Junior School News

Tournament of Minds Regional Final: Saturday 15th August

This year we had eight Tournament of Minds (TOM) teams compete at the Regional Finals, including four Primary teams and four Secondary teams. There are seven students in each team. When the problem was released, the teams had six weeks to come up with ideas, characters and costumes, all while having a great time along the way.

Girton Grammar School hosted the event this year, and it was lovely to see our community stepping in to support the event.

The challenges involve creating a solution to a complex problem and presenting that solution in the form of a fully prepared ten-minute skit to a panel of judges at La Trobe in Bendigo. The performances are always entertaining and lots of fun!

The teams also had to answer a separate, spontaneous question on the day that was posed. They were allowed four minutes to discuss the problem and one minute to present their most creative responses.

It was a wonderful day at the Girton Grammar Morey Building and we were lucky enough to have a lot of family and friends there supporting us.

Six of our eight teams won the event, and one team achieved an Honours. This is a remarkable accomplishment.

Thank you to the staff involved in TOM this year: Mr Ruddick, Mr Leske, Mrs Byron, Mrs Milner, Mrs Bath and Mr Turner. The students are so grateful for their support.

The five teams will now begin the difficult task of preparing for the Tournament of Minds State Finals in Melbourne on Sunday 13th September. We wish them all good luck.

Varley Bobart

Tournament of Minds Captain (11 Millward)

Descriptive Writing in Year 6

Description of the Bottom of My Bed, by Mia Fox (6 Jones)

Beneath my bed was a world I never imagined was real. Dust covered the walls like forgotten memories, waiting to be revived. Shadows like dark demons swirling around me, watching my every move. As I looked around, whispers danced to a song with no beginning or end. I wiped my hand across the carpet, untouched by the outside world. Cold air whooshed around me like an icy cloak being wrapped around my body. I crawled deeper into the darkness, where secrets seemed to be hiding in every corner. The air thick with mysteries, floating all around me. The carpet rustled like autumn leaves and darkness hung as they were being woken up from a deep sleep. The air was so sweet, I could almost taste the drops of honey in my mouth.

“Mia, it's time for dinner”,  yelled mum, her voice rippling through the air.

A wonderful evening of music at Ulumbarra Theatre

What a spectacular evening of music-making at the beautiful Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo! Our Junior School Ensembles Concert was a wonderful celebration of the talent, enthusiasm and dedication of our students.

The evening featured an impressive array of ensembles, showcasing students from across the Junior School. Our choirs delighted the audience and once again demonstrated the wonderful standard of singing within our music program.

Instrumental music was equally well represented, with wonderful performances from our Junior and Advanced Bands, Poco Strings and Super Strings, Carcassi Guitar Ensemble, our Bells Angels Bell Choir and the Junior School Orchestra. It was wonderful to see so many students performing with confidence and pride, and to hear the remarkable progress they have made throughout the year.

Of course, every great concert needs a surprise! The undisputed highlight of the evening was the unexpected appearance of our Mr Thompson, our Junior School Headmaster… as a duck! His memorable performance certainly brought plenty of laughter and ensured that the evening was particularly entertaining.

Performing in the magnificent Ulumbarra Theatre provided our students with a truly special experience. The stage, acoustics and atmosphere created a wonderful setting for them to share their music with family and friends.

A huge congratulations to all of our students and a sincere thank you to our dedicated music staff, whose commitment and encouragement make these performances possible. Most importantly, thank you to our families for supporting our young musicians and celebrating their achievements.

It was an evening filled with music, pride, laughter and a rather memorable duck!

Mrs Laura Dusseljee 

Head of Junior School Music

Chess Tournament

Last week, some students travelled to Eaglehawk Primary School to compete in the Northern Star Chess tournament. There were around 60 people competing from seven schools, all competing for a spot in the State Semi-Final a few months from now. We won the entire tournament, and Ahaan Tadakamadla (6 Frew) won the Individual First Prize, for the second time so far (he won last year as well). 

The individual scores are as follows: 

• Ahaan Tadakamadla (6 Frew): 7/7 
• Liam Wood (6 Aherne): 6/7 
• Yohan Shetty (6 Jenkin): 5.5/7 
• Jake Rowse-Wells (4 Jones): 5/7 

The above players will be competing in the State Semi-Final in Melbourne. Our team score was 28/35, only counting the top 5 players as per the tournament rules. 

Yohan Shetty (6 Jenkin)

Year 3 "Chess Queens" conquer

On Friday the 7th of August, the 'Chess Queens' took part in our first chess competition at the Northern Star Chess Tournament.

We have been working hard at the Wednesday lunch time Chess Club to improve our skills each week. Although we felt prepared when we arrived at the competition, we were all super excited, but also a little nervous. Students from lots of different schools attended the tournament, so we were very proud when Girton Grammar School won the School Award for the competition.

Thank you to Mr Thompson and Mr Johnson for supervising us, and to Mrs Bath for popping in to visit! 

We are already looking forward to competing in the Castlemaine tournament next term.

Written by the 'Chess Queens' - Lucille, Eyva, Zara, Anaisha and Hannah

Bullying No Way Week 

This week, the Student Representative Council (SRC) worked with the RULER Ambassadors to help raise awareness of Bullying No Way Week across the Junior School.

As part of the week, the SRC held a colouring competition, with many students taking the time to create some fantastic entries. The entries are on display near the Junior School Office.

Thank you to all of the students who entered the competition, and congratulations to our

 winners listed below!

• Prep - Yaansh Movalia
• Year 1/2 – Frankie McManus
• Year 3/4 - Tommy Caldow
• Year 5/6 – Poppy Alexander

Rep Soccer team scores!

On Tuesday 18 August, the boys Representative Soccer team competed in the Loddon Mallee Regional Soccer Tournament in Swan Hill. In the morning, all the players left Bendigo to get there at roughly 9am. As soon as we got there, we started to get our kits on and lace up our boots. As we started the warm-up, there was a positive feeling in the air. Some people were nervous, but collectively we all knew that the day was going to be a successful one. After Mr Turner motivated us, we were ready for a big day. 

Our first game was 3-2 against Echuca East, with Keir scoring first, then Echuca scoring 2 goals in quick succession. After half-time we got a corner, which we scored from a beautiful cross from Archer and a powerful header from Edward following a rocket of a free kick that happened minutes later with Edward scoring arguably the best goal in the tournament.  

Our next game was against Swan Hill which we won 12-1, in the early minutes of the game Sulaymaan scored 2 goals back-to-back following 1 goal each from Will and Edward. After half-time we scored 8 goals with Lucas scoring 2, Nicky scoring 1, Keir scoring 2 and Edward scoring another 3. At that point we were ready to play our 3rd and must-win game.  

Our 3rd game was against Woodend, where there was only 1 goal scored in the whole 24 minutes that we played. Early in the game, Keir crossed the ball into the box right into Sulaymaan’s feet where he kicked it in and scored. After that, there were no more goals scored in the match and we were celebrating because we had just made it to the grand final!   

The grand final was against Kennington Primary School. We knew it was going to be the toughest game yet, but in the dying minutes of the game, our hero, Edward Esposito, received a great ball from Nicky and then Edward volleyed it in. We celebrated like crazy, but we also knew the game wasn’t over yet. After a great save from one of our keepers, Remi, the full-time whistle blew and we instantly ran over to each other and hugged Edward and crowd-surfed him. We then shook hands after a great game against our fellow Bendigo school and congratulated them for giving us a fantastic game. 

The supervisor of the tournament gave us the first-place banner. We then quickly took a team photo and then our drivers took us to McDonald's for our well-deserved soft serve that Mr Di Fede promised at school. After two hours of driving, we arrived in Bendigo and told our parents about our win.  

Edward Esposito (6 Aherne)

Sulaymaan Altaf (6 Jenkin)

Rafael Massaki (6 Millward)

A Wonderful Week of Music Making

The Junior School Performance Choir has enjoyed another wonderful week of music making, culminating in a memorable day at the prestigious Royal South Street Eisteddfod in Ballarat on Friday, 14 August.

Our students performed beautifully and represented the school with great pride, enthusiasm and musicality. They were ultimately awarded second place in both sections, with Ruyton Girls’ Grammar taking first place with two magnificent performances. Ruyton had recently returned from the Sydney Choral Eisteddfod, where they won all of their sections, so our students were certainly competing against an outstanding choir.

Our students were delighted to receive a trophy for each section, as well as winning $175 for the school. More importantly, it was a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their love of singing, celebrate their hard work and enjoy a fantastic day surrounded by music.

Congratulations to all of our wonderful choir members. Their commitment, enthusiasm and beautiful singing continue to make us very proud!

Mrs Laura Dusseljee 

Head of Junior School Music

Year 1 students visit Discovery Centre

On Friday the 7th we went to the Discovery Centre. First, we got on the bus. Next, we sat our bags in the science room. Then the first thing we did was we had a play in the General Exhibits, I had lots of fun! Next, we went to the Planetarium. I sat on the beanbags and saw the Milky Way. After a bit, we went to the Vertical Slide. I didn’t go on it, but 4 people went on it. After that, we had lunch, it was yummy. After lunch, we watched a marble run video on the wall and made one ourselves. I was in a group with Cooper and Sarvika. Finally, we went on the bus back to school and had Assembly. My favourite part was the General Exhibits.

Alma Cummins (1 Millward)

Last Friday, all the Year One classes went on an excursion to the Discovery Centre in Bendigo, to learn about science and to practice for our camp. First, we went on the bus. I was excited about the vertical slide. Next, we went to the Marble run. My team was Ivy, Sofia H and me. We made a cool marble run that worked! It was tricky at first, but we kept going. It was fun! Then we went to the planetarium. It was dark and made me a little bit dizzy. We saw the sun and lots of planets. My favourite was the planets. After that, we went on the vertical slide. I did not go down the slide. Next, we had time for a free play. Finally, we went back to school. It was an exciting day, and I didn’t want to leave!

Sophia Mokhtarpour (1 Aherne)

Last Friday, the Girton Year One students visited the Discovery Centre in Bendigo. When I arrived at school, I felt confident to make the marble run. First, we went on the bus. I saw a kangaroo. Next, we reached the Discovery Centre. We went inside the Lab. We listened to the rules and talked about the sleepover. Then, we went to the Planetarium. We learned a lot about space. It was very dark. After a while, we had a snack break. Afterwards, we had free time. My favourite was the mirror maze. After that, we did the marble run. In my group I had Nate and Thomas. The marble went very fast and we made a home for the marble. After the marble run, we did the vertical slide. I went up to the top, but I didn’t go down. Finally, we had lunch. Lastly, we had 20 minutes of play time. My favourite thing was the marble run.

Aarnik Goyal (1 Aherne)

New sports equipment for the Junior School

The Junior School Student Representative Council (SRC) has been working with Mr Epps to develop a new system for storing, borrowing and looking after sports equipment for students to enjoy during recess and lunchtime. This week we started using the new sports trolley, filled with new sporting equipment. The new equipment was purchased using prize money awarded to Girton Grammar Junior School following the fantastic efforts of students who represented the School in the Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Schools Relay earlier this year. Our students achieved some wonderful results at the event, and their success has now provided something that the whole Junior School can enjoy. A big thank you to Mr Epps and congratulations to all students who represented Girton at the relay. Your efforts have helped us get some great new sports equipment for everyone to enjoy at recess and lunchtime.