Weekly eNews

Thursday 2 April 2026

These final weeks of term have been a whirlwind of activity for the boys, with learning and cocurricular life continuing at full pace right to the end.

Across the school, we’ve witnessed an impressive array of activities including music and dance performances, production rehearsals, debating and chess competitions, service learning workshops, swimming programs, outdoor education journeys, NAPLAN testing, Father’s Mornings, VCE SACs and APS sport. These efforts were capped off by a Tennis Premiership and a strong showing at both the Swimming and Diving finals and the Head of the River.

Together, these experiences reflect our commitment to nurturing well rounded young men. They enrich the boys’ academic journey by encouraging them to think critically, collaborate confidently and embrace challenges both inside and outside the classroom.

As we head into the break, I wish all families a restful and enjoyable Easter holiday. I look forward to welcoming the boys back, recharged, refreshed and ready for Term 2, on Tuesday 21 April.

 

It is hard to believe Term 1 has come to an end. Thank you to all boys, staff and parents who have contributed so much to ensure a successful start to the year. I appreciate the commitment of our staff to provide your son with many positive learning experiences this term. 

There is no doubt Wilson House is a busy learning community for boys, staff and parents. Our boys are fortunate to be provided with such a variety of learning experiences. Boys and staff alike will all look forward to the two-week holiday. Best wishes to all families for the holiday break and may the blessings of Easter be with you.

The continued support of parents in recent weeks has been pleasing; Outdoor Education information sessions, Year 3 Training Strings, Prep – Year 2 Fathers’/Special Friends’ mornings, various Year 3 – 6 sport competitions, Prep – Year 2 Literacy workshop, Boys, Screens and Technology Presentation, Upper & Lower String Soirees and our End of Term Assembly. It is great to see parents continue to avail themselves to these opportunities as it increases your awareness and engagement in your son’s education here at Brighton Grammar.

 

Wilson House Happenings & Reminders

• Term 1 Interim Reports are now available to parents via the Parent Portal on the BGS app.

• Thank you to all boys and families from ELC to Year 6 who kindly donated Easter eggs for our Raffle. Wilson House have made a significant donation to ‘Mackillop Family Services’ who will distribute Easter eggs to less fortunate children in our community. I am sure our generosity will certainly bring a smile to many faces on Easter Sunday. Thank you to the JPG and Leigh Peckham for her coordination.

• Best wishes to our St Andrew’s Choristers who have a significant commitment throughout the Holy Week celebrations.

• On Friday 8 May from 8.30am all our Prep to Year 6 mums are invited to a Mother’s Day Celebration to join their sons in various classroom activities and a Mother’s Day Service at St Andrew’s Church. This will be a wonderful opportunity for our community to express our appreciation to our mums, and the special morning together will conclude at approximately 10.30am. A slide show featuring photos of boys and their mothers will be shown during the church service, and mothers are encouraged to email their favourite mother and son/s photos to the Junior School by Thursday 23 April.

• From the commencement of Term 2 all boys from ELC to Year 6 are to wear the winter uniform. Prep to Year 6 boys have the option of wearing grey shorts or grey trousers but are required to wear the grey shorts on formal occasions such as music performances. The long-sleeved, pin-striped shirt is to be worn with the BGS tie, blazer and jumper (optional).

• Prep to Year 6 Cross Country will be held on Monday 27 April on the Crowther Oval from approximately 1.15pm. All boys are expected to participate, and they may wear their Sport uniform and House polo shirt to School for the day. Parents are most welcome to attend and support their sons. A reminder that boys will be dismissed from their classrooms at the end of the day at the usual time, and not from the Crowther Oval. Further details are available via the BGS app.

• Bayside City Council is installing new pedestrian crossings at the New St / St Andrews St / Park St / Well St roundabout. Roadworks begin late March for up to 3 months (7.00am–5.00pm, weekdays). The community should expect staged closures, detours, traffic controllers, and some pedestrian and parking disruptions. New St works are scheduled to occur first during Term 1 school holidays.

 

Student Achievements

• Congratulations to the following Prep – Year 6 students who received Term 1 Effort Cards at this week’s Assembly.

• Congratulations to the Year 3-6 boys (William Giddings, Nathan He, Thomas Wang, Evan Zhou, Preston Liu, Ryan Cao, Nico Longo, Jagger Lees, Christopher Michaelides-Nicolaou, Shaurya Shah, Johnny Xie and Nathan Yan) who were selected to compete in an interschool chess competition on Monday 29 March at Sandringham Primary School. They played 7 rounds with great strategy selection and success. The best individual performer was Preston who won the overall competition against 107 others!

• Congratulations to the 33 students who took part in the Kangaroo Sans Frontieres online Maths competition. They tackled challenging multiple choice questions in 60 minutes and achieved pleasing results. The best performers who scored 80-94% and were awarded a Certificate of Distinction: Thomas Wang, Zac Turton, Eric Gong, Ray Chen, Baxter Clitherow, George Chamberlain, Jagger Lees, Ryan Cao, William Liao and Ethan Wang.

• Earlier this week Enzo Zhang and Sam Jane competed in the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Swimming Championships. The boys represented the school with distinction and were well supported by parents and Mr Aaron French. The boys had some great swims, with Enzo placing second in the U11 50m freestyle, and Sam competing strongly to finish fifth in the U11 50m breaststroke.

 

New BGS Volunteer Induction process

We are pleased to launch our new BGS Volunteer Induction Portal. All volunteers engaged in child-connected work must complete this induction to ensure they are informed, supported and meet the requirements to work with children. This includes understanding the BGS Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy, Child Safety Code of Conduct, and your responsibilities regarding records management, information sharing, and reporting obligations.

We welcome and are so grateful for our volunteers, who are a testament to the immensely strong and supportive community we have here at BGS. If an opportunity presents and you would like to take on a volunteer role, please be sure to contact the Compliance team for further guidance and the link to the new Volunteer Induction Portal. By completing this induction, you will be contributing to our shared responsibility of maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive environment for all children and young people in our care.

Examples of volunteer roles at BGS include; attending excursions, being part of a ‘Friends Of’ Parent Group, supporting onsite and offsite School events where students are present, accepting a volunteer sports coaching position

Please contact Compliance@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au if you have any further questions.

School Policies

All School policies are available on Schoolbox via the dedicated tile on the homepage. We encourage you to review these and direct any feedback or queries to compliance@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au.

 

Celebrations, big or small, hold a quiet kind of magic in early learning. They create moments where children feel acknowledged, included, and profoundly linked to the world around them.

As seasons shift and familiar celebrations like Easter draw near, it presents a natural opportunity to pause and reflect on how these moments can intentionally shape, not merely as events, but as experiences that gently nurture a sense of belonging.

Including our Buddies in our Easter festivities was important as it provided the boys with opportunities to build connections and relationships with others through enjoyable and meaningful activities. The Buddies helped the boys with a variety of drawings, paintings, and craft projects, which were later used for our Easter Egg Hunts and displays.

The excitement of searching for eggs throughout the school’s wonderful gardens and ovals was also important in reinforcing the idea that we are all one.

On behalf of the ELC staff, we extend our warmest wishes to all our families for a joyful and peaceful Easter break. We eagerly anticipate an exciting Term 2, full of new experiences and opportunities.

Our holiday program will commence on Tuesday, 7 April, and concludes on Monday 20 April. We will resume school on Tuesday 21 April.

 

Parenting Tip

Buy the Why?

“But why?”

“I’ll explain in a moment.”

“But why?”

“Why” might be one of the most aggravating questions our children can ask. It would be so much easier if our kids would just accept that we are older, wiser, more experienced, and are only asking them to do *that thing* because it’s worth doing. We just want them to trust us. And do the thing!

But no. They want to know “why”. Sometimes our “why” isn’t enough. They ask it again. “Why?” And again. “Oh… but why?”

Yet the question of “why” is an enormously important question. And it has powerful effects on our children’s willingness and desire to act.  Read more below from Dr Justin Coulson on Buy the Why.

Olivia Tims
Junior School Psychologist

 

BGS Snowsports

As summer sports wind down, it’s time to get ready for this year’s snow season! Come join the fun!  Be a part of the BGS Snowsports Team.  All competent skiers and snowboarders welcome.

For more information or to register your interest please email your interest here.

Be a part of the snow action!

BGS Snowsports Team

 

Calling all Art Angels

Are you available to lend a hand in the Art Room in the lead-up to our biennial Art Show from mid-Term 2?

Join us on Thursdays, 2.00–3.20pm. A friendly group, no artistic experience required – just a willingness to help and support our Junior School boys. Enquiries to Ms Mandy Foulds.

 

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge 2026

 The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Brighton Grammar Junior School is excited to be participating. The VPRC application offers a range of exciting features including:

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
• a modern user-friendly interface
• rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review.

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition, but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 6 September 2026. Further details are available via the BGS app.

 

Creative Art Captains’ Induction & Afternoon Tea

Friends of Art warmly invite families to celebrate the induction of our Junior and Secondary Creative Art Captains.

Enjoy an afternoon recognising student leadership and exploring a selection of art project work from our senior students.

Thursday 30 April, 4.00pm
Senior Art Room, Duigan Centre

All welcome but please RSVP via TryBooking for catering purposes.

St Andrews Intra-Club Tennis

BGS community members are invited to join the 2026 Season kick-off. For enquiries contact operations@dendyparktc.com.au

Diary Dates

• Thursday 2 April Final Day Term 1
• Tuesday 21 April Term 2 Commences
• Monday 27 April Prep - Year 6 House Cross Country
• Friday 8 May Prep - Year 6 Mother's Day Celebration