Secondary School

As we approach the end of term, I would like to thank the school community for the support and kind messages I have received over the last few weeks.  Working with the students and wider GSG community has been a privilege and I have thrived on the challenge.  I plan to stay connected to the school and look forward to seeing it continue to flourish as I hand over the baton.  I have loved my time at GSG and will cherish the memories I have made here.

I wish all families a restful break and a wonderful ongoing journey with GSG.

Term Two Values and Christian Service (VACS) Program

Heads of House work tirelessly to make our VACS program rich and rewarding.  Our Term Two Service rotation this year has been our best yet with students committing to an array of projects both here at school and out in the community.  Here are some of the things our Secondary School has been involved in:

Peer Support - Year Eleven students work with Year Seven students to build connections, share stories and experiences, and develop capabilities in areas like resilience, managing friendships, schoolwork and study, and organisation. 

Facilities - Manual labour tasks by the school Facilities team. Washing vehicles, clearing rubbish under the trees near the entrance of the school, and spreading soil evenly to level ground ready for grass planting are some of the projects that were assigned to them. The students were productive and quite enjoyed the outdoor physical activity. 

St John’s Church – gardening each week working with volunteers from St John’s Church. Pruning, raking, tidying up the gardens.  

Primary School – 60 Secondary students visited the Primary School each week to work individually or with small groups of primary students during their Stretch and Challenge Mathematics programme. The second period each week was spent playing with the Primary students during their lunch. Lots of make-believe, footy, four-square and basketball occurred. It was so amazing to see students from Years One through to Twelve playing together and just having fun.  

Media - The students wrote articles about the other service groups' activities. 

Wattle eradication - The students removed Sydney Golden Wattle from the bushland behind Collingwood Park.

Two People’s Bay - Students assisted Parks and Wildlife rangers with beach clean-ups around Two People’s Bay, Ledge Beach and Gull Rock. 

Sustainability - Our group presented to the assembly about the use of bins. We completed an audit on some of the recycling bins around school and collected litter around the school boundary. We devised a poster for the classrooms to remind everyone to turn off heaters, projectors and lights as they leave the room. 

Crochet blankets - students worked individually or in groups to learn to crochet and make squares to attach to make blankets for either the animal shelter or a care home. 

Adopt-a-spot - Students set out every week, with buckets and bags in hand, walking the length of the foreshore near the school, hunting for litter. We collected all kinds of rubbish and enjoyed the fresh air and each other's company.  

Scout Camp – The students worked their way through a list of tasks around the camp, including cleaning, weeding and spreading mulch. We were glad of the leadership of Scout and camp user Zahra Gersbach, who was able to give useful direction. 

Coaching - Year Twelve students would rotate through leading some Year Eight and Nine students in various sports. They would create teams, instruct on the rules and then conduct the games. There was excellent engagement from all involved and both groups of students got a lot out of the club. 

Sewing for the hospital - Random Acts of Kindness (RAKS) - Recovery bags with adjustable straps were cut out and sewn for the maternity ward at the Albany Health Campus for new mums to take home on release. Also, a couple for the nurses here at GSG, a couple for new mums, bags for teachers and a couple for students with arms in slings. All material donated by the Salvos Stores, Albany. 

Year Seven, Eight and Nine Endeavour Awards

Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) Update

Courses with Early Closing Dates

Potential applicants should be aware of course codes that have early closing dates:

• Saturday 31 August, 11.59pm

o Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Biology/Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at 

Murdoch University (TISC course code MUSVB for school leavers and MUSVV for 

non-school leavers).

• Monday 30 September, 11.59pm

o Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Curtin University (TISC course 

code CUMBS) 

o Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Assured Pathway to Medicine) at The University 

of Notre Dame (TISC course code NDMBS) 

o Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) at The University of 

Western Australia (TISC course code UG056) 

o Doctor of Dental Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) at The 

University of Western Australia (TISC course code UD056) 

o Doctor of Podiatric Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) at The 

University of Western Australia (TISC course code UR056) 

An updated list of important dates and deadlines is available on the TISC website.

Early Offers

Following the release of a report by the Federal Government, the five universities have agreed that early offers to Year Twelve students for 2025 admissions will not be made until Monday 2 September 2024. Further rounds of early offers will be made on Tuesday 24 September, Monday 14 October, Monday 18 November and Monday 2 December.

Early offers are only made to a student’s first TISC preference, unlike the main and second round of offers where all preferences are considered. We recommend students pay for their application at least two weeks before an early offer date to ensure their application can be assessed.

Most early offers will be conditional, so students should carefully read their offer letter so that they know what is required. Students should also be aware that not all courses are available for early offers. Generally, courses with limited places, and university enabling programs do not make early offers, but for specific lists of courses excluded from early offers, check the university websites.

Early offers will continue to be made based on final Year Eleven results, as it is not feasible to use mid-year Year Twelve results.

Free TISC Webinars

For students, parents and anyone who would like to know more about TISC and our functions, we have organised a series of webinars via Microsoft Teams.

• Tuesday 16 July, 5.30pm Applying through TISC from non-standard schooling 

backgrounds (eg. Big Picture, homeschooling, IDEA Academy). 

• Wednesday 17 July, 5.30pm Introduction to the ATAR for Year Eight to Ten students and 

parents. 

• Tuesday 23 July, 5.30pm Entry requirements & ATAR calculation for 2024 Year Twelve WACE students. (please note that this and the following webinar contain the 

same content as TISC’s school visit presentation, so if you have attended a TISC 

presentation this year, these may be of limited value to you)

• Wednesday 31 July, 5.30pm Applications, results and offers for 2024 Year Twelve WACE 

students. 

Mrs Victoria Turnor | Head of Secondary