Girls’ Middle School News

As children, Christmas always seemed to take such a long to arrive and now that we are slightly less young, Christmas seems to sneak up on us with amazing speed. Here we are again at the end of another school year. A year full of adventures, of discovery and growth, of learning right across the spectrum of different subjects, wrapped up in plenty of laughter and a few moments of pure joy.

Last Tuesday afternoon was one such moment for me. I was standing in front of our Middle School girls in our final girls’ assembly and I asked them to reflect on moments that had made them laugh in the last term. As you can imagine the buzz in the room was palpable as they shared anecdotes with each other. I then asked them to identify a gratitude moment where someone had helped them, shown them kindness and/or supported them. I then challenged our girls to find that person in the room and tell them how grateful they were for what they had done. The volume and energy in the room immediately went up as approx. 200 girls embraced this concept and were racing around the lecture theatre to tell other students how grateful they were for them. As an educator this was a powerful scene to observe. It was a truly amazing way to end the year. Whilst their journey over this past year may had some highs and lows, each student was able to articulate a moment of joy and gratitude, which are invaluable life skills.

It is remarkable to think that just 12 months ago our Year 7 girls were right at the start of their secondary school journey and yet have so quickly become an integral part of our school. Our Year 8s are now becoming leaders of the Middle School and of course, our wonderful Year 9s are heading onto our Senior College to begin their final years of secondary schooling.

The last two weeks of the school year has seen our girls begin their transition into their new classes for 2019. They have begun their 2019 timetable completely and the level of commitment and effort they have displayed was fantastic to see. Our Year 9s moved into the Senior College and started their Year 10 subjects, with a large number of them also beginning a VCE Unit 1/2 subject as well. They also spent the second week of transition on their Summer Expeditions; this had them either white water rafting down the Mitchell, sea kayaking on the Gippsland lakes, or rock climbing in stunning Freycinet National Park in Tasmania. This is always a fantastic way to finish the year for the girls and provides them with some great experiences, both physically and with friends.

Our Year 8s have had an action packed couple of weeks with drama and music performances to the ELC, Medieval Day, City Experience and of course our Ironman event on the final day, plus much more. The Year 7s have also been involved in many activities including Maths Magic Shows, Ironman and Science incursions. All this whilst getting a great start in their new subjects for next year.

At our Final assembly of the year we presented our Year 9 girls on stage and officially farewelled them into Year 10. Included in this was the presentation of our annual Endeavour Award and Elspeth Adamson Award. This Year the Endeavour Award went to Lydia Tan and our Elspeth Adamson Award to Laura Mitcham and Holly Whitfield. Big congratulations to these girls who, along with many other possible candidates, have both displayed a fantastic approach to their learning both in class at Tintern and the contribution they have made to our school.

We would also like to congratulate our Term 4 Factis Non Verbis Award Recipients:

7A – Ava Cassidy and Ella Jones

7B – Alyssa Carter and Saskia Jackson-Smith

8A – Maddie Hupfeld and Aleisha Paul

8B – Hannah Desmond and Millie Jensen

9A – Alana Lawson and Zoe Liew

9B – Alison Gatt and Kaitlyn Oldaker

9C – Laura Mitcham and Holly Whitfield

We also announced our new Middle School leadership team for 2019. I wanted to take this moment to say how incredibly hard it was to make our choices as there were so many wonderful candidates and that we are proud of all students who were courageous enough to put themselves forward for each position. Well done to all of those who applied.

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEADERS:

HOUSE LEADERS:

LEADERSHIP ROLES:

As 2018 draws to a close, I would like to wish all our families a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe holiday period. Thank you again for entrusting us with the care of your girl(s) over this past year. I hope that over this holiday season, you have an opportunity to spend precious time together as a family and with those you love. Looking forward to seeing you all back in 2019.