From the Principal

COVID-19

A reminder that you can access the Great Southern Grammar COVID-19 updates on MyGSG, or by clicking here. 

New experience

Under clear skies I joined a group of Year Eight students for an introductory rowing session under the direction of teacher Mr Taylor Colton.  This enjoyable activity is part of the Wednesday VACS Clubs program. Being in nature and learning a new skill cannot be underrated.  Having new experiences is therapeutic to mind and body.  Being part of this welcoming group will add to my experience during the coming weeks.

Talking to children about Ukraine

This week I spoke with a parent regarding how to address issues that are occurring in  Ukraine.  Parents and carers may be wondering whether or not to talk to their children about Ukraine.  An important approach is to have an open and honest discussion about the news which may help children process difficult emotions that may arise, correct misinformation, and encourage compassionate views towards others.  The authors of the article provided below from The Conversation provide greater details and how to factor discussions based upon age and maturity.  

How to talk to children about Ukraine.

International Women's Day

It was wonderful to listen to Katie McAllister (2013), Matilda Lloyd (2015) and Rekisha Satour (2016) discussing personal experiences in dealing with the International Women's Day topic of Breaking the Bias.  Rekisha, a proud indigenous woman, retold the story of her Humanities teacher, Gavin Riches, encouraging and believing in her to study Politics and Law in Year Eleven and Twelve at Great Southern Grammar.  The encouragement and belief shown by Gavin, formed the foundation for Rekisha to continue this pathway to Canberra, she is now employed in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.  The International Women's Day initiative encourages us, as a school, to be responsible for driving change with our students.  Breaking down bias, stereotypes and discrimination needs to be discussed and then, collectively, change can occur.

2022 Student Residential Address and Other Information

The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) would like to notify you that a request has been made for Great Southern Grammar to provide residential address and other information as required under the Australian Education Regulation 2013. 

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school: 

• Names and residential addresses of student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s) 

• Student residential address (excluding student names) 

• Whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level) 

• Whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status). 

The Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection (the Collection) informs Australian Government school education policy and helps ensure funding for non-government schools is based on need basis. 

The information collected will be used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with data held by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to contribute to the costs of schooling.

For further information please refer to the notice below.

Mr Mark Sawle | Principal