Junior School News

Preparatory News

Prep students this week have been busy preparing for the end of Term events, their last weeks as Prep students and writing letters to Santa.  Even in their busy schedule, they still find time to enrich their imaginations with Developmental Play.  The students love to build, draw, dress up and do craft activities.  The Preparatory students love nothing more than using their imaginations, problem solving skills and working in harmony with each other to create stories and games.  

Please enjoy some letter's written to Santa:

Dear Santa, what year were you born?  I have lost no teeth. I do not mind what you bring but what I would like best is the trino the bakugun please.  Thank you.  

Yohan Shetty (Prep Jenkin)

Dear Santa, Can you tell how many elves you have.  I have lost 8 teeth. I would like please some more lego and please for the coronavirus to be gone.  Thank you. 

Isabella Wallace (Prep Aherne)

Dear Santa, can you do a backflip and how are you?  How long is your beard? Please can I have a bakagun, please can have I have a fire rocket, please can I have roller skates. 

Madhav Prasanth Nair (Prep Jenkin)

Dear Santa, how can we not see you when you come into the house? I lost 1 tooth. I would like a bakagun please.  Thank you

Mac Doherty (Prep Millward)

Year One Extended Stay: The Discovery Centre

Friday, 20th November 2020, forty-seven eager Year Ones travelled to the Discovery Centre for an afternoon of fun. We arrived at 3.00 pm and explored the Discovery Centre for thirty minutes.  The students played with many hands-on exhibits.  A definite favourite was the mirror maze.  

Students were then divided into three groups to experience more of the exhibits in more detail.  One activity was the Vertical Slide.  There were many brave students who attempted this challenge of dropping seven metres falling at a speed of 30-40 km per hour.   The students explored the wonders of astronomy in the Planetarium.  The students were guided through the Solar System, stopping at each of the planets and learning key facts about each. 

The students became young Scientists conducting experiments and making things explode.  They were able to identify how Science plays a key role in our daily lives.  Tummies were rumbling and it was time for Tea. Pizza and Icy Poles were on the menu. The students concluded the evening with another free play.  Many travelled down to the Kaleidoscope area where the students built innovative designs with the building blocks.  Many experimented with light and shadow in the Rainbow box and took great delight in the endless reflections in the Human Kaleidoscope.  

With 7pm looming, and many tired students ready for a good night sleep, the Year Ones grouped together for a group photo underneath the enormous ant. The students were absolutely amazing and a great experience was had by all.

Camps

This term the Junior School students and staff have been busy preparing and attending camps all around Victoria.  The staff worked hard to build in a camp for all Junior School students.  Camp provided an excellent opportunity for Junior School students to better know one another and to form memories that they will carry throughout their Girton journey.  Learning outside the classroom, and putting classroom knowledge into action, is an integral part of the Girton Grammar curriculum. Girton’s Junior School camps provided students with a chance to make new friends, challenge themselves, connect with teachers, develop new skills and have fun. 

In what has been a disrupted year for our students, especially in relation to forming friendships, we believe that these camps provided a particularly special time for students.

YEAR TWO attended Camp Kookaburra at Corup.  Students had a one night sleep over and enjoyed activities such as low ropes, indoor climbing, orienteering and gaga ball. 

YEAR THREE went to Sunnystones Camp in Bacchas Marsh.  Year Three get to have two night away from home and ha a wonderful time canoeing, hut building, geocaching and participating in low ropes and archery.   

YEAR FOUR head off to Halls Gap this week to Norval Conference Centre.  They braved the heat and took part in abseiling, bush cooking, orienteering, walked to Venus Baths and cooled off with the Wet Sponge Race!

YEAR FIVE and YEAR SIX got to experience a new camp.  Log Cabin Camp at Creswick.  It was a new venue for Girton Grammar School and proved to be a fantastic location for our Year Five and Six students.  Students again had two nights away and got experience a number of outdoor activities such as milk crate staking, leap of faith, canoeing, raft building, giant swing and zip lining.  They also experienced billy tea and cooking of damper.   

Year Five took the opportunity to visit the Euereka Stockade site where they were fortunate to have a Ballarat Historian speak about the Eureka Stockade on their way to camp. 

Year Six students got to experience a Presentation Night like no other.  Due to covid restrictions, we were unable to host the Presentation Night at school, however, one of the nights at camp was dedicated to celebrating the Year Six journey through Junior School.  Students got dressed up with a ‘Touch of Sparkle’ and enjoyed dinner, speeches and made some ever popular photobooth memories. 

African Drumming

Our Year 6 students have had the wonderful opportunity to hone their African Drumming skills. As part of the Year 6 Music curriculum and in conjunction with our Emotional Intelligence programme, THE KNOWING PROJECT have been invited to come and teach our students African Drumming. THE KNOWING PROJECT delivers programs that promote wellbeing using the ancient tools of African music and culture. Their programs assist students on their journey to develop the social-emotional skills they need to be resilient, create connections and thrive and to use music as a tool to strengthen social cohesion and inclusion.

Based in Melbourne, Australia and founded by award-winning artist and educator Lamine Sonko,  THE KNOWING PROJECT was built on the knowledge that music and the arts is a universal language that we all understand. It has the ability to break down barriers, promote social-emotional learning and teach us how to relate and connect to each other in new ways.

African music and cultural traditions are rooted in ancient socio-emotional philosophies, based on our universal human need to connect, to have purpose, identity and belonging. Recent studies have identified the increasingly important role that these music and cultural approaches can play in improving the social-emotional skills that we all need to improve our well-being and resilience in a complex, information-rich, globalised world.