From the Headmaster

There is an adage that says to get something you never had, you have to do something you have never done. Many students enacted this maxim on Thursday evening in the Black Box when they took to the stage with scripts they had written themselves, performing plays they self-directed. For many, this level of autonomy on stage was new territory, and by stepping outside their comfort zones, they have grown.

From serious to seriously funny, and at times improvised, the One Act Plays were a delight and a wonderful way for many of the sixty students in the Actors Studio co-curriculum to do something that they have never done.

The Term 1 sporting calendar is so full there is barely time for some students to draw breath between the various sporting competitions. There have been six inter-school sports competitions for Senior School students alone since the last edition of eLink, ranging from the Goulburn Valley Grammar School Summer Sports Day (Cricket and Tennis) to the School Sports Victoria Loddon Mallee Swimming Carnival. At the Sandhurst Division Intermediate Sports Day, the Girls team won the Volleyball and at the Goulburn Valley Grammar friendly, several students were awarded best players, as follows; Junior Cricket, Aidan Clemens (9 Millward), Senior Cricket, Adan Shanahan (11 Jenkin), Junior Tennis, Chloe Cook (Aherne) and Charlie Whitsed (9 Riley), Senior Tennis, Grace Whyte (12 Riley) and Angus Waller (10 Jones).

At the Loddon Mallee Region Swim Carnival in Swan Hill yesterday, 27 Senior School students competed and between them, secured a total of 32 medals, with six students winning multiple medals; Ella Downing (8 Frew), Hunter Boswell (7 Jenkin), Sebastian Wood (12 Riley), Xavier Morrissey (11 Aherne), Angus Falconer (9 Aherne), Harriet Read (12 Jenkin). A wonderful effort from a very strong swim team.

And in Basketball, ten Girton teams will compete in Finals in the coming weeks. Four teams have already progressed to Grand Finals, making the Girton Basketball Club one to be reckoned with in Bendigo!

We farewelled a small group of students from Gojo Senior High School in Nara, Japan, last week who were part of our student exchange program. Now in its 26th year, this student exchange is one of the longest-running language exchange programs in Regional Victoria, and several Girton students eagerly await the opportunity to travel to Japan as part of the return exchange.

It was my privilege and my pleasure to conduct a Headmaster’s tour for prospective families last week, and I was delighted to have some Senior School students join the tour as host ambassadors. To truly experience the feel of our school, I like to invite visitors to ask our students whether they enjoy their teachers, whether there is a culture of good relationships and whether they feel that Girton will get them to where they wish to go. Invariably, the students respond honestly and positively to these questions, which is why it is one of the best places imaginable to work.

The Junior School and Senior School Athletics Carnivals are next week, followed the week after by Camps/Work Experience Week for students in Years 7 to 11, so we are fast hurtling towards a fun and energetic end of Term.

Of course, there will also be a layer of sadness at our all-school assembly next Friday when we formally farewell the school’s unwavering Deputy, Mrs Robyn MacCulloch, who will retire at the end of Term. For thirty-one years, Mrs MacCulloch has shown steadfast commitment to Girton Grammar School, and the final assembly at her beloved school will be an apt show of respect from students and staff for Girton’s founding Deputy Head.

Matthew F. Maruff

Headmaster