1822
Assembly Celebrates Excellence in all its Forms
The Senior School Assembly in Week 4 was an opportunity to celebrate Excellence in a variety of forms. We acknowledged current students who achieved a study score of 40+ in their VCE Unit 3/4 subject last year.
Our guest speakers from the Class of 2020 shared their unique stories, and the students appreciated hearing them. Lilli Blommestein, our School Dux, spoke about her perseverance, managing stress and developing useful study habits.
Joel Rasmussen, whose documentary has been recognised as one of the best Media films for 2020, spoke of the ways in which he overcame adversity and continued to follow his passions. It is always a treat to hear from our past students and to share in their excitement as they start their new journey beyond Casey Grammar.
Student Achievements Recognised
In addition to our guest speakers, our current students were acknowledged for their achievements in the ICAS Science Examination, for receiving their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, and for their performances in their AMEB instrumental exams.
Whilst the achievements themselves are outstanding, what they all have in common is much more important. These individuals have followed their passions, set personal goals, and shown commitment to their chosen field. In short, their journey to success would not have been possible without patience, positivity, persistence, and plenty of practice.
Excellence Rewarded at House Swimming Carnival
I’d like to share with you the wise words of Aristotle:
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
Our senior students continued to show excellence in the pool at our House Swimming Carnival in Week 5. Congratulations, not only to Reid as the winning House, but also to all students who raced, supported their peers, or helped build House spirit.
The success of this Carnival would not have been possible without the hard work of the staff, the Heads of House, and particularly our Head of Sport Mrs Schreuder. We are looking forward to presenting Age Group Champions in Assembly this week.
Students Thrive on 8 Camp
Year 8 students returned from Apollo Bay after what has proven to be a very successful camp. Special thanks to Mr Gavin Brown for coordinating this event. A more detailed account of the experience can be found below.
Mme Kate Morgan
Head of Senior School
Coastal Camp Creates Wonderful Memories
In week 4, students headed to Apollo Bay and Cape Otway for the annual Year 8 camp. After the disruptions of the week prior, it was a terrific reminder of the wonderful experiences available in the outdoors. The students and staff are thankful to be able to participate.
Year 8 camp aims to extend the experience of the year 7 camp and increases in challenge to reflect this. Students were away for three nights, spending two of these camping out in tents and cooking their food on outdoor stoves.
Being outdoors enables our students to have some important time away from devices and technology, while continuing to form strong and new relationships within their cohort.
Camp activities included hiking, surfing, mountain biking, a lighthouse tour, conservation on the beach, amongst other enjoyable sessions. They were accompanied by debriefs each day, a chance for students to think about their experiences and share their thoughts with others in their group.
Mr Gavin Brown
Taking on Leadership Roles at Camp
Students took on leadership roles within their groups, having responsibility and opportunity to lead their group in navigation, food preparation, time management, outdoor hygiene and CEO. These leadership opportunities saw students flourish and gain experience communicating with other students in a different setting.
I would like to congratulate all the students that attended the camp, their behaviour, endeavour and motivation were better than excellent, and we saw students show resilience, teamwork and do it all with a smile.
I am enormously grateful to the staff who attended the camp, and who were pivotal to ensuring the wellbeing and experience of each student was positive. Thank you Ms Laura Moya, Ms Gill Brooke, Ms Gina Upward, Ms Justine Saleeba, Mr Peter Young, Ms Jess Delgos and Ms. Taylor Philpott.
Mr Gavin Brown
“Year 8 camp was a great experience to try new things; sleeping in the tents was a great way to get out of our comfort zones. Going to Apollo Bay was a big learning curve and camp was a great way to meet new people. Camp was a great experience after COVID!” —Zahra Edwards, Year 8
Tool Trolley Project Unearths Hidden Talents
Our Year 12 Wood Tech students delighted our Primary Students by making them a tool trolley to use when they work in the Veggie Garden.
When school returned in Term 4 last year, I was spending a lot of time putting out tools for the students to use, and just as much time packing them up at the end of the day.
I saw a great little picture of a tool trolley on the internet made from unwanted wooden pallets, and thought something like that would be very practical in the School’s veggie garden. After discussing our needs, we decided on a design brief and Zach, Logan and Ty went to work.
Towards the end of term, the amazing Tool Trolley was unveiled to the delight of all involved.
Some thoughts from the Wood Tech Department:
“When the boys were asked what challenges they found completing this unique project, they all had different responses. They all enjoyed adding extra features and even wanted to motorize the trolley. One could only imagine the chaos of a garden trolley roaming the School.” —Mr Peter Young
“It was a different experience making a project out of something unconventional like a pallet, as we had to allow for the imperfections of our building materials. We had to work to a need, storing tools, so had to fit in mesh for the storage of garden tools.” — Zach
“The best part of making this project was breaking up the old pallets and joining them back together to suit our design.” —Logan
“We ran into problems with the pallets being different sizes and not being square. We had to custom make the metal base frame to match.” —Ty
The Year 1 students were more than impressed when I wheeled out the trolley for the first time. They loved the design and marvelled at all the tools that it could carry.
Mal Dunkley
Junior School Librarian
Strong and Proud Performances in SIS Sport
We had another big week in SIS Sport last week!
Soccer Team Shows Strength
The Senior Boys Soccer team played a really competitive game at home against St Francis Xavier College – Beaconsfield Campus. We managed to play a tough defensive game, before losing 3-1. The CGS Senior Boys Team has been placed in A Division this year after winning the flag in 2020 and having to go up a Division.
It’s great to see the team being competitive against some really strong schools.
Competitive Basketball Display
The Senior Girls Basketball Team played at home against Padua – Mornington Campus in a game that was great for everyone to watch. The score didn’t truly reflect the competitive nature and great sportsmanship on display.
Impressive Indoor Cricket Win
The Intermediate Boys Indoor Cricket Team played its first match last week and beat Balcombe Grammar in the first round of the Casey - Balcombe Cup. The team played a strong game, with the final score an impressive 167 (CGS) to 104 (Balcombe).
Thank you to Mr Bushell for stepping in as coach while Mr Young was on camp.
Enjoyable Volleyball Contest
The Intermediate Girls Volleyball Team headed to St Francis Xavier – Beaconsfield Campus, where it lost in a nail biting three-set match. The girls’ skills and game play is something to be proud of, and the game was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.
Thank you to the CGS community for its support of the SIS Sport Program.
Fern Schreuder
Head of Sport
Debaters Association of Victoria - Round 1 Update:
Debate is a valuable activity for students of all skill levels. Debaters build confidence speaking in public and expressing their ideas eloquently. That comfort speaking in front of others is useful in so many areas of life, from interviews to school presentations to discussions in college seminars. Here at Casey Grammar School, we are fortunate to have a strong debating cohort who recently participated in Round 1 of the DAV competition.
C Grade:
Topic: That alcoholic products should be subject to plain packaging laws
Team 1 WON their debate against Gippsland Grammar School. A massive congratulations to Joaquin Elicano, Arya Chandla & Jonathan Zaitsev. This was Arya and Jonathan's first-ever debate, so an impressive win!
Team 2 lost their debate against St Francis Xavier College (Beaconsfield) but are looking forward to putting the adjudicator's feedback into action during round 2.
D Grade:
In the D Grade Minaret College forfeited, so our debaters go into round 2 with some points under their belt.
Thank you to all the parents who supported the students by watching the debate. To all students who participated, Casey Grammar School is very proud of you all.
Gary Willis
Head of English
Drama Students Enjoy City Theatre Experience
Year 9-11 Drama classes and Years 10-12 Music classes recently ventured into the city to view the musical Come From Away. It was a long time coming, following a year of limited opportunities to experience live theatre.
After a long, but energetic train ride, we arrived at Melbourne Central for an early lunch. We then walked to the Comedy Theatre where students experienced Come From Away, a musical set in the week following the September 11 attacks. It tells the true story of what transpired when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Canada.
For many students this was their first musical and it certainly did not disappoint. It was wonderful for them to be able to be out and about again on an excursion and experience a day in Melbourne.
Natalie Burns
Head of Drama / Secondary Drama & Media Teacher
