From the Principal

A Christmas wish and an important date!

Ironically, I write the final article for 2016 commencing with a date alert about 2017! On the Aspectus calendar you will see that the School will be closed on Friday 27 January 2017. There will not be staff in attendance, nor answering the telephone, so please ensure that anything required from the School, particularly any Uniform Shop fittings or purchases, are not planned for this day!

I write this on the eve of the final day of school for 2016. The final two weeks of the year have been full of purposeful activity. Transition Week finished last week for our 2016 Year 10 and 11 students, during which they completed units of work for their 2017 subjects and got a genuine head start on their VCE and IB courses.

Following the end of 2016 academic curriculum classes last week, the cross-curricular enquiry project completed by teams composed of Year 7 and Year 8 students this week has drawn out impressive creativity and collaboration across a range of ingenious and challenging tasks. These required a combination of intellect, creativity and teamwork to complete. With a less linear and set structure than much of the classroom activities of the year, students needed to display initiative and risk-taking to get tasks completed – have you ever tried to make a Ferris Wheel out of chick peas and tooth picks? Well, one group did and it was 40 cm high and very impressive (and didn’t event win the challenge either!)!

While last week was the final camp for our Year 9 boys and girls, for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week they became Year 10s, completing three days of 2017 classes (complete with substantial amounts of homework!), along with a range of targeted academic testing that enables us to assess student progress using quality data to inform and assist us.

In our Junior Schools we have had two terrific Speech Nights, with wonderful choirs, productions, video and impressive student speeches and presentations. For our young men and women moving from Year 6 to Year 7, these were very significant occasions and their mindful and considered attitude towards them showed they understood the significance of the events.

In amongst all the activity, there has also been time for reflection on a wonderful first year as Tintern Grammar, a combined school. The formation of our new parent support group, the Tintern Parents’ Group, the establishment of the Tintern Alumni Association to support and enliven our leavers this year and into the future and the early appearances of our combined uniforms are all signs of our increasingly cohesive and collaborative nature, as a community.

With VCE results to be released at the end of this week, we have 80 or so young men and women who are in various states of ‘elevation’! We wish all our students good luck and I am sure that in amongst all the media hype of 99+ ATARs and percentages of this and percentages of that, our whole cohort will be as proud of their results as we will be. They have worked hard for themselves and for each other and leave a terrific legacy that I am sure will only be enhanced after Monday 12 December!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and period of family time and a safe and restful holiday. I we look forward to seeing everyone back refreshed and energised in February and hope we will see as many of you as possible at the Tintern Foundation Service on Friday morning 10 February in Week 2 of Term 1 2017.

Factis non verbis.

Bradley Fry
Principal

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

Community Matters

The Community Relations team and all the Community Groups would like to take this opportunity to wish all Tintern Grammar families a happy and safe Christmas. It has been a pleasure to work with all Community Volunteers; whether you help in the classroom, belong to a community group or contribute to a Community event, your time is genuinely valued. All the Community Groups have experienced a successful year that is truly reflective of our families. We look forward to your ongoing support in 2017.

Please enjoy this slide show of photos of various volunteer activities and events throughout the year.

Community Photo Albums

The Tintern Parents Group have now updated a limited number of photo albums, large enough to hold the school photos provided by SchoolPix. They feature the Tintern Grammar Logo printed in silver on the front cover and come complete with 10 transparent 30cm x 30cm sheet inserts, plus a CD holder insert which holds 8 discs. These quality-made, customised, “buckram” binders and inserts are offered at a saving of $20, as they retail for $90. Cost per album is $70 (GST inclusive) Albums come in Navy and Burgundy. Orders can be made through trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/NPYV and collected from the uniform shop where you will also find samples on show.

Parent End of Year lunch

A big thank you is extended to our Tintern Parents Group who provided our parents with a lovely end of year lunch between assemblies today.

Have you considered being a Parent representative for 2017?

What are they? What do they do?

Now is the time to consider a role as a Year level parent representative for next year.

Year level parent reps are a vital link between the school and parents at each Year level. Each level or class should have at least one representative who will make themselves known to other parents across the year. The primary responsibility of the parent reps is to co-ordinate parent social activities throughout the year. The Year level parent rep should make every effort to meet all the parents at their Year level and should a new family arrive during the year, the Parent Rep is asked to make contact with the family, invite them to have coffee and meet other members of the year level. The parent and friend groups or the Community Relations Office may call upon the parent Reps to assist with sourcing volunteers for events or activities. We also encourage our parent reps to be available to answer any questions from our new incoming 2017 families. If this sounds like you please call or email Di Lacey in the Community Relations Office. Click here to view a description of the role.

A huge thank you is extended to all our 2016 Parent reps and if you would like to continue in the role please contact Di Lacey in the Community relations office on 9845 7877 or email communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au.

Community Groups Recruiting for 2017

All community groups are now recruiting for 2017, if you are interested to be a part of Fair 2017 or our parent and friend groups please call the Community Relations office for more details.

FOYF End of year celebrations

A lovely informal BBQ was enjoyed by our fabulous FOYF team on Sunday afternoon at the Ashfields home as a final function for the year. We are so fortunate to have a group of like-minded current and past parents, who love both Tintern and our wonderful farm. Thanks for all your efforts over the past year and I’m sure 2017 will bring more prize winning sheep, more learning experiences for our students, and positive improvements in our farm and agricultural curriculum. 

Friends of Equestrian

The Friends of Equestrian invite new members to join their committee for 2017. If you would like to find out how to be a part of this dynamic friends group please contact the Community Relations office or email foe@tintern.vic.edu.au .

Friends of Music

The Friends of Music group met together to celebrate their successful year at Casalinga Restaurant in Croydon. A great time was had by all where they were joined by music staff and two of the 2016 music captains; Corey Robinson, Instrumental music captain and School pianist, Alan Wu.

Mango Fundraiser

Thank you to everyone who supported the 2016 Mango fundraiser and to the Tintern Parent Group for coordinating this community activity. 270 boxes were sold and they hope to better the numbers for next year.

Tintern Grammar Fair 22 April 2017

If you have not already done so, please like and share our Fair Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TinternGrammarFair/

Your opportunity to contribute!

Its time again to start thinking about the fair, and to us an opportunity for a spring clean! Keep in mind we will be gratefully receiving donations in the new year of:

• SECONDHAND BOOKS        • SECONDHAND TOYS          • SECONDHAND CLOTHES
• SECONDHAND SPORT EQUIPMENT

RAFFLE PRIZES & SILENT AUCTION ITEMS are also being sought, so if you have a product or service that could be donated as an appropriate raffle prize or as a fabulous silent auction item, we would love to hear from you! Donations large or small welcome –here are some ideas to prompt you:

• CAR DONATION                • SHOP VOUCHER                                  • BOOKS                                 • JEWELLERY
• SERVICE                                   • HOLIDAYS                                                • EXPERIENCE                    • TECHNOLOGY
• ACCOMMODATION       • SPORTING MEMORABILIA           • ENTERTAINMENT        • ELECTRONIC ITEMS
• ACCESSORIES                      • TOYS                                                             • GAMES                     

Stall Coordinators needed for various year levels

Many hands make light work, and we need many hands to make our Fair work! Each year level has been allocated a stall, and each stall is best run by one or two Stall Coordinators.  Can you help? Please review the list here on the portal to see which stalls are associated with your year levels, and get in touch with the Fair Committee if you can help by being the Coordinator for your stall.  Your assistance makes a big difference, so thankyou to our wonderful Stall Coordinators.

Do you live on a main road?

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their home to advertise our 2017 Fair. We are looking for further sites to widen our reach. If you live on a main road and are willing to have a Billboard placed in your front yard for 6 – 8 weeks prior to the Fair, please contact the Fair committee Fair@tintern.vic.edu.au We are fortunate to have a number of Real Estate agents with connections to our school community, who generously print and erect the billboards to promote our day.

Tintern Old Girls Association Quilt Exhibition

At the 2017 Tintern Fair
Saturday 22nd April
12 noon—5.30pm

Are you a Quilter?

Would you like to have your Quilts on display at the Fair?

Do you sell your Quilts?

TOGA will, once again, be organising an Exhibition of Quilts at the 2017 Fair

If you would be interested in learning more about the Exhibition and how you might be involved –

Contact: Lynne Franke, TOGA Quilt Exhibition Volunteer Email:  toga@tintern.vic.edu.au  Phone: 0414 357 664  Mail: TOGA, PO Box 26, Ringwood East, 3135

Community Committees

Most community groups are winding up now for the end of the year, but all have planned a very busy year ahead. If you would like to get involved or find out more about our parent and friends groups please contact the various people as listed below:

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) – President: Jessica Adam: ParentGroup@tintern.vic.edu.au
• Friends of Music (FOM) – President: Tim Oldmeadow; FOM@tintern.vic.edu.au
• Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) – President: Joy Ashfield: FOYF@tintern.vic.edu.au               
• Friends of Equestrian (FOE) – President: Gabby McCallum; FOE@tintern.vic.edu.au
• Presentation Ball – Joint coordinators: Sharyn Frisby, Kerrie Maywald & Kylie Spears: PresentationBall@tintern.vic.edu.au
• Fair – Convenor – Amanda McKenzie: Fair@tintern.vic.edu.au

Music Matters

Year 8 Performing Arts Night

Students in Years 8A and 8D presented an entertaining night of music, dance and drama on 23 November in the CM Wood Centre. The evening opened with a stirring rendition of ‘Bonnie Dundee’ played on bagpipes by Zeb Lyons. The musical offerings also included a range of solos from Margaret Pywell (French horn), Fintan McCrave (vocal solo), Coby Mill (piano solo), Ben Apsey (electric guitar solo) and Zoe Forbes (flute solo, accompanied by Ashleigh Dowling on piano). We also enjoyed a saxophone duet performed by Amanda Samarasekara and Bianca Settle, two memorable band items from Bottom Line (Lachlan Hoorn, Cecelia Hubbard, Mark Simounds, Harry La Canna) and Silver Lining (Tara Carson, Ashleigh Dowling, Madison Edwards-Turner, Angel Tully) and an appealing percussion quartet item (Tara Carson, Alice Church, Ashleigh Dowling, Leah Stuchbery).

Both classes combined to share with the audience some of their learning from core-curriculum music classes about the music of West Africa, which included a welcome song, ‘Kilele’, featuring call-and-response singing lead by Ashleigh Dowling, Madison Edwards-Turner, Ben Li and Angel Tully and opening drum solos from Alice Church and James Zagame.

There was also a traditional West African dance accompanied by drums and a final call-and-response style group drumming item. During the semester, both classes learned about the traditional methods by which Africans pass on their music from generation to generation and the important place which music has within the day-to-day lives of the African tribes.

Sport Matters

Junior National Indoor Netball Championships

During the week of 27th November to the 3rd December, Ashlea and Olivia Cross have been competing in the Junior National Indoor Netball Championships. They were selected to be members of the Under 15 Victorian Panthers team who have played matches against teams from Qld, NSW, SA and WA. Although not always successful in winning games against extremely tough competition, the girls have had a wonderful experience playing netball at a very high level, being part of a representative State team and relishing the atmosphere of game days. They should be congratulated on their wonderful efforts in netball this year.

After the tournament ended on Saturday 3rd, a presentation night was held, at which an Australian 15yrs and under Indoor Netball team was announced. This team will travel to South Africa next year to play in an International tournament and Olivia Cross was chosen as a member of the squad for this event. A wonderful conclusion to a great week of netball! 

National All Schools Athletic Championships – Canberra

Congratulations to Corey Dickson (Y8) who competed as a member of the Victorian All Schools team in Canberra last weekend. Corey finished 4^th in the U/16 3000m Walk, (2^nd in his age group), at the championships, which was a fantastic result. Corey will compete at the National Junior Championships along with a number of other Tintern athletes in Sydney next April. We wish Corey and the others all the best this season.

Tintern EISM Weekly Sport Awards

At assemblies over the past few weeks, the Sports Department has presented Best and Fairest, Runners-up and Coaches awards to students who competed in weekly team sports at EISM level. These awards were determined by coaches who voted on a 3-2-1 basis each week. Votes were tallied at the end of the season and award winners received medallions. A full list of those who received awards is posted on the sport pages of the Portal. Congratulations to all students who competed in Tintern EISM teams throughout the season and thank you for your support of the sports program.

FINAL CHALLENGE G.A.T.E.WAYS Program – 4th place

The Junior School is involved in the G.A.T.E.WAYS program which offers individual day programs that are topic based and, in the last term, a team challenge competing against other schools. G.A.T.E.WAYS (Gifted and Talented Education, Extension and Enrichment) was established in 1994 by Will and Jill Lawrence, who both had backgrounds in teaching and parenting gifted children. 

It is their aim to provide opportunities for ‘like-minds’ to participate in programs which will challenge them intellectually and help develop their individual talents. The Junior School has been hosting the Term 4 Team Challenge where each school competes against each other. The challenges are remarkably difficult with some questions reputed to be as hard as Year 12 Maths. Our students work hard to prepare for the day and no matter the result we are proud of their positive attitude and how well they represent Tintern. Congratulations to the Year 6 Girls’team who took out the 2nd prize in our region and will now attend the final. What a great result!

During the 2017 Challenge 140 Year 5 and 6 teams from 53 different schools competed. It was a very great achievement to make it to the Finals (interstate teams came from as far as Queensland) for our Year 6 girls! The competition was much greater and the level of difficulty also went up a couple of notches at least. They did exceptionally well to achieve a perfect score in All the World’s a Stage and 4th place overall. Once again they worked very well together as a team with focus, persistence and enjoyment. Our girls should be very proud of the achievements.

OUR TEAM’S TOTAL SCORE: 148.5 (4th place) (3rd place was a score of 151).   WINNING TEAM’S TOTAL SCORE: 159.5

Regards

Important Transport Information for 2017 – Please read

Dear Tintern Grammar families,

I am writing to advise that effective 1 January 2017 we will be changing our bus transport company from Crown Coaches to Ventura Bus Lines after an extensive tender process.

The transition to Ventura will see very little change to our everyday bus schedules. Normal routines will be maintained with dedicated drivers to each bus route. The safety and care of your child remains paramount to both Tintern Grammar and Ventura Bus Lines.

Ventura was Founded in 1924 and are a third generation privately owned Melbourne based company. They are Fully Accredited and compliant with the Bus Safety Act (2009) VIC and all buses carry seatbelts. The company has a large fleet of over 850 vehicles, all drivers complete an intensive induction and training program prior to commencement. Their buses are GPS equipped and Ventura is committed to providing a transport service to our school that is customer focussed, safe, reliable and friendly.

We are looking forward to our new partnership with Ventura Bus Lines in 2017. Should you have any questions, queries or would like to secure a place for your child on one of our bus routes please contact our Transport Assistant, Carole Nye by email on CNye@tintern.vic.edu.au

Kind regards

Bradley Fry

Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 Beach Day @ Mornington Beach

We had our Annual P-2 Beach Day on Tuesday the 6th of December. It was a perfectly calm day with just enough sunshine to make the day enjoyable. Once we arrived at Mothers’ Beach in Mornington, it didn’t take the boys long to hit the water. They had lots of fun digging holes and burying each other. Beach Cricket was a popular activity with many boys, whilst others investigated the sea stars and ‘clear, crescent shaped wobbly jelly shapes’ (which are not jellyfish at all!) There were some very tired, but happy little people on the bus trip back. Thank-you to all the parents who joined us for the day and to Mr Kenny for driving one of the buses.

By Mrs Claire MacDonald Prep Teacher

Pre-Prep 2009 and Prep 2010 in 2016

See 2009 Pre-Prep students and 2010 Prep students in 2016 who are still at Tintern Grammar and are currently in our Year 6 classes.  There are 10 Girls’ Junior School survivors!

These students are…Charli, Georgia, Millie, Annabelle, Alex, Sienna,  Ella,  Mellyn and Tahlia, as well as Keeley who arrived in Term 4.

It is amazing to see how all the students have grown. We sincerely thank you these families for their continued support throughout their son’s or daughter’s time over the past seven or eight years (in some cases nine years). It has been a great journey together and we wish you all the best in the coming years as your children enter secondary school.

Regards

Pay it Forward – making mats for the homeless!

Lisa Robson is one of our Mums and is setting an excellent example of assisting our local community.  She is involved with a community project helping homeless people making mats from plastic bags so they have something to sleep on  – a brilliant way to recycle plastic bags and help others.  ELC and Year 3 students have been helping making these mats too.

Regards

Pay it Forward – making mats for the homeless!

Lisa Robson is one of our Mums and is setting an excellent example of assisting our local community.  She is involved with a community project helping homeless people making mats from plastic bags so they have something to sleep on  – a brilliant way to recycle plastic bags and help others.  ELC and Year 3 students have been helping making these mats too.

Regards

Curriculum Matters

The end of the school year will see all of our students from Prep to Year 11 receive their Semester Reports in which students and parents receive a summary of their progress to date, feedback on what they have done well and how they can further improve. The content of these reports is a critical element in the academic and overall development of every student as well as our parents’ understanding of it.

At the beginning of next year our secondary students along with students in Years 5 and 6 will be guided to review their reports and set a few key goals based on the feedback of their teachers to help them develop towards self-regulating life-long learners. To aid this process, from the beginning of next year students will have online access to their own reports via the portal in a similar way that parents currently do. This is to facilitate the development of reflective, independent learners who are learning the tools of cyclical review and goal setting that will see them achieve their best and prepare them for a future of lifelong learning and continuous improvement.

This is a process that our staff have been modelling through our Peer Partnership professional learning model over the last few years. This process has been further enhanced and next year all teachers and Tintern Grammar will work with a pair, in a team of pairs under the guidance of a coach to examine their practice, set a professional practice and knowledge goal and work towards in during the year with their partner, with a review of progress towards it with their coach at the end of the year. This process was piloted by a group of staff this year and with their help we feel we have an excellent model of a cycle of reflective practice and we are very keen to continue to broaden the opportunities this approach opens for our students.

As we did in first semester and last year, we will not be producing and posting home hard copy reports. Instead, we will produce the same reports, in the same format, as pdf files to be viewed by families online via our Portal.

For families who like to keep a hard copy of their child’s report, these reports can be downloaded to family computers and printed if desired. These reports will be available to families on Wednesday December 14 at 11am and an email will be sent that day to inform you when they are open.

You can also access all of a student’s reports from their time at Tintern Grammar, archived online for your easy reference.

To view these reports, please log in to MyTintern and go to the ‘Parent Services’ tab, then select the ‘Absences, Finance and Reports’ section and login to the Synergetic System. A summary view can be can be found under the ‘Results’ tab and the full pdf version of the reports can be found in the Documents tab. Please be aware that the report screen will take about 20 seconds to load once you log in.

Copies of the current and past reports in PDF format can be found under the ‘Documents’ tab. If you have any issues with logging in to the portal or locating your reports please call the IT helpdesk on 9845 7883 or email ITservices@tintern.vic.edu.au An email with a help sheet detailing report access has been sent out to all families of Prep – Year 11 families on Tuesday 6 December 2016.

We hope you find this process straightforward and the reports an informative summation of your child’s achievement and progress this semester as well as useful material to help guide future learning.

As another busy year of teaching and learning (at least in a school context) comes to an end, I hope you all have a refreshing summer break and wonderful holiday season with friends and family.

Merry Christmas!

The Giving Tree

Thank you to all the Year 3-6 Families for contributing to the Giving Tree Appeal. We are grateful to Mrs Gaskin and her husband for dropping off the gifts to K-mart who are running the appeal. 

Regards

A Fast Changing World

2016 has been a year of momentous change both locally and on the world stage. Australia almost had a change of government in a cliff hanger election while the Brexit vote in the UK and the Trump victory in the US presidential elections against all the odds took virtually everyone by surprise.  Regardless of one’s own political preferences and inclinations, a mood for dramatic change is sweeping across the world and is expressing itself in diverse ways. The days of our ancestors where there were few significant changes in a generation are long gone.

In such a dynamic environment, how should we prepare our young people to cope and flourish with the rapidly changing world?  This question lies at the very heart of all that we do at Tintern. Let’s take this opportunity to consider two key strategies we use.

First, we have given much thought to the most effective ways of developing our well-being program to equip our girls for the fast changing world around them. A key instrument for achieving this goal has been calling in role models-people who have succeeded in this dynamic world. Many of us remember the sterling efforts of Belinda Hocking, a swimming finalist at the Rio Olympics in June. Our girls were spellbound listening to Belinda give her testimony about the long hours of training and the absolute determination to succeed. This theme of grit and growth mindset also came through in abundance when we had Paula Scott as a visitor. Paula is a retired Paralympian and against all the odds she succeeded in overcoming her disability to compete for her country at the highest level. Theirs were not stories of striving just to win but rather of beating the odds to do their very best and believing that they could do it.

Such a focus on character development, needs to be reinforced by a focus on appropriate learning content, to prepare the girls for this fast-changing world. In this context, we are emphasising the STEM subjects (Science Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) because these are precisely the fields where the rapid changes are taking place. STEM is our girls’ future; related occupations are growing at 17%, while others are growing at 9.8%. 8 out of 10 most wanted employees are ones with degrees in the STEM fields. Exposure to STEM programs has been a big focus for Tintern this past year as we introduced coding within the classroom and activities within Library sessions for students as young as Prep.  The After school Robotics program has also been outstanding success.  All of these activities support inquiry based learning which assists our girls to take risks and try many different strategies and options to solve the problems which they are faced with.

We can confidently predict that when the current Year 6 girls graduate in 2022, they will be going into a world where the pace of change is at least as rapid as it is today. We can also be confident that our program of character development supplemented by our focus on studying subjects of greatest relevance to the modern world will prepare our girls to flourish and to find a great sense of personal fulfilment as they move into adulthood.

Regards

Ginger Bread Morning with the Tintern Parents Group

Thank you to our festive TPG who once again organised and coordinated the ginger bread morning for the Junior Girls and Boys School . Every student from Prep-6 was given the opportunity to decorate a couple of gingerbread people and take them home (if they don’t eat them first).

Many thanks to the many Mums and Dads who donated lollies, baked ginger bread cookies and stayed and helped .

News from Boys’ Middle School

As the Southwood song states we’re ‘Moving on with the course of time’; the time has come for the school year of 2016 to come to an end. To me, it’s been one of the busiest years I have been associated with at Tintern and the boys have certainly kept me on my toes throughout. When the dust settles on each school year I always take the opportunity to reflect back on how it went; I try to celebrate the successes, look for areas of improvement, and especially enjoy the connections and relationships we have formed with our boys and their families. This is something we highly encourage our boys to do as well. After they have had a chance to read through their academic reports in the coming weeks, ask the boys to reflect on their own year (getting boys to reflect thoughtfully isn’t the easiest of things to do, but it is very worthwhile), get them to look at how they have gone across a broad array of areas. They should consider things such as their behavioural indicators; was their effort as high as it should/could be, are they developing sound organisational skills and habits, did they follow the them this year of being the ‘best you’. Get them to look at their results and recognise areas of strength (praise these) and also areas of weakness that could form part of their goals for 2017. They should also look at their involvement in school life. Did they put their hand up to do lots of things or only a few things? Where they involved in music, sport, drama, academia, etc. Is there opportunity for them to do more of this next year? This reflection is so important for boys so that they build habits of doing this into later life.

I would like to congratulate our Year 7 boys (and families) on successfully completing their first year of Secondary School. Your contribution to our Middle School this year has been fantastic across all areas of the school and I certainly look forward to the impact you will continue to have on our Middle School over the next couple of years. The Year 8 boys traversed their way through what is often considered the most challenging year for them (and for mum and dad) with absolute aplomb. The increased level of maturity that has been shown by them as the year has progressed leaves me with a great deal of confidence for when they return as the leaders of our Middle School next year. And it is at this time each that we bid farewell and good luck to our current Year 9 boys who make their way to the Senior College. As a group of boys you have made a fantastic journey through the Middle Years and will no doubt continue to do so.

I’d like to wish all families a very happy and safe summer holiday and festive season. I’d like to thank you for entrusting your son’s education with us and for allowing us to be part of this stage of their life. Puberty and adolescence is never an easy time as I’m sure many of you are aware and experiencing, but I can assure you that it is a wonderful age and the boys we have at our school are a wonderful bunch of young men who are growing into the type of young men we want contributing to our society. Have a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to hearing from you all in 2017 and I especially look forward to seeing our boys return for another big year next year.

Boys’ Junior School Year 6 Transition Dinner

We thanked and recognised the journey of our Year 6 boys and their families at our annual Transition Dinner on Wednesday 7 December in the CM Wood Centre.

Each Year 6 boy presented a slideshow about his own Junior School highlights.

This is such a memorable and emotional evening for our Year 6 lads and their families.

Each of you has played a valuable and significant role in the success of our Junior School; you have been leaders, you have had to accept and perform duties that have required responsibility and

maturity, and you have done so admirably.

Whilst we are still a very young school, each of you has contributed to the fast growing traditions and reputation of the Boys Junior School. The staff comments at the rear of this booklet reflect the respect and friendship that you boys have earned. This booklet is the opportunity to reflect upon your memories and successes…not measured by wealth, or sporting, or even academic ability, but by one’s own character development. We believe that each of you is a success.

As you continue onward to Middle School, we wish you every success in all aspects of your future. We will keenly follow your progress and we thank you for your time with us. Always look forward, but don’t forget your past. We hope to see you regularly and will always welcome you in the Junior School.

To the parents of the boys, thank you for being such a valued part of the school community. Without your support, our programs can seldom reach their potential.

Year 9 Summer Expeditions

In the second last week of term our Year 9 boys had their third camp of the year. This was a 5 day adventure/expedition that is the culmination of their Outdoor Education experience throughout their Middle Years. The boys had a choice of mountain biking up and around Mt Buller, rock climbing in Mt Arapiles or white water rafting the Mitta Mitta River in East Gippsland. Each camp involved the boys self-catering for the five days, sleeping either in tents or under tarps and also being physically challenged by the general nature of the camps. The outcomes were sensational with many boys (and staff) stating that they were some of the best camps they had been on. It’s a great way to finish their Middle School journey.

Final Day

Thursday the 8th was the final day for all students. The day began with a short gathering in the Middle School building to brief the boys on what was ahead of them. A number of awards were presented such as our Factis Non-verbis for Term 4, Environmental Awards and a Science Crest Award.

The Combined Middle Schools assembly was next which included the graduation of our Year 9 cohort as well as a number of our special awards. This year Matt Evans was awarded the Endeavour Award for 2016 and Sahan Kaluarachchi was presented with the prestigious JP Masters Award.

Before lunch we had our annual Southwood Ironman competition which this year included the introduction of the girls competing as well. This was a wonderful event that was made so much better by the fact that the girls were there to compete and to cheer everyone on. It involved competitors crawling under tight nets, weaving in and out posts, carrying tyres, crawling through a mud/water pit, sliding down a 20 metre slip and slide, and even more importantly having a lot of fun. Eventual winners for each year level were Johan Fleming (Yr 7), Paul Haasbroek (Yr 8) and Ben Rudd (Yr 9).

The final part of the day was a boys Prep to 9 assembly run by Mr Kenny in the Southwood Centre. This was a great way to say good bye to our boys and wish them well over the coming holidays and festive season.

Helping local families at Christmas

Year 7 students have forgone the traditional Kris Kringle to provide some joy to those who are less fortunate than themselves. For the past month they have been collecting food and Christmas presents for families that live in the Ringwood East area. These families were nominated by Eastern Access Community Health (EACH)for this special assistance. EACH provide counselling, health services, refugee health, women’s health, aboriginal health and early childhood services to the Ringwood East community. I would like to thank you all for being so generous in the support you have given to this appeal. The photographs show a couple of the hampers that will be delivered to the families at Christmas These gifts will bring I am sure a little happiness and pleasure to those who receive them.

By Di Grochowska, Year 7 Girls’ Level Co-ordinator

Time Capsules

One of the highlights for Year 12 students, apart of course, from finishing their school studies, is to open their time capsules. These packages are created in the final weeks of Year 7 and include many fond and heart-warming memories of those early days in secondary school. The Year 7 students have been working on their letters to themselves during pastoral time and collecting together the many photographs they have taken during the year. The students are encouraged to include a few significant mementos of their time in the first year of secondary school. For example, there is the Form camp banner, their first pastoral activity – keys to success and the name tags that were made during orientation whilst they were still in Grade 6. These items will be stored in the Community cottage until Term 4 2021.

By Di Grochowska – Year 7 Girls’ Level Co-ordinator

End of Year Program

For the past three days Middle School students in Year 7 and 8 have been involved in an end of year program. The House teams have been given a series of tasks set around the theme of a classic animated Disney film. To make sure everyone is kept busy there have also been ‘Challenge’ sessions, Theory of Knowledge lectures and sport activities. The program culminates on Wednesday afternoon in a performance presented by each House on their chosen film. The students have worked in a most co-operative manner during this time and many supervising staff have commented on their enthusiasm and creativity. The results of the competition will be announced on Thursday at the Middle School assembly.

By Di Grochowska – Year 7 Girls’ Level Co-ordinator

Rock Climbing Camp

Spending our Summer Expedition in the scenic Frequient National Park, Tasmania was an unforgettable experience we all treasured for many different reasons. Whether it was running to our airport terminal during final call at 6 am in the morning or finally reaching that gripping hold on the rock face, these challenges and experiences we were faced with granted us the ability to gloat to our families and family about our amazing and adventurous week.

Our rock-climbing mentor Rod taught us all we needed to know from lead climbing to abseiling to basic belaying technique to constructing a secure anchor at the top of the cliff. These skills all came in handy during the week and will sure be in use in our future adventures.

This camp was fantastic for everyone as it could be suited for dare-devils, who wanted to abseil down cliffs frontward or those who aren’t too keen of heights and would rather belay or climb smaller walls. This provided the opportunity for everyone to get involved.

One of the most significant memories during this week was after a challenging climb and reaching the peak of the wall, turning around and seeing a majestic whale ascend from the water. Though the climbing and scenery was amazing, I’m sure we will all never forget the big group chats around the camp table getting to know each other on a closer level and contrasting our experiences from the day.

By Julia Rosenbrock – 9C

White Water Rafting Camp – Group 1

This camp was an experience for sure. Everyone who went had an amazing time and we bonded over the some of the smallest things. For example, when someone fell out of the boat during a rapid, we were all laughing so much and trying to guess who it was. We cooked dinner together and shared a lot of our food (because we made WAAYYYYYY too much). The group enjoyed so much of that camp, but things got pretty crappy when everyone discovered they had to poop in a bucket. In the end everything was okay, but for a while everyone got a bit worried. We helped each other through some challenges, for example, when someone was frightened to take a leap off the dam wall, everyone in the group encouraged her and helped her get through it, and she jumped. We made friends who we didn’t have before and we formed stronger relationships with the ones we already had. I’m so glad I chose this camp, and I think anyone in the future would be glad as well. Because – ‘whatever floats your boat’!

By Elissa Wright – 9A

Boys’ Junior School Prep- 2 Family Christmas morning

Our last morning began with our annual Family Christmas morning . This predominantly features our Prep-Year 2 boys, and a Year 6 Nativity.

A lovely way to finish our year with some Christmas Carols,  musical items and a visit from Santa.

Oh the places you went

oh-the-places-you-went-final-01122016

In a year where Dr Seuss has been our theme, it is somewhat appropriate to finish with his famous “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened!”

This week in particular has seen many special and significant events.

Monday night saw our Year 3-6 Speech Night, during which our boys presented with a sense of occasion, and ensured that our Year 6 boys were thanked and recognised for their significant contributions to our Junior School.

Tuesday our Prep-Year 2 boys spent a lovely day with a number of parents at our annual Beach Day, while Wednesday morning, thanks to Haidee and our Tintern Parents Group, all of our boys enjoyed decorating gingerbread.

Last night at our annual Year 6 Parent-Son dinner, our Year 6 boys presented individually about their Junior School journey….their confidence and thoughtfulness was a credit to them and their parents

Today, our Prep-Year 2 family Christmas morning was another warm, engaging, spirited and at times, very funny morning. Please click on the link provided to see our boys’ lovely responses to a number of questions regarding Christmas.

Our Year 6 boys provided an appropriate level of spiritualty and a reflective reminder about why Christmas is important to us all, through their presentation of the Christmas Nativity.

As I write, we are preparing for our Prep-Year 9 Boys assembly, when we will have the opportunity to acknowledge all boys, present pennants, provided by our Tintern Parents Group, to our Year 6 boys, and thank staff who are leaving.

Our end of year Dr Seuss book, “Oh The Places You Went” provides a summary of our year.

I thank our boys for their spirit, energy, resilience, confidence, enthusiasm and care of one another and us as staff…it is a privilege to be in a position to be able to share every day with such lovely boys and families.

Thank you to all members of our Community for being a part of 2016…a memorable and special year for us.

I wish you a safe, reflective and Merry Christmas and holiday, and look forward to the excitement of 2017.

Our Alumni – where are they now?

Tintern alumni continue to appear in the media with 2 further articles featuring Celia Pacquola YG 2000 and Bridget Kenna YG 2014.

Celia Pacquola YG 2000: Huge congratulations to Celia Pacquola YG 2000, comedian and actress, who this week won the AACTA award for ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama’ for her role in ‘The Beautiful Lie’. Celia ​has joined the long list of comedians to be acclaimed for serious roles. Celia plays a sharp-witted mother of three who is cheated on by her husband in the ABC mini-series The Beautiful Lie. This follows other roles in ABC comedy productions including Utopia and Rosehaven. According to the Sydney Morning Herald Celia could be up for bigger things: “Just as for Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, Jim Carrey​ in The Truman Show and Whoopi Goldberg in The Colour Purple, it’s a role that revealed a surprising depth to Pacquola’s acting,”

Bridget Kenna YG 2014: Kangan Institute introduced the next generation of Australian fashion designers through a unique fashion parade, Melbourne Edge, in the heart of our city’s creative precinct, Richmond. Bridget Kenna from YG 2014 was one of the many up and coming designers to feature their designs – here is one of her pieces paraded on the cat walk. Well done Bridget, we look forward to seeing you work.

Power and Courtyard works Commencing Monday 5th December 2016

Please be advised that preparation works for the PE Centre power upgrade and works to the Year 9 courtyard will commence on Monday 5^th December 2016 . Please click on the image below of the plan showing restricted areas and pedestrian access areas.

Please note:

• No vehicle access from the PE Centre through to the Senior College/Farm.   
• No Carparks will be available next to the senior tennis courts from the 5^th December 2016 through to the commencement of Term 1 next year.
• Limited pedestrian access from First Aid/Finance through to Senior College.
• Pedestrian access to Theatre, Year 9 locker room, Home Economics and farm via the administration ring road as per the attached plan.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause if you have any enquiries please contact Shelley Asbury – sasbury@tintern.vic.edu.au 

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

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

Information for Parents

Application Form

Application forms should be completed and lodged by 3 March 2017, as payments are made from March. However we will be able to accept and process applications up until the end of term two each year.

‘Days for Girls’ Year 8 Social Action Day

On 1st December the Year 8 girls held their annual ‘Days for Girls’ social action day. This unique day is part of the year 8 pastoral program on Global citizenship. The girls have explored the ideal of ‘normal’ and worked to understand how life can be very different depending on your circumstances. As a global citizen students have begun to consider global responsibilities such as caring for those less fortunate. The ‘Days for Girls’ project believes that every girl in the world deserves safety and dignity through providing sustainable feminine hygiene kits. ‘Days for Girls’ believes that if they can keep girls in education for as long as possible then change is possible in the poverty cycle for women. For more info go to http://www.daysforgirls.org

In preparation for the social action day, the Year 8 girls worked to collect donations of fabric, soap and other items from across the school and their friends and family.  They also organised a free dress day where they raised over $300 as an additional donation. I would like to thank all of our parents and staff who were very generous in their donations of time, financial support and practical items.

Throughout the day on December 1st, the girls were determined to make a real difference through their efforts. They impressed me with their leadership and responsibility in getting on with the job and ensuring that everyone had a job. They invested considerable effort into their packing, sewing, folding, ironing, and sorting and took a lot of pride in making sure we were producing a gift that we could be proud of giving to our sisters in need. They all worked tirelessly and could be heard encouraging each other when they were getting weary.

We were lucky enough to have state leader of Days for Girls Michelle Gates spend the day with us. She shared with the girls her personal story of seeing firsthand the challenges facing women in East Timor which was powerful and very inspiring. It was a terrific opportunity for our year 8 students to hear directly how their efforts can directly impact and improve the lives of others. The girls worked incredibly hard, and impressed Michelle with their respectful manner and positive attitudes throughout the day.

By the end of the day we had packed over 280 kits which are about to be shipped off to Uganda, East Timor and to the South Sudanese refugees. Thank you again for helping us to make this possible with your generous donations of time, donations and financial support.

By Liz Cutter – Year 8 Girls’ Level Co-ordinator

News from Senior College

With all Semester 2 Years 10 – 12 classes having finished by mid-November and Years 10 into 11 and 11 into 12 transition classes having finished on Monday 28 November, I am prompted to provide current Senior College families with some reminders:

• Firstly, that all transition homework is due in the first lesson of each subject next year; the work is on the Portal if students did not take copies home or were unable to attend
• Having recently read all Years 10 and 11 Mentor group and subject reports, I remind students and families that Semester 2 reports will be available online next week as advised by e-mail
• Year 12 students will receive a Reference from the School
• Students in Year 11 and 12 next year commence classes on Tuesday 31 January 2017

Academic Transition Classes for Year 9 into 10

In the final Middle Schools Assembly today, it was my great pleasure to acknowledge that the current Year 9 students had completed their Middle School journey and to welcome them into the Senior College for 2017.

This week they have enjoyed a transition program which has included: getting familiarised with the Anderson Centre (Senior College building); Work Experience discussions; completing an OH&S module in preparation for Work Experience in Year 10; a variety of activities; but perhaps most importantly preparation for Year 10 classes – with many subjects setting holiday homework to complete.

The Year 9 students were very impressive in their attitude and application across the transition program and Mrs Ruckert, our Year 10 Co-ordinator, and I, as Vice-Principal and Head of Senior College, are very much looking forward to welcoming them back a day later than next year’s Year 11 and 12 students – i.e. on Wednesday 1 February 2017 – to what will be their “home base” across Years 10, 11 and 12.

We look forward to preparing them firstly for success in their program of choice, whether it be the VCE or the IB; and looking further afield, to embarking on their career of choice at University, or the workforce, in 2020 and beyond.

Their Senior College years are opportunities to more closely explore the subject areas they are particularly keen on and ultimately aim to pursue as a career – as they are aware we have a Careers Centre to ensure them to have close access to advice. Our task as staff at the Senior College is to ensure that they are prepared for the wide variety of pathways that their future journey may follow.

A distinguishing feature of their Senior College journey will be the opportunity to be in the same Mentor group over the 3 years – their House groups. They will have the advantage of coming together daily as a unit of common purpose, the House group; whilst, as individuals they focus on the suite of subjects that will serve them best academically.

I take this opportunity to wish both our current and next year’s Senior College students, as well as their families, safe and happy holidays; and we look forward to greeting our current Years 9, 10 and 11 students on their return next year.

Year 7 Movie Excursion

For the Year 7 students the wide reading program included a special surprise treat: a trip to the cinema to see Miss Peregrine’s School for Curious Children. This is the film version of a book many students picked for their wide reading throughout the year. As well as that, it directly tied into our topic of young protagonists growing up through adversity. Croydon Cinemas kindly allowed us to have a private screening, allowing us a focused experience watching the film.

It also demonstrated a creative style to narratives and thematic ideas. We have been encouraging creative thinking all throughout the Middle School Years. Even those who had read the book were impressed by the imaginative interpretation of the story. The film was then used as a basis of ideas for our last creative projects, including the End of Year Program.

It was a fun day for all.

By Luke Mansour – English/History Teacher

End of Year Program

During the last week of school, students in Year 7 and 8 have been participating in the end of year program, EYP. The activities have been designed to provide variety, creativity, competition, academic rigor and fun. Students have been competing within Houses in activities such as STEM constructions, Theory of Knowledge and Psychology lectures, House volleyball and ultimate Frisbee, and a Disney animations project. Skills such as leadership, cooperation, creativity, initiative and teamwork have been demonstrated and observed. All activities have accumulated points. Congratulations to the Dann Watt girls and Somner Stewart boys teams for achieving the most points and winning the 2016 EYP.

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

Tintern Grammar Fair 2017

Tintern Grammar Fair – Spring Cleaning???

If you are spring cleaning, or doing a Christmas cleanout in the coming months, please keep in mind all the pre-loved items we can benefit from at the Fair next year.

Collections will begin at the start of the new year, so please set aside any of the following items:

• Secondhand Books & Clothes, Pre-loved Toys & Sporting Goods
• Items for Auction or any items of value that may be used as prizes.
• Glass Jars for the Junior School Lucky Jars

Enquiries to: Amanda McKenzie Phone: 0419 313 279 Email: fair@tinternschools.vic.edu.au

Stall Coordinators

Many thanks to all who have already offered to assist as Stall Coordinators. We are still looking for Coordinators for the following stalls:

For a full list of the Stall Coordinators visit this News Digest article: http://portal.tintern.vic.edu.au/news/item/2999

Here are just a few ways you can help right now:

• Offering donations of goods or services
• Become a Stall Coordinator for your year level (see above)
• Sponsoring a specific stall
• The success of our Fair can be enhanced by great publicity.

Can your location help?

Do you live on a main road, and are willing for Tintern Grammar to advertise our School Fair with a Real Estate Billboard in your yard?

If you can assist with any of these items, or even just to share your ideas, get in contact with the committee at Fair@tintern.vic.edu.au or call our Fair Convenor, Amanda McKenzie on 0419 313 279.

Please like and share our Fair Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TinternGrammarFair/

Key Dates 2017

Term Dates 2017

Please click the link below for term dates 2017.

http://www.tintern.vic.edu.au/community/#term-dates

Whole school closure

Tintern Grammar will close on Friday 27 January as a dissemination to our community regarding the Grace and Favour day following the Australia Day Public Holiday.

Office Hours 2017

Please note that Administration will close on Tuesday 20 December. We will reopen on Tuesday 3 January 2017.