The Girton eLink

From the Head of Senior School

Since my last article, we have had another busy two weeks of activities and events.

 

Last week saw our final set of House Dinners for Millward, Frew and Riley. Just as I observed in the first week of House Dinners, all the Year 11 House Captains went above and beyond to deliver a memorable evening, and the students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to connect as a House. Mr Mark Beever's hard work over the six evenings managing the photo booth for the students should not go unrecognised. His patience, photography skills and dedication ensured all students could take home a souvenir of their evening.

 

Last Monday we also recognised Wear It Purple Day, with students encouraged to wear a splash of purple to show the LGBTQIA+ community that we support and stand firm beside them. Wear It Purple was founded in 2010 with the aim of fostering supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people, and has since developed into an international movement that our students were eager to support. 

 

Last week, I was fortunate to accompany a group of our Year 9 students to La Trobe University in Bendigo to participate in a two-day Social Innovators workshop, which encouraged students to develop services, programs and products that could enrich the lives of those in their local community. While following the Social Innovators process, they discovered new insights around issues they cared about, generated ambitious ideas and prototyped how these concepts could work in the community. 

 

 

The final day involved the students preparing compelling pitches to present to academics and community business leaders, including representatives from Latrobe University, Bendigo Tech School, City of Greater Bendigo, Sustainability Victoria, Coliban Water, Victoria Police and Bendigo Health. This taught them valuable skills in problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, and presenting to various audiences. Our students deliberated and discussed various ideas, including:

  • An in-vehicle alert system to warn drivers when an animal is nearby
  • The ability to charge cars in special lanes while driving
  • An oasis water park for Bendigo
  • A campaign to raise awareness about the impacts of period pain
  • Improving the availability of nutritionally balanced options in local cafés and school canteens.

The two days provided an excellent opportunity for our students to connect with like-minded peers and push themselves out of their comfort zones to overcome the nerves associated with presenting to a large audience of local community leaders in business and academia. 

 

Another event that gave our students the opportunity to think about the future was Tuesday's empowerme, a one-day interactive workshop for Year 10 students. Run by Lord Somers Camp and Power House, and proudly hosted by Girton in our school gymnasium, empowerme brought together students from a variety of schools to listen to inspiring speakers and complete engaging activities with the aim of encouraging them to evaluate their passions, set goals and learn how they can achieve their full potential. 

Last week, our Year 6 students and the new incoming Year 7s for 2024 took part in their first orientation event, called ‘Imagine Day’. Imagine Day is designed to develop those first connections within the cohort in readiness for Year 7. A parent tour, morning tea and ‘buddy photo’ memento were some of the activities organised. Our next big transition event for students entering Year 7 in 2024 will be held on 10 October, and will include ACER testing in numeracy, comprehension and general ability. For parents of children starting Senior School next year, it is worth highlighting that with change can come uncertainty and anxiety. Whenever we are in a new situation, we have a period where we learn and adapt. Below are some tips to help your child's transition go as smoothly as possible next year.

  1. Ask lots and lots of questions: Encourage your child to ask questions, especially in those first few days of Senior School. If your child is uncomfortable asking the teacher directly, encourage them to ask a friend or to speak with the teacher after class. 
  2. Connect with a buddy: A buddy is someone your child can check things with, or even just share their thoughts with. Our incoming Year 7s were partnered up with a buddy on Imagine Day, and you can encourage your child to continue to look out for like-minded students so they can help each other along the way.
  3. Have a positive attitude: Your child's attitude can make a world of difference to their experiences during the transition to Senior School. Encourage your child to take note of whether their thoughts are negative or positive. They can then start to take control of how they think about the situation, which can help them see things in a new light. 
  4. Aim for their personal best: Your child should not compare themselves to others but instead aim for their own personal best. All children have different skills and strengths, and sometimes these are not always evident in a school environment. Your child should be encouraged to focus on being the best student they can be and to celebrate their unique strengths and gifts.
  5. Consolidate knowledge: When a child is learning new ideas and concepts or has lots of new information to memorise, they need to take time to consolidate this information. This could be explaining what they are learning to someone, or writing a short list or summary of what they have been taught so they don’t forget it.

As we approach our last week of term, I want to wish everyone a restful and safe break, and we look forward to a new term ahead with more exciting events.

 

Ms Dawn Davis

Head of Senior School