2023, Term 1, Edition 1 - Junior School

Wishing a very warm welcome to all our students, staff and their families for 2023.

I’d like to particularly welcome our new Junior School students and hope their educational journey at Casey Grammar School will be successful and rewarding. I’d also like to welcome our new teachers: Ms Tatum Sakeson and Mr Paddy Byrne-Nelson join us and will be teaching Year 6. Mrs Sarah Black joins our Year 3 team and Miss Brittany Schulz joins our Year 2 team.

After a number of years of casual relief teaching at Casey Grammar, Ms Lee Britton-Bird joins us as a permanent staff member this year and she will be teaching Year 4. Mrs Danielle Searles has joined us to teach our new Visual Arts program and is looking forward to commencing Art classes in our new Art room.

We also welcome Ms Bridgette Reale and Mrs Emily Driessen back from maternity leave in a part time capacity. While Mr Batey is enjoying his long service leave this term, we welcome Miss Anna Kipping as his replacement. May your time at Casey Grammar School be long, enjoyable and productive.

We are looking forward to a year ahead full of abundant learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. One of many highlights is our camping program. Students in Year 3 will visit The Briars in Term 4. Year 4 students will attend City Camp later this term. Our Year 5 cohort will attend The Ranch in Week 9 of this term. Our Year 6 students will travel to Canberra for their camp in Week 6 of Term 1.

Our Foundation students have all made a smooth transition to school and it was wonderful to see all our students return this year without any Covid restrictions. Long may this continue!

Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

A Fantastic Start for Foundation!

It has been wonderful to welcome our Foundation students as they commence their school journey at Casey Grammar School.

There have been plenty of smiles and opportunities to connect with their new classmates and learning environment as they celebrated the special milestone that was their first week at school. It has been wonderful to meet our new families and welcome everyone into our classrooms.

Our focus has been on developing a strong foundation for learning and providing students with opportunities to feel excited about learning. Students have participated in a range of purposeful learning experiences in the classroom, including shared reading experiences, as well as commencing our SMART Spelling Program which they have greatly enjoyed.

There have been numerous opportunities to engage in creative expression, exploration of early literacy and numeracy skills and daily shared reading, as well as beginning our wonderful specialist programs, including library, AUSLAN, physical education, religion and S.T.E.M.

There have been important opportunities for structured interactive play and social skill development to help students develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging in their new learning space. It has been remarkable to see the ease with which students have adjusted into new school routines, and our Foundation students have amazed us with their focus and enthusiasm for learning. We are looking forward to a wonderful year together.

Vanessa Hodgkiss

Head of Early Years (F–2)

Year 3 String Program in 2023

I am very proud to announce that Casey Grammar School has introduced an Introduction to Strings Program for all students in Year 3.

The first couple of weeks have been spent experiencing a variety of string instruments and our students are certainly looking forward to honing their skills under the expert guidance of our newly appointed string teacher, Mrs Katherine Squires.