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Junior School Staff Changes and Thanks
It is my pleasure to welcome Ms Kylie Ingle to Casey Grammar School. Kylie joins us to replace Ms Samantha Griffin as she commences her maternity leave. We wish Sam all the very best as she begins her motherhood journey. Kylie’s association with our School is sure to be rewarding and productive.
Sincere thanks to our many parents and carers who recently attended our Parent Information Sessions. It was an absolute delight to have you back in our classrooms hearing about all the wonderful plans your teachers have for your children in 2021.
Thanks to our Leaver Head of House, Mrs Bronwyn Kyne, for organising last week’s Leaver Basketball Competition in the courtyard. Our Leaver students had a fabulous time as did many of our P-2 students, who thoroughly enjoyed the impromptu dance party afterwards.
Thanks also to Mrs Ruth Grant who is running French Club during lunchtimes on a Tuesday. It has been great to see our School come back to life in so many ways this term.
Counting Down to Year 4 Camp
There has been much excitement in our Year 4 classrooms as we count down the sleeps until Camp. Only one to go! School camps are an integral part of school life at Casey Grammar School. They build confidence, ignite creativity, stimulate a sense of adventure, encourage social interaction and team-building, and promote independence.
Without our dedicated staff they would not happen and therefore I am very grateful to Mr Shane Bell, Mrs Sarah Nolan, Mrs Sharon Willett and Mrs Sandra Torcasio for organising and attending this camp.
Thanks also to our Heads of House, Mrs Bronwyn Kyne, Ms Laura Dascoli and Mrs Amy Mepstead who will also visit us during our time away.
I hope our P-6 parents and carers have by now, made their appointments for our upcoming Parent/Teacher Zoom Interviews that commence on Tuesday, 23 March. Our teachers look forward to discussing your child’s progress and achievements this year with you.
Melissa Roberton
Head of Junior School
Year 6 Chariot Challenge
It is such an exciting moment when the arena is set, and the students line their chariots up for the Year 6 playoffs.
After four weeks of designing, problem solving, testing, and improving on their models you know that the chariots will be of a high standard and the competition will be tough. This year’s competition certainly didn’t disappoint.
“Learning about the chariot building was really fun, I got to learn how to make the axle move and not just the wheels.” —Cameron Carr
“We learnt about the different materials to use. One wheel might not work as it might be too thin to fit onto the axle.” —Zac Foster
“Learning about making the chariot was really interesting, we learnt about how to make an axle and how to create a shared design and what materials to use and which not to use to create the best racing chariot.” —Alma Theodorakopoulos
“Making a plan (design) helps a lot when making these types of things.” —Sienna Mitchell
Sandra Torcasio
Junior School Head of Curriculum, STEM Teacher
School Captains - Junior School
Recently School Captains from Casey Grammar School were invited to the City of Casey Youth Leaders Reception. The event was held at Bunjil Place.
The show began with a phenomenal dance performance by J Step dance group, followed by many inspirational speeches from amazing people in the City of Casey. We heard an inspiring speech from Lucy, who is the founder of Project ROCKIT, an anti-bullying service.
There was also a youth panel, and many more amazing presenters and entertainment. “This event deeply resonated within me, and I certainly want to make a change in our school community this year.” Alma Theodorakopoulos
“The experience was outstanding and I really hope I will get to experience this amazing event in year 12.” Dhruva Sairam
Amy Mepstead
Year 6 Teacher, Head of Trist House
Buddies Excited to Meet and Share Stories
Prep Waugh students were very excited to finally meet our buddy class for 2021. It was fabulous to have the opportunity to play and begin to develop new friendships with our Grade 4 buddies.
The Prep students were able to share their nest and birds which they created while learning the letter ‘n’. Many of our Year 4 buddies shared stories about their time in Prep at CGS. It was wonderful to see how excited our students in Prep and Grade 4 were about spending time with their buddies.
We look forward to working collaboratively with our Year 4 buddies throughout this year and are excited to share this exciting journey with you all.
Holly Waugh
Prep Classroom Teacher
Trist House Easter Raffle Proves Popular
Thank you to everyone that has so far supported the Trist House Easter Raffle. It has been very popular, and we have sold lots of tickets. The raffle prizes will be drawn at the Junior Easter Chapel Assembly on Thursday, 1 April.
There is still time to buy tickets, which are on sale in the courtyard each recess for 50 cents each or 3 for $1. All money raised will be donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
So far, we have raised approximately $500. Good luck to all those who have entered.
Amy Mepstead
Year 6 Teacher, Head of Trist House - Junior School
Booth Colouring Competition Showcases Student Skills
Our colouring competition for our Years 3 to 6 students revealed some serious skills. House Captains Harry and Ella judged all the entries and the following students have won a $10 Kmart voucher each. Congratulations to:
Year 3: Adelle Aziret
Year 4: Arianna Jesurajah
Year 5: Theekshana Talapareddy
Year 6: Archie Thompson
Thank you to all the Booth students who entered, we certainly have some young budding artists in Booth House!
Miss Sarah Nolan
Booth Head of House – Junior School
Fun and Excitement as Reid House Meets
By Junior School Reid House Leaders Alysia Sumanada and Gavin Deol
As the school year has started everyone has been happy to come back to School, especially the two of us. We are the Reid leaders for 2021 and are very excited for the many events we have planned throughout the year with Miss Dascoli.
Our First Reid House Meeting
Our first House meeting was held on the 26th of February. We all had been waiting weeks for the final day to come. It was fair to say we were very excited. The day eventually came, and we were ecstatic.
It was held Period 3 so we still had a little to wait. The meeting started faster than we would’ve thought. Filled with nervousness and excitement we started our meeting off strong.
First, we introduced ourselves and talked about how excited we were for the year. Then we talked about upcoming events and played a game. We ended our meeting with our Reid House cheer and some cookies!
The War Card Tournament
The War Card Tournament was a card game that we held on 17 March. It was a game which was really fun and we were excited to run it with Miss Dascoli. We went to different classes and told them about the occasion and a lot of kids showed up at lunch time!
We had different rounds and did a fair bit of setting up. It was fun to run and to build House spirit!
CGS Junior School Cross Country
We are so excited for Cross Country, being our very first sports event as a House!
We know everybody will be doing their best and that regardless of whether we win or not our hard work has paid off. We are also very excited about coming together as a house to do our Reid chant, which we have worked very hard on to learn, and to encourage our Reid friends to be supportive to others and to do their best.
We wish everybody good luck! We are here to create house spirit and cheer on everyone in Reid house!
Alysia Sumanada and Gavin Deol – 2021 Junior School Reid House Captains
Leaver Basketball Shootout Proves a Winner
A great time was had by all at lunchtime on Tuesday! What started out as our Leaver Basketball Shootout transformed into a giant Junior School Dance Party in the courtyard
Here are some recounts of the event below.
“I wasn’t going to do it at first, but then I changed my mind. There was a line for each class and I was second. Near the end it was between me and a boy – I thought he would win – but I actually won! I was super happy and guess what? I won a basketball!” —Tiahna, 5R
“It was very, very fun. We had to be in a line and take in turns to shoot a ball. If you got it in you went to the back of the line and if you missed you got a redskin. I won the second round!” —Hamish, 3G
“I did shoot only one time and if you get the basketball out you got a candy. Leaver students were only allowed to shoot. Leaver tried their best – some of the Leaver students did a good job – they shot it in the basket. Trust me it was really fun. Mrs Kyne organised it and Mr Batey brought the speaker so we could have some music for us to concentrate to. I was really excited when I shot the basketball in the basket.” —Leon, 3D
Mrs Bronwyn Kyne
Head of Leaver House - Junior School
Exciting Hands on Science Experiments
Our Year 3 students had a wonderful time with Marilyn from Hands on Science. Marilyn worked with them to help develop their understanding of the solar system, specifically the role the earth, sun, and moon play in creating day and night. The children participated in a number of exciting science experiments and hands on activities.
“I enjoyed learning about gases by creating a rocket launcher with a plastic beaker and Alka-Seltzer tablet.” —Atheeshman
“I learnt about the symbols used for gases. I also learnt that the sun doesn’t orbit the earth, the earth orbits the sun. We used funnels and a ball to show what earth would look like in orbit.” —Sahej
“The experiment I enjoyed the most was when we planted the seeds into the sandwich holders. We used different types of water to water them. I think they will grow at different times.” —Tyler
Rachel Harrison
Year 3 Teacher
Year 5 Students Engage with their Buddies
Our Year 5 students had an opportunity to meet their buddy and spend some time engaging with them. We learnt all about our buddy’s hobbies and interests over a picnic lunch.
Students were completely thrilled to have the opportunity to begin to develop their mentorship skills and being role models for the youngest members of our CGS community.
Miss Laura Dascoli & Miss Maria Ramos
Year 5 Teachers
