From the Principal

“Excellence and Confidence” – for their future

A number of parents and several students have asked me recently what we mean by the “Excellence and Confidence” banner under our Tintern Grammar mitre. The questions about this were varied and interesting, and led me to think that explaining the School’s intent might be useful.

You may know that we have undertaken surveys and questionnaires from new members of the School community over the last three years, or even have completed one! In these, the top two reasons that parents come to look at us as a school for their children, and the top two reasons they enroll with us, are the quality of teaching and learning, and the individual care and knowledge of the child. While for parents this may not be surprising, it does line up with the two of the central undertakings of the Tintern 2020 Strategic Plan.

Although we have been a school for 140 years this year and in Ringwood East for over 60, amazingly, we are not well known in our own area! In trying to let people know what a great opportunity is here for their children, we need to be prominent in our presence, both online and more physically on billboards and similar. But when we do this, we need to have something worth saying in that presence.

For 140 years, our goal has been that of our founder, Emma B Cook, “to provide the best education possible” for our children, and this is what we need to tell the outside community who do not know of us at present. So we undertake, with simplicity, to provide an excellent education, which develops deep-seated confidence in young women and men, both for the journey through school and even more importantly, for the broader journey after leaving.

At Tintern Grammar, “Excellence…” is about genuinely achieving your best in every area of your life, not only your final year of school. Not all our students will get 99, or 90, 80 or 70 as their ATAR. We are proud of the results of every single one of our students. Of course an ATAR is a significant part of an education to ready children for our uncertain and rapidly changing world and we will continue to do everything we can to enable and support the individual aspiration of our students to do their academic best, in every year of school, not only Year 12, but a Tintern Grammar education is much more than a number.

However, the skills and personal attributes that our young women and men will need in the future (or even current) world of work cannot only be taught through the study of Mathematics, English, Science, the Arts and so on. The attributes of curiosity, inquiry, creativity, self-awareness, entrepreneurship and risk-taking need to be drawn out, developed and honed in our students through the myriad of other opportunities at Tintern.

These attributes will be applied through skills of problem-solving, information acquisition and management, effective collaboration, and global understanding. As the pace of world change increases, so does the need to solve new and previously un-thought of problems. These will be the expectations in our future and they are becoming a part of our present already, in some fields. Our students’ future “…Confidence” will come from their experiences enabling an authentic confidence that they truly can adapt, be agile and think broadly in their changing future world.

So our “Excellence and Confidence” is about developing these broader skills and attributes ahead of the growing demand for them, as well as ensuring the best possible formal, academic education for every student, maximising their post-school options and opportunities. Having watched our Preps coding and our Year 6 ‘Robocup’ team in action. Having seen and handled the amazing products of our Digital Media VET subject and Design Technology program. Having observed the problem-solving of our Social Justice group working for others and on camps and Outdoor Education program, it’s clear that at Tintern we have been addressing and developing these broader requirements already. Nonetheless, we have our eyes up towards the horizon and we are continually looking for opportunities for our students that will develop the attributes and skills that will enable their success and fulfilment in their lives beyond school.

Factis non verbis

Bradley Fry
Principal

Curriculum Matters

NAPLAN

Two weeks ago students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sat the NAPLAN tests which are held each year in May. Although we were to complete them online, Victoria pulled out of this trial and they were completed with pencil and paper as in previous years. These tests provide practice for students at sitting formal tests and are one source of data for schools and parents to assess the progress of individual students, cohorts and programs. These results are useful but are a single snapshot in time focussing on a few (albeit crucial) key skills and not the whole picture. Teacher assessment over time, which will be summarised in our upcoming Semester Reports, provides a rich and more detailed picture of student learning and NAPLAN results should be seen in this wider context. NAPLAN results are published in September.

A reminder to parents that Junior and Secondary School Semester’s Reports will be published to families online via our Tintern Grammar Portal. They will go live at 3pm on Tuesday 27 June. As in the previous two years, reports will not be mailed home as hard copies. Instructions for accessing these reports will be emailed to families in the last week of term.

Preparing for Assessments

An important part of a learning cycle is assessment of progress made. This informs both the student and the teacher of how well the learning intentions have been met and provides feedback for both on how to address areas for further improvement as well as strengths that can be built upon. This is true both in the sense of discipline based knowledge and skills but also of the broader competencies’ that education seeks to engender in students such as resilience, organisation, collaboration and problem solving.

As the semester comes to a close many students will be undertaking assessments, whether it be projects, assignments, oral presentations or exams, it is important to remember that these are not only opportunities to assess progress in discipline knowledge and skills but also opportunities to develop grit, perseverance, organisation and reflection and goal setting. These are all important skills for the modern world and will stand our students in good stead as they grow towards adulthood.

I urge all students to follow their teachers’ guidance in how to best prepare for any upcoming assessments not only as an end in itself but also as a way to prepare them for life-long learning beyond formal schooling.

ICAS Competitions

Tintern Grammar offers a variety of invitational opportunities for our students to participate in the University of New South Wales, International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS). For over 30 years, ICAS has taken place annually in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Pacific Region and South Africa. At Tintern Grammar, there is no cost to parents for students who are invited to participate in these competitions.

In the Junior Schools, students are invited to participate based on academic readiness as judged by their Head of School and in consultation with their teacher. These opportunities are provided as extension and enhancement activities. Parents who receive this offer will then be asked to choose whether to accept the offer. It is important to note that great care is taken in selecting students to sit these competitions at this level, as while it is an opportunity to build resilience we would not want to damage student’s confidence by competing with a selective cohort from across the state.

In the Middle Schools, all students are entered in the English, Mathematics and Science competitions. Exceptions to this are by recommendation from Learning Enhancement or parental advice. These competitions provide a timely opportunity for students to gain a measure of their own achievement in an external testing situation. The school also receives useful cohort data which, alongside the NAPLAN, assists us in tracking the effectiveness of our programs and progress of our students. In addition, we offer opportunities to selected students in Writing as an extension activity. Limited invitations to the Mathematics competitions are extended to students in Years 10-12.

If your child has entered one of these competitions, it is important to note when reading your child’s report that the State cohort of students is not the same as that of the NAPLAN reports. NAPLAN includes over 95% of all Victorian students in those year levels sitting a test; however, each individual school opts whether to participate in the ICAS competitions and to what extent any given cohort will participate. Therefore, caution should be exercised when looking at the comparative data in ICAS reports as the cohort to which your child is compared is not as representative as the NAPLAN.

All participating students receive a certificate and an individual student report indicating which questions they answered correctly and their score compared with the rest of the students tested. A UNSW medal is awarded when the highest score in each year level in each state in each subject.

If you do not wish your child to be included in a secondary competition please email me and queries regarding Junior Schools Competitions should be directed to the relevant Head of School

Secondary Program and Subject Selection for 2018

As part of Tintern Grammar’ commitment to ensuring students make informed choices, we are holding two information sessions relating to the options available for our Years 10 and 11 students of 2018. Tintern Grammar is proud to be the only school in the Region which offers all three pathways VCE, VET and IB, and to have such a significant history of success in all of these programs.

The first of these sessions is scheduled for Wednesday 14 June 2017 in the CM Wood Centre, when all three pathways will be outlined by the program co-ordinators. We invite you and your child to attend the Pathways Evening where families will be given information so that there can be informed discussions at home as to which pathway will best suit their daughter’s/son’s needs.

As a follow up to this evening a Subject Showcase Evening will be held on in Term 3 on Wednesday 26 July 2017.  On this second evening all individual IB, VCE and VET subjects on offer next year will be outlined and subject teachers will be available to answer specific subject-related questions. At this evening 2017 Year 9 students and families are invited to attend a special information session on the possibility of taking a VCE subject in Year 10, prior to joining 2017 Year 10 students and families in the Anderson Centre (Senior College).

As in previous years, subject selection will be made on-line. This year, that process will commence on Friday 28 July and will close at 6pm on Sunday 6 August. Students will be given instructions on how to follow this process in special assemblies at school.

The information sessions mentioned above will assist students to select the most suitable pathway and subject choices for 2018. Individual teachers and our careers counsellors will also be available to assist in this process throughout the timeline outlined.

by Jason McManus, Vice Principal  – Teaching & Learning

Music Matters

Jazz Night hits new heights as our musos reach for the stars!

Last Saturday evening the Tintern Friends of Music held their Annual Jazz Night in the CM Wood Centre. It was an amazing event with lots of great music, dancing, food and a wonderful community atmosphere. The music consisted of pieces played by our own Intermediate and Senior Jazz Bands, items from Chamber and Concert Choirs and also from the guest band, the New Melbourne Jazz Band, who provided fantastic music for dancing.

Also on this night, the Ron Trigg Jazz Award was presented to a student who shows skills in improvisation, participates actively and shows enthusiasm while playing jazz on their chosen instrument. This year’s winner is Year 12 student Maya Watt. Maya has been a dedicated and committed member of the musical life of Tintern for over six years, playing in many bands, orchestras and other ensembles, and is the perfect recipient for the award. Congratulations Maya!

A massive thanks to the Friends of Music committee and to all who assisted in setting up, decorating and helping in the kitchen on the night, as well as to everyone who came and got involved with such a fun evening.

by Molly Fleming, School Pianist 2017

Tintern’s Small Ensembles come out to play

On the evening of Wednesday 17 May, the Small Ensembles Concert was held in the CM Wood Centre at Tintern Grammar. It was a fantastic night, with two hours of music ranging from classical string quartets and a piano quartet to modern, upbeat jazz numbers and twentieth century twelve-tone serialism, all of which were enjoyed by both performers and audience. The concert was a great opportunity for students from Middle School to Senior College to perform within a small group setting, where they could demonstrate how they enjoy making music with peers who share a similar passion to their own. It was also a fantastic opportunity to give our smaller, yet hardworking ensembles a chance to share their repertoire with the audience. Though we were initially worried about the power-outage that had occurred at Tintern during the morning and afternoon, thankfully the electricity returned before the commencement of the concert. It was an amazing evening of beautiful music, enjoyed by all.

by Alison Yang, Instrumental Captain 2017 (Orchestral)

A perfect birthday or Christmas present for your young musician

Some instrumental music teachers, mainly string, woodwind and brass, have noticed that their students have a tendency to stoop forward at the neck as they play. Inquiries have led to the realisation that some students are practising their music at home with their music lying on a table or their bed. If this is the case in your house, please, please please consider purchasing a music stand for your child (makes a perfect birthday gift!). They can cost as little as $20-$25 from your local music retailer and will assist with correcting poor posture and certainly help your budding musician to develop sound physical practice habits.

Exciting Chamber Music Festival on the horizon

Our Chamber Ensembles soon will be invited to perform in an exciting inaugural event to be hosted by Tintern Grammar in August. With the support of our Friends of Music, our students will have the unique experience of being able to workshop with members of the internationally renowned Flinders String Quartet, and hear them perform also on Sunday 27 August. Selected ensembles then will be invited to perform at a Chamber Music Festival Gala event at beautiful Montsalvat in Eltham on Tuesday 29 August. Note the 29 August Gala Event in your diary as a must-see event in term three!

by Alison Bezaire, Director of Music

Sport Matters

EISM Winter Sport

Following a break for EISM Athletics, the Winter sport season is now underway with teams competing at Year 8, Year 9 and Senior levels.

Year 8 Girls are fielding teams in Basketball, Touch Rugby, Volleyball and Field Hockey. The Touch Rugby team has started well with strong wins against Emmaus 12-4 and Mt Lilydale 10-0, whilst Volleyball A & B have won their matches well. Hockey drew against Mt Lilydale and Basketball lost a close contest against Emmaus 35-36. Best of luck against Mt Scopus this week.

Year 9 Girls are competing in Football and Soccer whilst Year 9 Boys are playing AFL Football, Soccer, Badminton and Table Tennis. Girls Football started the season well with a big win over Mt Scopus, however in Soccer were not so lucky, losing 2-6 against a strong Mt Scopus side. Boys Football have had a win against Donvale and a loss against Aquinas, Soccer conceded against a very strong Mt Scopus side 0-5, Table Tennis lost ‘A’s but won ‘B’s against Mt Scopus and Badminton lost in a count back after finishing 6 matches all against Mt Scopus.

Seniors have played two rounds to this point. Girls are fielding AFL Football, Soccer, Hockey and Netball teams whilst boys are competing in AFL Football, Soccer, Badminton, Table Tennis and Volleyball. Girls ‘A’ Netball have had strong wins against Mt Lilydale and Mt Scopus, whilst Girls Hockey, Soccer, Football and Netball ‘B’ have all recorded a win and a loss. Boys Table Tennis and Badminton have each scored a win and a loss whilst Boys Football, Soccer and Volleyball are yet to record a win.

Best of luck to all teams.

Community Matters

Community Group Fundraising

Tintern Rose

The Tintern Rose is available for sale to celebrate our 140 year anniversary. This compact floribunda rose, exhibits orange-red buds unfolding to fragrant 10cm orange flowers, ageing through shades of pink.

The Tintern Rose is ideal for larger patio pots or garden plantings. 2017 also marks the 15 year anniversary of the Tintern Rose, developed for our 125 Year anniversary in 2002. Roses can be purchased for $20 and are available from the Community Relations Office.

Please call 9845 7877 or email for pick up and payment details.

Photo Album

The TPG is also continuing to offer beautiful quality made customised ‘buckram’ binders for only $70. A saving of $20 as they normally retail for $90. The albums are available in both Navy and Burgundy and feature the school crest and name printed in silver on the front cover and come complete with 10 transparent sheet inserts.

The albums are great for storing:
– The official school photos
– Certificates
– Naplan and ICAS results
– Sports and performer ribbons
– Artwork
– Programs from concerts, sports days and special assemblies
– Photos
– Newsletter clippings
– Your own scrapbook creations (as the pages are 30cm x 30cm standard scrapbook size)

In fact, if you think of it like a filing cabinet of memories, over the years it builds up into quite a treasure! Samples can be viewed in the uniform shop and all orders are now taken at this link through trybooking. 

Entertainment Books

The Entertainment books are once again offered for purchase through the School. The Entertainment™ Book, and the Entertainment™ Digital Membership, are your guide to the most popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, travel and more, all with valuable up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers. The book is current from purchase until the end of May 2018.

Please click here to order your 2017/2018 Entertainment book. 

Community Group News

Jazz Night

Congratulations to our Friends of Music group who contributed to yet another sensational Jazz Night. More than 300 people from our Tintern community came out to enjoy some toe tapping vintage jazz and enjoy some wonderful music by our very talented students and the New Melbourne Jazz Band.

Friends of Music would like to thank everyone in the school community – students, parents, families, friends and staff – who came along and supported another happy and successful Jazz Night. The atmosphere was fabulous and everyone had a great time. The performances were amazing. All funds raised will be used to continue our support of the fantastic and hardworking music department and the work they do with our students. Thanks to everyone who attended. 

FOYF Group News

The Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) held their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 9 May.

Thank you to all those who have continued on as FOYF Committee Members for 2017. Your time and dedication is greatly appreciated.

FOYF always welcome new members, please contact Di Lacey or Tegan Martin in Community Relations if you are interested in more information.

Friends of Young Farmers Dinner – Friday 2 June

The Friends of Young Farmers have their Annual FOYF Dinner on Friday 2 June at 7pm at The Croydon Hotel, Maroondah Highway, Croydon. This is a social evening for both parents and children to attend.

If you would like to find out more about the Friends of Young Farmers or the Tintern farm in general, please feel free to come and join us. Last year was a fun night, with many families attending, and this year is sure to be a repeat! Please select here to download The Croydon Hotel menu.

Please RSVP by Wednesday 31 May to FOYF President Joy Ashfield to joyashfield5@bigpond.com in Community Relations. The more the merrier! 

TOGA Women of Influence and AGM

TOGA was delighted to welcome their Women of Influence speaker Kim Wilson, editor-in-chief of The Australian Women’s Weekly, on the Thursday 18 May. Those present listened attentively as Kim provided key influence to her success and details of her pathway through her life and career.

The TOGA AGM was also held during the evening with Carol Robertson (Hogan, YG 1980) continuing as President for 2017. Other continuing members of the Committee include Jenny Brown (YG 1981), Dani Cox (YG 2009), Olivia Green (YG 2010) and Lynne Franke (Bernadou, YG 1958).

Thank you to all who attended on the night and the Committee for their continued dedication to the Tintern Old Girls’ Association. A special thank you is also extended to Kim Wilson for her address on the night.

Careers Night

Find Your Future Self!

Our first ever Tintern Careers Night was a wonderful success. With 44 Alumni Advisors in attendance on the night to speak with almost 200 students and parents; it was a positive night for all involved.

The Alumni in attendance ranged from more recent graduates who were studying at University or TAFE, to those who are working in careers they love, or taking time out to explore different career options and gain work experience. Our students had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with alumni who share their interests and passion, and they came prepared with questions about their journey.

Thank you to all the wonderful Alumni who attended the evening. Your willingness to share your time and expertise with the current Tintern students was incredible and we are very grateful.

Thank you also to the students and their families who attended. Your enthusiasm and consideration on the night was greatly appreciated by all.

If you are interested in learning more about some of the Alumni who attended please visit the Past Students section where we will be featuring some of the profiles over the upcoming issues. 

Community Committee dates

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) –Next meeting: Thursday 8 June at 7.30pm Kennedy Cottage
  Co-Presidents: Haidee Wallace and Leeze Crowe
• Friends of Music (FOM) – Next Meeting: Monday 19 June CM Wood Common Room President: Tim Oldmeadow
• Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) – Next meeting: Tuesday 14 June 7.30pm Kennedy Cottage, Community services.
  President: Joy Ashfield               

Footy tipping 2017

Don’t forget to update your footy tips for Round 11.

For those interested in joining the 2017 competition, here are the details:

Website: www.footytips.com.au
Competition name: Tintern Grammar Community
Password: tintern

You will then have to log into your own account or create one. When setting up your account, you might like to check the reminder email box so you don’t forget!

The competition is free and open to our entire adult (18+ @ 24/3/2017) Tintern community – Tintern Grammar students will not be permitted to enter. If you have, any questions please email communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au and we’ll help you get started.

Cash Prizes awarded:

• 1st prize $250
• 2nd prize $120
• 3rd prize $60
• 4th Prize $40
• 5th prize $20

Good luck and start tipping!!

Pre-Prep Concerts Monday, 19 June!

The Pre-Preps will be giving a concert to friends and family on Monday 19 June in the Colebrook Hall.

They will be singing, playing xylophones and presenting some movement activities.

• Pre-Prep B 2.00pm
• Pre-Prep A 2.30pm

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Magic in After School Care

There are many ways in which the program in After School Care is developed. Educators’ observations of the students’ interests and the use of the students’ voice are two of the strategies used.

Educators in After School Care are guided by The Council of Australian Governments ‘My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia’. This Framework provides broad direction for school aged educators to facilitate children’s play, leisure and learning. As a part of the Framework it is the expectation that the program will be working towards the following five Outcomes:

• Children have a strong sense of identity
• Children are connected with a contributes to their world
• Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
• Children are confident and involved learners
• Children are effective communicators

Here is a small example of how the cycle of planning is implemented.

We reflect on our in-depth knowledge and our observations of the children in After School Care. For example we have made the following observation “As the weather cools down we are observing that the children are spending more time inside. Whilst inside a large number of children enjoy extended periods of time involved in imaginative play. This often involves setting up a restaurant, café, motel etc. The students make up their own menus, money, signs etc.”

We then link this with the Outcomes.

Children are confident and involved learners

• Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed material

We then plan suitable activities and learning opportunities.

We plan to embrace the children’s enjoyment of imaginative play, while at the same time considering the intentional teaching of providing appropriate props to facilitate the learning that can take place. We plan to create two permanent shelved areas in the After Care Room. One a Literacy Resources shelf and the other a Numeracy Resources shelf. On these we will provide props such calculators, key boards, note pads, pretend money, tape measures, rulers, letter dices, number tiles etc. We will encourage the children to use these as their imaginative play props.

Once implemented, educators observe and evaluate and this continues to inform the ongoing cycle of programming.

Collaboration with children is also an important basis for program decision making. Educators are responsive to all children’s strengths, abilities and interests and these are used to inform our program. These responsive relationships are a strength of After School Care. To extend upon our knowledge of each child we have asked our children to complete an After School Care Student Reflection Sheet. We asked them to write down what they are good at and what they would like to learn more about. We asked what they love doing in After School Care and what they wish they could do. Lastly we asked them what they would like to tell the After School Care teachers.

We received some wonderful responses:

Some of the things I love doing in After Care: “go on the computer and go in the hammocks”, “playing Mum’s and Dad’s and climbing on the wobbly bridge”, “going on the computers and going outside”.

Some of the things I wish we could do in After Care: “have a bed so we can all just have a real relax when we want to”, “play on the oval”, “play in a pretend post office”, “science”, “group games more often”.

I would like to tell my After Care teachers: “have a good holiday”, “After Care rocks”, “I love After Care”, “I love them”, “you’re great at everything”, “After Care is the best”, “good job teachers”.

There is some lovely feedback here and some wonderful ideas that we will be excited to implement (we might even find a quiet corner for some cushions and blankets for a ‘real relax’ if needed.

Please feel free to come down to After School Care at any time and see all the wonderful play, leisure and learning that is taking place.

by Karen Woolsey, After School Care Coordinator

Manchester Coin Collection

Last week the world has been shocked by the Manchester bombing. At Tintern we would like to do our part in supporting the families of the victims. This Thursday night at our Annual Music Night we will be holding a gold coin collection. Please give generously.

Mrs Hudgell’s daughter Sophie, lives in Manchester and she will visit her later in the year. Sophie is an former Tintern student who is now living in England and has a permanent job as a violinist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Mrs Hudgell will be planning to visit  the school where the little girl Saffie (8 years old) attended. Saffie was the youngest victim in the bombing. We thought we could purchase a tree as a memorial for the little girl.

House Cross Country – first year for Prep-Year 2!

More recently,  the Prep to Year 2 girls had a new experience by taking part in their first Cross Country Carnival. Despite a cool and wet start to the day, we even had some sunshine for our run. The Year 6 girls were so encouraging as they buddied up with each Prep to jog around the oval with them and spur the girls on to complete their lap. The pride on the Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 faces at the end of each of their events said it all. It was certainly an invaluable occasion for our younger girls as, in addition to the message of ‘”Join in, have fun and do your best”, they experienced a real sense of belonging and identity within the Girls’ Junior School community.

Year 6A Canberra Civics Education Camp

Year 6 Girls recently visited Canberra where they had the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. The activities and programs that they undertook helped them to learn about Civics in a very enjoyable and interactive way. Highlights were the Australian War Memorial where girls placed a poppy beside the name of a loved one or another soldier they had researched. They felt very touched by the whole scene there. Parliament House, especially in question time was very entertaining! Other places they visited were the National Museum, National Capital Exhibition, Questacon, The Royal Mint and the Botanic Gardens, where by chance they got to meet The Governor General.

A bus tour of the embassies and Yarralumla and Lake Burley Griffin was enjoyed on the way to the airport. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the National Capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding for each student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion. Please enjoy the reflective writing the girls completed upon returning from Canberra. It certainly was an informative and enjoyable week. Canberra was looking particularly beautiful with all the autumn foliage and we had beautiful clear, sunny days.

by Kathy Agius, Year 6A Teacher

Students’ Reflective Writing

We woke to the frosty morning and cold wind outside our window. We very quickly got on and packed up the bus and headed to the Royal Australian Mint.

The amount of coins that have been produced was astonishing – over 15 billion coins have been produced since the Mint opened. We watched Titan and the other robots do their jobs – lifting barrels of coins, stamping, packaging, etc.

The blood – red colour of the poppies reflected into the sunlight; the wall engraved with the soldiers’ names lost in war. The tranquillity of the memorial seemed to bounce off the walls enveloping everyone into a sense of mourning and peace. This was the scene at the War Memorial.

Parliament House – The shining quarts pillars and stairs shone in Parliament house, as though they had never been touched. Politicians crowd the main entry, – the 2700 clocks buzz, the ringing noise echoes through the massive building, although the water fountain still doing its job so no conversations could be heard throughout the building.

These are just a couple of highlights from an action packed camp experience in our National Capital.

by Rachel Adam

CANBERRA

Canberra was where we stayed for Year 6 camp.

A highlight on the first day was The Electoral Education Centre.

Next day came around and we went to the Mint and War Memorial.

But day three was even better we went to Parliament House!

Everyone in the class laughed or was shocked at how rude everyone was at Question Time.

Reginald William Goldsmith was the Man I researched and put a poppy on.

Reginald William Goldsmith wasn’t the only man I researched I also researched Edward Marshall.

A lot of brave men fought in the war and my Great Grandpas were only two of them.

Jade Marshall

Greenhills Camp and Canberra

Good food for breakfast.

Relaxing times while in bed.

Environmental places make you feel alive.

Electoral education office taught us how to vote.

Nice people gave me food.

Heating in our cabins kept us warm.

Interesting stories/yarns were told by James and Will.

Lots of trees cover the camp.

Lollies were given out on the plane.

Sleep was needed after the hike.

Capital cities are in every country.

Allied forces fought for freedom.

National War Memorial made me feel depressed.

Beautiful views all around us.

Education was our biggest priority.

Remember those who died.

Roses filled the Senate Gardens.

Australia is a great nation.

by Zara Bicknell

My Experience at Canberra

Canberra is the magnificent capital city of Australia and many people go there to have fun and learn about it’s history.

Anzac Day and war related stories, objects and soldiers are all shown at the War Memorial. It is amazing hearing all the stories of young soldiers, but it is also quite sad.

Nothing is better then learning science in an extremely fun way, especially when it provides a drop slide, caged lightning, moving floors and much more exciting stuff. Questacon is a better version of Scienceworks.

Beautiful old buildings are abundant; some of them with lovely gardens too, like the old Parliament House with it’s Senate garden.

Everyone comes to have a look at this marvellous city and one of the good things to look at is the Mint. The Mint makes all of Australians coins. Oh, and you always stop to have a look at Titan the robot.

Reflecting back to the war is what some people do at the war memorial, as they might have lost a loved one in the war.

Respecting the people around you when you visit the war memorial is very important because imagine if you lost a loved one and were remembering all the good times and sad times together and then someone ran past yelling.

A very amusing place to visit is Parliament House at Question Time(especially after the budget).The opposition asks the government questions, not very kindly mind you, and then the government yells the answer back. If the opposition don’t agree they’ll interject.

by Ava Cassidy

CANBERRA CAMP

Capital city of Australia

Activities were fun and interesting

Nice accommodation and staff

Brave doing scary activities for the first time

Everyone was excited the night before about the things to look forward to for the next day.

Ridiculous attitude from the people at question time.

Really trying our hardest at all times.

Active every day from going one place to another

by Charlotte Hansen-Cooper

CANBERRA

C -apital city of this nation

A – lied forces remembered

N – ational War Memoral

B – eautiul views all around

E – ducation was the biggest priority

R – emember those who gave their lives

R – oses fill the Senate Gardens

A – ustralia is a great country

by Ruby Crowe      

THE CANBERRA EXPERIENCE

Gloria the wombat was brought up by humans.

Relaxing in our cabins was a good way to get us through the rest of each busy day.

Electoral Education Office’s guide taught us the way to vote correctly.

Employees made us feel welcomed and comfortable.

Nght time was thrilling as we enjoyed the night walk and the welcoming fire.

Honeybun the brumby surprised us by approaching quietly at the campfire.

Inviting cabins made us feel more at home.

Little groups worked together on constructing a future building out of lego.

Looking at the view and the wildlife was a great experience.

Senate gardens was a peaceful place to enjoy our lunch.

by Natasha Gillam

GREENHILLS CAMP AND CANBERRA

Continuously exciting me everyday

Amazing place to have camp

Never disappointing me in the activities provided

Bothering cold temperatures in the city

Educational buildings offering tours

Remote city containing beautiful wildlife

Rakish staff taking extraordinary tours

Aboriginal sites with interesting stories

Generous staff

Radical destination

Educational

Encouraging

Numerous choices of food

Happy campers

Inviting accomadation

Learning activities

Leisure

Safe place

by Genevieve Gough

OUR ACCOMODATION AT GREENHILLS

Great cooks made our amazing meals

Relaxing nights helped us get through busy days

Exciting bush walk on the first night

Every night going to the hall and playing fun games

Never ending fun

Honeybun the brumby surprised us around the fire.    

I enjoyed trying to figure out the game Black Magic

Leaving on the exciting Murrays bus with the hilarious driver Mark

Listening to funny stories around the blazing fire

Safe and welcoming accommodation

by Emmy Horman

OUR CAMP TO CANBERRA

Canberra has amazing learning opportunities

An amazing and admirable city

Nothing better than to see the beautiful wildlife

Beguiling scenery and

Exciting and enjoyable places to visit

Rather intriguing buildings

Radical buildings and places

Awesome designs            

by Maya Hutchinson

Capital of Australia

Allocated in 1908

Neat Senate Gardens, colourful and scented

Beautiful trees abundant with leaves

Electoral Education Office, preferential voting

Rose perfumes, floral in the air

Remember those who gave their lives

Allied forces

by Saskia Jackson Smith

CANBERRA DAYS

Cereal and a hot breakfast is a good way to start off a busy day.

Animals and wildlife are very common in and around Canberra.

Never have I seen such beautiful mornings.

Being engaged with how they made coins at the Mint.

Exciting exhibits at Questacon always surprises me.

Round Lake Burly Griffin has a walking track.

Relaxing and listening to the gentle rustling of the trees is calming.

At the end of the day everyone went to sleep and all was silent.

by Ella Jones

Staying at Greenhills in Canberra

Gorgeous views

Responses to the cabins were positive

Educational is how I describe the site

Exquisite marshmallow roasting

Night walking was great fun

Honey bun was epic

Icy mornings were freezing

Lots of really good food

Little possums run through the branches as I shine my torch there

Sunny in the afternoon surprisingly

by Niah Laragy

CANBERRA

Canberra is the capital of Australia.

Australia is a good country.

National War Museum is where we placed a red poppy.

Botanic Gardens is where we saw the Governor General.

Every day was busy.

Reading about the Governor General helped me improve my reading.

Representatives of the government help to make laws.

At Questacon the drop slide was very fun.

by Aria Ma

CANBERRA

Canberra was an amazing and a great opportunity.

Animals were wild but friendly.

Night hike under the stars.

Beautiful views and site.

Emu and the Kangaroo are native Australian animals.

Remembrance of the soldiers.

Relaxed in the cold weather.

Arrival to Canberra was great and not bumpy.

GREENHILLS

Gloria was the local wombat

Relaxed and chilled in the cool environment.

Emus were in the aboriginal museum

Echidnas are native and come back a long way.

Newdelegate Street is near the Australian Mint

Hiking at night while the wildlife was still awake

Imaginations were let loose

Lamington Street is near Newgate Street

Lit fire with the roasted marshmallows

Sites that we saw were extraordinary

by Tiffany Mirable

Reflection of Canberra Camp Day 2

Today morning, we visited the Mint! It felt so strange to think that this was where the money in my pocket came from, and that when we walked up the beautiful marble staircase, we were literally walking on 750 dollars! We learnt about blanks, which are the blank coins that they stamp, uncirculated coins which are collectables that aren’t actually used for selling or buying purposes, and Australia’s currency’s history.

Then we stopped by the National Capital Exhibition, which was so compelling because it made me comprehend that Canberra was and is literally an almost completely man-made city, except from the wildlife and greenery, though some of that was planned too!I learnt that there were several feasible designs, but when it came to choosing it was the simplicity and minimalism that won over Walter Burley Griffin’s creative design.

To finish off our perfect day, we went to the War Museum. It was touching, and displayed perfectly what war was actually like; dark, melancholy, merciless. The mysterious, dark lighting captured the tragic tales of the deceased, the quiet recording whispering the voices of the frightened and the mourning. I really felt the emotions of the bad times of conflict; tiredness, despair, hunger, loss, the feeling of wanting it all to just stop. All of these emotions were clearly represented by the sculpture, ‘Winged Victory,’ which showed a lady holding a sword above her head, symbolising that they had won the war, yet her face showed such sadness as she read the long list of names of the lost souls from the soldiers in their final battle.

The second day was over, as the sun set over Greenhills, and we were ready for the next big day.

by Mayunie Munasinghe

CANBERRA

Can you design Canberra?

ACT-Australian Capital Territory

Not as busy as other states and territories

Being the place where the Prime Minister lives

Every bit designed by Walter Burley Griffin Really beautiful

Real artefacts in the Australian War Memorial

A fairly new city

GREENHILLS CAMP

Gloria the half blind wombat

Ready made, delicious hot food at the cafeteria

Everyone has fun

Entertaining activities everyday

Night time hike and campfire

Honey-bun the half-blind horse of Will

Interstate trip

Lunch is wraps and sandwiches

Lollies are given to teachers for safekeeping

Showers everyday

by Elaine Sze

CANBERRA DAYS

Completely interesting

Amazing design

National Capital Exhibition

Bewildering Government processes

Exciting experiences

Round coins used to be produced

Riveting games

Amazing buildings

by Chelsea Tonna

Magic in After School Care

There are many ways in which the program in After School Care is developed. Educators’ observations of the students’ interests and the use of the students’ voice are two of the strategies used.

Educators in After School Care are guided by The Council of Australian Governments ‘My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia’. This Framework provides broad direction for school aged educators to facilitate children’s play, leisure and learning. As a part of the Framework it is the expectation that the program will be working towards the following five Outcomes:

• Children have a strong sense of identity
• Children are connected with a contributes to their world
• Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
• Children are confident and involved learners
• Children are effective communicators

Here is a small example of how the cycle of planning is implemented.

We reflect on our in-depth knowledge and our observations of the children in After School Care. For example we have made the following observation “As the weather cools down we are observing that the children are spending more time inside. Whilst inside a large number of children enjoy extended periods of time involved in imaginative play. This often involves setting up a restaurant, café, motel etc. The students make up their own menus, money, signs etc.”

We then link this with the Outcomes.

Children are confident and involved learners

• Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed material

We then plan suitable activities and learning opportunities.

We plan to embrace the children’s enjoyment of imaginative play, while at the same time considering the intentional teaching of providing appropriate props to facilitate the learning that can take place. We plan to create two permanent shelved areas in the After Care Room. One a Literacy Resources shelf and the other a Numeracy Resources shelf. On these we will provide props such calculators, key boards, note pads, pretend money, tape measures, rulers, letter dices, number tiles etc. We will encourage the children to use these as their imaginative play props.

Once implemented, educators observe and evaluate and this continues to inform the ongoing cycle of programming.

Collaboration with children is also an important basis for program decision making. Educators are responsive to all children’s strengths, abilities and interests and these are used to inform our program. These responsive relationships are a strength of After School Care. To extend upon our knowledge of each child we have asked our children to complete an After School Care Student Reflection Sheet. We asked them to write down what they are good at and what they would like to learn more about. We asked what they love doing in After School Care and what they wish they could do. Lastly we asked them what they would like to tell the After School Care teachers.

We received some wonderful responses:

Some of the things I love doing in After Care: “go on the computer and go in the hammocks”, “playing Mum’s and Dad’s and climbing on the wobbly bridge”, “going on the computers and going outside”.

Some of the things I wish we could do in After Care: “have a bed so we can all just have a real relax when we want to”, “play on the oval”, “play in a pretend post office”, “science”, “group games more often”.

I would like to tell my After Care teachers: “have a good holiday”, “After Care rocks”, “I love After Care”, “I love them”, “you’re great at everything”, “After Care is the best”, “good job teachers”.

There is some lovely feedback here and some wonderful ideas that we will be excited to implement (we might even find a quiet corner for some cushions and blankets for a ‘real relax’ if needed.

Please feel free to come down to After School Care at any time and see all the wonderful play, leisure and learning that is taking place.

by Karen Woolsey, After School Care Coordinator

Equestrian Stars!

More recently some of our students represented Tintern in the Equestrian Horse Trials at Wandin. The Friends Of Equestrian  parent group are an active community group who support the school extremely well.  We are always grateful for all they do.

Featured today are two of our Junior School equestrian stars (amongst a host of other students) who dedicate a large amount of their time to equestrian pursuits: Millie Harvey (4A) and Ella Jones (6A). The smiles on their faces tell it all!

Coastrek – Congratulations to Team Tintern!

Congratulations to the wonderful success of our Term Tintern who trekked 60km last Saturday.  You are fantastic role models for our students and we thank you for showing the way in supporting such a worthy cause as the Fred Hallows Foundation. Thank you for also to Mrs Wagner for her support of the team throughout the long day  of trekking!

Magic in After School Care!

There are many ways in which the program in After School Care is developed. Educators’ observations of the students’ interests and the use of the students’ voice are two of the strategies used.

Educators in After School Care are guided by The Council of Australian Governments ‘My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia’. This Framework provides broad direction for school aged educators to facilitate children’s play, leisure and learning. As a part of the Framework it is the expectation that the program will be working towards the following five Outcomes:

• Children have a strong sense of identity
• Children are connected with a contributes to their world
• Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
• Children are confident and involved learners
• Children are effective communicators

Here is a small example of how the cycle of planning is implemented.

We reflect on our in-depth knowledge and our observations of the children in After School Care. For example we have made the following observation “As the weather cools down we are observing that the children are spending more time inside. Whilst inside a large number of children enjoy extended periods of time involved in imaginative play. This often involves setting up a restaurant, café, motel etc. The students make up their own menus, money, signs etc.”

We then link this with the Outcomes.

Children are confident and involved learners

• Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed material

We then plan suitable activities and learning opportunities.

We plan to embrace the children’s enjoyment of imaginative play, while at the same time considering the intentional teaching of providing appropriate props to facilitate the learning that can take place. We plan to create two permanent shelved areas in the After Care Room. One a Literacy Resources shelf and the other a Numeracy Resources shelf. On these we will provide props such calculators, key boards, note pads, pretend money, tape measures, rulers, letter dices, number tiles etc. We will encourage the children to use these as their imaginative play props.

Once implemented, educators observe and evaluate and this continues to inform the ongoing cycle of programming.

Collaboration with children is also an important basis for program decision making. Educators are responsive to all children’s strengths, abilities and interests and these are used to inform our program. These responsive relationships are a strength of After School Care. To extend upon our knowledge of each child we have asked our children to complete an After School Care Student Reflection Sheet. We asked them to write down what they are good at and what they would like to learn more about. We asked what they love doing in After School Care and what they wish they could do. Lastly we asked them what they would like to tell the After School Care teachers.

We received some wonderful responses:

Some of the things I love doing in After Care: “go on the computer and go in the hammocks”, “playing Mum’s and Dad’s and climbing on the wobbly bridge”, “going on the computers and going outside”.

Some of the things I wish we could do in After Care: “have a bed so we can all just have a real relax when we want to”, “play on the oval”, “play in a pretend post office”, “science”, “group games more often”.

I would like to tell my After Care teachers: “have a good holiday”, “After Care rocks”, “I love After Care”, “I love them”, “you’re great at everything”, “After Care is the best”, “good job teachers”.

There is some lovely feedback here and some wonderful ideas that we will be excited to implement (we might even find a quiet corner for some cushions and blankets for a ‘real relax’ if needed.

Please feel free to come down to After School Care at any time and see all the wonderful play, leisure and learning that is taking place.

by Karen Woolsey, After School Care Coordinator

Grandparents and Special Friends morning

Our annual Grandparents and Special Friends morning was another opportunity for us to share our school life with people who are significant, highly regarded and loved in the lives of our boys. For many of our guests, it was their first time back in a  classroom for quite some time. We were delighted that so many attendees were present on the morning, with some having flown in from Interstate.

The morning commenced with hands on and interactive activities in class, and discussion about school in “…the good ol’ days” compared to our current environment. Discussion quickly turned to singing God Save The Queen, marching to class, the strap and of course, warm milk!!!

We were delighted to be able to share our school’s history in a special Assembly, where we also discussed our Parallel Learning model, and then finished with our Southwood Boy song.

Thank you to all of the guests who made the morning such a warm, loving and enjoyable one for us all.

Grandparents and Special Friends Morning Reflections – Year 3

A beautiful morning was had in the Southwood Centre on Monday 29 May with our Grandparents and Special Friends joining us in our classrooms; it was so lovely to see so many faces. Thank you to everyone who came, particularly those who travelled a long distance to spend the morning with us. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Year 3 Reflections…

On grandparents’ day we used “Kahoot” on our iPads. We worked in teams to do the trivia about the First Fleet. We had assembly with Mr Kenny that was funny. – James Winduss

On grandparents’ day, we introduced each other to the class then we answered the “Now and Then” activity in teams. I worked with Ryan, Cayden, Cayden’s Grandpa Greg and my Nanna Sandy. We then played a game of “Kahoot” and answered 17 questions about The First Fleet. Our team won! – Xavier Willis

My special guest’s name is Amini, we like to play soccer together in the backyard. Today was a fun day with my special guest and lovely. We played “Kahoot” and it was fun too. – Archia Zamani

Today it was Grandparents’ morning, we played “Kahoot” on our iPads, we answered questions about The First Fleet and Convicts. My team won, Xavier, Cayden and special guests. We also read Wilfred Gordon Partridge McDonald. It was the greatest morning ever! – Ryan Makkar

We all had a good day, we played a “Kahoot” about The First Fleet. The people on my team were Sandy (Xavier’s Nanna), Greg (my Pa), Xavier and Ryan, my team won after a comeback. My Nanna gave me a cookie, and we all introduced ourselves. – Cayden Wood

Firstly, we introduced our special guests, then we did a “now and then” activity comparing school to now and when our special guests were at school. Next we did “Kahoot”, answering questions about The First Fleet, took a photo of our visitors and said good-bye. – Jack Ravenscroft

On Monday it was Grandparents’ Day, all the boys in Prep to 6 took their grandparents to school for the morning. The Year 3s did a “Now and Then” sheet and a 17 question “Kahoot”. – Heath Elias

On the 29^th of May we had a Grandparents morning, it was fun. We did an activity, took some photos and introduced our special visitors. I said “this is my grandparent, Grandma or Heather, we love to eat cookies from the secret cookie stash”. – Heath Bowey

It was a fantastic morning, we all had a great time, 8 of the boys had special visitors. At the start, we all introduced our special friends and ourselves. My Nan and I were with Heath B and his special friend, we played “Kahoot” on the Frist Fleet, we came second place. The special friends day was the best day ever! – Lincoln Dauparas

On 29^th May, Grandparents came into the classroom, we introduced them to our classmates. We played “Kahoot” and did an activity using Venn diagrams comparing school now to when they went to school. – Miles Tang

by Kylie Newman, Year 3 Teacher

The First Fleet – Year 4

This term in Year 4 the boys have been looking at Dreaming and the Tall Ships. It is a fascinating unit which looks at the arrival of the First Fleet and the impact of white settlement on the indigenous population of the time. We have been looking at incorporating some of the knowledge and understandings of the hardships of that time into our creative writing with the boys producing some excellent writing combining a number of different genres. Please enjoy a sample of these writings below:

The Tides of the Current

The last thing I remember on that day was the odious cry from my son, “Daaadaaa DaaaDaaa”. The evil monster of time was stealing everything I had, making me its servant. The horrible moment the evil men took my son and my wife. Both of them crying out to me. Both of them pleading, desperate for mercy. Both of them gone forever. All those happy moments ruined by some careless men who care nothing more than how much change is left in their pockets. I need to see them again. Whether it means crossing to the moon and back. Whether it means having every inch or my body scorched just for me to and fall on their doorstep. I have to do whatever I can to get them back. My plan to get them back is in action.

I got myself caught. I was sent and loaded onto one of the transport ships. We just got sent away. After a couple of days my family are nowhere to be seen. I have searched everywhere and all I can find are mounds of stinking wood. This place is crowded from top to bottom with convicts. On top of it all the rations are dropping every minute, the stench level has just turned to a new level and every few days or so now someone goes missing.

After the endless hours of the days the horror lived on, we finally finished our journey and I was brought to a building facility. Lifting, cutting and dreading were the three things my new life brought me. Again, after countless other loads I went to pick up another plank for my building when I saw my son. His arms full. Stuffing them up with that cold, hard wood. His face shrouded with sweat. I suddenly sprinted towards him and wrapped my arms around him. I hugged him like there was no tomorrow. I squeezed my arm with never ending content. Then I realised one thing.

My wife, she didn’t make it!

by Elijah Hanna

Boat No.3

I was down having a beer

It wasn’t mine, I fear

Onto the ship we went

We convicts looked spent

Botany Bay we were sent

You heard about the food? It was literally cement

We spent our days cooped up in a tiny cell

Into the sea a miserable wretch fell

As he rose up to hell I could picture his glee

‘Cause anything was better then Boat No.3

I had a great idea

We were only 20 miles from shore

We gave young Tell some beer

He was under our control

It was pretty beastly but it was our only hope

He grabbed the Captain and tied him up with some leftover rope

He pushed him in!

A lad who was a sailor with a nasty grin

He got us to shore, in record time

All of us ran, it was night time

We went our separate ways

I reckon they’ll catch us one of these days

by Daniel Elias

Botany Bay

My family is hungry and I was caught stealing 2 guns and 3 loaves of bread. They thought I killed someone as well. I said I didn’t kill anyone so now I am a political prisoner. Alex my friend was on the ship so Alex and I escaped from the ship. We were caught in Westminster, near the Westminster Abbey. We pretended we were other people and we didn’t go back to the ship!

One day later we stole a loaf of bread and didn’t get caught! Alex found 2 guns and 5 penknives and took them. Five days later we were caught and brought back onto the ship.

Once the ship left I tried escaping with Alex. But we were found unconscious lying in a stack of wood. It was a very long journey, every now and then they would put chains on you and hang you up on the wall.

When we arrived in Botany Bay there were people already on the land. They were not like the people in England they had darker skin. Once the ship touched the land they started attacking us. They threw a weapon at Alex. I tried to save him, but a weapon hit me in the chest. I screamed then fell to the floor.

By Kristian Dass

by John Bonnyman, Boys’ Year 4 Teacher

Year 4 Art

The boys in Year 4 have been studying the works of Vincent Van Gogh and used his famous painting ‘Sunflowers’, as inspiration for this fabulous display.

by Maria Lumsden, Boys’ Junior School Visual Arts Educator

District Cross Country

On Wednesday 24 May Tintern Grammar competed in the Warrandyte South District Cross Country Carnival at Domeney Reserve, Park Orchards. The weather conditions were perfect for Cross Country racing. There were some pre-race nerves, however, once the races started the boys and girls settled and ran exceptionally well in all age groups. There were some exciting finishes to the races with the boys and girls sprinting to the finish line to earn as many points as possible for the school. Congratulations to all of the students who ran on the day. At the conclusion of the event Tintern Grammar placed 2nd out of 10 schools, which was a fantastic result. Congratulations to the following boys and girls who placed inside the top 10 runners, qualifying for the Divisional Cross Country Carnival at Yarra Glen Racecourse on Tuesday 13 June.

U/10 Boys

Felix Kilworth 3rd

Mitchell Laurie 6th

Ethan Hoole 7th

Daniel Elias 8th

U/10 Girls

Elisha Sze 5th

Holly White 6th

Melody Ch’ng 10th

U/11 Girls

Olivia Beaton 4th

Rose Rostron 9th

Ava Cantor 10th

U/12&13 Girls

Natasha Gillam 1st

Saskia Jackson Smith 8th

Thank you to Mrs Nielson, Mrs Thompson and Mr Bonnyman for assisting with the carnival.

by Ash Viney Junior School PE Teacher

Girls’ Middle School News

One of the great joys as a member of our community is seeing students positively involve themselves in performances, events and various opportunities presented. This past fortnight has provided many such opportunities as students have taken on the da Vinci Decathlon, rehearsal for Year 8 Performing Arts Night, Year 7 Cheersports and Year 9 House Dancing. Our Year 9 Outdoor Education students travelled to Lake Eildon for a 3 day canoe journey and our wonderful musicians, their families and friends enjoyed the Annual Friends of Music Jazz Night. All secondary students enjoyed the House Music competition on Thursday 18 May. It was a very colourful and lively event which demonstrated a real sense of House spirit and commitment from all students who participated, either as singers or musicians. It was great to see what students can achieve collectively when they work together! Congratulations to Butterss/Cross who won overall!

This time of the year is often a busy one for students as they balance their co-curricular and community commitments alongside assessments and academic challenges. Juggling school and home expectations at a time of rapid change and development can be a challenging one. Pastoral Mentors are actively working with your daughters to develop and flex strategies to assist with organisation and time management, but it is also important to give students opportunities to reflect, recharge and de-stress. Maggie Dent has explored some of the challenges faced by teens and some strategies for supporting our girls at this time. You might also find it interesting reading https://www.maggiedent.com/blog/beware-teen-tipping-point/

Victorian Interschools Snowsports Championships

The Victorian Interschools Snowsports Championships are being held at Mt Buller on Sunday 6 August (Cross Country) and Monday 21 to Sunday 27 August (Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding).

If your child is an experienced skier or snowboarder and they would like to compete in Cross Country, Giant Slalom, Moguls or SkierX/BoarderX please email oconstable@tintern.vic.edu.au indicating your interest in the competition. We will be holding a training day in July, date to be confirmed prior to the end of Term 2.

Please note that for the competition, whilst Tintern staff will be in attendance, it is the responsibility of parents to accompany their child to the competition and make their own accommodation arrangements. We highly recommend that accommodation be booked ASAP as it is a very busy week at Mt Buller.

For event information, including the provisional timetable of event dates please visit www.vicinterschools.com.au

Kiva Fundraising

On Thursday 26th of May, a group of Year 8 girls held a bake sale to raise money for a single parent in the Philippines who needed money to rebuild their house that was destroyed by a typhoon. We are giving the money to this family through Kiva. Kiva is a website where you loan money to people in crisis countries who need it. Over time, they pay back the money you loaned them for you to re-loan it to someone else.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to our bake sale. We raised $225 in total which will go towards this family in need. 

by Laura Mitcham, Eden Riddell, Alyssa Dunn, Freya Bryson & Lydia Tan

Year 7 da Vinci Decathlon

Last Wednesday, the 17th of May, two teams of Year 7 girls and boys gathered at the bus bay early in the morning, ready to set off on an incredible journey. Before the traffic condensed, all 15 students hopped excitedly onto the awaiting bus. 45 minutes later, they arrived at MLC, ready for an academic competition, called the da Vinci Decathlon.

To begin, they were given a series of booklets to complete in an hour and a quarter. They were given booklets on the subjects Ideation, English, Art and Poetry, and Science. Preceding a quick snack break, the next session commenced,  during which they were given two more booklets, Engineering and Maths, and during this session, three students from each school were asked to produce a short play on a given topic. Afterwards, the students went outside once again for their lunch break. A little less than an hour later, all the students from the 20 participating schools filed inside the large hall once again to participate in the last session, including the subjects Code Breaking, General Knowledge and Cartography.

Finally, all the subjects had been completed, and once again were permitted to have a small break. A short time later, the students nervously crowded inside the hall again, anticipating the results. First, the top two Creative Producers teams performed their 60 seconds acts on the theme ‘Money’. Soon afterwards, the organiser of the da Vinci Decathlon strode over to the stage to give a short speech, before announcing the top three teams for each subject. One of the teams from Tintern Grammar placed equal third in the Creative Producers subject. Then she announced the top teams overall. Even though Tintern didn’t place in the top five overall, the students tried their best and had a fantastic day! “It was great fun to meet new people and have a great time out of school,” said Michael, a member of one of the two da Vinci Decathlon teams. It was a great experience for everyone, and they hope they have the same opportunity again. 

by Olivia Dowling & Abby Chai (7B)

Jazz Night

On Saturday May 27 Jazz students and their friends and families participated in the Friends of Music annual Jazz Night. Jazz Night is a fun occasion for everyone, as there is lots of dancing and performances by the Tintern Jazz Bands, The New Melbourne Jazz Band and the Swing Choirs. Everyone was delighted to hear a combined Jazz Band/Choir item – “Another Day of Sun” from the movie. This year we were also lucky to hear a great song performed by the Year 9 student band, Silver Lining.

Each year Friends of Music pick out a theme for Jazz Night, as well as theme colours. This year’s theme was “La La Jazz”, inspired by the hit musical La La Land. The CM Wood Centre was decked out in silver and purple decorations thanks to Friends of Music and student volunteers. Ruby Wensor’s winning design for the flyer and placemats added the perfect touch and everyone had a chance to dress up and show off their best La La Jazz themed clothes. 

The prestigious Ron Trigg Jazz Award was presented to a very deserving Maya Watt, who performed a lovely trombone solo later in the evening. Once again we were honoured to have Ron Trigg in attendance. Three members of the Intermediate Jazz Band  –  Ashleigh Dowling, Bianca Settle and Alice Church – were also awarded with certificates of appreciation for their commitment to the ensemble. The evening was a great success and funds raised will be used to enhance the music program. What a fantastic night of fun, music and dancing! I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the next Jazz Night. Thank you to all the teachers, maintenance crew, parent volunteers and performers who made it happen.

by Bianca Settle (9A)

Boys’ Middle School News

With the end of semester approaching along with key assessment and reports, the classrooms have been really active places of late. A key drive this term has been to help our boys to organise themselves in terms of school work, homework and understanding the importance of some downtime as well.

Homework is an important part of school life for our boys when it is used effectively. It should provide an opportunity for them to reinforce concepts introduced to them at school, complete important sections of work and/or research further into areas of interest (outside of social media!). Our Middle School pastoral program devotes time at each year level to sessions on personal organisation and study techniques. The aim is to help the students to develop good study techniques that enable them to manage their time effectively and maximise their learning potential.

At home it is important for parents to not allow the argument of homework to be something that impacts on family life and relationships at home. It is important that as a parent you show interest in your son’s work, encourage good habits and time management skills, as well as provide an environment that is suitable for studying. This environment would include things such as a suitable space, appropriate desk/chair/bench, good lighting, food and drink, break times, etc.

As a parent there are often two concerns that are common; my son seems to be doing no/very little homework, or my son is doing way too much. If you feel there is some concern with how your son is going with homework then please don’t hesitate to contact his pastoral mentor to assist you. The school has systems in place to help remind, assist and promote homework to save it from becoming an issue that impacts on family life.

Year 7 & 12 Big Brother Mentoring

Each Tuesday during Utility some Year 12s come down to the Year 7s to talk to them about various topics and sometimes play games. This is in small groups of about four or five students. The aim of this program is to make sure that the Year 7s are fitting in and to establish a connection with someone else in the school to make sure they always have someone to rely on. We have had two sessions so far.     

During the first session we asked various questions which was great because we got to know each other a bit more. Some of them were simple, such as what food we liked to eat, and some of them were talking about social problems, such as “Do you think it is acceptable for a man to cry at the movies”.

During the second session Jayan (our mentor) talked to us about bullying, and asked if we felt that at Tintern we are being treated fairly. It was interesting hearing other people’s stories and how they deal with any hardships. We were also asked about how our day has been and if there are anything worrying us, we get to sometimes play with our group and other groups and the best bit is our big brothers usually bring lollies or chocolate, which brightens the Year 7s.

Overall we think that this is a very successful and fun program and hope that it carries on through the years to come.

by Ben McKee & Colin Ming (7D)

Year 7 da Vinci Decathlon

On the 17th May, a group of 15 Year 7 boys and girls went to the Methodist Ladies College to compete in the annual da Vinci Decathlon. We were split into two teams. The Decathlon focuses on a variety of different activities and subjects including Mathematics, Science, Engineering, Art and Poetry, Ideation, Cartography, Creative Producers, General Knowledge, Code Breaking, English and Spelling. We were up against another 20 teams from various different schools in our region. The theme of this year’s Decathlon was ‘Power’.

We hopped off the bus and quickly rushed into the hall as we were a bit late. We were given a brief introduction and suddenly, MLC students came around to our tables giving us folders with the worksheets for the first period of the Decathlon! Our first bulk of work included Science, Spelling, English, Ideation and Art and Poetry. We set off to work with the pressure building, but most of us were really enjoying ourselves at the same time. Mrs Watkins was kind enough to give us a whole bowl of jelly beans and party mix while we worked! The 75 minute period was up and we handed our work in. After a quick break and a piece of cake out in the foyer, we were back in the hall ready to take on another three subjects.

Maths, Creative Producers and Cartography tasks were put in front of us for the second period of the Decathlon. Each of our two groups selected three people to participate in the Creative Producers category. My group selected Elliott, Mark and Olivia. The teams were given a strict guideline and rules and had 10 minutes to create a 60 second or shorter play with the theme of ‘Money’. All the Creative Producers were pulled out to perform their play in front of judges and then came back into the hall and started working on the challenging tasks once again. Our time was up and we handed in our work and set off to have some lunch and get some fresh air. We socialised with each other and had a great time but that was not why we were there! Teachers called us back in and we began our last set of tasks.

Our last tasks consisted of Engineering, Code Breaking and General Knowledge. We selected Mark and Abby from our group to work on the Engineering task,  where they had to create a prototype out of certain materials and had to draw a design brief and what their inspiration was for their creation. They were given a shorter amount of time to complete this task. The General Knowledge task was based on important historical events and Aboriginal culture and history. We ranked quite highly in the General Knowledge task finishing 7th overall out of 22 teams. The announcement was made and we were told that the Decathlon had officially come to an end! Sighs of relief echoed through the hall and we’d completed the 2017 daVinci Decathlon. We got a quick break, and then the top 3 placing teams were announced for all the categories. The top placing team in each discipline received a gold certificate and the top 3 overall placing teams received a certificate, bronze, silver and gold. The top two placing teams in the Creative Producers discipline got up on stage and performed their money related plays! The other Tintern team finished equal 3rd overall in the Creative Producers, well done to them. The tiring day had come to an end and we were ushered out the hall, ready to get back to school.

We had a fun and eventful bus trip home and Mrs Watkins gave us all chocolate! When we arrived at school, we parted our own ways eager to get home and get a good nights rest.

I would like to thank Mr O’Brien for driving the bus, getting us to MLC and back to school and taking care of us on the day. I’d also like to thank Sayani, Freya, Zoe, Jonah, Oliver and Joel for helping us on our training days and giving us great advice. Wow, Mrs Watkins! Thanks so much for organising our training days and making this whole experience possible. We all had a great time and benefited from this experience and we’ll look back at it for many years to come. Also, well done to everyone who participated in this years Decathlon, you made it all a really fun experience and I’m sure many of us would like to do it again in Year 9.

By Lorcan McCrave (7D)

From the Vice Principal – Senior College

Uniform reminders

We are now well and truly experiencing snaps of wintery cold weather and, as of this coming Thursday 1 June, all students are required to wear full Winter School Uniform; this is the case until September 1 when students again have the choice of Winter or Summer Uniform.

I remind all students that:

• 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 – an exception being days when the forecast maximum temperature is 30C or above, or when the temperature reaches this level unexpectedly during the day. Of course, this is most unlikely to happen again this year until Term 4! Jumpers are never to be worn as the outer garment to and from School and nor are spray jackets.
• On inter-school sports and recreational sports days only, students are expected to wear full correct sports uniform to and from school if applicable to their year level. 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.

We ask all parents and guardians to assist the School in reinforcing our rules on School Uniform.

Jazz Night

Last Saturday Night, I was among over 300 guests in the CM Wood Centre enjoying one of Tintern Grammar’s annual highlights – the Friends of Music Jazz Night. I would like to pay tribute to our superb parent organisers, the Friends of Music, along with our outstanding music staff and, of course, our wonderfully talented Tintern Grammar Music students for creating a most enjoyable evening. We were fortunate to welcome back Mr Ron Trigg, a much admired and respected former Tintern Grammar Music staff member and Head of Music. Ron was delighted to be able to present the annual Ron Trigg Jazz Award to Maya Watt, a Year 12 VCE student, who is a well-deserving and most popular choice for the Award. Those parents, friends, students and staff who were lucky enough to attend were treated to a night full of fabulous entertainment, and the chance to get up and dance to the music provided by a wide variety of our student musicians.

Semester Examinations

In our last Aspectus edition, I included a section on Study Hints. In the interest of not wanting to push “too much of a good thing”, I will refer interested students to this article and to their copy of the Senior College Handbook. On behalf of all members of the community I wish all students successful studying for their upcoming examinations, which I hope ask them exactly the right questions they have prepared for.

I am sure that our Years 10 and 11 students will not need reminding that their examinations commence on Monday 5 June. Whilst all students undertaking Year 12 subject studies will sit for the GAT on Wednesday 14 June. I remind all Senior College students and families that full school winter uniform is to be worn at all examination sessions.

The mention of examinations will, of course, lead to thoughts of Semester reports. I would like to advise all parents/guardians and students that our teaching staff have commenced their Semester 1 subject reports which will be available to all families during the first week of our Term 2 holidays.

 The Pathways Evening and The Year 11 Subject Showcase Evening

Years 9 and 10 families will shortly receive an invitation to attend The Pathways Evening, which is scheduled for Wednesday 14 June in the CM Wood Centre, commencing at 7.30pm. The Pathways Evening provides an opportunity for families to hear from our Program Co-ordinators about the distinct features of the 3 Pathways that are available to our most senior students at Tintern Grammar: the VCE pathway; the opportunity to undertake VCE combined with VET subjects; and, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program. As always, I am delighted to remind our community of the following facts:

• we continue to be the top performing School in our region in terms of combined Year 12 results
• as a truly open entry School which does not place barriers in terms of student subject selection to “protect” our level of performance, we are proud of this well-deserved reputation
• we also continue to enjoy our reputation as one of the top performing IB Diploma Schools, not only within Australia but also across the World.

The Pathways Evening provides Year 10 and Year 9 students with the opportunity to discuss with their families which Pathway may well suit their needs and strengths in the next stage of their secondary education, in preparation for University courses and the workforce.

The next stage in this process is the specific subject selection of Year 11 subjects. Selection of subjects for 2017 will be completed by the end of the 1st week in August; and, to assist with these choices all Years 10 and 9 students and families will receive invitations to our Year 11 Subject Showcase Evening. This will be held on Wednesday 26 July, commencing at 7.30pm in the Anderson Centre (Senior College building). At this evening, Heads of Department and their teaching staff will present information on all subjects we offer across the IB, the VCE and the VCE-VET combined Pathways and staff will be available to answer questions that students or parents may have.

We invite Year 9 students and families to this evening as a number of our current Year 9 students will choose to undertake a Year 11 VCE subject next year, whilst in Year 10. Current Year 9 students and their families will be invited to attend the Subject Showcase Evening from 7pm to hear about the “pros and cons” of choosing a VCE subject whilst in Year 10, before joining the Year 10 students and families for specific subject talks throughout the evening.

Over the next few weeks, I am looking forward to reading the subject and pastoral reports of our Senior College students and also to greeting families at The Pathways Evening.

With kind regards to all,

News from the Careers Department

Tintern Grammar Careers Night – ‘Find your Future Self’

Our recent new initiative involving alumni sharing their experiences and having a ‘Career Conversation’ with our Years 9 to 12 students and families was a great success. This evening was a unique opportunity to find out about Career pathways, different industries and explore different areas of interest.

University Experience Days – Targeted Exploration…

Over the holiday period there are a number of events that allow students to undertake initial and more targeted exploration of courses prior to Open Days that mainly occur during August. The format of these days generally includes general presentations, campus tours and specific workshops.

• ACU Ballarat the Melbourne Campuses

Please visit acu.edu.au/uni-experience to register for The ACU University Experience days on Tuesday 11 July at the Ballarat campus and Tuesday 4 July at the Melbourne campus.

• Deakin Inspire at Deakin University

Andy and Ben from the Block are hosting this event that includes presentations such as ‘Deakin’s Got Talent’ (innovative and entrepreneurial experiences from staff and students), ‘Standing out from the Crowd’) including building your own personal brand) and a wide range of study area workshops. The event will be held on Tuesday 4 July at the Melbourne Burwood Campus and Thursday 6 July at the Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus. For further information and registrations visit: http://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/events/deakinspire

• Experience La Trobe

Experience La Trobe allows students to select 3 workshops from a wide range of options and is an ideal way to explore fields of study and course specific information. Options include Nursing and Midwifery, Agriculture, Networking Technology, Robotics, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Physiotherapy, Exercise Science, Journalism, Education, Civil Engineering, Psychology, Commerce, Criminology and a session for parents; campus tours are available.

The Experience La Trobe events will be held on Thursday 6 July at the Melbourne Bundoora campus and on Wednesday 5 July at the Bendigo campus. For further information visit: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/study/life/events/experience-la-trobe-events/experience-la-trobe-melbourne and to register your interest visit: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/study/life/events/experience-la-trobe-events

CareerNews

The latest edition of Career News Number 11 is now available on the Portal at: http://portal.tintern.vic.edu.au/homepage/14962/ and includes the following items:

Section 1:

Reminders

1. Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) New Degrees
2. RMIT News
3. Victorian Indigenous Engineering Winter School
4. Interested in Studying Health at Deakin University
5. The Swinburne Advantage
6. Entry to Teaching Courses for 2018
7. Reminder Early Achievers Program (EAP) at ACU
8. Passionate about Science
9. Discover Design in Swinburne Holiday Program
10. What about Foods, Tourism, Hospitality and Events?
11. What do Planners do?
12. Job Ready Programs   

Section 2:

1. News from RMIT University
2. Blue Mountains Hotel School Information Evening
3. William Angliss Institute School Holiday Program
4. Australian Security Intelligence Agency (ASIO)
5. News from La Trobe University
6. The Swinburne Advantage
7. Snapshot of ACU
8. Early Entry Programs at ACU
9. Passion for Law Early Entry Program
10. Passion for Business Early Entry Program
11. News from Deakin University

by Heather Ruckert, Careers Consultant

News from Year 10

The Year 10 Study Day prior to the Year 10 examinations is scheduled for this Friday 2 June and students have been encouraged to study at home; however, provisions have been made at school for students who wish to work in the Library. Any student attending school is not required to wear school uniform on this day, but they must sign in and out.

Examinations commence on Monday 5 June and run until Friday 9 June and full winter uniform must be worn during this period. Families are requested to contact the school prior to 8.30am if their child is ill and a make-up session will be organised in consultation with the student.

A copy of the examination timetable can be found on the Year 10 Portal page.

Performance on examination papers will be discussed in the week commencing Tuesday 13 June and, during this week, final preparations will be occurring for the Work Experience week which runs from Monday 19 to Friday 23 June. A reminder that students attending a building or construction site are required to complete a ‘white card’ and submit a copy to Mrs Julie Ennor or they can scan and send it to: careers@tintern.vic.edu.au

by Heather Ruckert, Year 10 Co-ordinator

News from Year 11

This Friday is a Study Day prior to the examinations next week and Year 11s are encouraged to use their time to focus on those areas of concern they may have going into their Semester 1 examinations. A reminder that the schedule for the Year 11 VCE and IB examinations are on the Year 11 Portal Page, and students must ensure that they arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start of their examinations. Full School Winter Uniform is required during the examination week.

The window to return the Year 11 Formal replies has now closed as we need to submit our final numbers to Linley Estate. We have a large number of students who have  returned their slips, so we will have a large turnout for what promises to be a fantastic evening to finalise Semester 1.

Good luck to all the Year 11s for their examinations next week!

by Nick Stefanac, Year 11 Co-ordinator

News from Year 12

The main event for the Year 12 students recently has been the annual House Singing competition. The final performances were of a very high standard and all were most entertaining. The performances showcased many months of hard work by our Year 12 House Captains and musicians. Although only one team could be victorious on the day, the leadership, organisational and teamwork skills that were developed during the rehearsals and the final performance will no doubt assist all House Captains and their peers as they move on from secondary school.

As the term draws to a close, the workload for Year 12 students will once again start to increase. Students completing VCE will be undertaking SACs for most of their subjects and IB students will be working hard to submit their Extended Essays and their Internal Assessments in a variety of subjects. On Wednesday 14 June all Year 12 students and all Year 11 VCE students who do at least one Year 12 (Unit 3/4) subject, will be sitting for the GAT (General Achievement Test). More information will be provided to families regarding the exact timing of this 3-hour series of tests.

If they have not done so already, Year 12 students should be working towards developing a study timetable to ensure they are prepared for the up and coming assessments and also for their final examinations in October/November.

by Jen Tsai Bove, Year 12 Co-ordinator

2017 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition

The results of the 2017 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition were released recently. This competition was conducted on March 21 with the aim of identifying students who have a talent for designing and writing computer programs. Each student sat a one hour paper with 15 questions requiring logic and problem solving skills.

Of the 35 entrants, 25 students were awarded credits or better. These students were:

Upper Primary division (Years 5 & 6)

• Jessica Fettell – Distinction
• Emmy Horman – Distinction
• Ananya Khatry – Distinction
• Max Lalor – Distinction
• Rachel Adam – Credit
• Zara Bicknell – Credit
• Chloe Chiu – Credit
• Melody Ch’ng – Credit
• Genevieve Gough – Credit
• Saskia Jackson Smith – Credit
• Ella Jones – Credit
• Drishya Karthik – Credit
• Sophia Li – Credit
• Jakob Mazonowicz – Credit
• Anika Mulemane – Credit
• Mayunie Munasinghe – Credit
• Scarlett O’Connor – Credit
• Elaine Sze – Credit
• Rafi Taylor – Credit

Junior division (Years 7 & 8)

• Abigail Chai – Distinction
• Alexander Higgins – Distinction
• William Zhang – Credit

Intermediate division (Years 9 & 10)

• Jocelyn Ch’ng – Credit

Senior division (Years 11 & 12)

• Gavin Choong – Credit
• Alison Yang – Credit

It was again pleasing this year to see the levels of participation and achievements in the Upper Primary division.

This was the second year that Tintern entered students in the Upper Primary division and more than two thirds of those who entered achieved a Credit or better. Particularly noteworthy was the achievement of Max Lalor in Year 6 who achieved the top score across all year levels with a percentile rank of 95.

These are excellent achievements and all students who entered this challenging competition are to be congratulated on their efforts. Students who are interested in learning more about computer programming are encouraged to enter the NCSS Programming Challenge which will be advertised in Term 3.

by John Holland, Head of ICT

Careers Night – Find Your Future Self!

Careers Night – Find Your Future Self!

Following is a sample of the many wonderful Alumni who attended our Careers Night on the 18 May. Thank you again to all who attended, both Alumni and current families.

Lindy Cameron (Class of 1976)

Industry: Publishing

Job title: Publisher / Author

Website: www.clandestinepress.com.au

I’m Lindy, a Tintern alumna who graduated in 1976. Yes, last century!

My professional career since then has, in one way or another, involved words.

I did a cadetship on the Geelong News, then worked as a journalist on the Chadstone Progess and a variety of other Leader newspapers.

I travelled overseas for 14 months – leaving Australia with a ticket to Bali, and travelling ‘overland’ through South-East Asia, India, Israel, Egypt and Europe to the UK.

On my return home, I got a job as a Book Editor with Lonely Planet, the travel guide publisher. I left there six years later as Senior Editor. I then worked as a freelance book editor for a few years before writing my first crime novel, which was published by HarperCollins Australia. I have since then had another four novels published, and co-written three True Crime books.

In 2010 I established my own independent publishing company. Clan Destine Press specialises in Australian genre fiction. We launched with a novel set in Ancient Egypt by Kerry Greenwood (author of the Phryne Fisher mysteries); and now have 30 authors and nearly 50 books.

I am a founding member, and Vice-President, of Sisters in Crime Australia, an organisation that has been celebrating, promoting and having fun with womens’ crime writing for 25 years. It is, arguably, one of the best groups in the country for readers, viewers and writers of anything.

Josh Smith (Class of 2009)

Industry: Law

Job title: Lawyer

I started high school in 2004 and graduated in 2009. I performed poorly for my first two years in high school and didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do with my life post-school until Year 9 when I decided I would become a lawyer.

I didn’t achieve the ATAR required to go straight into law so I studied Arts at Monash for two years, before transferring to Law/Arts at La Trobe Uni. I graduated from La Trobe in 2015.

In 2014 I started shadowing several different barristers, which predominantly involved observing court proceedings and conferences. Through this shadowing, I came into contact with a solicitor in early 2015 and inquired about vacancies within the firm (Balot Reilly Solicitors) and was offered a work experience position. I carried on this work experience role for the remainder of 2015 and was then employed in 2016 (and remain there today). It is a criminal defence firm.

In late 2016 I commenced my Practical Legal Training at the College of Law and graduated from this in March 2017. My date for admission as a lawyer is 18 July 2017.

Siming Lu (Class of 2005)

Industry: Medicine

Job title: Obstetrics and Gynaecology Registrar

After leaving school in 2005, I studied at the University of Melbourne and completed a six-year Medical degree. Apart from the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), I also completed a Bachelor of Medical Science by conducting a year long research project at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Since graduating in 2011, I have worked in many hospitals across Victoria and am currently completing further specialist training in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology.

After medical school, I underwent my internship and resident training at Ballarat Base Hospital where I completed terms in medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology. During my medical training, I found a passion for women’s health and decided to pursue specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology.

I commenced specialist training in 2015 and currently I’m in my 3rd year of the six-year training program. I am currently working as an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar at Frankston hospital. My days are split between the operating theatre, labour ward and pregnancy clinics. I look after women through all stages of life with many different health issues and are often involved in some of the most important moments of their lives.

Seeking family Homestays for our International students

A homestay is a private home accepting overseas students to live as a part of the family.  At Tintern Grammar we are fortunate to have our wonderful international students and are always seeking welcoming family homes.  Being a homestay host provides great insights into other cultures and is a rewarding cultural exchange experience for the whole family.  Life-long friendships are often established through opening your home and heart to an international student.

Students’ families choose to pay for homestay accommodation during their study because it offers their child the opportunity to be part of a good family environment, to improve upon English and to be kept safe and cared for. Payment varies slightly but it is usually around $300 per week.

At Tintern Grammar we use an outside agency to coordinate our Homestay program but we would love to have Tintern families host a student to make them feel even more part of our community. For Tintern students who are studying Chinese as a Language there would be an added benefit of consolidating their learning by practising conversations with an International Student.

If you are interested in becoming a Homestay host please contact by email our Director of Marketing and Admissions mcape@tintern.vic.edu.au she will in turn put you in contact with our Homestay agency. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

by Marion Cape, Director of Admissions and Marketing

Friends of Young Farmers Annual Dinner

Friends of Young Farmers

Interested?  Want to learn more?  Want to be part of a social, family orientated group whose children enjoy our farm?

Then please come along to our Annual FOYF Dinner to meet and mingle with other families passionate about our Farm.

When: Friday 2 June, 7pm 

Where: The Croydon Hotel, Maroondah Highway, Croydon

Adults will be seated together with a separate fun table for students.

Please RSVP by Thursday 1 June to FOYF President Joy Ashfield on joyashfield5@bigpond.com.

Hope to see you there!

by Joy Ashfield, Friends of Young Farmers President

Team Tintern complete the 60km Coastrek Walk for the Fred Hollows Foundation

On Friday, 26 May, Team Tintern successfully completed the 60km Coastrek walk for the Fred Hollows Foundation in 14 hours. As team captain, I am so proud of our achievement. We had a wonderful, exhilarating day and were encouraged every step of the way by so many emails, texts and messages of well wishes from the school community.

Our day began with the alarm sounding at 4.45AM. Our excitement levels of the night before continued through breakfast and our short trip to Cape Schanck. We arrived at 5.30AM to be met by the videographer, photographer and Marketing Manager for Coastrek. We were fortunate to be the chosen team for documenting the experience and began the morning with an interview and photo shoot.

We were in the 6.00AM start along with nearly 30 other teams. 85 teams in total undertook the 60km walk and some 350 teams participated in the 30 km walk which departed from Koonya back beach.

It was still dark when we headed east along the narrow coastal track towards Bushrangers bay and sunrise. All we could see was a dancing line of lights from the head torches of walkers in front of us. Progress was somewhat slow to start with but it was not long before the line thinned out and we could walk at our own pace. The first stop was Fingal picnic ground (10km mark). Coastrek had organised 2 ‘Kiss’ stops –  checkpoints for food, water and encouragement. Fingal was the first ‘Kiss’ stop and bells were rung as each team arrived. From Fingal we headed to Gunnamatta surf beach. The tide was half way in and it was not easy walking in the soft, heavy sand. Glorious views, limpid blue skies and crystal clear water, however, helped take our mind off our exertions! We reached the first of 3 ‘Luv’ stops at St Andrews beach (20km mark) around 10.00AM. These stops were points where we had to cross a computerised checkpoint which kept track of all the walkers. They also provided physios, podiatrists and camelback refuelling stations. This was the first time we met up with our support person extraordinaire – Mrs Jan Wagner – who pulled out the folding chairs, table, freshly brewed coffee, biscuits and hot soup. Perhaps we lingered a little too long at this stop…

Onwards to Koonya and the 30km mark. This section was quite slow as we were back on the sand for several kilometres. We arrived at Koonya ‘Luv’ stop around 1.40PM and there was a real party atmosphere in swing. Maureen took advantage of the free podiatry services and had a blister attended to whilst the rest of us enjoyed the fruit, snacks and coffee machine on offer. We were now behind our schedule and lunch in Sorrento was not looking good if we wanted to finish the walk before midnight. A quick phone call to Jan and we were set to meet her at Portsea with take away sandwiches.

The route from Koonya back beach took us along the coast to Sorrento back beach, up to Coppins lookout and back around to the main street of Sorrento. From there we walked down to the ferry, up the hill to the Sorrento park and along Pt Nepean Road until we could duck back onto the walking path along the edge of the cliff top properties. The glorious sunny weather continued all day and we were treated to the peninsula at its finest. Our last beach walk was along Shelley beach and at the end of this we cut back on to Pt Nepean Rd to Portsea village where we took the road to Portsea back beach. The final ‘luv’ stop was at the 43.5km mark and this time it was me benefiting from the podiatrists as they helped pack an annoying blister.

We enjoyed a lovely sunset at Portsea back beach and said our final farewell to Jan at London Bridge. Darkness fell and we walked the last 10kms in the dark. I personally found the 50-55km section across from London bridge to the tip of Pt Nepean the most difficult. We did not really come into contact with any other groups and felt we were on our own in the wilderness. Approaching Pt Nepean we could hear the roar of the surf and see the lights of other walkers in the distance as they snaked their way back to the finish line at the Quarantine station. A final quick ‘Kiss’ stop at Pt Nepean and we were on the home stretch.

We were met at the finish line by Gabi Hollows and the management team of Coastrek. It was a wonderful moment to finish a magnificent day. Gabi presented us each with medals and a an autobiography of Fred Hollows. She was there to greet all walkers but took time to speak with Team Tintern in particular. We were also treated to free massages, champagne and nibbles. We gave our last interview and we look forward very much to seeing the final video in a couple of weeks.

The Coastrek journey has been an amazing experience for us all. We thoroughly enjoyed our training walks, getting to know each other better and the camaraderie on the day. We were thrilled and humbled by the support of both the students and staff of Tintern and felt privileged to be part of such a wonderful event that raises so much money and awareness for such an important cause. Our team has raised nearly $3,500 through fundraising at school and we are so proud of this amount given the number of other fundraising projects that the school has undertaken at the same time. Melbourne Coastrek is hoping to raise $1.5 million at the close of fundraising this coming Sunday and it is great to know that we have contributed to this total.

Donations close Sunday 4 June. Donate to Team Tintern via this link.

Thank you to everyone who supported us.

by Anne Bortolussi, Secondary Music Teacher & Co-ordinator Duke of Edinburgh Awards Program

ELC in the Library

Monday is an exciting day for our Early Learners, as they visit the Junior School Library.

They get to listen and participate in our Storytime with Mrs Wagner; sing songs and borrow from our fabulous picture story collection.

In these session the students practice their listening, comprehension, reading and language skills.

This is a fun, interactive and positive way to introduce a love of literacy and books to the next generation of Tintern Grammar students.

by the Library Team

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

Please select the following links for more information on the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund.

Information for Parents – http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/expired/csefflyer.pdf

Application Form – http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/csefapplicationform.pdf

Application forms should be completed and lodged by 30 June 2017. Please forward completed forms to Debra Urquhart, Student Fees and Accounts Receivable Officer. You can return via email: DUrquhart@tintern.vic.edu.au.