Mrs Dunwoody discusses CGGS's partnership with The Cyber Safety Project to educate and support students, parents, and staff regarding digital safety and wellbeing.
Last week, our Ormiston Assembly inducted our new School Council and Sustainability Squad members for Semester One. It was a pleasure to see many families join us for this special occasion in the Junior School Hall. We extend our gratitude to Deputy Principal Davina McClure for handing out badges to the following students:
School Council Representatives
Year 1 W Sophie W
Year 1C Charlotte T
Year 2 Harper Z
Year 3 Audrey S
Year 4 Anna Z
Year 5G Evelyn Z
Year 5S Olive M
Social Service Leaders: Faye L & Wendy Z
Sustainability Squad
Year 1 W Abigail A
Year 1C Jasmine L
Year 2 Audrey Y
Year 3 Charlene W
Year 4 Eshaal A
Year 5G Ajab Z
Year 5S Akira R
Sustainability Leaders: Sienna T & Annie S
The theme of the assembly was Commitment, one of our five important CGGS School Values. Mrs. McClure spoke about our Head of Library, Anne Devenish. Mrs. Devenish will be leaving Camberwell Girls Grammar School at the end of Term 1 after 16 years of dedicated service and commitment to live in the country. At Ormiston, we wish Mrs. Devenish a wonderful last four weeks before her final day on Friday, April 4. With the support of our Year 3 Class Teacher, Selena Reedman, we look forward to the School Council undertaking service-learning projects very soon.
Paul Donohue
Head of Junior School
The ELC children enjoyed an interactive session on seeds, plants, and worms by CERE. They learned about the vital roles of these elements in growing healthy food and supporting sustainable environments. The hands-on activities covered plant growth essentials—water, sunlight, and soil—and how worms enrich the soil, linking these processes to nature’s cycles. This experience showcased biodiversity and the importance of sustainable farming.
Within the classroom, the Early Learning 4 Part Time children extended their learning by investigating plant growth through its life cycle and understanding its anatomy. Children participated in drawing the stages of a plant’s development—from seeding to sprouting (germination), vegetative, budding, flowering and ripening. This experience marked the beginning of a deeper exploration into the vital role plants play in the environment. As they learned about the different stages of growth, the children began to understand how plants contribute to ecosystems by providing food, oxygen, and shelter for various living creatures. Their exploration also introduced concepts about human impact on the environment, including the ways in which human actions can affect plant life and the natural world. This inquiry into the life cycle of plants served as a gateway to broader discussions about concepts around ‘time’, ‘changes’ that occur in living things, and the interconnectedness of all life forms within our world.
Esther Wong
Early Learning 4 Part Time Teacher
The Year 1 students have been thoroughly engaged during their first lessons about Cyber Safety.
Initially, we explored the differences between offline and online play spaces. Students considered the challenges they may face when navigating online spaces, including the people who can make it unsafe. They identified three types of people that they may encounter – tricky people, strangers and unkind people – and discussed practical strategies for dealing with these types of people in the online world.
Year 1 students learned about identifying “tricky people” online and the warning signs to avoid them. In groups, they identified behaviours like requesting personal information, asking for secrecy, or making you feel special. They then assessed whether specific online scenarios were green or red flags.
In the coming weeks we will continue to explore areas about online responsibility and safety. Year 1 students will learn about protecting their personal information and the importance of developing secure passwords. They are looking forward to more interactive sessions and sharing their Cyber Safety knowledge!
Elizabeth Warren and Angela Columbine
Year 1 Class Teachers
The Year 2 Super Strings program is well underway for 2025 with excited and enthusiastic students commencing tuition on either violin, viola or ‘cello. The aim of the Year 2 Super Strings program is to develop technical playing ability and confidence on their instrument, as well developing aural awareness and pitch association with music reading and musical literacy.
Every Wednesday all students in Year 2 dive deeply into learning with their chosen instrument in a group lesson. These lessons are provided by dedicated and expert teachers and are structured to foster teamwork and confidence building in a collaborative and respectful setting. Further into the semester students also work as a whole class ensemble.
Learning a stringed instrument has such wonderful benefits with developing young minds and bodies. So many senses are utilised and incorporated into music lessons such as Auditory Processing (hearing), Tactile (touch) and Visual (sight).
More subtle but lesser-known senses are equally and actively engaged and developed in Super String classes to build coordination, fine motor skills and spatial perception.
Online resources, learning activities and videos are shared on Seesaw to complement and enhance the super, Super Strings experience.
Year 2 Super Strings may begin with small steps, but what can be achieved is demonstrated through wonderful celebrations at performance and concert events. We look forward to a year of active music-making and sharing performances with the CGGS community.
Rohan Mack
Head of Strings
Co-Director of Music (Instrumental)
In Term 1, selected students from Years 3-6 had the opportunity to join the CGGS swim team and represent CGGS at the North Balwyn District Swimming Carnival. This event took place on Thursday, 27 February, with a team of 18 students participating. The day commenced with the highly competitive 50m freestyle, where three students qualified for the Division stage: Janice P, Claire Z, and Alessandra R.
Following this, the 50m backstroke, historically one of our stronger events, saw five students qualify for Division: Emilia Z, Janice P, Nicole L, Claire Z, and Cathy G.
The individual races concluded on a high note with Annabelle Z qualifying in the 50m breaststroke, and Emilia Z, Annabelle Z, and Alessandra R qualifying in the 50m butterfly.
These results marked an exceptional performance for our individual swimmers, making it our most successful District swimming meet to date.
The day continued with preparations for the relay events. The first relay was the 9/10 year old 50m freestyle team, comprising Emilia Z, Amelia L, Yolanda M, and Aileen L. Their impressive performance not only secured qualification for the Division but also saw them finish a full pool length ahead of their competitors.
Subsequent relays included the 11-year-old 50m freestyle team (Nicole L, Annabelle Z, Cecilia Y, Janice P) and the 12/13-year old 50m freestyle team (Alis C, Kenolee H, Aurelia P, Audrey C). Both teams delivered outstanding performances, finishing first and qualifying for Division.
The final race of the day was the Medley relay, featuring Alessandra R, Claire Z, Cathy G, and Faye L. CGGS concluded the event with an extraordinary performance, securing first place and swimming 20 seconds faster than their qualifying time from the previous year.
Congratulations are extended to the entire team for their remarkable achievements in the pool and their exemplary team spirit and encouragement of one another. Best wishes to all the swimmers participating in the Boroondara Division swimming carnival on Wednesday 5 March.
Kim James
Head of Health, Physical Education & Sport
Year 5 students have made an enthusiastic start to their French learning this year, embracing the basics of conversation. Over the past five weeks, they have been mastering greetings and farewells, asking and answering names, and responding to the question Ça va ?/ How are you? with confidence.
To put their new skills into practice, students are now working towards a puppet play, where they will showcase their ability to hold a simple dialogue in French. This creative project not only reinforces their speaking skills but also encourages them to experiment with expression and pronunciation. With each lesson, they are growing in confidence, ready to bring their characters to life in French.
Joanne Rittey
Head of Languages & French Teacher
Mrs Dunwoody discusses CGGS's partnership with The Cyber Safety Project to educate and support students, parents, and staff regarding digital safety and wellbeing.
This week, our CGGS Secondary School swimmers successfully defended their GSV Division 2 Swimming Championship title.
At the Junior School, Year 1 has shared a special ritual they do every day with the Foundation students.
The School welcomed Old Grammarian Lisa Chiba (2001) as the guest speaker at this year's International Women's Day Breakfast.
