Grammar School Brighton
One way to judge a school’s success is the academic performance of its students. This week we were pleased to honour our top VCE academic achievers of 2022 at a special Scholars’ Assembly, who now all feature on a Wall of Scholars in our Hancock Wing. The young men involved bring unique talents and diverse experience to the role, and we commend all members on their commitment to the Committee and school community as a whole.
It was wonderful to join together as a community and formally recognise the 140 year journey of Brighton Grammar, from humble beginnings in a schoolhouse with 8 boys to where we are today, a thriving school with 1444 students. A strong sense of belonging and connectedness has a positive effect on boys’ self-esteem and confidence. Our Outdoor Education program, House system and the Buddy program are opportunities, over and above the pastoral support our boys gain from their day-to-day classroom experiences. Year 7 brings together boys from the BGS Junior School, boys from a number of local primary schools and further abroad. Our goal is for each boy to have a seamless transition into Year 7, ensuring he feels secure and engaged in his new learning environment. At this stage of their education, boys experience new challenges including a larger physical environment, new teachers, a larger peer group and increased opportunities for self-awareness and independence.
The exhaustion and exhilaration on the boy’s faces, as they touched the wall, showed just how much effort went into each race. Our motto in Physical Education encourages every boy to have a go and do their best, and the boys certainly didn’t disappoint. They each competed in freestyle, backstroke and a novelty noodle race with determination, persistence and great sportsmanship on show. The highlight will be seeing you coaching work with real teachers and real students. The coaching practice will be followed by a chance to watch your coachee in action, followed by a deeper conversation and reflection. Sonya is a well-respected expert in the safe partying space, and students were given a platform to explore important aspects of safe partying together.
Congratulations to the Year 5 boys who were selected to compete in an Interschool Chess competition on Monday 20 March. They played 7 rounds of games against 32 teams with great strategy selection and success to win the overall competition. Best individual performers were Andy Chen , Roy Gu , Leo Wang , Tom McLean . Our first ‘Ute Full of Food’ for this year will be held on Friday 31 March. Brighton Grammar has a long-standing commitment in supporting St Mark’s Anglican Church in Fitzroy. All food items will be transported by the ‘Ute’ to St Mark’s, where it is distributed to needy families.
This weekend we look forward to some significant sports fixtures, including Friday under lights for the First Soccer team as well as another big match for AFL on the Crowther on Saturday. Both matches are against Caulfield Grammar and we look forward to a big turnout. The Year 10 Awake program takes place for all Year 10 students from Tuesday 28 February to Friday 3 March at Mount Hotham. The Awake program focuses on building connections, being authentic and finding purpose. We aim to do this through connecting, slowing down, sharing authentically, reflecting and journalling. On Tuesday evening, Year 7 and Year 10 parents attended our Outdoor Education Expo to learn about some upcoming programs.
Along with individual and paired lessons, 30 new Year 7 students have taken advantage of a semester-long beginner instrumental program. These boys will learn either the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin or cello with our experienced instrumental staff every Thursday morning in groups before moving to individual lessons from Semester 2. The Capstone program is built within the three pillars of positive masculinity and the four archetypes that represent a BGS boy as he becomes a successful man; the caregiver, the magician, the warrior and the sage. Guided by their peers, the Threshold and Breakthrough experiences throughout the program prepare, develop, extend and challenge our boys to finally complete the First Horizon program near the end of Year 10. Once this program is complete, the boys are welcomed back into the community as young men, and they will lead the school through their Years 11 and 12.
Next term, all Prep to Year 6 boys will have the opportunity to hear the various stories and experiences from our boys who travelled. I look forward to welcoming the boys back to school on Wednesday 20 July, refreshed and ready for Semester 2. I am grateful for everyone’s efforts which have ensured the boys experienced a full term of learning and a complete suite of co-curricular activities, making for a busy term. There are however risks and by talking to the boys about online safety we aim to build the foundations for safer online experiences as they grow older. This is an extension from last week when the boys were visited by the police to learn about the role the police play in keeping our community safe. Last Friday evening, I was fortunate to see a number of our Year 3 and 4 boys take to the stage with our Year 7 to 12 students for our inaugural Dance Night and what a first it was!
The Beating the Bounds service on Monday was a wonderful experience to be a part of. Our Parent Teacher Interviews are an important process to ensure strong connections between home and school and provide teachers with the opportunity to give feedback to enable further progress. Thank you to all Homeroom teachers and parents for your time at Parent Teacher Interviews this week to discuss boys’ progress and areas of focus required for Term 2. I have missed my ‘Good Mornings’ on the home front this week as I spent the last three days with our Year 6 boys and staff in Bathurst Island 80km north of Darwin. Our Indigenous Exchange program in the Junior School is now in its eleventh year, it was evident to me that the boys and their friends have undergone significant deep learning and growth.
Well done to Terry Ji and Waters Zhang who qualified for the final rounds in the fast response category. Jasper Mace, Lenny Lui, Kyle Wang, Roy Gu, Max Liu and Tom McLean also performed well. It was a wonderful opportunity to represent BGS and showcase their skills in the subject. Congratulations to our champion mathematicians who competed in the Mathematics Association of Victoria Year 5 Maths Games Day at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar last week. They enthusiastically took part alongside 132 students in a series of maths challenges including problem-solving, automatic recall and strategy games.
"Shame on you for raising boys who have violated young girls ... If this was isolated, perhaps I wouldn't be as enraged as I am right now, but I hold those parents as responsible, as I do those boys." Instead, she blamed the boys' parents, adding that misogyny was at the root of Australia's domestic violence crisis. "I am writing this as a mother of a girl that has not only been sexualised but violated within our small community," she wrote on a public Facebook post, which was shared hundreds of times. Boys from Melbourne boys' school Brighton Grammar created a 'young sluts' Instagram account.
A special pre-audition event is taking place at Firbank Grammar next week. For those interested in auditioning for next year’s senior musical, join Firbank alumna, ballroom dancing specialist and choreographer Tanya Perera in the Louis Williams Hall on Friday, 14 October from 4.00 – 5.30pm. Last week, in cooler conditions, Year 8 students visited the Brighton foreshore as part of their Geography studies. Students have been studying coastal landscapes, with the activity allowing students to gather primary data on how the foreshore is used, as well as observe processes such as landform creation and management practices. Last Thursday night the Urwin Centre was abuzz with families and students enjoying the BGS Art Show. It was refreshing to have some time to take stock of all that has happened this term to date and look forward to all that is to come.
It was wonderful to join together as a community and formally recognise the 140 year journey of Brighton Grammar, from humble beginnings in a schoolhouse with 8 boys to where we are today, a thriving school with 1444 students. A strong sense of belonging and connectedness has a positive effect on boys’ self-esteem and confidence. Our Outdoor Education program, House system and the Buddy program are opportunities, over and above the pastoral support our boys gain from their day-to-day classroom experiences. Year 7 brings together boys from the BGS Junior School, boys from a number of local primary schools and further abroad. Our goal is for each boy to have a seamless transition into Year 7, ensuring he feels secure and engaged in his new learning environment. At this stage of their education, boys experience new challenges including a larger physical environment, new teachers, a larger peer group and increased opportunities for self-awareness and independence.
The exhaustion and exhilaration on the boy’s faces, as they touched the wall, showed just how much effort went into each race. Our motto in Physical Education encourages every boy to have a go and do their best, and the boys certainly didn’t disappoint. They each competed in freestyle, backstroke and a novelty noodle race with determination, persistence and great sportsmanship on show. The highlight will be seeing you coaching work with real teachers and real students. The coaching practice will be followed by a chance to watch your coachee in action, followed by a deeper conversation and reflection. Sonya is a well-respected expert in the safe partying space, and students were given a platform to explore important aspects of safe partying together.
Congratulations to the Year 5 boys who were selected to compete in an Interschool Chess competition on Monday 20 March. They played 7 rounds of games against 32 teams with great strategy selection and success to win the overall competition. Best individual performers were Andy Chen , Roy Gu , Leo Wang , Tom McLean . Our first ‘Ute Full of Food’ for this year will be held on Friday 31 March. Brighton Grammar has a long-standing commitment in supporting St Mark’s Anglican Church in Fitzroy. All food items will be transported by the ‘Ute’ to St Mark’s, where it is distributed to needy families.
This weekend we look forward to some significant sports fixtures, including Friday under lights for the First Soccer team as well as another big match for AFL on the Crowther on Saturday. Both matches are against Caulfield Grammar and we look forward to a big turnout. The Year 10 Awake program takes place for all Year 10 students from Tuesday 28 February to Friday 3 March at Mount Hotham. The Awake program focuses on building connections, being authentic and finding purpose. We aim to do this through connecting, slowing down, sharing authentically, reflecting and journalling. On Tuesday evening, Year 7 and Year 10 parents attended our Outdoor Education Expo to learn about some upcoming programs.
Along with individual and paired lessons, 30 new Year 7 students have taken advantage of a semester-long beginner instrumental program. These boys will learn either the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin or cello with our experienced instrumental staff every Thursday morning in groups before moving to individual lessons from Semester 2. The Capstone program is built within the three pillars of positive masculinity and the four archetypes that represent a BGS boy as he becomes a successful man; the caregiver, the magician, the warrior and the sage. Guided by their peers, the Threshold and Breakthrough experiences throughout the program prepare, develop, extend and challenge our boys to finally complete the First Horizon program near the end of Year 10. Once this program is complete, the boys are welcomed back into the community as young men, and they will lead the school through their Years 11 and 12.
Next term, all Prep to Year 6 boys will have the opportunity to hear the various stories and experiences from our boys who travelled. I look forward to welcoming the boys back to school on Wednesday 20 July, refreshed and ready for Semester 2. I am grateful for everyone’s efforts which have ensured the boys experienced a full term of learning and a complete suite of co-curricular activities, making for a busy term. There are however risks and by talking to the boys about online safety we aim to build the foundations for safer online experiences as they grow older. This is an extension from last week when the boys were visited by the police to learn about the role the police play in keeping our community safe. Last Friday evening, I was fortunate to see a number of our Year 3 and 4 boys take to the stage with our Year 7 to 12 students for our inaugural Dance Night and what a first it was!
The Beating the Bounds service on Monday was a wonderful experience to be a part of. Our Parent Teacher Interviews are an important process to ensure strong connections between home and school and provide teachers with the opportunity to give feedback to enable further progress. Thank you to all Homeroom teachers and parents for your time at Parent Teacher Interviews this week to discuss boys’ progress and areas of focus required for Term 2. I have missed my ‘Good Mornings’ on the home front this week as I spent the last three days with our Year 6 boys and staff in Bathurst Island 80km north of Darwin. Our Indigenous Exchange program in the Junior School is now in its eleventh year, it was evident to me that the boys and their friends have undergone significant deep learning and growth.
Well done to Terry Ji and Waters Zhang who qualified for the final rounds in the fast response category. Jasper Mace, Lenny Lui, Kyle Wang, Roy Gu, Max Liu and Tom McLean also performed well. It was a wonderful opportunity to represent BGS and showcase their skills in the subject. Congratulations to our champion mathematicians who competed in the Mathematics Association of Victoria Year 5 Maths Games Day at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar last week. They enthusiastically took part alongside 132 students in a series of maths challenges including problem-solving, automatic recall and strategy games.
"Shame on you for raising boys who have violated young girls ... If this was isolated, perhaps I wouldn't be as enraged as I am right now, but I hold those parents as responsible, as I do those boys." Instead, she blamed the boys' parents, adding that misogyny was at the root of Australia's domestic violence crisis. "I am writing this as a mother of a girl that has not only been sexualised but violated within our small community," she wrote on a public Facebook post, which was shared hundreds of times. Boys from Melbourne boys' school Brighton Grammar created a 'young sluts' Instagram account.
A special pre-audition event is taking place at Firbank Grammar next week. For those interested in auditioning for next year’s senior musical, join Firbank alumna, ballroom dancing specialist and choreographer Tanya Perera in the Louis Williams Hall on Friday, 14 October from 4.00 – 5.30pm. Last week, in cooler conditions, Year 8 students visited the Brighton foreshore as part of their Geography studies. Students have been studying coastal landscapes, with the activity allowing students to gather primary data on how the foreshore is used, as well as observe processes such as landform creation and management practices. Last Thursday night the Urwin Centre was abuzz with families and students enjoying the BGS Art Show. It was refreshing to have some time to take stock of all that has happened this term to date and look forward to all that is to come.
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