Welcome

This issue’s welcome article features Allison Prandolini Head of Girls’ Junior School 

I write this reflection from Auckland, New Zealand. Having arrived yesterday for a study tour with the IPSHA (Independent Primary School Heads of Australia) Federal Board, I took the day today to explore this beautiful city. Walking through the town, I was impressed with the friendly vibes, and lovely city feel. As I strolled towards the Auckland Art Gallery, I stumbled upon a beautiful monument to the role of women in the history of New Zealand. It was fascinating to be reminded that New Zealand was the first country to allow women to vote in political elections. Kate Sheppard led a campaign around the country for women to vote, and in 1893, a petition of 32,000 names (almost one-quarter of all adult women in the country) was presented to the New Zealand Parliament. The Electoral Bill of 1893 was passed in parliament by 20 votes to 18! Kate Sheppard is now immortalised on the $10 bill.

Kate and her compatriots are inspiring women for young Kiwi women, just like our Tintern founder, Mrs Emma B Cook, is for our community. Mrs Cook stood up for her children, creating a school to inspire and offer them a first-class education when she could not find one in her local area. She was a risk-taker and demonstrated that her deeds, not words, could make a difference in many lives. Because of her, our students have the opportunities they enjoy today.

This week across the world, people will be pausing to reflect and consider International Women’s Day. In the Girls’ Junior School, this is a special week for us, but to be honest, this is something that we celebrate every day! Over the past few years, our focus has been to empower young girls to believe that they can do anything, and that confidence comes when we are brave, not perfect. Research (Kay and Shipman) tells us that between the ages of 8-14, girls’ confidence drops by approximately 30%. At Tintern, we are working to combat that! Girls are taught the power of their thoughts, are encouraged to reflect upon their emotions, and work with their peers to support each other. Our girls can indeed do anything!

Over the past few weeks, we have been reflecting on how fortunate we are, comparing our lives to others, such as women in Afghanistan. On Friday, the girls in the Junior School will be running in a Colour Run to have fun and celebrate that we have the freedom in our country to run whenever we like. How fortunate our young women are! It will be messy, it will be fun, and it will be a joyous celebration of International Women’s Day for young girls.

I am disappointed to be overseas for the inaugural Tintern International Women’s Day Breakfast, however, take pride that our community values and respects women in such a manner. I wish all women in our community a very happy International Women’s Day and hope that you, too, have an opportunity to reflect and be grateful for the women in your life who have paved the way for your success.

Allison Prandolini | Head of Girls’ Junior School

Student Voice

I’m Helen Tan from the 2023 Leadership Team, and I’m the International Student Leader for 2023.

As an International Student Leader, I’m taking on the task of helping other student leaders to organise a variety of activities that can enrich student’s lives and showcase the characteristics of the School. We will discuss how to make the School assembly more appealing to students, such as adding more music performances. We will decorate the school on Christmas and other festivals that encourages every student to join in.

My other task is to try my best to help the international students in the School. I will act as a communication link between international students and the school, both in study and life. Since most of the international students in our School are from China, during the assembly in the first week of the year, I introduced the Lantern Festival in China, decorated the teaching building, and had an activity of guessing Lantern riddles. Students and teachers can feel the festival atmosphere while knowing the culture of the world.

The most attractive part of this role is that I can improve my ability in the process of helping my classmates. The role was a little difficult for me at first. However, after continuous attempts, this role helped me increase opportunities to communicate with teachers and classmates. This role can help students improve their ability to communicate with others and work in a team, and this role helps me to integrate more among other students. I have a lot of ideas for activities that will still have a chance to be realised.

My goal in 2023 is to carry out more distinctive activities with my leadership team to make students feel joyful in Tintern and help more international students to integrate into Tintern. On Tuesday 28 February, Ms Shih hosted an experience-sharing session at the EAL Homework Club where several Year 11 and 12 students shared their experiences on how to learn Science for Year 7-10 students. In the next few EAL Homework Clubs, we will also host experience-sharing sessions on Maths, Chinese and course selection. We hope that international students in need can actively participate.

I am excited to continue working with my team to achieve these goals and positively impact our school.

Helen Tan | Year 12 Student, International Student Leader

ELC News

Cultures of Thinking Routines in the ELC

One of the programs we run in the ELC is Letterland. Letterland is a phonics-based program for establishing letter sound relationships prior to a child learning to read. During our Letterland session, we capture the children’s interest by pulling objects that have the initial sound of the Letterland character of the week from a Letterland box.

This week we explored the Letterland character of ‘Annie Apple’ – A. In the Pre-Prep B’s class this experience was used in a Culture of Thinking routine, See, Think, Wonder, prompting children’s thinking and making deeper connections to prior knowledge.

During group time Miss Mitchell showed the children the Letterland box. Inside the box were items beginning with the letter A. One child, Marion, selected the astronaut.

Miss Mitchell prompted her with ‘What do you see?’

An astronaut’ was the response. Miss Mitchell continued to question Marion to get her to think more deeply about her response.  

‘What makes you think that?’ asked Miss Mitchell.

Marion’s response showed a deeper thinking, ‘because of the astronaut’s suit, cause it helps them with the gravity – to float’, demonstrating linking prior knowledge to what is being observed.

‘What does that make you wonder?” asked Miss Mitchell. It is at that point the children will critically think and we as educators can support their next learning step.

‘What it would feel like to be in space’, reported Marion. From here we will be able to observe what Marion believes it would be like in space pulling information from photos, stories and her imagination she will explore, hypothesise and ponder this concept. She will eventually come up with a conclusion.

It is important to note that it is the process or journey that the children go on, exploring the concepts and critically thinking, rather than the outcome that is important.

We will continue to support the development of critical thinking by using the See, Think, Wonder, strategy throughout the classroom in different scenarios and learning experiences.

Kristin De Vos |Director of ELC

Natalie Barnes |Co-Educator Pre-Prep B

Girls’ Junior School News

Women’s Indoor Cricket 

On Tuesday 7 March Maddie Wright, Class of 2016 visited the Girls’ Junior School Assembly. Maddie is part of the Australian Women’s Indoor Cricket Team that won the 2022 World Cup. The girls were thrilled to hear her speak, she was a great example of courage and confidence and inspired our girls (and staff).

Developing a Growth Mindset to Maths

Often people label themselves as not being a ‘maths person’ and develop a fixed mindset towards maths. In Year 5 at Tintern Grammar we know that this is not the case!

As part of our Maths Pathway program, we have started the year off discussing what we like to hear (and not like hearing) when working in maths groups. Phrases that we agreed that we liked hearing were ‘You’re doing great!’, ‘I liked how you showed your working out’ or ‘You did really well to solve that tricky problem”. We found that phrases like these encouraged taking more academic risks and made us feel more comfortable to share our ideas and answers with our peers.

To develop a growth mindset towards mathematics. We have been discussing:

• Everyone can learn maths – there is no such thing as a ‘maths brain’
• ‘Mistakes are GOOD and they help me learn!’
• The strategies and actions that we take, can help us develop and improve
• The importance of ‘I can’t do it… yet!’

As part of our Maths program, we work on modules that cater to each student’s needs and work in small groups called ‘mini-lessons’ as well as working in groups as part of our rich learning tasks. These rich learning tasks have been a highlight for our Year 5 class, igniting curiosity through hands-on investigations where students use their skills and knowledge to problem solve. Mathematical knowledge and skills have been put to use as well as developing problem-solving and group-work skills.

Students work in groups, discuss growth mindsets to maths, how to create a positive and safe space during group work as well as working together to solve problems in our rich learning tasks.

Sandy Batty | Year 5 Teacher

The Wizard of OZ

I am absolutely delighted to announce that the Girls Junior School Production to be staged on 20th July this year is THE WIZARD OF OZ – Young Performers Edition! This junior version of the show is iconic in its origin and integrates our 2023 theme of CONFIDENCE. This classic tale is an empowering story of self-courage, confidence, fear and how each of these emotions rely on one another to achieve seemingly impossible goals; which is an incredibly important message for our students to learn about life. This production contains several major themes, self-sufficiency, the importance of life’s journey and friendship. All of the main characters, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion look to the Wizard to solve their problems. This fabulous show features all the best-loved songs from the screen classic including Over the Rainbow, If I Only Had a Brain, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead and many more. With wonderful music, the adventures of Dorothy, her faithful dog Toto, Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow, this will be a very exciting Junior School Musical Production and will involve all girls from Prep to Year 6.

In our very first assembly, on the first day, the production was revealed with a very entertaining scene put together by the staff! The girls were delighted and there was certainly much laughter and hilarity in seeing some of our fabulous staff dressed as characters from the show!

Isabelle Hams – Playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

Over the past week, we have auditioned many girls in Years 5 and 6 for our Production.  The auditions were fabulous, with many girls revealing some hidden talents! I was so proud of the girls for stepping forward, being courageous and resilient in the audition process. If you have seen stage shows or read scripts, most shows have main roles – in fact every production I have ever seen or directed have some characters who have more lines than others. The process we use at Tintern considers the ongoing development of our girls and is inclusive, ensuring that each girl has a role to play in the performance. Auditioning is a skill, and actors get better at it each time they do it! Some girls were given many lines to learn, and others just a few. However, all girls will have plenty to do and will hopefully have great time during the process. Our girls cannot possibly know based on casting what the process is going to be like – they have to experience it to know what it will actually be like! The amount of fun an actress has in a show rarely has anything to do with the size of her part. Dedication to the production and process is what ensures quality and fantastic outcomes that all students are proud of. As we now move forward with rehearsals we look forward to singing and dancing along the yellow brick road to reach the famous Wizard of Oz!

Jacquie Casey | Junior School Choral and Performing Arts Coordinator

Year 2A

What a wonderful start to the year we have had in Year 2. The girls have settled well and have taken beautifully to their responsibilities as the leaders of our Prep to Year 2 area. What wonderful role models they are becoming.

As a class we have delved into our learning, and while studying the topic ‘My Place in Space’, have discovered much about our immediate families, the areas in which we live, and our school community. The girls demonstrated a great depth of interest as we explored and compared the Indigenous land map of Australia, and our traditional map including the states and territories. We have enjoyed perusing the areas we live in and noticing the contrast between the two maps.

As a class we have spent much time ‘unpacking’ the girls’ suitcases of skills and learning; the information gathered in Prep and Year 1. Going through the things they have studied so far and using that information as a foundation for the new learning of Year 2.

 With deep reflection and so much learning already, we are well on our way to a solid term’s development.

Michelle Gluskie | Year 2A Class Teacher

House Swimming

House Swimming was held on 24 February at the Tintern Grammar pool for our Junior School. The boys competed in the morning and the girls in the afternoon. All students gave 100% effort for their house and had a lot of fun too. Congratulations to winners Gordon Grant in the Girls’ Junior School and Dann Watt in the Boys’ Junior School. A great day of House Spirit!

Boys’ Junior School News

House Swimming 

It was finally Dann Watt’s time to SHINE at our Boys’ Junior School House Swimming, held last Friday week.

For the first time in our School’s History, after years of hard effort and grit, Dann Watt were crowned Swimming Champions.

Congratulations to all of our Year 3-6 boys for what was a very spirited morning of wonderful effort, personal best and House Spirit.

This year we have introduced a Student Representative Council (SRC) group to enhance student voice and allow for more meaningful student involvement in school decision-making. The SRC meetings will be run with our class captains and school leaders throughout the term and will provide students with the opportunity to give feedback on various initiatives that we can address as a school moving forward. These meetings will also allow students to work with various members of the school to action some of their goals.

We believe that giving students a voice in school decision-making is important in promoting student wellbeing. Our Wellbeing leaders, Ms Elise Nicholson and Ms Miranda Price will be working with our students during these meetings. We are confident that these meetings will help to create a more inclusive and collaborative school community. We are committed to fostering a culture of engagement, and we believe that the SRC meetings will play an important role in achieving this goal.

Adam Kenny | Head of Boys’ Junior School

Secondary News

Year 9 Camp

The last two weeks have been full of activities and events across the Secondary School, keeping all students engaged and active. This included our Year 9 students who were on camp along the Great Ocean Road where they hiked between 45 – 60km (depending on which group they were in) over the five days. This challenging trip is the progression from Years 7 and 8 where the skills and competencies in hiking, packing of equipment and, the carrying and cooking of their food for the week are developed. It also forms part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award program as it ticks off their ‘adventurous journey’ aspect for this year. It was great to hear of the success stories upon their return, and to have many students express a real sense of fulfilment upon completing the camp. It is an accomplishment that they can look back on very proudly, read our student reflection below.

Going into Year 9 we all knew about the hiking camp at the start of the year, almost all of us dreading the thought of hiking tens of kilometers each day. However, when we eventually arrived, we were greeted with a beautiful campsite bordering a crystal blue sea.

The first day was straight forward, we set up our tents cooked our dinners and even went for a dip in the ocean. When we woke up the next morning, we were faced with our first hike of the camp. This being our first time, we were slow to pack, and co-ordinating the group was hard. But after a while, we eventually started the 5km hike.

Our first day of hiking was really tough. Our legs were not yet accustomed to carrying such a heavy pack The hike felt slow, and we all grew tired very quickly. Along the walk we could overlook the seemingly endless ocean and beside it was heaps of lush trees and vegetation. The beautiful views and scenery made the hikes more enjoyable. As we did more and more hikes, we got really good at packing our backpacks efficiently and also our endurance improved, this meant that we had more time to soak in the environment and also complete harder hikes with more ease.

Towards the end of camp everyone’s food supplies were low, and everyone was eager to go home. After one last hike we arrived at our bus. Once we boarded, we were taken to see the 12 Apostles. The huge rocks towering out of the sea and was definitely one of the highlights of the camp. After about five more hours of driving, we all arrived back at the School where we all reunited with our parents.

Overall, this camp was a lot better than we were all expecting it to be. We learnt a lot of skills on this camp like how to pack a backpack properly and how to hike as a group, but this camp really helped us to get closer as a class which is what we all needed after not seeing each other during the summer break for two months.

Ryan Jayarathna |  Year 9 student

The Year 9 Camp was an incredibly fun, adventurous, and challenging experience and was definitely a camp not to forget. The week was set to run through a 30 kilometre hike (distance can vary) along the Great Ocean Walk.  The track runs along the stunning surf coast, with campsites to stay the night along the way.  A great thing about this camp is the location, almost everywhere you look, you would be greeted by stunning scenery and incredible views. Every morning, you would wake up to the sounds of waves crashing, one after the other, birds chirping beautiful music from their beaks, and also the teachers telling us to get up, very relaxing. At the start of the year, Ms Lowing explained to us that we would be pushed outside of our comfort zones as much as possible, and on this camp, we sure were. Most of the time during the hikes, I just felt like dropping my incredibly heavy pack and giving up, but I stayed resilient and kept fighting through each kilometre one by one. Overall, the Year 9 Camp is an incredibly awesome and beneficial experience which is definitely a camp to look forward to for the up and coming Middle School students.

Sebastian Humphrys | Year 9 student

Year 8 Camp

Our Year 8s have begun their camp preparations for this year which is held in the beautiful Grampians National Park on the week beginning 20 March. As the second of their outdoor education Middle School camps, students are stretched from their Year 7 experience by camping out for the 5 days and therefore planning, carrying and preparing food for the entire 5 days. They will be involved in activities such as rock climbing and abseiling, hiking, canoeing and mountain biking over the exciting week.

It is important to find opportunities to engage our students in learning experiences outside of the classroom that help to consolidate the desired learning outcomes. For this reason we often look for excursions or incursions that help to consolidate the learning of particular outcomes.  Over the last two weeks we have seen our Year 10 Commerce class visit Holey Moley in Eastland to understand the business aspects of the company, our Year 12 Geography students travelled to Martha Cove to collect data for their important field work assessment and our Year 12 Biology students travelled to Swinburne University for a masterclass on DNA manipulation (read more). Our VCE Drama students have seen a number of live performances to help reinforce stage direction and management.

Kickstart Music Camp

On Friday 3 and Saturday 4 March our music students were involved in a Kickstart Music Camp where a large number of our musicians (players and singers) spent two days planning and preparing for some of our major Semester 1 events such as our Easter Service, Cathedral Service and Generations in Jazz. It is a huge commitment by both students and staff; however, the sense of fun and satisfaction is one that they all enjoy (read the music report).

Chicago

Our School musical Chicago is in its last month of rehearsals, with the first of four shows premiering on Wednesday 29 March. We were fortunate on Friday to have a sneak preview of four songs from the show at our Principal’s assembly and after seeing this preview, I have no doubt that tickets will sell very fast. It looks like an incredible show that highlights the amazing talents of our students in singing, dancing, acting, playing music and running the backstage. It takes a lot of commitment from students and staff, beginning their involvement in Term 3 of 2022. They are all very excited for the upcoming performances. Book your ticket now.

World Music Incursion 

On Monday 6 March our Year 7s and 8s were involved in a World Music incursion. As part of their subject Music, they are exposed to different styles of music from across the world, often looking at the more traditional music from other countries. This year the focus was on music from India where our two guests provided an amazing experience for our students that was both engaging as well as being interactive. It included traditional singing and instruments, as well as some classic Bollywood dancing which was very entertaining.

News from the Careers Department

The Careers Department provides assistance for students via one-on-one interviews but the staff also work with Year Level Co-ordinators through the Pastoral Program. Year 12 students interested in studying Medicine, interstate and overseas have participated in a general discussion and an outline of the year has been provided to all students in an Assembly. Year 11 students will be attending the VCE and Careers Expo on Friday 5 May at Caulfield Racecourse after our Annual Cathedral Service in the morning.

Year 10 Work Experience

Year 10 Work Experience will be held from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 June 2023 or the last week of Term 2. The initial form needs to be submitted to our Work Experience Co-ordinator, Julie Ennor by Thursday 6 April 2023. The legal contract will be then be created for the student and this must be signed by a parent, employer and the Principal. The focus for Year 10 students at present is securing a Work Experience placement. Students have generally completed their safe@work General Module test as specified by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Julie is available to assist students to organise their placements. It is still a difficult environment for employers so we are encouraging students to be proactive and implement suggestions outlined last year to students.

Save the Date: Tintern Grammar’s ‘Find your Future’ Careers Expo will be held on Thursday 18 May from 6.30pm in the CM Wood Centre for Years 9 to 12. 

More information will be provided in Term 2

 Career News

Subscribe to ‘Career News’ to find out information about courses in the higher education and TAFE sector, general careers material such as obtaining a Tax File Number, industry-based events and at the end of each edition a summary of courses, for example, Occupational Therapy Courses offered in Victoria in 2023. Copies will be added to the Careers tab on the Portal. Senior College students are also emailed a copy of the CareerNews content each week so that they can easily access material from the hyperlinks. The first five editions are now available at MyTintern – Career News  the latest editions include the following items:

Number 4 Career News 24 February 2023

• Medical Work Experience Overseas for High School Students
• Group of Eight Universities
• Discover Monash Seminar Series in March
• Studying Law at Bond University
• Careers in the Australian Defence Force (ADF)
• Dental Technology and Oral Health Courses in Victoria in 2023 
• Snapshot of Swinburne University in 2023

Number 5 Career News 3 March 2023

• News from ANU
  • Applications for 2024 Entry
  • Open Day 2023
• Studying Sport, Physical and Outdoor Education at Federation University
• Studying the Built Environment at the University of Melbourne
• Where will the Jobs be in 2026?
• The Difference between a Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Osteopath and Myotherapist
• Animation & Gaming Degrees in Victoria in 2023 
• Snapshot of Deakin University in 2023

Heather Ruckert | Careers Consultant

Curriculum Matters

Coaching our VCE students to optimise their achievements in 2023

At Tintern, we are committed to implementing ways to maximise the growth of our VCE students, in both academic learning and development of broader personal and social capabilities, so they can move to their desired future pathway successfully.

Last week and over the coming few weeks, each Year 12 student will meet with a member of our Senior College team to have a coaching conversation about their desired pathway beyond school and, therefore, their goals for Year 12. We trust that the reflection, goal setting and action planning will be a motivating process that fosters independence and enables optimal growth.

For some students, the goal might be around developing skills for the workforce, or for application to courses requiring interview, audition, or folio presentation. For others, academic achievement in their studies to enable an ATAR entry into tertiary courses will be the focus. We aim to work with each student to make these goals a reality.

NAPLAN

 NAPLAN testing for our students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will commence on 15 March.

From this year, parents and carers will receive earlier, simpler and clearer information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new national standards.

Education ministers have agreed to change the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers, now that all students are taking the tests online, and with the move to an earlier NAPLAN in March. New proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement for each year level will replace the previous 10-band structure that covered all 4 levels tested and the old national minimum standard set in 2008 when tests were on paper.

Resetting the measurement scale and restarting the time series once all schools are online was a recommendation of the 2020 Independent Review of NAPLAN. NAPLAN continues to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The new proficiency standard will be included on all NAPLAN reporting.

The numerical NAPLAN bands and the national minimum standard will be replaced by the following 4 levels of achievement:

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing
• Needs additional

The descriptors for each category will make it clear to parents what their child’s literacy and numeracy skills are at the time of NAPLAN testing and will support discussions with our teaching staff on their child’s progress.

Student Progress Meetings across all schools

Dates for your diary: Student Progress Meetings

Years 7-12 will be conducted this term on Monday 27 March (9.00am – 4.00pm), Tuesday 28 March (4.00 – 8.00pm) and Monday 3 April (4.00 – 8.00pm).

ELC and JS Student Progress Meetings will be conducted on Tuesday 21 March (3.30 – 8.00pm) and Monday 27 March (9.00am – 4.00pm).

Further information regarding bookings for these meetings will be forthcoming closer to the time.

Alison Bezaire | Director of Studies

Faith Matters

Last Wednesday we had the absolute pleasure of a visit from Murrundindi, Head Man of the Wurrundjeri Clan. One of the classes he visited was our Year 3 Girls. Read below their responses.

What was Murrundindi like?

Murrundindi was showing all the compass points. Blaire

I think that Murrundindi was very nice. Olivia K

Murrundindi was AMAZING. Holly

He likes to play the didgeridoo. Katherine

Murrundindi was kind and confident. Tiaa

What did you learn?

I learnt that Murrundindi’s mother is an Aborigine and his father is from Scotland. Emma

Murrundindi was showing us how to do Indigenous art. Isabella

I learnt that Murrundindi can play happy birthday on the didgeridoo. Sienna

I learnt that before, the Aboriginal people didn’t have cloths shops and things we have now. Olivia Z

I learned that purple berries make plain clay purple. Selina

What more would I like to know?

I would like to know more about the Wurrundjeri people. Kara

How many Aboriginal people are there today? Corrine

What animals were on the oval when it was bush? Nina

What year was it when the other people came on their land? Olive

Why did we chop down the trees? Violet

How did he become a leader? Scarlett

I would like to know how old he is and where he was born. Stacy

As part of our continuing Reconciliation Journey at Tintern Grammar, Murrundindi’s wisdom, education and time spent with our students and staff, learning about Culture is essential. You will see and hear more about this as we continue on our journey together into the future.

Alison Andrews | School Chaplain, Reconciliation Action Co-ordinator

Music Matters

Kickstart Music Camp

Last weekend 5 and 6 March, the Tintern music staff held the first full-blown all-in music camp since 2019. This was a great return to a Tintern tradition which has been sorely missed by the whole Tintern music community. These music camps are a great opportunity for students in music ensembles to gain some extra rehearsal time and also have a bit of fun. The team of senior music leaders planned two activities for the students which were a lot of fun. These were a trivia game, where we learnt some interesting facts about the music staff, and a scavenger hunt which resolved with the coded message ‘Never underestimate the power of music’.

Notably, we held the first combined rehearsal with the band and lead actors of Chicago, Tintern’s 2023 musical which will be opening at the Karralyka Theatre in 3 weeks. On Friday night the students had a pizza dinner followed by a special concert performance presented by our music teachers. This showcased the wonderfully talented staff in a way that we don’t see very often. On Saturday, we all participated in an African drumming workshop which was a huge success. The students loved it and created some vibrant music, as well as learning some African dances. Later, we had a delicious barbecue lunch together, provided by the Friends of Music, and we took our first music camp photo in a number of years. A huge thanks to the Tintern Friends of Music group, as well as to the teachers for giving up their time to put on this event. The Friends of Music are a group of volunteer parents, who put a lot of time and effort into music events like this, and we are fortunate to have their support. Overall, this music camp was a huge success and a great kick-off to preparations for this year’s music events.

Liam Rosewarne | Year 11 Choral Co-Captain 2023

Penelope Thwaites AM Class of 1960 visits Tintern

On 24 February, Alumna and Avenue of Excellence Inductee Penelope Thwaites spent an enjoyable time sharing her wisdom and musical expertise with students in a Piano Masterclass in the Kelson Room. Performers  for the event were Helen Yang (Year 11), Ruby Chen (Year 8) and Ronan Phelps (Year 7). The performers were supported by a group of piano students who also attended and observed the masterclass.

Clarinet Ensemble entertain prospective families

Our School in Action morning on 22 February was very well attended by many families. As guests arrived, they were treated to some delightful music performed by our Clarinet Ensemble (Amy Zhang, Ivan Chan, Ethan Hoole, Avie Lee, Sophie Richards, Mrs Lisa Clarke and  Isaac Lin)

Auditions in Term 2 for Annual Music Scholarships

Eligible music students in Years 5 to 12 are invited to apply for the following Music awards:

Ilma Kelson Music Scholar Awards

~ Outstanding Senior Performer (Years 7-12)
~ Two Encouragement Awards for students learning ‘desirable’ instruments for the orchestral program at Tintern Grammar (Years 5-12)

Penelope Thwaites Music Awards
~ Performance of an Australian Composition Award (Years 5-12)
~ Original Composition Award (Years 7-12)

Application forms are available by clicking on this link, from the Music Office or by contacting efeenane@tintern.vic.edu.au. Applications close 31 March 2023.

Alison Bezaire | Director of Music

Community Matters

Friends of Music – Easter Raffle Tickets on Sale Now!

Tickets are on sale now for the Friends of Music 2023 Easter Raffle! With 3 delicious hampers to win, buy your tickets online here: https://events.humanitix.com/tintern-fom-easter-raffle-2023

Proceeds will go to the Tintern Grammar FOM Committee, who seek to:

• Promote an appreciation of music in a variety of forms for the enjoyment of the school community.
• Act as a support group to the Music Department by providing financial and physical assistance with musical events and the music requirements of the school.

The raffle will be drawn Tuesday 28 March and winners will be notified by phone.

FOE Horse Trials – Registration is open

We are pleased to share that entries are open for the Annual Tintern Grammar Interschool Horse Trials to be held on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 March at Shirley Heights Equestrian Centre in Gladysdale.

Our Friends of Equestrian (FOE) group do a fantastic job running this very popular event, which is an official qualifying event for the Australian Interschool Horse Trial Championships.

Follow this link to submit your entry: https://eventsecretary.com.au/equestrian/17951 

Enjoy the gallery below from last year’s event.

TPG Picture Plates are back!

Thank you to everyone who ordered TPG Picture Plates, we greatly appreciate your support.

We were excited to see some many wonderful works of art to be immortalised as a Picture Plate!

We will be in touch with those who ordered once we have an approximate delivery date in very early Term 2.

We are still seeking a Year Level Parent Representative for Year 11. If you are interested please get in touch with Di Lacey on 9845 7893 or by email to communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au. 

Parent Representative are a liaison between parents/guardians and the school. Informing parents about activities planned either by Tintern, our community groups or within the class or year level, such as social gatherings, fundraisers or events. We greatly appreciate the time and commitment given by our Parent Reps. Parent Reps also organise class or year level functions to provide parents with the opportunity of meeting and socialising in a relaxed atmosphere. It is a great opportunity for class groups to connect, while supporting our local community cafes and restaurants still recovering from the lockdowns.

Presentation Ball Helpers

We are still investigating current interest and format options for the Presentation Ball for 2023. Please contact Community Relations if you have any thoughts or interest to be part of the team.

If you are interested in volunteering, please email presentationball@tintern.vic.edu.au.

Footy Tipping Competition – AFL

The Tintern Grammar community footy tipping competition is back again for 2023!

For those interested in joining the 2023 competitions, details are below:

• AFL Tipping Competition:  https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/Tintern_Grammar_Community  
• Password: tintern

You will then have to log into your own account or create one. When setting up your account, you might like to check the reminder email box so you don’t forget!

This competition is free to enter and open to:

•  Past students (18+) (Tintern Grammar students will not be permitted to enter)
•  Past Parents / Guardians
•  Past Siblings
•  Past Staff
•  Current Parents / Guardians
•  Current Staff

Please note that if those who place do not meet the entry requirements, they will be ineligible for the prize money. Prizes will then go to the next placing eligible entry.

Cash Prizes awarded for the winners of the AFL Tipping Competition:

AFL Footy Tipping Prizes:

• 1st Prize $250
• 2nd Prize $120
• 3rd Prize $60
• 4th Prize $40
• 5th Prize $20

Good luck and start tipping!!

Community Committee Dates 

Community Group Meetings are now back onsite. Please check the information below carefully for details:

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) –Next meeting: Thursday 9 March 2023 at 7pm President: Haidee Wallace Location: CM Wood Common Room
• Friends of Music (FOM) – Next Meeting: Tuesday 14 March 2023 at 7pm President: Debra Fryer Location: CM Wood Common Room
• Friends of Equestrian (FOE) – Next Meeting: Monday 13 March at 8pm Online via Zoom: Select Here to Join Password: FOE 

Please select here to view a Tintern map of the meeting venues.

International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day has been spread over a week at Tintern Grammar with many awareness raising activities. Last Friday at the Secondary Assembly half the assembly was dedicated to International Women’s Day theme of #Embrace#Equity. Our Student Leaders spoke to their mothers/grandmothers:

Our Faith Captains Mimi Coglan and Isaac Lin, led the prayer but also provided a thought-provoking speech on embracing equity, below is an extract of the speech:

“As we open a discussion about embracing equity within life, it’s important to clearly define what equity means to you. For me, equity is all about the concept of fairness and giving. It is to show your humanity through your actions, or as we better know it- Factis Non Verbis.  

I wish I could come on stage and discuss purely positive things, but to embrace equity, I find myself having to acknowledge the violations of women’s rights around the world. In 2022, the world witnessed the Taliban re-assert itself as the government of Afghanistan, and with this they brought a set of new rules for women. Females cannot attend school past year six, they cannot leave the house without a male escort, girls as young as thirteen are legally allowed to be married off to a man of any age, and women are no longer allowed to show their face in public.  

Other violations of rights have been seen within the past few years, including overturning of reproductive rights and mass violence in Iran.  

For International Women’s Day, I want to acknowledge that sometimes those who are in a less fortunate position must be treated differently to be treated equally. This does not just apply to third world countries, in Australia we only recently saw the abolition of the pink tax, there is still gender bias in the workforce, and wage gaps prevail.  

Jesus teaches that despite the bias of humanity against one another, all are seen as equal, created in Gods image. The Bible teaches that despite the inequality which is still seen throughout society, Jesus was fighting for women’s rights 2000 years ago. Allowing women to be the first to witness the resurrection and encouraging women to become educated.   

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Embracing Equity’, for our community, this can look like inviting everyone to play together on the oval, or doing projects with people you normally wouldn’t. Having an open and ever-growing mindset. Even something as simple as saying ‘Hi’ to people in the hallways. Strive to embrace ‘Factis non Verbis’, show your support for embracing equity not just by your words, but also your deeds. Just because we learn separately, we don’t need to act separately.  

We can encourage positive change for women’s equity, but we also remember the world God wanted us to have, a world where women and all people are embraced.  

Let us pray,

Gracious God,

We pray for the smooth celebration of International Women’s Day and all people who continue to fight for equity. Provide, O Lord our protector, strength, and resilience for those who are oppressed and seeking equity. Allow us to embrace equity and love one another as we would love ourselves. Amen.”

Buy an International Women’s Day Badge 

Badges are still available to be purchased at each reception and the library for $2 each. All funds raised will be donated to Rare Cancers Australia.

Badges were created in our STEAM center.  Awesome Job!

International Women’s Day Breakfast

We are looking forward to welcoming over 100 members of the Tintern Grammar community to join us for the inaugural International Women’s Day Breakfast on Wednesday 8 March. 

Bookings have now closed for this event.

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