Firbank Grammar School

Congratulations to Crowther House for winning the cup this year in a narrow victory over Armstrong House in second place and Hancock House in third. Fairfax Media has chosen not to name the students who set up the account because they are minors. She said she had been picking up her daughters early from school early to shield them from the embarrassment of meeting other parents. She said it was not a once-off event and she had  screen shots of numerous offensive messages the same boys had sent to other girls in the past.
Gifts to our Library Fund benefit students from ELC to Year 12 and are increasingly important as our library changes from print-based to digital. With your help, we can preserve our existing historic buildings and invest in new projects to ensure that our facilities meet the needs of students into the 21st century. The Annandale pavilion, Wellbeing Centre, the Sports Precinct and the Urwin Centre are just some examples of recently developed facilities now enjoyed by our boys – and brought to life through giving. Major gifts can take the form of capital, property, shares or other assets.

The exhaustion and exhilaration on the boy’s faces, as they touched the wall, showed just how much effort went into each race. Our motto in Physical Education encourages every boy to have a go and do their best, and the boys certainly didn’t disappoint. They each competed in freestyle, backstroke and a novelty noodle race with determination, persistence and great sportsmanship on show. The highlight will be seeing you coaching work with real teachers and real students. The coaching practice will be followed by a chance to watch your coachee in action, followed by a deeper conversation and reflection. Sonya is a well-respected expert in the safe partying space, and students were given a platform to explore important aspects of safe partying together.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Haileybury acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. Collaboration between the schools include shared concert and rehearsal facilities, combined ensembles, music camps and combined performances including Twilight on Green, and our music extravaganza at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Public performance is a vital aspect of learning music so we have a full calendar oflocal, interstate and occasionally, overseas concerts. The knowledge and skills in the program are designed to keep the individual safe as well as being aware of the safety of others. Elements of the lifesaving program come from Royal Lifesaving Australia’s Swim and Survive Program.

Entrepreneurship, the Arts, community service and the Duke of Edinburgh award program. Brighton Primary School is a well rated school in Brighton, Brighton TAS. The public school has 564 students with a student-to-teacher ratio of 1 to 13. Underserved students ranking seeks to quantify the relationship between a school's academic achievement and disadvantaged students. The boys have also been productive with their secret Christmas gift making, while the teachers and staff have been busy wrapping and bagging items to send home, ready to go under your tree. Instead of exchanging buddy gifts, ELC to Year 6 boys will have the option to donate $5 each to contribute to one or two gifts for a girl or a boy who is less fortunate. The gifts, which will be displayed in the Junior School Foyer, will be donated to Mary MacKillop Family Services.
In the classrooms it was a day to stop, think and discuss how we can make our world a better place for the hundreds and thousands of children around the world who may not have the advantages our boys enjoy. The highlight of the day was the special biscuit treats the boys enjoyed making to take home. Our Junior Parents’ Group will organise a Christmas tree in the main Reception area so that families can leave a gift for underprivileged children. These gifts will be donated to the Mary MacKillop Family Services which I am sure will bring pleasure to many children in need. Thank you to Jane Lowe who provides these additional opportunities for our boys to be engaged in.

I was fortunate to travel to Vietnam in the first week of the holidays with a group of primary aged international travellers. Finally, World Mental Health Day this week is a timely prompt for all of us to prioritise keeping mentally healthy and well. This is a key focus of our Positive Masculinity framework and headspace is a useful resource to support healthy minds in our young people.
Tonight we celebrate our VCE Art students at the VCE Art expo and recognise their talent and hard work over the past year. The 2023 Year 12 cohort is shaping as the most inclusive yet, so it was fitting that every student participated in Chantology on the final night and finished their evening with their arms around each other, singing the School song. After a slow-moving landslide rendered Mt Bogong inaccessible, the journey of the 2023 BGS Year 12 cohort instead began with a climb of Mt Feathertop, Victoria’s second highest mountain. Scholarship-holders are expected to complete their secondary education at BGS. Singing continually since 1842, the Choir of St Andrew’s Brighton is Victoria’s oldest choir.
We discussed that although it is the day of greatest darkness, Solstice is also a time of great hope for the sun’s rebirth. As we embark on this holiday break, I hope you have the opportunity for some downtime as we can all benefit from practising self-care. All in the BGS community have worked hard to keep our boys engaged, active and positive, both academically and emotionally.

This week we marked an important milestone in our journey to provide our students with innovative learning environments as part of our strategic blueprint BGS2032. We know that engagement with subjects and with school life more broadly is an important part of what makes a great school. That’s why we’ve designed our subject structure and offerings in the Secondary School to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our students while providing strong pathways for them. The structure and type of offering have a purpose, outlined below, that changes as students move through the Secondary school.
Despite the miserable weather on Wednesday morning, we had a terrific turn out of mothers for the Year 9-12 Mother’s Day breakfast and Chapel. There, the boys were eager to sit at their very own desks and their legs were swinging with excitement in their very large chairs. ELC boys are naturally curious, and with a science lab across the road, it’s off to the Secondary School for some scientific discoveries. Visiting the Science Laboratory is always a highlight of Term 2  for the ELC4 boys.