Dear Families,
As we reach the end of Term 1, we reflect on the many positive experiences our school community has shared together. Our House Dance and House Music events showcased the incredible talent of our students, and it was wonderful to see so many come together to celebrate each other’s achievements. Our sporting teams have also achieved great success, demonstrating their dedication and perseverance both on and off the field. Alongside these achievements, new opportunities have arisen for our students to explore and grow, and as a result, new friendships have been forged and memories created.
We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the unwavering support of our parents in their childs’ learning journeys and express our sincere gratitude to our dedicated and caring staff who have played an instrumental role in supporting the students’ growth and development. We look forward to continuing to build on these successes as we head into Term Two.
Wishing all our families a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating Easter holiday break.
Kath Woolcock
Head of Senior School
Kate Giles
Head of Middle School
What a joyous week of cultural loveliness we had celebrating the languages we teach, and the languages spoken in our community.
Harmony Day and International Dress
We celebrated the Harmony Day message, ‘Everyone Belongs’ with students and staff dressing in international costume and writing messages of inclusivity and belonging in the courtyard. Donations of $450 from the Free Dress Day went to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre.
I Love Dumplings Truck
In addition to our exciting celebration schedule, the I Love Dumplings truck visited CGGS on Monday. Students enthusiastically lined up to order dumplings. It was impressive to see many students and staff trying to order dumplings in Chinese. It was a great opportunity for students to experience such social and cultural engagement as a part of their language learning.
Calligraphy Immersion Workshop
A calligraphy immersion workshop was held during lunchtime on Wednesday. The workshop was run by external calligraphy teacher, Gong laoshi – Vice President of the Victorian Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Association. During the session, Gong gave a practical introduction to the art of the Chinese writing brush. Students were introduced to the care and use of writing brushes, inkstones, ink blocks and the paper – the four treasures of the scholar’s studio. They learned how to write Chinese characters with a brush, beginning with simple exercises on brushstrokes and explored Chinese ancient poetry through calligraphy.
Crêpe Day
The delicious aroma of crepes wafted throughout the school on Wednesday. Always a popular choice, students lined up to order crêpes au chocolat, crêpes au citron sucre et crêpes à la confiture. French students ordered in French and others gave it a go.
Brezeln und Würste
The German department sold Brezeln on Tuesday at recess and did an excellent job on the barbecue on Thursday cooking delicious Bratwurst with sauerkraut and Senf (mustard). A big thank you to Frau Beck for braving the freak thunderstorm that morning to collect the special German buns and also for inviting piano accordionist, Alex Yaroslavl to play in the courtyard. There was a very festive Oktoberfest feel, with the Year 7s spontaneously dancing to the German and Austrian melodies.
International Concert
A highlight for many, the International Concert was organised by International Captains, Cindy Gan and Emily Bai and featured K-Pop dances by Steph (Year 12), Ella, Chloris, Natasha, Nivy and Sienna (Year 8), Emily, Kathy, Joey, Annie and Susanna (Year 12), an ethereal piece on the bamboo flute from Angela, an impressively fast and beautiful piece on the Pipa by Silvia and a Japanese song from Ash. We didn’t quite get through all the performances but will reconvene next week for more excellent performances.
In addition to Language and Culture Week at CGGS, last week was also Francophonie Week, a week to celebrate French speakers all over the world.
As part of Francophonie Week, my Year 12 French class and I went to Camberwell Grammar School (Boys) to practise general conversation with their Year 12 French class. They did a few rounds of conversation with different students, where each person spoke to another for 2 minutes about family, free time, school, future plans and why they had continued learning French, all VCE oral topics, before moving on to the next person.
The CGS French department had prepared le goûter (afternoon tea), so after half an hour of French chat, the students mingled over brie and baguette and mini quiches. This was another opportunity to speak French and to hear how others express themselves in French. It was an impressive showcase of our students’ skills.
Jo Rittey
Head of Languages
On Wednesday, our Year 7s travelled into the city for a Religious Education Excursion.
First stop was the National Gallery of Victoria (International), where students experienced a guided tour of the Gallery, focussing on religious images. They also had the opportunity to spend some time looking at an Art piece they really liked and working through a set of analytical questions.
After lunch in Fed Square, students enjoyed discovering one of Melbourne’s tourist hot-spots; Hosier Lane.
Final Stop was St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. Students were welcomed into the Cathedral by Mr Phillip Nicolls, Director of Music at St Paul’s. Many chose to light a candle. They then completed a “Cathedral Challenge”, which involved exploring some of the wonderful features of the Cathedral.
We were very proud of the respectful way our students conducted themselves in all the places we visited.
Thank you to Minaaz, Sarah, Amelia, Grace and Alisha for sharing the following reflections on the day:
“This was a unique experience. A lot of excursions are not like this. We got a new perspective on the past, an artistic view. We could look at the painting and connect with what the artist was feeling.”
“The tour of the Gallery was magical learning. We learnt about the art works created by such intelligent people, and the thought processes that went into each piece.”
“It was interesting because there are so many different moods in the art. Some pieces are just happy, some pieces are dark.”
“The itinerary was spectacular and fantastic!”
“I appreciated looking at traditional and modern art, but I prefer the traditional.”
Helen Creed
School Chaplain
On Wednesday evening Barbara Sutton Hall was buzzing with anticipation for the 2023 House Music competition! The excitement backstage was high and the enthusiastic audience responded positively to each of the performances. Each section of the House Music Competition, carefully prepared by the House Music Captains, was delivered with high impact and creative energy on stage. Throughout the re-designed suite of rehearsals, our Music Captains immersed themselves in their roles of responsibility. They absorbed all opportunities to develop leadership skills, refine teamwork strategies and maintain strong connections. The Music Captains successfully advocated for the Performing Arts through their shared identity, purpose driven approach and culture of trust. The strong interpersonal connections formed throughout the rehearsals, enabled all students to extract the best out of themselves, whilst developing an authentic sense of belonging to a community.
We are enormously proud of the students’ achievements and applaud all of the House Music participants for the energy and musicality that they brought to their performances. Many thanks must go to the students and staff who supported us to bring this event to life. Particular thanks, however, to Eleanor Wood – Director of Co-Curricular Programs who managed and coordinated many layers of operational logistics.
Kate Savige and Rohan Mack
Directors of Music
The Elizabeth Stainkamph Memorial prize is an AMEB prize given to the highest combined marks of 8th grade Piano and 5th grade Theory/Musicianship, with usually only one recipient per year.
For 2022, the AMEB awarded two prizes as two candidates had the same highest aggregate score. Those two candidates were both very talented CGGS students from the same Year 7 Form.
Elise Fan 7W and Asha Bhattacharjee 7W received their award as part of the AMEB’s Conferring of Diplomas Ceremony at the Hawthorn Arts Centre on Sunday 26 March.
These awards reflect many years of conscientious commitment and ongoing practice and performance to an exceptionally high level. Asha and Elise are commended for their dedication and passion in the field of Music.
Rohan Mack & Kate Savige
Directors of Music
This year’s swimming season has been one of Camberwell Girls best! Last Tuesday 21 March, CGGS competed in GSV’s Division 2 Championships. We had many amazing swims on the day, overall placing 5th in Division 2. This is such an awesome result and it was fantastic to see everyone giving 100% and having such a good time.
Special congratulations to all our students who made finals, with top 10 times from all divisions! Congratulations to the following 17 students who make up one of our biggest finals teams ever. We are extremely proud of all the effort they have put into training and racing this year.
Year 8 – Amelia Lam, Olivia Liu, Emily Lewis, Sophie Liu and Harper Drane
Year 9 – Anneka Sinnappu and Claire Fleming
Year 10 – Elysia Wang, Angela Liu, Jasmine Rees, Lucy Ciro and Sunny Sun
Year 11 – Sofia Sanfilippo, Emily Price, Sophie Chang and Isabella Wood
Year 12 – Scarlett Giang
Our entire team would also love to thank our amazing teachers who came to support and help us out on the day, as well as Coach Yuri for his ongoing efforts and commitment in encouraging and training our team. A huge thanks also to the students who came along to volunteer and help CGGS run the Division 2 Carnival.
Good luck to all our finalists and great job to everyone who helped make our 2023 team so successful!
Emily Price
Swimming Captain
Being a member of the CGGS swim team over the past six years has been an incredibly fun and rewarding experience. I’ve loved watching the swimming culture at our school grow and evolve, along with cheering on my friends and teammates as we’ve grown up together. Every year, new students join the team and as one of the senior students, nothing is better than seeing all the potential they have and their joy for the sport. A highlight for me has been racing at the Finals Evenings, particularly in the Year 7 Freestyle Relay back in 2018. The atmosphere at MSAC, especially at night, is so exciting and racing as a team makes it even more fun. It’s been a privilege to represent my school in my favourite sport and I look forward to hearing about more great results in the future!
Scarlett Giang
Throughout my last 6 years at Camberwell, every year I have swum for the school at GSV Swimming, with many of the same girls. It will always be my highlight of Term 1 sport, getting up early to train, and building up to the competition. Even though it got harder to balance schoolwork with swimming, it’s provided me with many memories.
Mia Graham
I have been in GSV swimming since year 7. It always surprises me how many girls are a part of these events, supporting each other and the school and committing to all the early morning trainings. The CGGS team has a great culture and you can trust that everyone will be supporting and cheering for you all the way. GSV swimming has been a great way to connect with other year levels and share a bond with those in your own.
Whilst 7.00am trainings are no one’s favourite, I am happy to have had this experience with such a great team.
Monique Thorp
This year the diving squad has had its most successful competition season. After winning the Preliminary C Carnival, and bringing home many individual first places and ribbons, we went on to compete in the Division 1 GSV Championship carnival, which is the top 8 schools from the 24 GSV member schools. It was amazing to see everyone compete so well and most of the girls achieve personal bests with their 3 selected dives and many with new dives such as double somersaults off the 1m springboard. In the overall carnival results Seniors placed 5th, Inters 7th and Juniors 8th which is exceptional for our first Division 1 competition. We would like to give a special shout out to Mrs Robinson and Jenny for coaching and mentoring us through the season and the wise words given before we dive off the board. Lastly, we would just like to say an amazing job from all the girls in the diving squad this year and we’re so proud of the amazing effort and results.
Issy Tremewen
Being part of the GSV diving squad has been one of my many highlights at my time at Camberwell Girls. I joined the squad in Year 7 and have made meaningful friendships across all year levels throughout my time in the squad. I remember being in Year 7 watching all the older girls performing these amazing dives, hoping one day, I would be able to do the same. 6 years later I competed my 3 favourite dives for the last time at the Division 1 Championships Carnival. I will miss our diving squad and our Friday morning trainings with coach Jenny.
Clara Kim
During my time in the diving team at CGGS, I have been fortunate enough to be coached and mentored by Jenny. I remember being in Year 7 and being scared to jump off 1m, jumping into the cold MSAC pool for the first time and competing my first dives at the GSV Carnival. I never thought I would still be diving 6 years later and doing dives I never thought I’d be able to do. In being a part of the Diving squad, I have been able to connect with girls in other year levels and created lasting friendships. I have so many wonderful memories from those early morning trainings that I will never forget, and wise words given by coach Jenny. I will miss being in the diving squad so much next year.
Ruby Killington
Tasmanian Age & Open Swimming Championships – 10-13 March
The Tasmanian Age and Open Swimming Champs were a huge success! We had 9 swimmers represent the CGGS Aquatic Club in four days of competition. Congratulations to Elysia Wang (Year 10), Anneka Sinnappu (Year 9), Jasmine Rees (Year 10) and Emily Price (Year 11) whose dedication and commitment to training was rewarded through the achievement of many personal best times, qualifications in finals, finishing in the top three and winning medals.
Emily – 9 individual swims, 8 finals and 3 medals
Jasmine – 6 individual events and 1 final
Anneka – 5 individual events and 1 final (and a huge 83% PB rate)
Elysia – 8 individual events, 4 finals and 1 medal
We are very proud of all CGGS swimmers and what a great result for the fantastic four!
Camberwell Grammar Aquatic Qualifying meet – 19 March
Last weekend was a very swift meet. Emily who swam 100m Breaststroke twice, ended up swimming a PB in both races – an awesome effort and a well-deserved win. Anneka swam 50m Backstroke twice, landing a huge PB (3.53 seconds) on her first swim and ending up only 0.09 off the National qualifying time. On her second swim Anneka achieved another PB, swimming 32.79 seconds and achieving her first National qualifying time.
Well done to both swimmers on their outstanding performance.
Australian Age Swimming Championships – 9-15 April
The Australian Age Swimming Championships will be held on the Gold Coast during the Easter break.
We have 8 swimmers representing CGGS Aquatic and three of them are CGGS students: Angela Liu (Year 10), Emily Price (Year 11) and Anneka Sinnappu (Year 9). Competing in their main events Breaststroke and Backstroke, we wish them all the best of luck and fun on the Gold Coast.
Nareen Robinson
Head of Sport
One of our most productive Upskill days this term took place on Thursday 9 March, combining elements of our 360° of Being program, as well as a range of immersive learning experiences from Careers and Financial Literacy through to Service Learning and Safe Driver Education.
As students contribute to these experiences, not only are they adding to their knowledge base around wellbeing and life skills, but they are also equipping themselves with examples of key transferable skills including communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving which carry significant weight for future employers and tertiary institutions.
Year 7
Our Year 7s had a jampacked day, beginning with an immersive Service-Learning experience continuing in their roles as stewards for the environment. Students explored Waste as part of their Environmental Stewardship Program. They audited a landfill bin by separating the waste into food scraps, recycling, soft plastic and landfill. Students analysed the waste composition and identified potential opportunities to improve waste management. Each form created their own customised and themed recycling bin using colourful hard pieces of plastic, a video to communicate better practices of waste disposal, and built a “Recycled Art Form Mascot” using recycled plastics – 7B Bumblebees, 7T Turtles, 7P Pillows (Sheep) and 7W Worms. Environmental Captains from each form will tally their recycling waste and photograph the contents as part of a weekly challenge.
We have now issued 74 Year 7s with their first micro-credential (earned from a previous Upskill day) for applying the skills of the graphic recording with the potential for an additional collaborative Graphic Recording credential still to come.
Year 8
For our Year 8s, Upskill had an intentional focus on wellbeing. Welcoming the team from Project Rockit, students undertook the workshop ‘Connect’ which explores the positive potential of technology, upskilling students with online skills to build connected communities, support wellbeing and navigate harmful experiences. Under the overarching statement, “Every choice you make online has an impact, so the impact you make is up to you” this session set the tone for the remainder of the day, where wellbeing was the focus, specifically managing stress. Lead by their YLC Mr Rock, the day reinforced to students that stress is a natural part of life which we all experience from time to time but that doesn’t mean that it should take over our lives. Students explored what stress is and how it can be caused by a variety of factors, but also through various activities understood that stressors can impact us differently. Through group scenarios and activities, the Year 8s developed ways to manage situations to reduce stress and understand coping strategies. Finally, they looked at what other countries have done to manage the stress of their people. In particular, the nation of Bhutan which boasts the title of the happiest place on earth. Uniquely, rather than measuring their nation’s GDP, Bhutan focuses on their Gross National Happiness (GNH). After deep diving into what makes the country and its people happy, the students created their own policy to find ways to reduce stress in their own country.
Year 9
At Year 9, we were excited to begin our HEX@CGGS partnership. HEX are a diverse and multi-award winning Australian based EdTEch organisation, working around the world to unleash young talent on diverse career pathways. At Year 9, students will undertake two courses, You and Innovation, from a suite of five HEX offerings. In You, Year 9 began their journey of defining personal and professional goals, investigating and practicing leadership capability in a range of contexts and exploring decision making skills and emotional intelligence to map out flexible career pathways. Monday 3 April will see the Year 9s consolidate their You program with the team from HEX before heading into a day focussed on building their capability in design literacy, an essential future focused skill that will lay the foundation for their second HEX undertaking, Innovation.
Year 10
For our Year 10s, Upskill focused on Careers, with students immersed in this space with a very full and hands-on career education program. Students were presented with information about post-school options including tertiary institutions, vocational education opportunities and upskilled in university terminology, courses and degrees. They were given time to research institutions and courses and were introduced to the University of Melbourne model, the Melbourne Curriculum. As a follow on, the Year 10s are encouraged to read the weekly career newsletters to keep abreast of university school holiday programs, and other events tertiary institutions offer to inform prospective students. This is a terrific start to our student’s career research and wonderful preparation for their VCE subject selection which will begin in earnest at the end of Term Two. Our VCE students engaged in a combination of classes, assessment, and special programs.
Year 11
For Year 11, we partnered with Fit2Drive, a foundation who are experts in road safety education programs. With most of the Year 11s already on or looking to gain their ‘L’ plates, Fit2Drive flagship program offers Year 11s a unique opportunity to examine the complexities of decision-making and risk assessment as young road users. In a 3 ½ hour workshop, students were guided by a dedicated team of facilitators in group activities, to assess the practical tools and strategies that are needed to keep themselves and others safe on the road. Managing different road safety issues was the focus with the Year 11s hearing from Fire Rescue Victoria about the non-negotiable road laws and a real-life case study.
Year 12
At Year 12, life skills were also the focus, with Ali Larkey from Speaking About Money, delivering a workshop all about insurance; what it is, do you need it and how it works. As part of a sequence of Financial Literacy workshops, students explored Health, Travel, Ambulance, Home, Car, Life, TPD and Income Protection, as well as what constitutes a Will and why Estate management is important. As part of their final year of secondary schooling, having this knowledge and understanding is essential to transitioning with both practical knowledge and confidence.
Look out for further insights into the program from our final two Upskill days for Term One.
Kate Manners
Head of Strategic Initiatives
