Junior School News

From the Head of Junior School

Welcome back to Term 3! 

It is great to have our students back on site. We have a wonderful school with excellent facilities, but the school is just not the same without the noise and energy that students bring. This term we welcomed six new students to our school, taking our total Junior School enrolments to 392, the strongest enrolments we have had for several years. Our enrolments for 2025 are also very strong, which is a great endorsement of our Junior School community. 

We were expecting to come back to school and be greeted by a building site this term, as the construction of the Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) was scheduled to commence late last term. Unfortunately, we have had some delays due to permit clarifications and issues with materials. We are hoping that construction will commence within the next month, with the COLA being ready for use at the beginning of 2025. While the delays are disappointing, it has meant no disruptions to our play areas, which our students are pleased with.

RULER

Over the holiday break, we received some very exciting news. Girton has been selected by Yale University as a RULER Spotlight School, and we are the first school in the Southern Hemisphere to receive this honour. This is recognition of the excellent work that our whole school community has put into developing and supporting social and emotional learning through the RULER approach. Spotlight Schools are called upon to support other schools that are looking to embed social and emotional learning in their community. Our school has already been speaking with educators in Hong Kong who are keen to visit later in the year to see how RULER has been implemented in our school. This opportunity for cultural exchange between schools is very exciting.  

I would like to particularly thank Vanessa Juergens, Prue Milner and Georgie Rice for their excellent work in preparing our Spotlight submission. Thank you also to the parents who braved the wintery conditions on Thursday night to attend the RULER Parent Information Evening. Attendees learnt about the RULER journey at Girton and were taken through the four core tools of RULER. Parents and carers interested in the background to RULER can find more information on the RULER website, as well as resources on the Astra RULER page. Parents may also be interested in Professor Brackett’s webcast, Dealing With Feelings, which offers a wealth of expert insights, celebrity interviews and evidence-based strategies designed to deepen our understanding of our emotions and those of others.

Semester 2 Student Representative Council

Congratulations to the following students who were elected by their peers as Student Representative Council members for Semester 2.

Road safety awareness research

At the end of last term, we were approached by the Australian Catholic University to be involved in a research project investigating child road safety. The aim of the research is to gather data on children’s hazard perception behaviour with regards to traffic. We are very happy to support the research as we are always concerned about the safety of children around roads and general traffic. Any research that can provide safer outcomes for children is most welcome. The research process will involve parents completing a survey and then students completing some physical movement within a classroom followed by a virtual reality component where students will wear a headset and respond using a handset. All student assessment will occur at school during the school day. The research is being conducted by Ms Nicole Ford, a former Girton student. If your child is aged between 7 and 12 and you are happy for them to take part in the research, please respond to Nicole at nicole.ford2@myacu.edu.au.

Dental van survey

Last week, parents were sent an email regarding the possibility of accessing a dental van through the Commonwealth Child Dental Benefits Schedule. We would appreciate it if parents could take a minute to complete the Astra survey to gauge their interest in accessing this service if it was available at school.  

School Sports Victoria State Cross-Country

Congratulations to Alice McIntosh and Lauren Davenport, who travelled down to Melbourne to compete in the SSV State Cross-Country finals last week. They competed in very ordinary conditions against a very strong field. Alice completed a strong run to finish 55th. Unfortunately, Lauren was injured during the run and was not able to finish. Congratulations to both for progressing through to the state level.

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School

SSV State Cross-Country Championships

On Thursday 18 June, myself and one other Year 6 student represented Girton in the SSV State Cross-Country Championships.

We faced tough conditions in Yarra Glen – it was cold, rainy and extremely muddy. Despite the bad conditions, at 11:40am we set out on the course to start our race.

Because of the tough conditions and uneven surface, Lauren rolled her ankle in a ditch and was unable to complete the race. She was one of many who fell victim to the challenging conditions. 

Personally, this race was very tough for me. With the steep hills and muddy ground, the end felt like it would never come. I finished the race with very wet and EXTREMELY muddy clothes. In the end it was a good challenge for us to face and has helped strengthen our resilience.

Hopefully next year there will be a little less mud!

Alice McIntosh, 6M 

Sandhurst Divisional Tournament

Two very excited netball teams were entered in the Sandhurst Divisional Tournament on Wednesday 24 July. 

The day consisted of seven 14-minute games, which was a new and exhausting experience for many of the players. The students played extremely well and should be proud of their efforts both on and off the court. 

The boys finished equal runner-up in their division and the girls team finished third. 

Thanks to Senior School students Stella and Ruby for umpiring. 

Vanessa Juergens 

(Teacher of Year 2D)

Kelly Sports Program