Blue Mountains Grammar School Newsletter Vol 7, 23rd March, 2018

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Our First Major Centenary Weekend

It is difficult to know where to begin after such an enormous weekend. Needless to say I am

incredibly grateful to members of the BMGS community for their efforts. While many people have

been thanked at each of the events, I want to take this opportunity in particular to thank our staff

and parent community, for the amount of work that has been completed over the last few months to

bring it all together.

The BMGS Foundation Centenary Committee, led by Mr. Rhod Grivas (Chair), Miss Anne Cranna, Mrs

Kate Prowse, Mrs. Marlene Plummer, Mr. George Vergotis and Ms Lesley Chen, set out to make this

weekend a worthy celebration to mark an historic milestone in the life of the School and wider

Mountains community and they have certainly achieved this.

The Cocktails at the Carrington function on Friday night was a great success being booked out a

week or so beforehand.

The games of Netball, Football and Hockey on Saturday between our Firsts teams and Alumni were

enjoyed by all involved.

Those reliving their Wild Ed abseiling days by participating in the Empress Canyon fieldtrip enjoyed

their time immensely. I was amused to meet some Alumni afterwards and hear that they had taken

their partners along to give them a glimpse of this most popular course at BMGS, yet had not told

them beforehand exactly all that was involved!

The talk by one of Australia’s leading mountaineers, Greg Mortimer OAM, on Saturday evening was

appreciated by all in attendance and reinforced how fortunate we are to have access to such a

beautiful environment in which to run our Wilderness Education program.

The student movies on that same night celebrating the 100th theme were a great showcase of the

creative talents possessed by our student body. The Centenary Service at St Alban’s on Sunday

afternoon to acknowledge the School’s Christian foundations and celebrate our anniversary was a

special occasion for many.

The generosity and commitment of those involved was remarkable. Planning events such as these

takes a great deal of work but physically making them happen is twice as hard. We were fortunate to

have thorough planning, great weather and willing hands. Many different details had to be taken into

consideration, with different possibilities being catered for and nothing being left to chance.

For their organisation and oversight of all the different events, I particularly thank: Mrs. Christine

Olliffe, Mr Rhod Grivas, Miss Anne Cranna, Mrs. Kate Prowse, Mrs. Marlene Plummer, Mrs. Debbie

Smith, Mr. Cameron Smith, Mr. Col Burke, Mr. George Vergotis, Mr. Trevor Prowse, Mrs. Lesley Chen,

Ms Charlotte Smith, Ms Olivia de Govrik, Ms Eleni Vergotis, Mr. Parrish Robbins, Mr. Stuart Hayes,

Mrs. Megan Harris, Mr. Praveen Singh, Mrs. Rachel Hyslop, Ms Lauren Wade, Ms Vicki Standen, Mr.

Serge Girardi, Mr. Christopher Zito, Mrs. Andy O’Doherty, Ms Carole Young, Ms Kaye Foster-Powell,

Ms Samantha O’Hare, Mr. Mark Glover, Mr. Mike Chergwin, Mr. Rob Clyne, Ms Jane Cleary, Mr. Costa

Zakis, Mrs. Julie Cooney, Mrs. Olwen Gee, the Reverend Richard Newton, Mr. Luke Webb and the

Reverend David Sandifer. I also thank the following students: Maeve Magner, Oliver Drew, Tom

Bahnisch, Peter Young, Balint Boda, Gus Chen, Sophia Chen, Felix van Niekirk, Zachary Franklin,

Laura Clyne, Cameron Grivas, Jessica Prowse, Jackson Prowse, William Gee and Liam Glinn, who

also provided excellent support and assistance at the various events, together with the Choristers

and Musicians who performed at the Church Service: Laura Clyne, Joshua Williams, Sarah Fallon,

Leila Harris, Abbie Clyne, Lexie Zito, Tom Archer, Charlie Mannes, Abraham Darley and Sel Hardaker.

Thank you, also, to all the players in the Firsts teams for Netball, Hockey and Football, who

contributed to the thoroughly entertaining matches, played in wonderful spirit, against our Alumni

teams.

It has been a pleasure working with such a dedicated group of individuals who have this School

community’s best interests at heart. It was a truly wonderful Centenary weekend.

For many the most important part was the chance to reconnect with old friends, share some laughs

and reminisce.

The events of the past weekend will live on in the memories of those who attended. For some it will

be the Cocktail function, for others the game of sport on the oval or in the Sports Centre, or watching

the amazing student movies on Coorah Lawn, or jumping into the cold waters of Empress Canyon, for

others the memorable Centenary Service at St Alban’s in Leura.

This School was founded through vision, sacrifice and hard work. One hundred years on, these same

traits still form part of the core of the BMGS community.

Once again, my sincere thanks for all that was done, by so many, to make the first of our major

Centenary weekends such a success.

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Bronte Pickering (Year 11) who competed at the National Athletics Finals on the

weekend. Her results (a PB) placed her 18th nationally in the 100m event – well done, Bronte.

Trevor Barman

Headmaster

FROM THE ACTING CHAPLAIN

Forgiveness, an Afterword to Bullying

Do you find it hard to forgive? I do. I think we all do when it comes to really forgiving others for true

grievances against us. Forgiveness takes strength. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The weak can never

forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” The longer we take to forgive, or to start forgiving,

the harder it becomes. Forgiving does not mean we forget but it means that we talk about the

problems truthfully with each other and forge a path forward. But the reverse is true also; forgetting

does not mean we forgive. Forgetting just means the problems will grow and remerge as bigger

problems later. In Ephesians 4:26-27 Paul argues that we should make haste with our forgiveness,

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the

devil a foothold (NIV).”

Forgiveness is sometimes more painful than the wound we suffered. But as many of us know, there

is no peace without forgiveness. We feel unsettled without forgiveness. Forgiveness affects us as

much as the person we need to forgive. Paul builds on the concept of forgiveness by reminding us

that Christ is the ultimate forgiver, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander,

along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:31-32, NIV).” This sounds very utopian, idealistic,

unattainable, and I think it is… unless we ask God for help. We must then continue to ask God for

help with rebuilding our character into more kind and compassionate people.

Desmond Tutu described forgiveness like this, “a room can be dank because you have closed the

windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In

order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.”

You can still make mistakes and be forgiven. Being forgiven or forgiving someone does not just stop

there. It is not the destination. Forgiveness needs to happen at every stop along the way of life.

My marriage probably would not have lasted more than a few years if my wife and I were not able to

forgive each other – and usually the things we need forgiveness for are the little things that annoy

each other. Tiny things that seem easy to ignore until a bigger problem comes up. I suspect that

most of us are like this. It is only human to collect little annoyances and then throw them all at

someone when we are overwhelmed by life or angry at them. All those little things that are bubbling

beneath the surface, swept under the carpet, or pushed into the closet, eventually come out. This

happens in every relationship, in any true friendship that is worth its salt. It is then that forgiveness

needs to be given and accepted, knowing that forgiveness will be needed again, and again, and

again.

Many of you will be familiar with the feeling of starting a new relationship. You go through that

walking on sunshine ‘romance’ or ‘holiday’ period. Nothing annoys you about your partner, in fact is

quite the opposite – everything is beautiful and makes you fall in love even more. But once you truly

get to know each other you can really start to push each other’s buttons, and that is when you need

to forgive each other in order to move your relationship forward. Sometimes this means facing the

problems and issues front on, forgiving each other for hurtful words, and understanding that there is

no peace without forgiveness. Only the strong can forgive, and God gives us the strength we need

when we turn to Him and ask for directions forward.

L. Webb

BMGS CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS – 2018

Centenary Jackets

A limited edition of Centenary Jackets, bearing the Anniversary logo, will be

available for purchase until the end of Term 2 (June). The jackets are

available in two colours: black with a white crest or navy blue with a yellow

crest, and all sizes are $45.00 (Men, Ladies and Children sizes available).

The jackets can be purchased through the Uniform Shop and Mrs. Arrell has

a range of sizes/samples available now for fittings. 50% of the purchase

price is to be lodged with your order. Visit the Anniversary page on the

Quick Links page of our website: http://www.bmgs.nsw.edu.au/bmgs-100-

year-anniversary

Centenary Autumn Festival Weekend

The busy Festival schedule unfolded as planned, commencing with Cocktails at the Carrington – a

sold-out function with 100 guests – staff, parents, friends and Alumni - enjoying a fun, social evening

to mark the start of the first of two special Centenary festival weekends.

Guests were treated to special presentations that took them back in time, through three tableau

vivants, living pictures depicting a BMGS family from the 1920s, 1950s and 1970s, made possible

by Ms Charlotte Smith and selected items from her fabulous Darnell Collection, and Mrs. Marlene

Plummer (Archivist), who provided School uniforms from these eras.

Mrs. Debbie Smith, Mr. Cameron Smith and Mr. Col

Burke provided jazz and blues accompaniment for the

evening, whilst guests sampled an array of specially

created cocktails/mocktails, canapés and cupcakes.

The weather was perfect for Saturday’s events which

commenced with two groups setting off bright and

early (7:30am) on expeditions to Empress Canyon and

returning in time to watch the Firsts v Alumni teams

contest Netball, Football and Hockey games, with the

Alumni teams gaining ‘bragging rights’ on the

aggregate of scores from the three games.

There will be an

opportunity for

current BMGS

teams to level the

scores in the

summer sports

matches to take

place during the

September Festival

weekend. We thank all the wonderful supporters who came along to cheer on the teams!

The perfect weather continued on Saturday evening for the

much anticipated Movies Night. Many families brought

picnics and spent a very enjoyable ‘family’ night

surrounded by fairy lights, enjoying fresh, hot popcorn and

cooling off with ice creams.

The evening commenced with a fascinating presentation by

Mr. Greg Mortimer, OAM,

who gave a wonderful talk

and visual presentation of

his mountaineering career,

with highlights including his

successful climb of Mt

Everest and his trip to

Antartica.

Despite some technical

difficulties, the students’

film submissions were

played, to a very

appreciative audience.

The final event of our Festival weekend was

an Anniversary Service held at St. Alban’s

Anglican Church, Leura, on Sunday. The

service commenced with welcomes by the

minister of St. Alban’s Reverend David

Sandifer and the Headmaster, Mr. Barman,

and was led by our Acting Chaplain, Mr. Luke

Webb. Our guest speaker was the Reverend

Richard Newton (BMGS Alumni, 1988), who

delivered the sermon. The service was

attended by many members of the BMGS

family, past and present staff, students and

parents.

The complete calendar of events has been published on our website. Please visit the Quick Links

page for regular updates and details of each upcoming event: http://www.bmgs.nsw.edu.au/bmgs-

100-year-anniversary. Upcoming events will also be promoted on the School’s Facebook page.

BMGS Foundation Committee

FROM THE ACTING DEPUTY HEAD – HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

International Women’s Day

At the beginning of the year, the Year 12 leadership team identified a desire to mark International

Women’s Day as a School again this year. While a rescheduled Swimming Carnival meant this could

not occur nearer the 2018 official date of 8th March, what happened last week was absolutely

amazing.

Alice Knight (Year 12, Pitt House Captain) roved the playground and corridors of the School to film a

short film which narrated a poem, 100 Words of Women, which was aired in last week’s School

Assembly.

The film spoke powerfully of the strength, beauty, intelligence, fun and resilience of women and

included some fine cameo performances from both teaching and non-teaching staff as well as many

female students from the Senior School and some of the male students. Thank you to Alice and all of

the students and Staff involved in this important project. On this matter I thought the following words

from the poem would be appropriate:

“A woman’s strength is indestructible. Women deserve to be heard. Women deserve love.”

Vehicle Safety on and around the campus

As autumn goes on it seems more and more parents are kindly dropping children off and collecting

them at the roundabout. As an observer of this process I would like to thank parents and guardians

for the care which is taken to ensure there are no accidents around the roundabout. Can I please

ask though that parents use this route for dropping off and collecting students rather than other

locations on campus such as the Performing Arts Centre car park, as considerable foot traffic

crosses the access road for this car park while students walk to and from the train station.

Further, I would like to thank parents and guardians for ensuring that the students who drive to and

from School themselves have completed a written permission note. This also includes students who

wish to travel as a passenger in a car driven by another student. Your support here is greatly

appreciated in promoting safe driving habits and in helping the School exercise its duty of care to all

students. Students yet to obtain written permission can see Ms Martin in Student Reception for a

permission note.

A. Beitsch

FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD – TEACHING & LEARNING

Diary Dates Term 1

Year 12 Half yearly exams Tuesday, 27th March – Monday, 9th April

Year 10 Parent/Teacher/Student conferences Thursday, 5th April

Saving Files

There have been some problems with students losing assessment task files they have been working

on due to poor “saving files” techniques. Best practice for saving of student work is as follows:

1. Save all files into your Xdrive – not onto your desktop and not into the Sdrive (having too

many files on your desktop causes your computer to run inefficiently).

2. As soon as you create a file, save it into the Xdrive. Then set autosave to save every five

minutes or so.

3. Back up your files every week (onto an external drive or similar).

4. Sending a copy to yourself each time you complete some work is also a good way to ensure

you have a copy if your laptop is damaged in some way.

5. For assessment tasks, it’s always good to print off a few drafts as you work through it, as

evidence of your progress.

Please note that all Years 8-12 assessment booklets state the following:

“A student cannot come on the day an Assessment Task is due and claim that they cannot hand in, or

complete, the task because:

(a) the computer broke down,

(b) the printer won’t work, or

(c) other similar excuse,

and expect to be granted an extension.

If there is a problem with a computer, students must be able to show the class teacher hard copy

evidence of the task during its construction. i.e. students need to print a hard copy and/or make a ‘soft

copy’ backup at various stages of the task and/or email the task to their school email account and keep

this as evidence, until the final task has been submitted or presented.”

Year 12 Examinations – Monday 27th March – Monday 9th April

Year 12 students have received their examination timetables.

Students must ensure they are familiar with the guidelines regarding “Conduct in Examinations” and

read the assessment booklet carefully regarding what must happen in the event of illness or

misadventure during this examination period. In particular, if students are ill, they must phone the

Deputy Head – Teaching and Learning’s office on the morning of their exam and get a medical

certificate to attach to their Illness and Misadventure form.

Some key points –

1. Students MUST use black pens, unless a pencil is specifically required. That means no blue

or other coloured pens.

2. All drink bottles must be plain with no writing and completely see-through

3. All pencil cases must be plain and completely see-through.

4. They must NOT have a mobile device (including smart watches) in the exam room. Even

having one in their pocket means they get automatic zero for the entire paper.

Students should get into the habit of checking equipment requirements for each exam. Please

use the NSW Students Online website to read through the HSC Rules and Procedures guide so

students understand what can be taken into the examination room, what they are allowed to do

during reading time and what procedures must be followed when in the examination room

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/rules-and-processes/rules-procedures-guide-students

M. Hastie

FROM THE HEAD OF MUSIC

Centenary Service

Thank you to the following choristers who lead the Hymn singing during the Centenary Service at St

Alban’s Anglican Church on Sunday afternoon: Laura Clyne (Year 12), Joshua Williams (Year 12),

Sarah Fallon (Year 11), Leila Harris (Year 11), Abbie Clyne (Year 10), Lexie Zito (Year 10), Tom Archer

(Year 6) and Charlie Mannes (Year 6). The preliminary and recessional music performed by Abraham

Darley (Year 12) Sel Hardaker (Year 10) and Mrs Cooney was also much appreciated.

HICES Music Festival

Student applications for the Years 7-12 HICES Music Festival close on 28th March. Students are

invited to submit their initial application online, via the HICES Music Festival page, under Events on

the HICES website: http://www.hices.nsw.edu.au/event.asp?pid=10&id=10 by 28th March.

Video-taped auditions, including sight–reading are required by 2nd May. These auditions will be

recorded at the beginning of Term 2.

.

Diary Dates:

Easter Sunday Service: Sunday, 1st April, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, participating

Choristers 10:30am

D. Smith

FROM THE LEARNING ENRICHMENT DEPARTMENT

This term I am in the Library Resource Centre (LRC) after

school on Tuesdays from 3:15pm to 4:45pm. This after

school assistance can also include help in organising a

study plan or just general assistance in organising your

workload.

If you are interested in attending, it is a great idea to

contact me on email almichielsen@bmgs.nsw.edu.au so

that I can prepare best for the time spent together.

A. Michielsen

FROM THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

After School English Study

From Week 3, students in Years 7 to 12 will be able to seek additional after-school tutoring and

assistance with their English studies. Students are welcome to attend either Tuesday or Wednesday

afternoons in the LRC, so bring along your English homework or assessment tasks and be pro-active

about your learning in this challenging but rewarding key learning area.

Enquiries from students or parents can be directed to Mr Horne at ghorne@bmgs.nsw.edu.au

G. Horne

FROM THE MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Mathematics Tutoring takes place in the LRC every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, from

3:15pm to 4:45pm.

Bring along your Mathematics books and get help with any areas of concern, with revision for

assessment tasks or with enrichment.

S. Coultas

FROM THE PDHPE DEPARTMENT

Year 11 Aqua Aerobics

Students in Year 11, studying PDHPE,

ventured to Katoomba Sports and Aquatic

Centre on Thursday afternoon for their Aqua

Aerobics class. The students were fortunate

enough to have the session led by Fitness

Trainer Michelle, who put them through their

paces. The class focused on aerobic

endurance and resistance training, using

foam dumbbells and pool noodles. All in all,

it was an enjoyable atmosphere with music.

To everyone’s surprise, Aqua Aerobics was

physically exerting and would be an excellent

fitness choice. Stay tuned for more of our

fitness escapades…

Year 9 Swim and Survive

Last week, Year 9 participated in their Swim and Survive program at Lawson Pool. We had great

weather on Monday, however, Tuesday was a bit wet with the rain unrelenting. Despite this, students

were still able to complete all the requirements focusing on stroke correction, survival techniques

and CPR practice. Students were of high spirits throughout the two days, despite the rain. Overall a

positive experience for Year 9, well done!

L. Wade

FROM THE UNIFORM SHOP

Triathlon Singlets

A reminder that singlets hired for the Triathlon need to be returned to the Uniform Shop as soon as

possible.

Centenary Jackets

A limited edition of Centenary Jackets, bearing the Anniversary logo, will be

available for purchase until the end of Term 2 (June). The jackets are available

in two colours: black with a white crest or navy blue with a yellow crest, and all

sizes are $45.00 (Men, Ladies and Children sizes available).

The jackets can be purchased through the Uniform Shop and Mrs. Arrell has a

range of sizes/samples available now for fittings. 50% of the purchase price is to

be lodged with your order. Visit the Anniversary page on the Quick Links page of

our website: http://www.bmgs.nsw.edu.au/bmgs-100-year-anniversary

K. Arrell

FROM THE HEAD OF SPORT

Centenary Alumni Winter Sports Day

Last Saturday the 100-year celebrations continued with the Winter Sport Alumni Day. It was great to

see so many ex-students return to the School, from recent graduates to those who left the school

more than 15 years ago.

There were three great games played in Netball, Boys’ Football and Hockey. Both the Alumni and

School teams were very competitive resulting in some close results:

Netball BMGS First V defeated Alumni 15-13

Football Alumni defeated BMGS First XI 3-2

Hockey Alumni defeated BMGS First XI 2-1

Thank you to all those who played, refereed and supported the day. We will be holding a Summer

Sports Alumni Day in conjunction with the Spring Fair in Term 3.

Congratulations

ISA Swimming Carnival

Last Wednesday the BMGS Swimming team competed at the ISA Swimming Carnival. A number of

students achieved personal bests on the day and overall the BMGS team were able to hold their own

in the pool.

Special mention

must be made of

the four boys who

made up the

Senior Boys’ team.

Luke Anicic, Rowan

Foster-Powell,

Nathan Murray and

Harrison Wilkman-

Dean (pictured

right, l to r),

covered all the

events for the

Senior Boys,

placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all their events. This included a 1st in the

Freestyle Relay and 2nd in the Medley Relay. As a result of their

efforts the Senior Boys took home the Senior Boys’ Division 2

Shield. Pictured above: Harrison Wilkman-Dean and Taylor Cameron receiving the Shield from Mr.

John Collier.

The NSWCIS Carnival will be held on 3rd and 4th April. Four students from BMGS have qualified to

compete at this carnival. Congratulations to Eva Passlow, Henry Weaver, Skye Haddock and Bronte

Pickering on making the ISA team for 2018.

Athletics

Last weekend Bronte Pickering (Year 11)

competed at the National Athletics

Championships. In the 100m, Bronte

achieved an overall placing of 18th with

a PB of 12.49 seconds. This is a

fantastic achievement for Bronte and

reflects the effort that she has put into

training over the past 12 months.

(Bronte is pictured right, second lane up

from bottom of photo)

Triathlon Results

In last week’s results, the individual

overall rankings were for all competitors.

This week I have also included the NSWCIS rankings.

Mirah Larkin (Year 9): 26th out of 107 overall competitors (15th from 41 NSWCIS competitors).

Casper Larkin (Year 7) 22nd out of 149 competitors (11th from 61 NSWCIS competitors).

These were outstanding results for both Mirah and Casper in the solo competition.

Cricket Presentation Evening

The 2018 Cricket Presentation Evening will be held tomorrow, Saturday, 24th March in Cuff Hall;

6:00pm arrival for 6:30pm start. Parents should have received forms regarding this event via email.

If you have not received any information could you please email Stuart Collins on

scollins@bmgs.nsw.edu.au

ISA 2018 Winter Season

Teams are now finalised for the 2018 Winter Sport season. If any player was unsuccessful in making

a team please come and see me to see if there are any spaces in your age group in another sport. All

training sessions start this week. Please ensure that you are wearing BMGS gear to training.

If there are any students who need to order new uniforms for their winter sport, please go to the

Uniform Shop on either Monday or Tuesday.

M. Harris

FROM THE HEAD OF THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

A lot has been happening around the Junior School of late. Here are just some of the events that

have been keeping our children occupied:

Following our Inter-House Swimming Carnival our School Swimming team has participated eagerly in

both the WAS and HICES Swimming Carnivals. Competition was tough in both, but our swimmers

competed keenly and encouraged each other with great School spirit, BMGS finishing third for the

Division 1 Percentage Shield at HICES.

Congratulations to all those who participated in our School Carnival and to those who competed at

representative level. Here are the results of our own Carnival:

House Champions: Ziele Pitt

Age Champions

Boys Girls

12 Years Connor Snedden (Swimming Captain) Sophia Murray (Swimming Captain)

11 Years Flynn Nicholls Francesca McNair

10 Years Finley Snedden Gretel Passlow

8/9 Years Otto Passlow Rose Burgess

Our classes from Years 3 to 6 have elected their Student Representative Council members who will

hold their first meeting next week to discuss ideas for enhancing our experiences at the Junior

School. The SRC members are Rose Burgess (3R), Iluka Horn (4G), Chiara Reeves (5B), Luke

Ferguson (5/6F), Robert Griffiths (6G) and Oliver Mills-Mateer (6G and Early Learning

Representative). I look forward to working with these children as they strive to reach their goals for

2018 on behalf of their classmates.

Our HICES Debating team has been working hard to prepare

for their first two rounds of debating and their hard work has

paid off with victories from their first two debates. A report

from James Saad appears further on in this newsletter.

Last week our Stage 3 classes took part in a webinar with

other schools as part of the National Day of Action against

Bullying and Violence. A report from Mrs Gillman who

facilitated this session appears further on in this newsletter. I

sat in on part of the session and found it very topical and

relevant. A hypothetical scenario prompted the children to

really think carefully about the concept of cyberbullying and

their responses led to valuable and thought provoking

discussion. There will be further follow up on this topic as

part of the children’s library sessions in the weeks ahead.

Concern about bullying is naturally an emotive topic for

parents. On the Junior School Portal page, you will find a

letter to parents with further information. Parents can also

refer to the following website: www.bullyingnoway.gov.au. If

ever you are concerned about reports from your child that

sound like they could be experiencing or witnessing bullying, please contact your child’s class

teacher as a first point of contact and the situation can be discussed and followed up as necessary.

On Friday, 9th March all the children

took part in an official Clean up Our

School Day and broke into House

groups to collect, examine and

dispose of litter around our school.

The comment was made by the

children who have been taking part

in this event for some years now

that the litter has noticeably

decreased in spots that have been

notorious for accumulating litter in

the past, such as the perimeter

fence in the Adventure Playground.

This is a positive sign of behaviour

change and long may it continue.

From our Early Learning classes, Mrs Gwyther and Mrs Knebel

write: On Thursday, 8th March, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten ventured into the ‘woods’ for a

Teddy Bear’s Picnic. Family members and friends helped us celebrate a ‘beary’ great week of teddy

bear activities by going on a storytelling adventure through the school and then sharing an

afternoon tea with us. At the end of our picnic we were all very tired little teddy bears.

'Read, Enjoy, Share. Return'

On Friday, 16th March, Early Leaning launched its

'Little Library', based on donated books. The Library

is accessible to all those in the School community

who would like to use it and is located in the Central

Learning Area.

There is no 'checking in or out', just borrowing and

returning. It's a great way to try out lots of new books

for free. Many thanks for all the donations and we

would welcome more.

I extend a special thank you to Mrs Marlene Plummer (School Archivist) for being our guest story

teller and sharing some wonderful books from the library with the Early Learning children, and to Mrs

Catharine Tierney for her amazing talents to create our fabulous new 'Little Library'.

Debating Report, by James Saad (6G)

Last Thursday BMGS hosted our second HICES debate against Kinross Wolaroi School. The subject

for the debate was “That graffiti should be accepted as an art form”. The opposition adopted the

view that graffiti is a form of self-expression. We rebutted them well and said self-expression can be

done in art and having scribbles on buildings and walls is unnecessary and a crime. Overall, it was a

pretty neck-and-neck debate and we were lucky and happy to be awarded the win.

Of course we have also recently had our School Photographs Day, Parent Teacher Interviews and are

looking forward to Easter celebrations next week. The Junior School surely is a busy place!

N. Cockington

Students’ Awards

The following awards were awarded at Assembly this week:

Bronze: Isabel O’Hare and Gracie Saunders (both Year 5/6F)

JUNIOR DEBATING

Our Junior Debating team had a strong start to the year in the first round which was hosted by

Kinross Wallaroi. The topic was 'That there should be a tax on household rubbish' and our team

argued for the Affirmative. A convincing argument, thorough research and impressive manner

secured them a win in a closely contested debate against Scots College. Congratulations to the team

on a fine effort!

Our team continued their winning streak against All Saints in Round 2. We hosted the debate and

the topic was “That graffiti should be considered an art form”. BMGS argued successfully for the

Negative, effectively making the distinction between street art and common graffiti. The adjudicator

remarked that in 44 years of involvement in debating, he had never seen a Junior Debate of such

high quality. All team members are to be commended on their dedication and effort in securing this

wonderful result.

D. Roberson

FROM THE JUNIOR LRC Happenings in the Junior School Library - Cybersafety

Last week Stage 3 joined with other Australian

schools to stand united and celebrate the eighth

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

This was a day of action where students were

encouraged to imagine a world free from bullying.

Building upon the work we have been doing on

Cybersecurity and our digital footprint in Library

lessons, Stage 3 took part in a Webinar run by the

Office of the eSafety Commissioner. Students were

able to participate in an online discussion with other

schools from around Australia to put forward their

ideas and thoughts about how to create an online

world free of bullying.

As part of the webinar, Stage 3 children were encouraged to imagine a school, in the near future

where students use technology without fear of bullying and harassment—a place where students feel

empowered to solve online bullying issues together and where teachers and students work together

to ensure safe online spaces place for all.

Students learnt to identify how the actions

of bystanders, friends and family can

prevent and/or stop online bullying and

harassment. Through discussion and

sharing their thoughts with other schools

and the presenter they were able to come

up with strategies appropriate for their age

group.

Opportunities to work through a given

scenario were given and students proposed

strategies for managing the changing nature

of relationships including dealing with cyber-

bullying and building online friendships. Also

covered in the session were ways to share

information about local services young

people can access for help with cyber-bullying issues.

The Office of eSafety also has resources for parents and families to do with the ever changing nature

of the internet and the challenges it can pose for parents. The resource, called iParent provides

online safety resources designed to target the specific needs of parents and carers. Go to

esafety.gov.au and click on iParent for more information.

J. Gillman

Library/Learning Support Teacher

JUNIOR SPORTS NEWS

Term 1 Round 15

On Saturday, 16th, BMGS had four teams competing for

places in the Grand Finals. The first of the games was

on Court 2 where my 3/4 Mixed Red team played the

Number two ranked Misfits. I was impressed to see my

team increase their goal scoring effort significantly from

the last time we played them and this was largely due

to the high amount of turnovers we had by sticking to

our players and having a really tight defence. The game

was an exciting game to watch.

The second game was 3/4 Mixed Blue against 3/4

Mixed Gold. This was going to be a tough game for

the Gold team who were two players down. The

game was closely contested for the first quarter as

the ball travelled up and down the court many

times before the Blue team scored the first goal.

The Gold team were relentless in their

determination and worked hard to try to minimise

the goal scoring. In the final seconds of the game,

it was wonderful to see a long range shot go in

from the Gold team; a great way to end the game. The Blue team will now progress to the Grand

Finals next weekend.

The 5/6 Girls’ White team approached their game knowing they were the underdogs but pulled

together as a team and gave it their all. Unfortunately, that was not enough on the day but the girls

walked off the court knowing they had done their best. They deserve to feel proud of finishing third in

the competition.

Reminder:

Our Basketball Presentation will be on Friday, 6th April at 3:10pm in Coote Hall. Please bring a plate

of food to share.

Please return your washed basketball top in a bag with your name on it to Mrs Gerrard.

Semi-Final Results:

3/4 Mixed Red played the Misfits - The Misfits won 36 to 18

3/4 Mixed Gold played 3/4 Mixed Blue - The BMGS Blue team won 34 to 6.

5/6 Girls’ White played the Baskets - The Baskets won 35 to 14.

Best wishes to the 3/4 Blue team as they play in the Grand Final on the weekend.

L. Gerrard

FROM THE UNIFORM SHOP

Centenary Jackets

A limited edition of Centenary Jackets, bearing the Anniversary logo, will be

available for purchase until the end of Term 2 (June). The jackets are available

in two colours: black with a white crest or navy blue with a yellow crest, and all

sizes are $45.00 (Men, Ladies and Children sizes available).

The jackets can be purchased through the Uniform Shop and Mrs. Arrell has a

range of sizes/samples available now for fittings. 50% of the purchase price is

to be lodged with your order. Visit the Anniversary page on the Quick Links page

of our website: http://www.bmgs.nsw.edu.au/bmgs-100-year-anniversary

K. Arrell

FROM THE HEAD OF THE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Friday Fun Day!

What a huge Friday we had at the Preparatory School last week! As mentioned by the Headmaster in

last week’s Newsletter, Friday 16th March was the ‘National Day Against Bullying and Violence’.

To mark the occasion, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Senior Constables Robyn and

Melissa from Springwood Police Station.

These lovely ladies gave an excellent talk about how to recognise types of bullying behaviours and

strategies that the students could use if they were to experience negative behaviours. Both Senior

Constables were impressed by the knowledge of the students and their willingness to participate in

the hands on parts of the presentation.

The fun and learning didn’t end there, though. Both officers remained for the duration of lunch to

interact further with the students during their playtime. They even brought Constable Charlie, the

Police Penguin, out to meet the students. Senior Constable Melissa gave a talk to a small group

about keeping safe while Senior Constable Robyn helped Constable Charlie introduce himself. Some

of our Preparatory School boys enjoyed the opportunity to play cricket with Senior Constable Melissa.

This message about bullying was reinforced through our afternoon Chapel service with Mr Webb

where the students learnt about being ‘Kids for Kindness’. Mr Webb reviewed the different stories

from the Bible that demonstrated kindness and shared a wonderful story about being a ‘bucket

filler’. The students saw the different ways that they could ‘fill’ another person’s bucket through kind

words and actions.

This was a message that has resonated strongly throughout the students of the Preparatory School

and it has been wonderful to hear it reinforced around the School this week with the students

recognising examples of ‘bucket filling’ behaviour.

As if all that wasn’t enough, last Friday the students also dressed in red to raise money for the ‘Red

Shield Appeal’. Altogether the Preparatory School raised $94 to donate to the Red Cross.

House Groups:

Continuing to learn more about our House groups, this week, we look at Pitt House.

The Pitt name has a long and illustrious history not only with Blue Mountains Grammar School, but

with the entire region. In the late 1800s, Mr and Mrs Robert Matcham Pitt built ‘Coorah’ which is

now the administrative hub of Blue Mountains Grammar School. The Pitt family were benefactors of

the local Wentworth Falls community and enthusiastic cultivators of daffodils. This connection is

reflected in beautiful stained glass windows that have been added in recent years to the main

entrance of their former home, Coorah.

House Colour: Green

Emblem: Serpent

Parent/Teacher Interviews:

Wednesday, 28th March, 3:15pm – 8:15pm.

Parents will need to go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au to book an interview time. You can log in

using event code bv2cr.

If you require any assistance with booking a time please see Preparatory School Reception.

Upcoming Events:

Book-a-Tour at the Preparatory School – Thursday, 29th March

Grandparents Day and 100th Anniversary Celebration – Wednesday, 11th April

Assembly Awards:

Pre K - Jack Foate, Nico Frost

Kindergarten - Indianah Clarke

Stage 1 - Thomas Hyslop, Angus Magill

Stage 2 - Zarah Snedden, James Klein

A. Brace

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – MARCH/APRIL 2018

Friday, 23rd March – JS Early Learning Autumn Walk

Friday, 23rd March – Year 10 Wilderness Education Bushwalk, Darks Cave

Friday, 23rd March – Year 10 Commerce in Action, Leura/Wentworth Falls/Katoomba

Saturday, 24th March – BMGS 2008 Alumni Reunion

Saturday, 24th March – Cricket Presentation Dinner

Monday, 26th March – Kids Lit Quiz, Kinross Wolaroi

Monday, 26th March – Year 11 Leadership Summit

Monday, 26th March – Year 10 Drama Theatre Performance, “Class Clowns”, Riverside Theatre

Tuesday, 27th March to Thursday, 29th March – Year 11 Leadership Camp

Tuesday, 27th March – Year 10 to Junior School RAVE Visit

Wednesday, 27th March – Early Learning Ambulance Visit

Wednesday, 27th March – Year 9 Wilderness Education Pacing and Orienteering

Wednesday, 27th March – Preparatory School Parent/Teacher evening

Thursday, 29th March – Junior School Easter Hat Parade and P&F Hot Cross Bun Morning

Thursday, 29th March – Preparatory School Book-a-Tour Morning

Thursday, 29th March – Easter Service

Friday, 30th March – Good Friday

Monday, 2nd April – Easter Monday