From the Principal

This issue’s From the Principal is written by Adam Kenny, Head of Boys’ Junior School and Director of Students

Amongst the many engaging and varied end of year opportunities continuing at Tintern Grammar, our Junior, Middle and Senior College students have been introduced to the leadership process for those wanting to apply for formal leadership positions in 2023. Middle School and Senior College appointments have been announced, with Junior School to follow in the coming fortnight. We congratulate and thank not just those who have been appointed to positions, but to all who took the time and made the effort to apply.

Our 2023 Year 12 Student leadership Team have already initiated and organised for our whole Community to support The Salvation Army’s Food Drive, and we encourage our families and friends to support this most important event.

Tennis and Human Rights great Arthur Ashe stated that;

‘Success is a journey, not a destination; the doing is often more important than the outcome.’

We strongly encourage our students to find the time to self-reflect, and then to seriously consider applying for positions, even if they initially feel that they might not ultimately receive a formal position of responsibility. Self-reflection is a wonderful tool, helping to build emotional self-awareness. By taking the time to ask questions of one’s self, a person can gain a better understanding of emotions, strengths, challenges and driving factors, leading to long term self-improvement and success.

It is true that ‘IF YOU DO NOT STEP FORWARD YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE SAME PLACE….’

One of the four ‘learner focused intentions’ in the Tintern Grammar ‘Forward Strategy Towards 2030’ is The Journey ‘We craft learning and growth experiences that reflect a broader and deeper definition of success based on confidence, a strong sense of identity, agency and capacity to contribute to a better world.’

All of our Tintern Grammar students have many opportunities to display leadership throughout each school year, and the ‘..capacity to contribute…’ regardless of formal roles.

Whether this be the Year 9s leading and working with their peers in House Showdown, Year 12s being a part of the voluntary and highly successful Big Brother Big Sister mentoring program with our Year 7s,  participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award program, being a part of our Green Team, Social Justice Group, Music, Farm, Outdoor Education or sports programs where our older students work with our younger ones, older girls and boys being buddies to our Preps, participating in Wheelchairs for Kids, supporting Community events such as The Big Freeze, The Salvation Army’s Food Appeal or the Pinchapoo project..….the formal and natural opportunities to display leadership skills and ‘contribute’ are many and varied. 

Similarly, our Principal Mr Fry consistently seeks input and feedback from our Leadership teams on matters that affect our student body, ranging from uniform through to Assemblies, giving them a practical and real sense of agency and voice.

Mr Fry often refers to the statement made by Chief of the Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison in 2013:

‘Every one of us is responsible for the culture and reputation of the environment in which we work…. The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept.’

The most effective way for all students to show leadership and ‘contribute to a better world’, is through everyday modelling and action.

Factis Non Verbis.

Adam Kenny | Head of Boys’ Junior School and Director of Students

Arts Matters

Year 9 and 10 Production – Thespians In Search of a Live Audience

The Performing Arts are a distinctive part of the Tintern Grammar co-curricular program and play an integral role in providing ways of expressing and representing ideas, emotions, and values in social and cultural perspectives. This year’s production was a collection of short monologues, several one act plays, a filmed sitcom, two dances and a vocal number. 

Students were involved in all aspects of the production, on and off stage. They embraced the opportunities offered in acting, dancing, designing, stage managing, sound and lighting design, as well as, directing and choreographing. In addition to the educational opportunities, the students developed new friendships and strengthened existing ones. The support offered by these bonds will hold them in good stead for their senior years and into their future endeavours.

Cast List

Charlotte Davies

Sashenka Fernando

James Gray

Elijah Hanna

Amy Harris

Dharma Harris

Ashley Honan

Katie Howell

Sage Idnurm

XavierKemm

Alex Martin

Odette McCallum

Scarlett O’Connor

Ella O’Meara

Millie Pearce

Etho Robson

Liam Rosewarne

Emily Stokes

Dan Thompson

Scarlett Wild

A collection of original works will be premiered this year: The Four Butlers by Sage Idnurm, The Pub by Liam Rosewarne, High School Heart Ache by Amy Harris, Odette McCallum & Millie Pearce, plus two new dance works by choreographers Charlotte Davies and Ella O’Meara, Welcome to Wonderland and Americano.

Vince Di Mitrio | Dance, Drama Teacher

The Arts Lounge  – JOY 40cm x 40cm exhibition

Local artists were invited to enter submissions for the 40 x40 cm Exhibition exploring the theme of JOY for the Arts Lounge at Wyreena Art Gallery.  We are thrilled that Scar Wild ( Year 9) has been successful in her stunning submission of her work titled ‘Llawenyd’

Congratulations Scar on your exceptional work – your use of oil paint on the black canvas really does represent Joy.

Scar’s personal artist statement explains –

 Llawenyd is a reflection of my own personal growth. Through the incorporation of flora that surrounds me in real life, I have presented my personal head space visually. Llawenyd, the welsh word for joy, represents the connection to my cultural roots and my love for where I have come from. My growth is a direct response to the way I was raised, that is to love fiercely and kindly , and to value yourself as a vessel of good.

 The 40 x 40 JOY exhibition runs from  16 November 2022 – 4 February 2023 at the Maroondah City Council , Wyreena Community Arts Centre.

Rachel Waud | Head of Visual Arts & Design

Music Matters

Scrolls String Orchestra visit our youngest songbirds in the ELC

 On 16 November, Middle School students in the Scrolls String Orchestra headed off to share their music with the ELC staff and students. A number of familiar tunes and songs were played, with the ELC joining in with gusto. The Middle School musicians were delighted when the ELC students, in response, sang a rendition of the chorus of our new school anthem, complete with actions! A good time was had by all.

Another round of outstanding examination results for our Tintern musicians

 Over the past few months, we have seen many of our String, Piano and Woodwind students sit AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) examinations both here at school and at the AMEB studios in Hawthorn. We have been very proud of the effort these students have put into their preparation. Congratulations to the following students on their excellent results:

Congratulations to the following students who recently sat AMEB Music Examinations:

Munch with the Musos 

Bookings for our Friends of Music Munch with the Musos close this Thursday!

Dust off your Christmas finery (reindeer ears, Santa hats and tinselly halos welcome) and come along to the CM Wood Centre at 10am on Sunday 27 November for the Friends of Music “Munch with the Musos”! All welcome!! 

BOOK NOW

Munch With the Musos 2022 presented by Tintern Grammar Friends of Music, Ringwood East, Sun 27 Nov 2022, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm 

Sport Matters

Victorian All Schools Athletics Championships

The Victorian All Schools Athletics Championships were held at Lakeside Stadium over the weekends of 29 October and 30 October and 5 November and 6 November. Tintern Grammar had three students competing:

Amelie Scherer

Amelie represented Tintern proudly and competed in the Under 15 1500m and 800m events. She made the final for both 1500m and 800m. Amelie was racing against seasoned National level competitors and can hold her head high as she ran very well. This was such a wonderful experience for her. Amelie unofficially broke the EISM record for the 1500m in her heat with a time of 5.07:87.

Kayla Paton

Kayla competed in the U/13 Girls 100m and 200m events. In the 100m, she qualified for the semis with a time of 13.54 sec but didn’t qualify for the finals. In the 200m, Kayla qualified for the semis with a time of 27.99 sec but didn’t qualify for the finals. However, Kayla achieved personal best times in both events, for which she should be proud of her performances.

Heath Fox

Heath competed in the Under 15 Boys Javelin. Heath produced some excellent throws to win the javelin event. Heath is officially Victorian All Schools U15 Boys Javelin State Champion! He threw a distance of 42.31m. Heath will be representing Victoria at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Adelaide in December. Best of luck Heath!

Ashley Viney | Head of Sport

ELC News

ELC Art Show

This year the Early Learning Centre will hold their inaugural Art Show. This is a huge undertaking for the children and the staff and will be a biennial event. Planning for the event began in June with Term 3 being set aside for the creation of the art works.

The children studied artists and their work looking at how they represented different concepts in an art form. They explored nature and the naturally found art within it. Exploring shapes, lines, and symmetry. From here we explored creating with different art mediums including printing, sculpture, painting, collage with natural elements, and free drawing. Each of these techniques challenged and excited us especially as some classes were creating pieces that were not 2D.

From here the staff extended the creative process, looking for inspiring ways to display the masterpieces to show off all the work that the children had completed.

This work has been a major focus in the centre for the last five months, and we are so proud of the results that have been achieved by the children. The inquiry project work that ran alongside selected pieces during this work has been invaluable to extend the children’s thinking and develop critical thinking skills.

We are proudly opening our Art Show on Saturday 26 November with a parent only event. This evening event will be a wonderful way to showcase two terms of work and I warmly invite our families to book a ticket.

For the week beginning Monday 28 November and concluding on Friday 2 December the Early Learning Centre Art Show will be open for our Tintern community to experience. Why not go for a wander up to the Visual Art space and see the beautiful work that our youngest community members have so cleverly created.

Kristin De Vos | Director of Early Learning

Girls’ Junior School News

Year 3 Girls 

We’ve had a terrific time in the Year 3A Learning Community. Here is some of what we have been up to.

We started off our Term with an excursion to Dream City. At Dream City the Girls had the opportunity to explore different activities as part of gaining knowledge and experience with what it might be like to work in certain occupations. We did Sports, Surgery, Nursery, TV and Virtual Reality. It was wonderful to see the varying levels of curiosity and interest as we began to explore our passions for our Integrated Studies focus for this Term.

In our Maths sessions we have explored worded-problems. The Girls have been given a collection of questions to determine what is the important information they need to complete the problem. We recognise that there is often more than one strategy that could be used to solve the problem. We also know that sometimes we might do a lot of working out but not get the right answer, so we try another strategy. We have also focused on fractions. We first established what a fraction is and came up with a whole class meaning – a fraction is an equal part of a whole. We have also recognised that a fraction does not always have to be established by cutting into a whole. We took photographs of various items/furniture around the Colebrook building and using the editing tool, showed the fraction. We have also talked about how it is very easy for us to be quite relaxed with our language especially when we ask for the ‘bigger half’ of the cake/pizza/pie!

In our Integrated Studies focus on Passion Projects, we came up with our definition between what is a like and what is a passion. We have listed all of our likes and then from our list we have identified what our passion is. It’s been a great chance to learn a little more about ourselves and each other. We selected our passion and created a storyboard where we showed various headings such as why it was our passion, when or where we did/performed/trained for our passion, and what our passion is all about. Once we completed our storyboard outline, we then went on to BookCreator, an app on the ipad to put it together as part of our presentation to the class.

During our Writing sessions we continue to work on the different narratives or persuasive pieces, working towards having a collection of published pieces. We use our Grammar sessions to help us with our writing as we understand sentence structure and understanding stories or texts that we read.

We have also enjoyed weekly Swimming sessions, learning our Dance ‘Splish/Splash’ for our forthcoming Speech Night and a visit from Murrundindi, where we learned an Aboriginal Dance, heard him play the didgeridoo and tell us some stories.

Miranda Price | Year 3 Girls’ Teacher

Year 6 Girls Fly High

The Year 6 students study elements of Flight and Aviation as a part of their Integrated Studies unit this term with a highlight being the opportunity to visit Tyabb Airfield to consolidate their knowledge of the basic principles of flight.  As a component of this girls were invited to co-pilot a flight over Tyabb, with a view of the bay, in a single engine Cessna. This is an incredible experience for our girls, and as you can see from their faces, they absolutely loved it!

Allison Prandolini | Head of Girls’ Junior School

Year 4 Explore Environmentally Friendly Packaging

Earlier this month our Year 4 girls explored making bio plastics. They explored different packaging materials and how they have evolved over time to be more environmentally friendly. They made a plastic alternative that was made from plants, rather than the traditional method of burning fossil fuels. Completing their science practical lesson onsite, at the fully equipped Senior Science Centre at Tintern, further igniting their love of science.

Our Year 4 boys will also enjoy this science practical later this week.

William Fogarty | Year 4 Girls’ Teacher 

Preps Discover the Underwater World

Last week our Preps had an amazing time learning about and exploring the creatures of the underwater world at the Melbourne Aquarium.

Boys’ Junior School

Year 6 Students Fly High

Last Wednesday, our Year 6 boys and girls headed to Tyabb Airfield for their annual Flight Excursion. This hands-on component of the Year 6 Aviation unit sees each student offered the opportunity to fly in a duel controlled Cessna, with a Flight Instructor. It is always an amazing and memorable experience and one that our students have been enjoying for 20 years.

I thank the boys and Mrs Neilson and Mrs Heymanson for their involvement in the activity and for being wonderful ambassadors of our School.

Movember

Our Junior School boys got in the spirit of Movember with a special Assembly, featuring Kahoot questions and discussion, with the students having the opportunity to wear a ‘mo’. Our Junior School Teachers joined in the fun too. A sausage sizzle fundraiser was held at lunchtime. This provided another opportunity for us to discuss mental health and wellbeing with our boys.

PJ Party

It was certainly a most enjoyable day on Friday for our Preps and Year 1s as they held their annual PJ party! Activities during the day and after school included special games, a movie in our School theatre and a visit from the Ice Cream van, and each boy decorating his very own ‘I survived the Prep and Year 1 Pyjama Party’ T-Shirt!  My sincerest thanks to Ms Peters and Mrs Sloane for organising such a fun event.  

Dads and Lads

Our annual ‘Year 2 Dads and Lads Evening’ was a fun and energetic event. We saw our Year 2 boys join with their dads for games in the gym, a BBQ and then a very spirited and competitive session of Ten Pin Bowling and Laser Tag at Chirnside Park Oz ten Pin Bowling. Thank you to all the dads who made the occasion fun and memorable.

Secondary News

End of Term Plans

After what may have felt like a very long time for some students, Wednesday 16 November saw the last of our Year 12 students finishing their examinations. As we have mentioned many times, having an uninterrupted run through their Year 12 studies has been very fortunate and enabled them all to do their very best in their own unique pathways. The staff and School community are incredibly proud of them as they now move toward the next phase of their lives with many eagerly awaiting university offers, some taking a year off to work or travel and others moving directly into a form of employment. Whatever pathway they take, we wish them all the very best and look forward to keeping an eye on their successes as they go.

Our Years 10 and 11 students have finished their 2022 classes and are sitting their examinations this week. These assessments are an excellent way in which to reinforce their study habits and approach to such assessments in preparation for next year and beyond. Following the exam week our Years 10 and 11 students will be going to their transition camp/conferences from Monday 28 November to Wednesday 30 November in preparation for 2023.

• Year 10 into 11 Transition Camp: Our current Year 10s will be spending three days living on campus at Deakin University’s Waterfront Campus in Geelong. They will be in residential accommodation and will be participating in a variety of activities focusing on opportunities after school. This includes introductory sessions to different university courses, options available through TAFE, as well as having lots of fun and games together.
• Year 11 into Year 12 Conference: Our current Year 11s will be on conference over these three days focusing on a number of different aspects of Year 12 as well as life after Year 12. There will be a combination of presenters focusing on relevant issues such as being a licensed driver, party safe and other age and stage appropriate topics. Their three days will vary between on campus at school, the Sage Hotel in Eastland and in the city.

Our current Year 9s have also finished 2022 classes with English, Science and Maths exams being held in their last week. They are currently on  Summer Expeditions around all different parts of Victoria enjoying a variety of activities such as hiking, sailing, canoeing and bike riding. Upon their return to school on Monday 28 November, they will be engaged in an alternative program providing them with a First Aid qualification and other activities.

Our Years 7 and 8 students continue with 2022 classes until Thursday 1 December before all secondary students and staff move into 2023. This transition period will allow all year levels to begin their new subjects and classes, setting them up well for the beginning of next year.

Movember

Throughout this month our new leadership team has been promoting the month of Movember and the importance of men looking after their health, both physical and mental. This included presentations at assemblies as well as information being shared around the school and a free dress day and sausage sizzle fund raiser. 

Year 10 Social

On Friday 11 November our Year 10 students and pastoral staff enjoyed an evening at the Chirnside Park Country Club. The event is the first time we have been able to run it for three years due to previous restrictions and it was a very successful event. It was a real pleasure to see the maturity of our students in the way they conducted themselves throughout the night including the three course meal and lots of dancing. What was really great to see was the continuous dragging up of staff onto the dance floor by the students to enjoy some time together. It highlights the strong connection between the staff and students which is a real strength of Tintern. A big thank you to Mr Kidd and his pastoral team for such a fantastic evening.

Year 9 Challenge

As a part of the Year 9 Challenge program during Terms 2 and 3, the students have been working with a local organisation, the Freedom Initiative, to sort fresh food and pack vegetable boxes to contribute to a Food Bank to care for people in our Maroondah community. This week was a special session to bring Christmas cheer to those less fortunate as our Year 9 students packed and wrapped Christmas hampers. Read the full story https://www.tintern.vic.edu.au/compassion-and-care-for-christmas-cheer/

Year 8 Medieval Day

Last week our Year 8 boys and girls spent the day immersed in learning about medieval times.  During this incursion the students rotated through classes on Weapons and Armour, Crime and Punishment, Calligraphy, Alchemy where they made gold and Tournament where they learnt about how knights trained. Students and staff were encouraged to come in medieval themed dress for the day.

Community Matters

Wanting to continue as Parent Rep for your 2023 Class or Year Level?

Parent Representatives 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 fundraisers or social events.

Parent Reps also organise class or year level functions to provide parents with the opportunity of meeting and socialising in a relaxed atmosphere. It would be a great opportunity for class groups to connect, while supporting our local community cafes and restaurants still recovering from the lockdowns.

We greatly appreciate the time and commitment given by our Parent Reps. This role is suitable for Parents or Guardians who are in the workforce or who undertake home responsibilities. It can be shared between many people, or looked after by one person.

A special thank you to our wonderful team of Parent Representatives from 2022. We greatly appreciated your support of our events and fundraisers throughout 2022.

If you would like to volunteer to be your Year Level’s Parent Representative in 2023, would like further information, or happy to continue in your current role, contact us by email communityrelations@tintern.vic.edu.au or by phone 03 9845 7877.

Community Spring Luncheon

We had an amazing time with our community at the Tintern Grammar Spring Luncheon at Zonzo Estate on 10 November. Delicious food and a beautiful spring theme for the luncheon. We thank all those who attended and made it a memorable day, and those who supported us with door prizes: Zonzo Estate; Zabecca Living; Mary Eats Cake; Bedford Coffee Co and suppliers: Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery; Canterbury Road Flower Gallery & Willow & Jackson Cafe. We hope you can join us next year!

Thank you to Mary Eats Cake!

Thank you to the incredible Mary Eats Cake for their generous donations to both the Community Fun Day and the Community Luncheon.

Mary Eats Cake has donated regularly to Tintern over the years, helping to enrich our prizes and events. 

Located in Montrose and Brunswick, you can learn more about them online here: https://www.maryeatscake.com.au/ or download a brochure on their Winery, Garden or Chocolate High Teas here.

Footy Tipping Competition – AFLW Competition

Community Committee Dates 

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

• Tintern Parent Group (TPG) –Next meeting: 2023 Date TBC President: Haidee Wallace Location: CM Wood Common Room
• Friends of Music (FOM) – Next Meeting: 2023 Date TBC  President: Debra Fryer Location: CM Wood Common Room Or join online by selecting here
• Friends of Young Farmers (FOYF) – Next Meeting: Contact us for further information 
• Friends of Snowsports (FOS) – Next Meeting: Contact us for further information 
• Friends of Equestrian (FOE) – Next Meeting: Contact us for further information  Co-Presidents: Nelaana Heinrich and Sherie Vicary-Carter 

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

Please note the following CovidSafe considerations to attend an onsite Community Group Meeting:

• Please remember to social distance.
• The wearing of masks when indoors at Tintern is required at this time.

Community Group Fundraising

Entertainment Book

The Entertainment Book is 100% digital! Excitingly this means that your Membership is valid for 12 months from the date of activation. 

With many new offers and all the old favourites the value of this book is incredible!

You can purchase a membership now, for yourself, friend or family member, and activate at any time over the next 6 months (extended from 60 days). You then have 12 months to take full advantage of the many wonderful offers!

You can purchase Woolworths Wish e-vouchers for a 3% discount. Whether purchasing to do your weekly groceries, shopping at Big W, or stocking up on Essentials at BWS, Cellarmasters or Dan Murphy’s, or even getting petrol at Woolworths Caltex, the savings can add up.

Please click here to order your Entertainment book from Tintern Grammar. Instantly purchase and access a digital membership which can then be used on two separate devices.

Please contact Community Relations on 9845 7877 for further information.

All proceeds raised go towards the fundraising for the TPG!

Photo Albums

Luxury Tintern Photo Albums embossed with the Tintern Grammar logo in silver on a blue buckram cover.

The Tintern Parents Group have commissioned a limited number of albums, large enough to hold the school photos provided by SchoolPix.

They feature the Tintern Grammar Logo printed in silver on the front cover and come complete with 10 transparent 30cm x 30cm sheet inserts, plus a CD holder insert which holds 8 discs. You also have the option of purchasing additional sheets/inserts. Cost per album is $75 (GST inclusive) Samples (with content) can be viewed in the uniform shop.

Additional insert sheets are also available for purchase at $2 per sheet.

Simply place your order online here, and present your order confirmation at the Uniform Shop to collect your album

Uniform Shop Opening Hours
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8am to 4.30pm