END OF A VERY SUCCESSFUL TERMI would like to wish all of our families a safe and enjoyable holiday break. I encourage students to take the time these holidays to thank your parents for making sacrifices to send you to our wonderful school. The Independent School is very unique and special and offering so many wonderful opportunities for our students. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their willingness to put in all of the additional hours that make these opportunities possible. I would also like to thank the parents for their support and commitment to Casey Grammar, and finally, I would like to thank the students for putting themselves outside of their comfort zones to discover new talents on their journey towards excellence. This semester our students have been involved in the following:

• Assemblies• Chapel• Baseball• Cricket• Cross country• School camps• NAPLAN• Forensic Science mysteries• FIFA Inter-house World Cup• Exams• Music Soiree• Drama performances• Tests• SAC’s• Excursions

CONGRATULATIONS - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTEarlier this year Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) offered six fully funded scholarships for teachers to train in the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) method-ology at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston USA in September this year. There are 219 Independent Schools in Victoria which Casey Grammar School is affiliated with through ISV. I am pleased to advise that Laura Dascoli (Year 5D) was accepted in the first round of offers and, on her acceptance of this offer, will be participating in the program at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston this September. This includes airfares totalling $2500, full admission to the course and seven nights’ accommodation in Boston, Massachusetts. This city was founded in 1630 and is one of the oldest cities in the US. What a fantastic opportunity this will be for Laura. It also goes to show that Casey Grammar School and our staff are capable of anything. Laura’s application was extremely well written and well deserving of being one of six that have been successful.

SOCCER HOUSE COMPETITIONOne of the most rewarding things that a Principal gets to say is “yes”. Earlier this term one of our Student Leaders, Lucas Hall (Yr 6N, Reid) approached me to see if he could organise a Soccer House competition in the Junior School to run at lunchtimes on the oval. I was very pleased and of course, said “yes”. He then went on to organise a poster with his peers, arrange the draw, advertise the event at assembly, run two lunchtime trials, organise coaches and convince the referee to come out of retirement to referee the competition. The competition was played on Tuesday and Thursday and was extremely well supported by staff and students.

It is said that leadership is about motivating, influencing and directing people so that they work together to achieve the goals of the school. How true this was in the Junior School and what a fabulous way to finish the term.

UNIFORM SHOP HOLIDAY HOURSMid-year break uniform shop hours

Monday 16 July 3.00pm to 5.30pmThursday 19 July 8.00am to 10.30pm

HOPEFUL KIDS ARE HAPPY KIDSOne of the best things we can promote in kids is an optimistic attitude. Optimism is great for promoting positive wellbeing and inoculating kids against depression, but we can go one better and promote a sense of hope. Optimism focuses on thinking, while hope focuses on action. Kids without hope don’t try, have poor relationships and appear helpless. Hopeful kids set goals, work hard and experience success.

Encouraging kids to be hopeful (Dr Justin Coulson)

Parents who want to instil hope in their children can try the following three ideas:

1. Build a future focusSpeak to your children about their possible futures. What do they want to achieve, and why? Have them imagine their potential best selves. Talk to them about what they’re looking forward to. Ask them what they want to have, do and be.

2. Work with them on plans (or pathways)When your child or young person says “I want to be a marine biologist”, be encouraging and then ask them, “What do you need to do to getthere?” Discuss pathways, options and possibilities. Thinking about the future and making plans is central to fostering hope.

3. Help them solve problemsWhen your child or young person is stuck, instead of giving them an answer, ask them, “What do you think is the next best thing to do?” or “When have you overcome something like this before?” This type of question promotes a sense of agency or efficacy. Rather than having our children rely on us for all the answers, they can rely on themselves, their resourcefulness and their initiative. They can recall times they’ve succeeded before and use that to build hope that they can succeed again.

As parents, our wish for our children is that they will grow up happy and resilient. Our wish can become ‘hope’ when we use these three ways to build hope in them as they look towards the future.

Mr. Richard BairdPrincipal

31 JulySenior School P/TMeetings

1 AugustJunior School P/TMeetings

7 AugustVCE Careers Evening

23 JulyDay One of Term 3

25 JulySchool Council Meeting

27 JulyOfficial Opening ofNew Gymnasium

24hr Absentee LinePlease ring 5991 0801 (not the school’s main number) to alert the school of a child’s absence.

General Enquiries5991 0800

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DiscoveryFriday 29 June 2018

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS

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FROM THE PRINCIPAL

BERTHE MOUCHETTE FINALISTSOn 14 May, we welcomed two examiners from the Alliance Française de Melbourne to our school. They listened to the poetry recitations that our French students in Years 7-10 had prepared, as well as a small number of students from the Junior School.

There have been excellent results this year, including 16 students being selected as finalists. Students in Years 5 - 8 went to the Alliance Française in St Kilda on the weekend to compete, and the finals for Year 9 & 10 students will be held early in Term 3.

Congratulations to the following students on their achievement:

Afreen AulakhJaan DawsonSiya SehgalCharvi ShettyJonathan ZaitsevShannon BardouKohana KalraIjaz KoyaJo-Anne RangassamySiya SairamDaksh SinghInoli WithanageAl-Karrar Al-KhalidiTanishka MunjalJanice Tee

YEAR 11 DEBUTANTE BALLOn 26 May, we along with many fellow Year 11 students had our Debutante Ball. After ten weeks of rehearsal, in which the 22 couples learnt seven different dances, we were finally ready for the big day. For us girls, it was an early start, with hair and makeup appointments before we put on our dresses and took a billion and one photos with our partners and friends. We arrived at The Grand on Princes for a full rehearsal and more photos. At 7pm, all our family and friends arrived and were seated, ready to watch our presentation and the dances to follow. After the first set of dances, each Debutante invited a special person to dance the Modern Waltz with them.

We came back and did our second set of dances after a meal was served before everyone was invited out onto the dance floor. We danced with our family and friends for the rest of the night, and everyone had a good time. Overall, we absolutely loved the day and are so grateful to have had the opportunity to do the Deb. A big thank you to the Cranbourne Rotary Club, Mr Malcolm Wells and our dance teachers Terry and Michelle, without whom the night wouldn’t be possible. We would also like to thank our teachers and families for attending; we appreciate you all taking the time to share this experience with us.

We can speak for all the Debutantes when we say it was a truly memorable experience that we will look back on fondly.

Jess Streat & Maddy O’Neill – Year 11

JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORTIt has been a busy last two weeks of Semester 1 in the Junior School. Our Year 5/6 students all participated in the Lightning Premiership last week. From all reports the students performed very well but more importantly, enjoyed the day and represented our school with distinction. Congratulations to all our teams and good luck to our Netball team who were victorious and have made it through to the next round of Winter Playoffs. I’d also like to congratulate Lucas, Shae and Soha for recently competing in Regional Cross Country. All three athletes ran very well against quality opposition. Soha finished third and will now compete at the State Cross Country Championships in the holidays. Good luck Soha.

We also enjoyed the Winter Concert last week. It is always a joy to see so many children up on the big stage following their musical passion and performing in front of such a large audience. Special mention to our incredible Year 3/4 Choir and our amazing Junior School Show Choir who both performed incredibly well. Sincere thanks to Mrs Kyne, Mr Chiodo, Ms McAlister and our talented instrumental teachers on a job well done.

The students from Year 2E entertained us at this week’s assembly by transporting us all to The Wizard of Oz’ Munchkin Land. The students performed with such poise and confidence and they certainly had the audience enjoying every minute of the journey along the yellow brick road. The acting, singing, costumes and flower back drops were stunning. Congratulations to Mrs Evans and her students on a fabulous final assembly for Semester 1.

I’d like to acknowledge the hard work and effort that our students have displayed this Semester whether it be academically, personally, physically, spiritually or socially. It is difficult to sum up everything a child achieves in a semester at Casey Grammar School, and our teachers need to be thanked for their professionalism and dedication in teaching, assessing, knowing their students and in writing our student reports. Our Semester 1 Junior School Reports are now available to parents, and we will be holding Parent/Teacher interviews on Wednesday, 1 August.

We welcome Mrs Vandeloo back from Long Service Leave next term and she will resume teaching Religion to all P-6 classes. I’d like to thank Mrs Grant for the wonderful job she has done teaching Religion this semester. Mrs Grant will continue to teach French to our Year 5/6 students next term.Finally, I’d like to wish all our students, parents and staff, a wonderful break full of health, happiness, relaxation and family time. I look forward to seeing everyone again next term.

Mrs. Melissa RobertonHead of Junior School

WEAKNESS & STRENGTH

‘But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is perfected in weakness."’ 2 Corinthians 12:9

BOOTH & LEAVER SENIOR HOUSE CHAPELBooth and Leaver hosted our first combined House Chapel Service for the Senior School, exploring the theme of Strength and Weakness. The House Chapels are intended to be a more personal exploration and celebration. We began with a slide show of student achievements, and as students entered, Ellen Streat played percussion in the foyer whilst Luke Holland played guitar on the stage. As students exited, Nicholas Edwards joined Ellen to send the students out into the day with vibrant music that had a few dancing on their way out. They set the tone beautifully! Various students from both houses led prayers as well as presented gifts of food as part of the offering that will be donated to the Salvation Army. Mr Schreuder represented the staff by bringing forward a selection of the many pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns donated by staff over the last month for children in foster care. Particular thanks to Melissa Scoble who has overseen this. The highlight though was hearing from Michelle Newlands, a young woman who experienced an asthma attack that left her unable to walk, talk or eat freely. Since that time, with determination, loving support and her faith, she has learned how to walk, speak and eat again. The clip shown to students can be found at the following address – we watched the one on the top right at the Chapel (https://www.michellenewland.com/).Her story was deeply moving and we are very grateful to Michelle, Ann (her mother) and Cindy (her key support worker) for travelling half way across Melbourne to join us.

JUNIOR CLASS CHAPELSJunior Class Chapels also concluded last week. It has been lovely to see the many different students participating through dancing, singing, reading and acting. Thanks particularly to Ms Ruth Grant for her oversight of this, the classroom teachers who have joined us as well as the parents and special guests who gave up their time to join us. We really appreciate your support.

SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUPSOur Social Justice Group continues to plan and organise new opportunities for students to be involved in helping to make a small difference in the lives of others. On Tuesday we were fortunate enough to have a guest speaker from World Vision, Libania Henrique Montalvao, a refugee from East Timor who spoke to us about the 40 Hour Famine Backpack Challenge. Did you know that Casey Grammar School has raised over $18,000 for the 40 Hour Famine in its history? We are hoping to have a committed group of students participate in this important awareness raising initiative, raising funds to assist refugees worldwide. The event takes place on August 17 – 19 this year. Further information can be found at: https://www.40hourfamine.com.au/ This will be fully launched next term.

We have now come to the end of another wonderful, busy term at Casey Grammar School. May God bless the time you are able to spend together over the holiday break.

Mrs. Monique Riviere-Pendle School Chaplain

FROM THE CHAPLAIN

13 REASONS WHY - BOTH SEASONS

This is a show that, if your child is going to watch it, you MUST watch with them. The program in my opinion is totally inappropriate for young children, even for young teenagers.

A television series featuring on Netflix became available during the school holiday period titled ’13 Reasons Why Season 2’. The series centres on a high school student’s struggle with mental health concerns, and the aftermath of a death by suicide. This is a fictionalised program which is dramatized and sensationalised Iin order to attract audiences.

Headspace, Australia’s leading Youth Mental Health Foundation, have issued warnings over the show’s graphic content and imagery, and its tendency to glorify suicide, inclusive of suicide method and means. Headspace has urged schools and parents to be aware of the dangers and risks associated with children and young people who have been exposed to this content.

If young people want to watch the series then in my opinion parents MUST view the program with their children. It is essential to then have an honest discussion (not lecture!) with your child about the themes. Hannah’s thinking is very distorted and egocentric. She blames others for her actions. Her narration makes light of the topic. Parents should stress that the series is FICTION, designed to attract an audience rather than provide a balanced or realistic view on suicide.

Often young people are faced with concerns about their friends’ mental health. Emphasise that comments about self-harm or actual self-harm must be treated seriously. The “dobbing” rule does not apply to friends’ mental health. In fact, “good” friends make tough decisions to help their friends when they are in trouble and that my include communicating with their friends’ parents, talking to school personnel, talking with their own parents, risking the help lines listed below, and if necessary contacting police.

Other relevant support services include:Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800Lifeline 13 11 14Casey Police 5991 0600Crisis Assessment and Treatment Teams 1300 369 012Department of Human Services Child Protection 1300 655 795

Please show and discuss this article with your children.

Alan ClarkeSchool Psychologist

WELLBEING

Prep to Year 12 Co-education3 New Holland Drive Cranbourne East Victoria 3977PO Box 302 Cranbourne Vic 3977Telephone: +61 5991 0800 Email: info@caseygrammar.vic.edu.auwww.caseygrammar.vic.edu.au Follow us on Facebook

DISCOVERING EXCELLENCESuccess comes in many forms; at Casey Grammar School we like to acknowledge the personal achievements of the CGS community.

ABBY HINE - YEAR 6NAs part of her Genius Hour project, year 6 student, Abby Hine wrote to Queen Elizabeth to gather support from her for Netball to be included in the next Olympic Games.

As a result, Abby received a personally addressed letter from Buckingham Palace.

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

WINTER CONCERTLast Wednesday, 20 June, the Music Department held their annual Winter Concert in front of a packed Performing Arts Centre audience. There was a great variety of both Junior School and Senior School performances on show – including some debut performances from our Stage Band, Senior Choir, Senior String Quartet and Year 4 String students. We are very proud of all the students who performed on the night – your hard work and dedication was evident in the standard of all your performances and was certainly appreciated by the crowd. Special thank you to Mr Simon Hall and Instrumental Staff for their continued commitment, as well as all the CGS teaching staff who showed their support by assisting and attending on the night.

Mr Simon Chiodo, Mrs Bronwyn Kyne, Ms Carolyn McAlister

Below are some recounts from our Junior School students:

The Winter Concert was a wonderful experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. It had all kinds of acts, but the one I enjoyed the most was the Pure Imagination act, in which I performed. There were two groups in the performance, soprano and alto. Soprano singers are more high-pitched and can easily reach high notes, alto singers have more trouble with that and have naturally deeper voices and an easy time hitting low notes. This allows the group to make wonderful melodies that make the songs we sing sound even better because of harmony. If you think that Mrs Kyne would allow us to take advantage of this, then you would be absolutely right!

Riley Killeen – Year 6R

As I saw the PAC go dark I knew it was time to shine…Practising for training band was fun, even though we had to give up Wednesday lunch to practice, but I didn’t mind. Everyone learnt lots, but especially that teamwork is key in playing in a band. We kept practising until we felt comfortable with playing the music.

Rehearsals for Show choir were fun too. We practised little bits at a time so we could remember the lyrics. After we had learnt the lyrics, Mrs Kyne showed us the dance moves to go with it. At the end of the Winter Concert, I felt happy that it was over, but I knew everyone that performed did an incredible job.

Delaney Allan - Year 6N and Junior School Performing Arts Captain

I was full of excitement and nerves. We sat in the PAC quietly. First, we watched Concert Band - they were majestic. Later we went backstage to perform Yoda’s Theme - it was smooth with a few squeaks. We then performed Splish Splash - it was a magnificent finale! The crowd went wild. At that moment I felt very proud. That was the best day of my life!

Aayati Desai – Year 3T

Finally, performance day had arrived, and I was shaking with fear; I have never played with so many Senior students before, but I was comforted by my flute players. As we entered the crowd was cheering. We played Hawaii Five O and Ms McAlister was conducting. The band got lots of cheers. I can’t wait till next years performance. I was glad I did my best.

Allysha Walls - Year 5N

SPORT NEWSLast Thursday, the Year 5/6 students participated in the Lightning Premiership competition. Students had been training since the beginning of the year during their Year 5/6 Sport lessons and were given a chance to put their training into practice at various venues throughout the district. Casey Grammar had teams entered into Soccer, Netball, T-ball, Newcomb and Australian Rules Football. All supervising teachers reported that the students performed committedly and showed great sportsmanship. A special congratulations to our girl's netball team, who took out the final and will now be competing in the Winter Playoff competition in July. Thank you to all staff members who attended on the day and helped the event run smoothly. Also, thank you to Ms Laura Moya and her Year 9 Sport Coaching students for their dedication and effort during lessons and on the day of the event.

On the same day, three of our students were also out competing in the Regional Cross Country event at Hastings. Well done to Lucas Hall, Shae Culpin and Soha Abdelrahim for reaching this level. The competition was tough, and all runners competed very well. A special congratulations to Soha Abdelrahim, who finished third, and will now be representing the school at the State Cross Country Championships on Thursday, 19 July. Best of luck to Soha.

This week, our Soccer House Competition also took place. Students from Years 3-6 formed teams within their houses and competed against each other at lunchtime on Tuesday, and then again on Thursday. Mr Baird was the referee, and took his role very seriously. Congratulations to Leaver, who took out the Grand Final against Trist, with a final scoreline of 2-1. All students showed excellent sportsmanship and it was great to see such a large number of Junior School students come out to support and encourage their team. Well done to Lucas Hall, our Junior School Sports Captain, for his initiative in organising this event.

Mr Jeff BateyJunior School PE Teacher

YEAR 10 PHOTOGRAPHY CITY EXPERIENCEOn Monday, 28 May, the Year 10 photography class went on an excursion to the city. We left school at 9am as the bus was a little late, but the day went as planned and we arrived back at school on time. Fortunately, the weather was good too.

While there, we visited the Botanic gardens to take macro photographs, Hosier Lane to take fashion photos and Federation square to practice architectural photography. We also visited the National Gallery of Victoria, where we looked at some of the artworks of Alex Prager. Overall, it was an amazing day out that allowed us to enhance our photography skills and be proud of the beautiful images we were able to capture.

Lilli Blommestein - Year 10

STUDENT LEADERSHIP Hello, my name is Enzo, and I’m currently in Year 9. I came to Casey Grammar at the beginning of Year 7.

In school, I like VCD, Maths and English, because I like the creativity in VCD and English, and I like learning about Maths. The electives I chose for Semester 1 were Maths Extension, VCD, and French. For Semester 2 I’ll be doing ICT Extension and Digital Photography.

My hobbies outside of school are practising organ or piano, as well as building Gunpla, watching YouTube and playing volleyball. I’m still not sure what I want to be when I’m older. However, I want it to be something with technology.

I became a member of the SLT to share my ideas and to help the school grow and change for the better.

Enzo PedroYear 9 Student Leader

The Student Leadership Team would like to thank the CGS Senior School students for supporting the POP-UP CANTEEN on Friday, 22 June. We raised over $200 for The Smith Family

Another Pop-Up Canteen will be held in Term 3

• Incursions• Inter House Impro Games• Athletics• Soccer• Tennis• AFL• Winter Concert• School camps• Workshops• Mother’s day• Swimming

Madame Kate MorganYear 7 and Languages Coordinator