Senior School News

From the Head of Character and Culture

As we reach the end of another busy Term, I would like to thank all Senior School students for their efforts, enthusiasm and commitment throughout Term 3.

One of the highlights as we head towards Term 4 is the excitement building for our annual House Dinners. Taking place in the first week of next Term, these evenings provide a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to celebrate House spirit, strengthen connections and enjoy time together outside the classroom. House Mentor groups have been busily preparing and rehearsing their performances, and it has been fantastic to see the creativity, teamwork and enthusiasm on display. We look forward to seeing the culmination of their hard work at what promises to be another memorable series of events.

Week 10 also featured Composer of the Year, held on Thursday 27 September. This event once again showcased the musical talent of our students and highlighted the dedication required to compose their works. Congratulations to all students who shared their compositions with the Girton community.

As we look ahead, our Year 12 students enter an important period in their academic journey. The upcoming holiday break will provide them with valuable time to continue preparing for their final examinations, which commence early in Term 4. With only two weeks of classes remaining before we farewell the Class of 2026, we encourage them to remain focused, maintain healthy routines and make the most of the support available from their teachers and families. We are iso proud of their contributions to the Senior School and look forward to celebrating their achievements in the weeks ahead.

I wish all students and families a safe and restful holiday break and thank everyone for their contribution to a highly successful Term 3. We look forward to welcoming students back refreshed and ready for an exciting and productive final term of the year.

Mr Marcus Smalley

Head of Character and Culture

Musician & Composer of the Year

On the evening of Thursday 17 September, we had the absolute pleasure of experiencing the musical brilliance of our VCE Music Performance and VCE Music Composition students at our annual Musician & Composer of the Year event in the Girton Black Box.

Students performing were:

• Elyssa Bhowon (11 Jenkin) on voice performing Voila by Barbara Pravi, Lili Poe and Antoine Barrau 
• Rory Clarke (12 Jones) on cello performing Julie-O by Mark Summer
• Francesca Fox (12 Jones) on voice performing Crazy He Calls Me by Carl Sigman
• Audrey Jackson (12 Frew) on voice performing Stars and the Moon by Jason Robert Brown
• Milly Karimi Sarab (12 Riley) on voice performing Burn from the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Henry Martin (12 Jones) on trumpet performing Sarabande by Hubeau
• Maddison McArthur (12 Jones) on voice performing Havsmelodi by Amanda Ginsberg
• Billy McLean (12 Jones) on drums performing Give It Away Now by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
• Daniel Noble (12 Jones) on saxophone performing Piece en Forme de Habanera by Ravel
• Otis Patton (12 Riley) on piano of voice performing Nutshell by Alice in Chains
• Will Thoma (12 Aherne) on saxophone performing Puffer Fish by Derek Brown
• Isabel Weibgen (11 Riley) on piano performing Toccata by Khachaturian
• Students presenting compositions were:
• Varley Bobart (11 Millward) presenting Navy Nights
• Nicholas Chong (11 Millward) presenting Limerence
• Angus Cuthbertson (11 Jones) presenting Reverse Waterfall
• Oliver Jacobs (11 Jones) presenting Home Again
• Liam Moat (11 Jones) presenting The Concrete Filled Beetles Are Crawling Through the Southern Pine Trees

• Otis Patton (12 Riley) presenting Xantheus Trionfo

   

Joining me on the panel were Mrs Laura Dusseljee, Head of Junior Music, and our external adjudicator, Mrs Pauline Gorrie. Choosing just two recipients from such an exceptional group was certainly no easy task. With much deliberation, we are delighted to announce the following recipients:

Musician of the Year: Daniel Noble (12 Jones) on saxophone for Piece en Forme de Habanera by Ravel. Daniel demonstrated high-level accuracy with intonation, grace with phrasing, and mastery of rhythmic complexity and dynamic expression. He immersed himself and the audience in the piece's reflective beauty. 

Composer of the Year: Nicholas Chong (11 Millward) for Limerence. Nicholas' composition demonstrated his skill and sophistication in creating a cohesive sound across a large number of instruments. His piece showed mature chordal voicing, clear tonality, and rhythmic complexity. His piece conveyed his intent to write about love and relationships and demonstrates his strong potential as an emerging young composer. 

These awards are a wonderful recognition of Daniel and Nicholas' musicianship, creativity, and commitment throughout the year. 

Many thanks to our Music staff for supporting these students: Mr Dave Turpie for Drums, Mrs Stephanie McCorkelle for Voice, Ms Ashleigh Yeates for Saxophone, Ms Cheryl Long for Piano and accompaniment, and Mrs Cally Bartlett for Cello and for teaching the VCE Music Composition students.

Thanks also to Darcy Cullen, Angus Lawson, Billy McLean, and Will Thoma for accompanying Otis. Special thanks Mrs Ashley Chelliah for her wonderful administration support, to Adrian Hodda from the Tech Team and to Mark Beever and the Community Relations team for their support before, during and after the event. 

Congratulations once again to all VCE Music students who performed and presented. You are all exceptional young musicians and composers with a bright future ahead, full of more music-making. 

Ms Min Hunter

Head of Senior Music

News from the Japanese Department: Language Assistants Visit

We were very fortunate to welcome two Japanese university students to Girton as Language Assistants last month. Miss Nodoka Osaki and Miss Rina Sukenobu spent part of their summer holiday assisting our Japanese programme.

They attended Japanese classes from Years 5 to 12, supporting our students with their language skills and sharing the latest news and culture from Japan. Miss Osaki and Miss Sukenobu particularly enjoyed spending time with our Japanese students and experiencing day-to-day Australian family life during their homestays.

I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the families of Matilda Robertson-Turnock (5 Frew), Thomas Andrews (9 Jones), Bridie Primmer (10 Millward) and Inez McMeken (12 Millward) for warmly welcoming and hosting Miss Osaki and Miss Sukenobu.

We are very grateful for the contribution they made to our Japanese programme and look forward to welcoming another Language Assistant to Girton next year.

Ms Motoko Watanabe

Assistant Head of LOTE

Head of House - Millward

Students travel to Japan on Immersion Tour

On Thursday 17th September a group of fourteen Year 9, 10 and 11 Girton students departed Australia for a 2-week long language immersion tour. 

They will visit Tokyo, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Kyoto, and are expected to speak Japanese at every opportunity. Students will also spend eight days visiting our sister school, Gojo High School, attending classes with our Japanese host students. 

Thank you to Mr Dave Martin, Ms Kanae Kerr and Ms Emily Holmes for giving up your holidays to supervise students on the tour. This will be the third time Ms Holmes has visited Gojo, since she went on exchange to Japan herself when she was a Girton student! 

We wish the group all the best on their travels!

Mrs Liz Blanks

Senior School Teacher of Japanese

Head of House - Jones

Girton Chess Team Success!

On Tuesday 15 September, 17 chess players from Years 7 to 12 competed in the Mt Alexander Schools Chess Challenge at Castlemaine Secondary College. This is a zonal qualifying competition, with the five best players from the three highest-scoring schools winning a place in the Chess Victoria State Finals, held during October in Melbourne.

All members of the team achieved some personal best results and faced some very challenging and intense games. The draws for the competition are based on skill, not age, so some of our Year 7s were pitted against much more experienced Year 12 competitors.

Neel Girish (9 Frew) achieved the distinction of joint Individual Best Player of the tournament!

The team finished second in the competition, beaten by a very small margin.

Our five best players will now compete in the State Finals in October. They are:

Neel Girish, Matthew Henry, Jonathan Maslunka, Henry Vickers and Lahan Mallikaarachichi.

Mrs Robyn Kristenson

Senior School Teacher of Business Studies

Staff Member in Charge (SMC) - Chess

All School Netball Tournament 

Two Girton netball teams represented the school at the 2026 National All Schools Netball Challenge, competing against some of the strongest teams in the country at the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre on the Gold Coast.

The Intermediate Development team began its campaign with a tough 39–14 loss to Kingscliff High School before facing another strong opponent in Trinity College, going down 46–11. The team responded impressively in Round 3, recording its first victory of the tournament with a 23–17 win over Peter Carnley Anglican Community College.

The challenge continued with difficult matches against Central Coast Sports College, Bendigo Education – ADP, Western Heights College and St Andrews Lutheran College, with Girton showing resilience despite several sizeable defeats. The team finished its round-robin campaign with its best game of the tournament, a dramatic 30–29 loss to Windsor High School, narrowly missing out on victory by a single goal after being down by 6.

The Intermediate High-Performance team also faced a demanding schedule against high-quality opposition. After opening with a 41–9 loss to St James College and a 28–18 defeat against Marsden State High School, Girton found its rhythm in Round 3, producing an excellent 30–17 victory over Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School.

The team continued to compete strongly throughout the remaining rounds, including a 41–9 loss to Catherine McAuley College Bendigo, a 32–17 defeat against Westminster School and a 35–12 result against Western Heights College. In Round 7, Girton secured another important victory, defeating Moama Anglican Grammar 25–16.

The team’s determination was rewarded with a place in the playoffs. In a thrilling final match against Marsden State High School, Girton produced one of its best performances of the tournament, holding its nerve to secure a 27–25 victory, a two-goal win in a closely fought contest. The Intermediate High-Performance team finished the tournament in 5th place out of 8, a wonderful achievement.

A special thank you to teachers Ms Lauren Bowles and Ms Elke Ryan for their coaching performances and to Mr Matthew Hoyt (Representative Sports Assistant) for his diligence and organisation.

Congratulations to both teams on their commitment, competitiveness and sportsmanship throughout the challenge.

Mr Clint Whitsed

Head of Sport

Year 11/12 Senior Boys travel to Melbourne for Herald Sun Shield

Wind and sun. That’s what greeted the Senior Boys Football team as they arrived at the WLJ Crofts Reserve in Altona North. After emerging victorious at the ICCES Football carnival, Girton was granted entry into the second division of the Herald Sun Shield, allowing them to face up against other opponents from around the state.

It was an early morning departure from the Gym which, coupled with a bye in the first match, meant that the boys had plenty of time to warm up and prepare for the first match against Loyola College. Coached by Scott ‘Supercoach’ Langan and led on field by Liam ‘Doley’ Dole, Girton came away from this first contest with a 5-point win. The back line put in the hard work early, with the wind blowing their way, and managed to keep Loyola to 5 behinds for the first half. The second half was then dominated by the Girton frontline, with a goal to Liam Kroschel and 4 additional behinds securing the victory.

Unfortunately, this is where the fairytale ended for Girton Grammar. The second match saw Girton facing the old rival, Ballarat Clarendon College. With the wind in the first half, and some exceptional clearance work, Clarendon kicked away, ending the half with a surplus of 14 points. The wind decided this was a good time to become unpredictable, and started swirling around the ground, making things very difficult for our forward line. Despite a goal to Tom Seipolt, the game ended when Clarendon were 21 points to the good.

Shaken from this defeat, the team were not able to find their rhythm again, going down to Emmaus College and the Christian Schools Conglomerate, CSEN. Despite the results not going their way, the boys hopped back on the bus, tired but proud of their efforts as the first Girton team to claim victory in the ICCES competition. Bring on ICCES 2027.

Mr Bevan Madden 

Assistant Coach