Clubs at School

An IDEAL Way To Spend A Lunchtime

By Chloe Nightingale, Year 11, The Ridgeway Campus

The IDEALS Committee is a student lead group that is inclusive of all students from Years 7 to 12. It is a place where likeminded people can come together to share their ideas and passions for the School and support the wider community along the way. Having this committee at the school is a great way to help direct amazing ideas to certain areas on how the School can be improved and how we can build on its relationship with the rest of Ivanhoe.  

The committee is divided into three sub-groups, each run by two Year 12 students. These include Local, Environmental and Global. 

The Local sub-committee is focused on events and issues closely related to Ivanhoe Grammar School’s surrounding community. The committee is currently organising events which collaborate with organisations such as 300 Blankets and Big Group Hug where students will be able to get involved and participate in service to their community. Moreover, they help organise and raise awareness about school charity events such as barbecues and casual clothes days. 

The Environmental sub-committee focuses on events that have an effect on the sustainability of the School and the Ivanhoe community. This year they aim to help both Ivanhoe and the local community work towards a more sustainable future. So far, the committee has already applied the sustainable practice of using a composting system, which can be seen dotted around the School in those black containers with green lids near the main bins. Projects which the environmental committee hope to employ in the future include starting a school veggie patch, improving the school’s recycling system, nude food initiatives, and encouraging students to make small changes to their lifestyle to be more sustainable.

The Global sub-committee focuses on global issues with the aim of improving Ivanhoe Grammar School student’s global engagement and awareness. This year they are largely focusing on indigenous reconciliation. Some of the initiatives they currently have in mind include continuing the Global Forum, finding out whether the school uniform is ethically sourced, and organising events like casual clothes days, celebrations for International Women’s Day (IWD) as well as NAIDOC week and pancake day. Many more ideas for potential fundraisers are being brainstormed at the moment.

Each member involved in the IDEALS Committee contributes to a sub-committee helping bring a number of innovative, exciting fundraising and outreach opportunities to students at Ivanhoe Grammar School. In an attempt to align Ivanhoe’s ‘one school’ vision, the IDEALS Committee Leaders from both The Ridgeway Campus and Plenty Campus have come together to form the Community Partnership Committee. Here, students help ensure all students, regardless of which campus they attend, have equal opportunities to contribute to both Ivanhoe Grammar School and the wider community.

The committee is an amazing way for the school to build relationships with its surrounding communities and offers many opportunities to all the students who wish to be involved. As a student who is a part of the IDEALS Committee at Ivanhoe Grammar School, I believe it is a fantastic place to build relationships with peers in other year levels, whilst also participating in many school service opportunities alongside helping the community.

GSA Hooray!

By Ella Ray, Year 11, The Ridgeway Campus 

The GSA (Gender and Sexuality Acceptance) club is held every Friday lunchtime in W202, and is open to all year levels. The club discusses LGBTQ+ related issues especially in the media, organises and runs pride-related school events, as well as providing a place for new friendships to form. At its core, the GSA is a safe and inclusive space for people of all walks of life, which also happens to provide great opportunities for school service as well as a lot of fun!

Our discussions typically revolve around queer issues, such as responding to homophobia, enhancing the culture of acceptance within the school, and learning how to be a more supportive ally for all identities. We also discuss any relevant topics in current affairs, as well as media (primarily music, films and books) that have LGBTQ+ representation. It’s a place to share your interests, whether they are queer-related or not, and a place to raise concerns about any behaviour that makes you feel unsafe. We also help out with many school service activities related to pride, like Wear it Purple Day and IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia). Likewise, we keep members up-to-date with any pride events outside of school, like film festivals, pride marches and other similar youth events. 

We are always looking for new faces, so if you would like to meet new people from outside your year level, learn things about the LGBTQ+ community, and contribute to the character of the school, the GSA is for you. ☺ 

If you have any further questions, please email Niamh at nboura21@igs.vic.edu.au.

Choir At The Ridgeway Campus

By Denzel Vaghani, Year 9, University Campus

Though it is only Term 1 of 2021, I already know choir is a key highlight of my weeks at Ivanhoe Grammar School. Choir is a place to have fun and learn new facts about music, like a history of a certain song being learnt, or even the meaning behind why a song was written. Whenever I go there, guaranteed I always learn something new about songs, to new techniques for ways of singing. 

I have been attending choir since 2014, and from then, choir has and will keep on developing. I enjoy singing in choir. It makes me super content. I like the feeling of being able to sing with other people who enjoy the privilege of sharing your love for singing. I get to be with all my friends from corresponding and varying year levels, along with making new companions along the way. I feel like I have grown accustomed to the way that choir is run. I have an amazing teacher, who inspires everyone in choir to be the best they can possibly be. I feel like I have improved as well, making sure that my pitching is right, and my voice is clear and projected. 

Choir is a place for expressing oneself and to let your inner emotions run free. That sounded super cheesy; however, it is 100% true. I find myself, every time in choir, having a blast. Choir this year is already off to a great start. I am in the alto section, and with the sopranos, altos, tenors, and bass singers, together it sounds like a perfect harmony. 

Not only is the instructor stupendous, but the students contribute to making learning very facile, straight forward, and of course, very entertaining. They are all extremely open to new recommendations and all contribute respectfully, nonetheless, embrace a joyful atmosphere. We all donate new proposals, and building on original ideas, to make sure that our choir’s sound is being heard loud and clear and being thrust into its best quality. There are so many people in choir who also inspire others, inside and out of choir. People inspired inside of choir are more likely to be persuaded to become a high achiever when it comes to singing. Others inspired outside of choir are more likely to attend choir. I know that there are some amazing singers in choir, who have inspired me to push myself harder in choir. 

Not only is choir involved within school property, but it even expands to the city and other places. 

Choir is a huge part when it comes to presenting the new Ivanhoe Grammar School’s Year 12 transition. I remember participating in this ceremony, where the School choir was allocated to go to the city to sing for the new Year 12 students. It was such a fun day. We all explored the city together and singing beautiful numbers beneath the St Paul’s Cathedral. I had so much fun.  Another activity I participated in because of choir was Music Camp. Music Camp was a great experience. 

Many other musically interested students participated, where music was continuously being played. Choir students would all partake in practice times, which would contribute to choir becoming more familiar with songs. Music Camp is my FAVOURITE camps I had ever participated in.

Every week, I look forward to choir. It is such a fun experience, and everyone involved always has such a fun time. I know I always have a fun time. 

An Unexamined Life is Not Worth Thinking - Philosophy Club

By Luke McAlister & Mr Chris Fotinopoulos.

Why are we here? What is our purpose? Where are we going? We are not entirely sure, but we are doing our best to figure it out.

Plenty Campus has made within the last year a new addition to the extra-curricular buzz of the school- its own Philosophy Club. It has of it all the panache of some peculiar blend of the Café de Flore-type literary ensemble and The Breakfast Club- a mix of the curious and the consumed.

Let us dispel the myth of pretension. Philosophy is not idle prattle from the armchairs of society’s upper crust. The intention of the group is to veer each participant to a dissection of the ideas that have shaped our thinking. Under the able stewardship of our Plenty-come-University Campus bailiff Mr. Chris Fotinopoulos, ethicist, raconteur, and philosopher, students, scholars, and dreamers alike, within a community of inquiry, engage in spirited discussion on life’s biggest questions and confront its hardest challenges. This is where vigorous discussion about God’s existence, the Good Life, and what it means to be a citizen in a world that is becoming increasing complex and confusing thrives. We ask how can we fight injustice? What can be done to make this world a better place? This is where philosophy comes into play, exposing us to varying perspectives and points of views no matter how controversial or challenging.

Philosophy comes from two Greek words: philos and sophia- love and wisdom, respectively. It is, literally translated, the love for wisdom. How we approach our world, innovation, our history and our future remain as potent as ever, especially in an age of advancement, extremism, fundamentalism, and inequality, affects how we survive.

We see time and again these debates in action- the Cold War, the Occupy movement, the Arab Spring, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the climate crisis. Every issue is rooted in philosophy. How can our economy provide for all? How do we fight injustice? Can we at last achieve a better world? These ideas have the capacity to polarise us all.

However, concession is not the ultimate aim. If concession is what you are after, the debating team meets on Mondays in Room 101. The Philosophy Club is different, as we welcome all ideas and opinions to broaden our minds. We cannot claim to possess all the answers. Philosophy is not a science, nor a mathematical process. It does not have and does not claim to have a final outlook. Instead, it encourages the Club’s members to think about the world differently, analytically, critically, creatively, and compassionately. No one person thinks the same as another, and it is this wide melange of opinions within spaces like our own that can encourage free thought. Philosophy will forever remain entrenched within our lives because of this, and only be crafting new ideas and thoughts can innovation and progress survive.

It is through critical, creative, and co-operative dialogue that we can best think about our world and the human condition with an open and unfettered mind. For this reason, we encourage all free thinkers to join the Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty Campus Philosophy Club.