Weekly eNews

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Ross Featherston

Headmaster, Brighton Grammar School

High performance is at the heart of why we do what we do.

While I see it every day in different ways around the grounds, two occasions especially stood out to me last week.

On Thursday, beneath the Duigan biplane, over 30 members of our community gathered in the 1882 Gallery to hear from our two STEM Racing teams, Lunar and Ad Astra, as they prepare to represent Brighton Grammar on the world stage in just three weeks.

The evening was made even more special by James Mitchell (OB 2022), who joined us live via video link from Aston Martin in Silverstone UK, where he is now completing his internship in Wind Tunnel Systems.

His engineering journey began in Year 7 through the F1 in Schools program – a powerful reminder of the doors that co-curricular opportunities can open. The Duigan Centre itself, named after John Duigan (OB 1901) is a daily reminder to our boys that they can (and should) dream big, as anything truly is possible.

That night, I also attended the final Music Journey concert for this term. The finale, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida (arranged by our Head of Strings Harry Tsai) brought together over 230 boys from Years 3 to 12, filling St Andrew’s with the resonant sound of strings played in unison.

Our boys can’t be what they can’t see. Whilst they learn from what they hear, the lived examples of what our boys see are also powerful learning opportunities. I am proud that both our younger alumni and our older students are setting such fine examples and showing what is achievable.

This week, I have also been visiting Old Boys in Brisbane and Sydney for our interstate reunions, reconnecting and sharing updates from BGS. These occasions underscore the importance of staying connected with our alumni, and it was great to hear their stories and the diverse paths their lives have taken since leaving our school gates.

Have a great week and wishing all our dads a happy Father’s Day on Sunday.

Simon Angus

Deputy Headmaster, Head of Secondary School

Yesterday, we held our first Father’s Day Chapel for Years 9–12. This is always a meaningful occasion in our calendar, and we look forward to welcoming the fathers of our Year 7–8 students in two weeks’ time, once our Year 8s return from their Outdoor Education program at Lake Huttah.

Earlier this week, our Dance group travelled to Hobart to take part in the annual Hutchins Dance Showcase and later this month, we are excited to host the Hutchins School Dance Troupe at our upcoming Dance Performance Evening. Our long-standing relationship with Hutchins is a reflection of our shared commitment as leading boys’ schools with strong, thriving Dance programs.

Meanwhile, our Year 12s are making the most of the Long Day Program, with an outstanding number of students taking advantage of the extended study hours in the Hancock Wing each evening, as well as the Syndicate Program on Saturdays.

Meliora Sequamur.

Happenings & Reminders

Journey Concerts

Music students from across the School have concluded their Journey Concerts for the year. The Journey Concerts consist of the Bands Showcase, Choral Concert and Strings Spectacular and feature hundreds of Year 3 to Year 12 students performing in three concerts over a week.

Highlights this year include the first performance of the Year 5 Junior Concert Band, Senior Big Band rocking the Church, Borwick House Choir’s beautiful performance of My Home, the Ten Tonners surprising the audience with a Rick Astley classic, the Year 12 string concertos and the 200-strong massed string piece, Viva La Vida.

Many thanks to all the boys, conductors and directors for their brilliant performances, and parents and carers for their continuous support of the Junior and Secondary Music programs. Thank you also to our wonderful Friends of Music for all of their support, and congratulations to Jared Quinert for winning the Friends of Music Raffle – a $1000 Piccoli Portraits experience.

Jared Furtado
Director of Music

Gold award winners 

Students in the Senior Concert Band travelled to the Hawthorn Arts Centre to compete in the Victorian Schools Music Festival this week. After the success of the recent Bands Showcase Concert, the band was full of energy and enthusiasm and was awarded a Gold Award for their performance. 

Students received some great feedback from Chief Adjudicator Dr Sarah McKoin (Director of Music at Texas Tech University) who also joined them onstage for a performance workshop.

Alexandra Collingwood
Head of Bands

VM Update

It was a busy week for our Vocational Major students!

The students had a full schedule – from baking choc chip cookies in the Grill’d kitchen with Food Tech Assistant Ann Shandley, to exploring Trades Hall Victoria, including a session with the Young Workers Centre on workplace rights and a tour of the historic home of the 8-hour working day.

Biddy Duckham
Vocational Major Coordinator

French Conversation

The Year 12 French class hosted their peers from Firbank Grammar School and St Michael’s Grammar School to practise their conversation as part of their oral exam preparations.

In a 45-minute interactive session, students collaborated with each other to explore the topics of family, hobbies, future aspirations and learn French by taking turns to ask and answer questions… tout en français !

Elodie Lyoen
Head of French

International Basketball

Last Friday the Brighton Grammar international student community had the pleasure of welcoming back seven of our Old Boys for a friendly basketball event. Together, we organised a series of matches featuring mixed teams from different year levels, giving the boys an opportunity to showcase their skills, passion, and sportsmanship on the court.

More than just a game, the event celebrated the lasting connections formed at Brighton Grammar, connections that endure well beyond graduation. Our Old Boys also shared insights from their experiences since leaving school, offering valuable advice and encouragement to current students.

The day concluded with a spirited match between current students and the Old Boys, generating plenty of excitement for players and spectators alike. This occasion was a highlight of the year for our community, and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future.

Ethan Bao, Jerry Mei and Frank Wu
International Student Leaders   

Wen Yan
International Students Coordinator

From Reverend Waterhouse

Father’s Day is obviously a day of mixed emotions, in terms of how it is expressed and exercised throughout different households.

Thankfully, I am now past the age where I have to feign delight in receiving yet another themed mug or hand-crafted photo frame, but I do now appreciate the well-wishing sentiments of my teenagers (which might mysteriously be absent for the remaining 364 days in the year!), the chance for a sleep-in and then a cooked breakfast that involves maximum eggs and bacon, soaked generously in a hot sauce.

For others, however, there understandably can be an abiding sadness concerning a much-loved departed father or perhaps the tyranny of distance means that a Zoom call is the best that can be enjoyed on the day.

It is interesting that God himself in the Bible is revealed to us precisely as a “Father”. Why? Not because of any distinctly male physical features (as Jesus, God the Son has), but rather because God does what fathers ideally do: He creates life, cares for life and cultivates life.

In his first pastoral letter, the apostle John writes, ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ [1 John 3:1].

Regardless of our own upbringings and how well or poorly we might have experienced (or expressed) fatherhood, it is a wonderful blessing to know that God is not just a good God, he is also a good Father.

So good, in fact, that he considered us worthy of adoption by him as sons and daughters. This is indeed a father worth celebrating.

 

Diary Dates

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