From the Head of Senior School

With the opening night of the Senior School Play ‘Puffs’ fast approaching, we wish the cast and crew all the very best. May your performances be filled with passion, your stagecraft be seamless, and your memories of this production be cherished for years to come.

Welcome back to campus our Year 9 cohort after a jammed-packed week of City Experience, as a part of the Casey Challenge program. Whilst the Year 9s were unable to join us in person for our House Cross Country competition within the boundary of the school, they competed in a race of their own around the Tan, one of the most picturesque running tracks in Melbourne.

Following on from last term’s House Swimming Carnival and the recent House Cross Country, we completed the trio of our major House sporting events last Thursday with the Senior School House Athletics Carnival at Ballam Park. The competition was exciting for athletes as well as onlookers, as students showcased their speed, strength and agility. Age Group Champions and the overall winning House will be announced at our next assembly in Week 7.

Excursions - Consent2Go

The school’s online platform for the planning and management of events facilitates a paper-free, easy-to-use system for both staff and families. Parental permission for their child to attend an excursion can be done instantly, without having to re-enter relevant medical information and contact details for each event.

Consent2Go ‘invitations’ are generally sent to families a week or two prior to an excursion – timely responses are essential. For staff to adequately prepare for an excursion, late responses may not be accepted.

Please check that information provided through Consent2Go is up to date. Any changes should be communicated to the school to ensure that details are accurate in the case of an emergency

Wrestling Champion

We are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements both at school and in the wider community. In this case, we were thrilled to hear about the recent success of Jannatpreet K (Year 8) who competed in the Victorian Wrestling Competition on 5 May, winning the gold medal in her weight category.

Well done, Jannat!

Debating & Public Speaking

Below is a report from Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator, Ms Naomi Weiler

The SIS Public Speaking and Debating team have had a wonderful start to the year with so many successes and achievements. Students meet fortnightly on Fridays during their lunchtimes to plan, write and discuss their debate topics then present either during or after school hours.

SIS Public Speaking

On May 2nd our team of five students; Ekam G, Johanna J, Jade S, James D and Anushka A attended Flinders Christian College to compete in both prepared and impromptu speeches. The team, supervised by Ms. O’Driscoll, demonstrated some outstanding performances but, more importantly, camaraderie as they each assisted each other with preparing for their debates and calming their nerves. Students upon return were glowing with pride after their performance and felt inspired to continue to take on more opportunities like these but also to encourage others to part-take in more public speaking opportunities at Casey Grammar School.

Senior DAV Debating Rounds 1 and 2

Due to a change in organization the DAV Debating rounds have been divided into a senior round (Year 9 and upwards) and a junior round (Year 7 and 8) with the senior round beginning in the first part of the year. This year, Casey Grammar School has three teams in the senior round of debates.

So far, we have had two rounds on February 29th and May 2nd, with two of our public speakers also delivering outstanding speeches at debating held at St Margarets’ School in Berwick. All teams have achieved a win each this season which puts us in a positive position for senior debating.

In the D-Grade Team we have Elora P (Yr9), Esha S (Yr9) and Ifra F (Yr9) as the prime speakers. However, assisting this team Geena C (Yr9), Ashton P (Yr9) and Advita D (Yr9). Esha has also been granted a Best Speaker award.

In the C-Grade Team we have Arpita A (Yr9), Daniella G (Yr10), Manasa S (Yr10), Jacinta M (Yr10) and Samuel B (Yr11). In addition to the teams’ successes, Arpita has also been awarded Best Speaker in their recent debate, showing a strong sense of manner and clarity with her debate.

In our senior team we have Anushka A (Yr11), James D (Yr12), Hibha K (Yr12), Scarlet G (Yr12), Kiarah C (Yr12), Tina M (Yr12) and Aquline M (Yr12) who on top of their studies have displayed some outstanding debates, teamwork but also leadership within the team.

We are very proud of our Casey Grammar Public Speakers and Debaters and their commitment to each other and the school.

We encourage all students with an interest in speaking, debating, or public issues to attend one of our meetings or contact Ms. Weiler via SEQTA Direct Message. We will soon be attending Year 7 Wellbeing sessions to introduce new members in preparation for the junior round for the second part of this year.

Kate Morgan

Head of Senior School