It has been an extremely busy few weeks with lots of major school events being held. In Senior School, we celebrated the achievements of our students in all areas of school life at the Senior School Awards Evening. A highlight of the evening was the exceptional musical performances of our students – we have really missed live music over the past few years. Thank you to Mr Collidge and the Performing Arts Department for inspiring such wonderful musical performances. Senior School students and staff also enjoyed the SIS Sports Awards Night with special guest presenter basketballer Andrew Gaze. Andrew spoke about the life lessons he learned over the years as an Olympic athlete and regaled us with stories from various Olympic Villages. It was a most enjoyable evening. Thanks to Ms Carrie for her initiative and organisation of this wonderful event.

Junior School students and parents also enjoyed their Celebration afternoon, with many students acknowledged for their exceptional contributions to Casey Grammar. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the students in both Junior School and Senior School who were the recipients of awards in our final Awards assemblies. These awards acknowledge the student’s dedication, persistence and excellence in sport, academia, citizenship and performing arts.

Year 6 Graduation

An important rite of passage for Junior School students is their Year 6 Graduation. What a marvellous evening of celebration it was. Thank you to Mrs Mepstead, Mr Newham and Miss Sutherland for putting together such a memorable evening for the students. Highlights included the reprised song from Starwarts and the Year 6 Dance at the end of the program. I remain particularly impressed by the excellent public speaking skills of our students. Each speaker spoke with great confidence and poise. Congratulations to the Year 6 students on their Graduation.

End of year activities

Over the past 2 days, students have enjoyed a range of fun and creative activities ranging from Maths trails, chalk drawing and Family Feud games in Senior School and Tree Surfing and visits to the cinema in Junior School.

Today the students in Junior School enjoyed what some say is the highlight of the school year – the teacher’s assembly. The teachers again showcased their acting talents to a very appreciative audience. Thanks to Mr Shane Bell for his play which allowed all of the Junior School staff to shine and congratulations to the staff for their wonderful costumes and performances!

Art Show

The Casey Grammar Art Exhibition showcase the talent of our students in the areas of Product Design and Visual Arts. Congratulations to all students who had their work featured in the exhibition and thank you to Mr Steve Kearney and the Art Department for inspiring these great pieces of art.

Top Screen

Congratulations to Jasmine Lane Year 12 on the success she is enjoying as a film maker. Her animated film I’m A Background Character has been shortlisted by a VCAA panel for the VCE Seasons of Excellence Top Screen Award for 2022, Jasmine is also a finalist in the Mystate Film Festival for her animated film Focus and the same film was awarded a Highly Commended Prize in the Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) annual Student Film Festival. Congratulations Jasmine.

Staffing

This week we will fondly farewell some of our teaching staff who are moving on to new challenges. Thank you to each and every one of you for the contributions you have made to the school during your time here. Special thanks to Senior Chemistry teacher Mrs Jacinta Moreau, Learning Assistant Mrs Jenny Broderick and School Psychologist Mr Alan Clarke who are all retiring at the end of the year. We wish them all a very long and happy retirement.

Our Senior Biology teacher Mrs Mahtab Parvaresh will commence maternity leave this week while Junior PE teacher Mr Jeff Batey and Senior School Learning Assistant Mrs Gill Brooke will be on Long Service Leave in Term 1.

I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to Mrs Cindy Waters who has worked at Casey Grammar throughout semester 2 to replace Mrs Riviere Pendle while she was on maternity leave. Mrs Waters has been an asset to our school community, providing wonderful chaplaincy support and services to both the staff and students of the school.

Booklist reminder

Orders should be placed by 9 December to receive discounted delivery to home or $5.95 pick-up from school

Uniform shop opening

We were very excited to receive the news that the uniform shop was moving closer to the school. The new address is;

29 Hamersley Drive Clyde North VIC 3978

Mon to Fri 9.00am-5.00pm, Sat 9.00am-1.00pm

Ph: 9792 3187

The new shop opened on 1 December and is well stocked with all of your uniform needs. Please don’t go to the old uniform shop as Casey Grammar items are no longer stocked there.

Attached is the revised and updated Casey Grammar School Uniform list. Wearing the correct school socks has been a problem in recent weeks. Over the holidays, could you please stock up on school socks. The short blue socks with red and white stripes should be worn with navy trousers, shorts and the winter tunic in Senior School. In Junior School, long blue socks are worn with the winter tunic. Short white socks are worn with the Summer dress. White sports socks with blue and red stripes are the official sport sock. The Bargain Bin at the uniform shop has white socks with the logo (which are being phased out) at reduced prices. Students are permitted to wear these socks with their sport uniform. Please note that the school shorts or trousers may be worn all year round. They should be worn with blue school socks with red and white stripes.

Over the year, many students have grown and their summer dress or winter tunic is now too short. Please note that dresses and tunics should be knee length. As a rule of thumb, dresses should be the same length as the school shorts (which sit just above the knee). If your child’s dress is shorter than the school shorts, please take the time over the holiday break to have the length adjusted.

PFC Second hand uniform shop

The PFC will be opening the Second Hand Uniform Shop again next year. The dates and times for second hand uniform sales will be sent to you in the new year.

As our school year comes to a close, I extend my grateful thanks to all Casey Grammar School community members for the continued support of the school and particularly our students. It has been wonderful being able to return to normal school activities this year and I look forward to seeing our students continue to grow in 2023.

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a relaxing summer holiday.

Fiona Williams

Principal