From the Principal

Rainbow Day (Orlando, FA, injustice and other stories)

Written in the lead up to the final day of Term 2, our School focus should be on the impressive and admirable achievements, growth and enthusiasm of a term well-lived by boys and girls, senior and junior students, by our staff and our community. While watching and being a part of this term has been more enjoyable than I can say, recent events have cast a dark pall over the end of our term.

As you read this, it will be holidays and the Tintern Grammar Rainbow Day will be over, but an explanation of why we did this is important.

As Reverend Alison Andrew outlined in Secondary Assembly last Wednesday, as a school and as a community, we will always stand against injustice. What was perpetrated in a nightclub in Orlando last week appears to have been the worst of injustice; violence as the ultimate expression of judgement on the rights of others. While this took place a long way away from us, as I said to our students, it is too easy to read a distant story on our iPad, tut tut to ourselves, and swipe to the next current event.

However, the reality is far more tragic. Although it feels as though this happened a long way away, nearly 50 people died in this tragic rampage of violence and those people are each someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife or partner. For them the sun will never rise again and for their loved ones, never again the same way. The extent of this tragedy is impossible to articulate, but as a school we will stand against this and make a statement; both to our own community and with Orlando.

On Rainbow Day, we will collect a package of photographs, statements and other media and forward them to Orlando. This will be Tintern Grammar’s clear and unequivocal statement that we stand with them against the horror and injustice that has been forced upon them and to express our sorrow for their loss and sadness.

While all of us would acknowledge the maturity and development that comes from forced acquaintance with death as a part of the cycle of life in our families and at times through the media, from tragedies such as Orlando we gather nothing but despair and it fuels despair and pessimism in our children.

It is for all these reasons that we owe it to our younger community to protest against these events, to articulate their wrongness, to rail against their injustice. It is by this that we urge our community to speak out and not be silent, to act and not to stand by, when there is injustice.

By wearing our most colourful clothes today, we made a stand with and on behalf of people we do not know, who live 15,000 km away, and by doing so we became more complete as people and as a community. I truly hope your children appreciate the importance of this surge begun by a question from Reverend Alison. It has been a remarkable response from our community

Thank you all for all our support.

Factis non Verbis

Bradley Fry
Principal

Please view the Video Blog below from our Principal, Mr Bradley Fry and School Captains.

Music Matters

Kelson Awards Assembly

Last Friday, we were pleased to welcome back to Tintern Mr and Mrs Michael Kelson for the presentation of the annual Kelson Music Scholar Awards, now into their thirteenth year, and the Penelope Thwaites Music Awards, which Mr Kelson has made available for the past 7 years. Our music students at Tintern are indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to audition for these awards each year, which Mr Kelson set up in 2004 in order to honour the name of his mother, Mrs Ilma Kelson, who was Director of Music at Tintern from 1958 to 1973.

Award recipients for 2016 were:

KELSON MUSIC SCHOLAR AWARDS

Outstanding Senior Performer            

Holly Fryer –  Flute, Year 10

Encouragement Award for Desirable Instrument 

Lilli Holliday-Ryder – Clarinet, Year 7

Joshua Apsey – Trumpet, Year 6

PENELOPE THWAITES MUSIC AWARDS

Best Performance of an Australian Composition  

Ella Watt – Trumpet, Year 9

Best Original Composition                    

Molly Fleming – Piano Quintet, Year 9

 We congratulate all of these students on their fine achievements.

Gilda’s success at recent Eisteddfods

Gilda Ferrie (Year 7) competed in the Ringwood Eisteddfod last week and placed second in the 14 years and under section, playing the 2^nd Movement of the De Beriot Concerto in A minor. Her other recent success at an eisteddfod was in May, where she placed second in the 18 years and under quartet division of the Boroondara Eisteddfod as a member of the Kleine Spiele Quartet with the Melbourne String Ensemble. The quartet performed the first two movements of the Emperor Quarter by Haydn, Opus 76 and Gilda played the viola with the ensemble.

Congratulations, Gilda, on your well-deserved awards.

Annual Concert lifts the roof of the CM Wood Performance Centre

On Thursday 9 June, families of students from Years 7 to 12 gathered in the CM Wood Performance Centre to enjoy the Annual Concert which, as always, was a great success. The program showcased the diverse range of large ensemble groups from the Symphony Orchestra to the Concert Choir to the Senior Jazz band. It was wonderful to see so many of the students from the Middle and Senior Colleges involved – the combined talent of each student was quite extraordinary! A particular highlight of the evening’s performance was the final item – the rendition of a medley of songs by The Jersey Boys including ‘Sherry Baby’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like a Man’ (where we had to fit over one hundred and thirty singing students on stage!), concluding the concert with a lively ending. We would like to especially thank all the ensemble and music teachers for dedicating so much of their time to each ensemble to help us achieve such an amazing performance. It was certainly a fantastic night for all performers and very much enjoyed by the audience.

by Alison Yang, School Pianist 2016

Save

Sport Matters

Maddie Wright selected for the Australian Women’s Indoor Cricket Team

Congratulations to Maddie Wright, Year 12 who has been selected in the Australian Women’s U/22 Indoor Cricket Team to compete against New Zealand in a Trans-Tasman series in September. We wish Maddie all the best in her preparation over the next few months and every success in the tournament.

Winter Sport – mid point

With the holidays arriving, Senior and Year 9 Sport teams have reached the half-way point of their season. All teams have been well supported and the weather has so far been kind on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Senior Girls Netball A have won all their matches and Senior Girls Soccer and Hockey have also played well this season and are both still in finals contention. Senior Girls Football have been competitive, despite a few injuries, and have tried very hard all season. Our Senior Boys Football, Soccer and Badminton teams have found the going quite tough against strong opposition, however, our Senior Boys Table Tennis team is playing well and is still in contention.

In Year 9 sport, our Boys Table Tennis remains undefeated whilst the Boys Football team is still in contention for finals. Our Girls Football and Netball teams have also been competitive and share an equal win loss ratio at this stage.

Matches resume on the first week back and we wish all teams a great start following a well earned break.

Community Matters

Parent Trivia Night – Saturday 30 July

The new Tintern Parent Group invite all members of the Tintern Grammar Community to join  us for our annual TRIVIA NIGHT.

To be held in the CM Wood Centre on Saturday 30 July 2016 @ 7.00pm.

At only $12 a head, this always entertaining night is a wonderful way to join together with other members of our school while having many laughs.

You can click here to find out more or to book a table.

We would love to share this wonderful evening with you.

2016 Garden Tour save the date Friday 21 October 2016

The 2016 Spring Garden tour will once again be running on Friday 21 October – mark this date in your calendars now. Please contact the Community Relations office if you have any venue ideas or would like to assist our volunteer coordinator, Lisa Vecchio.

140 Year Celebrations in 2017 – we need your help

We are currently assembling a working group for thoughts and ideas on how we can celebrate the School’s 140 years in 2017 and we would love to hear from our parents. If you feel you have the skills, inclination to be involved and you would be available during the day we would love to have you on board. Please contact Di Lacey in the Community relations office on 9845 7877 or email communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au for more information or to register your interest.

Tintern Grammar Fair 2017

Tintern Fair Planning – Your chance to get involved

The Tintern Fair Committee are starting their preparations for next year and seeking expressions of interest from enthusiastic and committed individuals.

We are a volunteer committee who work together to create a fantastic and fun day for our community, and to raise funds for some bonus projects for our school.

We would love to hear from you if you can help with:

• Event Management experience
• Working as part of a team
• A committee role such as Secretary, Stage Manager or other related positions. Please contact Fair@Tintern.vic.edu.au or Amanda McKenzie (Fair Convenor) on 0419313279 to offer your support
• Our aim is to match volunteers with roles suited to their interests and skill sets.

Year level functions

Your class parent representatives have been busy organising year level parent functions. Please support their efforts when you can.

Year 2 Girls: several opportunities have been suggested to catch up over the holidays – please contact your parent reps, Viviana (vivianal.2012@gmail.com) or Lisa (lisa@robson.ph) for more details.

Year 6 Girls: Friday 16th July, 2016 Turtle Den Chinese Restaurant, 38 Railway Avenue, East Ringwood, 7:30pm – 11pm $41pp Banquet Dinner, BYO Wine. Please RSVP with any dietary requirements by Monday July 11 to Kirsten Jones kirstenjonescreative@gmail.com   We’d love to see you there. The more, the merrier! 

Friends of Equestrian new committee

The Friends of Equestrian welcomed their new committee at their AGM on Tuesday 14 June. Congratulations to Gabby McCallum who takes on the president role, Viv Jones who is continuing as secretary, Nat Morton who continues as Treasurer. Sandy Garland, Andrew Garland, Di Harvey and Lauren Kilroy will continue as committee members and they welcome Veronica Vandenbroeck and Phil and Sarah Thompson to the team. A big thank you is extended to Kevin Jones who steps down as president but will remain on the committee as Vice President. Kevin has been on the FOE committee since 2006 and President for the last 3 years. The committee are grateful that Kevin has decided to stay on the committee as he brings a wealth of knowledge to the group and will continue to share his expertise. Congratulations to the new team.

FOYF Emperor Court Dinner

We had a great turnout out to our annual Chinese dinner at the Emperor Court Chinese Restaurant in Mitcham with almost 30 people attending. We were thrilled to be joined by our principal Brad Fry and his lovely wife Dr. Rosie Anderson, as well as welcoming some new families who have only just joined the school this year. The restaurant is a very friendly place, and we all felt like we were on the “Love Boat” with the musical maestro Derrick, who entertained us with his keyboard and singing, taking us back to the 70’s!  We had a full table of students, who were also joined by past farm captains Elise Ashfield (Year 2013) and Stephie McDonald (Year 2015). Many thanks to all who attended.  This dinner is by no means a fundraiser, but a friend raiser, encouraging social interaction between both the parents and also the students.  We hope to see you all at our next meeting (Tuesday 12 July at Kennedy Cottage at school) or alternatively at the Bendigo Sheep Show which is held over the weekend of 15th -17th July 2016.  If you would like to attend the show and stay overnight, please book your accommodation ASAP as this show is huge and accommodation is booked from year to year and is very hard to come by.  The students would love to see you there!

Joy Ashfield, President

Year Group 1991, 1986 & 1981

Past students from year groups 1991, 1986 and 1981 enjoyed a wonderful day back at school reconnecting with their school mates, some of which they had not seen for the past 35 years. Even the wet weather couldn’t damper their spirits as they toured the school with some of our current students and marvelled at the new facilities many commenting that although some buildings had changed the Tintern philosophy had remained the same. The reunion finished up in the Visual Art centre where they enjoyed a hot lunch and laughed at some old school photos provided by our volunteer archive committee. The group were joined by some past staff including Gerard Stephenson, Lyn Bartold, Alice Claque and Rae Jones-Evans. Many of the ladies continued celebrating afterwards at various dinner locations around Melbourne. A great day was had by all.

FOYF Spring Celebration

Save the date Friday 2 September 3pm – 7pm at the farm.

Entertainment book 2016/2017 – just in time for School Holidays!

The NEW 2016 | 2017 Entertainment™ Book and Digital Memberships are available now and are packed with thousands of up to 50% OFF and 2-for-1 offers. There are hundreds of ideas for the upcoming school holidays including discounts on bowling, cinemas, food, sporting matches and many, many more. You can click here to have a look at what is inside. From every Membership we sell, 20% of the proceeds go towards our parent groups fundraising goal for Tintern Grammar – so please forward this email to all your family and friends! If you prefer not to pay online you can download the order form here from the Portal and return to the Community Relations office and collect your book.  For more information please refer to the community news on the Tintern portal or contact the Community Relations Office. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Community Committee dates

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) – Next meeting: Thursday 14 July 7.30pm CM Wood Common Room President: Loraine Allender
• Friends of Music (FOM) – Next Meeting: Wednesday 20 July 7.00pm CM Wood Common room President: Tim Oldmeadow
• Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) – Next meeting: Tuesday 12 July 7.30pm Kennedy Cottage, Community services. President: Joy Ashfield              
• Friends of Equestrian (FOE) – please contact the Community Relations office at communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au for next meeting details. President: Gabby McCallum

ELC’s visit to the farm!

Girls’ Middle School News

It has been an exceptionally busy term for our Middle School girls who have certainly made the most of all of the wonderful opportunities on offer at Tintern! This past week has involved lots of colour and entertainment as we have been privileged to watch and enjoy the Annual Music Concert as well as performances from Year 8s at the Performing Arts Night , Year 7s with their Cheersports routines and Year 9s compete in the House Dancing Competition. Activities such as these highlight the wonderful talents of our girls in their ability to co-operate and collaborate to come together and produce fantastic results.  Additionally our Year 9 Semester 1 History students visited the Shrine of Remembrance  and Year 9s completed their City Investigation Task.  During pastoral sessions the Year 8 girls have been exploring a unit on ‘Outstanding Women’.

As holidays approach I hope that students take the time to reflect on their positive involvement in school over the past semester both academically, socially and from a co-curricular perspective.

I wish all girls a relaxing and re-energising 3 week break.

Parent Trivia Night – Saturday 30 July

The new Tintern Parent Group invite all members of the Tintern Grammar Community to join us for our annual TRIVIA NIGHT.

To be held in the CM Wood Centre on Saturday 30 July 2016 @ 7.00pm.

At only $12 a head, this always entertaining night is a wonderful way to join together with other members of our school while having many laughs.

You can click here to find out more or to book a table.

We would love to share this wonderful evening with you.

Outstanding Women

In year 8 girls pastoral we have begun our next topic which is titled ‘Outstanding women.’ The students are encouraged to reflect on examples of outstanding women both that are in the public arena such as Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart as well as personal examples of outstanding women in their own lives who would be considered to be outstanding women. We then work through the idea of what would make you an outstanding woman? Is it by the work that you do? Is it by standing up for what you believe is right? Is it by the life that you live? Is it by the legacy you leave behind? Is it in the way that we raise our children? Is it through inspiring others to do more and be more? Is it being brave and doing things well outside your comfort zone? The students are encouraged to interview women around them that they consider to be outstanding, and then they present this back to the class. Through their research the students are seeking to find out what moments shaped these outstanding women, how did they overcome obstacles in their way, and what lessons can we learn from them?

by Liz Cutter, Year 8 Girls’ Level Co-ordinator

Tintern Grammar Fair 2017

Tintern Fair Planning – Your chance to get involved

The Tintern Fair Committee are starting their preparations for next year and seeking expressions of interest from enthusiastic and committed individuals.

We are a volunteer committee who work together to create a fantastic and fun day for our community, and to raise funds for some bonus projects for our school.

We would love to hear from you if you can help with:

• Event Management experience
• Working as part of a team
• A committee role such as Secretary, Stage Manager or other related positions. Please contact Fair@Tintern.vic.edu.au or Amanda McKenzie (Fair Convenor) on 0419313279 to offer your support
• Our aim is to match volunteers with roles suited to their interests and skill sets.

Sylvia Walton Oration

On Friday 19 August Tintern Grammar will host the Australian College of Educators (ACE)  Sylvia Walton Oration and Awards Evening.

Dr Sylvia J Walton AO, MAICD was Principal of Tintern Schools from 1982 to 2005 (Tintern Girls’ Grammar School, which was founded in 1877, and Southwood Boys’ Grammar School, which she established in 1999).

The evening involves a College dinner and the conferring of significant ACE Victoria Awards, including the Sir James Darling Award and the College Medal.

Mrs Walton was named in the 2003 Australia Day Honours List for her service to education. She was awarded the second highest order, Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia, in recognition of her leadership in education at the secondary and tertiary levels, particularly through research into specialised curriculum and training programs, as an administrator, and as a contributor to the development of education policy in both government and non-government sectors.

We feel especially fortunate and honoured to be hosting the event and to contribute to the proud historical legacy of the Sylvia Walton Oration and Awards Evening.

Boys’ Middle School News

The three week holiday is upon us and the boys can have a well-deserved break. It has been great to watch them grow over the first half of this year in many different areas of their school lives; from their general manners and behaviour, through to their academic achievements and co-curricular involvement. It is so pleasing to hear from staff members around the school how ‘nice’ our boys are, how they are ‘really trying’ with their school work and also how many of them are achieving exceptionally well. As I’m sure you are all aware, achieving this for 12 – 15 year old boys is not easy; not for you as parents and not for us as teachers. Homework, uniform, punctuality, engagement, effort, are all areas that there wouldn’t be a school in the world (or parent at a given time) that doesn’t battle with when dealing with this age group of boys. Having read all of the reports over the last couple of weeks it is fair to say that I am really impressed with what the overall results in terms of both academic achievements (relative for individual students) and the approach to learning in terms of effort, behaviour, etc. Of course there are boys where there is room for improvement and during their pastoral periods early in Term 3 they will be discussing their results from Semester One with their pastoral mentor and determining their goals and desires for Semester Two. Please ensure over the holidays that as parents you take some time with your boy(s) and discuss how they went in the first semester. I would always encourage that this is done in some informal way rather than a board room type meeting at the kitchen table. Take them for a walk or a bike ride, get them out helping with the gardening or other odd jobs you may have. Boys are so much more willing to talk when they are ‘busy’ doing things.

Early next semester our boys will be briefed by our Vice Principal Mr McManus around subject selection for 2017. This includes elective options for our current Year 7 and 8 boys, and electives for our Year 9s as well as the options of electing to do VCE Unit 1 & 2 subjects or VET subjects in 2017. There has been an information session already around Pathways for our Year 9 families and there is also a further night called our Subject Showcase Evening on Wednesday 20th July starting at 7pm in the Theatre (Year 9 and 10 families). This is for those who are interested in considering accelerating in an areas by selecting to do a VCE or VET subject when in Year 10.

Our Year 8 boys begin their leadership program called ‘Leading Self, Leading Others’ in their pastoral sessions next semester. This includes learning about leadership, successful leaders, what makes them successful and attributes of good leaders. They will have a leadership seminar from an external group whilst also following a guided program led by their pastoral mentors over the semester. It will lead to them having the opportunity to be involved in the Junior School as well as potentially apply for official leadership positions during Term 4 for when they are Year 9 in 2017.

House Showdown is an event that occurs in Term 3 for our boys and this is a 3 – 5 minute dance routine that the boys put together themselves led by their Year 9 House captains. It is during this that we expect leadership from all of our Year 9s but also look to see the level of commitment and involvement (leadership) from both our Year 8s and 7s. The event is on Friday 2nd September at 2:15pm and I would encourage you to put this one in your diary if you can as it is an opportunity to see our boys pushed beyond their comfort zone and to put together something pretty special.

Please enjoy the holidays, stay safe and above all spend quality time with your family. I look forward to seeing all the boys back after their break ready to take on Semester Two and all it has to offer.

Boys’ Junior School News

Term 2 is always a busy and enjoyable term in our Boys’ Junior School.

Continuing on with Dr Seuss as our central theme, we also have taken part in a Terry Fox inspired run from Byron Bay to Perth…5373 kms…we have collectively past Canberra at this point. 

Our Pay It Forward Day was designed to reinforce the importance of doing good deeds for others ‘just because…’ And that what is paid forward, does return.

Grandparents Morning, Mothers’ Day Breakfast, Cabaret Evening, the Travel Expo, Minibeasts, Plants, Explorers Day at the farm, the Traffic School, the Cross Country and Interschool Sport….all tackled with a focus on a Positive Growth Mindset.

Our end of term ‘Book somewhat like a Dr Seuss one’ best sums up another wonderful term in our Junior School. Please click here to view the book.

Thank you to our boys and their families for ensuring that the journey we have shared throughout Term Two has been such a cohesive and enjoyable one.

I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday.

Poetry In Action Incursion

On Thursday, 9th of June, the year 7’s and 8’s departed from their normal routines to attend a poetry performance by the group “Poetry In Action”, a group that has performed at Tintern numerous times now, teaching the students about the wonders of poetry through a somewhat interactive comedic performance based around the poetic devices “Rhyme, Rhythm, Imagery, Theme.”

The show was quick, memorable and amusing, with numerous pop culture references and unexpected events as well as interesting reimagining of some characters and tropes, such as a Dr Brown doppelgänger, a poet who believes he is destined to out-poet Banjo Paterson, an evil dark knight, a peppy Jester and all of those types. The beauty of this show, however is the constant and effective use of poetry and poetic devices, despite the fact that they change shows regularly, showing an amazing knowledge of the subject to be able to learn it in such a short period of time.

In short, the Poetry In Action show was short, sweet, funny and educational, all rolled into one session of viewing entertainment.

by Jac Bellfinch, Year 8

Year 6 Canberra Experience

Under sunny blue skies and starting with frosty sub zero mornings, our boys spent active and informative days in our Nations Capital.

Flying up on a QANTAS plane with propellers was a novel experience, and after the relief of landing, we quickly made our way to the Museum of Australian democracy, where we took part in a debate about the damming of the Franklin in 1983.

It was on to Questacon for a hands on, interactive two hours of scientific wonders and activities.

Our second day saw us tour Parliament House and again, we were involved in a fierce debate about the National Broadband Network. We then headed to the Mint, before a very sombre and moving afternoon at The War Memorial.

Our final day allowed us to stretch our weary legs with a tour and Sports session at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Our boys were wonderful ambassadors for our school, looking smart and interacting at all events with respect and courtesy.

Year 5 Travel Expo

There was a buzz of excitement and nervous chat among the boys this week as we prepared to put on our World Travel Expo, a combination of technology, research, Literacy and design!

With props in hand, games ready, ipads running the photo slideshow, brochures, business cards and banners pinned up behind their travel stand, the boys were ready to share their expertise on their chosen country! If that didn’t provide enough information for the costumer you then they could scan the boys’ QR codes to view their informative video presentation, using a green screen, about their chosen country.

After the first wave of customers the boys reflected and evaluated how their stands and games went and what improvement and adjustments may be needed.

We were pleased with the positive comments given by the first costumers.

It wasn’t long before we had over 50 people crowded around the boys’ stands. With comments made about the fantastic presentation and confidence of the boys displayed as they fielded many question from their many visitors!

Once the crowd had disappeared and all the brochures were gone, many of the boys went home feeling rightfully proud. The boys’ efforts and display of technological and literacy skills was excellent and hopefully inspired some visitors to visit one of the Travel Expo countries.

by Lee White Year 5 Teacher

Big Samba

This morning a person called Steve came to our Junior school. He played the drums and it was so cool! He used Chopsticks, a fly swat, sink cleaners, feather dusters and even a toilet cleaner to play the drums! Then he used his finger to make a “vrooooming” sound. Then he taught us a rhythm that fitted to the words “Bob’s your Uncle.” I used the tambouring. Other boys and girls used the Djembe Drums and Cowbells. It was really loud. We played together really well.

by Joshua Laney Year 2

Today Steve came and the Incursion was called The Big Samba. I liked it when he suddenly threw the feather duster! I loved playing the tambourine. It was very loud. I saw Lucien playing the Bass drum

by Heath Bowey Year 2

Year 9 House Dance and Year 7 House Cheer Sports

At the beginning of Term 2 the Year 7’s were introduced to House Cheer Sports. Over the course of around 5 weeks they learnt a 1 minute routine with their Cheer coaches. Once they had learnt this, each House made up a 30 second finale, using the remainder of the music they had been given. They learnt and created the routine in their Monday afternoon sport sessions. 

Although a lot of the girls have never been involved in Cheer Sports before, they approached the challenge with enthusiasm and persisted through any challenges they came across. The overall experience has lead them to get to know each other better and widen their skills when working in a team. 

At the start of April the year nine girls started to choreograph a 3-4 minute long dance that fitted with the theme “A Day in the Life of…” This was interpreted in many different ways throughout the five houses. Cross chose a Day in the Life of Toys, Mansfield decided on a Day in the Life of Michael Jackson, Gordon Grant did a Day in the life of One Direction, Dann Watt performed a Day in the life of the World and finally Somner Stewart went with a Day in the Life of a Billionaire. Not only did they have to create a whole dance number but had to organise lighting, music, a program, costumes, a video, hair and makeup. All the houses worked well as individual groups and all produced high quality pieces. 

On Tuesday evening the Year 7’s and 9’s performed their House Cheer Sports Routines and House Dances at the C.M Wood Centre. The House Dances went first after an introduction from the House Captains, which were followed by the Cheer Sport Routines. Watt went first, followed by Somner, Cross was third, then Mansfield and finally Gordon. 

The Year 7 Cheer Sports were adjudicated by their Cheer coaches according to categories such as Stunts, Dance and Overall Presentation and Performance. The results were as follows: 

EQUAL 1st: Mansfield and Watt 

EQUAL 3rd: Cross and Somner 

5th: Gordon 

The Year 9 Dances were adjudicated by a few Year 12 Leaders according to categories such as Program, PowerPoint, Music, Costumes and Dance. The results were as following: 

1st: Cross 

2nd: Mansfield 

3rd: Gordon 

4th: Watt 

5th: Somner 

A massive thank you goes out to all the teachers who were involved in setting up the event and supporting all the students. Well done to all the girls involved, for all your hard work and on a fantastic performance!

by Sophie Glasson and Jade Fitzpatrick, Year 9

Year 9 Boy’s Enhancement Science Class

Over the past month the year 9 boy’s enhancement class has been studying the basics of the periodic table and atomic structure. As part of this unit, they were given the opportunity to create a model of their chosen element. The results were magnificent as you can see from the attached photos. In particular Jared Nottle created 4 foot high working model that included a motor and rotated several internal rings representing the electron shells. Mitch Wooller, Reilly Collins, Ryan Hem also outstanding models which all showcased their willingness to invest into their studies and produce work that they can certainly be very proud of.

by Liz Cutter, Science Teacher

House Music Showtime 2016

It has become a tradition at the Girls’ Junior School to hold the House Music Showtime as an annual event.    This provides another excellent opportunity for our Year 6 House Music Showtime Leaders to run the event and guide our younger girls. This in turn produces some great results from all the girls as they work closely together to achieve a common goal.

The end result was that each house produced an Instrumental, Choral and Dance act. Perhaps the most important element for all the girls during this event was just to ‘have fun’ and to embrace this opportunity while gaining more self-confidence along the way. 

Congratulations to all the Years 3-6 girls for a job well done! Former Junior School students Rachel Rees (Year 12), Shobana Satkunarajah (Year 11) and Alison Yang (Year 11) had the very difficult job of adjudication. Other highlights of the afternoon included performances by the Year 2 Strings and Junior Strings groups. A big thank you must also be given to the two staff who played a large role in guiding the leaders and all the girls throughout the preparation for this event: namely, Mrs Wagner and Mrs Hudgell.

Best Choral Item – Somner –  leader Annabelle Guscott

Best presentation of a Choral item – Gordon – leader Ella Callow-Sussex

Best Conductor – Gordon Ella Callow-Sussex   

Best Instrumental Item –   Tied – Watt  – Millie Jensen  and Cross – Elise Barlow

Best Use of Instruments – Gordon – leader Elizabeth Madge

Best Dance Item – Cross – leader Charli Kilworth

Most Creative Choreography – Somner – Tahlia Oldmeadow

Best Costumes – Cross

Best House Spirit – Mansfield

Best Backdrops – Gordon

Overall…

Ist place Gordon,

2^nd place Cross  

3^rd place Somner 

equal 4^th  Mansfield and Watt

Pathways Subject Selection Evening 2016

On Wednesday June 8 a large number of current Year 9 and 10 families braved the winter’s night to attend our Pathways and Subject Selection evening. This is the first of two evening events which aim to assist students and parents decide which program pathway they will pursue in the Senior College.

Our current Year 10 students and families are nearing the point where they will decide on the pathway for their final 2 years of schooling and it is for them that this evening is primarily aimed. However, we always invite Year 9 students and families to this evening as it provides an opportunity for them to hear about our Senior College offerings and to commence an awareness of VCE, VET and IB terms and jargon. Also, some Year 9 students will apply to study a VCE subject whilst in Year 10 instead of a Year 10 elective in the Timetable.

At this evening Mr Jason McManus the Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning explained the process of subject selection which occurs every year and then our Heads of VCE/VET and IB presented on the details of each program, their similarities and differences and what they offer for different leaners.

First Nola Brotchie outlined the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, then Mr Andrew Cho, our VCE combined and Vocational Education Training (VET) Co-ordinator, outlined these programs. Finally, Mrs Heather Ruckert our Career’s Co-ordinator, gave an overview of how all three programs prepare students for university entrance and careers beyond, and how the school provides support for families in navigating these decisions.

The presentations have been placed on the MyTintern Portal in the Useful Information section of the Senior College page in Student Services or from this link http://portal.tintern.vic.edu.au/homepage/3858 If there are any further questions please contact any of our presenters by email to discuss these with them. Year level co-ordinators, Heads of Middle School, pastoral mentors and classroom teachers can also be good sources of information about how your son or daughter might be suited to different pathways.

The Course and Subject Guide, which outlines all of these details and processes will be available on the portal on the last day of term and also emailed to all Secondary families along with a timeline for all secondary students for our subject preference and timetable building process.

In Term 3, on Wednesday 20 July, we run the second key event in this process, the Subject Showcase Evening. Here, Heads of Faculty and teachers are available for questions on each specific subject offered across these three pathways in the Senior College. Prior to this event starting, Mr McManus will run a short briefing to families of current Year 9 students on the details of studying a VCE Unit 1 and 2 subject as part of a Year 10 program.

Subject selection is entered online, in Week 3 – July 22 – July 31 next term. All secondary families should take the time to consider subjects of interest in the Course and Subject Guide over the holidays. Year 7-11 students will receive training on the online selection early next term at school.

Our process is one based on student preferences and is important to note that, as in all schools, subjects will run based on viable student numbers of these preferences and this is a year-by-year decision process.

I hope those who attended found the evening informative and useful.

Year 9 City Investigation Excursion

Last week from the 6th to the 8th Isabella Murphy and myself as well as all the year 9’s got involved with the Year 9 City Investigation Excursion. This took place over three days. On our first day we arrived at school, then our group of 5, Ella Ritchie, Keely Fitton, Cassidy Van Gerelden, Isabella and myself needed to come up with a focus question which ended up being: where is the most popular coffee shop to get a coffee in the CBD? After that we got on to the planning. That involved a schedule of where we were going during the day, what time, a map of our travels, and a survey so we could gather the information and make a fairly accurate verdict.

Day two was the fun part. We all needed to make our own way into Flinders Street Station to find our groups and get ticked off to start the day. We went everywhere from Federation Square, Southbank, the MCG and to Carlton Gardens surveying everyone we could see. Along the way after all the walking it was only fair to stop and indulge in some doughnut time, and get some shopping done. As the day came to an end, we met back at Federation Square and got dismissed at 2:30pm to head back home.

Day three – now to make the presentation. Every group needed to make two presentations, one a PowerPoint of everything that was involved with the lead up of our city excursion, and another one with graphs showing where we should end up going for a coffee in the CBD.

It was a long day of hard work and thinking and as the day ended we calculated all of our data and found a verdict; we ended up with Starbucks being the most popular. I think I can say that on behalf of the whole year 9 level, the City Investigation Excursion was a great way to work together, learn how to plan for a day’s adventure or trip, while having fun and spending time with friends.

by Savannah Collins and Isabella Murphy

NVG Digital Artist Workshop for Year 1 and Year 2

We are very fortunate as Melbournians to have access to the world class art space of the National Gallery of Victoria. On the 30^th May our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 visited this wonderful facility. For many of our IJ Day students it was their first foray to an Art gallery. The NGV is truly a magical experience for young children and is an ideal activity to consider for the forthcoming holiday period. The NGV conduct several engaging programs during the holiday period for this purpose. (Check out the Art portal page for other ideas and gallery’s to visit http://portal.tintern.vic.edu.au/homepage/9391)

The Year 1 and Year 2 students partook in a Digital Artist workshop and tour by one of the gallery’s capable guides, Daniel. They discovered how their iPad can be used as a creative tool and were inspired by the many exhibits including Leonard French’s stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall. The Gallery organised a digital memento of this fabulous day.

Please investigate through the following link: Digital artists at the NGV

by Kate Shearer, Junior School Art Teacher

More about Growth Mindset

I recently came across two books that gave me a new perspective of how I think personally & professionally. The first was called Mindset by Carol Dweck and the other book was titled Mindset in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci.  I was really inspired by the simple teachings of how changing your thoughts can help you succeed in anything you do. In a nutshell, it is all about persistence, perseverance, resilience, optimism & hard work…in other words Grit. It made me reflect on what I say as an educator/leader and what I say in the classroom. I am sure that this information would have been useful when I was at school. In Assemblies we have discussed how our brain is a muscle that grows stronger when we do things that are not easy, we learn something new and we learn from our mistakes. When we give up because we can’t get it right or when we say we are not as smart as someone else, we have a fixed mindset. Dr. Dweck realized that there are two mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

Virtually all people who achieve top performance have these qualities. Research shows that people with this view reach higher levels of success than people with fixed mindset beliefs. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. It enhances relationships, and increases achievement. 

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

More about Growth Mindset

I recently came across two books that gave me a new perspective of how I think personally & professionally. The first was called Mindset by Carol Dweck and the other book was titled Mindset in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci.  I was really inspired by the simple teachings of how changing your thoughts can help you succeed in anything you do. In a nutshell, it is all about persistence, perseverance, resilience, optimism & hard work…in other words Grit. It made me reflect on what I say as an educator/leader and what I say in the classroom. I am sure that this information would have been useful when I was at school. In Assemblies we have discussed how our brain is a muscle that grows stronger when we do things that are not easy, we learn something new and we learn from our mistakes. When we give up because we can’t get it right or when we say we are not as smart as someone else, we have a fixed mindset. Dr. Dweck realized that there are two mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

Virtually all people who achieve top performance have these qualities. Research shows that people with this view reach higher levels of success than people with fixed mindset beliefs. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. It enhances relationships, and increases achievement. 

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

Big Samba!

All junior school students were involved in a wonderful music experience recently. The Big Samba was a percussion extravaganza that had every student playing an instrument. After a demonstration by the amazing drummer Steve, the students were taught a range of rhythms using phrases like ‘Bob’s your uncle’. Various drums and other percussion instruments were then used to layer each rhythm and create a musical piece. An inspiring and engaging incursion that was enjoyed by all.

by Jan Wagner, Head of Girls’ Junior School Music

Tennis School Holiday Clinic

Please click here for information on the Annual Adult and Junior Holiday Tennis Clinic.

Footy for girls!

I know that this is not Rugby country but thought it was worth noting that the Australia Women’s National Rugby Sevens Team just won the world cup!  Traditionally a man’s sport it is exciting to see such success.  Our girls at Tintern are also breaking the mould!  I came across a photo of Molly Cussen and Amelia Roberts playing footy two weekends ago against Elise Barlow’s footy team – these are all Year 6 girls! 

We also have other girls who are enjoying this past time. Go girls go! Who says that girls don’t like getting dirty!

Pre-Prep Concerts!

Every year it is amazing to see the growth of our Pre-Prep students.  Last week the girls and boys performed in their first official concert. They sang, danced, announced their songs, and listened to instructions but most importantly had the confidence to stand up in front of a whole lot of adults staring at them and taking trillions of photos. What a terrific job they did!  I am sure that all the parents and friends in the room were equally proud of each student.  

Poverty Project Trivia Night

On Saturday the 6th of May, The Poverty Project held a Trivia Night in aid of The Sunflower Foundation. The Poverty Project is a group of students who meet weekly to discuss human rights and social justice issues and look at ways we can make a difference. The Trivia Night was this year’s primary fundraiser organised by the group and it consisted of live entertainment, a raffle, a silent auction, food, games and, of course, trivia. The night was a huge success with $3,741.41 raised for The Sunflower Foundation which aims to promote women’s education in countries such as India, Uganda and Tanzania. We are extremely thankful to all those who attended, sponsored and helped with the organisation of the event.

by Eliza Mignot, Year 11

Tintern enters Interschool Equathon for first time

On Friday 3 June, fifteen Tintern Students travelled to Boneo Park on the Mornington Peninsula for the Balcombe Grammar Equathon.

The Equathon consists of 3 phases; a cross country run of 3 km, a swim of 100m and a Showjumping round for a horserider. Friday began with the Showjumping phase, followed by the run and finally the swim at a local Aquatic Centre. This was a big event with over 400 students entered from many schools. Teams and individuals are entered in four age groups. Tintern had competitors in the 10-12 year old group and the 13-15 year old group. Teams must be males or females, with the only exception being that a male team can have a female showjump rider.

Ms Constable and Mrs Bezaire took 5 teams to Boneo in the Tintern bus. Four of those students also competed as individuals. Of the individuals, Charlie Johnson finished 6^th, Ella Trevorrow finished 5^th, Lilly Trevorrow finished 7^th and Grace Lloyd finished 15^th. They all did an awesome job of completing all three phases by themselves, as well as having their ride count towards their team points.

The Tintern teams did really well with Tintern Blue finishing first in the 13-15 year old male section with a score of 701. This team consisted of Paul Haasbroek (runner), Mitch Wooller (swimmer) and Olivia Garland (Showjumper). Our other teams did well also, with 13-15 year old Female teams Tintern Pink Panthers finishing 6^th and Tintern Tigers finishing 8^th. In the 10-12 year old Female teams section, Tintern 1 finished 14^th and Tintern 2 finished 23^rd.

I found this event really exciting. It was a new experience for me, as it was for most of the team members. As a member of the Equestrian Team, it was great to share our sports and support each other. I really enjoyed watching all the other events and would encourage other swimmers, runners and riders to consider taking this event on as a new challenge in the future.

The students who competed were:

• Tintern Blue Olivia Garland , Paul Haasbroek, Mitch Wooller
• Pink Panthers Charlie Johnson, Georgia Hargreaves, Tara Carson
• Tintern Tigers   Ella Trevorrow, Tess Power, Jade Hutchinson
• Tintern 1 Lilly Trevorrow, Kate O’Reilly, Lily Donoghue
• Tintern 2   Grace Lloyd, Ellie Glasson, Amelia Kenny

On behalf of the teams we would also like to thank Friends of Equestrian for their generous donation in paying for the team entries for this event out of the proceeds from the Tintern Interschool Horse Trials 2016.

by Olivia Garland, Year 8

Pre-Prep Concerts

Every year it is amazing to see the growth of our Pre-Prep students.  Last week the girls and boys performed in their first official concert. They sang, danced, announced their songs, and listened to instructions but most importantly had the confidence to stand up in front of a whole lot of adults staring at them and taking trillions of photos. What a terrific job they did!  I am sure that all the parents and friends in the room were equally proud of each student.  

Year 9 History – Shrine of Remembrance Excursion

The light passed over the tablet, gracing the words: “Greater Love Hath No Man.” We held a short vigil commemorating those who suffered from war.

Year 9 History students went to the Shrine of Remembrance as part of their curriculum studies on the First World War. For some it was their first experience at the Shrine, whose completion in 1933 was to remember the lives affected by the horrors of warfare. The silent commemoration at the tablet in the Shrine was the most touching part of our trip.

The students studied artefacts from the war, including actual uniforms and equipment. It was a solemn occasion, especially when visiting the gardens devoted to specific soldiers and army battalions. Students were handed poppies to hang on the Shrine’s remembrance wall, one for each ancestor who had participated in any war.

It was a solemn yet eye-opening occasion. The Shrine’s focus on using the lessons of the past to build for a peaceful future resonated with the students, who maintained a dignified aura for the entire experience.

by Luke Mansour, English & History Teacher

Annual Music Concert

School uniforms are ironed, ties found and phones taken out of blazers. Music is placed in order and Ms Bortolussi has reminded us to smile for the 100th time. Yep it’s music night!! Weeks and weeks of singing, tuning violins, re-playing brass pieces and rolls on the drums culminates in one night and what a night it is. Whilst playing or singing in a small ensemble is beyond rewarding, being a part of the massed singing is everyone’s favourite part of music night. Being a small voice in a big choir and singing songs from Jersey Boys with your friends and fellow students around you is always the most memorable part of the evening. School events come and go, but the memories of Music Night will be with us forever and every early morning, broken string, missed notes, perfect harmony and endless laughs will be with us long after we say farewell to Tintern.

by Madeline Jones, Year 9

Curriculum Matters

Semester Reports

On Monday June 20 at 3pm all of our students from Prep to Year 12 will receive online access to their Semester Reports in which students and parents receive a summary of their progress to date, feedback on what they have done well and how they can further improve. The content of these reports is a critical element in the academic and overall progress of every student and parents’ understanding of it.

As was the case in 2015 our semester reports as PDF files can be viewed by families online via the Documents tab in the Absences, Finances and Reports section of Parent Services on the MyTintern Portal. All student’s reports from their time at Tintern Grammar have been archived online for your easy reference. Each semester this archive will grow, giving you easy access to all reports over time.

For a step-by-step help sheet please consult the email that was sent home this week. Instructions for requesting Comparative Reports was also contained in this email.

For families who like to keep a hard copy of their child’s report, these reports can be downloaded to family computers and printed if desired. Reports will be available to families on Monday June 20 by 3pm.

Report Reflections

In past years, secondary students have been asked to reflect on these reports and set 2 goals for the next semester as a way of promoting a growth mindset and more independent learning. In 2016, we are spreading this initiative to include Grade 5 and 6 students.

When reports are open all families of students in Grade 5 to 12 will receive an email which will contain a link to an online reflection which will send the student’s goals to the relevant teacher. We ask that parents read over the reports with their son or daughter over the holiday and complete this form prior to returning to school for Term 3. Once back at school, class and pastoral teachers will follow up these goals with their students. The cycle of feedback, reflection and goal setting is a critical one for all growth and learning, whether it be professional, for our teachers, or academic, for our students.

Course and Curriculum Guides

Term 3 sees the beginning of preparations for student programs and the building of the timetable for 2017. Families of students in Years 7 – 11 will receive an email on the last day of term with a link to the 2017 Course and Subject Guides and key dates for this process. Please set aside some time over the holidays to look at the course details of elective subjects with your son or daughter if they are going into Years 8 – 10 and especially those going into 11 and 12 as there is choice in most aspects of their programs.

On Wednesday July 20 we will hold our Subject Showcase evening for current Year 9 and 10 parents where they can talk to teachers about detail of our Senior College subjects and then on July 22 to July 31 the online subject preference portal will be open for current Year 7-11 students to enter their preferences for 2017 subjects.

Please remember, in completing their web preferences, students will be asked to submit subjects and reserves in order of preference. We endeavour to meet those preferences but please note that elective subjects run based on viable student numbers and timetable constraints, and that not all may run in a given year. For more details about this process, please consult the Course and Subjects Guides for Middle School or Senior College.

Enrolments for Year 7 2018/19

Tintern Grammar is now interviewing for Year 7 2018 and 2019.  Demand may exceed places available, siblings and alumni hold priority for places but we must have applications completed to be aware of any future enrolments.

Please contact our Admissions Office admissions@tintern.vic.edu.au or visit our website to receive an application and we will arrange an interview for your child.  

From the Head of Senior College

Thank you to all Senior College Students and Staff

As we are now coming to the end of our final week of Term 2 it is timely for me to convey my warm thanks to all of our wonderful students and staff for what has been a most successful first Semester at the Senior Collage. We have as always been incredibly busy with all that we offer in both the academic and the co-curricular areas. I particularly thank our VCE/VET Co-ordinator, Mr Cho, and our Senior College Administrator, Ms Annie Fairweather, for their work in ensuring that the GAT ran so smoothly last week.  I would like to mention that our senior external examination supervisor, former Tintern staff member Mrs Ingrid Moegerlein-Barnes, actually made an unscheduled special announcement at the end of the 3 hours of GAT testing – congratulating all the Year 11 and 12 students who sat the test in the CM Wood Centre with the advice that she has never seen a group that was so focussed and on-task.  

Similarly, I thank our Year 12 Co-ordinator, Mrs Jen Tsai-Bove, our IB Co-ordinator, Mrs Nola Brotchie, and our Year 10 and Year 11 Co-ordinators, Mrs Heather Ruckert and Mr Nick Stefanac respectively, for their constant work in guiding students under their care through the series of assessments, including the recent Years 10 and 11 examinations, ensuring everything ran smoothly across the Senior College during these times. Our Senior College students also need to be thanked and congratulated for their calm and focussed approach to their examinations and general class work – no doubt, a large part of this can be attributed to the excellent preparation they received from their subject teachers.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the various student leadership teams. Firstly: our School Captains, Vice-Captains, International Students’ Leaders and School Leaders; our House Captains; and our various Co-curricular Leaders – each group respectively for leadership of assemblies and whole school initiatives; our numerous House competitions; and, the various extra-curricular happenings that make our school the richly, vibrant and multi-dimensional place that it is. I also thank our Semester 1 Mentor group Student Leaders for the assistance they have given to the Mentors and their Mentor group peers. We look forward to appointing our Semester 2 Mentor group Student Leaders in the first week of Term 3.

Pathways Evening

Recently we held the first of our major information sessions relating to student subject selection for 2017 – our “Pathways” Evening. At this information session current Years 10 and 9 students and their parents/guardians heard about the major features of our three Senior College Pathways – the IB, VCE and VCE-VET combined programs with presentations provided by Mr Cho (VCE and VET Co-ordinator),  Mrs Nola Brotchie (IB Co-ordinator) and Mrs Heather Ruckert (Careers Councillor and Year 10 Co-ordinator). Those families who were unable to attend will find the presentations from all 3 staff members on the School Portal.

Subject Showcase Evening

I remind Years 9 and 10 families and students that we have a follow-up to this initial session with a more subject specific focus entitled the Subject Showcase Evening on Wednesday 20 July: commencing at 7.30pm in the Anderson Centre for Year 10 students and families; and for Year 9 families the evening commences at 7pm in the Theatre, before joining the Year 10 students at individual subject presentations. I will be writing to all current Year 9 and 10 parents/guardians to remind you of this evening at the start of Semester 2. In addition to assist students with their subject choices for next year, our Vice-Principal, Teaching and Learning, Mr Jason McManus, will soon be e-mailing all families to advise them of the link to the 2017 Senior College Subjects Handbook.

Semester 1 Reports

I hope that all students and their parents/guardians are appreciative of the care taken by teaching staff in writing the Mentor Group and subject reports that will be available online in the Parent Services section of our MyTintern portal on Monday 20 June from 3pm. Having read the subject, co-curricular and Mentor group reports of students from Years 10 -12 I can confirm that the vast majority of reports are wonderfully positive endorsements of student efforts and achievements; many reports, also contain well-considered constructive advice from staff that students are asked to “take on board”; with suggestions on how to improve performance in keeping with the student’s individual talents and strengths. Apart from providing the important teacher feedback, Semester reports also provide the opportunity for student reflection and a chance to recast or reconfirm goals.

Uniform Reminders

In the last few days of Term 2 we have noticed that some of our senior students have become a little lax in terms of upholding the Tintern Grammar School Uniform expectations. This being the case, I would like to remind all students and families of the following selection of Uniform expectations. The more complete policy has been sent to families and advised to students at the start of the year:

• Apart from inter-school and recreational sports days or House Sports days, the School Blazer is the outer garment to be worn to and from school during the Winter season.
• On inter-school sports and recreational sports days only, students are expected to wear full correct sports uniform to and from school. On House Sports days students are expected to wear full correct sports uniform to and from school to which they may add appropriate articles in House colours. In winter months blue school tracksuit pants should be worn – leggings must not be worn to and from school.
• The navy blue Senior College jumper may be worn by Years 10 – 12 students (Year 12 students may instead wear their Year 12 jumper), but jumpers are never to be worn as the outer garment to and from school.
• All students are to be wearing ties in Winter; ties must be done up correctly
• Long hair is to be tied back
• Shirts are to be tucked in
• Girls winter skirts must be worn to an appropriate length, combined with dark blue tights or full length dark blue hose
• Boys should be wearing long pants
• Scarves, if worn, should be navy blue

The semester break provides an excellent opportunity for blazers, and perhaps other items of the school uniform, to be dry-cleaned ready for a fresh-looking start in Semester 2.

We look forward to greeting all students back on Tuesday 12 July, a “Day 2” in our timetable cycle.

News from Year 10

Year 10 examination return of papers has been completed and staff have instructed the students about holiday homework so that they are ready to commence Term 3. Students undertaking a VCE subject have commenced Unit 2 and formal lessons concluded for Year 10 students on Friday 10 June with the Work Experience program being scheduled across this final week of Term 2.

The Year 10 subject teachers and Mentor group staff have been most generous with their time in visiting students undertaking Work Experience this week – their support of the program has been invaluable. I would like to acknowledge the enormous time commitment from Mrs Julie Ennor, our Work Experience Co-ordinator, in finalising arrangements for our students. We look forward to receiving feedback from the students about their placements after the holidays.

The students have been reminded about the need to check their uniforms over the holidays and make the necessary adjustments to length of skirts and position of their top buttons so that the tie fits neatly. We recently had an entertaining pastoral session comparing different tie techniques and it was good to observe students teaching other students. 

by Heather Ruckert, Year 10 Co-ordinator and Careers Consultant

News from Year 11

The Year 11s have completed their examinations and GAT and are winding down what has been a successful Semester 1. This Friday the Year 11 Formal is taking place at Linley Estate in Kilsyth and will provide the perfect entrée to a well-deserved holiday.

It has been a busy semester, with ample opportunities for the students to engage themselves within the school community, from the Year 11 Conference at Phillip Island to House Singing, Cross Country, the Athletics Carnival, the School Musical and several mentoring opportunities.

After three weeks of rest, and some holiday homework, it would be a great benefit to those who perhaps haven’t yet participated in the extensive co-curricular program at Tintern Grammar, to consider involving themselves in a new activity, getting to know their peers better, and perhaps find out they may have an undiscovered hidden talent!

On behalf of the Year 11 Mentor team, I wish all Year 11 students a happy and relaxing break, and we look forward to seeing you at the start of Semester 2.

by Nick Stefanac, Year 11 Co-ordinator

News from Year 12

Year 12 students have been very busy in the last two weeks of Semester 1 with a significant number of SACs, the GAT and other assessment being having been completed during this time. To help with this assessment revision and examination preparation that should be taking place on the holidays, students took part in the Elevate Education ‘Finishing Line’ study skills seminar. This session gave students practical advice and specific study skills that they can employ such as ‘The rule of 5’, ‘Bulletproof Booklets’ and Mindfulness stress relief techniques.

Many students have also been busy with last minute Formal preparations. The Formal will take place this Friday 17 June and is a great way for the students to end a very busy and intense Term 2. After the Formal is over students should take at the very least a few days to focus on rest, relaxation and stress relief before getting into a regular holiday study routine.

Throughout the holidays students are encouraged to prioritise sleep, exercise and good nutrition so that they can return to school fit, healthy and ready to face their last full term of classes.  

by Jen Tsai-Bove, Year 12 Co-ordinator

Key Dates Term 3