Weekly eNews
Ross Featherston
Headmaster, Brighton Grammar School‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’, is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of the United States’ founding fathers (1706-1790).
In essence, this quote sums up the thinking behind many of the parent and student programs offered by our Crowther Centre team, under the guidance of Dr Ray Swann. One topic particularly relevant at this time of year is safe partying for teens.
As parents, we want to support our children to enjoy their teenage years but are always mindful of the potential risks in social situations. Getting the balance right can be tricky, for us and for them.
Knowing the laws regarding alcohol, drugs and other risky behaviours can help clarify expectations and enable better communication and being aware of how the School supports these learnings can also help.
For example, our Year 7-10 students undertake our Health and Wellbeing curriculum to learn information and harm minimisation strategies to help them make better informed decisions in real-world situations.
The Crowther Centre team runs webinars on this topic and has produced a position paper on safe partying which I recommend parents read.
Finally, we marked Remembrance Day across the school with our Junior School boys pausing to reflect, and our Secondary School students attending a moving Chapel service, in honour of the Brighton Grammar Old Boys who lost their lives in the Boer War and other armed conflicts since.
Have a good weekend.
Peter Tellefson
Deputy Headmaster, Head of Junior SchoolLast Friday, our Young Warriors program, facilitated by James Hilditch (Cultural Development Coordinator), provided an opportunity for our Year 4 boys and their mentors to participate in various activities and one-on-one time to connect and focus on the importance of relationships.
The evening was a great success, with many highlights for young and old, but it was most rewarding to hear the quality of conversations, love, emotion and ‘honouring’ between the boys and adults.
Thank you to James Hilditch, Louisa Bolton, Emily Russell, Luke Fensling, Michael Stephens, Brent Brickhill, Dean Bryan, Father Chester Lord, Cindy van Dijk, Rebecca Taylor and Monica Le Couteur for her story time session, and to our boys and mentors for supporting the night.
These opportunities make our School a special place to belong to.
Wilson House Happenings & Reminders
- All is in readiness for tomorrow’s Family Fun Night, 4.30 – 8.00pm on Red Square, with a bit of luck the weather will be good to us. Our organising Committee, Ross Stewart, Alex Dever and the JPG, have planned tirelessly to ensure the success of the night, all that is required is your presence.
Please support the JPG’s endeavours as this is their major fundraising event for the year. Parents are invited to BYO drinks (no alcohol)/snacks, there will be Primo Pizza, Twisted Fisherman, Taste of Cyprus, Smart Amusement rides and a dunking machine. Food trucks do not always have Eftpos available, please ensure you have some cash on hand.
Online ticket sales have now closed; wristbands will be available at the gate for $50.00 per child on Friday evening. A reminder to parents, boys are not to attend unsupervised.
- The Junior School Presentation Night will be held on Thursday 28 November at Monash University – Clayton Campus, Robert Blackwood Hall from 7.00pm. This is a compulsory school event for Years 3 – 6 boys. Bookings are now open, please see the BGS app for further details.
Student Achievements
- Congratulations to the following boys from Prep to 6 who will be presented with Semester 2 Effort Cards for Visual Art, Chinese, Design & Technology and French at tomorrow’s Assembly.
Visual Arts – Hugo Briscoe, Edward Burchell, Matthew Thomson, Jack Tripis, Dominic Du Rieu, Harry Peckham, Preston Liu, Bohdi Lockett, William Wang, Willem Hoofdman
Chinese – Lenny Lui, Isaac Goh, Waters Zhang, Rentaro Otsuka, Hugo Briscoe, James Ellis, Tom Schneider, Ryan Axup
Design & Technology – Terrence Ji, Beau Williams Bundy, Kenneth Ge, Alex Telders, Jensen Brennan, Darby Effeney, Baxter Riddell-McCalman, Mitch Cooper, Linc Caspar, Jack Moncrieff, James Forbes, Joe Hall, Joe Peckham, Kyle Gu
French – William McPherson, Lachlan McCosker, Xander Ottley, Noah Kemal, Joe Hall, Mathew Trubiano
Amelia Barrow
Director of the Early Learning CentreAlthough the weather has been up and down this week it hasn’t dampened our spirits as the boys excitedly watched the ELC slowly turn into all things Christmas!
Our Christmas rehearsals have been in full swing with our first practice in the Rosstrevor Hall, located on the corner of Allee Street and New Street. All boys will be leaving the ELC at 9.10am so we please ask families to have the boys here by 9.00am for a quick departure.
We will leave a sign in the foyer to let families know where we are if you are running late (as some rehearsals may be in the GBR Hall). We couldn’t believe that even Santa has been watching through his secret camera and sent us a letter with treats to say how proud he was of each of the boys! The magic of Christmas is certainly sparkling in the ELC.
Invitations for our pageant on Thursday 5 December at 10.00am will be sent next week and we hope that all family and friends can attend this fabulous event!
We look forward to seeing you at the Family Fun Night tomorrow and thank our 2025 families for their time on Tuesday night to meet teaching staff.
Parenting Tips
Hope Builders
Take a look at the clickbait headlines of our major news outlets and consider the words you see pop up most, such as ‘grim’, ‘brutal’, and ‘chilling’. They’re carefully designed to evoke anxiety and they’re working.
There’s a powerful tool we can equip our kids with that protects them against anxiety, takes down depression, and softens stress. That tool is hope. Read more below about the three key components of hope.
Olivia Tims
Junior School Psychologist
Effective Learner Model Webinar
The Crowther Centre invites all parents of Year 7 students in 2025 to an Effective Learner Model webinar on Monday, 18 November at 7.00pm.
The Effective Learner Model is based on the best-available research about how students learn and underpins all our teaching and learning programs. The webinar will provide you with key strategies to help you support your child’s learning at home.
Contact the Crowther Centre for more information.
JPG News
JPG Family Fun Night
Join us for a fun night of rides, food trucks and entertainment on the Red Square from 4.30 – 8.00pm tomorrow.
Tickets are $50 per child. The Family Fun Night wristband gives each child unlimited rides. Each child will receive a show bag when the wristband is pre-purchased via Trybooking. Rides are suitable for children three years and older. For adults and children under three, entry is free. Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate.
