From the Principal

Confidence and achievement – single sex, co-education, or the best of both worlds @Tintern?

You may have seen the article in “The Age” newspaper last Thursday (4 August) about girls’ performance in Mathematics in single gender vs co-educational classrooms. This continues an ongoing dialogue that has been played out through the media in recent months on whether single gender outcomes are better than co-educational outcomes, and whether any achievement benefit outweighs the adjustment required of single gender school students when they move out of school into the broader (and co-educational) world. Interestingly, this last point is one I frequently hear at the reunions of Tintern alumni from our girls-only eras that I attend – the difficulty of learning to relate to males when you have spent your time with girls only at school and the effect this has on the first year out of school in particular.

The article quoted a Melbourne University study which nominated Year 4 as the earliest year measured where confidence differences in the classroom began between the genders and that these enlarged to Year 8. While only one study, it certainly reinforces the research conclusions Tintern used when we created our together/apart/together Parallel Model across ELC, Junior and Middle Schools and Senior College (and I must say, it also supports my own experience). It is clear that both genders, not only girls, benefit in multiple ways from being grouped in like-gendered classes in key developmental years.

My own experience is based on this being the first year of my (lengthy!) teaching career where I have taught Science to an all-girls class. The difference in the attitude of girls in this class compared to previous Year 7, 8 and 9 classes at co-educational classes is marked. Again, it is only one class, but curiosity, risk-taking and willingness to show academic bravery and leadership are all present in the girls this class in far greater quantities than I have seen in girls I have taught in co-educational schools. This does align with the Melbourne University results and I would go further and say that the difference appears to me most marked in the (apparently) least naturally confident girls.

Our boys approach their learning differently being with their male peers in those crucial middle years too, but in different ways. I see deeper and more authentic mateship and connection more frequently, less ‘posturing’ or showing off with girls not present, particularly in the latter years of Middle School and a genuinely decent masculinity and care for others is mentored and demonstrated by and to our boys.

The bringing together of our boys and girls at Year 10 is also a critical part of our model. IB Diploma subjects and the bulk of most VCE students’ VCE subjects commence in Year 11. Students need to feel stability and confidence to attempt these and co-educational classes commencing in Year 10 both build strongly on the confidence and performance benefits of our parallel classes and also enable adjustment to a real-world environment before the significant loads of Year 11 and Year 12 in IB, VCE, or VCE/VET.

As the best performing school in the outer east, our VCE, VCE/VET and IB students also prove that our co-educational Senior College environment enables girls and boys to achieve their personal best too!

At Tintern we truly have the best of both worlds!

Factis non Verbis

Bradley Fry
Principal

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

Music Matters

Senior Piano Concert

On 28 July, 23 students from Years 7 to 12 performed at the annual Piano Concert held in the CM Wood Centre. We had a mix of performances this year, including jazz, classical, romantic, pop and film music. There were quite a few pieces by Australian composers such as Norton.

Two of the VCE Music Performance students, Justin Rocio and Tony Wang, performed two of the solo works that they have been practising in preparation for their exam in October.

At the end, Ms Lok, Mrs Wilson and Mrs Clementson, Tintern Head of Keyboard, played a piano trio (6 hands playing on 1 piano) called Happiness, a light-hearted jazz piece.

On behalf of all the piano students at Tintern, I would like to thank the 3 piano teachers for their hard work and commitment in teaching all of the students and their invaluable support on the night.

We hope that more students can attend next year’s concert, as piano concerts are always very enjoyable and a good opportunity for students to showcase one of their pieces in front of a supportive audience. Even if you’re not performing, it is also beneficial to hear other students perform.

by Alan Wu, Year 12

Talented past music student visits Tintern whole school assembly

On 22nd July, a former student and school pianist, Ellen Falconer (2010), came to visit Tintern. She performed a piece at assembly called Preludi Autunnali by Malipiero. Ellen also told us about her past musical experiences at Tintern, studying for her double degree at ANU (music and curatorship) and her new adventure as a PHD student at the University of London, which she is about to commence. After assembly, four senior piano students, Justin Rocio, Tony Wang, Alison Yang and Alan Wu, were given the chance to perform to Ellen in a masterclass on stage in the CM Wood Centre. The 4 pieces chosen were Clementi’s Sonatina Op.36 No.6 in D Major, Chopin’s Military Polonaise, Scriabin’s Etude Op.2 No.1 and Khachaturian’s Toccata. Ellen provided very helpful comments about the performances, suggesting improvements in posture, pedaling and timing. Although some suggestions had already been made by the students’ piano teachers, it was good to hear some of the different ways one could practise in order to achieve the best performance possible.

On behalf of the 4 students, I thank Ellen for coming in to talk about her university life and comment on our performances. It was definitely inspiring to hear about how well she is already doing in her music. We wish her good luck for the future.

by Alan Wu, Year 12

Concert Band performance at the Victorian School Music Festival

Tintern Grammar Concert Band attended the Victorian School Music Festival on Monday 25th July. After a busy afterschool program of eating then rehearsal and then eating again, the Concert Band excitedly made its way to the bus bay for the trip into Hawthorn Performing Arts Centre (the beautiful old Hawthorn Town Hall). We listened to the first band perform from St Bede’s in Mentone and then we were ushered into a stately room, where Mrs Clarke conducted some warm ups. Finally, it was our turn to perform! We played well and received some positive and helpful feedback from the chief adjudicator. She particularly enjoyed our humour and willingness to contribute to the discussion about our performance. The Concert Band was awarded a Silver in its section. Having just moved up a section this year, we are pretty proud of our achievements. After a very long day, a very quiet, but content bus load of students, returned to Tintern. A big hank you to Mrs Bortolussi and the many supportive Mums and Dads who came along to support us at this event.

by Lisa Clarke (Director of Concert Band)

Senior Boys Chamber Choir performance at the H.R. Stevens Memorial Concert

Tintern’s Senior Boys Chamber Choir has enjoyed a very successful year of singing, performing at a number of school events, and enjoying great camaraderie. We were very honoured to be invited to perform in this year’s H. R. Stevens Memorial Concert at Deepdene Uniting Church. The Reverend H. R. Stevens was a champion of music education, and had spent a lifetime encouraging developing musicians.

The concert featured performers from Melbourne Opera, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, Kingswood College, and Tintern Grammar. Our choir sang three contrasting works: the traditional Scottish ‘The Wild Rover’, Andrew Carter’s ‘Mary’s Magnificat’ and Bruce Johnston’s ‘I Write the Songs’. The boys made the most of the fine acoustics of the elegant church, and enjoyed the opportunity to talk to pupils from other schools and share music in the wider community.

The boys are to be congratulated on their outstanding performance, which made quite an impact on the audience. Many people approached the members of the choir to congratulate them on their fine sense of ensemble, powerful sound and accurate performance of complex harmonies. They accepted praise graciously, and were fine young ambassadors of Tintern

by Rowan Kidd, Director of Senior Chamber Boys Choir

Photograph by Hilary Pywell

Sport Matters

A wonderful response to cross country training

A huge thanks to the large number of students who have made a commitment to Cross Country Training in the lead-up to the EISM Cross Country to be held at Ruffey Lake Park, Doncaster on 7^th September.

Training is held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7.15am and Wednesday afternoons at 3.45pm and anyone is welcome to attend. On average 45 students have been regularly attending each training session. Breakfast is served poolside after every morning session.

All star selection and series win for Maddie Wright

Congratulations to Maddie Wright (12E) who recently competed in the Australian Women’s U/18 National Indoor Cricket Championships in Dubbo, NSW as a member of the Victorian team. The Victorian team won the series and Maddie received the award for best player in the final. Maddie was also selected in the National All Star Team which is a wonderful achievement.

In September Maddie will be a playing in the Australian U/22 Indoor Cricket Team to play in the Trans-Tasman Series in Port Macquarie. We wish her the best of luck in that series.

Community Matters

Parent Trivia Night 

A great night was had by more than 85 guests who gathered for our annual Trivia Night last Saturday…it was a fun and energetic evening attended by alumni, parents and staff from across the School. Thank you to the TPG group who organised such a successful event and congratulations to the table of past student boys who won.

Tintern Grammar Fair – 22 April 2017

The Tintern Fair Committee have started their preparations for next year and are seeking enthusiastic and committed volunteers with various skills and ideas to join our committee. Alternatively you may like to help out in other ways. Roles and ideas that may interest you include; stall coordinator, clean up committee, raffle, donation or sponsor collector. You could also assist by cleaning out your cupboards for second hand clothes, books and toys; donations will be accepted in the New Year.

As we aim to be a sustainable school, our goal for the 2017 Fair is to add further solar panels to strategic locations around the campus. These will add further cost savings to the school, reduce our environmental footprint and offer an educational opportunity in our science subjects. The original solar panels currently installed were funded from the 2011 Fair and this initiative will add further to these assets. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to enhance our Fair or would like to be more involved please email fair@tintern.vic.edu.au or contact our Community Relations Office on 9845 7877.

2017 Fair Logo Competition

              2017 Fair Logo
             COMPETITION

The Tintern Grammar Fair Committee is offering a $50 Cash Prize for the student who designs the best logo for the 2017 Tintern Grammar Fair. All students are invited and encouraged to submit their logo design(s). The closing date for the competition is Wednesday 31 August 2016. The hand drawn or computer generated logo should be eye-catching, uncluttered, and must include the following information:

• The words “Tintern Grammar” & “Fair”
• The date “22 APRIL 2017”
• A reference to Tintern celebrating 140 years

Keep in mind the logo will be printed in various sizes from as small as 3cm diameter to as large as 20cm diameter, so scalability of design will be a consideration.

Designs should be submitted to the Fair Committee:

With File Format JPG, PNG or BMP
In a CIRCULAR shape
Of Approximate Resolution 1000x1000pixels
Sent by Email to fair@tintern.vic.edu.au
Please include Student Name & Year Level with your submission

No later than 3pm on Wednesday 31 August 2016.

The winner will be selected at a Tintern Grammar Fair Committee Meeting in early September.

Tintern Tipsters Community Footy competition

We are coming to the end of our community footy competition. We have a clear leader on the ladder under the alias ‘Jack Watts’!! Our principal, Mr Brad Fry is one point ahead on the leader’s board on 124 points, closely followed on 123 points by Julia Bacon and Ching Huang. There are then a further 5 tipsters on 122 in close range of catching the winner. Remember to get your tips in on time as these last few rounds could make the difference!

Fancy owning a piece of Tintern’s Musical History?

We are continuing to collect expressions of interest for our decommissioned Tintern and Southwood Music Banners. There are a limited number of banners (approximately 30 of each) available at a cost of $50 each. All funds raised will go to the Tintern Grammar Friends of Music who, in turn, support the ongoing work of the Music Departments across the school. Expressions of Interest (EOI) are called for the purchase of these items. EOI close on 16 September. Should EOI outnumber the banners available, a ballot draw of successful bidders will be held at the Friends of Music Meeting on 11 October and successful bidders will be contacted and published in ‘Aspectus’ and on the School portal. To lodge your EOI, please email the Community Relations Office communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au, giving your name and contact details, and nominating which banner you would like to purchase (Tintern or Southwood). All Expressions of Interest inquiries to 9845 7877.

FOYF Spring Celebration Friday 2 September 3pm – 7pm at the farm

Only 4 weeks to go for our Friends of Young Farmers annual Spring Celebration on Friday 2 September from 3pm to 7pm. Our FOYF invite you to come to the farm and pat the lambs, inspect the vegies and admire the chooks. Enjoy a free sausage sizzle and toast marshmallows on the bonfire, or purchase a drink or cake (all proceeds to FOYF). For catering purposes please RSVP by Wednesday 31 August to Cath Forbes, Secretary Friends of Young Farmers rcforbes@ozemail.com.au or communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au. Park in the bus bay or bush carpark then take a leisurely stroll through our beautiful bushland to the farm. All the details can be downloaded through this link

2016 Garden Tour save the date Friday 21 October 2016

The 2016 Spring Garden tour will once again be running on Friday 21 October – mark this date in your calendars now. We are seeking ‘Garden’ type donations from our community for our famous ‘Bus Raffle’. Please contact the Community Relations office if you can donate goods or would like to assist our volunteer coordinator, Lisa Vecchio.

SOBA boys continue with Parma tradition

Our past male graduates will continue their Parma night tradition on Monday 22 August 2016 at the Blackburn hotel. All male past students are invited to attend this night and can register their attendance here. It is a great opportunity to catch up with Southwood friends as well as past and present staff. For all queries please call SOBA president, Ivan Yeung 0407 524 785, email supergnuey@gmail.com or alternatively contact the Community Relations Office on 9845 7877, email paststudents@tintern.vic.edu.au. Look forward to seeing you there!

5 Year Reunion for YG 2011

Graduates from our YG 2011 will gather at ‘Beer DeLuxe’ in Federation Square for their 5 Year reunion on Saturday 13 August. The event will start at 5pm with drinks and nibbles at bar prices. Past and present staff are invited to attend. We look forward to hearing about their night and seeing the photos.

Young Alumna reaches for the stars

This week Laura Driessen (YG 2010) came back to talk about the amazing opportunities and experiences she has had since leaving school. When Laura finished at Tintern in 2010 she went to Monash to complete a Bachelor of Science (Science Scholars Program). While there she received a scholarship to go on exchange to the University of Warwick in the UK. At the end of her degree Laura was selected for a studentship at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth. Laura graduated from Monash with a High Distinction and Majors in Applied Mathematics and Astronomy and Astrophysics. She then went on to a studentship at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), and right now is halfway through a master’s in astronomy and astrophysics with a merit scholarship at the University of Amsterdam. Laura is about to start a research project in radio astronomy and she has a paper that is on its way to being published.

We are all very proud of Laura’s journey so far and look forward to hearing about her next few years. Laura was thankful to be back at school to talk about her experience and acknowledged that without the fabulous teachers at Tintern she would never have had these opportunities.

Entertainment book 2016/2017 Still available!

Book and Digital Memberships are still available for the 2016 | 2017 Entertainment books. 20% of all sales goes towards our Tintern Parent Group fundraising goal for Tintern Grammar; please remember to forward this link to all your family and friends! Payments can be made online or you can download the order form here, return to the Community Relations office and collect your book.  For more information please refer to the community news on the Tintern portal or contact the Community Relations Office or you can click here to have a look at what is inside. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Community Committee dates

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) – Next meeting: Thursday 11 August 7.30pm CM Wood Common Room President: Loraine Allender
• Friends of Music (FOM) – Next Meeting: Tuesday 16 August 7.00pm CM Wood Common room President: Tim Oldmeadow
• Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) – Next meeting: Tuesday 4 October 7.30pm Kennedy Cottage, Community services. President: Joy Ashfield              
• Friends of Equestrian (FOE) – Next Meeting: Please contact the Community Relations office for next meeting details. President: Gabby McCallum

Year 5 Leadership Program

As part of our Leadership program the Year 5 boys visit their buddy, from the ELC, every Tuesday.

It has been a most remarkable buddy program with the ELC boys being partnered with a student from Year 5 to help them participate in a variety of activities to help them learn together.

The Year 5 boys have been outstanding role models for Pre-preps, helping them learn, build, create, make and conjure up a terrific rapport with each other. It is hoped that this rapport will continue to develop next year when some of the ELC boys come up to Tintern Grammar.

Already the ELC boys, when they’re parents are picking up an older sibling from the Boys’ Junior School, give a wave, fist bump or a shout out to their Year 5 buddy.

The program will conclude early Term 4 with a teddy bear’s picnic….and yes the Year 5 boys bring their teddy bear too! Until then, we’ll continue to develop the leadership skills of commitment, compassion and responsibility to their buddy.

by Mr Lee White – Year 5 Teacher

Prep 100 day Celebrations

The Prep boys celebrated their 100th day of school today. We have been building a pretend brick wall on our board, adding a brick every day. It just seems like yesterday that we were putting up brick number 1! The boys made a special hat with 100 stickers on it and talked about their collection of 100 things. One day just wasn’t long enough to fit in all the fun activities we wanted to do, so we have decided to continue the celebrations next week too!

Tintern Junior School AFL Nines competition

On the 29/7/16, the year 5/6 boys and girls went to Croydon North to play in the annual AFL 9’s competition. In the boys first game against North Ringwood, they played really well in their passing, and managed a victory by three points, with Rafi kicking the winning goal. In their second game against Mooroolbark, they smashed them winning by 42 points, with Elliott’s magnificent kicks and James’ brilliant ruckwork. Meanwhile, the girls team had won both of theirs. In their first game, they belted the opposition around the park, and slotted a 42 point win. In their second match, they had a confident win against Yarra Road. In the boys third match against Holy Spirit, they played reasonably well, until the rain started to unfold. They managed to hold on till the end and bring home another win by 8 points. After this match, the undefeated boys had qualified for the finals. Their next task was to verse one of the hardest teams, Ringwood North (A team.) The girls team’s next game was against Ringwood North. The girls were pumped up and slotted some easy goals. They had easily won. Now they had qualified for the finals. They now had to verse Ringwood North again (A team.) With the Tintern girls desperation to win, they attempted their best, but wasn’t enough to stop the opposition. They lost a disappointing match by 1 point. The boys now stepped up their game and with desperation tried to keep up their winning streak. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the undefeated North Ringwood, who had belted the boys out of the park. The opposition were victorious by 32 points (2.7-8.3.) In Tintern’s last match against Yarra Road, fighting for third and fourth place, the boys were so pumped and ready to smash the opposition to pieces. They were not going to leave with a frown. At the end of the match, they finished with big smiles on their faces, as they had won by 51 points (8.4-0.1) In the meantime, the girls had put up a whopping victory against both Yarra Road and Holy Spirit, which had put them to the next stage, REGIONALS!

Overall, the year 5/6 boys and girls had done an amazing effort, showing off their inner talents. We would like to wish the girls good luck at Regionals, and a great effort by the boys.

by Krisshnaa Kannan, Boys Junior School Sports Captain

Year 3-6 House Basketball @ The Rings Maroondah

On the 3 August 2016, the Year 3-6 boys competed in the annual house basketball competition. The first 5-6 matches were Dann vs McKie and Grant vs Butters, with Stewart having a bye. The first 3-4 matches were Grant vs Butters and McKie vs Dann, with Stewart having a bye. In year 5-6, Grant and Dann won the first match. In years 3-4 and 5-6 Grant were victorious in their first matches. The second matches for year 5-6 were Grant vs McKie and Butters vs Stewart, with Dann having a bye. The same teams played each other in year 3-4. The year 5-6 teams who won were Grant and Butters and the 3-4 teams whom had won were also Grant and Butters. Round 3 for 5-6 consisted of McKie vs Stewart and Grant vs Dann with Butters having the bye. The victors were Grant and McKie. For 3-4, the victors were Stewart and Grant. Straight after this, we had a 10 minute break. After the break, the round robin competition continued, until there was the grand final. In the finals for 3-4 and 5-6, it was both Grant vs Butters. After the nail-biting match, Grant had huge smiles on their faces, as they’d won both finals.

Overall, the day was brilliant as everyone got to show their true colours in basketball.

by Krisshnaa and Mark

The Spud Olympics

As part of the Year 3/4 Integrated Unit of Study, the boys have been tremendously engaged in their preparations for the Spud Olympics. It began with a homework task where each boy was to create their spud athlete and complete an Athlete Profile including details such as the spud’s previous sporting highlights, future goals, hobbies and family background. The boys presented their Spud Athletes to the class and they have been very creative! We have a range of sports represented such as archers, sprinters and soccer players with some very inventive names such as Spuddy Von Basketball, Jimmy Mash and Francis French Fry! I In teams, they have been working on designing and constructing an event that all the spud athletes can compete in and must be one that is included in the 2016 Olympic Games. There are so many things to consider when creating the event: the logistics of event, propulsion of the spud, ability for all spuds to be able to compete, the finer points of scoring and availability of equipment. Each team has had to adjust and adapt their ideas several times before the ‘eureka!’ moment has been reached. Importantly, there has been a lot of creative and flexible thinking from each one of the boys as well as great co-operation within the teams. We are all keen to see these fine athletes in action at the upcoming Spud Olympics!

by Sue Sparkes, Year 3 Class Teacher

AFL 9s photos article and photos

On the 29/7/16, the year 5/6 boys and girls went to Croydon North to play in the annual AFL 9’s competition. In the boys first game against North Ringwood, they played really well in their passing, and managed a victory by three points, with Rafi kicking the winning goal. In their second game against Mooroolbark, they smashed them winning by 42 points, with Elliott’s magnificent kicks and James’ brilliant ruckwork. Meanwhile, the girls team had won both of theirs. In their first game, they belted the opposition around the park, and slotted a 42 point win. In their second match, they had a confident win against Yarra Road. In the boys third match against Holy Spirit, they played reasonably well, until the rain started to unfold. They managed to hold on till the end and bring home another win by 8 points. After this match, the undefeated boys had qualified for the finals. Their next task was to verse one of the hardest teams, Ringwood North (A team.) The girls team’s next game was against Ringwood North. The girls were pumped up and slotted some easy goals. They had easily won. Now they had qualified for the finals. They now had to verse Ringwood North again (A team.) With the Tintern girls desperation to win, they attempted their best, but wasn’t enough to stop the opposition. They lost a disappointing match by 1 point. The boys now stepped up their game and with desperation tried to keep up their winning streak. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the undefeated North Ringwood, who had belted the boys out of the park. The opposition were victorious by 32 points (2.7-8.3.) In Tintern’s last match against Yarra Road, fighting for third and fourth place, the boys were so pumped and ready to smash the opposition to pieces. They were not going to leave with a frown. At the end of the match, they finished with big smiles on their faces, as they had won by 51 points (8.4-0.1) In the meantime, the girls had put up a whopping victory against both Yarra Road and Holy Spirit, which had put them to the next stage, REGIONALS!

Overall, the year 5/6 boys and girls had done an amazing effort, showing off their inner talents. We would like to wish the girls good luck at Regionals, and a great effort by the boys.

by Krisshnaa Kannan Boys, Junior School Sport Captain

Outdoor Brazier needed

The Girls’ Junior School Staff are looking for an outdoor brazier (portable and with a low centre of gravity). Please see picture. If anyone out there has a brazier that we could use.

Pease contact Karen Dang via email kdang@tintern.vic.edu.au  We would like to use it on 12 August. Thank you in advance.

100 Days Celebration for Prep-Year 2

How special for the girls to be greeted by 100 helium balloons upon arrival at school last Friday! We started the day with all the P-2 girls together for 100 exercises, followed by singing The Big Number Song. The girls enjoyed making their 100s and 1000s bread treats for morning tea and enjoyed eating them even more! We stretched and relaxed with 100 seconds of different Yoga postures and a beautiful relaxation activity imagining floating away on 100 balloons. Preps made a collection of 100 objects, counting in groups of ten. Next we started making a paper chain of 100 links to be completed this week. The girls enjoyed participating in three multi-age activities – addition to 100, making a fruit loop necklace of…you guessed it 100 Fruit Loops and also played some games enjoyed by children 100 years ago. We concluded the day with estimating 100 seconds and, of course, handing out the balloons. All in all a well-earned and truly fitting celebration of 100 days of fabulous learning!

by Mary Whitcher, Prep-Year 2 Co-Ordinator

Year 6 in the Digital World

Some Year 6 students are involved in an online programming competition run by the University of Sydney. Students are provided with detailed learning resources combined with programming challenges each week to learn the Python programming language. Students work independently through weekly tutorials and learn the language of coding. Participants in the program will use their own time but are provided with support and guidance at school.

 Here are some comments from the students so far

 This first introductory week to GROK has been extremely fascinating. I loved learning how to draw a snowflake on the computer! I look forward to the actual competition to see how I go! – Alei

 I really have enjoyed doing the Grok competition. It’s a lot of fun and it feels like a huge triumph when you get even the simplest things right – Ella

It is a great site to help you learn about the basics of programming – Kelsey

Tintern Grammar Fair – 22 April 2017

The Tintern Fair Committee have started their preparations for next year and are seeking enthusiastic and committed volunteers with various skills and ideas to join our committee. Alternatively you may like to help out in other ways. Roles and ideas that may interest you include; stall coordinator, clean up committee, raffle, donation or sponsor collector. You could also assist by cleaning out your cupboards for second hand clothes, books and toys; donations will be accepted in the New Year.

As we aim to be a sustainable school, our goal for the 2017 Fair is to add further solar panels to strategic locations around the campus. These will add further cost savings to the school, reduce our environmental footprint and offer an educational opportunity in our science subjects. The original solar panels currently installed were funded from the 2011 Fair and this initiative will add further to these assets. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to enhance our Fair or would like to be more involved please email fair@tintern.vic.edu.au or contact our Community Relations Office on 9845 7877.

Fair Logo Competition

              2017 Fair Logo
             COMPETITION

The Tintern Grammar Fair Committee is offering a $50 Cash Prize for the student who designs the best logo for the 2017 Tintern Grammar Fair. All students are invited and encouraged to submit their logo design(s). The closing date for the competition is Wednesday 31 August 2016. The hand drawn or computer generated logo should be eye-catching, uncluttered, and must include the following information:

• The words “Tintern Grammar” & “Fair”
• The date “22 APRIL 2017”
• A reference to Tintern celebrating 140 years

Keep in mind the logo will be printed in various sizes from as small as 3cm diameter to as large as 20cm diameter, so scalability of design will be a consideration.

Designs should be submitted to the Fair Committee:

With File Format JPG, PNG or BMP
In a CIRCULAR shape
Of Approximate Resolution 1000x1000pixels
Sent by Email to fair@tintern.vic.edu.au
Please include Student Name & Year Level with your submission

No later than 3pm on Wednesday 31 August 2016

The winner will be selected at a Tintern Grammar Fair Committee Meeting in early September.

Mathematics Enrichments: Maths Challenge Stage

Over a 3 week period in May, approximately 5600 Year 7 and Year 8 mathematically-talented students throughout Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore submitted answers in the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians Program conducted by the University of Canberra. The program consisted of six problem-solving tasks; four of which were done individually and two could be attempted with a partner if desired. Selected students from both Southwood and Tintern Middle Schools participated in this program.

Congratulations to all participants, but in particular, congratulations to Ashleigh Dowling (Year 8) for achieving a High Distinction award, as well as Joshua Choong, Oscar De Jong, Amelia Kenny, Oliver Huang and Jake Stubbs (Year 7) for achieving Distinction awards!

by Gary Collins, Head of Mathematics

Secondary School Interim Reports and Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews

On Thursday 18 August at 3pm, our Secondary Interim Reports are open to parents in the Parent Centre of MyTintern. Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews will be held in the CM Wood Centre on:

• Tuesday August 23, 4-8pm
• Wednesday August 24, 4-8pm

Then the following week on:

• Wednesday August 31, 4-8pm

Interim Reports

The Interim Reports indicate to parents and students progress so far in each subject prior to Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews. The achievement levels indicated by teachers as much as possible reflect a student’s performance in assessment tasks so far this semester.

The Interim Reports will award levels of achievement against a set of Behavioural Indicators in:

• Academic Performance
• Preparation for Learning – Student organisation, homework completion and bringing correct materials to class
• Participation in Learning – Student engagement in learning activities in class
• Attitude towards Learning – Student’s mindset and approach to learning in general

Each student will receive a rating from Very High, High, Satisfactory, Low or Very Low for each of these by matching the student’s achievement with a matrix of descriptors for each Behavioural Indicator.

A copy of the criteria can be found on the MyTintern Portal by clicking on Absences, Finances, Reports – Results Tab.

As students complete more learning and assessment tasks over the course of the semester a clearer picture of the student’s progress will appear and this will be reflected in the end of semester reports.

Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews – Semester 2

This semester we are trialling holding Middle School and Senior College evenings over the same 3 evenings rather than over separate evenings to try to consolidate evenings out for parents and staff.

We are also inviting all secondary students to attend these meetings with their parents to further involve them in the opportunities of reflection, feedback and goal setting that these meetings provide.

Teachers are instructed to indicate in these reports that an interview is required, if a student’s progress is awarded ‘Low’ or ‘Very Low’ but of course they may also request interviews with other students as well.

If a teacher does not request an interview, then that field in the Parent Portal will remain blank. Parents may request interviews with any of their child’s subject or pastoral teachers regardless of whether a request is made by the teacher and are encouraged to do so.

The bookings for these interviews will open in the portal on Thursday 18 August at 3pm.

Bookings for each evening will close at 9am of that day and instructions for accessing the booking portal and making bookings is attached to this email.

Our Interim Reporting Process and Parent-Teacher-Student interviews are a valuable opportunity for you to meet your children’s teachers and discuss their progress. We trust the process is a straightforward one that helps strengthen the communication networks that support every student’s learning.

Mathematics Enrichments: Maths Challenge Stage

Over a 3 week period in May, approximately 5600 Year 7 and Year 8 mathematically-talented students throughout Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore submitted answers in the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians Program conducted by the University of Canberra. The program consisted of six problem-solving tasks; four of which were done individually and two could be attempted with a partner if desired. Selected students from both Southwood and Tintern Middle Schools participated in this program.

Congratulations to all participants, but in particular, congratulations to Ashleigh Dowling (Year 8) for achieving a High Distinction award, as well as Joshua Choong, Oscar De Jong, Amelia Kenny, Oliver Huang and Jake Stubbs (Year 7) for achieving Distinction awards!

by Gary Collins, Head of Mathematics

A new role for Fifi Box

Fifi Box (YG 1993) is set to extend her fan base internationally by joining the cast of Neighbours in a guest role that will see her on air from September into 2017. Fifi will play Brooke Butler, the wayward mother of Xanthe Canning (Lilly Van der Meer) and estranged girlfriend of Gary Canning (Damien Richardson) – “an opportunistic, flighty and dubious woman who relies on her looks to get by”.

“I feel like I am in this incredible sweet spot in my life,” the 39-year-old says. “I am just strapped in for the ride and, honestly, who knows where this could go?”

To read more please click on the following link –  http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/meet/radio-star-the-project-guest-panelist-fifi-box-on-her-new-role/

From the Head of Senior College

Term 3 Student-Parent-Teacher Evenings

Traditionally in Term 3 we offer a series of dates for student-parent-teacher interviews to parents of students across Years 7 – 12. This year we have decided to run these as combined Middle School and Senior College events as we believe this will be more convenient for families which have one or more students in both sections of the School.  The dates for these student-parent-teacher conferences are: Tuesday 23 August, Wednesday 24 August and Wednesday 31 August, with interviews scheduled between the hours of 4-8pm in the CM Wood Centre. We do recommend that students should attend these interviews in recognition of the crucial three-way working partnership between students, teachers and parents as believe this enables students to be empowered by  the opportunities to reflect, receive and give feedback and set goals that these interviews can provide.

Prior to these evenings, an e-mail will be sent on Thursday 11 August to all parents/guardians of secondary students regarding the student-parent-teacher conferences. Interim reports and the option to book interviews will be available to parents/guardians on Thursday 18 August from 3pm. The Interview Portal will then close for bookings at 10am on the particular day of each of the three scheduled student-parent-teacher conferences.

On the evening of Thursday 4 August, Year 12 parents and guardians attended our annual post-secondary information evening at which Mrs Heather Ruckert, careers consultant, and Mr Andrew Cho, VCE and VET co-ordinator, outlined the timing and processes involved in VTAC applications (that is, the application processes for Victorian tertiary institutions) as well as outlining procedures involved in applications for special consideration as well as for a variety of tertiary scholarships.

The information provided to parents/guardians parallels that given to students earlier this week, to ensure that families are aware of key dates and other very important information and are thus best able to support their daughter/son as the examination period approaches. A guest speaker from Deakin University also addressed parents/guardians to outline survival skills and the special features of “university life”.

With kind regards to all,

News from Year 10

The Year 10 students have settled into their new core and elective subjects and they have reviewed their reports and set goals for second semester. Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences will be combined evenings for the Middle School and Senior College this semester and are being held on Tuesday 23 August, Wednesday 24 August and Wednesday 31 August.

During pastoral time they have also experimented creating a resume on line using the Tintern Careers website and supported by Career Tools. The Work Experience employer evaluation forms received by the school have also been returned to the students.

Thank you to families for the prompt return of the signed subject selection forms as this has assisted the earlier stages of the timetable construction phase.

Congratulations to Matthew Dellavedova

Matthew has achieved some fantastic results and reached the semi-finals of an open age AMT Platinum tennis tournament earlier this term in an event that included 120 players. He also competed in two tournaments that included the best junior tennis players from around the world. In the 18 years and under section, Matthew made the quarter finals and the round of 16 in the second event. An impressive set of wins included beating the Number 1 ranked 16 years and under player and also the current 16 years and under Australian champion. We extend our congratulations to Matthew and acknowledge the enormous dedication and commitment that Matthew has made to his tennis.

by Mrs Heather Ruckert, Year 10 Co-ordinator

News from Year 11

After their successful Semester 1 Initiative Project working with the Junior School students, the Year 11s are currently working toward a final collective activity that will culminate at the end of Term 3. The new Mentor Group Captains have taken on the responsibility of organising and developing an activity that will support a pastoral component of the Senior College.

Additionally, the Presentation Ball is inching ever closer, and students absent-mindedly practising their dance moves is a sight becoming increasingly common in the Senior College. It promises to be a fantastic night, and a welcome night of fun before preparation for the end of year examinations begin in earnest.

by Mr Nick Stefanac, Year 11 Co-ordinator

News from Year 12

The Year 12 students are continuing to work solidly this term in preparation for their final assessments and SACs. This week the students were addressed by Mrs Heather Ruckert (Careers consultant) about the up and coming VTAC applications. VTAC applications are now open and all students have also received a ‘VTAC Mag’ and the ‘ABC of applying booklet’ to help them through the process. The presentation given by Mrs Heather Ruckert, which includes a number of key dates and other very important information, will be available to both students and parents on the Year 12 Level Portal page as well as the Careers Portal page. 

On a less serious note, our Year 12 Leaders organised and took part in ‘Christmas in July’ at the Junior Schools. Although the decorations were impressive, no doubt, the highlight of the day was an early visit from Santa! It was not only a festive and fun way for the junior and senior school students to come together, but it provided much needed assistance to the Wesley Mission of Victoria.

Lastly, the Year 12 Level would like to congratulate one of our very talented Year 12 students, Maddie Wright, on her recent Cricket achievements. Maddie played in the Under 18 Victorian team that took out the National title at the Junior Championships in the last week of the school holidays. Not only was she the player of the Grand Final, but she was also named in the Under 18 Australian All Star team – Well done Maddie!

by Mrs Jen Tsai-Bove, Year 12 Co-ordinator

News from the Careers Department

Maroondah Careers Group Expo

The Maroondah Careers Group Expo was a successful evening and the schools in the eastern region were grateful of the support from Box Hill Institute, Deakin University and William Angliss Institute at their Lilydale Lake campus. It was a good opportunity to chat to a number of families and hopefully provided some insights into the diverse range of opportunities for life beyond school. The Maroondah Careers Group Expo was a successful evening and the schools in the eastern region were grateful of the support from Box Hill Institute, Deakin University and William Angliss Institute at their Lilydale Lake campus. It was a good opportunity to chat to a number of families and hopefully provided some insights into the diverse range of opportunities for life beyond school.

Year 12 VTAC Presentations

The Year 12 cohort were briefed at a recent level assembly about the VTAC application process and a copy of the presentation is available on both the Careers portal page and also the Year 12 portal page. Students should have also brought home a copy of the ABC of Applying and the VTACMag which are both valuable resources.

Tertiary Open Days

A reminder about the tertiary Open Days and Swinburne University held their event last weekend. Please use the link to the VTAC website to check the dates at: http://www.vtac.edu.au/opendays.html

CareerNews Number 11 – July 2016

The eleventh edition of CareerNews is now available and an index of the newsletter includes:

Reminders

1. Open Day Reminder
2. Year 12 News
3. What if I Don’t get the ATAR Required for me Desired Course?
4. New Common First Year for Engineering Students at Swinburne
5. New Majors in Health Science at Swinburne
6. Deakin University News
7. Spotjobs Careers Expo Coming

All the editions of the CareerNews can be found on the Careers Portal page.

Year 8 Maths Games Day

On Wednesday 3rd of August two teams of Year 8 students from Tintern attended the Maths Association of Victoria Year 8 Maths Games Day. This challenging maths event held at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, involved 96 teams from various Victorian schools. Five rounds of challenging maths problems put our teams to the test. Our teams participated in a number of challenges involving pure maths, luck of the draw and also some very tactical games which were played out between two schools. Joshua Chang, Jeremy Yuen-Love, Matthew Xu, Joshua Winter, Darcee McCallum, Annabel Cowin, Quincy Ma and Kavya Karthik made up the two teams and participated in these activities. When we first arrived we were a little nervous and we didn’t really know what to do but we quickly got our brains working and started answering maths questions. We made some new friends, enjoyed working as a team and discovered how fun maths can be.

by the Maths Games Day teams

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an internationally recognised award that invites young people aged 14-25 to realise their ambitions and to change their world. Run in over 130 countries, the Duke of Ed is designed over three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve each level, young people create their own unique program of activities over a set length of time across four Sections:

• Service
• Skill
• Physical Recreation
• Adventurous Journey

Young people challenge themselves by choosing activities that spark their interest in each Section and setting their own goals. The Duke of Ed is about individual choice; young people tailor their Award and develop their career aspirations as they forge skills that go beyond academic success.

Students at Tintern have chosen a range of activities for their skill section of the Award program. Jimmy Cox is a keen farmer in the making and loves to spend his spare time on his family property in Alexandra. He writes the following about lamb rearing:

For my Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award I have chosen lamb rearing as my 6 month skill. Rearing lambs is something that I’m used to because of growing up on a farm. I also enjoy this activity a lot. On my 1000 acre property in Alexandra we run cattle and sheep. The sheep are share farmed by me and my grandfather who is a farmer. The process of rearing lambs starts when you put the rams out with the ewes and then finishes months later when the 5-6 month old lambs are sold at market.

We put the rams out with the ewes in December and we feed the ewes grain so they are in good condition for maxim fertility. 2-3 weeks before lambing we give the ewes pre lambing vaccinations. The ewes are fed all throughout lambing and are constantly monitored. They are assisted if they struggle with lambing or get confused after lambing when a lamb may get lost. If a lamb is weak we may have to give it a bottle of milk to get it going or if it has no mother we will have to hand rear it. The next step in lamb rearing is lamb marking which usually takes about 2 hours and consists of injecting, ear tagging, and tail and ball docking. The last step is when the lambs get sold. Different lambs are sold at different times as the sales are dependent on the size of the lambs.

by Jimmy Cox, Year 10

It is great to see students engaged in such diverse activities outside school. The Duke of Edinburgh Awards allow students to develop interests that would rarely be found in a normal classroom environment. I congratulate Jimmy on his project and look forward to hearing about the final lamb sales and profit margins!

by Anne Bortolussi, Co-ordinator Duke of Edinburgh Program

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an internationally recognised award that invites young people aged 14-25 to realise their ambitions and to change their world. Run in over 130 countries, the Duke of Ed is designed over three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To achieve each level, young people create their own unique program of activities over a set length of time across four Sections:

• Service
• Skill
• Physical Recreation
• Adventurous Journey

Young people challenge themselves by choosing activities that spark their interest in each Section and setting their own goals. The Duke of Ed is about individual choice; young people tailor their Award and develop their career aspirations as they forge skills that go beyond academic success.

Students at Tintern have chosen a range of activities for their skill section of the Award program.

Angus Bicknell is a keen farmer in the making. He spends his holidays and as many weekends as possible on his 2000 acre family sheep and grain property at Miepoll near Shepparton. Angus has chosen fencing as his skill for his Bronze Award. He is learning how to drive the tractor and to use fencing equipment – wire strainers and post rammers. Fence fixing is very important, as strong fences are required to keep the stock in designated paddocks. Currently, Angus is helping to look after 1000 sheep that are lambing. When Angus leaves school he would like to be a farmer like his grandfather and uncle. 

It is great to see students engaged in such diverse activities outside school. The Duke of Edinburgh Awards allow students to develop interests that would rarely be found in a normal classroom environment. I congratulate Angus on his project and look forward to see more photos of his beautiful property with secure fences!

by Anne Bortolussi, Co-ordinator Duke of Edinburgh Program

Year 8 Maths Games Day

On Wednesday 3rd of August two teams of Year 8 students from Tintern attended the Maths Association of Victoria Year 8 Maths Games Day. This challenging maths event held at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, involved 96 teams from various Victorian schools. Five rounds of challenging maths problems put our teams to the test. Our teams participated in a number of challenges involving pure maths, luck of the draw and also some very tactical games which were played out between two schools. Joshua Chang, Jeremy Yuen-Love, Matthew Xu, Joshua Winter, Darcee McCallum, Annabel Cowin, Quincy Ma and Kavya Karthik made up the two teams and participated in these activities. When we first arrived we were a little nervous and we didn’t really know what to do but we quickly got our brains working and started answering maths questions. We made some new friends, enjoyed working as a team and discovered how fun maths can be.

by the Maths Games Day teams

Junior School Annual Piano Concert

Congratulations to all those girls learning piano (listed below) who performed in the concert on last week. Held in the CM Wood Centre, it gave the students the opportunity to play on our Grand Piano and the girls are to be commended for the confident and musical performances they gave. Ella Callow-Sussex and Angus Middleton were very welcoming comperes for the evening and should be congratulated for the work they did in preparing the introductions. 

A special gift was given to Mrs Barb Clementson as she will be retiring at the end of the year.  She has worked at Tintern for many years as the Head of Keyboard and has been an integral part of the school.  During this time she has been accompanying students, teaching students from our youngest to Year 12, and taking part in hundreds of concerts throughout the years. Many students have been so positively affected by her expertise who will remember her throughout their lives – so thank you Mrs Clementson from us all! 

Congratulations to the girls to who participated in the concert:

Ciana Rogers

Sophie Menagh

Coco Butterfield

Ella Jones

Ella Callow-Sussex

Katherine Howell

Emily Menagh

Rachel Adam

Monica Shi

Madeline Hupfeld

Ava Cantor

Sophia Li

Joanne Ye

Ava Cassidy

Zara Bicknell

Assemblies Surprises!

Assemblies have been busy and full of different experiences this term.  Have you heard about Elmo?  He is a prize winning sheep who weighs over 120kgs and lives on our Tintern Farm. We were very lucky as Farmer Wall brought Elmo to Assembly for all of the Junior girls to see.

This week in Assembly there were more surprises for the girls as we marvelled at the space presentation given my Laura Driessen, a former Tintern student  and Dux in 2010.  Laura is half way through  a Master’s in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam after receiving a merit scholarship. She completed her undergraduate degree at Monash University with a high distinction and majors in applied mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics.  

A demonstration by our Robotics team was very exciting for everyone. Interestingly there have a been a number of parents who have been so excited by this program as well and also attended the Assembly! We also took opportunity to highlight our AFL Junior girl team who competed locally this week and got to the next round of the competition.   It was thrilling for all the girls to see such a spread of choices before them as they develop, and move up through the years and beyond school.

Robotics (Rescue and Dance) Competition

The last two weekends eighteen Junior girls (Y4-6) attended a Robotics (Rescue and Dance) Competition.  The girls did extremely  well and really made us proud by working through lots of challenges and problem solving on the day.  Most of all, the girls felt positive about what they had achieved and gave it their very best. A very big thank you to Ms Oriana Constable and Mrs Sue Healey, Head of Middle School and Girls’ Education and Head of Information and Technology respectively, who have put in a lot of effort and time to support the girls. The program has been an outstanding success and a wonderful example of STEM education which so importantly supports the girls for their future learning.

Robotics photo of Parents

Transition Program for ELC

Term 3 is the beginning of transition time for children in the ELC. A smooth and well prepared transition from one class to the next is important for our young learners and so at this time of year we take the first steps towards this.

The Early Learners are being encouraged to visit other classes during shared learning and developmental play. We invite them into the Pre-Prep rooms and staff make a point of getting know the children’s interests, friendships and what comforts them.

For the Pre-Preps, formal visits from our Tintern Prep teachers have begun. Each week Mrs Mac and Mrs Whitcher come and read with the girls and boys and also begin to build relationships. The Pre-Preps have also continued their spontaneous visits to Southwood Prep-Y2 assembly. These visits usually occur when we discover that a sibling or friend in Prep, Y1 or Y2 has their turn to present. Last week Nathan and Kai proudly watched their big brothers Cayden and Sebastian speak confidently and share their PowerPoint presentations. This was a proud moment for the ELC staff also as both Cayden and Sebastian came through the ELC.

In Term 4 we look forward to our more formal orientation sessions and transition sessions which will prepare children staying at Tintern for the move to a new room, as well as those who are making a much bigger transition to a new school. 

by Amanda Cooke, ELC Coordinator and Pre-Prep B Teacher

News from Girls’ Middle School

As we near the mid-way point of our term it is great to see the girls settling in and enjoying their second semester subjects. We have had another busy couple of weeks with some tremendously enjoyable events taking place. Our Year 8s participated in a leadership seminar this week which will continue to be built upon in the coming weeks as the girls prepare for 2017 when they will be leaders of the Middle School. Our Year 7s have continued their investigation into a ‘notable’ person for their upcoming ‘Night of the Notables’ and Year 9 girls have been preparing for their Winter Camp which is taking place next week. Throw in to the mix interschool sport, debating and public speaking competitions along with piano concerts and an Acapella Workshop and there’s no doubt that there’s plenty of opportunities to get involved in. During our Middle School assembly on Wednesday we were fortunate enough to hear from Meagan Hynson playing a beautiful piece on guitar. We also had a guest speaker, Laura Driessen who is a Radio Astronomer and a past student, currently studying in Amsterdam. Her presentation was interesting, exciting and inspiring, leaving us all wanting to find out more about the wonderful world of science and space!

News from Boys’ Middle School

I’m not sure about you, but this seems to be a long wet winter this year. We’re certainly noticing it a bit at school with the boys often forced to remain indoors at recess or lunch, or not able to access the ovals properly given the very wet conditions. Hopefully with August now upon us we may soon start to see some warmer weather come our way. Despite this, it has still been a very busy fortnight in the Boys’ Middle School. From finalising their subject selections for next year, to sitting ICAS English testing, there has certainly been plenty to keep the boys occupied.

There are many things happening at the moment for the boys and one in particular is the auditions for the 2017 musical Hairspray. The musical is always a lot of fun and certainly a rewarding experience for all people that participate. I encourage all boys to put their name down for a position; acting, singing, backstage, etc.

An event that is nearing is our Year 9 Future’s Day and this involves our boys and girls listening to people from different fields of work or study about their chosen careers or pathways. They will have the opportunity to sit in 25 minute tutorial type sessions where people will be sharing with them more details about their career and the skills and attributes required for it. More details will be emailed out very shorty but we are looking for parent volunteers for the day to talk about what they do. It’s going to be on Monday 22nd of August during the morning hours. If you are potentially interested I would love to hear from you.

100 Days of Year 7

Our Year 7 boys celebrated 100 days in Year 7 this week with a fun day organised by Mrs Watkins and their Pastoral Mentors.

Year 8 Leading Self, Leading Others Program

Our Year 8 boys have been introduced to their leadership program ‘Leading Self, Leading Others’ this term and in this last week we introduced to them ACSL – Active Community Service and Leadership Log. The Leading Self, Leading Others program is designed to provide the boys with an understanding as to what leadership is, what makes successful leaders and how everyone will have to take on a leadership position of some description in their lives. Throughout their pastoral sessions the boys will be developing their understanding of effective leaders, as well as practising to be a leader with a number of opportunities coming up throughout this semester for them to get involved in. ACSL is an opportunity for them to keep a log of their involvement in both leadership and community service activities both in and out of school. We have set a target of 8 – 10 hours as a minimum for the boys to achieve and they need to be keeping a record of their involvement on their ACSL log.

On Thursday 4th August we had an external group called Values for Life run a program titled Lead the Way which reinforced the skills and attributes of good leaders as well as provided some very entertaining and engaging ways to help the students learn about leadership.

Year 9 Camp Preparation

Our Year 9s head off on their Winter Camp next week. This is often the camp that older students reflect on as being their favourite camp of their High School years. They will be white water rafting, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, doing commando courses and many other great activities. They spent some time this week preparing for camp with a bike and raft session at school. These sessions provided the boys with some important understanding into both bike and raft/river safety. I look forward to sharing some of their adventures after they return.

Musical Performances at Assembly

At each of our assemblies we aim to have a musical performance. Earlier in this term we heard from Lachlan Bastin in Year 7 who played his Bassoon.

House Trivia 2016

On Friday 29th of July we had our annual Middle School House Trivia competition hosted by Mr Kenny. It was a really entertaining competition with categories on movies, famous faces, Australian history, etc. Each House split into genders and then into Year levels creating around 30 teams. When the competition was over the points added up, it was Mansfield McKie that came out on top.

100 Days of Year 7

Building a sense of community and team spirit is important for our Year 7 students. These young men are going to be spending the next numbers of years together and friendships will make the journey very memorable. To facilitate this, each term the Year 7 Mentor team organise events which will offer integrity and resilience moments and enable the boys to work together in situations unlike the regular classroom.

This year the boys made 100’s and 1000’s cookies under the instruction of Mr Andrew Cho, then had great fun in a Minute-To-Win-It competition thanks to Mr Ross Jurey. To hail the imminent 2016 Olympic Games, we started watching the movie based on the life story of Eddie Edwards, Eddie the Eagle. Thank you to all staff who made it possible, and also to the boys who so obviously made the most of the day.

By Anthea Watkins, Year 7 Boys’ Level Co-ordinator

Year 8 Leadership Seminar

On Thursday we experienced the chance to have a Leadership Seminar duo come and help teach us what it means to be a Leader. They showed it in many different ways such as through games, music and getting us to answer some tricky life questions which always kept us on our toes!

It was really helpfully and opened our eyes to what it means to be a Leader and a role model and how everything we do influence ourselves and the people around us.

This is shown in the way we act as well as how we speak. It was a great experience and I know that everyone enjoyed it.

by Margaret Pywell, Year 8

Living Digitally with primary aged children

Michael Carr-Gregg’s return visit to Tintern Grammar to talk about Living Digitally with Primary Aged Children, a  much anticipated follow up to last term’s similar event aimed at Secondary parents, again proved to be entertaining and informative.

The first question that he posed to our panel, “What age should a kid get their first mobile phone?”, led to a very detailed and enlightening discussion from our panel members: our Principal Mr Brad Fry, Melanie Gillies from the The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Richard Read, a current parent and member of the Victoria Police, and the Principals from Tinternvale and Eastwood Primary Schools.

The collective consensus and emphasised by Michael, was that there is “…too much emphasis on chronological age…” rather than on the ability to set and adhere to tone and boundaries. Michael stated that “Age does not define maturity”, whilst Melanie equated having access to a Smartphone being akin to handing a young teenager a set of keys and saying ‘now drive a car’…

The panel discussed many issues pertinent to having primary aged children immersed in a digital world, and shortly, parents will be sent a summary of these, combined with a ‘tip sheet’.

Four key points stressed by Michael Carr-Gregg were:

1. The 3Cs of Cyber safety are important; Contact, Conduct and Content. Adults need to have detailed conversations with their children about how to conduct themselves in the Digital World
2. Primary Aged children need to have set rules and boundaries about content that they upload and download, and utilise…
3. For Primary Aged children, all online contacts should only be people that are known ‘face to face’
4. Parents need to model expectations…..what you expect of your child, model yourself…this includes when, where and how you use your phone/computer/ipad
5. Whilst filters for home computers are handy, The best filters are the head and heart! Help your child to be able to determine what is right and what is wrong when in the Digital World
6. Children in primary school should not be on social media

Living Digitally with Primary Aged Children

Michael Carr-Gregg’s return visit to Tintern Grammar to talk about Living Digitally with Primary Aged Children, a  much anticipated follow up to last term’s similar event aimed at Secondary parents, again proved to be entertaining and informative.

The first question that he posed to our panel, “What age should a kid get their first mobile phone?”, led to a very detailed and enlightening discussion from our panel members: our Principal Mr Brad Fry, Melanie Gillies from the The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Richard Read, a current parent and member of the Victoria Police, and the Principals from Tinternvale and Eastwood Primary Schools.

The collective consensus and emphasised by Michael, was that there is “…too much emphasis on chronological age…” rather than on the ability to set and adhere to tone and boundaries. Michael stated that “Age does not define maturity”, whilst Melanie equated having access to a Smartphone being akin to handing a young teenager a set of keys and saying ‘now drive a car’…

The panel discussed many issues pertinent to having primary aged children immersed in a digital world, and shortly, parents will be sent a summary of these, combined with a ‘tip sheet’.

Four key points stressed by Michael Carr-Gregg were:

1. The 3Cs of Cyber safety are important; Contact, Conduct and Content. Adults need to have detailed conversations with their children about how to conduct themselves in the Digital World
2. Primary Aged children need to have set rules and boundaries about content that they upload and download, and utilise…
3. For Primary Aged children, all online contacts should only be people that are known ‘face to face’
4. Parents need to model expectations…..what you expect of your child, model yourself…this includes when, where and how you use your phone/computer/ipad
5. Whilst filters for home computers are handy, The best filters are the head and heart! Help your child to be able to determine what is right and what is wrong when in the Digital World
6. Children in primary school should not be on social media

Tintern Grammar Survey

Thank you to all of parents, students and staff who have responded to our Tintern Grammar Survey administered by consultant group MMG. Gathering good feedback data, especially that which we can compare to last year, gives us a great starting point to continue to improve our school. We really appreciate the time that so many have given to thoughtfully complete the questions. Students from Grade 5 to Year 12 have been completing it in sessions at school.  

The parent and staff surveys are due to close on Sunday 7th August and we invite any who have yet to complete the survey to do so before then via the link which was emailed out several weeks ago.

Olympic Celebration day

We are all looking forward to our Olympic Celebration day next Friday. Each of our Junior School boys has been placed in a cross-aged team of approximately 12 boys, to form a ‘country’. The teams have to develop a name for their ‘country’, design a flag, decide upon a motto, discuss team music and colours and then, on our Celebration Day, will participate in ‘Olympic events’, including ‘Equestrian’. This weekend all families have the opportunity to make a Hobby Horse to use in our ‘Equestrian’.

Most importantly, in our Assemblies, we have discussed the Olympic Creed….“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

It would be ideal if parents could keep this in mind when watching/discussing Olympics at home. In our Prep-Year 2 Assembly this morning, I was showing our boys the video of Derrek Redmond, favourite for the 400m at the 1992 Olympics, who tore his hamstring halfway through the event. Despite being in pain, he hobbled towards the finish, wanting to complete the event. As he entered the 100metre straight, his father ran onto the track and supported his son, emotionally and physically. I asked the boys “What sort of response do you think the crowd gave him?” A prep boy said “They would have booed because he came last” This was an understandable response !!! We then referred back to the Creed, and the importance of taking part, doing your best, and persevering…in the Olympics, and in all aspects of life. We highlighted that Redmond indeed received a standing ovation…..because of his EFFORT…not his ‘triumph’.

The Olympics provides a wonderful time to discuss all issues to do with effort, determination and as our song says, “being the best you can hope to be”

Key Dates Term 3 2016