Junior School News

From the Head of Junior School

One of the aspects of my role that I love is that I am always learning. It does not matter how long we have been in a role, performed a job or completed a task, we can always learn and improve.

Last week I was fortunate to be able to visit the Year 6’s on their school camp in Canberra. This is a camp that I have attended most years that I have been at Girton and one that I organised and ran for many years before that. Two of the highlights of this camp for me are the visit to the Parliament House and the tour of the Australian War Memorial. I have spent more hours than I can remember exploring the War Memorial, both with camps and privately. This year, while listening to one of our guides, I learned that purple poppies are used to remember animals that have served and died in the wars and conflicts that Australia has been involved in. It wasn’t the guide who taught me that, but one of our students who had researched an area of particular interest to her. The guide was impressed, as was I. I was also impressed with the way our students conducted themselves. They were respectful, asked amazing questions and thanked the guide and staff when we were finished.

When we moved on to Parliament House, Mr Di Fede talked to our students about Shaun the Prawn, a fossilised marine creature from the Carboniferous period. The students loved trying to find Shaun in the marble of the steps of the foyer in Parliament House. Once again, years of tours through Parliament and this was the first time searching for a fossil! We learned about our systems of government and also a little about life 299 million years ago.

Every day there are opportunities to learn something new. We want our students to develop a love of learning, to become lifelong learners. One of our core values is curiosity, empowering students to seek knowledge, challenge assumptions and embrace new perspectives. “What did you learn today?” is a question many parents often ask their children when they pick them up in the afternoon. Perhaps we could flip this occasionally to “Guess what I learned today!” to show our children that learning is not just for the young or for school but that learning is for life.

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School

Millward makes history at Junior School Swimming Carnival!

The Junior School Swimming Carnival was a celebration of participation, House pride and community spirit on Friday 20 February. Students arrived ready to swim their best, cheer each other on and enjoy a fantastic day in and around the pool.

This year’s event was one to remember, with Millward claiming victory for the very first time in Girton history. Their consistency across all age groups and events saw them finish strongly on the leaderboard, an achievement that will no doubt be talked about for years to come. What will also be remembered is Mrs Viv Bath and Mr Jamie Turner's explosive leap, fully clothed into the pool to celebrate!

In addition to the overall win, the atmosphere was buoyed by exceptional sportsmanship and encouragement. Congratulations to Riley House for winning the Spirit Cup!

Thank you to our Friends of Junior School (FOJS) for keeping students, staff and spectators well fed, and to our staff who ensured the carnival ran smoothly. We are also grateful to the many families who attended - your support adds so much to occasions like this.

Congratulations to all students for their efforts, and especially to Millward on their historic win. We look forward to doing it all again next year!

Year 6 Camp

By Jaggar Naidoo and Felix Mason

Day One

Early on Monday morning, the brave Year 6s departed Girton (with Richie as our bus driver). After a quick hug from Mum, we were ready! On the long journey we had three stops. The first was at a playground in Violet Town, then at a submarine playground called the HMS Otway, where we had a fun time. Not long after that we arrived at Leumeah Lodge, where we had wonderful burgers for dinner. Then we went for a drive up Mount Ainsley and look around Canberra before returning to camp and heading off to bed.

Day Two

First up on the list today was The Australian War Memorial! As soon as we got there, the first thing we did was have a talk with a Navy veteran. Some of his stories were fascinating.

Then we had a school wreath-laying ceremony, with the school captains laying the wreath (Will Jackson-Sloane and Isabella Juric) and Jaggar Naidoo reading the Ode. When that was over, we all had a wonderful tour of the memorial, learning about the brave soldiers who gave their lives for us.

Then we had a self-guided tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens, where we played and had some morning tea. After that we moved on to the National Capital Exhibition, where we got to build our own city with parks, workplaces, houses, memorials and apartments. In the next room was a to-scale replica of central Canberra where we learned a lot about how it was built.

The last thing we did before returning to camp was visit Parliament House. Surprisingly, the first thing we did there was eat frozen yoghurt and look at Lego! Some time after that we got to do a mock parliament, where we were PMs, Whips and Members of Parliament. Then we had a great tour of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the whole building. For dinner we had yummy mac and cheese. Tonight’s night activity was bowling. Mr D scored the highest with a score!

Day Three

We woke up bright and early at 6:00 am to get breakfast and drive to Yarralumla, the Governor-General’s house. There we watched a ceremony where many different soldiers greeted the new ambassadors for Italy and Israel. After the ceremony we actually met Sam, who is known as Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn.

Next was Old Parliament House, also known as the Museum of Australian Democracy, where we learned all about Federation and the Constitution, before sitting in the real old parliament seats.

Then we went for a drive to see many embassies, including those of France, the USA and Papua New Guinea. There were some very interesting designs. For example, the Papua New Guinea building is shaped like a banana so that the hot air rises to the top and keeps the offices cool.

Next on the list was the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), where we toured the impressive facilities. We saw swimming pools with underwater viewing platforms and a gym with a giant foam block so athletes could land safely.

But the most impressive room was the weightlifting room with giant machines. We were told that one runner used the leg press machine and pressed not 100, not 200, not 600, but 700 kg. Then he lifted his two giant trainers as well, bringing the total to 900 kg!

Another room was the volleyball training room. There were three players training and they looked very tall, around 6'6". But the guides told us about a man who trains there who is 7'4", which is about as tall as a delivery truck.

Now just a hop, skip and a jump away was Questacon. First was the vertical slide, which is 15 metres tall, but it was not for everyone. Anyone who didn’t like heights could play air hockey or explore other exhibits. After that we did some shopping before exploring more rooms, including a giant room with a hanging moon that was at least 35 metres in circumference.

Day Four

We had a nice sleep-in that day and then went to the zoo. Students had the opportunity to hold a corn snake and see lots of animals. What’s more, we saw “Ana” the giant anaconda. At the end there was another shopping opportunity.

Lunch that day was at the National Arboretum, where they keep seeds of many plants from around the world in case a species dies out. After that we went bike riding around the lake. First we get a safety talk, then we get our helmets and hop on our bikes. We ride single file to avoid crashes as we travel around Lake Burley Griffin in the parliamentary triangle, past the bells. Then we had an icy pole and met some nice dogs.

After that we had a tour of sculptures where we saw some fascinating ones. My favourite was one that is four metres tall and nine metres wide. It is a sculpture of a snake eating its own tail. It sits in a large square pool of water and the centre is a giant steel tube that gets smaller and smaller as it rises. It was designed to last 5,000 years and has 40,000 holes drilled in it, ranging from golf-ball size to basketball size.

For dinner we had fried rice.

Day Five

We went home!!!!!!!!!!

Students Jonty and Aarna reflect on what they learnt during Year 5 Peer Mediator training

On Friday 13th February, the Year 5 Peer Mediators did a training day on respect, responsibilities and helping others. We encourage other kids to play together and not make people feel left out. We did role-play to help us get better at asking people what’s wrong and how this occurred. And we watched some clips about how to be a better person and be nice when you’re still helping them, even if you’re a bit frustrated or if they are taking a little while. As a mediator, I should have qualities like respect, patience and responsibility. Thank you for letting me have this role. I am really looking forward to helping the younger students in the yard.

Jonty Hooke, 5 Riley

The Peer Mediator training was honestly very helpful and eye-opening. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and I was excited to learn what the training would involve. We started by getting to know each other and completing a problem-solving challenge where we had to organise ourselves alphabetically using image cards, which taught us teamwork, communication and confidence when speaking to new people. We then learnt how to paraphrase by actively listening to emotions and feelings, and we practised speaking respectfully when someone needs help. A video about a fisherman, a dog and a bird helped us understand that to solve a problem, we must see both sides, and that perspective builds empathy. We also learnt about empathetic listening and restorative practices, especially how to respond when someone makes a mistake without making them feel ashamed, but instead helping them learn and improve.

We discussed being confident enough to admit mistakes and understanding that saying sorry means showing through your actions that you want to change.

Overall, the training taught me about teamwork, empathy and understanding others, and I now know that being a peer mediator is about helping people, staying calm and seeing both sides of a situation. Thank you to all the teachers who organised this training.

Aarna Sapehiyia, 5 Riley

Junior School's World’s Greatest Shave 2026

The countdown is on for 20 Year 6 Girton students, who will be shaving their heads on our annual Crazy Hair Day event to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation.

On Friday 13 March all of our Junior School students will sport weird and whacky hairstyles in support of our brave shavers. And once again, SM Hair Studio in Bendigo will kindly donate their time and talent to support this event.

Our students have raised over $29,000 towards their $30,000 target so far! Thank you so much to our families and staff who have contributed.

This is the 17th year Girton has participated in the World's Greatest Shave and is promising to be our biggest year yet. If you'd like to support our shavers and a very worthy cause, please follow the link below:

Click here to support our Year 6 shavers and the Leukaemia Foundation

Parents and carers are welcome to attend our 9am Junior School Assembly on Friday 13 March to cheer on our students.

Mrs Viv Bath

Deputy Head of Junior School

Prep: Indigenous-inspired Turtle Artwork

In this artwork, students explored Aboriginal-inspired art techniques to create a turtle design using line, shape, pattern and colour. They learned that many First Nations artworks use symbols, pathways, lines and dot patterns to tell stories and show connections to animals, Country and culture.

Students began by drawing their turtle using oil pastels, focusing on geometric and organic shapes to divide the shell into sections. They then used tempera paint to fill each section, carefully selecting warm and cool colours to create contrast and balance. Once dry, metallic paint pens were used to add dot patterns, inspired by traditional dot-painting techniques.

Through this activity, students developed skills in guided drawing, colour selection, pattern making and careful use of materials. They also shared and discussed their work, reflecting on their choices and appreciating similarities and differences in each artwork. This project encouraged creativity, cultural awareness and respect for First Nations Australian art practices.

Mrs Sharon Hocking

Junior School Art Teacher

More news on Astra:

Monday 2 March:

Have your say: Year 6 camp Survey for Year 6 Parents and Carers

Friday 13 February: