Junior School News

From the Head of Junior School

Last week I spoke with our students about grit. I discussed the qualities that come together to create grit, determination, resilience, self belief and perseverance. Developing these qualities will help our students achieve and overcome challenges. If we can help our students develop grit, we are helping them to develop the ability to tackle anything. It is important for our students to understand that developing grit does not always mean that they will come first or win. 

In Week 7, I saw an amazing example of grit in action. Mr Di Fede and I travelled to Melbourne to help supervise and coach the Junior Girls Soccer Team at the State Finals. Our team was one of the top eight in the state. They were excited to be there and also a bit nervous about playing at such a high level. The first match was a tough one in which they drew nil-all. They all played hard and it was great to see them supporting each other both on the pitch and off. It was in the second game where I saw the great example of grit. The girls had to play against a school from Geelong. I had watched them in their first game and I could see that Geelong had a lot of soccer players by the way they were moving the ball around. Our team had three soccer players. The other team scored four goals against us in the first half. Just before the end of the first half, one of our players was hit very hard in the stomach by a ball. They doubled over in pain and had to be helped off. Watching our girls at half time we could see that they were pretty flat. They were playing against a team that was very good. I have coached soccer for a long time and I have seen teams full of soccer players who would basically give up if they were four goals down and getting outplayed. Not our girls. They went straight back onto the pitch and fought their hearts out. The player who was hurt went back on and ran her legs off trying to defend. Our keeper was getting peppered by shots but they kept their head up and kept working hard. I would love to say that they came back and won the game, but they didn’t. What they did do was show an amazing amount of grit, to keep on playing hard, to keep supporting each other and to keep fighting until the final whistle. That’s persistence. That’s perseverance. Even when the other team were saying unkind things, our girls didn’t drop their heads and get upset. They just played harder. That’s resilience. When Mr Di Fede needed someone to sub on quickly for an injury, our players were jumping to volunteer and get back on the pitch. While the girls didn’t win the title, they did show that they have what it takes to succeed in life. They certainly won our respect. When the going got tough, they kept going. Grit is all about having the determination and courage to keep going, even when things get tough and that is exactly what they did.

That’s what we want to help develop in each of our students. We help develop grit by supporting our students to deal with uncomfortable situations. Sometimes we ask them to do things that they might be a bit worried about at first. Camp is a great example. This was evident in our recent Year 1 camp. Quite a few of the students who slept over were nervous to stay. The teachers helped them through their worries and the students were proud when they got picked up in the morning. 

Even something simple like having our students carry their own bags into school each morning can help develop grit. I know for our younger students the bags can be big and a bit heavier, but certainly not something they can’t handle. Carrying their own bag in when it is a bit uncomfortable is a way of helping them develop perseverance and a sense of independence. 

At school we help our students to set goals and then work towards achieving those goals. We help them to face challenges and challenging situations. We help them to learn from their mistakes and teach them that mistakes are not failures, they are opportunities to learn. We encourage them to stay positive, even when things get hard. We encourage them to ask for help. Importantly, we help them to celebrate success. Success doesn’t always have to mean winning. Success means moving forward and improving. All of these things help our students to develop the qualities that, when combined, we describe as grit. Perseverance, self-belief, resilience and determination. 

NAPLAN

Recently our families in Years 3 and 5 received their children’s NAPLAN results in the mail. We have since received the national and state data, and I have included a table of our results compared to those. In summary, our averages are above the state and national averages in every aspect of NAPLAN. Delving a little further, our school median results for all aspects were higher than the average results recorded for students tested in the major cities, the highest-scoring subgroup within the Victorian students tested. These are very good results for us and are a testament to the work that we have been putting into improving our reading, spelling and numeracy performance. While I know this is just one test on one day and that there is still work to be done, I thank all of our teachers for the effort that they have put into helping our students improve. Particular thanks to Mrs Peter for her work in leading curriculum development and improvement within the Junior School.

ArtsFest

On Wednesday night we had the opening of ArtsFest 2024. This year our annual Junior School Art Show and Grandparent’s and Special Friend’s Day has been combined with Junior School International Day and also includes art from our Senior School students. It is truly a whole-school event with our Senior School Arts Faculty joining with Junior School to present ArtsFest. A huge thank you to Mrs Nic James, Head of Art; Mrs Cally Bartlett, Head of Arts Faculty; Mrs Sharon Hocking, Junior School Art teacher; our teachers of the Arts across the School; our Junior School Language teachers, Mrs Maria Krelle and Mrs Georgiana Rice, who have planned all the international activities and menus; our Junior School teaching and non-teaching staff; our technical support staff; our maintenance staff; and our parent volunteers, who have all worked together to produce such a spectacular event. A particular thanks to Mrs Kim Henery for her tireless work, both in preparation prior to the event and for her attention to detail in the running of each aspect of the event.

I am sure all of our parents who have been able to walk through the various art exhibitions or attend the performances on Friday have appreciated the efforts that have gone into making this P–12 event so successful. For those parents who could not attend on Wednesday night or Friday, ArtsFest will be open from 9am to 1pm on Saturday. 

Father's Day stall

Friends of Junior School hosted their annual Father’s Day Stall on Thursday 31 August. Students were very excited to choose and give a gift for their dad, grandfather or significant person in their life.  We hope everyone enjoyed their day on Sunday 3 September and got a lovely surprise with their carefully chosen gift. Thank you to Caroline Martin, Kate Macdonald and Emma Armour for coordinating the stall, and to Wendy Harbridge, Olga Davenport, Ema Hadi and Lucy Spalding who assisted on the day. 

Year 4 Zoo Excursion

As Year 4 boarded the bus, everyone was buzzing with excitement. There was singing, shouting and interesting conversations going on all around us. When we arrived at Werribee Zoo, we had a snack and got organised into groups. Some people went in groups with a teacher or a parent. We were in a group with Polly and Katherine’s mother, Bec. We set off to explore. 

We saw cheetahs, lions, gorillas, tortoises, hippos and snakes. It was exciting to hear that Werribee Zoo is going to welcome some elephants very soon. We also saw Australian animals, such as emus, kangaroos and koalas. All these animals welcomed us with warmth and curiosity.

The lions were a male and a female. They had a huge enclosure to roam around. When they went right up to the glass, they looked at us like we are weird humans. I suppose we are to them. They are the kings and queens, strength and honour circles them. The tortoises were five brothers. They were recently moved to Werribee Zoo, and were fighting over who would be the boss of the new enclosure. They were very curious and were surprisingly fast for tortoises. They made swift movements and they were angry at each other, trying to be the boss, but when they stop fighting they will learn that anger is just a fog that you can see through.

The Australian tour showed us many different native animals. The koalas were so cute and the emus kept coming near us. The snakes and birds were in a closed area but were all very interesting to learn about. The sounds of these animals remind us that they are living a life of their own – they’re not just animals for us to look at, they live a beautiful life too.

Meerkats! The meerkats were very interactive and enthusiastic. They stood on their legs, climbed and ran. One meerkat decided to run along the glass and have a relay race with us. We would follow it and then the meerkat would suddenly stop and turn. We would stumble and then keep running. Meerkats are like small children wanting to grow up and make friends.

After we all explored, we met the rest of our classmates to have a break. After our break, we went on the Safari Tour. We went on a huge vehicle, like a big open bus. We had a host explaining each and every one of the animals, even the fake ones. It was like we were in Africa! There were zebras, camels, giraffes, antelopes and many more interesting animals. They roam freely, wishing and learning, maybe wishing for the wild or more creatures of their own kind, even though they are looked after very well. Learning that sometimes you have to live through the bad to create a goodness for you to live in.

 We went down a hill to a plain and had a close-up with the animals. The giraffes were eating and were friendly. They were tall and great, watching over the world. One camel blocked the path for the bus and stayed close to the bus. All of the animals were fascinating. When we went back to collect our bags, we all wished we were still with the animals.

On the bus ride back, everyone was exhausted but delighted by what they saw at the Werribee Zoo.

Grace Beattie (4 Jenkin) and Katerine Morsillo (4 Riley)

Divisional Basketball

Congratulations to the students in our Girton Boys and Girls Year 5/6 teams who competed at the annual Sandhurst carnival on Friday 1 September.

Our girls were competitive from the start and played a great team game with some very nice set plays and shooting. They finished the day with four wins and two losses, and came second in their pool.

Our boys won five games and lost one. They finished second in their pool and narrowly missed out on making the finals. Some great teamwork and encouragement was shown all day.

We would like to thank Mark Alabakov for his assistance and coaching on the day. His basketball knowledge and feedback for our players was invaluable.

Thank you also to Tanaka Tamangani and Dulee Siriwardana for assisting with scoring.

Mr Mark Di Fede

Mr Paul Flanagan 

State Soccer

On 30 August, 14 girls ranging from Year 5 and 6 travelled to Melbourne for the State Soccer Championships.

We were all super excited and couldn’t wait for our first match. Wonthaggi PS put up a good fight, but after two 15-minute halves no one was able to score with the games ending in a nil-all draw. Our second match was against St Patrick's West Geelong. You could tell from the very start of the match that all the girls on the opposing team were very strong. We showed determination and persistence, and the game ended 9-0. We all knew that our final game against Auburn South would also be really tough but we still gave it our best efforts, ending the game 6-0.

A massive thank you to Mr Mark Di Fede, who gave up lots of his time to coach us – we all are very appreciative. Thank you to Mr Thompson, who came to help assist the coach and to support us, and Krishna Rao, who helped coach on the Sunday afternoon training sessions. We were all extremely grateful to the parents, friends and family who came along and gave us amazing support, food and weekend practice matches. Last but not least, thank you to the girls. At the very start of this we struggled to make a team, with only four people who had played soccer before, but now our team made it to the Victorian  State Final! Just like the Matildas we didn’t go home with a medal but we won the support of our family, friends and the school.

Maya Dhanapala (6 Riley) and Norah Rao (6 Riley)

Year 1 Dad's Morning Tea

Ruby Dobell:

Last Friday my dad came to school for a morning of fun activities. We had a special morning tea. I really enjoyed eating with my dad. Our favourite food was the chocolate brownies. They were delicious!

Tabitha Morley:

My dad could not come to the Father’s Day morning, so he came on Thursday instead. Dad was in the Hot Seat. In the Hot Seat dad answered lots of questions from the class. He said he had such a fun time which made me happy. Dad said he would love to come in again.

Jedd Anderson:

My dad and I really enjoyed the physical activities that Mr Doherty set up for us. I really enjoyed spending time with dad, especially giving him a big cuddle when he left. 

Allegra Griffiths:

My dad came to school for a special morning last Friday. I really enjoyed doing the orienteering course and looking for things around the school. The activities on the oval were lots of fun.

Bella Song:

My dad came to school last Friday for the morning. We did special activities. I really liked the morning tea. The gingerbread with chocolate was scrumptious!

Amber Hocking:

When my dad came to school last week, I liked reading him a book in the Library. It was called, You’re the Coolest Dad.

Neerav Prasanth Nair:

Last Friday our dads came to school. I loved spending time with my dad.

Zara Syed:

My dad came to school last Friday. I liked doing the skipping rope and basketball activities with my dad.

Annika Rao: 

Our dads came to school last week. I loved playing with my dad and eating morning tea with him.

RULER – Preps receiving their badges

On Monday 28 August, Preparatory students received their IMAGINE badges. These badges are one aspect of their Social and Emotional Intelligence journey at Girton Grammar School.

RULER, developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, stands for Recognising, Understanding, Labelling, Expressing and Regulating emotions. It is an evidence-based program that equips students with the tools to navigate and understand their emotions effectively, fostering a positive school environment.

Preparatory staff have been working with the students on the RULER approach and the link between Emotional Intelligence and their badges.

The students have been proudly wearing their badges since receiving them. 

Junior School Production: Aladdin Jr

Rehearsals are in full swing for the Junior School Production of Aladdin Jr. 

The Year 2, 4 and 6 students have been learning songs and dances, exciting fight scenes and even some magical moments for the audience to enjoy. 

Come on an adventure through Arabian nights, where young Aladdin and his friends stay one jump ahead of trouble in the marketplace of Agrabah and an independent princess Jasmine feels trapped within the palace walls. Evil is lurking as Jafar and Iago plot to become the Sultan and Aladdin is caught in their plans. The all-powerful Genie offers Aladdin hope, and a whole new world of magic and adventure unfolds as the fight of good versus evil and the hope of freedom prevails. 

This wonderful show will be performed on Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 of October at the Capital Theatre.  Tickets will be available in the coming weeks.

Mrs Butler Rees

Junior School Drama Teacher

Classes in Classical Ballet

Kelly Sports Spring Program

Camp Australia

J Cycle

2023 Alpinestars Schools MTB Series