Our weekly Junior School assemblies are a wonderful opportunity for our Year 6 student leaders to lead and connect with the Ormiston school community. They are also an excellent opportunity for our Principal Mrs Dunwoody and Deputy Principal Mrs McClure to see what is happening at Ormiston and for them to share their thoughts and ideas on several different topics and/or events that are taking place.
This week, Mrs McClure talked about the importance of understanding food allergies. She told the Junior School about the symptoms of an allergic reaction and the 8 most common food allergies in Australia that included foods such as wheat, nuts, shellfish, hen’s eggs, fish, soya, sesame seeds and cow’s milk. The staff and students were interested to learn more about food allergies. At the end of Mrs McClure’s presentation, she reminded our students how they can help at school. These steps included:
These steps are a timely reminder for our students to look after themselves and students who have a food allergy at Ormiston.
Congratulations to Alice Hong in Year 6H for her participation in the Sydney Synchronized Festival last weekend. Over the three-day event, Alice and her team achieved some excellent results. One of her best results was coming in thirdronized ice skating in the basic novice category. We wish Alice all the best with her ice place for synchskating for the remainder of the year.
Paul Donohue
Head of Junior School
During the week of Science, the Early Learning students had a special visit from the educators of Reptile Encounters where they came face-to-face with local species that inhabit our suburbs including a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Growling Grass Frog, Sugar Glider, Blue Tongue Lizard, Eastern Long-necked Turtle, Shingleback Lizard, Monitor and a Victorian Carpet Python.
This hands-on experience allowed children connect with the biodiversity found within our natural landscape – fostering their sense of curiosity and respect for all living creatures and their habitats. By observing the animal’s behaviours and learning about conservation, children extended their understanding of concepts related to biology, ecology and environmental stewardship. This memorable incursion inspired children to further their classroom inquiries to further question, research and expand their learnings about the natural world.
Esther Wong
Early Learning Coordinator
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
Next week we celebrate the creativity of all Junior School students at the Ormiston Art Show. We warmly invite all families to attend the opening of the Art Show at our assembly on Wednesday 4th September at 2:00pm. The Art Show will be open every morning and afternoon on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September.
The Art program in 2024 has focussed on curiosity, innovation, courage, independence and self-expression. Students had opportunities to discover a variety of medium through exploration and explicit teaching. While this year’s Art Show contains many finished pieces of work, it is important to acknowledge that Art is a process not a product. Learning takes place in the Art room even when children do not make a piece of artwork. As well as the artworks on display, there will be images of students learning and enjoying the process of making art.
As you view the artworks this year, consider the significant development of cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills that have gone into creating each piece. I encourage families to talk about their child’s artwork using open-ended questions – “Tell me about your artwork,” or “How did you mix the colours for this artwork?” or “what did you enjoy in this experience?”.
We have some incredibly gifted artists at Ormiston, and this is a wonderful opportunity for them to shine and share their talent with the wider school. I look forward to seeing all families at the Art Show this year.
Lilian Bishop
Junior School Art Teacher
Last week, Ormiston students, Ivy X and Yiyi L in Year 6, Nicole L in Year 4 and Caroline C in Year 3 took part in the 66th Victorian Interschools Snowsports Championships at Mt Buller. Each student participated in the Alpine Giant Slalom and Ski Cross events and three students took part in the Ski Moguls discipline. Ixy swapped her skis for her snowboard and also competed in the Boarder Cross and Boarder Slalom events, where she advanced to the finals and qualified for the Subaru Australian Interschools Snowsports Championships at Perisher in September.
We were thrilled with the way each student embraced the challenging courses and testing weather conditions, and their display of determination to achieve their personal best and their respect and support for one another was something Mrs. White and I were extremely proud of. Strong winds and rain couldn’t dampen their enthusiasm and positive attitudes!
The Opening Ceremony and fireworks were a highlight and provided a wonderful opportunity for the students, staff, parents and siblings to march alongside other Victorian schools, proudly carrying the Camberwell Girls Grammar School sign.
We would like to sincerely thank the encouraging and supportive families who also attended the event and cheered their own children and the other CGGS competitors.
Angela Columbine
Year 1 Classroom Teacher & Junior School Snowsports Coordinator
In Year 6 French this term, our focus is on the vibrant experience of shopping in France. Students are expanding their vocabulary with words for fruits, vegetables, and clothing. They’re building up to a market role play, where they’ll practice these new terms in real-life scenarios. Alongside vocabulary, students are also learning key phrases to ask for specific items and how to inquire about and give prices. This practical approach not only helps them master the language but also gives them a glimpse into the cultural nuances of shopping in France, making their learning experience both educational and engaging.
Joanne Rittey
Head of Languages & French Teacher
In Week 5, the Year 3 class went to visit the iconic Eureka Tower. This tied in with our Inquiry unit about the human-made and natural characteristics of Australia. We were very fortunate to have clear blue skies, so we had a beautiful view of Melbourne and its many landmarks.
Here’s what the Year 3 class had to say:
Lena- “We went on an excursion to Eureka Tower, and we had a lot of activities to do like “I Spy”. My favourite bit was the VR. It took us to a lot of different landmarks. My favourite part was when it took us on a rollercoaster at Luna Park and when it took us to China Town.”
Charlotte- “Our excursion to Eureka Tower was very fun. We did lots of activities and we went very high. When we went on the lift, we went very fast and some of our ears started popping. The best part was we got to do VR!”
Samaira- “When we did the activity I Spy, we got to see a lot of different places in the city like the MCG, Arts Centre, and the ABC building!”
Eshaal- “Going to Eureka Tower was so fun! I think this excursion was important because we learnt about a lot of landmarks.”
As explained by the students, they participated in an exciting Virtual Reality (VR) experience. They also completed an I Spy activity, where they tried to identify a landmark for each letter of the alphabet. They had a blast!
If you are looking for some family activities, you could also try this activity for yourselves at home. You could try to name iconic landmarks in Melbourne or Australia. For a twist, you could even try this on a local walk around your neighbourhood.
May Ou
Year 3 Classroom Teacher
Book Week is a wonderful yearly celebration that highlights the importance of reading, books and storytelling in our lives. This year’s theme of “Reading is Magic” perfectly captured the delight and joy that books can bring to readers of all ages. Just like magic, reading has the power to spark the imagination, inspire creative thinking and allows children to connect with a wide range of characters, make believe worlds, and incredible stories.
At Ormiston, we embraced the theme by inviting Tim Mason the Magician to entertain our Foundation to Year 6 students at our special Assembly. Tim’s Book Week inspired show was engaging, funny and highly entertaining and our students were mesmerised by his tricks and laughing out loud with his performance. The Dress Up parade was another highlight as both students and staff went to incredible lengths to create amazing costumes inspired by their favourite book characters.
Our Book Week celebrations continued with visits from several authors and illustrators.
ELC children dressed as princesses, pilots, rabbits, mermaids and witches celebrated, danced and sang along with Mark Carthew who shared his stories The Moose is Loose and The Things That Goes Ping to a mesmerised audience.
Caz Goodwin and Shaney Hyde visited our Foundation to Year 2 classes and explored, the art of drawing and storytelling using their Little Matilda book series. Little Matilda herself made a surprise visit which delighted our youngest students.
Finally, we look forward to welcoming author Ingrid Laguna in Week 8. Ingrid will run her Writing Craft workshops with all students from Year 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Sally Spencer
Junior School Library Teacher
During the Science Week assembly, the Senior School STEAM captains Shelly and Cindy asked the Junior School, “Who loves Science?” Almost every single hand in the room went up – and many hands continued to go up to answer the quiz questions they had prepared, some of which were very challenging!
The theme of this year’s Science week was Species Survival, and some keen student volunteers from the Senior School led lunchtime activities so that everyone could take part in celebrating Science.
Students were invited to engage with some threatened but surviving species by creating origami animal ornaments which they used to decorate a tree. They learned about how scientists can find out about animals in the environment by studying trace evidence like tracks and scat, and played card and board games exploring this concept. Other students chose to make a leaf collage representing an Australian animal.
As well as taking part in the Science aspect, many students reflected that they enjoyed working with other students of different ages. The student volunteers from Secondary School were especially impressed with creativity and energy that the younger students brought to the activities, and happily answered questions about what life is like in Secondary School as they worked.
Thank you to everyone who took part in Science Week for making it such a great success!
Penny Dumsday
STEAM and Science Teacher
The Year 5&6 Fuse Cup eSports Competition, hosted at Melbourne Girls Grammar School, saw intense Mario Kart racing action. 4 student from Ormiston competed, Stephanie M, Abigail L, Alessandra R and Chloe Z.
In the Mushroom Cup Grand Prix heats, players competed to earn points across four courses. Stephanie stood out, dominating her competition, and securing a 20-point lead, advancing directly to the quarterfinals. Abigail, Alessandra, and Chloe raced well but narrowly missed out on progressing, with a second chance awaiting them in the time trials.
During the time trials, 33 racers competed to set their fastest lap on Mario Kart Stadium. Abigail set the bar high with an impressive 34.201 seconds, the fastest time of the day, earning her a spot in the quarterfinals alongside Stephanie. Chloe and Alessandra just missed qualifying in the fierce competition.
In the quarterfinals, Abigail started strong but ultimately finished 3rd after a challenging final lap. Stephanie continued her winning streak, securing a spot in the semi-finals with a commanding 15-point lead. The semi-finals were tightly contested, with Stephanie racing brilliantly. However, in a dramatic final corner of the final lap of the final race, she was hit by an opponent’s star, finishing 3rd, and missing the grand final by just 1 point.
A semi-final finish matches CGGS’s best result in the Junior School division and given that the team only spent a few short weeks preparing, marks an outstanding achievement.
Sam Fitzgerald
Head of Digital Technologies
Mark Major
System Engineer
