Junior School News
Junior School Highlights
Welcome to or back to GEC! I am hoping that 2022 will be our most successful year so far. No more lockdowns, no more online learning and hopefully face to face full time.
We welcome our new Year 7 cohort with open arms and hope that you enjoy your first year in secondary school. Your coordinators have been working hard to prepare you for a successful year and provide you with the opportunities that you deserve.
Also welcome back to our Year 8 and 9 students, many new learning opportunities await you, including sport days, camps, performing/visual arts, excursions and more. Many opportunities for fresh starts.
Our Junior School coordinators are as follows for 2022:
Year 7
Mary Maniatis
Chris Zuccala
Year 8
Daniel Bouchet-Hibbert
Jake Sherman
Year 9
Parminder Kaur
Edgar Bonne
We also have the privilege of having the following staff in our team:
Additional Learning Needs Coordinator
Emma Nishikubo
Administration Assistant
Kelli Lawson
If you have any issues or concerns regarding your student/s at GEC please get in contact within myself or the relevant team member. Here's to a fresh and successful start to 2022!
Sarah Mortimer
Junior School Leader
Year 7 News
The first week for our Year 7s, the class of 2027, started very positively with a large degree of enthusiasm and anticipation. Learning how to use the planner, being allocated their lockers and getting used to their new combination lock were certainly a challenge for some, but elation when they got right. Their behaviour and patience was excellent, especially when so much information was thrown at them.
As coordinators we could not be more proud of our students with the way they have conducted themselves in the first week of secondary school. We are excited to watch them grow into responsible and independent learners who are ready to embrace all the challenges and opportunities that are in front of them.
Year 7 camp to Rawson is almost upon us and in our next newsletter we will share the highlights of camp.
Here are two reflections from students about their first week in Year 7.
“The first week was really fun, learning about high school and how it works. There was not much work. Before I started I was nervous but having started it is actually way more fun than I thought.” Estelle 7B
“The first day was confusing because I did not know my surrounds but second day we knew where our classroom was and where to go around the school.” Elsie 7B
Chris Zuccala & Mary Maniatis
Year 7 Coordinators
Year 8 News
Happy new year Year 8s!
My name is Mr Bouchet-Hibbert and I am very excited to be joining GEC and being part of the Year 8 team. Throughout the year I will be working alongside Mr Sherman in the Junior School Office. I’m always happy to help whatever the issue, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
And I (Mr Sherman) hope that the kids aren’t sick of me after last year! And that I can be a familiar face for them in the office. You’ve been a great group and I’m excited to see you grow even more through Year 8. I’m really excited to work with you all again.
Our focus for the start of this year will be for our Year 8s to “seize opportunities and participate”, because hopefully we can provide those opportunities for you more this year!
Daniel Bouchet-Hibbert & Jake Sherman
Year 8 Coordinators
Year 9 News
Welcome back Year 9 2022. We would like to extend our warmest wishes to you all at the beginning of the new academic year.
We all know that new beginnings are always full of excitement, full of new experiences and new challenges, and it depends on you what strategy you will use to overcome these challenges and make your dreams come true. We can’t be good at everything, but we should try our best and compete with ourselves every day.
We would like to acknowledge and congratulate all those students who attained high academic scores last year and also participated in many competitions such as Math Olympiad and got scores from Credit to High Distinction. Well done!
Our 2022 Junior School Captains:
Jamie Katic
Aditya Reddycharla
Zachary Servadei
Hasini Teddu
Congratulations for being selected as Captains for this year. Best of luck with your new roles. I firmly believe you all can make a difference as captains of this year. We look forward to working with you as leaders of the Junior School Team of 2022.
Our motto at Glen Eira College is Learn, Grow and Connect. I would like to add a quote. “Not all storms come to disrupt our life, some come to clear our path”. So look forward, learn from your mistakes and seize every opportunity for growth and do your best as you can!
This motto can be reflected when you all come prepared for all your classes with required resources and equipment. This will help you to do your best. Keep in mind the Glen Eira 5 that we want to see in our students.
In week 3 or 4 of this term, Year 7-9 will complete On Demand Testing for English and Maths.
All Year 9 students are booked in to complete their Morrisby Profile (the Career guidance tool). It can take approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9G: Period 3 & 4 – Thursday, 17th February and 9F: Period 3 & 4 – Friday, 18th February.
Students will also be completing their one on one online interviews with Morrisby certificated consultants during the week of 21st – 25th March. Please see our careers section for more information from Heather Palm, GEC Careers and Pathways Coordinator.
We seek support from all Year 9 families to support the GEC school uniform policy, especially in regards to no nose piercing permitted, only natural hair colours are allowed, and plain black socks are all part of school uniform. The uniform policy is on our school website and in the student planner. If a student can’t wear the expected uniform item we would like you to send a note signed by parents/carers of the student for school to be aware of the reason and consent given. The out of uniform form is in the student planner.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
We wish all our Year 9s another bright year of school life.
Parminder Kaur and Edgar Bonne
Year 9 Coordinators
Congratulations Genevieve & Audrey
After almost one year on/off Judo season due to lockdowns, Genevieve (9E) and Audrey (7E) competed at the first 2022 Judo Victoria tournament on Sunday 6th February.
What made the event more interesting was the sisters had to fight against each for the first time ever, because Audrey’s weight was 100 grams above her weight division! Talk about being super strict! Although the girls were shorter/smaller than their opponents, they managed to do well. Genevieve got gold, and Audrey silver.
Stephanie Salinas (Mum)