From the Head of Junior School

Many of you will know that I enjoy researching the history of Girton Grammar School, Girton College and our school site and buildings. Last week I enjoyed taking some of our students on a tour of Girton House, showing them old photos and asking them to find where the photos might have been taken. I then spoke with them about some inspirational leaders in the history of Girton. One of those leaders was Mrs Charlotte Frew. While she never held a formal leadership position at the School, she was, to a large extent, responsible for the early success of Girton College through securing the site that is now the Junior School. Mrs Frew negotiated the purchase of Glendure House, the residence of Iron Foundry owner Mr John Horwood. This is the building we now know as Girton House. In the early 1900s the space that is now the Thomas Building and the oval and basketball court were all part of the Horwood's Iron Foundry and Metalworks. The foundry was still in operation at the time. Beside the Iron Foundry building was Leggo's Sauce, Jam and Preserves factory. This is the building we now know as the John E Higgs Hall. If you look carefully at the southern end of the hall, you can still see the arches of factory doors that have long since been bricked in and steam pipe openings that have been cemented over.

In the early years of Girton the factory was still in operation and the School was confined to the small gardens at the front and back of Girton House. As freight costs increased, it became too costly to transport product to the ports so Leggo's built a factory in Melbourne and closed down the Vine Street site. The Iron Foundry also scaled down its works. Mrs Frew took the opportunity to secure a lease of the property around the foundry and the Leggo's factory. This allowed for the expansion of the Girton College grounds.

While a lot has certainly changed since Mrs Frew’s time, and the School has been transformed several times, the remains of the factory are still there and have served Girton College and Girton Grammar School very well. Works are now underway to ensure the Higgs Hall and Girton House continue to serve Girton well into the future. The first stage of these works has involved structural investigations so that we can develop a plan of works for the restoration and improvement of the Higgs Hall. This has necessitated explorative works in the foundations, walls and roof structures inside the Hall and in the immediate surrounds. Unfortunately, we have discovered some damage in the floor of one half of the Hall, so we have taken the pre-emptive measure of closing that side. This means there will be some disruption to the programs we would normally run in the Hall. We will be relocating our Friday assemblies to the Junior School Library. The co-curricular activities that can still take place in the other half of the Hall will continue and we will relocate those activities that cannot be accommodated. While this is somewhat of an inconvenience, we are looking forward to being able to use the space when the works are completed.

We will also soon be commencing preliminary works on the building of the new Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) in Junior School. This will be located over the current basketball court and part of the front oval. The next 12 to 18 months will be a very busy time in the Junior School, particularly the front oval and Higgs Hall!

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School

Prep Extended Stay

On Tuesday 31 October, after much anticipation, the Preparatory students set off on their ‘Prep Extended Stay’. With great excitement, they travelled by bus to the White Hills Botanical Gardens. The weather was perfect, and the gardens looked amazing. The children enjoyed a picnic lunch together before playing on the playground. They particularly enjoyed the swings, the water play and the fallen trees that make up this fantastic play area. Later the students took a stroll around the park and, after crossing a metal drawbridge, came upon a whole new area of the beautiful gardens to explore. Reluctantly they left this peaceful experience behind as they moved on to the next activity.

After another short bus ride, they came to the Little Ninja Warriors playground in Epsom. The children thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon of climbing, sliding and exploring. The intricate maze of trampolines, slides and climbing ramps provided hours of entertainment. Our hosts were the fathers of Amy and Mathea in Prep M. They ensured the staff were well cared for and provided treats for the children to celebrate Halloween.

Feeling exhausted after such an exciting time at the play centre, they returned to school for a Zooper Dooper break. Mrs James greeted them with a well-prepared Halloween art activity. Many witches, spiders and monsters were produced using cardboard, sticks and googly eyes. After a quick play outside, the children sat and shared a pizza dinner together. They each had their own small pizza in a box to enjoy. Finally, the children enjoyed a short movie in the classroom – the ideal conclusion to a long and adventurous day.

Student reviews:

At White Hills Botanical Garden, Nora, Charlotte and I made a stew for Mr Robertson. At Ninja Warriors I grabbed a surfboard, went on the slide, and flew in the air.

Eyva Dooreemeah (Prep Millward)

When we got back to school, we went to art to make Halloween puppets. I made a bat. Then we had pizza for dinner.

Hector Sim (Prep Millward)

At Ninja Warriors we got a treat. Then we went back to Girton, and we had a Zooper Dooper!

Percy Bartlett (Prep Riley)

At the Prep Extended Stay I went on a bus to the White Hills Botanical Gardens. Then I went on a bus to go to the Ninja Warriors. Then I went on a bus to school. Then I had dinner.

Dominic Leske (Prep Jenkin)

At the Prep Extended Stay I went on the slide. I had so much fun and I had a Zooper Dooper. I went with Anaisha and it was so much fun. I loved it. I had a mini pizza.

Neve Armour (Prep Jenkin)

State Athletics

On Wednesday 1 November at the State Primary Track and Field Athletics Carnival, Girton Grammar School was represented by two of our students.

Lucy Richard (6 Riley) competed in the Girls 12–13 year 800m, placing 14th with a time of 2.41 minutes (a 2-second PB), and the Girls 12–13 year 1500m, placing 11th with a time of 5.33 minutes (a 7-second PB).
Stella McIntosh (5 Jenkin) represented and was competitive in the Girls 9–10 year Triple Jump.

An amazing effort by both students to qualify for the State Athletics.

Year 6 Drug Awareness Session

In Week 5, the Year 6 cohort learnt about drugs and alcohol and the impact they have on people’s lives.

Dawn from Drug Free Lifestyle came in and taught us about types of drugs and the impact they can have on you, your friends and family. She also taught us what types of drugs are good and bad for our body and brain. She educated us that alcohol is a drug that kills many people, and you should never drink and drive or underage drink. We got to experience what it was like to have impaired vision from drinking. When wearing the drunk goggles, different people had different approaches – some were confident while others were clumsy, and their abilities were reduced. Walking in a straight line, we had to try and make contact with the other person's fingertips. She showed us that a non-alcoholic drinker's liver, heart and kidney looked clean while a heavy alcoholic's organs looked unhealthy.

Before the incursion ended, we did an experiment. She had two glasses of water and two of alcohol. We inserted either a piece of bread or a sugar cube, the sugar dissolved in the water and the bread went all soggy. But in the alcohol, the bread and sugar went rock hard and if dropped did not even make a dint.

This incursion will help us make wise choices as we grow up and are faced with peer group pressure.

Lucy Richard (6 Riley) and Flynn Radford (6 Riley)

Year 2 Excursion to Malmsbury and Lauriston Reservoirs

On Monday 6 November we went to the Lauriston Reservoir and the Malmsbury Reservoir. We got to play games and walk on the wall over the dam. The dam was huge and I couldn’t see the end of it. Under it was so cool, he said that’s where they put the kids who are naughty but I didn’t believe him, I thought he was joking. We saw how deep we were below the water level.

Next, the Malmsbury Reservoir was so dry, but the reservoir was big and we weren’t there for a long time. Then we went to the lunch spot where we sat under a tree and then we played tag and then we went back to school.

Mac Doherty (2 Millward)

On Monday we went on an excursion. In the morning we went on a bus. I was reading my book with Mitchell, when we got there we ate a snack. Then 2D and 2M went into separate groups. First my group played games. It was lots of fun. Lucas took us to see underground. We went through a door that led underneath the spillway. When we came out the other side we had recess. Then we got back on the bus and I sat next to Hugo. We went to the Malmsbury Reservoir. After that we ate lunch. We had a play and I played tag, it was really fun! Then we went back on the bus and we ended up at school. The end.

Oskar Hall (2 Jones)

Congratulations

Congratulations to our seven Junior School swimmers who represented Central Victoria Swimming District 15 in the 2023 Country Junior District Competition in Melbourne on Saturday 28 October. Overall, Central Victoria finished a solid second place behind Gippsland.

Sophie Lee (4 Millward) competed in the 9-year female category and received 1st place in the 50m Fly, 50m Back, 50m Breast, 50m Free and 200m Medley Relay
Rae Anwyl (4 Jenkin) competed in the 10-year female category and received 3rd place in the 200m Medley Relay
Billy Knight (3 Aherne) competed in the 9-year boys category and received 3rd place in the 200m Free Relay and 200m Medley Relay
Lauren Davenport (5 Jenkin) competed in the 11-year female category and received 2nd place in the 50m Fly, 2nd place in the 50m Free and 3rd place in the 200m Free Relay
Stella McIntosh (5 Jenkin) competed in the 10-year female category and received 3rd place in the 50m Fly, and 3rd place in the 200m Free Relay and 200m Medley Relay
Owen Barnes (5 Frew) competed in the 11-year boys category and received 3rd place in the 200m Free Relay
James Davenport (3 Jenkin) competed in the 9-year boys category and received 3rd place in the 200m Free Relay and 200m Medley Relay

Each of the swimmers also had other top 10 finishes in the other strokes in what was a very fast-paced three hours of competition.

Earth Hour

On Wednesday 8 November, the Junior School followed the lead of Senior School and we had an Earth Hour. The SRC promoted this to encourage students to consider ways to reduce energy consumption. We turned off all electrical appliances for one hour and taught in darkness. It was amazing to see that life could go on.

National Kindness Day

Camp Australia

Hi families,

We have had a fun week making magic potions with flowers and ingredients, origami, croquet and lots more.

Coming up we have our National Recycle Week Program. We have lots planned for each day that involves learning how we can reuse boxes, plastic and other materials we might otherwise throw out. We will be making items such as musical instruments, marble runs and windchimes using recycled products.

We have two end-of-year OSHC parties coming up on Thursday 23 November and Tuesday 28 November. Be sure to book in to come and play some games.

Our OSHC service has recently been awarded Excellent (9.0) in the KindiCare Awards for 2023. Ratings are based on reviews and feedback from parents and the community. They also incorporate our Accreditation and Rating score from the end of April this year, where we received a mixture of 'Meeting Standards' and 'Excellent' in the rating scales. Only 12% of early childhood (Childcare and Outside School Hours Care) services have received this award nationally.

As always, I greatly appreciate all feedback.

Have a good week.

Jillie

Girton Student Wellbeing