Toorak Campus Newsletter

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Toorak Campus, Geelong Grammar School, 14 Douglas Street, Toorak, 3142 Tel: 03 9829 1444. Email [email protected]

Toorak Campus Newsletter

EDITION 34 Thursday 20th November 2014

An Anglican Coeducational Boarding and Day School

Visit us at www.ggs.vic.edu.au

Dear Ms Moses, We are grateful for your participation at camp. It would not have been fun without you.You have done wonderful things for the Year 3’s over the past year. Thank you for encouraging everyone to go the highest on the giant swing! We are also thankful for all the kind things that you have done for us. Thank you for giving up your time to come on camp with us and for making it the best camp ever! We would love to relive the experience. Yours sincerely, Zara Cooper & Lily Maisano

Dear Quinces Bus Company, Thank you sending us caring and experienced bus drivers. It was a very smooth and comfortable ride. Yours sincerely, Ayrton Stockdale

Dear Pete, I write this letter to say thank you. The camp was wonderful and very well organised. You gave us a big, warm welcome and the staff were super sweet. My favourite part of camp was the great swing. It was good they had spare sheets and pillows for the people that needed them. It was a great camp. Yours sincerely, Mason Roberts

Dear Mrs Karamaloudis, It may have been hard for you to leave your kids for two nights but it was great that you came to camp. You helped me get my confidence for the jailbreak. You helped the people in my cabin get to sleep, even though we were a bit rowdy! You were kind and helped everybody when it was needed the most. It would not have been the same without you. I had the time of my life and I hope you did too. Kind regards, Grace Richardson

Head of Campus

End of Year Administration

Page 2

Year 6 Camp photos

Music Matters

Page 3

ELC 4A: Mindfulness Classes Page 4

Sport News Page 5

Year 5: Writing Page 6

Notices Page 7

Notices Page 8

DIARY DATES

NOVEMBER

Fri 21st Glamorgan Association Meeting Cottage, 8.45am

Prep - Year 5 Assembly 2.30pm - 3pm

Year 6 returns from Camp

Tues 25th Running Club, 7.20am - 8am

Transition Day for new GGS Prep students, 4pm

Wed 26th Year 3 - 6 House Athletics, Albert Park 9am - 1pm

Transition Day for all Prep students, 11am -12pm

Thurs 27th Year 6 Transition Day, Corio

DECEMBER

Mon 1st Year 6 REACH Workshop, 2pm - 3.30pm

Tues 2nd Running Club 7.20am - 8am

Wed 3rd Prep - Year 2 Production

Year 6 Graduation/Celebration Dinner, 6.30pm

Thurs 4th Prep - Year 2 Production, 11am—1pm

Fri 5th Bump Up Day, 9am - 10am

Prep - Year 6 Assembly, 2.30pm - 3pm

Mon 8th Carol Service - St John‘s Toorak

Wed 10th Family Picnic, 5pm - 7pm

Fri 12th Year 6 Final Assembly, 10.30am - 11.30am

END OF TERM 4, 3.30pm

EDITION 34 Thursday 20th November 2014 P a g e 2


From the Head of Campus

As I write this, Year 6 will be concluding their final camp at Wilsons Promontory and Year 3 has just

returned from their camp at Waratah Bay. I always enjoy reading the students‘ reflections and

looking at the photographs. These camps are occasions where the students experience different

activities that enable them to be challenged and take risks, developing their confidence and

self-esteem. We look forward to seeing the Year 6 students return tomorrow and hearing about their

adventures. You can see a snapshot of the fun time they are having on page 3.

The Prep – Year 2 students have participated in their House Athletics Carnival with zest and enthusiasm. A variety of

events enabled everyone to have fun whilst competing for their Houses. Congratulations to all involved and my thanks

to the Year 6 students who supported the morning. Next week the Year 3 - 6 students will be taking part in their House

Athletics at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park and all parents are very welcome to come and support them.

We were lucky to have Janet Etty-Leal, our Mindfulness Meditation expert, at the campus last week. Janet worked with

all the year levels and had sessions with colleagues and also with parents. Janet is such a familiar face on campus;

she is now treated as a colleague and the students enjoy spending time with her. We value her visits and know that

through her expertise, we are all benefiting. Her work with the Year 2 students can be seen below, and the ELC 4A

children created some fabulous drawings following her visit which can be found on page 4.

I was delighted to welcome the ELC families to their Information evening last week and also last night, the Prep

families to their Information evening. It was lovely to host many new families, both at the ELC and Prep

level. Next year promises to be a very exciting time as we look forward to them joining our community. Garry Pierson

Catherine Spehr, Head of Music

It is that time of year again, when we gather information to make sure we have up-to-date information for the 2015

school year.

This week, letters and attachments will be sent out requesting updated information and authorisations for all students.

All current parents will receive their letter and attachments via email. A 2015 Excursion Form must be returned for all

children. You also need to let us know if any other details, such as your child‘s medical circumstances, have changed.

All children in the ELC and all children moving from the ELC into Prep will have a ―New Starter Pack‖ posted out to

them. This is because the information required for the ELC differs from that required by the rest of the school.

We try to get you to fill out forms only once if we are able to, but this relies on parents keeping us up-to-date with all

changes so we are grateful for your co-operation with this.

All forms should be returned to the Office, Att: Marita Hogan, by Friday 5th December 2014 (Bump Up Day).

Diane Dunn

Campus Business Manager



MUSIC matters

Prep to Year 2: Production Week

As you will be aware, many of our students will be involved in the Prep to

Year 2 Production during Week 9 (1st – 5th December). Due to this large

commitment, some private music lessons may be missed during this

time.

Teachers will attempt to rearrange their schedules to fit in as many

students as possible but may be unable to see all students. No charges

will be levied for lessons that are missed due to the Production

schedule. Please be aware that if your child is involved in these

Production there is a good chance their final instrumental lesson for the

year will be during Week 8 (next week).

Upcoming Events

♫ Carols Service – Monday 8th December

6pm, St John‘s Anglican Church Toorak

Pictured (right) are some photos

taken at our recent

Informal Concert

held on 10th November Catherine Spehr, Head of Music



ELC 4A: Mindfulness Classes with Janet Etty-Leal

―This is a picture of Janet

holding the special hearing

stick. It can hear.‖ - Millie

―It‘s a picture of all of us

lying down with a gift in

the middle of the mat,

it‘s about the gift of

special people.‖

- Sophia

―This is the meditation quilt on the mat. This is Janet and me and Ned

are sitting beside her. She is using the singing bowl. We can meditate to

that. We move our bodies when we hear the sound. It helps us relax and

be quiet.‖ - Rupert

―This is a drawing about

meditation. It is a person

with a bowl‖. - Josh

―This is a drawing of Janet with the

music bowl and the special stick

that makes the bowl sing.‖ - Clover

―This is a picture of the

talking stick and I‘m

holding it, you answer

the questions when you

hold it. I‘m sitting next to

Indira and Pepper.‖

- George

―This is a drawing of

us lying on the mat,

I liked lying down

and we did

meditation‖. - Ned

―This is me and Janet and my

friends. We are lying on the

meditation quilt, it helps us

to be calm. Then we can

meditate.‖ - Gianluca

―This is a drawing of everybody lying down

and Janet is reading us a story about a

magic beach, the story was good.‖ - Sky

―I liked looking at the

talking stick. Janet

told us about where

it came from in

nature. We had to

think about what

gifts we enjoy in

nature. You could

talk when you hold

the stick.‖ - Indira

―This is all my friends lying

down on the meditation

carpet. We had to relax our

bodies and make our minds

quiet. That is part of

meditating.‖ - Eddie



SPORT NEWS

PREP - YEAR 2: ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

On Thursday 13th November, we held the Prep – Year 2 House Athletics

Carnival on the Baillieu Field. This event concludes the Unit of Inquiry into

‗Athletics‘ and allowed the children to put in practice the skills learned

during PE classes. It was also an opportunity for them to compete in a fun

and safe environment. Each student competed in five different events:

sprint, hurdles, relay, javelin/vortex throw and high jump.

Congratulations to everyone for outstanding performances and for

excellence in sportsmanship. Thank you to the Year 6 students who

displayed exceptional leadership skills in running these events. Thank you

to the parents, family and friends who enthusiastically supported their

children.

YEAR 5 & 6: APS

Last week was the final week of the

APS Interschool Sport Programme

for Years 5 and 6. (Pictured right is

Conrad Noonan-Barros in the 100m

sprint and Sophie Pierson in the

high jump). This week the Year 5

students competed in a table

tennis and badminton round robin

tournament at school. There will be

no more Wednesday morning

training.

OTHER NEWS:

As part of the year long Unit of

Inquiry into the fundamental motor skills, children in Prep - Year 2 have been focusing on hitting skills through a

variety of sports. The skill of hitting makes up many sports such as hockey (field and ice), tennis, T-ball, softball,

baseball, badminton, cricket, squash and table tennis and is therefore an import skill to learn.

Darryl Greeves, a highly qualified tennis coach, has spent three weeks teaching children the skills of hitting the

ball in Tennis (Darryl pictured above with the Preps). The children have thoroughly enjoyed their lessons and have

improved their forehand, backhand and volley strokes. Darryl also teaches tennis after school and during the

school holidays.

REMINDER: Next Wednesday 26th November is the Year 3 - 6 House Athletics Carnival

at Lakeside Stadium. A programme has been sent home with all students. Marshall Radcliff

Campus Sport Manager



YEAR 5: WRITING

The Year 5 students have been learning about writing Information reports. The students selected a topic,

researched it and then followed the structure of classification, description and conclusion.

Apartheid, by Spiros Karvela

The South African Apartheid began in 1948. It was the beginning of a world changing event. After South Africa

began the apartheid, other African countries began to fall. Separate doors, residential areas and classifications of colours.

There were blacks and whites who were basically rulers, then the kaffirs and ―coloured‖ people. Kaffirs were black tribes

people who were seen as the lowest class, but then there were ―coloured‖ people who were Asians and Indians. They were

seen as second class citizens, but still citizens.

In a passage from “The Power of One” Young Peekay sees two doors. One is labeled blacks and the other

whites. Through a five year olds eyes, this was irrational and he had no idea why. Apartheid in Afrikaans

literally translates to apart hood, therefore separating, or keeping apart blacks, whites, kaffirs and

―coloured‖ people. Blacks weren‘t seen as kaffirs which was the lowest class, but still were rated below

white citizens. Though this was hated by the people and there was an internal resistance and bloodbaths

between gangs.

White farmers began to rely on blacks as cheap labour, basically slaves but paid, even if it was close to

nothing. A law was passed called the Civilized Labour Policy, which was protecting white business form

persecution if they were to hire black ―workers‖ and pay them dirt. Not only that, there was the Bantu Act in 1953. The Bantu

Act took schools away from missions and gave a guarantee that white children would receive a superior education to that of

blacks. Eventually, the Nationalist party won the election (an all-white election) and they thought their job was to completely

separate the black and whites. People were kicked out of their harmonious neighbourhoods, unless they had worked for either

the same employer of 10 years or 15 to an array of employers. Blacks also had to carry passbooks to present to any passing

officer of the state. They also had to receive special permission for travel to various activities.

The End of the Apartheid

The end of the apartheid started long before the fall in 1994. Nelson Mandela led the anti-

apartheid party; he was born to the Thembou royal family. He studied law at the University

of Witwatersrand, eventually moved to Johannesburg. He was arrested many times for

involvement with the ANC‘s defiance campaign. He was influenced by Marxism and, in

secrecy, joined the South African Communist Party. During that time, he led a sabotage

plan. He was arrested again but this time, sentenced to life in prison due to trying to

overthrow the state. His trial was named the Rivonia trial.

After 27 long years, there was an international campaign for his freedom. In 1990 he was

finally released. Straight out of prison, he took back his political role and joined the

negotiations with the current president, F.W De Klerk. He was negotiating to end the

apartheid and begin multicultural elections which took quite a while because it was in

1994, so he could not have been that good a negotiator. He released his auto biography the very next year, which I am looking

forward to reading. He led a very controversial life, for some of which, was considered a terrorist. In South Africa, he is

commonly referred to as Tata, meaning father, because he is the father of the nation.

The Australian Rules football, by Max Grodski

The AFL Australian Rules ball was invented in 1880. It was a lot harder to kick back then because the ball

was really round and, you will not believe this, the ball was actually made out of possum skin which is

really different compared to the more modern, custom made footballs that are used nowadays.

Compared to the soccer ball and the tennis ball, the AFL football requires a lot more technique and skill

to play with. For example, be able to skillfully kick a ball beautifully and smoothly of your foot. You also

have to have the skill to be able to handball and bounce the ball on the ground and still have control of it.

There are three main brands for these types of ball. The Sherrin football is the official ball of the AFL. Bur-

ley are another brand that are used in the WAFL (Western Australian Football League) also known as the ‗Waffle‘. The last

brand of footy is called Ross Faulkner which is used in various kids‘

competitions around Australia.

The Aussie rules football used to be made out of possum skin and back then they did not shave the fur of the skin so when it

rained the ball got really heavy and therefore it was hard to kick. A regulation sized football is 720-730mm. The inventor,

T.W. Sherrin, created the first ever modern football when somebody handed him an old misshaped footy.

In conclusion I have learned a lot about the Australian football and its history and I hope I have provided you with some useful

information on the Australian Rules football.



Serve your way to stardom and become a

Camp Australia Tennis and Basketball Champion!

Monday 15th of December to

Thursday 18nd December 2014 Clinic runs from 9am – 1pm Daily - $200 per child

Open to all ages

with a focus on skill development,

plus loads of exciting activities!

Please pick up your

registration form at reception



order now at ourtuckshop.com.au

REMINDER:

ALLERGY AWARE CAMPUS Please remember that we are an

Allergy Aware Campus and ask for your co-operation

by not using nut, nut products and any other know

allergens as far as practicable.

For more information regarding Anaphylaxis,

please visit www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

GLAMORGAN ASSOCIATION NEWS

SAVE THE DATE! Please save the date of Wednesday 10th December from 5pm - 7pm

for our Annual Family Picnic to be held at school.

Further details will be announced in next week's Newsletter.

Sausage Sausage Sizzle and Bake Stall - Victorian State Election Day

Volunteers Required!

Our campus is a nominated Polling Booth for the upcoming State Election on Saturday 29th November and

the Parents Association are holding a Sausage Sizzle and Bake Stall from 9am - 2pm as a Fundraiser on the

day. We are setting up a roster of a one hour commitment per person to help out on the stall and would love

to hear from parents if you can volunteer your time. Thank you to those who have volunteered already.

We held a similar stall for last year's Federal Election in September and it was a great success. We will be

starting off the morning with bacon and egg muffins, kindly donated by the Kelly Family. Woodfrog Bakery

are again donating bread rolls for the Sausage Sizzle and Hudson Meats will supply the sausages.

We are seeking contributions from the school community for our Bake Stall such as cakes, cupcakes, brown-

ies, muffins and slices. Please ensure that the goods are nut free (including no nut flour) and do not have any fresh dairy

ingredients (such as cream or cream cheese) which require refrigeration. These items would be required to be dropped off at the

school office on disposable plates/containers covered in clear cling wrap on Friday 28th November by 3.45pm. Please label all

ingredients clearly. Please contact Rachael Kelly on 0403 125 461 or [email protected] if you can assist on the

day or if you have any queries regarding the above.

Annual General Meeting The Association's Annual General Meeting will be held next Friday 21st November, 8.45am, in the Cottage. This will be followed by

our normal committee meeting. All are welcome - please contact myself (0408 668 888) or Sue Lester, Secretary (0409 322

968) if you would like to attend.

Denise Wong, President

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

Pre-loved Clothing Items

If you have any middle school blazers, short sleeve

shirts, or dresses that are no longer suitable for your

child, please consider lodging them with the shop for re- sale.

There is currently a shortage of these items in the shop. Any items

lodged must be in good condition, the current style and have been

dry-cleaned, or laundered as appropriate to the item.

Extended Shop Hours

The shop will be open from 8am to 3pm on Mondays for the

remainder of the term, as well as from 8am to 11am on Friday

5th December (Bump up day), in addition to normal shop hours:

Tuesday and Thursday, 1pm to 4.30pm

Parents shopping for a full uniform for their child/children are

strongly encouraged to make an appointment at a time which is

convenient to you.

‗100 Exceptional Stories‘ – Geelong Grammar School

This book is in stock in the Uniform Shop and

is a great idea for a Christmas purchase. The

book features 100 amazing students of

Geelong Grammar school, a number of which

had an association with the Toorak Campus.

If you would like to purchase a book for an

interstate or overseas friend or relative, we

can arrange postage for a small additional

cost. Please come in and browse this

collection of exceptional stories.

Toorak Campus Newsletter

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