Positive endings

During the holidays we witnessed a positive end of the year for the Geelong Football Club in convincingly taking out the AFL grand final. I was grateful for a win by my own club – Carlton – with Patrick Cripps being awarded this year’s Brownlow Medal, which certainly brought a smile back after missing the finals by less than a percent!

We were also privy to the final days of mourning of Queen Elizabeth II, with wonderful tributes of her life throughout the media and her telecast funeral. She certainly had a life well lived.

I sincerely hope that during the holiday period our students were able to spend quality time with friends and family and I have enjoyed witnessing the enthusiasm and smiles as they have returned this week.

As the countdown begins for our Year 12 students in preparation for examinations, end of year celebrations and future endeavours, I am reminded of a quote from a movie that I have often disagreed with: ‘Everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn’t end.’ I prefer: ‘All endings are also beginnings.’

This year we have been able to celebrate a significant time back in the classroom after two years of interrupted onsite schooling. Our students have been given the opportunity to reconnect, rebuild and the excited anticipation of ‘in person’ end-of-year events is palpable. I encourage our Year 12 students to take it all in, to enjoy these precious final weeks and to end their schooling positively.

My well wishes to all our students, families and wider Gippsland Grammar Community as we all enter the final term. May we work well, grow well and finish well in preparation for a new year.

Warm regards,

Welcome back to Term 4 and we hope that everyone has had a safe and enjoyable break with family and friends. Following on from a highly-enjoyable Term 3, we are looking forward to an exciting Term 4 full of events and achievements.

Term 4 brings us closer to the end of another academic year and this is of particular importance to our current Year 12 students who are reaching the end of their time at Gippsland Grammar. This time is often associated with examinations and results, however there are so many more valuable experiences for our students. As a campus, we will be celebrating the journey and achievements of this cohort through a range of activities and events. This begins with our St. Anne’s and Bairnsdale Fellowships services where we recognise our students who have completed learning at both our junior and senior campuses. Our Old Scholars will also host a BBQ to acknowledge this rite-of-passage and to welcome our students into our Old Scholars community. In Week 3 our Year 12’s will complete their final day of classes, followed by a full day of activities that include a Chapel Service, BBQ and the much-awaited student-led final assembly. Following VCAA exams, our students will complete their celebrations with our annual Year 12 Valedictory dinner, where our students, staff and parents come together to celebrate the individual and collective achievements of the year group.

It is the season of examinations and, as such, many of our students at Garnsey are busily preparing for upcoming assessments. Examinations are a crucial educational experience for our students and allow both students and staff to evaluate learning and plan future goals for further progress. Exams are a process that deepen learning experiences, facilitate the development of positive study habits, promote retention and recall and encourage critical thinking and analysis. Importantly, regular examination experiences can help our students develop strategies that allow them to effectively manage their time, prioritise tasks and cope with anxiety and stress. Parents and carers play an important role in supporting students throughout examinations.

Some ways our parents and carers can help their child through examinations include:

• Discussing upcoming assessments and examinations
• Ask your child what their goals are in each of their subjects
• Ask your child to talk about their areas of strength and areas they would like to do develop
• Ask your child to show you their curriculum documents and explain what they have been learning in their subjects
• Review a past paper together and have your child tell you how they might answer some of the questions
• Encourage your child to speak to their teachers regarding topics they find more challenging

For all of our students completing exams and assessments over the coming weeks, we wish you all the best.

Our annual Debating Dinner kicked off our jam-packed term of events last night before a full range of events and activities for our other year groups scheduled for the coming weeks. Our Year 7 students will be heading off on their Outdoor Education camps in Week 2 and Week 4. Our boarders and parents will be celebrating their end of year with the Blackwood House Valedictory dinner in Week 3. In Week 6, our Year 9 students will be attending their elective camps at various locations across the state. In Week 7 we will have Year 9 Peer Support training and the much-anticipated Activities Day. And across the last three weeks of term, we will commence our Rollover program which includes the very important Year 6 to Year 7 transition week. This will all lead to the final week of term which ends with our Celebration Assembly. In addition, our rowers will be extremely busy with a range of events across the term, including Head of the Mitchell and the Melbourne Head of the River.

As always, we look forward to welcoming parents and carers to our campus. We hope that all of our Community has a fantastic term.

MUSIC: Garnsey House Music Eisteddfod Highlights Concert

On Monday October 10, the Music Centre will present the 2022 House Music Eisteddfod Highlights Concert in the Chapel of St Anne from 5pm.
We are delighted to invite our Gippsland Grammar students, parents and friends to attend this concert which will showcase some wonderful performances from the Eisteddfod held last term. This concert will feature the final performances from some of our Year 12 students as they prepare to leave Gippsland Grammar.

The House Eisteddfod is now in its second year and it provides our musicians the opportunity to perform a variety of repertoire across all levels of experience and ability along with earning some points for their House. This concert promises an entertaining and uplifting concert experience for everyone. Entry is by donation to help support fundraising efforts for our 2023 Music and Languages French Tour in April next year. All enquiries for the concert can be made to music@gippslandgs.vic.edu.au