Weekly eNews

Ross Featherston

Headmaster, Brighton Grammar School

Welcome to the start of the 2024 academic year.

Our school has been a hive of activity over the holiday break, with some construction works soon to be completed of a new running track along New Street and amphitheatre seating at the northern end of the Crowther, new paving outside Secondary School Reception and building works on track for our Centre for Science, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.

Couple all of these achievements with record enrolment numbers, there is much to look forward to this year.

As we embark on 2024, we have identified four major areas of focus:

• Academic engagement
• High-level student standards, inside and outside the classroom.
• The ongoing professional growth of our staff
• Our positive masculinity framework

All these foci work together to positively shape your son’s educational journey as we work as one to raise boys with emotional strength and empathy.

Please take the time to view my welcome video.

I look forward to connecting with you throughout the term and greatly appreciate your continued support of BGS.

Simon Angus

Deputy Headmaster, Head of Secondary School

Over the last week, school preparations have been in full swing.

The Year 12 team and I headed up to Mt Hotham last Friday with the Year 12 boys for their Big Fella weekend. What a fantastic weekend – the boys were buzzing with ideas about how to make the most of their Year 12 experience and motivated to begin the year. The hike was challenging but spectacular. 

Over the holidays we have made improvements to Rosstrevor and Robert Sanderson Centenary Halls as well as new paving and seating in front of the Tower. We have built three music rehearsal pods on the Urwin Centre balcony, providing an improved space for Year 7 and 8 students who undertake music lessons.

We have continued other minor works to improve our Year 9-12 Learning Support spaces, our First Nations classroom and the seating around the Crowther Oval. The larger building works, including the Centre for Science, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, continue to progress well.

The introduction of our two new Houses, Melville and Fairweather, under the leadership of Josh Moore and Shae Hower, has been a great start. Both Houses proved to be very popular, and we are pleased with the breadth of students joining both Melville and Fairweather. We anticipate strong competition in 2024!

Thank you to all parents who joined us last night and to those joining us tonight for the parent welcome evenings. A reminder that we are always keen to hear from parents about any matters concerning your son(s). If it is a pastoral matter, please reach out to your son’s Tutor and for academic matters, please contact your son’s teacher(s).

I would like to direct you also to the current parent page on our website where you can find up to date information for most of your queries.

Meliora Sequamur.

Happenings and Reminders

• Please note academic classes commence at 9.00am on Thursday mornings.
• Tuck shop for Years 7 and 8 students is available online only.
• 2024 Term Dates can be found on our website.

New mobile phone policies

We know that technology plays a vital role in communication, socialisation and learning for young people. At school, technology is a powerful tool that can stimulate retrieval, discussion, and creativity in the context of effective learning.

However, there is emerging research that strongly suggests that excessive screen time for young people has negative academic, emotional and physical consequences.

A recent report from the Grattan Institute suggests that students’ overall capacity to focus and learn has been seriously affected by the constant use of mobile phones. Learning requires focused attention, and studies have shown that even the presence of a mobile phone distracts attention from learning.

In response to the research, we are adjusting our mobile phone policy for Years 9-12. The policy in Years 7 and 8 will remain unchanged; that is that phones need to be kept in the students’ lockers between 8.20am and 3.35pm and must not be accessed during the school day.

For Years 9-12, students will be permitted to access their phones at recess and lunch breaks; however, there will continue to be no phones allowed in class, and there will be a number of designated ‘phone free’ spaces in the school including the Quad, the libraries and the ovals.

This policy is intended to recognise that students may need to access their phones at certain times of the day but will ensure that phones are not a distraction to learning or positive social interactions.

If you need to contact your child during the school day, please call reception, or if it is not urgent, students will be able to access their school email at various times during the day. We thank you in advance for your support.

Kristen Molloy
Associate Head of the Crowther Centre, Literacy and Engagement

From Reverend Waterhouse

As enjoyable as the holidays have been, it is indeed wonderful to come back to school and witness a sea of smiles and enthusiastic faces, as a new school year begins for 2024. 

Along with other staff members, it was a wonderful experience for me to join the Year 12s last week for their Big Fella camp experience at Mount Hotham. The hikes to Mt Feathertop and Mt Loch were indeed worthy ventures – albeit physically demanding – and they reminded me of the significance of walking, both literally and metaphorically.

The group I hiked with didn’t so much walk the track as do a quickstep march along the undulating track (thanks, Hancock House!).

However, the style of our ‘walking’ is also a metaphor for the conduct of our life and how we are travelling choice-wise. It’s a common theme in the Bible.

In John 8:12, Jesus affirmed, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’

How will you walk this year? 

The 2024 Ross Williamson Scholarship

The Ross Williamson Scholarship, provided and subsidised by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, is a bursary for boys whose parent/s are experiencing financial hardship.

The scholarship is open to boys over 13 years of age, who are baptised members of the Anglican Church and whose parents are in need of monetary assistance for providing their son’s education at an Anglican school in Melbourne or its suburbs.

To apply, parents need to complete this form and email it to headmaster@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au by 22 February 2024, marked Confidential: Ross Williamson Scholarship.    

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