Junior School students and their families back to CGS after our mid year holiday. Our students arrived on Tuesday morning looking happy, rested and ready for another busy term. 

I’d like to thank all our parents who attended our first Parent/Teacher interviews after school on Tuesday. These interviews are an integral part of our parent partnerships. Working closely with our parents ensures we provide our students with the best quality education. Interviews will continue next Wednesday and I’d like to sincerely thank our dedicated teachers for conducting these interviews and for the long day this process entails after a full day of classroom teaching.

It was a pleasure to attend our very first annual Year 4 CGS Camp this week. Our students journeyed to Melbourne and enjoyed visiting the Melbourne Star, Treasury Gardens, Captain Cook’s Cottage, IMAX to see The Lion King followed by a morning at Latitude, an indoor sporting complex.

Every student displayed exceptional behaviour and thoroughly relished the experience of staying in bunk rooms together at CYC City Camp. Their parents should be very proud of their wonderful students as we, the teaching staff, most certainly were.

A highlight of the trip was having our Principal, Mr Baird and our Chaplain, Mr McKenzie take time out of their busy day on Wednesday to visit us at Camp. I’m not sure who enjoyed our rendition of Happy Birthday more, the students or our birthday recipient, Mr Baird.  Huge congratulations and thanks are due to Mrs Evan, Mrs Willett, Miss Dascoli and  Miss Reale for attending this marvellous Camp. Extra special thanks to Mr Bell for taking the reins and doing such an amazing job of organising and leading the Camp so ably. Our students are indeed fortunate for the dedication of our staff which allows these special events to be part of our curriculum.

Here’s to another wonderful term at CGS full of fun, friendship and outstanding learning opportunities for our precious students.

Mrs Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

Year 4 Camp

The Year 4 students had a wonderful and exciting time during their two day City Camp. We stayed  at the Christian Youth Camp in Melbourne which is located right in the heart of the city in Collins Street. We had a really fun time trying new things and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones!

I loved doing the rock climbing walls at Latitude. They were so tall and I even got to the top once. I have done rock climbing before and it was fun doing it again. Abseiling back down from the top kind of feels like you are flying.

Olivia, 4E

Being with my friends and watching The Lion King in 3D was really cool. Watching it in 3D gave us a different perspective and the characters were very realistic. IMAX is great because the screen is bigger, and bigger is always better!

Cameron, 4B

I liked being up at the top of the Melbourne Star wheel because you could see everything! I saw the Yarra River and also where we ate our snack. People down on the ground looked like ants and I felt like a giant.

 Ziva, 4B

We stayed at CYC City. There were five beds in our room but we only we only had four people. The food there was good, I liked the breakfast the most because we got bacon and eggs.

Ashton, 4E

Mrs Leanne Evans & Mr Shane Bell

Year 4 Teachers

Colours Day

Last term, Leaver House organised a special Team Colours Day to help raise money for the Fight MND charity. By donating, Students were able to wear their favourite team’s sporting colours or uniform to school on the last day of term. They were also able to purchase a hot footy lunch with a choice of a pie, sausage roll or pastie.  MND stands for Motor Neurone Disease which is a debilitating disease that gradually takes away the patient’s use of their arms and legs, their ability to eat and swallow, their speech and ultimately, their ability to breathe. Sadly, there is no cure and most patients lose their battle within two years of their initial diagnosis.

While planning this event, Leaver House students were inspired by the amazing work of the charity’s co-founder and AFL legend, Neale Daniher. Diagnosed with MND in 2013, Neale’s continued determination to face the challenges this disease brings with courage, humour and a drive to help others was a wonderful motivation to support this important charity. The $1,074.00 raised will hopefully help fund the valuable research needed to find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease in the near future.

Congratulations Leaver House on a wonderful effort – I am extremely proud of our incredible team!

Mr Shane Bell

Head of Leaver House

Trist Tuesday

Every Tuesday lunchtime in Term 3, Junior School Trist House students are invited to hang out in Miss Reale’s classroom.

You can either draw, complete homework, work on projects, use the laptops or iPads, play board games or just have a chat and escape the cold!

Look forward to seeing you then.

Miss Bridgette Reale

Head of Trist House

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS

From the Head of Senior School

Welcome to Term 3!

It was wonderful to see the students looking refreshed and happy as they returned to school this week. I have enjoyed hearing about their travels and their holiday stories. A lucky group of Senior students and staff enjoyed getting to know each other on the ski slopes during the Casey Grammar ski trip. I was heartened when one student told me that she loved learning to ski but the biggest highlight of the week was getting to know students from other year levels. She now had some ‘new BFFs from different year levels’. Fostering cross age relationships is one of the benefits of co-curricular activities such as sport, music, drama, debating, public speaking etc. The House pastoral model is also intended to develop cross age relationships. The School is committed to providing opportunities for students to make new 'BFFs' across the year levels and it is wonderful to see this happening through the variety of student activities on offer.

By now you will have received and read the School Reports issued at the end of semester. I hope you had an opportunity to discuss the contents of the report with your child and were able to celebrate their achievements while clarifying where they should put their energies this semester to continue their academic growth. Please take the opportunity to speak further with the teachers at Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTS) which are being held on Thursday 1 August (Year 10, 11 and 12) and Thursday 29 August (Year 7, 8 and 9).

Senior School assembly this week was a wonderful celebration of student achievement. We heard from pennant winning SIS teams from Term 2 and Mr Baird was presented with pennants and trophies won at the SIS Cross Country competition in Term 1. Academic certificates were awarded, Cate Maddern and Joel Rasmussen (Year 11) reported on the 2019 Debutante Ball, Connor Raselli (Year 12) interviewed the School’s rock band, The Exports and we enjoyed two very different styles of musical performances. The assembly reflected the diversity of opportunities open to students at Casey Grammar and showcased the excellence achieved by our students.

We are in the midst of student subject selections for 2020. Year 10 and 11 students and parents have attended their subject selection information nights. Year 9 Information Night is next Monday 29 July and Year 8 is on Wednesday 7 August in the PAC. Once the students have made their subject choices for 2020, the new timetable will be constructed and staffing completed for 2020. Please keep informed by attending your child’s information night.

The Year 9 NT trip Information Night is also being held on Monday 29 July in the PAC. Please note the NT information session starts at 6pm and the Year 9 parent information session starts at 7pm. I look forward to seeing you there.

Mrs Fiona Williams

Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School

Snow Trip

The Mt Hotham Snow Camp saw 30 students and five teachers eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bus at 6:00am on Sunday 14 July. After packing our luggage into the bus and saying our goodbye’s we all boarded, excited to experience the slopes later that day. Unfortunately, due to an incident further up the road involving a bus, broken snow chains and an embankment, we were stuck on the road 3km from the summit for 6 hours, bringing the total travel time to 13 hours. We all managed to cope with this delay with good music, mobile phones and social skills, eventually arriving at The Drift Ski Lodge, located in the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort. Despite the below 0 temperatures outside, we managed to get warm by the open fire, assisted by our lovely lodge staff cooking us a very tasty dinner.

On day two, we picked up our ski and snowboard equipment and split off into classes based on our skill level and whether or not we could use the ski lifts. It was then onto carve up the mountain on various runs. The days following, everybody’s skills developed greatly with a lesson every morning and free time to ski in the afternoon. Most days we enjoyed beautiful blue skies and nice cold weather which created hard, crisp snow conditions, perfect for those learning the basics and for those leaning into long carving turns. By the end of the week, almost half of the group were going down advanced slopes, and nobody wanted to go home. While there were many memorable moments each day of the camp, the most memorable was skiing at night under floodlights, something that will be hard to forget.

Overall the trip was a once in a lifetime experience and one to remember. A camp that every student should experience. The trip could not have happened without the amazing help of our teachers Madame Morgan, Mr Brown, Mrs Schreuder, Ms Roffey and especially Mr Bushell, who organised the entire trip for us.

Charlie Hermans, Year 11

Brain Bee quiz

On Wednesday 17 July, seven Year 10 students attended the Victorian state finals for the National Brain Bee quiz. This is a neuroscience competition that is held through Education Perfect for students in Year 10. The top 20% of individuals who participated in the open Brain Bee quiz were invited to attend the state finals.

On the day of the event, we had the opportunity to sit through multiple lectures from experienced and valued members of the neuroscience community, take tours of Melbourne University’s Science department and participate in both group and independent tests. For me, the highlight of the day was having the opportunity to view a human brain with Alzheimer’s disease and explore the underlying and defining characteristics of this disease. I found that this was a highly educational, challenging and enjoyable day, which we will value throughout the remainder of our educational careers. 

Lilly Hopp, Year 10

From the Head of Careers and Pathways

Last term, our Year 10 students participated in the Career and Pathways Program 2019.

The five day program provided our students the opportunity to conduct research into future career pathways by visiting Universities and TAFE providers. The program also supported students to develop their enterprise skills in preparation for 2020 and beyond.

We visited Monash University, Federation University, Deakin University, Chisholm TAFE and Swinburne University of Technology. In addition, students participated in an incursion (facilitated by Tripod) that explored the future world of work and the top 8 transferable enterprise skills students will need for success in learning, life and work.

It was a busy week however I am confident that each student has benefited from the opportunity to consolidate the learning they have done via the Work Related Skills (WRS) subject they completed in Semester 1 2019. The WRS teachers (Mrs Claire Harvie and Ms Jess Delgos) have done some amazing work with this cohort; with all students completing a number of career assessments to support the identification of career pathways that align with their individual interests, strengths and values. 

I would like to extend my appreciation to the staff who supported this program and to the Year 12 students who sat on the VCE Panel (Avantika Prasad, Lauren Reynolds, Noah McCloskey and Tharushi Perera). These current students provided Year 10 students tips on how to successfully navigate their VCE.

A big thank you also to a Casey Grammar School parent, Yolandie Whitehead-Bell who delivered an engaging ‘Day in the life of a Nurse’ session. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear from an industry professional and they were inspired by the diversity in role/s that they could undertake with a Nursing qualification. 

Melbourne Career Expo (Friday 26 – Sunday 28 July)

The Melbourne Career Expo is being held from Friday 26 – Sunday 28 July at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (South Wharf).

The Melbourne Career Expo will show case over 150 exhibitors from educational, trade, corporate and professional sectors providing attendees the chance to engage with employers, University and TAFE providers and explore possible career pathways. A full list of exhibitors can be found here.

Free tickets are available via the Melbourne Career Expo website (http://www.careerexpo.com.au/). A limited amount of free tickets will also available from the Career Office (V9). 

Reminder: Parent/Guardian volunteers – ‘A day in the life of....’

I am still seeking ‘expressions of interest’ from parents/guardians who would be prepared to come on campus to deliver a short presentation that provides an overview of their role and the skills and experience required to work in the field.

Whether you are a Nurse, Tradesperson, Doctor, Community Engagement Officer, Graphic Designer, Retail Manager, Administration Officer, Accountant or work in IT: I believe that our students would greatly benefit from the opportunity to hear first-hand about your job and the pathway/s you specifically undertook in order to transition into this profession successfully.

If you are interested in supporting this initiative, I will encourage you to email me via s.blythman@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au. A current Working with Children Check will be required.

A big thank you to those parents/guardians who have made contact with me already. It is very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance of your support for this initiative. 

Ms Sarah Blythman

Head of Careers and Student Pathways

An Interview with Avantika Prasad

An interview with: Avantika Prasad (a Year 12 Student who recently attended a Holiday program at Latrobe University).

Year 12 student Avantika Prasad recently took the opportunity to attend a program at Latrobe University during her school holidays. The Experience Clever program offered prospective students the chance to visit Latrobe campuses and participate in fun and dynamic workshops led by real lecturers.

Tell me about the Experience Clever Program at Latrobe University

I am interested in studying at Latrobe University in 2020. More specifically, the course I want to undertake is delivered at the Bendigo campus. I have done a lot of research about course options and stumbled across this program. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to learn more about the course I am interested in and to visit Bendigo.  

Who did you go with?

My Mum and I attended. We drove up and back on the same day. It was a long day but so beneficial. Bendigo is so nice – very different and quiet. There are lots of little cafés and restaurants and it has a nice ‘feel’.

First Impressions of the campus

It was lovely. The staff and students were incredibly welcoming. Everyone was so friendly and it felt like a little community. They also provided me a ‘goodie’ bag with lots of great giveaways!

The other thing that I loved is that we would not just be a number. The beauty of a small campus is that everyone knows one another. I really liked that.

What did you do?

We participated in a comprehensive campus tour. I was lucky to visit the Dentistry Department and see first-hand the type of tasks I would be undertaking as part of my studies. They had set up ‘activity stations’ where they showcased mock Dentist scenarios (i.e. using tools and X-Ray machines). I was also able to make tooth models out of wax.

We also had the opportunity to view on campus accommodation and familiarize ourselves with all the great student services that exist on campus. I was able to meet the Dean of Oral Health, a number of Lecturers and current students. They were a great source of information!

Would you recommend?

Absolutely. It was such a great experience and it reconfirmed to me my interest in studying at Latrobe. I would encourage students to make sure they attend upcoming Open Days and/or any other events that are happening on campus.

Thanks Avantika for sharing your experience!

From the Chaplain

A warm welcome back from the mid-year break. Hopefully, all of the students had a somewhat restful break as we return for Term 3 as it is looking to be a fun-filled semester of activity. A function of the diversity in the extra-curricular activities on offer at Casey Grammar is to help students discover their greater purpose and to continually foster connections to the school and greater community of Casey. In his understandings gained as an Anthropologist, Mythologist and Storyteller, Michael Meade in his book The Genius Myth, says

“Human beings long for connection, and our sense of usefulness derives from the feeling of connectedness. When we are connected — to our own purpose, to the community around us, and to our spiritual wisdom — we are able to live and act with authentic effectiveness.”

We seek to connect with each of these – Purpose, Community and Spiritual Wisdom - to ensure that the student's passage to adulthood is guided in the most beneficial ways and gain the most out of the child and adolescent stages.

Term 3 hosts one of the major social justice activities for the year: The World Vision Backpack Challenge. This will be held on Friday 6 September. This is an opportunity to experience an aspect of life as a displaced person seeking asylum. Globally, there are over 70 million people, either displaced or refugees at present. The Social Justice group at CGS are empowered to help make a difference, along with countless others across Australia. This is just one way that students can build connections and find purpose in our community.

Through activities like the ‘Backpack Challenge’, and ‘Backpacks for Vic Kids’ we are proud to witness a coming together as ‘One in the Spirit’ as we reflect the heart of God.

Mr Stuart McKenzie

Chaplain

Year 7 – 2021 Enrolments Update

Year 7 – 2021 Enrolment Interviews are scheduled to commence on Monday 5 August.  If you have not submitted a Year 7 – 2021 enrolment application for any siblings, please contact the Enrolments Officer immediately on 03 5991 0800 or enrolments@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au

Please note: If applications are received after enrolment offers have gone out,  they will be waitlisted and we will not be able to guarantee a place.

Asthma Plans

Asthma Plans need to be updated annually by your doctor. If you haven’t provided a plan for 2019, please ensure this is updated ASAP.

If your child no longer has asthma or you need to update any other health conditions, please email the School Nurse Kerrin k.laws@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au.

Work at the Uniform Shop

Buxwear, is currently seeking a retail assistant to work in the Casey Grammar School Uniform Shop throughout various dates for the remainder of 2019 and into the January 2020.

Retail experience is preferred, however not necessary. Enquirers and expressions of interest can be made directly to the shop or by calling 0425 529 968.