Middle School

Warm, welcoming wishes to all our Middle School students and families and we return for Term 3! We hope that you hibernated or celebrated appropriately through the holidays and are feeling excited to be back on campus with us.

As Ms Scott takes her well-deserved Long Service Leave, I am honoured to step in as Acting Middle School Coordinator, along with Mr Michael Jones as Acting Year Level Leader (Years 6 and 7). We also welcome new staff members Mr Harry Musson, Ms Katie Bull, Ms Jasmine Kaur Dhaliwal and Mr Dylan Gegas to our teams, and Ms Lydia Liu back from maternity leave after having a beautiful baby daughter last year.

Term 3 is sure to be filled with exciting, challenging and rewarding moments across all year levels. Year 6 students are set to compete in House Athletics and try their hand at the inspiring, passionate and often hilarious Interhouse Debating competition. Year 7 students, meanwhile, will be introduced to their Service Learning program, with a theme of ‘Wellbeing, Community and Me’ and provide excellent opportunities to engage with the local community.

Year 8 students are already talking about the upcoming camp at Karoonda Park in Country Victoria. Oakleigh Grammar has been attending this beautiful spot in the Snowy Mountains area for over a decade, due to its endless array of challenging activities and learning opportunities. Students will horse-ride and abseil, orienteer and rock-climb, bushwalk and raft amongst much, much more. With warm cabins, plenty of food, games, a campfire, and no internet connection, this is a much-loved and memorable experience that is an all-time favourite of past students.

Conversely, the Year 9 students will be heading to the busiest place in Victoria, spending the week in the heart of Melbourne. As they near the transition to Senior School, the Oakleigh Grammar City Experience offers students scaffolded lessons in independence, adaptability and resilience. Teachers will be present but loosen the reigns of control as students must lead and navigate through a series of organisational challenges, managing public transport and an urban scavenger hunt. All the while they will learn about the legal system, cultural history, street art, homelessness and much more.

I wish all students a term of self-confidence and self-reflection, so that we can strive to be our greatest together.

Leigh Gridley

Acting Middle School Pastoral Coordinator