The Girton eLink

From the Head of Junior School

I am reminded daily of what a wonderful school culture we have when I am greeted at the gate by our enthusiastic and positive students. Last week it was even more apparent when our students were asked to be patient and flexible due to some unavoidable disruptions to their play spaces. 

 

On Friday 18 October, our Junior School Library flooded. As the lunchtime bell rang, the heavens opened and we received a massive downpour. While it only lasted 10 minutes, the damage it did to our Library was considerable. Water came through the ceiling and onto the books, the floor and the equipment in our meeting room. This meant that our Library could not be used until it was dried and given the all-clear, which we knew would take the best part of the following week. Even though they had no Library to use at lunchtimes, our students did not complain, finding other places to gather and play.

 

In addition to the Library being out of commission, we received the news that one of our wonderful shade trees in the back playground needed to be removed. An arborist inspection on Monday found that its trunk had split and, while only minor now, could quickly deteriorate and create a risk to our safety. The back playground was then also taken out of commission, further limiting the play space available to our children. Still, they didn’t complain – they just found other spaces and went about their daily play. We are very fortunate to have such resilient and flexible young people to work with. We are also thankful to our hardworking Maintenance and Grounds staff, and to the staff from Steamatic and Hickman's Tree Maintenance who were able to come in very quickly and help us get everything back in order. 

 

Our Covered Outdoor Learning Area is also progressing well, with the concrete for the base of the courts being laid this week. After several weeks of site preparation, it was good to see the structures starting to be put in place. Our students will love the all-weather play space once it is completed early next year.

Junior School Production

Thank you and congratulations to all of our creative Year 2, 4 and 6 students, their teachers and our production staff, who put on a magnificent show last week. Finding Nemo Jr was a huge success, with our students performing four shows, including a matinee for nearly 300 kinder students. I was fortunate to be able to witness the energy and camaraderie backstage as well as being able to sit in the audience for a show. It was a lesson in cooperation and coordination as characters were whisked on and off stage with calm precision. Our Year 6 students were very tired by the end of the production run but they kept on going to give every audience an excellent show. We are very proud of all our students and staff involved in the show and I hope they are equally proud of their achievements.

Tennis

Girton has had a relationship with local tennis coaching legend Mr Steve Storer that extends well beyond the last 20 years. Many of our current parents were coached by Steve when they were Juniors! Steve has taken our students for tennis during their PE lessons and has run lessons before school. His energy, enthusiasm and patience with our students is exemplary. This year Steve took up a role as the Head Coach at the Ironbark Tennis Club and has been very happy to have our students come up to the club at the top of Don Street for their PE tennis lessons. This has been great for our students as the classes can walk up to the courts and back with their teachers. We thank Steve for his commitment to our school and look forward to continuing our relationship for many years to come. 

Parking

Student drop-off and pick-up has long been a challenge at our MacKenzie Street site. When I first started in 2007, we had 75% of the school's students departing from the MacKenzie Street gate! We have, over the years, engaged traffic engineers, worked with City of Greater Bendigo traffic officers, liaised with Victoria Police and sought feedback from our school community in an effort to improve traffic flow, reduce frustration and, most importantly, keep our students safe. 

 

Unfortunately, we cannot change the road configuration, nor do we have alternative pick-up and drop-off spaces where we can create an additional traffic flow-through area. There are future plans to create a new Junior School entry point, which may give more options, but in the meantime, we must work with what we have. In order to make the drop-off and pick-up as efficient as possible we have been trying to reinforce the following directives:

  • No parking in the MacKenzie Street drop-off and pick-up zones during the designated times on the traffic signs.
  • We ask that parents drive to the uppermost available car space. 
  • Students must be able to exit the car safely and independently, and parents are asked to stay in their vehicles. Where possible, it is better for students to have their bags with them in the car rather than having to go to the boot. If your child is not capable of exiting independently, we advise parking in one of the spaces outside the MacKenzie Street drop-off and pick-up zones and assisting your child from there.
  • Abusive behaviour towards other parents or staff will not be tolerated. (Please know that it is frustrating for all of us.)
  • Do not park across the driveways of our neighbours.

We have asked that staff on duty in MacKenzie Street monitor the traffic flow and ask parents who are not following the school drop-off and pick-up directives to do so. If you are asked to stay in your car, or move to the top of the drop-off/pick-up zone, please respect the directives of the staff.

 

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School