From the Head of Senior School

The Casey Grammar School is completing another successful academic year, one that has been full of achievements but also surprises and challenges. However, overriding everything 2020 brought us is the positive community spirit that remained and came to the forefront on so many occasions. I feel both proud and privileged to have had the task of leading the secondary school through 2020. To the student and teaching body, you have been an exceptional group of people to work with and I send you a heartfelt thank you and wish you all a restful and safe Christmas break.

As we wind up 2020, our focus turns to 2021 and planning for that. We have used research, our data and our community feedback to build our 2021 plan; a plan that focuses on student outcomes but also has a very important wellbeing focus. We will move forward with the lessons learnt in 2020 such as the use of technology in new and innovative ways and the importance of resilience as a 21st skill which was very much a part of our 2020 year. The partnership that deepened between school and home will be built upon in 2021 as we continue to improve our learning environment.

Our VCE year concludes on 30 November with our final external written examination. It has been a massive undertaking to ensure they were conducted in a Covid safe manner. Thank you needs to go to all the maintenance staff, teachers and of course the students who all played their part in enabling this to occur smoothly. I would also like to say thank you to our exam supervisors, especially Michele Preston and Jodie Bedford who supervised most of the exams and created a safe and comfortable space for our students, all the while following both Covid and VCAA regulations. I will also take the opportunity to thank Barry Rayner who is our retiring Chief Supervisor and express my gratitude for his assistance over the past few years.

Congratulations to all the Year 11 and 12 students who completed their exams, and to the Year 10 students who experienced a VCE exam for the first time this year. Congratulations to all students on their engagement over this exam period, they are well placed to enjoy a well-earned break and return in 2021 ready to learn. Thank you to all the teachers who have supported our students at such a busy time of the year. The commitment of both students and staff to finishing the year off well is to be commended.

The Year 12 results will be released on December 30. Ms Sarah Blythman (our Careers Counsellor) has published her availability during this time should any students wish to change preferences or require careers support. Ms Blythman should be contacted directly to book a Google Meet time. Ms Williams and I will be on campus on December 30 and any questions or communication for us to address on that day should be sent to us via email.

There have been several SEQTA messages sent to students over the recent weeks and parents/guardians have been included in these. I encourage you to look at your SEQTA messages regularly and keep up to date with the day-to-day events of the school. This has become an important point of contact between school and home and one that positively supports the communication between this partnership. Please view these messages to get the updates on Edrolo, Early Commencement and the Activity Days. These messages address frequently asked questions.

Early Commencement begins next week and allows all our Casey Grammar students to experience their 2021 academic program. The VCE students will receive holiday work that will help prepare them for their 2021 academic year. We also welcome all those new students who are joining us in 2021, especially to those who are coming to the Early Commencement program. To those that are moving on in their academic journey, good luck and I hope you remember Casey Grammar with affection.

Our end of year celebrations again look different as with other celebrations in 2020. Our Celebration Evening is pre-recorded and students will view this on the final day of the year. Parents will also be sent a link to access this event. Next Thursday December 3, the Year 12 students are invited back to be part of the Christmas Assembly and participate in the traditional Guard of Honour, along with a surprise event at the end. It has been a challenging year for this cohort and we hope that this final farewell is one for them to remember. There will be a Formal reunion early in 2021 and I look forward to sharing that experience with them.

To all the Casey grammar Community, have a joyous Christmas break and cherish the quality family time we can now enjoy.

Ms Cathy Marchmont

Acting Head of Senior School / VCE Coordinator

Stargazing Night

News from Science

This year has certainly been a very busy one for everyone. However, with exceptional dedication and extraordinary effort, the Science department has pulled off a remarkable feat. We have welcomed three new team members, developed remote teaching and learning programs and prepared our students with amazing on-site practical experiences. This year we have started a Robotics Club, developed a Biotechnology Lab for our VCE Biology students and ran an extraordinary number of practical activities for our students once they returned from lockdown V2.0. Casey Grammar students also had the opportunity to challenge themselves and participate in numerous national Science competitions.

Science Olympiads

This year during the second lockdown some of our Casey Grammar students took part in a remote two-hour long Biology, Physics and Junior Science Australian Science Olympiad exam.

The Biology, Physics and Chemistry Olympiads are a national enrichment program for secondary Science students. Australian Science Olympiads are a staged enrichment program where students receive support and recognition for their efforts. They provide rewarding opportunities for students to extend themselves way beyond school science through challenging exams, stimulating extensions and enrichment programs and international competitions.

Year 11 Biology students that performed exceptionally well included:

Distinction – Alexia Gherghiceanu; Samantha Rhodes and Georgia Schelfhout

Credit – Alastair McKearney; Isabella O’Keeffe and Ellen Streat.

Congratulations to all other Year 11 Biology students who were awarded a certificate of Participation.

Georgia Schelfhout was also awarded a Credit for the Physics Olympiad Exam.

Congratulations to all other Year 11 Physics students who were awarded a certificate of Participation.

Junior Science Olympiads

The Junior Science Olympiad Exam was It was designed to take science students in Years 7-10 to the next level. The exam was based on general science content (biology, chemistry and physics) and assumes students have a good knowledge of the Science Curriculum. Some questions in the exam really tested our students as they included higher-level content (such as might be encountered by an extended Year 10 student).

Students that performed exceptionally well include:

High Distinction - Patrick Kleverlaan and Ijaz Koya, Year 10

Distinction – Jack Witterick, Year 8

Credit – Kyan Whitehead-Bell and Christian Radu, Year 7

Annabella Woo, Tiyanie Fernando, Emily O’Keeffe and Nicholas Riet, Year 8

Diya Gulati, Gurleen Kaur, Isabella Anastassiou and Jashneel Nand, Year 9

Mustafa Kezraj and Shannan Bardou, Year 10

Congratulations to all other students who were awarded a certificate of Participation.

World-renowned ICAS Science Exam

Students from Casey Grammar achieved outstanding results in this year’s ICAS Assessments. This year 22 students from Casey Grammar School participated, with outstanding performers receiving certificates of Merit, Credit and Distinction.

Every year thousands of schools participate in ICAS in over 20 countries, providing participating schools with a robust international benchmark of student achievement. ICAS is developed by UNSW Global Pty Limited and has had more than 9 million students participate since 2002.

Developed for students in primary and secondary school years, ICAS assesses the higher order thinking and problem-solving skills needed for success in not only Science but also English, Mathematics, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies.

ICAS independently evaluates students’ skills and knowledge in core learning areas and provides insight into students’ understanding. The skills tested are important indicators of success in school and beyond. We congratulate the following students on this fantastic result.

Year 7 Awards

Merit - Nick Schweden

Credit - Christian Radu

Participation - Jackson Kai, Anushka Abbott and Sahasra Tadavarthi

Year 8 Awards

Distinction - Tiyanie Fernando and Jack Witterick

Credit - James Dawson, Emily O’Keeffe and Anirudh Sharma

Participation - Naheed Jafary, Hetvi Gandhi and Karthik Rejimon

Year 9 Awards

Credit - Joshua Reeve and Alex Chey

Participation - Gurlee Kaur, Ameer Karim, Quba Ah Tong-Pereira and Elvis Mathew

Year 10 Awards

Distinction - Patrick Kleverlaan

Participation - Ijaz Koya and Bansari Patel

Science Talent Search Award Ceremony

On Monday 16 November four of our students participated in an online personalised school-based presentation ceremony for the Science Talent Search. During the presentation, Alexandra Abela (STAV President) announced the winners. Families watched the virtual ceremony remotely as bursary award winners were presented with certificates, cheques and medallions.

Once again congratulations to the following 2020 STS bursary award winners:

Major Bursary - Emily O’Keeffe

Minor Bursary - Geordie Batten, Kiarah Coliphus and Jugal Anish

To celebrate student achievements this year, a photo of our winners have been published on a dedicated STS Exhibition webpage. A special thank you to Mrs Gina Upward for supervising the STS and organising the award ceremony this year.

CGS Robotics Club

The Casey Grammar Science Department has provided our students with yet another exciting opportunity to take on the world!

Our STEM program is currently offering robotics as a lunchtime activity. Students interested in joining our new Robotics Team will become involved in the construction of two VEX V5 Competition Robots. Not only will the acquisition of such state of the art technology educate our students and encourage collaboration, it will also provide them with the opportunity to participate in the Australian VEX robotics competition. Teams that receive an award for excellence at the completion may be selected to represent Australia at the VEX World Championship. This is the largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) event in the world with 500 teams from over 30 countries competing over four days.

The Casey Grammar Science Department will continue to strive for excellence in Science education and provide each and every one of our students with amazing STEM opportunities in 2021.

Mr Daniel Isgro

Head of Science

 

News from French

Remembrance Day 11 November 2020 with Crêpes at the PAC

Bonjour. The Year 9 French class commemorated the 102nd Anniversary of Remembrance Day on November 11 at the PAC, starting with the “Marseillaise”.

Students learned about the significant contribution of Australians in WWI and the signing of the Armistice at Versailles, France. They also watched a video honouring up to 70-million military and civilian deaths in Europe and Asia/Pacific during WWII.

French teacher Mr Moreau shared stories about his father who was in a labour camp in Germany for 2 years during WWII. Later, he recalled how reconciliation meetings were held between the former German Officers and their French prisoners in the 70s and 80s, which moved the hearts of many.

Mr Moreau also shared how French citizens, until 2001, had to complete 1-year military service, which he served in Air Force telecommunications. During this time, he had the opportunity to learn Morse code, Radio Spelling and later learnt to fly a Cessna 157.

The Year 9 French class then enjoyed making French Crêpes in the kitchen at the PAC

There was a great choice of toppings: yoghurt, chocolate spread, bananas and jam. The crêpes were really delicious.

To top it all off, students sampled a French baguette with Brie and Blue cheese.

Merci to all those who helped out.