Our annual Mother’s Day breakfast is a wonderful community celebration that provides an opportunity to acknowledge the important role that mothers, and maternal figures play in our lives. Barbara Sutton Hall was filled with chatter and laughter, as families and friends caught up and shared stories over a delicious breakfast. The atmosphere was one of joy and love – a chance to share stories, memories, and laughter, and to express our heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful maternal figures in our lives, including mothers, grandmothers, aunts and mentors.
To all our families, we wish you a lovely weekend ahead with your families. May you be blessed to spend it with loved ones.
Kath Woolcock
Head of Senior School
Kate Giles
Head of Middle School
The Design Thinking process provides a scaffold for human-centred design. Developed by Standford d.school and IDEO, this five stage process is used across industries and organisations to develop new ways of doing, creating and thinking. We used the Design Thinking process to develop our Camberwell Girls Grammar School BY DESIGN Learning Architecture, which underpins learning design at CGGS. The Design Hub in Lower Woodstock features our visualisation of the five stages: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test.
Our Year 7 and 8 students have been using the Design Thinking process in our INVENT…BY DESIGN program, which is running over several Upskill days. They are exploring the process through the lens of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by UN member countries in 2015 to systematically support a better and sustainable future for all. The SDGs replace the Millenium Development Goals. The INVENT…BY DESIGN program has been created as a design sprint to provide students with a short and intensive engagement with the Design Thinking process. Their final ideas and recommendations will be shared with the UN as it gathers insights and solutions from students around the world, and unites them in action through its World’s Largest Lesson initiative. We look forward to sharing some of their ideas with the CGGS community too.
Dr Charlotte Forwood
Director of Learning Design and Development
Over the April holidays I had the privilege of travelling to Queensland for the National Junior Track and Field Championships. Although I didn’t run my best race, it was a great experience and I came 17th, placing me top 20 in the country in my age group. It was really cool to get to run against such a high calibre of athletes, and watch some of my teammates run really well. I also recently participated in the Run the Tan Battle of the Schools Event. I placed 2nd in my age group and 3rd in the overall women’s category for the event. It was super fun, and I got a PB around the Tan!
Bella F, Year 11
We couldn’t be prouder of Bella’s running prowess and her commitment to her chosen sport. We look forward to her continued involvement in the Track and Field and Cross-Country arenas and supporting her development.
Nareen Robinson
Head of Sport
During the Easter Holiday break, we had 3 students represent the CGGS Aquatic Club at the Age National Swimming Championships. It is an incredible accomplishment to achieve qualifying times to be selected to compete in the event and we are very pleased to share with you the results of our students.
Emily Price (Yr 11) placed 20th in the heats of the 17-year-old 50m Breaststroke, swimming again in the B-final and placing 18th overall with a season best time of 35.09 seconds.
Angela Liu (Yr 10) raced the 15-year-old 50m Breaststroke, achieving a personal best time of 36.40 seconds (0.56sec PB). Placing her 58th in Australia.
Anneka Sinnappu (Year 9) had an amazing swim in the 14-year-old 50m Backstroke, achieving a new personal best time of 34.18 seconds, placing 103rd in Australia.
We are so proud of these swimmers; their dedication to training and developing their skills is outstanding.
Nareen Robinson
Head of Sport
Each term we present awards for the GSV weekly sport program. The coaches award recognises a student who has shown commitment to training, development of skills, understanding and good sportsmanship. The Most Valuable Player Award is presented to the student who has displayed all of these attributes and excellence in skill, knowledge and leadership within the team’s overall success.
Nareen Robinson
Head of Sport
In the last week of term 1, eight students from CGGS attended the Brighton Grammar School Open Zonal Tournament. Lucy Ciro and Alice Liu (Year 10), Selena Chen (Year 8) and Christine Moi, Jessica Wong, Panya Soltani, Elsa Wu and Lily Wu (Year 7) made up our largest ever chess team. With over 250 competitors comprising 39 teams from many schools across Melbourne, they faced a challenging day.
Competitors are required to play seven different opponents with a 15-minute time limit. The tournament was run by Chess Victoria under the direction of Leonid Sandler, an International Chess Master. With strict rules of play our students displayed discipline and great sportsmanship during each round.
Every member of the team won tournament points against tough competition, demonstrating perseverance, determination and CGGS spirit. It was the first tournament for several students, and a fun experience playing this game of strategy. We look forward to our next tournament experience.
Helen Pappas
Chess Coach
On Wednesday 4 May, Year 7 students participated in an Environmental Service-Learning session entitled, Rethinking Waste. Students explored how to use recycling bins correctly and were encouraged to make personal pledges to reduce landfill by adopting one of the 5 Rs – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse/Repair, Recycle, Rot (Compost). Worm bins were created from recycled yoghurt containers, then place in raised vegetable beds, allowing students to see firsthand how organic waste can be turned into valuable compost.
Each Year 7 form has a compost bin to manage and maintain, creating a sense of ownership and responsibility for waste management. To encourage friendly competition and further promote waste reduction, compost bins make up the basis of an inter-form Environmental Challenge. Every week, the form with the most organic waste is awarded points, encouraging students to actively manage their compost bins and reduce waste.
Anna Clarkson
Mathematics and Geography Teacher
Sustainability Coordinator
At the beginning of Term Two, CGGS students, teachers and staff members travelled to Mount Eliza and spent the weekend rehearsing for upcoming performances.
Music Camp was a great opportunity for students to actively participate in a range of musical ensembles and enjoy the many activities offered during the weekend, including a group singing session with Mrs Georgiev, a movie night and the much-loved Trivia Night.
Through sharing this experience with other musicians across all year levels, the Music Camp experience enabled students to form new friendships, allowing the music family to grow closer. A highlight for the two of us was hosting the Trivia Night and seeing everyone, including the teachers, collaborate in a friendly competition. It was a delight to see everyone wearing a creative home-made costume related to the theme of ‘Movie Characters’ and finishing the night with some fun games and riddles.
Music camp has always been a highlight of the school year for us. It is a safe and creative space, where we can focus solely on discovering and connecting with music. There is a special sense of accomplishment we feel when we are able to play our allocated parts in a piece after a long rehearsal. Most of all, Music Camp is a highlight because we learn more about music with people who share the same passion. We all put maximum effort into working with each other during each rehearsal and that is what makes the music we play come to life!
Sarah P, Stephanie K and Grace Z, Year 12
This year, I have been given the opportunity to prepare and perform a Marimba concerto piece, ‘Stubernic Fantasy’. This marimba trio is a piece I have selected to perform with three student marimba players and the Symphonic Band. I have worked together with Stephanie K and Scarlett G on the marimba score, to deconstruct and adjust each section of the piece to suit the abilities of our school Symphonic Band.
This piece was a featured rehearsal item at the recent Music Camp, where I was able to help lead the soloists and support the students in the percussion section. Being able to just be present in the moment and assist in putting the piece together with my music teachers has been the most unique and fun experience.
This initiative has taught me a lot; not only how to arrange music, but it has also illuminated the importance of devising ideas and being a proactive leader. Focusing purely on music for a few days is an experience like no other, and one that I am forever grateful to have experienced in every year of my CGGS school life.
Sasha W, Leader of Percussion
We are thrilled to announce several students have been awarded House Badges, House Colours and Double Colours for their hard work, dedication, and contributions to the CGGS House Program. These awards have historically only been presented at the end of the year, however student feedback indicated that they would love the opportunity to be recognised more frequently throughout the school year. As a result, we were able to present 61 students with House Awards at this week’s whole school and year level assemblies.
We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the recipients. Receiving House Badges (30 points of activity), Colours (60 points of activity), and Double Colours (90 points of activity), is a significant achievement that reflects the students’ commitment, talent, and their overall positive contribution to the school’s House Programs.
In particular, we would like to acknowledge Isabella W, Year 11 who has achieved our top House Award, House Double Colours by the end of Term 1, Angela Liu, Aliyana Rajakulendran and Isabelle Bertus for achieving House Colours in Year 10 and Laura Mok and Pippa Soo for getting their House Badges in Year 8. To earn these awards so early in their time at the school is an outstanding achievement. Well done.
If you feel inspired to become part of the ‘House Blazer’ crew, our advice would be to sign up for House events, meet students from across the school and build lasting skills, friendships, and memories from your time at CGGS.
Once again, congratulations to all the recipients, and we look forward to seeing their continued House participation.
Eleanor Wood
Director of Co-Curricular Programs
