From the Principal

While the world has been captivated by the extraordinary feats of our Olympians in Paris, our school community has also been delighted by the impressive accomplishments of our Girtonians over the past fortnight. It seems that each passing day has brought news of a remarkable new achievement.

Our Senior School students impressed their audiences with enlightening presentations at the Inter-House Public Speaking Competition. Our Girton teams competed admirably in region- and state-level contests in netball, cross-country, chess, debating and aerobic gymnastics. And just this week, Girton students placed second in the Science and Engineering Challenge, and our Junior School Performance Choir and Girton Singers were respectively awarded Platinum and Gold at the Victorian School Music Festival. With all this taking place over just two weeks, it feels as though the sky is the limit this term. There is still so much more to look forward to, with our young musicians eagerly preparing for next week’s Ensembles concerts and our Tournament of Minds students completing full-day rehearsals ahead of the upcoming Regional Tournament. 

All of these achievements are a testament to the importance of supporting our students to find their passions and engage with them at the highest level. However, as I shared with students at a recent Junior School Assembly, I believe representing ourselves and our school with pride far outweighs any medal or award. This is why I was equally delighted to receive a glowing report of our students outside the competitive arena this week. It came in the form of an email from a woman who was seated close to several rows of our students at a performance of the musical Wicked, which they were attending as part of a drama excursion. Expecting to see some element of misbehaviour from a large group of students on an exciting day out in Melbourne, this member of the public was instead amazed to hear how well our students spoke about the performance and by their exemplary conduct, which included stepping in to assist their young daughter when she fell down the theatre stairs. For me, this kind of unsolicited feedback is the ultimate endorsement of Girton Grammar, and I would like to thank our students and staff for living our values both inside and outside the school gates.

While our students and staff remain deeply immersed in everything this term at Girton has to offer, our focus is also beginning to shift to 2025. For our students, this involves attending information sessions and transition events such as our upcoming Imagine Day, which will offer a fun introduction to Senior School life for our incoming Year 7 students. For me and our leadership team, it involves assessing our progress against our 2024 goals as we begin to prepare the 2025 Implementation Plan. In reviewing our long list of objectives for this year, it has been gratifying to see so many of them now highlighted in green, indicating that we are succeeding in making our strategic priorities a reality.

From our campus facilities, to our curricular and co-curricular programs, to our policies and procedures, it is fantastic to see improvements in every aspect of our school that can be traced back to the input of students, staff and parents. The feedback of our parent and carer community plays a powerful role in determining the direction of our school, and there are a number of ways you can share it with us. One of the primary avenues is through the annual Parent Satisfaction Survey run by Independent Schools Victoria, which will open on Monday. I encourage all parents and carers to provide their input, whether you would like to suggest an improvement or, like the member of the public at Wicked, you would like to share a heartening experience. Please know that all feedback at Girton is welcomed and valued, through this survey opportunity and throughout the entire year.  

I look forward to sharing the survey link with you on Monday, and would like to thank you in advance for helping to make our school the very best it can be. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family. 

Dr Emma O’Rielly

Principal