Whole School

2021 State Interschool Equestrian Championships 

Four riders represented GSG at the EWA State Interschool Equestrian Championships in the second week of the April school holidays.  It was the first time since 2018 that GSG has sent a team to the State Championships with Covid-19 impacting on the competition in 2020.

The youngest rider, Amelia McDonald (Year Six) riding Cadbury competed in the Primary school competition, while Rachel Henderson (Year Eleven), riding Brittany, Felicity Ericsson (Year Nine) riding Kiwi and Ruby Rae (Year Nine) riding both Jack and Ben competed in the Secondary school competition.

Riders once again were competing against some of the best junior riders in the State and did themselves and the School proud all gaining places and points for the team.  Of note was Ruby and Ben winning the Combined Training 95cm with Felicity and Kiwi finishing 4th in a very strong field of riders.  Ruby riding Jack was amazing, winning all the show jumping rounds (80cm and 90cm) with some exciting and speedy jump offs.  Felicity and Kiwi also finished 3rd in the 80cm show jumping, with Rachel and Brittany finishing 5th in the 80cm and 6th in the 90cm.  Amelia and Cadbury finished second in the Primary Show horse, where she also won the ridden component of the competition.

All riders were always immaculately presented and were great ambassadors for the School. At this stage overall results have not been released, they should be available within the next few weeks.

Mrs Carol Bergersen | GSG Equestrian Team 

From the Environment Prefect 

Climate Clever

As a large organisation with many thousand electrical devices, hundreds of bins, and tens of heaters, quantifying our overall environmental impact and carbon footprint has been a monumental but fundamental task in transitioning to a more sustainable organisation. 

Last year starting in the Values and Christian Service periods, students were given the opportunity to help this quantification by performing energy audits on each of the classrooms in the school, involving recording the number of electrical devices, such as light bulbs and computers and other devices, such as heaters or hot water systems. To aid this process, we utilised an application called ClimateClever which was specifically designed by the ClimateClever initiative to calculate and assess the carbon footprint of schools and homes. 

ClimateClever is now offering FREE ClimateClever Home subscriptions for 100 members of the GSG community using this link.

I encourage all members of the school community to give it a go and see where you can improve your carbon footprint and environmental impact.

National Youth Science Forum (NYSF)

Over the summer holidays I was very fortunate to attend a science-focussed forum event, called the National Youth Science Forum. For those who have not heard of the program before, it is approximately three weeks long including speeches from Nobel Laureate Prize winners, science personalities, such as Dr Karl and researchers at the cutting edge of science discoveries with the main purpose being to provide guidance and support for students looking for/into a pathway in the STEM fields. My personal experience was very positive with all the presenters explaining their journey through education, including a live tour of CERN (where they smash atoms together) but the best aspect overall was that we were encouraged to ask questions and most importantly, learn. I would like to say thanks to Rotary City and Rotary Port clubs for sponsoring my virtual trip to the National Youth Science Forum and would highly recommend the program to any student looking at a STEM career https://www.nysf.edu.au/

Kelvin Hands | Environment Prefect 

Mothers' Day Stall

The Year Twelve Business Certificate students are holding a Mothers' Day Stall for Junior School students on Friday 7 May.  The students are creating gift hampers from donated and bought items, such as chocolates, painted mugs, make-up, soaps, plants, crafted items and candles.  All hampers will be at a set price of $5 and students will be able to come at lunch to decide which gift they would like to purchase.  All the money raised will go to a local charity which will be decided upon after the students complete some research.  Please get behind this small Year Twelve group (only six students) and bring $5 on the day or drop off some things at the office to donate towards the hampers.

Mrs Naomi Cooper | Chaplain 

Mental Health First Aid Training

Year Ten Teen MHFA Training 

This was completed in Term One and the Certificates of Completion for our Year Ten students will be distributed very soon via Health Education classes. 

Year Eight Teen MHFA

Great Southern Grammar is conducting teen MHFA training for the Year Eight students this term. This training gives teenagers the skills they need to recognise and help their peers/friends with mental health problems/crises, and to get the help of an adult quickly. Teen MHFA is part of the Year Eight Health curriculum, managed by Mr Paul Donaldson who has ensured that the content of the MHFA course compliments and echoes the wider Health and Physical Education course which your child will participate in this year. 

As an instructor, I have extensive experience across four decades as an educator, counsellor and trainer, having been fortunate to have worked in rural, remote and urban schools in Queensland and Western Australia. I am an accredited teen MHFA trainer and Youth MHFA trainer (for adults who work with adolescents – see below for imminent training opportunity), and am motivated by the aims of the MHFA programmes: to reduce stigma around mental health problems and to increase and normalise help seeking. 

Students are also eligible for their Certificate of Completion. The pastoral teams of Year Eight students at GSG include homeroom teachers, Head of Year - Mr Tompkin, trusted adults such as other teachers and coaches. 

Many of our staff have completed the Youth Mental Health First Aid Course, which assists staff in providing support for young people.  The list of these YMHFAiders is glued into the inside cover of the manual which students take home at the end of the course.

MHFA course Information:

Microsoft Word - 7 - 9 Information for students.docx (mhfa.com.au)

Microsoft Word - 7 - 9 Information for parents for editing.docx (mhfa.com.au)

Youth MHFA Training for GSG Community Members 

When: Sat 8 May, Sun 16 May, Sat 22 May

Register: Email sheryl.moncur@gsg.wa.edu.au

(Update on group numbers today. So far, only four people have registered tacit interest and I will proceed with a minimum of 8.)

This 14 hour course is for adults who parent, care, foster, coach, train and participate in the lives of young people. There will be three sessions of approx. 4.5 hrs each commencing at 12.30pm on each of the training days. The content covered includes adolescent development, the latest statistics and facts on five mental health disorders/problems and the ALGEE action plan which equips us to manage situations of crisis and ongoing mental health problems in the young people we care for. There will be a cost of $25 per individual or if two members from the same family attend the cost would be reduced to $40 for both. Payment methods will be explained via group email once I have numbers. Optimal group numbers can range from 8 – 20 which would be suitable for me to present. Also, if you wish to learn more about this you can find some info here.

If you are interested in knowing more about MHFA or if you would like to learn about the benefits of mindfulness please email sheryl.moncur@gsg.wa.edu.au

Mindful in May 

You may have heard of the initiative Mindful in May or MIM which you can further investigate here MIM 2021 - Mindful In May 

In times like these, we really can't afford to lose our mind. Spend a month training your mind and step into greater calm. Mindful in May is the world’s largest online mindfulness fundraising campaign. The idea behind it is simple: we provide education, tools and support so you can build a sustainable meditation practice to become mentally fit in one month. Research shows it only takes 10 minutes of meditation a day to see significant positive benefits to your life. And as you strengthen your mind, you can also opt to better the world by raising funds to bring clean, safe drinking water to those who most need it.

You would no doubt be aware that there is vast research which espouses the health benefits of regular mindfulness practice; stronger immune system, better sleep, greater focus and concentration, less reactive and more responsive behaviours, deeper understanding of our brain and its development. The benefits of this mode of brain training may enhance our mental health and how we manage challenges. Being emotionally agile or psychological flexible is a skill which can be reinforced by regular practice of mindfulness, and our ability to pivot, to consider, to pause before we react to a stimulus serves us well in our family, social and workplace relationships/situations. The boarding community at GSG have downloaded the Smiling Mind app as well as ReachOut Breathe. There are also other great apps to use such as Calm and Headspace, both of which are free to download.

Ms Sheryl Moncur | School Counsellor