From the Headmaster

The Swimming Carnivals at Girton Grammar School are a sight to behold and the pool was awash with colour last week at the 2019 Senior School Swimming Carnival. It was to be Jenkin House that would dominate the day winning both the overall cup and the Spirit Cup. Having not won the Spirit Cup in the past ten years, Jenkin turned on something special this year to claim both trophies. In the pool, they matched their efforts from 2015 and 2017, boding well for future Jenkin swim carnivals.

For students new to the School this year, the House Swimming Carnivals are a quick lesson in friendly House rivalry and an important cultural signifier for our school, setting the scene for many more years of involvement in House competitions, where participation is the key to success and more importantly, to fun and friendships. There is nothing quite like forging new friendships atop a lilo being steered across the pool by six fellow House mates. My thanks to the Heads of House and House Captains for their leadership on the day, to all students for impeccable behaviour and to our hard-working Physical Education Department for the smooth and professional running of an incredible carnival.

The Junior School Swimming Carnival will be concluded by the time that this newsletter publishes and I am sure that the the Houses will have been ably led by the recently elected Junior School House Captains. My hearty congratulations to the six House Captains and six Vice House Captains, named in this edition of eLink, who I am sure will serve their Houses in 2019 with purpose and enthusiasm.

We farewelled forty French students and four teachers from our sister school, Sainte Ursule, this week. By all accounts, this was another successful student exchange and many Girton students eagerly await the opportunity to travel to Lucon on a reciprocated visit.

We have five students who will perform in the 2019 VCE Season of Excellence, based on their VCE Theatre Studies and VCE Music examinations last year. This is an incredible opportunity for these high achieving students to perform in the Top Class concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre and I warmly congratulate the following students on their selection into this prestigious concert; Edwina Wallace-Smith (12 Millward), Oliver Vine (12 Jones) plus Michaela Hulme, Nelson Beks and Lily Begg who are 2018 graduates.

The sounds of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang are already echoing from the Black Box, which for parents with children in Year 8 will not be news, but for everyone else, what a treat!

Enjoy this colourful edition of eLink.

Matthew F. Maruff

Headmaster