Weekly eNews

Junior SchoolSecondary SchoolCrowther Centre

Ross Featherston

Headmaster, Brighton Grammar School

You may have seen last week’s media coverage highlighting the concerning decline in NAPLAN results across Victoria. 

Our own results, however, indicate that our boys remain well placed. Across the School, our boys performed strongly in Numeracy, Junior School Writing and Secondary School Grammar.

Just as importantly, we have seen significant growth in key areas. In the Junior School, students made gains in Reading and Writing, reflecting the impact of our revised timetable and deliberate focus on Literacy. Secondary School students also demonstrated strong progress, particularly in Reading, Writing and Spelling, reinforcing our teachers’ expertise and their commitment to high performance while supporting the individual growth of each student.

At a time of increasing pressure across the education sector and the wider community, we are especially grateful for the contribution of our staff. Their professionalism, care and commitment are central to the outstanding education and pastoral care we provide the boys.

Finally, there is a true sense of excitement as we head into a significant weekend of APS Winter Sport and VSRU Grand Finals. Our First V Basketball, First XI Soccer, First XV Rugby and First XVIII Football teams have all earned their place in this final round of the competition, with three Grand Finals being hosted at BGS.

I encourage all members of our community to come and support our boys. You can view the full schedule and event information on our dedicated Grand Final Day webpage.

Have a great week.

Simon Angus

Deputy Headmaster, Head of Secondary School

A lot is happening at BGS this week, with tonight marking the opening night of the FGS/BGS Years 7–9 production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory JR. Running for three nights, the production promises to be a fantastic showcase of our students’ talent and hard work. I look forward to attending on Saturday night, and wish all students and staff involved the very best of luck.

On Saturday, BGS will compete in four APS Grand Finals. Details are as follows:

  • Basketball – 10.00am at Caulfield Grammar School
  • Soccer – 10.00am at Mitchell Oval
  • Rugby – 11.00am at Crowther Oval
  • Football – 2.00pm at Crowther Oval

It promises to be an exciting weekend of sport, and I wish all teams the very best as they compete for an APS or VSRU premiership.

Enjoy the long weekend, and I look forward to welcoming the boys back refreshed and ready for a strong finish to the term.

Meliora Sequamur.

Happenings & Reminders

ART OFF – House Portrait Competition 

Art can be incredibly subjective, but one thing the judges and all who attended Friday’s ART OFF can agree is that the overall standard of the competition just keeps getting better.

House Captains in House Colours was again the theme, with each House nominating a challenger in three categories: Years 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12, as well as a House Captain’s Challenge, open to anyone in each House and worth double points. Students had just over a week to prepare before the competition culminated in the ART OFF, where all challengers congregated to finish their entries in 30 minutes.

A huge thank you to all of our competitors and contributors for their hard work and for sharing their artistic talents. Results will be announced at the last assembly of term, and the full range of portraits will be showcased at the Creative Arts Showcase in November.

Michael Hawkins
Head of Art

Music of the Bay

Don’t miss this special opportunity to enjoy an evening of exceptional music performed by the talented musicians of Brighton Grammar and Firbank Grammar Schools at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday 31 August.

Additional seats have been released this week so book your tickets and join us in celebrating a shared tradition of musical excellence. 

BGS Business Breakfast

Join us on Tuesday 25 August as we welcome Nicolas Cann (OB 2003), founder and CEO of Blobfish International and founder of Fur Media, as our Business Breakfast guest speaker.

What started as a simple idea in Australia in 2015 has grown into an international business operating across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, with expansion into Japan and South Korea. Through Blobfish International, Nic helps some of the world’s biggest brands connect directly with consumers through targeted sampling, activations and partnerships.

Nic is also the founder of Fur Media, Australia’s pet-focused digital out-of-home media network, which reaches pet owners through more than 200 veterinary clinics nationwide.

Passionate about entrepreneurship and building scalable businesses from unconventional ideas, Nic will share insights into innovation, growth and creating memorable brand experiences.

Don’t miss this inspiring morning with one of Brighton Grammar’s entrepreneurial success stories. Book now.

From The Archive

Brighton Grammar is preparing for its biggest sporting weekend in history with no fewer than four premiership matches taking place. The material from the Archive this week is a collection of rousing songs to help you get behind your team, including the BGS Football Song, first published in The Grammarian 100 years ago.

Good luck to everyone competing. Go Tonners!

The BGS Football Song
(The Brighton Grammarian, August 1926)

Bounce the ball! Bounce the ball! Away dull care and troubles all;
Now that Football’s here again, a fig for frosts and driving rain.
Set the goal posts straight and true, throw a ball out bright and new:
Now we’re ready for the fray—a merry band the livelong day.

Chorus:

We’re slipping and sliding, we’re tripping and gliding,
And chasing the ball on the wing.
We’re all in together in any old weather,
So we laugh and we shout as we sing:
“It may rain, it may snow, it may hail, it may blow,
But a boy loves his football as all of us know.”

Whistle up; whistle up; let us drain old Pleasure’s cup.
Soon we’ll all be old and grey, hugging fires all the day.
Take your places one and all; see, the umpire’s bounced the ball;
Here it comes, high in the air; it’s through the posts—a goal! “All clear.”

Back it comes—then up it goes; how footballs stand it goodness knows!
In the thickest of the fight they remain still staunch and tight.
Like the football, too, may we ever prompt and ready be:
Play the game, both hard and true, with the old red sash and jersey blue.

So in life it is the same, life, like football, is a game.
There are jolts and bumps ahead: the game without them would be dead.
Some will take the forward line, some will ruck, while others shine:
Yet through it all we shall be true to the old red sash and jersey blue.

From Reverend Waterhouse

Last Friday evening, I had some time alone at home and so decided to watch a movie that I had been keen to see all year. The underwater survival film, Last Breath, is based on an earlier true-events documentary of the same name and spotlights the insanely dangerous work carried out by saturation divers off the coast of Scotland – men who repair oil rigs on the floor of the North Sea, almost 100 metres below the water’s surface.

An unforeseen accident necessitates a rescue, which is both gripping and harrowing.

Operating at such an ocean depth seems truly terrifying, chiefly because the environment is so devoid of human presence and any human existence is precarious.

As I watched the film, my mind kept on reverting to some verses from one of King David’s most famous psalms in the Jewish Old Testament of the Bible, Psalm 139:

‘Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.’ [vss. 7 to 10].

What a relief that God’s presence inhabits every sphere of his universe, whether land, sea or space. How encouraging also that Jesus is close at hand to those who walk in friendship with him.

If ever we find ourselves in a dark place, we can cry out to the Light of the World!   

 

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