Secondary School

This point of the term is a lovely time as the number of smiling faces increases!  Most assessments have been completed and those that are left feel manageable.  The effort students from all year groups have put into their final assessments has been inspiring this year; the numbers attending academic support and homework club have been impressive and seeing students care about their assessments and striving to do well has been wonderful to see. 

From swimming lessons and peer support training, to camps, socials and sausage sizzles, the students are enjoying their end-of-year activities but I think the sense of accomplishment from completing another year is the more significant reason behind the smiles.  And rightly so.  If we think back to the beginning of the year, the growth in each cohort has been remarkable.

At our mini Assembly this week, we celebrated news from Years Eight and Nine as well as elective prize winners. 

Year Eight Award winners:

Year Nine Award Winners:

Western Force Visit

Henry Smith (Year Nine)

Last week for VACS rugby, we had two Western Force players run our training. To start the session, we did some strength and tackling drills that gave everyone a good idea on how strong and sturdy pro rugby players need to be. We then moved into some game simulations that clearly broke down the concepts of passing to and finding space. I think everyone involved really gained from the experience and will bring skills learnt from it into any future rugby games or other sports played. I would like to say a big thank you to Western Force, Mr Osborne, Mr Fullarton, and Mr Gugenheim for running the programme and giving us all this opportunity.

Year Nine Careers Taster Days

Ava Marmion (Year Nine)

On Monday 6 November, the Year Nine cohort went on an excursion to their chosen career taster programme. The options were hospitality, tourism, agriculture and working with The City of Albany. The programme I went on was hospitality. The hospitality taster was held at Rustlers Steakhouse, and this was the first time they had held a taster day. As soon as we walked in we were welcomed by friendly staff and the owners, Susie and Les. We then split into small groups and started working the activities they had set up for us. The first activity I did was working on the coffee machine and making Lattes and lemon lime bitters, which we all enjoyed. The next activity was learning how to set a table properly and mopping the floors, the mopping did get quite competitive. After that we were invited into the kitchen to make steak sandwiches. It was really hot above the grill and we were all so happy to come out of the kitchen with perfectly done sandwiches. The other career taster was with the City of Albany. This group went to Albany Public Library, had a tour of the Library and heard a presentation on how it is run and the different aspects to it. Overall, it was an amazing day for everyone and I'd like to thank Susie, Les, and the staff at Rustlers and The City of Albany, and Mrs O’Donnell for organising this amazing programme.

Jack Lange (Year Nine)

The students who visited Bathgate Farm learnt about how potatoes used to be picked, as well as how they are picked now. They even had a contest to see who could pick the most potatoes in just two minutes. The students were told what sort of potatoes Bathgate Farm grows and what they can be used for, and were given a small tour of the vegetable farm. At the end of the day the students were able to take home as many potatoes as they could carry.

At Hilton Garden Inn Albany, we were introduced to the Manager, Maxine, who walked us through the foyer and presented us with the employee’s induction. We then walked around the dining area and the breakfast tables, and were taken up to the second floor to see the rooms. They were quite new and spacious, and everyone was shown how to make a bed. Then we were taken back downstairs and shown the kitchen and the employees break room, and met some lovely staff.

Afterwards we made our way to the Museum of the Great Southern where were we learnt that there are lots of different types of jobs and opportunities in the museum industry. We walked around and explored the museum. We found this to be a positive and insightful experience, and we thank the Hilton Garden Inn and Museum of the Great Southern staff for allowing us to come in and experience what it would be like if we were to work in either of these places.

Year Nine Volleyball Carnival

Louis Ford (Year Nine)

On Friday 24 November around 50 Year Nine students went to ALAC to compete in the Volleyball Carnival over four divisions - division one boys, division two boys, division one girls, and division two girls. I was in the division two boys’ team. Even though we only won one game against Mount Barker we all had a great time. There were plenty of laughs and plenty of dodgy shots coming from a few of us. 

Thank you to all the staff that helped organise the event and Mr Donaldson for coaching us. 

Venja Ruggera (Year Nine)

Last Friday Grammar took four teams of Year Nines to the GSSSA Volleyball Carnival. I was part of the competitive team and we had two wins, both against Denmark. We came fifth overall. The development team unfortunately didn’t win any games, but they didn’t lose their spirit the whole day. We all learnt a lot about Volleyball, there was some great serving and blocking from everyone and we all improved over the day. I would like to thank Mr Donaldson and Mr Symonds for organising this event and making it possible, and Harley, Ella and Tahlia for coaching. We all had a lot of fun, I would definitely recommend this carnival to any Year Eights for next year as it is a great opportunity for people wanting to give Volleyball a go.

Student Council – Recycling Plan

Lauren Buis (Year Eight) and Evan Pretorius (Year Eight)

As the end of the year concludes you are sure to have bits and pieces of extra stationery around that you just don't want and are thinking of throwing in the bin. But the Student Council is asking you to please support the annual end of year stationery recycling.

Why, you might ask, would anyone want my old pencils and glue stick? Because starting each new school year can be an expensive exercise, with book lists, uniforms, shoes and school fees. Many families struggle to provide the basics, including the book list items needed for their children's schoolwork.

To help others that are less fortunate, we are asking you to donate your pre­loved (and maybe new) stationery to our recycling station so we can pass it onto the Give Write charity. Give Write takes our stationery donations and recycles, repackages and redistributes to kids in need so they have the tools to feel engaged and inspired to learn.

We will have containers to put your old stationery in, one for general recycling, and even one for electronic waste.

These will be set up in the undercover area in the Miaritch Building near the hospitality room and the maths office from Wednesday this week until the end of school. 

Please help us to help others and donate your old stationery as the year concludes. And if that doesn't make you want to help, maybe knowing that it will help out the environment might.

Year Nine Picnic

Nyomi Johnson (Year Nine)

This past Thursday, many Year Nines and their families caught up in the Pratten Centre courtyard and enjoyed some food and time together. With many games and things to do, we all had a great time. Some of the boys were playing footy, while a group of girls were enjoying a peaceful picnic on the bricks, we all had fun spending time together. We all had fun playing spike ball with one another, until Mr McLean showed up and beat everyone within two minutes. For those who booked food they enjoyed that, or shared some food that they all brought themselves. We would all like to thank Mrs Turnor, Mr Robson, and everyone else who had a part in putting together this wonderful afternoon.

Elevate

We’re excited to announce that Elevate Education's final free webinar of the year will be taking place on Wednesday 6 December.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school: 

Wednesday 6 December at 6.30pm (AEDT)

How You Can Set Your Child Up for Success 

Click here to register for free

In this webinar, Elevate will guide you through the foundational study skills required to hit the ground running next academic year – skills such as:

✅Effective Note Taking 

✅Deliberate Practice and Implementing a System of Review 

✅Extra Reading, and How to Read Around a Topic 

Mrs Victoria Turnor | Head of Secondary