Weekly eNews
Ross Featherston
Headmaster, Brighton Grammar SchoolI enjoyed watching the recent Paris Olympics, cheering on our most successful Australian Olympic team ever, and now the Paralympics where again our Australian athletes are having great sporting success.
Alongside these medal-winning performances are also stories of fair play, sportsmanship and achieving your personal best.
I touched on these themes at our recent whole School celebration when we came together to honour our high-performing premiership winning First XVIII Football and First XV Rugby teams.
Common to these successful teams, both at BGS and the Olympics, is the focus on planning and following process and the faith that it will lead to strong results, a willingness to show resilience when faced with setbacks, prioritising the team over the individual, and a commitment to win with humility.
These qualities are relevant to all our students in the academic and co-curricular fields, but especially so for our VCE students as they ramp up preparations for their end of year examinations, commencing in October.
We encourage our students to show kindness and respect for others, to be true to themselves, follow their passions, take on challenges and be humble in victory.
I am proud that our boys model these qualities with their peers across the school.
Have a good week.
Simon Angus
Deputy Headmaster, Head of Secondary SchoolThis week and next, our Year 8 students are fully immersed in their Outdoor Education program at Lake Hattah. I’ve heard it’s set to reach 30 degrees there today, which makes me excited to join them on-site next week and witness their experiences firsthand.
Meanwhile, our Year 12s are fully embracing the Long Day Program, with a remarkable number of students taking advantage of the extended study hours in the Hancock Wing each evening and on Saturdays with the Syndicate Program.
Next week, we look forward to welcoming the Hutchins School Dance Troupe, who will be performing at our upcoming Dance Performance Evening.
Our long-standing relationship with Hutchins School is a testament to our shared commitment as leading boys’ schools with strong Dance programs. It will be an evening of exceptional performances!
Meliora Sequamur.
Happenings & Reminders
- 13 September – BGS Dance Night, 7.00-8.15pm
- 7-12 November – BGS Community Art Exhibition at Bayley Arts in Highett
- Winter Sports photographs are now available for purchase. Please see BGS app notice from 3 September for further details.
Wear It Purple Day
When the student members of BGSInc met early this term to discuss the upcoming Wear It Purple Day, the collective decision was made that the day ought to be centered on two key pillars: visibility and joy.
With much consideration, planning and the collective support of many members of BGS staff ranging from Professional Support, Junior School, Secondary School and the Executive team, Wear It Purple 2024 delivered on the two tenets and then some.
Across the Urwin Centre and St Andrew’s end of the School, a sea of purple could be seen, 170 delicious freshly baked pizzas supplied by Primo Pizzas were consumed, 100s of cupcakes sold and student DJ Zac Ristevski curated a playlist to provide an atmosphere of fun and energy.
Importantly, BGS put on a publicly visible day of support for our LGBTQIA+ students. By wearing purple, BGS demonstrated to rainbow young people that they are celebrated and respected, acknowledging all have the right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming.
Chenelle Pereira
Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Coordinator
Journey Concerts
Term 3 has been a knockout one for the Music Department, but the highlights have undoubtedly been the three Journey Concerts.
Commencing with the Choral Concert, then to the Strings Spectacular before culminating in the Bands Showcase, the Journey Concerts have featured solos, duets, chamber music, large ensembles and more.
Highlights have included the Ten Tonners’ encore of I’m Just Ken at the Choral Concert, 196 boys performing the finale at the Strings Spectacular, and the finger clicking big sounds of the Big Bands at the Bands Showcase.
Special thanks to the Music Department for their coordination of the three concerts, and also to our wonderful Friends of Music for their continuous support of the music programs.
Jared Furtado
Director of Music
Invitation to Exhibit
Artists within our School community are warmly invited to exhibit their creative works at the inaugural BGS Community Art Exhibition.
Years 9-12 art students will also have their artwork on show at the exhibition which will run from 7-12 November 2024 at Bayley Arts in Highett.
Please register Expressions of Interest to BGS Friends of Art by 30 September, with final artwork to be submitted by 6 November.
Chess Tournament
Congratulations to the 26 students who represented our school at the Chess Secondary Open (CV Zonal) held at Camberwell Boys Grammar on Tuesday. The boys performed exceptionally well, showcasing their strategic skills and determination.
We look forward to their participation in the upcoming State Finals next term.
Rhonda Shamoail
TiC Chess
New Head Coach for BGS+ Swim
Brighton Grammar is thrilled to announce the appointment of Jackson Sainty as Head Swim Coach at BGS+ Swim.
Jackson, who starts his new role early Term 4, brings a wealth of experience and impressive qualifications to our swim programs.
Most recently, Jackson led St Leonard’s College’s swim program to various levels of success, including state and national achievements, with some students achieving the highest honours. Read more here.
From Reverend Waterhouse
I recently saw a very moving foreign film at the cinema called The Teacher Who Promised The Sea.
Based on a true story, it’s a theatrical account of a young teacher’s educational efforts in a village school during the time of the Spanish Civil War.
The school teacher proudly owns a small printing press, which is used by the children to publish their own simple stories. However, some of these books are lamentably burnt, in an effort to erase the efforts of the teacher in question, who is considerd a revolutionary.
The act of book-burning goes beyond the mere attempt to destroy literature. It is usually an insidious attempt to erase a culture, or even a people.
I was reminded that one of the titles for Christ is the ‘Word of God’ (cf. John 1:1) and that one of God’s gifts are the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Regardless of how God’s word is handled (and there have been plenty of attempts to stall the production and transmission of Bibles in the past!), we can take great comfort in Christ’s words, that, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).