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Alpha News 2022, Term 3, Week 4

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Term 3, Week 4 2022

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From the Principal

Leadership 2023 Assembly

Our current Senior School Student Leadership Team organised this weeks school assembly for aspiring leaders. Our School Captain Ethan Maratheftis and Vice Captains, Isabella Cohn and Sam Koranias addressed the students on the aspects of servant leadership and the qualities of leaders we want to have leading our school.

I congratulate our Senior Leaders on leading our inspiring assembly and, provide the introductory comments from Vice Captain Sam Koranias’ speech.

“…With half of the year complete and around half remaining, it is nice to reflect on some of the great strides each of our Leadership Team have made in their respective fields. More notably it is when these fields converge and collaborate over events that our school functions in harmony and we are all able to enjoy ourselves most. A prime example of this collective achievement is our House system and House nights; we have House Captains working tirelessly to make their House area the most special and eye-catching, Music Captains keeping the viewers entertained with some jazzy beats at functions, concerts at lunchtime, and Sports Captains running activities like bubble soccer and human foosball. Community Service Captains raising funds for the charity of choice each term.

To name a few of the other memorable moments for this year:

Our Community Service Captains led the way in running Alphington’s first ever World’s Greatest Shave event, Raising a staggering 6,000 dollars in support of those with leukemia. To back that up they then raised another $300 towards Harmony Day.

On the sporting fields, we had Aristea Papax and Michael Siolis pave the way for yet another year of unmeasurable success, With the Annual Swimming Carnival, and Athletics Carnival with Aristotle taking first place again. While Byron was able to salvage some taste of gold by winning the annual Colour Run.

We’ve had Music Captains Zach Choo and Krishan Gurdon manage to consistently provide live music at each and everyone of our house nights and major events, they also contributed massively to the success of this years AGS school production being High School Musical

I could be here forever if I were to mention everything achieved by this year’s leadership team but success does not happen in isolation. On behalf of Ethan, Isabella and myself, we would like to say thanks for all you have done so far to contribute to House and School spirit and encourage those in younger year levels to consider the leadership opportunities in our school. Nothing goes unnoticed, and we believe our school is in good hands for the future…”

Voting for Senior School Leadership positions has taken place this week with interviews for short listed applicants to occur shortly. Students will also be voting for House Captain positions following the next round of student speeches. I should be in a position to confirm the successful applicants by the end of this term. I wish all students well in the process ahead.

Flowerdale Magazine

Our biannual magazine Flowerdale is now available for students, families, staff and our alumni to read. This addition features articles on key events in our school and some wonderful contributions by Alumni Nicky Serafim (Class of 2012) and Alexander Hurcombe (Class of 2007). It is always wonderful to hear of what our Alumni are doing and where the journey has taken them since their school days. 

In addition, I am immensely proud of what some of our current students are achieving. A feature article is included by Anastasia Fokianos (Year 10) who completed her work experience in Sydney with the Greek Herald. Anastasia has been writing her own articles for the online media group and has been published several times. Also included in this edition is George Tsianakas (Year 9) and the wonderful work George is doing in the community as a Young Ambassador to the Shire of Remembrance. Rudra Sekhri (Year 10) is featured for his research into astronomy and community projects affecting the environment. After a two-year break for the Performing Arts faculty the Secondary School was able to bring High School Musical to our school community. The energy and passion of that production is a credit to all who participated. The article about our own Stephanie Filiopoulos (Year 10) and her work in the Creative Arts is a testament to the pathways that our students are able to take.

Congratulations to Adelle Greenbury, our Marketing Manager, on this edition of Flowerdale. Her work is amazing. I hope you all enjoy this edition.

Read this edition of Flowerdale

Around the Campus

It’s been a busy fortnight with many highlights including a Parent Coffee Morning for both current Year 6 families whose children will transition to Secondary School in 2023 and the current Year 7 parents whose children have made the transition this year.

Thank you to Mrs Mandy Hogan who shared her experiences of what the transition to Secondary School has been like for her child and the family.

Our Year 12 and Prep students had their annual lunch and our Prep students celebrated their 100 day journey. Thank you to Mrs Tracey Nicholson, our Prep Teacher, Ms Mikahl Venneri, and Head and Deputy Head of Secondary Mr Lukas Silver and Ms Deirdre Grealish for organising the event.

Watching the students together reading, playing games and sharing lunch just made me think… How quickly they all grow!

Please look for a full report elsewhere in the Newsletter.

 

Dr Vivianne Nikou
Principal
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Recent Publications

Flowerdale Winter 2022: Community

The most recent edition of our school magazine Flowerdale, Flowerdale Winter 2022: Community, is now available for you to read. Featuring stories of and by alumni, current students and staff, as well as community updates, Flowerdale is not a publication to miss! You can read this latest edition by following the link below or look for physical copies in the school Library or Front Office.

Read Here

From the Secondary School

From the Deputy Head of Secondary

The frosty mornings, dark evenings, and all too present rainclouds are a daily reminder that we are well and truly into winter.  Good thing there are plenty of events planned over the coming weeks to brighten life up for our students!

Today saw the Environment Club host their fundraising bake sale and casual clothes day for Trust for Nature. Over the coming weeks, we can look forward to further students and staff led initiatives, including STEM Week and EHASS Week. Watch this space.

With just 124 calendar days left until the VCE English exam, our Year 12s are truly on their final stretch. As part of the preparation for that exam, the two Year 12 English classes gathered in the Lyceum Centre to enjoy a performance of key scenes from The Crucible and The Dressmaker (their studied comparative texts) on Thursday 27 July. Following two years of virtual performances, we were very happy to welcome actors from the ever passionate and talented Complete Theatre Works back on site. Please enjoy some photos from the Q & A session that followed the performance.

The next few weeks will prove to be busy for the Year 12s, as students manoeuvre SACs, SATs and exam preparation. Term Three is very much the ‘juggling’ term, and our Year 12s need to make sure that they are organised and have a clear plan. It is also important that they refine their routines — eating well, sleeping well, and finding an effective emotional outlet — so that they are feeling healthy and well by the time that October 26th rolls around.

While our most senior students now move to jump over their final hurdles, it is time for others to step up to embrace new challenges and opportunities. On Monday 25th, Years 7 – 11 gathered in the Andrianakos Centre to hear speeches from students applying for the following 2023 leadership roles.

  • School Captain
  • Vice Captain
  • Community Service Captain
  • Music Captain
  • Sports Captain
  • Visual Arts Captain

On Monday 1 August, our House Captain applicants will present their speeches to their respective Houses.

From completing a role specific application form, to making a speech, to engaging in the interview process, our application process equips these students with skills that they will take with them into the real world.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you and congratulations to our current School Captain, Ethan Maratheftis, and Vice Captains, Isabella Cohn and Sam Koranias for organising and running a very smooth and professional Leaders’ assembly.

Ms Deirdre Grealish
Deputy Head of Secondary
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International Student Voice Project

On Wednesday 20 July, Rudra Sekhri, Trung Luan (Wilson) Ngo and Zihan (Vivian) Wei participated in the final round of discussions and workshops as part of  the International Student Voice Project at the State Library Melbourne.

The program is a Department of Education and Training initiative, which aims to promote global learning and engagement by fostering student voice and advocacy.

Our students presented to a select group of schools, including, both local and international students. They prepared a detailed and informative Power Point, showcasing Alphington Grammar School initiatives designed to help connect all members of our multicultural school community via sport, languages and food. Members of the forum responded enthusiastically, and our students answered their questions with confidence and pride. It was a wonderful opportunity to share ideas, evaluate each initiative and learn from one another.

At the end of the session all students were awarded a framed certificate of achievement for their valuable contributions to this Victorian Government project.

Congratulations Rudra, Trung Luan (Wilson), Zihan (Vivian) and Adam Chang (contributing to Forum 1 and planning) for your participation and input over the last six months. We are looking forward to implementing some new initiatives in Term 4!

Mary Kontosis
International Student Coordinator
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From the STEM Faculty

Science Activities

In science this term, Year 7’s are learning about forces and in Years 8 and 9 we have moved onto human body systems.

Year 7 investigated electrostatic forces and how far an elastic band can stretch, relating it to Hooke’s law.

MicrosoftTeams-image (6)

Year 8 students have been completing investigations into digestion and enzymes while Year 9 students have been testing their reaction times to different stimuli.

All students planned their investigations then carried them out and collected valid data.

Year 9 students completed written and digital analysis of their results.

The STEM Enrichment Program ‘Scientific Investigations and Maths Curiosities’ started last week. The program is run by Mr Diamandikos and Ms Potocnik every Wednesday lunch time starting at 1:25pm in room B102.

Ms Potocnik
STEM teacher
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Running Club and Motivation Station

The Sports Faculty has seen a fine turn-out for our Wednesday morning Running Club and Friday Motivation Station since returning to school in Term 3. We welcome all students from Year 7-12 to join us from 7.30am – 8.30am both mornings, after which we provide a healthy breakfast before the start of the school day.

WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY
27 July and 29 July
3 August and 5 August
10 August and 12 August
17 August and 19 August
24 August

If you have any enquires, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Ms Olivia Rahme at or@ags.vic.edu.au.

Ms Olivia Rahme
Head of Sport, PE and Health P-12

Secondary Debate Program

The final round of the Debate Association of Victoria’s Secondary Debate Program has come to an end, and our students performed admirably.

Our B Grade Team took home a victory on their Secret Topic, where they had to debate whether or not we should, assuming it was possible, bring back extinct animals. With arguments that included the potential for velociraptor meat to give us superpowers, it was certainly an entertaining debate!

Congratulations to Adam Patane for taking home Best Speaker, with an impressive score of 77.

Unfortunately our C and D Grade Teams were not quite so fortunate, with both teams narrowly missing out on victory by only one point. However, while they didn’t win their overall debates, congratulations are in order for Simran Sood-Saleem from our C Grade Team, and Freya Monk from our D Grade Team, both of whom won Best Speaker. The adjudicator for the D Grade debate announced that Freya had delivered the best speech he had seen at a D Grade level all year, which is undoubtedly a fantastic effort.

Ms Morwood and I would like to extend a huge congratulations to our Secondary Debaters. With both lunch time and after school commitments, as well as time spent on speech preparation, the Debating Program is quite the commitment. Despite this, our students have consistently risen to the occasion and delivered some impressive debates this season.

We are looking forward to seeing what they can do next year!

Ms Anna Milburn
Debate Club Facilitator
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From the Library

The Year 7s had an early Book Week treat. As part of their upcoming cross-curriculum unit focusing on Australian Notables, award winning author Kirsty Murray was invited to come and talk about her historical books and how she researches the lives of little known but remarkable Australians. Many of her characters are ordinary people who lived the most extraordinary lives. Often their stories would be lost in time if not for her diligent research or they were too painful to tell except under the guise of a fictional narrative. She considers all her characters notable even if they are not famous. Kirsty then conducted creative writing workshops for each of the classes.

Here is what some of the students had to say about her visit.

At the start of the author visit, we went to the Lyceum to meet Kirsty Murray and we talked about strategies for research and gaining inspiration before and during the writing process. She told us about the three lines that everyone has on their hands and how they can influence our lives and our writing. Later on, we had just our class with Kirsty Murray and we talked in greater depth about the writing process. We talked about speed writing and gaining inspiration from the four elements. We talked about investigating the backgrounds of people and places that we are writing about, even in fiction.

Ari Patel, Year 7B

At the start of the day we went to the Lyceum to meet a special visitor Kirsty Murray. She taught us many different writing skills and life skills. She showed us how we can discover different things about ourselves using lines on the palm of our hand: Head, Heart and Life. They all symbolize different things and these things are determined by how big the lines on your palm are.

Adham Sallam, Year 7B

In the morning all Year7s students went to the Lyceum to listen to Kirsty Murray, I really enjoyed how enthusiastic she was. After the morning session we had a workshop with just 7B and Kirsty Murray. She brought up the ideas of the elements: air, water, fire, and earth. She got us on our feet to think about the elements around us, she then gave us four minutes to pick two of the elements and write a story in four minutes about them as fast as we could. I picked water and air. She made the session very enjoyable.

Mariah Linardi, Year 7B

Ms Angela Mare
Head of Library
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Year 7 Excursion – Sovereign Hill

On the 19th of July 2022, the Year 7’s went to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. We arrived at school at 7:30 and got on a bus for 2 hours, arriving at 10:00am. Splitting up into groups of 3, we started with activities, my group first meeting up with a teacher who taught us about the many different people who immigrated to Australia during the gold mining period. We learned about a painter (Samuel Thomas Gill) who migrated from London by himself to build a better career. He died in Melbourne in the early 1900’s.

Next, we learned about a Chinese cook who migrated from China to start a restaurant in Ballarat for the miners. Although he was a Chinese man, he cooked European food because of the large number of European immigrants. We also learned about a man who opened a coach restaurant called cobble & co. He could cater for up to 90 people on just the one coach, pulled by horses, which is more than any bus today. The last person we learned about was a woman who migrated with her husband, a miner, to be a teacher and was said to be one of the women who helped make the Eureka Flag.

When we finished finding about these people, we met up with a different teacher who took us underground to one of the real mines. To get there we took a tram (it was only a minute) but when people still worked in the mines they would have had to walk down. The mines would hold an extreme amount of people, day and night, of all different races: the start of Australia’s more multicultural world. We walked along the paths people would take to the mines, the limited light and cold were hard to adjust to.

Further on in the mines, we learned about a Chinese man who came with his brother to find gold for his family. Him and his brother worked hard every day, trying to find gold but were unsuccessful. During this time, they also experienced a lot of racism from the Europeans, who were selfish and wanted all the gold for themselves. Soon, the men found a huge amount of gold and decided to blow up the cave around it, causing a cave in and one of the brothers to die. The other, also unsuccessful in finding gold, took his body back to China, returning years later to the mine and creating a happy family.

Clara Bielenberg, Year 7B

At lunch I had a chocolate biscuit and walked around with my friends until I saw a chariot racing by with two massive horses and folks inside of it. That looked like so much fun and I might even want to ride it some time. I then went down to the gold panning and saw others gold panning and trying to find gold and failing. Next, we went to the gold pouring where we saw how to make gold.  It was a cool process; I was even chosen to hold a gold bar! A real one!! After that I went to the shop near the gold panning and bought a walking stick which I really liked. We all had one last look around and then headed back to school.

David Johnson, Year 7B

When we were at Sovereign Hill, we went to many shops in our free time. One of the places that we went was bowling, which was a long track. It was really hard to bowl because the bowling balls were made of wood. We also went to the confectionary and spent almost all our money on the lollies that they sold there. We then went to the apothecaries and bought bath salts and ginger drops as well as going to the bakery and got yummy curry pies. The whole experience of Sovereign Hill was great, it was really fun!

Mio Maglen-Machado, Year 7B

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Year 9 English Incursion – ‘Macbeth’

Last Monday, Alphington’s Year 9 cohort was treated to an hour-long live performance of Macbeth, as well as a post-production workshop. The play was performed by only 3 actors, with over 10 roles shared between them. Leading up to the show, all three Year 9 classes had begun studying this Shakespearean tragedy, indulging in important context and in-depth passage analysis. For most students, this was their first time ever seeing this stage play live. And although these actors did reduce the playing time to just above an hour, it had no impact on the flow of their performances.

This production was entertaining from start to finish. The actors made use of what was available to create an atmospheric mise-en-scène, despite extremely limited background and scenery props. It was dramatic, emotional, comedic at times, and everything else you would hope to see in a theatrical production. There were many occasions in which the actors themselves stepped off the stage, walked into the audience, and directed their dialogue at a student, making their performances all the more genuine and immersive.

As if the play wasn’t enough, the show’s director ran a post-production workshop to demonstrate how their acting was perfected. Students were given the chance to ask questions and observe how the acting in each scene was carefully picked apart and reconstructed to convey an emotion. To say the least, this performance was nothing short of electrifying, and possessed everything you could want from a production of this sort. Although considering all that, the highlight of that day would still be… the early recess!

Raphael Young
Year 9 Student  
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Year 10 Jewish Holocaust Centre Excursion

On July 19th, the Year 10s went on an excursion to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum as part of an English unit on Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. The trip included the viewing of artifacts from the second World War as well as a Q&A with Holocaust Survivor Joe Szwarcberg.

After arriving and having recess, we entered the building to the sight of posters and banners illustrating the many different aspects of the Holocaust. We sat down in a presentation room with walls adorned with the portraits of Holocaust Survivors, and learnt about Judaism, hate and prejudice, the Jewish community before the war, the Holocaust and what made it humanly possible. After watching a presentation on these issues, we split into two groups and went upstairs to examine some artifacts from the Holocaust.

These artifacts were preserved by survivors during the war as evidence for what had happened, and included identification bracelets, propaganda newspapers, photographs of families, bulletin posters, and many other documents. We organised them into different categories relating to how they played a part in the Holocaust, such as deceiving the public, dehumanising Jewish people, and hiding the atrocities the Nazis committed. Some of the artifacts were harder to categorise than others; our group even thought that a poster intending to get people shipped off to the death camps was a notification that a ghetto was being liberated! Nazi officials used the trust of Jewish elders to trick people into outing themselves to the SS.

We then went back downstairs to hear the story of Holocaust Survivor Joe Swarcberg. At just eight years old, he and his family were forced into a ghetto in the city of Kozienice by the Nazis, who had invaded Poland. He spent time in several different labour camps, using wit and luck to survive. After being liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp, he came to Australia where he reunited with his sisters and started a new life. He has generously volunteered at the Holocaust Museum, giving his time to talk to young adults like us about the consequences of hate and intolerance. At the end of his story, we also had the opportunity to ask Joe some questions about his experiences.

At the end of the excursion, we hopped back onto the bus with a once-in-a-lifetime experience’s worth of knowledge and wisdom. Special thanks to Ms Milburn, Ms Kontosis and Mr Smith for organising the trip, Year 10 for being great listeners and for engaging with questions, and especially Joe Szwarcberg for sharing his story with us and answering our questions, as well as the Melbourne Holocaust Museum for making this excursion possible.

Chris Donis
Year 10 Student
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Year 11 Gameplan Coaching - Resilience Program

We were recently fortunate enough to invite Gameplan Coaching back to Alphington Grammar School to work with our Year 11 students. With a focus on building resilience and managing stress, the session could not have come at a better time, as our Year 11s rapidly approach their final year of school. 

Here is what some of our students had to say:

“On Friday 17th of June, the Year 11 cohort were presented with a wellbeing seminar by Gameplan Coaching. The session was broken into three parts, with the first session providing us with the tools to organise our current and future workload and how to manage the stress that comes with VCE. It also helped us realise our strengths and areas we need to improve to better ourselves and our studying habits. In the second part of the session, we were told about Melbourne-raised football legend, Ange Postecoglou, and the challenges and hardships he endured. However, we were also shown how he overcame these adversities by asking for help and how he will “never stop” to achieve his dreams of success.

Gameplan also brought in past VCE students who shared their experiences in their final years of high school. I think I can speak on behalf of my whole year level in saying that this was particularly useful, as it was an eyeopener to hear that so many others share similar experiences to what are we are currently going through. Finally, we concluded with a meditation session, which was a relaxing and peaceful way to end the session and reminded us of the importance of taking the time to look after our wellbeing.

On behalf of the AGS Year 11 cohort, I want to thank Gameplan Coaching for their presentation as it was highly impactful and will no doubt help us through the remainder of our VCE journey.”

Aristea Papax

“The session was brilliant; it really motivated me to take on my procrastination habits and get into a healthier work cycle.”

Dylan Murphy  

“It was great to see the students who were recently out of VCE and hear their stories. It eased some of my anxiety and nerves and reassured me about the upcoming challenges.”

Adam Patane

“I found it very informative and found the story about Ange particularly encouraging.”

Chris Katiforis

It was an excellent morning, and it was wonderful to see the students so engaged with the sessions and coaches. Well done Year 11.

Ms Anna Milburn
Secondary EHASS Teacher
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Year 12 Business Management Visit Yakult

On Tuesday 26 July, the Year 12 Business Management class travelled to the Yakult plant in Dandenong. The visit enabled students to consolidate their learning of Operations Management by observing processes firsthand in this successful large-scale organisation. Yakult Honsha Co Ltd (Yakult) is a multinational company which develops, manufactures, and commercialises probiotic and pharmaceutical products. Yakult is the world’s leading probiotic beverage created in Japan in 1935, and the Dandenong plant supplies all of Australia and New Zealand.

Students examined the high-tech facility which incorporates food processing equipment designed specifically for manufacturing Yakult, including the distinctively shaped bottles, filling/packaging lines and culture/quality control rooms. Students also had the opportunity to  hear about Yakult’s commitment to waste reduction, community involvement and staff wellbeing which directly relates to our study of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). 

The tour concluded with taste testing the product and learning about the health benefits as well.

Ms Mary Kontosis
VCE Business Management Teacher
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From the Primary School

From the Deputy Head of Primary

What’s happening in the Primary School?

The Primary School is always full of dynamic activities and lots of interesting learning opportunities.

To ensure all families are up to date with all the exciting happenings around the Primary School, please note the following reminders;

Recycling Week – Students can recycle various items (see picture below). The recycling boxes are located in front of the office.

STEAM Show – This will be held on Tuesday 30th August. Student artwork will be displayed at the show. Please remember that every child in the Primary School has the opportunity to contribute something that they design, create, make or build at home and show it to a wide audience.

Inter-school sport for Years 5 and 6 – Our wonderful students are competing in weekly matches in the following sports: soccer, basketball and volleyball. Parents are most welcome to attend the matches and cheer on our teams!

Essential Assessment Parent Information Session – This will be held via zoom on Tuesday 2 August at 6pm. Zoom invite is located in the Week 3 bulletin.

Year 3 and 4 swimming – Our talented students are having weekly swimming lessons every Tuesday at the Ivanhoe Aquatic Centre.

Annual Music Concert – Will be held Tuesday 16 August at the Centre Ivanhoe. Ticketing information is available below.

Year 6 production – Our future Broadway stars are rehearsing their production of Moana! More details to be sent in Term 4 about this entertaining play.

As demonstrated above, Alphington Grammar School is bustling with activities and events this semester that aim to help students grow and develop across a range of areas. The co-curricular activities complement the work that students are doing in Numeracy, Literacy, Inquiry and Specialist subjects.

Mr Luke Barnewall
Deputy Head of Primary
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Prep Journey Day and 100 Days of School

Journey Day

On Friday the 22nd of July, the Year 12 students took a trip down memory lane and returned to the Prep classroom to visit the current Prep students. Each Year 12 student received a letter from the Preps detailing what they want to be when then grow up. Once the Year 12s had read their letters, they spent the morning colouring, building blocks and talking to the Preps.

Journey Day ended with the Year 12s walking the Preps over to the canteen where they sat together to have lunch before returning to class.

IMG_1302 Portrait

100 Days of School

On Monday the 25th of July the Prep students celebrated 100 Days of School. The morning commenced with a class full of very energetic 100-year-olds and lots of photos! The students then spent the day completing tasks based around the theme ‘100’.

Students were asked to write about what they thought they would be doing at 100 years old. A few responses were, watering the garden, playing with grandchildren, and sitting on the couch. 

After recess, we continued with ‘100’ themed activities, however, the students were more focussed on the lunch they were about to get from the canteen – Thanks to Brooke Koutroulis!

We were left with some wonderful photos, memories and helium balloons which are still making their way down from the classroom ceiling.

Ms Mikahl Venneri
Prep Teacher

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From the Library

Library Book Bingo : Years 1-4

Students in Years 1/2 and 3/4 were encouraged throughout Term 2 to complete a Library Book Bingo Challenge. It was introduced at the end of Term 1 with the aim to engage students to read a wider range of books and broaden the topics and genres normally selected.

The Challenge required reading books borrowed from the library, to promote independence and responsibility for browsing and borrowing more widely from the school library collection.

Students were required to mark off the appropriate category on their sheet, matching it with a book they read and recording the title and author on the back. A minimum of one row or column was necessary to complete the Book Bingo challenge.

Some students commented on how surprised they were to enjoy reading a book they would not have ordinarily borrowed.

Everyone who completed the Book Bingo Challenge received a prize at the end of Term 2. Congratulations to all who achieved this.

As the American children’s author Mary Pope Osbourne once said, ‘Reading is a passport to countless adventures’ and reading widely takes us out of our comfort zone and into situations of endless possibilities.

Ms Jo Whiffin
Primary Library Teacher

Louise Park Author Visit for Year 3 and 4 students

Louise Park is a prolific author with 250 titles to her name, both primary fiction and nonfiction books. Last week she zoomed into the library and enthralled the year 3 and 4 students. The main books written by Louise that our students have loved are the Zac Power books. These books just walk out the door as soon as they are returned.

Louise gave them great ideas on how to start writing, the main idea being that you write about what you know e.g. what would happen if you came to school one day and your teachers had being turned into aliens? She also spoke about writing under a pseudonym and working collaboratively with another author who lives in a different state.

Louise focused mainly on her time slip stories, Grace’s Escape and Grace Secrets. These books successfully recreate the 1890’s with attention to detail. Louise cleverly integrates literary greats like Beatrice Potter, James Barrie and May Gibbs into the action as well as being a lot of fun. The students loved seeing the original photos of children from the 1800s and hearing about the harsh lives that many of these children lived. These children were the inspiration for one of the main characters in the books. Finally, the students were very animated and excited when they were asked to visualise an escape route out of a library within an ancient castle.

There were many questions at the end and hopefully the students were inspired to read her books and to write with imagination.

Ms Angela Mare
Head of Library
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School Tours

All current parents, particularly in the Primary School, are invited to experience our campus, meet our staff and explore our school ethos at any of our upcoming Open Mornings. 

Open Mornings are held on various Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the School Year. Any parent can register to attend via the link on our website, here.

Whole School

Performing Arts Update

Annual Music Concert

The Alphington Grammar School Annual Music Concert is now less than three weeks away!  Don’t forget to book your tickets through Trybooking 

Our students across both Primary and Secondary schools are very busy preparing their ensemble items and are looking forward to sharing their music with you on Tuesday 16 August.

 

Term 3 Greek Dance Classes

Greek Dance Classes for Term 3 will be recommencing with Mr Panos Stamatopoulosars next Monday 1 August. The classes will run for six consecutive weeks in the Drama Studio – details are below:

Junior Greek Dance (Years 2-4)

Mondays, 3.20-3.50pm

Cost: $90.00

Senior Greek Dance (Years 5-12)

Mondays, 3.50-4.35pm 

Cost: $102

If you haven’t yet enrolled your child but would still like to do so, or if you have any questions, please contact music@ags.vic.edu.au.

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Updates and Reminders

From Careers

Please click the embedded links to access information regarding Early Entry Programs for 2023 Entry and the full list of 2022 University Open Days.

From the Finance Office

The finance team would like to remind families that have not yet submitted their payments to please do so as soon as possible.

Please see below for the CSEF financial assistance program information sheet and application form.

Upcoming Events

Annual Music Concert

We are delighted that after two years, the Annual Music Concert will finally be returning to the Centre Ivanhoe at 7.00pm on Tuesday 16th August.

All students in Years 4, 5 and 6 will be performing, as well as students from all year levels across Primary and Secondary schools that are involved in our many ensembles at AGS.

Tickets are now on sale for this event which is the highlight of the musical calendar at AGS. They can be purchased here.

Sporting Minds

Sporting Minds is back!

Sporting Minds is a school holiday program developed by Alphington Grammar teachers Mr Andrew Diviny and Mr Blair Runnalls who are passionate about using sport and physical activity as a medium to improve primary school aged kids’ mental health and resilience.

If you’re looking for school holiday programs that will educate, engage and excite your children these upcoming school holidays, look no further than Sporting Minds. Improve your skills, have fun, and make new friends whilst learning from qualified teachers and expert coaches. Get your kids moving and making memories these school holidays. Book now!

To find out more, visit the website here.

School Tours

All current parents are invited to experience our campus, meet our staff and explore our school ethos at any of our upcoming Open Mornings.

Open Mornings consist of a presentation and school tour, and are held on various Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the School Year. Any parent can register to attend a tour via the link on our website, here.

Term Dates 2022

Term Dates 2023

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