Weekly eNews

Ross Featherston

Headmaster, Brighton Grammar School

As we begin the new semester, we look forward to renewed energy and purpose, particularly for our Year 12 students who are entering the final stretch of their school journey and looking to finish the year on a high note.

Our commitment to academic endeavour was exemplified this month as Christopher Chhour (OB 2024, Co-Dux of School), Will Crocker (OB 2024), and current Year 12 student Justin Le were honoured with Premier’s VCE Awards for their outstanding achievements in the 2024 VCE examinations.

Chris and Will further distinguished themselves by being among only 23 students across Victoria to receive the Top All-Round VCE High Achiever Award, presented to students who earned study scores of 46 or higher in at least five subjects.

The themes of high performance and evidence-based teaching resonated strongly throughout this week’s staff development days and were further reinforced at the International Boys’ School Coalition conference in Boston, which I attended with colleagues over the break. The experience reaffirmed our commitment to positive masculinity, the science of learning and educational best practice.

Finally, a reminder that our mobile phone initiative, the Harmony Project, is now in place and I encourage you to familiarise yourself with its practical framework, which is designed to support the wellbeing and learning outcomes of our boys.

Peter Tellefson

Deputy Headmaster, Head of Junior School

I hope all families enjoyed the break and our boys have returned relaxed and well rested.

Special welcome to the following new boys and their families to Wilson House in Term 3:  Jaxon Demonbreun (ELC3 Wombat), Oliver Wang (ELC3 Bilby), Lenny Materia (1 Banksia), Jax Pendlebury (2 Acacia), Ramis Haq (3 Hovell) and Dean Yang (3 Wills). We wish these boys and their families a long and happy time at Brighton Grammar. I am sure our current boys and families will make them feel welcome.

Our Invicta indoor space is certainly a ‘hit’ and favourite learning space for our ELC to Year 6 boys. This facility promotes balance, agility, coordination, flexibility and stability as part of the boys’ Physical Education program.

Over the recent holiday period we have made a number of additional refurbishments to this space that will extend and stretch our boys’ skill set within the Invicta learning space. Funds raised from our Family Fun Nights has enabled this space to be refurbished and I am most appreciative to the JPG and our Junior School families who have generously supported through sponsorship opportunities.

We always have challenges managing the car park. The safety of our boys is paramount and unfortunately some parents use excessive speed. The recent installed speed humps are a reminder/reinforcement for you to slow down whilst in the car park.

It is important for all parents and extended family members to understand and support the systems that are in place to ensure the safety of our boys and to assist with the flow of traffic. Please ensure that you monitor your driving whilst using the car park. Click here for directions.

Wilson House Happenings & Reminders

• Thank you to Leigh Peckham, Alex Dever, Sarah Suszko, Sarah Vautin, the Junior Parents’ Group and the Prep parents who organised the JPG Lunch on the last Friday of Term 2.

• Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled on Wednesday 30 July and Thursday 31 July. Booking information is available via the BGS app. Homeroom and Specialist teachers will be available to meet with parents via Microsoft Teams.

• Our Term 3 Year 5/6 APS Sports are Soccer, Basketball, Handball and Hockey.  Please see the BGS app for further details on fixture information and uniform requirements.

Student Achievements

• Congratulations to Darby Effeney and Tom Salvo who have been appointed as Snow Sports Co-Captains for 2025.

• Congratulations to Asher Brown and Jack Lane who represented BGS at the State Cross Country Championships today.  Both boys showed extreme grit against tough competition with Asher placing 6th and qualifying for the National Championships later in the term. Well done to both boys on their great running.

Amelia Barrow

Director of the Early Learning Centre

I always love the energy of the first day of every term with the boys, parents and staff excitedly reconnecting after the break. It was lovely to receive high fives and hugs on arrival whilst spending time catching up on their holiday adventures.

The boys were enthusiastic to return to their programs with a well needed Mindfulness session to re-centre their body and mind and focus for the day. Our Heggerty Literacy Program which is implemented 3 mornings a week is also a favourite of our boys. Through fun and engaging lessons, the boys are developing their foundation skills for reading and writing before they begin Prep.

Now that we are halfway through the year, we can see the teamwork and class bonds forming across the four rooms. This also allows us to venture more frequently out of the ELC grounds to the Junior School Oval, Cricket Nets, Lower Primary Playground and Red Square for group games and sports. The boys love this as they feel the freedom of space and independence from ELC into the big boys section. A reminder to keep packing extra clothing and winter wear so the boys can enjoy their outdoor programs.

Our Holiday Program was a great success with the boys enjoying each special day and we thank the team for their wonderful care of the boys during the break. A Term 3 calendar will be posted next week on Schoolbox with important dates for your diary.  

Parenting Tip

Steps to self-esteem

The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself (Mark Twain).

It is a gift to our children to build their self-esteem, giving them a foundation for their future growth, happiness and healthy relationships. But what is self-esteem? More than a global term, self-esteem has three core elements:

• Self-acceptance, helping us to accept our flaws and weaknesses.
• Self-worth, recognising that everyone has value as a human being.
• Self-confidence, strengthening the ability to act in a range of situations

Read more below from Dr Deborah Trengove on self-esteem.

Olivia Tims
Junior School Psychologist

Save the Date

Tickets go on sale for the 2025 Pink Dinner this Monday! A fun night for the women of our BGS community to connect, share some laughs, and this year, support the Leukaemia Foundation.

Book a table of 12 or individual tickets (we’ll aim to seat you with your preferred Year level).

Booking link for Monday 9.00am can be found here

JPG News

Father’s Day Gift Fundraiser

This Father’s Day give Dad, Grandpa or special friend a high-quality custom notebook featuring your son’s artwork (as featured on our Mother’s Day bags).

Gifts will be wrapped and handed to the boys in time for Father’s Day, Sunday 7 September.

Gift cost $35 and can be ordered here. Orders close on Thursday 31 July and no late orders can be accepted. Please contact the Junior Parents’ Group for further information.