Each year, September heralds the hope of longer days, warm sunshine and the inevitable
countdown to the holiday period. Moving to Melbourne has reminded me of the distinctiveness
of seasons and the role they play in the rites of passage on our journeys. Melbourne has also
awakened me to the AFL finals seasons which, I am led to believe, pervade all aspects of our
lives in September.
Education is a unique path in which every season is dedicated to student growth. However, the
linear progression of education sometimes detracts from the need to understand the nature of
learning. Schools have been likened to factories, fashioned by the Industrial Revolution and
education to a by-product of the production line. Thankfully, there is a great body of research to
suggest that this concept is changing.
Peter Senge is an influential educational writer and philosopher who challenges educators to
revise their mission and message. His vision of a learning organisation as a group of people who
are continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they need to create has been deeply
influential (Senge 1990).
The concept of an evolving learning environment is at the heart of our plans for the future of
Firbank and strongly supported by the Board. As hard working and dedicated custodians of our
School they give selflessly to the organisation in a myriad of ways. We are blessed to have such
a dedicated group of individuals.
NEWSLETTER
From the Principal
5 September 2014
This evolution is only possible with your support and I have been heartened by the large
numbers of parents in attendance at our Parent Cocktail Party evenings. These informal
get-togethers have been a valuable opportunity for me to learn more of the intricacies of our
community. The support of the Board and staff has been vital to the success of these events
and we will ensure that they continue in 2015. I welcome feedback on the effectiveness of this
initiative.
Senge’s organic model of education has been warmly embraced at Firbank. The season for
effective learning never ends and we value every opportunity to work with your child. There is a
great temptation to extend holidays or take students to non-school activities in term time and I
thank parents for supporting our staff as they provide meaningful learning experiences for each
student.
I wish you a happy week - may we enjoy the friendly rivalry of the finals season. Unfortunately,
my team has not quite progressed on - thank goodness for my second team!
Finally after enjoying the joyous and moving celebrations with our many fathers at Sandringham
and Brighton, I extend my best wishes for a Happy Father’s Day.
Heather Norton
Firbank.
Aspire.
Achieve.
TH NEWSLETTER5
September 2014
From the Head of Junior School, Brighton Campus
The many events that happen towards the end of Term 3 always make this time of year an
exciting one! Over the past two weeks, Turner House has been a hive of learning activity with so
many varied experiences for our very fortunate and talented students.
Thank you to the Bramley, Tegoni and Bakker families for hosting our three Milikapiti girls. These
girls visited us for a week and are from the Tiwi Island community that we were fortunate to send
students to earlier this year. The visitors enjoyed a range of activities from visiting the MCG, a
footy match, visiting the Zoo and spending time at Turner House. Once again, I would like to
thank Brighton Grammar School and particularly Peter Tellefson, for including us in this program.
We look forward to sending and hosting girls again next year.
The Music Department has had a very busy two weeks with recitals, the Chamber Concert, a
very successful Winter Warmers Concert and our annual Strings Concert at St Andrew’s. Girls
have had many opportunities to perform both individually and in groups and have astounded the
audiences with their musical talents.
NEWSLETTER
Junior School
Brighton Campus
5 September 2014
Last Friday, our three Year 5 Robotics teams competed in the State Robotics Championships.
In this competition girls are required to design, decorate and program a robot to dance to their
chosen song. The girls have been working closely with Mr Andrew Dobbyn on programming, Mrs
Juliette Wegdam on decoration and artwork and Mrs Kim Mears on their dancing choreography,
over the past two terms. All the hard work and effort paid off as all three teams made it to the
final round of the competition and then took 2nd, 3rd and 4th position. Our Pac Man team has
been invited to compete in the National competition in Brisbane in September. We are very
proud of all the teams and the dedication and commitment they have shown.
Our adventurous campers have spent two nights hiking and camping on Mount Sterling, in the
3-degree weather. Snowfalls made their stay even more exciting. Girls and boys from Brighton
and Sandringham enjoyed this experience immensely. Thank you Mr Bernie Mills for organising
this outstanding camp and to Ms Ashlea Mills for accompanying the students.
Year 2S students did their first camp this week when they spent the night at Science Works for
a “Night in the Museum” experience. Girls visited the planetarium and after a sleepover, had
the whole of Science Works to themselves before it opened the public at 10.00 a.m. Year 2M
students are looking forward to their turn next week.
Congratulations to the members of our Ski team who performed fantastically at the Victorian
Snow Sports at Mt Buller last week. Ashlea Mills has provided more detail in her section of
this newsletter. We look forward to hearing news of our teams’ performances at the National
Championships later in the month.
Next week, Year 6 students join Brighton Grammar Year 6 boys to present the school musical.
Boys and girls have been working extremely hard to perfect their performances and we
look forward to seeing them all in Pirates of Penzance! Please book your tickets to avoid
disappointment.
Michelle Phillips
Term 3 Week 9
Firbank.
Aspire.
Achieve.
Monday, 8 September
7:00
Swimming Squad
8:00 - 8:45 Orchestra Rehearsal @ Music Room
9:00 - 3:15 Chorus Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ R’sal at Rosstrevor Hall (Tech R’sal ) [NB Girls should have costumes at school today]
11:00
Chamber Strings @ Music Room
11:00 Aerobics
3:30 Aerobics
7:00 - 8:00 Yrs 2/3/4 Parent Information session about iPad learning @ 4S Classroom
Tuesday, 9 September
7:30 Aerobics
8:00 - 8:45 Chess Club
8:15 - 8:45 Aerobics (Kim)
9:00 - 3:15 Chorus Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ Rehearsal @ BGS
1:30 Aerobics
3:30 - 4:30 After School Sport (Years 4 & 6)
6:00pm Departure of 2M Sleepover @ Scienceworks
Wednesday, 10 September
Australian Interschools SnowSports Championships this week
7:30 Run Club
9:00 - 12:15 Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ Dress R’sal @ BGS
10:30 2M return from Sleepover
Maths Olympiad 5
5:30 - 6:30 ELC Father’s Day Evening
Thursday, 11 September
7:00 Swimming Squad
8:30 Make Up Crew
9:30 Chorus & Leads
10:30 - 12:00 Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ Matinee Performance @ BGS
(ELC 4 and all Yr 5 classes to attend matinee)
11:00 Aerobics
3:30 - 4:30 After School Sport (Year 5)
5:00 Make Up set up
6:00 Arrive at Rosstrevor Hall - Leads / Chorus separate for make up
7:00 Opening of Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ @ BGS
8:15 Approx finish time
Friday, 12 September
8:00 - 8:45 TH Choir Rehearsal @ Music Room
12:30 School Closes
5:00 Make Up set up
6:00 Leads / Chorus separate for make up
7:00 Final Performance of Yr 6 Firbank/BGS Musical ‘Pirates of Penzance’ @ BGS
8:15 Approx finish time
Sunday, 14 September
Connor’s Run
AROUND THE SCHOOL
ELC
Our visit to Brighton Grammar School to watch the Tony Bones show
On Tuesday all of the ELC groups walked to Brighton Grammar School to watch the Tony Bones
show about the well-known story “The Windy Farm”. We had read the story yesterday with Mrs
Flood, so the children recognised the story and the characters. The girls sat right up the front
by the stage and watched in awe as the actors moved around the stage, moved puppets and
changed the backgrounds and props to tell the story. We all enjoyed a dance and some children
were even chosen to go up on stage and play some musical instruments.
After the Tony Bones show, we went back to the Brighton Grammar ELC and made the most of
the sunshine by sitting outside for a picnic with the ELC boys. Some of the children recognised
their buddies from our last visit and they chose to sit with them to eat. When we had finished our
snack it was time for a quick play outside with our Brighton Grammar friends before we walked
back to Firbank.
What a fun day. Even the rain held off for us and the sun shone.
Nadine Griffin and Virginia Bardoel
Year 5
Year 5 Updates
It has been a busy time in Year Five! We have been enjoying our Maths group workshops, which
allow us to target teach specific skills to specific needs. This week, we are focusing on chance
and probability. This links well with our current unit of inquiry where students have argued their
beliefs about whether fair is always equal. Some heated debate here!!!
During our language sessions, we are coming to the end of our poetry unit. Students are
compiling an anthology of poems that certainly demonstrates their understanding of the different
types of poetry and their connection to different styles and methods.
Many thanks to Mrs Blaich who recently organised a fabulous excursion to the Melbourne
Writers Festival. We visited the beautiful auditorium at Federation Square and participated in
two presentations. During the morning session, we enjoyed a very funny and creative workshop
presented by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (aka Andy’s drawing slave).
Andy explained the way that he and Terry work together and how their stories grow. His words
of advice were inspiring, leaving us wanting to just write, write, write! He suggested that when
writing, we needed two main aspects; research (for example - what could a tree look like that
would be a good foundation for a treehouse (many interesting pics followed) and secondlyexplore your thoughts and let ideas grow. He told us about his belief that a great story need not
conform to reality but rather, you can have fun with nonsense too!
Our second session was presented by Michael Pryor (author or titles including Machine Wars)
and Claire Zorn (The Sky So Heavy). They presented a very different workshop about character
development and spoke about their enjoyment of building the chaos of a story. Michael talked
about the conundrum of writing.
From the experts – our students reflected:
Today I learnt that...... Your characters are your friends. Talk to them, grow them and a great
story will blossom.
Kiersten
I learnt what the word dystopia means. It means when people try to create a perfect place but it
ends up being a terrible place.
Brooke
I learnt lots about what you need to do in order to write a story. I also really liked it because with
some authors they have things in common with me.
Xanthe
I learnt that your problems don’t always have to be very bad and I enjoyed listening to them
making funny jokes
Zoe
What I enjoyed about the excursion was when the 2 authors, (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton)
made us come up with 13 different levels to show us how they come up with ideas.
Mia
What I really enjoyed about the excursion was meeting the authors and help making the
treehouse. Also getting my book signed and getting a photo with Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton.
What I learnt was you should always make a plan before you write a story. Also I liked hearing
about the authors.
Elise
I learnt that the tiniest little thing can turn in to the greatest and imaginative piece of writing.
Charli
Chantelle Cella, Kathy Chapman and Paul Connelly
Library
Book Fair
A sincere and heart-felt thank you to all the parents, students and staff who helped to organise
the Book Fair held in the Turner House library during Book Week.
Through The Avenue Bookstore we sold $9000.00 worth of books. The school has therefore
raised over $2000 to spend on new books for our library!
We have already purchased and are busy processing the most popular titles from the fair, in
addition to recommendations by students, parents and teachers.
None of this would be possible without the wonderful generosity of the school community – so
thank you all! We know that your daughters will enjoy reading and immersing themselves in the
wonderful new books
Kate Blaich
Social Service
It couldn’t have been a more perfect day on Friday when we had our Social Service Day.
Everyone was buzzing with excitement and there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
One of my favourite activities of the day was the Year One’s shoe shining service. My sport
shoes are sparkling now and I very much enjoyed reading the “Total Girl” magazine provided,
while talking to my friend an arm’s reach away.
I also thought that the Year Two’s idea of introducing a book fair to the Firbank Social Service
day was great. My little brother was very pleased to receive some beautiful new books when my
sister and I got home.
At the conclusion of this fun filled hour, the whole of the Junior School had a 30 minute fun
run/walk supporting the Bully Zero Australia Foundation. I would like to thank the girls who
participated, for their enthusiasm during this event. I would also like to say a very big thank
you to all parents, family and friends for supporting this cause, on top of already buying Turner
House dollars. I would like to acknowledge and thank the Year Fives who chose to support the
Bully Zero Australia Foundation with various activities. Finally I would like to say a special thank
you to Maya Peel, Ali Roberts-Tims, Ms Waycott, Mrs Phillips, Ms Clayton, and Ms Nieuwenhuis
for helping me to coordinate this event.
We were very pleased to be able to raise over $2000 for what we believe is a very important
cause.
We hope this money will go towards helping children who are victims of bullying.
Isobelle Brosnahan
OSHCLUB
Before and After School Care
I would like to take this opportunity to inform all the parents that on 12 September School will
close at 12.30 p.m and OSHClub is providing extended hour care on that day. Please remember
to enrol and book your children by going to the OSHClub website www.oshclub.com.au.
Any questions or queries please do not hesitate to call on 0402 673 289 or come over for a visit
to the Early Learning Centre (Lemon Myrtle room).
We look forward to making sure your child continues to have a great time at Firbank Grammar
Turner House OSHClub!
OSHClub wishes all the Dad’s a wonderful Father’s Day!!
Puja Tuli
Mobile: 0402 673 289
2014 VICTORIAN INTERSCHOOL SNOWSPORTS
CONGRATULATIONS to all members of our SnowSports team who proudly represented Firbank
at the Victorian Interschool Snowsports Championships at Mt Buller from Monday 25 – Sunday
31 August. We had students from all three campuses, ranging from Grade 1 to Year 11. We
had a fantastic week of competition and were blessed with perfect conditions, beautiful sunny
weather and good snow.
All students performed extremely well and can be very proud of their efforts. Overall Firbank
placed 9th (25) in the Junior Co-Ed Section and 11th (26) for the Secondary Section.
Please see eNews to view a full summary of results (individual & team).
Special congratulations to Amelia Jones, in Year 5 who won the overall best female skier in the
junior division and was awarded the Mt Buller Cup. This is the third consecutive year Amelia has
won this trophy, truly an outstanding individual performance.
Thank you to our SnowSports Captain, Maddy Clark for her leadership during the week. A special
thank you to the many parents who drove their children up to Mt Buller, acted as team managers
or volunteers and were vocal supporters during the week. Thank you also to Miss Mills, Ms
Bashfield and Miss Rigg for their organisation and support throughout the week.
Junior Team (Grades 1 – 6)
Mimi Bartels, Amelia Jones, Lauren Kulesza, James Knight, Ruby Parkes, Jack Barker,
Bella Burdett, Eloise Burdett, Nikita Carabott, Ben Hemingway, Annelise Kulesza, Meg
Noske, Saskia Paice, Bethany Perry-Crockhart, Lyla Sherwood.
Senior Team (Years 7 – 12)
Maddy Clark (Captain), Jemima Gee, Melanie Hickey, Charlotte Wilson, Georgia Hanlon,
Bea Harris-Hart, Taylor Mawkes, Sienna Parrot, Chenayde Reid, Brittany Ronec,
Hannah Small, Gigi Sherwood, Bria Rechner, Anja Bjarnason, Olivia Clark, Emma Dicker,
Eliza Fricke, Ava Hales, Jamie Mawkes, Charli McConnell, Jazzy Parrot, Amelia Stewart.
AUSTRALIAN INTERSCHOOL SNOWSPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Outstanding individual and team results, allowing some of our students to qualify to compete in
the Australian Interschool SnowSports Championships which will be held at Perisher, NSW on
September 10 – 14. To qualify for the Nationals, an individual must be placed in the top 10; a
team must place in the top 6.
The following students will represent Firbank at the Nationals – well done and good luck!
Division 4 Moguls
Amelia Jones
Division 4 Skier X
Amelia Jones, Lauren Kulesza and Eloise Burdett
Division 4 Alpine
Amelia Jones, Mimi Bartels, Lauren Kulesza and Annelise Kulesza
Division 4 BoarderX
Ruby Parkes
Division 3 Snowboard & BoarderX
Jamie Mawkes
Division 2 Snowboard & BoarderX
Taylor Mawkes
Division 2 Alpine
Brittany Ronec (qualified, although will not be competing)
HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
I am pleased to let you know that we have some new and modified programs available these
school holidays, with a particular emphasis on reinvigorating appeal to our older primary aged
children!
Some of the new programs we are offering include:
Singing Workshops – On Monday 22 September, Andrew McCubbin, an experienced teacher
and musician, will offer his singing workshop, with a focus on showing children that singing is a
gift that is meant to be enjoyed! His techniques focus on bringing out each child’s unique voice,
without complicated and uninteresting exercises. For more details about this one day full day
program operating at Firbank Sandringham campus, please contact Andrew on 0414 267 957 or
see his website at www.musicintuition.net
OSH Club Excursions – OSHClub are now offering excursions to Extreme Air, Melbourne Zoo
and the cinemas these holidays. In addition, with separate rooms for kinder, lower primary and
older primary, the program can be tailored to the more specific needs of differently skilled and
aged children. For more information about the OSHClub program please see www.oshclub.com.
au
For all our program offerings for the September/October school holidays, see the flyer attached,
or visit the Sh@re website at www.share.vic.edu.au or contact Sonia Wagner swagner@
brightongrammar.vic.edu.au
Sonia Wagner