A Fun Filled Term 1!

After the past two years, it has been an absolute pleasure seeing our school come back to life this term through all our wonderful extra-curricula activities that have once again been thoroughly enjoyed by our students.

Last week we celebrated Harmony Week and it was a joy to see our community come together to celebrate all our different backgrounds and cultures. Our students enjoyed Cultural Dress Up Day which culminated in a Foundation - Year 2 parade. Our students were very excited to spell out the word, Harmony, with their bodies and were thrilled to watch the drone overhead taking photos and capturing the essence of our week. Sincere thanks to Mrs Riviere-Pendle for all she did to ensure Harmony Week was a huge success for CGS including working with students to decorate our school in orange, the colour of Harmony.

Last week also saw our Year 6 students participate in our Beach Program at the Mornington Life Saving Club. They took part in many surf lifesaving activities that included swimming, paddle boarding and flags. Thanks to Mr Batey for organising and attending this event and thanks also to Mr Newham, Ms Mepstead and Ms Sutherland for being part of this year’s Beach Program.

Our Year 1 classes were also thrilled to go on their first excursion to the Melbourne Museum last week. Our students visited the Daily Life display at the Bunjilaka Centre to learn about the lives of the First Peoples of Australia. They also had the opportunity to visit several other displays including the dinosaurs and bugs. The day was a huge success and everyone seemed to enjoy being on the bus almost as much as visiting the museum. Thanks to Ms Hall for her organisational precision and to her, Mrs Black, Mrs Harrison, Ms Hurst, Ms Stanic, Ms Doyle and Mrs Woolcock for taking the children on this much awaited excursion.

Yesterday we had four students attend MSAC for the Southern Metro Regional Swimming Carnival. I was privileged to attend to support our team. Bella placed fifth in her Butterfly race, Alice placed seventh in her butterfly race and Neressa, Emma, Alice and Bella placed sixth in their medley relay. I was incredibly proud of them all as they faced fierce competition as many of their competitors were state swimmers. Congratulations to all. You did yourselves and CGS proud.

I was also thrilled to attend our Year 4 Camp recently. What a fabulous experience it was for our students! Their visits to the MCG, the Melbourne Skydeck and Latitude Centre were all highlights, not to mention sleeping in cabins with their friends. I couldn’t have been more impressed with their behaviour and the fun they had together as a group was wonderful to witness. Sincere thanks again to our generous staff who attended because without them being willing to give up their own time away from their families, camps simply would not be possible.

Our Year 6 camp commenced yesterday at Gundiwindi Lodge. Having spoken to our teachers before breakfast today, from all reports our students are enjoying every minute. Thanks to Mr Newham, Ms Mepstead, Mr Dunkley, Miss Trompeuse, Mrs Badar and Ms Sutherland for organising and most importantly, giving up their time to attend camp. Our Year 5 students depart for Gundiwindi Lodge tomorrow morning and again I’d like to thank the following staff who are attending for their generosity; Ms Ramos, Mrs Khvorostin, Mrs Torcasio, Mrs Saleeba, Ms Lush and Mr Bell.

On a housekeeping note, I would like to remind parents that student drink bottles must be plastic and not glass and that all students require a Casey Grammar School brimmed hat.

Please keep safe and well.

Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

Memories of the Beach

Last week the Year 6 students were lucky enough to spend two days at Mills Beach in Mornington. Skyla S from 6M has provided a reflection on this incredible experience below.

‘Once we reached Mills Beach in Mornington, everyone hopped off the bus in excitement for the Beach Program. We couldn’t wait to get into the water. SPLASH!

During the two days, we participated in lots of fun activities while learning about beach safety. The water was as cold as ice as we entered. But snorkelling and seeing lots of different sea creatures, like starfish, sea slugs, fish and even a stingray, we didn't notice the temperature of the water after a while.

It was so cool. I learnt a lot and I would definitely do it again!’

Skyla S 6M

News from Junior Art

This term, students in Year 5 have been experimenting with clay. They have learned many different skills including how to wedge clay to expel air bubbles and how to roll clay and make a simple pinch or coil pot. They have learned to create pots and added interesting textures as they sculpt and glaze their projects.

Clay is a wonderful and messy medium, but our Year 5 students have risen to the challenge and shown they are very capable of cleaning up after themselves at the end of each session.

One challenge of working with clay is that, sometimes, it doesn’t work out! It may go into the kiln and break, or it might break during the early drying process. Students have been challenged to build their clay skills and their resilience when things have gone wrong.

Students in 5K using slats to ensure even rolling out of their clay before they cut a base for a coil pot.