Middle School 

From the Head of Middle School

Farewell Claire St Jack

This week we farewell a beloved staff member, Miss Claire St Jack. Claire has been a cornerstone of the Middle School administration over the past 13 years and has provided outstanding service to the School. She is the person who has a lot of direct contact with parents and students providing support and care, be it for transitioning into the school, leaving school for appointments, finding lost property, advice on schooling, guiding families and students, and the list goes on. 

Claire is a friend to all animals, and we often have a bird or small critter in the office being cared for behind Claire’s desk. 

I have worked closely with Claire, and she has always shown great empathy and compassion for students who are having a tough time. They may be finding school difficult or have something upsetting going on in their lives. She will talk to them about their pets and interests, provide them with some mindfulness colouring in to keep them distracted, or make a warm milo to ease their sadness and ensure them that they are in a safe space.

Claire has often volunteered to assist in other areas round school, like VACS, where she has shared her creative side with students teaching knitting, sewing and craft. Her final day at GSG will be in the sports office inputting the Interhouse Athletics carnival data. 

It has been a privilege to work with Claire and share a joke or a story over a cup of tea. She has been a friend to many staff members, and we will miss her dearly. We wish her, and her menagerie, all the best for her future endeavours.

OLNA

Several Year Nine students will be participating in OLNA tests, in Reading, Writing and/or Numeracy, in Week Three of this term. Parents and students have received an email if they are required to sit one or more OLNA test. In preparation for testing there are some academic support classes running after school, to 4.30pm. English will be with Dr Watson on Monday afternoons in SS8, while Maths will run on Monday and Wednesday with Mr Emberson in MS12. Please encourage your child to attend a session or two to prepare. There will also be some preparation done in English and Maths classes.

Mr Adam Scott | Head of Middle School

Year Nine Camp Parents Information

This week, Year Nine students have been spoken to about the opportunity to attend the St George's Camp in Week Eight, Term Four. This is a wonderful opportunity for a small number of students to get a head start on finding out what College life might look like at University, if that was something they were possibly considering. Interested students have been given an information pack and those wishing to apply will need to complete a written application and submit it by the end of Week Two.

For any queries around this camp please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Mr Bryce McLean | Head of Year Nine

Mindflight 7

On the last day of Term Three, a group of Year Nine students were lucky enough to be taken away to a virtual world. Mindflight 7, a virtual reality company who specialises in immersive learning experiences around career choices, attended the school and kitted up students with virtual reality (VR) headsets and equipment.

Students could choose from experiences such as driving a forklift, dissecting a frog, open heart surgery and standing upon an Icelandic volcano to study global warming. They were encouraged to try careers they had thought of, as well as challenge themselves by exploring experiences they had perhaps not thought of. We hope to get the Mindflight 7 team out again in the future as part of our careers program as all those involved had an incredibly fun, and educational experience.

A huge thank you to Mrs Renae O’Donnell for organising the event and to Mr Kyal Rose for helping to trial the equipment.

Ms Angelina Ross | Head of Humanities and Social Sciences

Student Success

Amelia McDonald (Year Seven) competing at the recent Australian Interschool Championships for Team WA on her borrowed pony, Ballinton Summer Lady.  Amelia had a fantastic time in Sydney, making new friends and learning a lot.  She was very lucky with her allocated pony, who gave her a lovely ride the whole time she was at Nationals. Amelia placed in the Top 10 in her Preliminary Dressage, and was just 0.3% off an official placing, a super result on a pony that she had only ridden a few times the week before the event. A highlight for Amelia was competing in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games arena!