Secondary School

I hope everyone had time over the mid-term break to take a breath and enjoy time together. The streets of Albany certainly had a lot going on so there was plenty to get out and see! 

Our Year Seven and Year Nine students enjoyed their camps in Week Four and we have our Year Ten and Year Eight students heading out next week. Our Year Seven students had a wonderful experience, making new friends and building trusting relationships with their teachers. 

As I sat with our Year Nine students last week and listened to some of the activities, I was amazed at the opportunities that they were afforded. They went hiking in the forest, mountain biking, abseiling, swimming at the beach and caving, all in a week! On top of that, they were learning to cook their own food, live without their technology, sleep in tents with people who weren’t their siblings, and overcome some blisters and scraped knees without their parents around. 

We also spoke about the purpose of the camp – why do we make the students do these things? In Year Nine, it’s not just to allow them fantastic outdoor experiences with their friends, the purpose of this camp was to explore the topic of independence, and transitioning from childhood into adulthood. There were several ‘campfire conversations’ throughout the week that had specific questions tailored to guide the students towards deep self-reflection about who they are, how they face up to challenges, and how they want to live their values through their actions. Sometimes, to get people to reflect on these sorts of things, it is best to take them out of their day-to-day operations and put them into a new setting (it helps when the wonder and awe of nature surrounds it!). It is equally important, however, that upon their return to their daily routine, those important lessons are not lost in the camp experience, but that we bring them back to the real world with us. 

I encourage families to have those sort of conversations with their children around the family home so that the students don’t just tell you about the mountain biking, the beaches and the food, but also about what they learnt about themselves and others. We need to honour that new learning as our adolescents transition to adulthood. 

Not all our camps are about outdoor education, this week we have Years Eleven and Twelve Art Camp, a Geography and Biology Camp in Week Eight and a University Road Show camp to Perth in April. An important part of our educational philosophy at GSG is centered around experiential learning and actually getting the students out and about to learn in a real-world context. It is critical for the students to see and experience what they learn about in the classroom within a real-world context. 

Next week on Monday we are celebrating International Women’s Day at Great Southern Grammar with a Whole School Assembly. We will have several people speak and we would love to see families there to see their children and afterwards join us for morning tea together in the school library. Whether your child is speaking or not, you are most welcome to come and see the assembly for yourself and get a cultural pulse check of what is happening at the School and how our young people are growing in the community. 

Tomorrow, I head to Wagin for the Woolorama and then to Katanning, to visit our boarding families in the region. Our boarding families are a very special part of our Secondary School, making up almost 15% of the student population, and they offer a unique perspective. It was lovely to attend the recent Boarding Parents’ Committee meeting and hear of the triumphs and challenges of the first five weeks.

The last few weeks have seen our VACS program in full swing on a Wednesday. The Years Seven, Eight, and Nine students are enrolled in Arts programs such as textiles and printing, drawing, debating, and wood craft, amongst many others. The Years Ten, Eleven and Twelve students are doing sports such as volleyball, touch rugby, basketball and netball. Wednesday at Great Southern Grammar is a very popular day for students as they get to sample many fun activities and develop new skills and passions. 

Year Seven Camp

Year Nine Camp

Mr Jordan Owenell | Deputy Principal - Head of Secondary