Discovery

Dear Parents/Guardians,

At this week’s Junior School Assembly, Year 3T students presented a fantastic performance about Christmas and ways in which we can help each other.

Their performance reminded me that Christmas is a time for giving.  Yes, at Christmas time we give our family and friends presents, but we should also remember that volunteering our time, offering our help and checking in on one another can be just as important and meaningful as giving each other presents. 

As with previous years, our Junior School students have volunteered their time to give to those less fortunate.  In each of their Houses they’ve spent time learning about the Christmas Spirit and the importance of giving.  They’ve donated gifts, volunteered their time and helped each other put together hampers to donate to local charities.

All of these activities remind me of growing up and as young students, the ways in which we learnt about Christmas and the spirit of giving. These teachings allowed me to create my own sense of what Christmas means to me.  Throughout the year, I enjoy spending time giving to our students and community, and at Christmas time, the importance of giving time to my family is highlighted.  I take time to call my parents and visit family and most importantly, give my time to being a good husband and father.

Our Casey Grammar families work hard throughout the year making sacrifices in order to give your children a quality education.  I trust that the upcoming Christmas break will be as equally as important to you as it is to me in giving back to your families and enjoying quality time spent together.

Staffing Update

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve completed the Senior School recruitment for 2020 and I’m confident in the knowledge and experience that will form our senior school staffing in 2020.

Dr Jacinta Moreau holds a Bachelor of Science Honours from the University of Melbourne and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PHD Chemistry) from the University of Ottawa in Canada.  Jacinta has received numerous prizes throughout her career as well as a Canadian patent, two USA patents and has published many articles. Jacinta has lectured at University, taught in Korea and is currently teaching VCE Science at Mary MacKillop College in Leongatha, although she lives locally. Jacinta enjoys singing in ensembles and choirs, table tennis and playing the piano.

Julian Sadleir has taught VCE physics since 2006 and has held a number of leadership roles including Head of Science, Leader of eLearning and is currently the Leading Teacher of Data and Assessment at Bentleigh Secondary College. Julian has been a VCAA VCE Physics exam assessor and has taught general Science and Maths Methods in both Year 11 and 12. Julian completed a Bachelor of Science (major in Optoelectronics) and a Diploma of Education at the University of Melbourne and is a Google Certified Educator. He is an innovative educator and values co-curricular having run a coding club, media club and science club. He has coached hockey and basketball and is a keen cyclist himself.

Keir Selfridge is an innovative educator with over 20 years of teaching and leadership roles. Keir holds a Bachelor of Education in Maths and Science and Post Graduate Certificate in Curriculum Leadership from the University of Melbourne. Keir has worked and held leadership positions in London and Victoria and currently teaches VCE Chemistry, VCE Biology and Mathematics at Kilbreda College in Mentone where he has been for the past 10 years. Keir is a proud father of two and is currently working with Hawthorn VFLW team in on-bench communications.

Special Guest Assembly

On Tuesday 19 November we were honoured to have 2019 Melbourne Cup winning jockey and Cranbourne local, Craig Williams speak at a special assembly for students in Years 3 to 9.  Craig’s speech was inspirational in the way he encouraged our students to strive for their dreams and make the most of opportunities presented to them.  Craig highlighted the importance of education and how his own education had contributed to his success.  He also offered students some important advice on the use of social media and to always be mindful of the things we post and how it can affect those around us.

Kind regards,

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

Principal 

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

Recently Reid House ran an Inter-house STEM challenge,  “Construction Mania”, in our PAC foyer during lunch time. The mission for the competitors was to be the first team to construct a bridge of specified dimensions that could hold the weight of a stapler. There was much excitement and concentration on the faces of competing students and I’d like to congratulate the winning teams who created the most innovative bridge and who worked together best as a team. Thanks to Reid House students and Miss Dascoli for organising and running this successful challenge.

Last week our Year 2 - Year 9 students were fortunate to attend a special Assembly showcasing the career of Melbourne Cup winning jockey, Mr Craig Williams. Craig very generously gave of his time to bring in his “Grand slam” trophies, replay a video of the infamous 2019 Melbourne Cup race and speak about his incredible career that has taken him all around the world as a jockey. The highlight for many audience members was seeing Mr Baird ride Craig’s training horse!! I’d like to sincerely thank Craig for taking the time to visit our school. Thanks also to his nephew, Harry and nieces, Georgia and Isabel, for inviting their uncle along to CGS.

Congratulations to our girl’s T20 cricket team who attended Regionals this week. Although we didn’t have much luck on the field, Mrs Nolan was extremely proud of our participants and from all accounts our girls enjoyed the day.

Yesterday, our Junior School was entertained by the incredible students of 3T for the last class assembly of 2019 and boy did we end with a bang! What a fabulous Christmas story they told and each class member brought such Christmas spirit into our Junior School. Their costumes, acting and singing were a joy to watch. It was certainly an entertaining performance, particularly when Junior Mr Baird and Junior Mrs Roberton took to the stage. Congratulations to our talented 3T students and their equally talented teacher, Miss Testro.

We concluded this week with our annual Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival. We were most fortunate with the weather and the day was a huge success. Sincere thanks to Mr Batey for all his preparation. Congratulations to Reid House on taking out the win. These scores will now be added to our Athletics Carnival results, our Cross Country results and our weekly House points to determine a winning House for 2019. These results will be announced at our upcoming “Service of Thanksgiving and Presentation of Awards Celebration Evening” and awarded to this year’s winning House Captains. Good luck to all!

Mrs Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

Congratulations to the following Junior and Senior School students who have completed Australian Music Examination Board Exams throughout 2019.

Alice Guille - Year 4 Preliminary Piano

Allysha Walls - Year 6 Second Grade Flute

Caitlin Maydon - Year 8 Third Grade Piano

Grace Peck - Year 9 Second Grade Flute

Steeve Antony - Year 9 Fourth Grade Piano

Lachlan Elliott - Year 10 Third Grade Piano

Ms Antoinette Seal

Instrumental Administrator 

Last week the students enjoyed meeting Craig Williams, the jockey who recently won the Melbourne Cup. Craig spoke to the students about his experiences as a jockey, showed them the Melbourne Cup and then demonstrated his skills on a mechanical horse! It was an interesting insight for the students into a very different type of occupation.

The Year 7 and Year 8 Open Water Safety days were a great success. Despite the cooler weather, many students braved the water and all students have learned some valuable lessons regarding water safety. Congratulations to the PE Department for imparting these important life skills.

Once their exams concluded last week, the Year 10 and 11 students undertook two days of leadership and VCE preparation skills. They are now officially year 11 and 12’s and have started to lead the school in an exemplary manner.

At Assembly this week, we were proud to present the Certificates of Academic Excellence for Semester 2. These are awarded at the end of each semester and are based on the academic results as published in the school reports. The awards go to students who have achieved an A grade or above (i.e. 80% and above) as an average across all of their subjects. It was very pleasing to note the large number of Certificates of Excellence presented across all year levels and I commend the students for their persistence and hard work. The Science Department also took the opportunity to present numerous Science Competition certificates which students have achieved over the course of this semester. These include certificates for the;

Australian National Chemistry Quiz featuring Jack Witterick (Year 7) who received an almost perfect score and was awarded a Certificate of High Distinction Excellence

Education Perfect Science Championship where Casey Grammar students placed 267th out of 1,561 schools worldwide with19,737 questions correctly answered

Science Olympiads featuring a Certificate of Distinction to Charlie Popple (Year 11)

Science Talent Search featuring major bursary winners Anabella Woo (year 7) and Anmolpreet Singh (Year 11).

There was also a report from Georgia Schelfhout and Tanysha Hogan from their week at the 2019 ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) Big Ideas Forum. There is no doubt that Casey Grammar is fostering some exceptional scientific thinkers and I commend the Head of Science Mr Daniel Isgro, along with his dedicated team of science teachers, for their work in drawing out the student’s scientific talents.

This week the Art Department and Senior Art students have been busy curating the 2019 Art Exhibition. The gallery in the PAC Foyer is now complete and the standard of the show is exceptional. The Art Show will officially open on Friday afternoon (29 November) at 4pm. I encourage you to stop by after school to have a look at the talent of Casey Grammar art students. Congratulations to Mr Steve Kearney and the Art Department for encouraging the development of such wonderful artistic talent.  

The Casey Grammar Awards Evening – a Celebration of 2019 – is on Tuesday 10 December. This is a compulsory school event for all Senior School students Years 7-11. While the Awards ceremony commences at 7pm, we encourage families to arrive from 5.30pm as there will be food trucks and live music in the grounds to keep you entertained until the celebrations and awards begin.  Each student has been allocated a seat for the evening. If there is a good reason why your child cannot attend, could you please notify me via email so their tickets can be redistributed. Parents can book their seats via TryBooking https://www.trybooking.com/BHBHG. The Celebration and Award Evening will be a wonderful showcase of the year’s events and student achievements. I encourage you to book your seats as soon as possible to avoid disappointment

Mrs Fiona Williams

Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School

On Thursday 21 November, students from the 2019 Year 11 cohort attended a ‘Year 12 Transition’ program which also included an overnight stay on the school grounds. The main goal of the program was to allow students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and accept their responsibilities as the new leaders of Casey Grammar. The transition started early on Thursday morning, with the focus being on building House spirit. Each House took on several activities together, followed by a career-planning workshop, which worked on student's study and work skills, along with balancing School, family, and social commitments.

An overnight stay was included in this year’s program to allow students to share meals, watch a movie and talk amongst themselves to develop the community spirit. As the new leaders, each student of the cohort must feel comfortable when sharing ideas and making decisions which could affect the rest of the school. After a good night’s sleep, on Friday morning Teambition Australia presented a workshop that took students through the ups and downs of Year 12 and prepared us mentally for the challenges to come. The program ended with each House presenting their leadership pledge to Mr Baird, which incorporated all aspects the cohort learnt over the two days.

Special thanks to Ms Dourios, and the Heads of House for accommodating our stay over the two days.

Rohan Pahwa

2020 Communications Captain

Important information for Year 12 students & Parents/Guardians

As the year winds down, many of our Year 12 students are anxiously awaiting the release of their ATAR results. In preparation of this, see the table below which articulates key dates for results and similarly course offers.

For further information (including a comprehensive list of dates), please refer to the VTAC website.

An additional offer round has been introduced for the 2019/20 VTAC period. More specifically, first round course offers (for most courses) will be made on 18 December 2019. The majority of offers will be made in December and January, with subsequent offers throughout late January/February (weekly - until courses are filled).

I will be available throughout December and January to support students as required. Appointments should be made via the Front Office (please call 5991 0800).

My on-campus availability (outside of the normal school term), is as follows:

To our 2019 Year 12 students,

I wish you all the best with your transition from Casey Grammar to further study and/or employment. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you all over the last six months and I truly wish you every success in the future.

Please remember: Success looks different for everyone. Your school results are not your future; there are many more important determinants of success and happiness in life. Please take the time to define what success looks like for you as an individual and set goal/s to achieve this.

I am proud of every student. All the best. 

Mrs Sarah Blythman

Head of Careers and Student Pathways

As November comes to a close, we officially enter into a new season. And while we welcome summer, I have learnt that Victorian summers take a while to warm up. The anticipation of consistently warm days, the water in the Bay to be warm enough to swim in without a wetsuit and the long drawn out days where BBQ’s flourish. Everyone is looking forward to whatever summer break they have been able to plan for this year.

Not only do we wait in anticipation for the summer, but we think of the Year 12s who wait eagerly on their VCE results and the offer of a University Placement, a job offer or a trade or for their first full month’s salary pay. We wait to reunite with family members both near and abroad. We wait to see what might be under the Christmas tree.

December is the month of waiting. The month where the formal part of the year is almost complete and we celebrate the year and all that it has held for us. December is the Month of Advent.

Waiting can be seen as a negative in our hyper-reality lives. It might equate to bad service or poor choice. However, there is so much benefit that comes from enduring patience and allowing a sense of anticipation to develop. It teaches us emotional strength and control and greater social awareness.

Advent is celebrated in the Christian Calendar and signifies the waiting for the coming of a notable person. Advent is the time of waiting, preparing and the celebration of Jesus’ Birth. As we reflect on the reason for Jesus’ birth and life, it helps to remind us of how we are all created and called to love one another. To identify the common humanity that unites us and gives each one of us inherent value. Jesus simply demonstrates how to show unconditional love, to forgive, to accept, to honour and to empower one another. For someone to devote their life to such a cause is worth celebrating.

May we all be encouraged to take this time of advent to reflect on how we can love one another more and create a stronger united, loving community.