Mrs McClure explains the exciting work happening behind the scenes to transform the digital experience for all stakeholders in our community.
Dear Junior School Families,
At Camberwell Girls Grammar School we recognise the importance of nurturing every aspect of each student’s development. Supporting the academic, social, emotional, and physical development of our students is at the heart of all that we do, so that our young people can truly thrive. In a world that is busier than ever, we are dedicated to helping students find balance while pursuing their goals, ensuring they are well-equipped for both school and life beyond.
When we think about balance these days, often our minds immediately turn to balancing screen time. Our educators are committed to ensuring that our students and our families stay informed of up to date and age-appropriate messaging. One of the ways in which we do this is through our partnership with the Cybersafety Project. With technology playing such a big role in our children’s lives, we are committed to equipping them (and you) with the knowledge and tools to stay safe online. We are looking forward to our Parent Education evening coming up soon, where you will have the chance to delve deeper into Cybersafety topics and ask Trent Ray any questions you may have.
In the spirit of finding a ‘balance’, we also celebrated International Women’s Day at assembly this week, focusing on the theme ‘Balancing the Scales’. During our assembly on Friday, 6 March, the girls heard a powerful message about gender equality and the importance of supporting one another to ensure everyone has the same opportunities. Our Year 6 leaders made sure that each student received a purple ribbon as a symbol of unity and empowerment, and they presented our Early Learning students with special purple bubbles as a reminder of the message that girls can do anything they set their minds to!
At our assembly we also celebrated our Fivedation students (our Foundation and Year 5 students). This is a wonderful program designed to foster cross-age mentoring within our community. By connecting our Year 5 students with younger peers, we create valuable opportunities for the development of leadership skills, empathy, and resilience. Our Year 5s are stepping into their roles as emerging leaders, modelling positive behaviours and offering guidance to our Foundation students. This approach not only strengthens relationships across year levels but also helps every student feel supported and included as they grow. The experience of mentoring builds confidence in our Year 5s and inspires them to lead with kindness and responsibility. Huge thanks to our Fivedation team, Ms Stanaway, Mr Goodwin, Mrs Columbine and Ms Giles.
Kellie Morgan
Head of Junior School
Who am I? And how do I belong?
Developing a sense of belonging
Early social connections are an essential part of children’s wellbeing, learning, and development. When positive, secure, and respectful relationships are established, children feel safe, confident, and ready to engage. A focus in the Early Learning 4 Part Time classroom, at the beginning of the term has been building relationships with both familiar and new peers and understanding each child’s identity within the classroom and the wider school community.
We embarked on our first inquiry into the self, responding to the provocations: Who am I? and What makes me special?
Using meaningful and creative approaches, we began with careful observation to explore ‘what makes me, me?’ Armed with handheld mirrors and the selfie-mode on the iPad, the children spent time studying their reflections: looking closely at their eyes, noticing their colour, shape, and the way they change depending on their feelings. Through guided discussions, they began to understand that every face tells a story. This close investigation encouraged patience, attention to detail, and a growing appreciation for differences, both their own and those of their classmates. This exploration supported not only artistic skills but also emotional awareness and vocabulary.
However, the children soon discovered that identity is not only about what can be seen, but also includes the unseen, such as their interests, skills, and dispositions. When asked, ‘What makes you special?’ the children responded with:
“I can do drawing and I can do painting so beautiful.” Aria
“I love my family; I draw and write cards for them.” Aileen
“I can do fast running.” Reia
“I can make colourful paintings, and I’m good at it.” Ella
“I can build big buildings, and make zoos, and make marble runs.” Monty
“I can build houses out of Lego by myself.” Cecilia
“I can do big paintings, and I can do drawing and I can write my name.” Evelyn.
We also recognised that our names play a special and personal role in how we belong. This sparked thoughtful conversations. If our name is just a bundle of letters, what makes it feel so important? Who chose it? And what does it mean?
Each morning, as part of our daily ritual, children sign in, a simple act that carries deep intention, as it is not only a literacy practice but also a declaration of identity and belonging. Our inquiry has led us to explore our names, examining their origins and discovering their meanings and cultural connections. We experimented with recording our names using different tones, volumes, and emotions – whispering, stretching, singing, celebrating, and speaking to them with confidence. We also explored how visual text can influence the way a name is read, including font style, size, boldness, and colour.
Though we have only just begun, children are starting to understand that while their name does not define who they will become, it carries love, intention, and connection. It links them to family, culture, and community. Most importantly, they are learning to hold their names and themselves with confidence.
Esther Wong
Early Learning 4 Part Time Teacher
In Term 1, selected students from Year 3 – 6 have the opportunity to be a part of the CGGS swim team and represent CGGS at the North Balwyn District Swimming Carnival. This event was held on Thursday 26 February and we had a team of fourteen students attend. The day started with the always competitive 50m freestyle. Nicole L won her event, earning herself a place at the upcoming Division Swimming Carnival.
The next swimmers were competing in the 50m backstroke which has always been one of our more successful events. Our students did not disappoint with Emilia Z and Nicole L winning their races and qualifying for Division.
We finished the individual races strong with Emma B qualifying in 50m breaststroke, Amelia L earning herself a third place in the breaststroke and Emilia Z, Emma B qualifying in the 50m butterfly.
This was a fabulous result for our individual swimmers.
The day was not complete, however, and the students moved on to prepare themselves for the relays. Our freestyle relay teams swam very competitively with a third-place ribbon going to our 9/10 year old relay team, a fourth place to our 12/13 year old relay team and our 11 year old relay team came first and qualified for Division.
Our final race for the day was the Open Medley relay which included Emilia Z, Emma B, Nicole L and Yolanda M. CGGS finished with an extraordinary swim from these students who placed first and earned a place at Division.
We had a strong team of seven swimmers who represented CGGS at Boroondara Division Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 4 March. It was a strong day of competition, and the students should be proud of how they swam. Congratulations to Emilia Z who came third in backstroke and second in butterfly and qualified for butterfly at the upcoming Eastern Metropolitan Regional Swimming Carnival. Emma B also earned herself a third place ribbon in her butterfly race and our Open Medley relay team swam an incredible race and just missed out on qualifying coming away with a third place ribbon.
Good luck to Emilia Z for her 50m butterfly race and the upcoming Eastern Metropolitan Regional Swimming Carnival.
Kim James
Head of Health, Physical Education & Sport
Last Friday, Year 5 attended a Wild Action incursion in the Junior School library. It was a hands-on learning experience, and we got to feel the animals because we were learning about animals, adaptions, and habitats (or biomes).
The first animal we were shown was the shingleback lizard. It has a physical adaption that makes its tail look like its head to confuse its predators. Every shingleback has different patterns on its body, a bit like a zebra. The shingleback we were shown had a stripy body with dotted feet. Fun fact! Shinglebacks can smell with their tongues by picking up smell particles in the air.
We were also shown a black headed python. The black headed python has a few brilliant adaptions, one of which is its black head, which it sticks out of its hole every day to warm up. This physical adaption allows it to warm up quickly while staying hidden from predators. Another one of its adaptions is something called flicker fusion, where the python shuffles quickly to either cover up its tracks, or to confuse a predator with its patterns.
One of the final animals we saw was a barn owl! The barn owl is a nocturnal creature. Its diet consists mainly of rats and mice, making it a great pest patroller! If this bird flew over you, you wouldn’t hear a thing. Did you know? The barn owl can turn its head 270 degrees!
In conclusion, I loved the incursion with Wild Action. Liv was a superb presenter, who educated us with a touch of humour. We were able to feel the animals and learn about their adaptions in the wild! It was informative and I genuinely enjoyed the experience.
Wild Action Incursion by Alice D (Year 5C)
Mrs McClure explains the exciting work happening behind the scenes to transform the digital experience for all stakeholders in our community.
The secondary school recently celebrated outstanding results at the GSV Triathlon event and the Swimming and Diving Carnivals.
The Junior School celebrated excellent swimming results this week, and Year 5 was visited by some furry friends.
Our dedicated SHUS volunteers have been working tirelessly to streamline shop processes.
