From the Principal

GovHack 2021

The Great Southern Grammar GovHack team for 2021 have been successful in winning the WA state challenge “How would you improve online services in WA” for their app titled Project Clover - designed to be a tool for citizens of all ages to engage with and report issues around public spaces to local government. GovHack is the biggest open data hackathon in the Southern Hemisphere and is held over one weekend in August and connects passionate people with government at all levels to try and make productive use of open data. It requires skills in creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking to design projects to address all sorts of challenges we face in society. This year’s themes were Energy and Infrastructure, Our Digital Future, Agriculture and the Environment, and Health and Wellbeing.  The app that our team designed uses open data to collect information on public spaces and smart detection on when a user enters a public space (such as a park or a library) through geofencing and GPS. It also improves accessibility to public spaces by providing information on nearby parking spaces, and builds out a smart-bin system to support local governments to better manage waste.   

Congratulations to the GovHack 2021 team, Joe Hawke, Kelvin Hands, Ryan Hands, Charlie Hill, Owen Baxter-Holland, Harley Roberts-Johnston and Colin Ferreira.

Griffins Basketball Launch

Under the direction of the President of the Griffins Basketball Team, Nanette Keen, I was delighted to be part of the 2021/22 season launch.  A number of teams were presented with newly designed Griffins basketball uniforms. Coaches and Managers presented uniforms to each player whilst Nathan Symonds spoke about the Griffins Code of Conduct and Values.  Overall, I was impressed with the direction in regard to behaviour, coaching and commitment of the players. 

Class of 2021 Valedictory

This Friday we graduate the Class of 2021 with a Chapel Service followed by the Graduation and Awards Ceremony. The Class of 2021 have been a wonderful class and contributed significantly to the life of the School. At the same time, they are ready to journey into post school education and employment. The day will culminate with a lunch for over 400 students and guests with food vans and entertainment. 

One of the highlights will be the Guard of Honour where all students will be asked to line the pathway as the Year Twelve students conclude their GSG educational journey. As the Year Twelve students travel their new journey of self-discovery there may be times where mistakes will be made but it is worth remembering this is a shared human condition where knowledge will be gained from mistakes and failures and, through them, growth and experiences added to the students' backpacks of Wisdom and Knowledge.

Community Wildspace Walk

Our Community Wildspace Walk is coming up next week on 28 October, just a friendly reminder to wear your gumboots! 

There is still time to RSVP to: junior@gsg.wa.edu.au

Mr Mark Sawle | Principal