Campus News - Mentone Grammar

No 25 2015
Campus News
Term 3
Bayview—Mr John Twist Head of Bayview
As we know, Middle School is a critical time in a child’s educational Journey and we need to be well informed of best practice in
this area. I recently attended an international conference focused
on Middle Schooling. The theme of the conference, Bright Futures
for Young Adolescents, was embodied in all keynote presentations
and concurrent sessions. The theme centred on four strands focusing on: Student Wellbeing, School Leadership, Curriculum and Pedagogy. The
conference enabled participants to improve their practice in a number of areas which
included: ideas to develop strategies for engaging young adolescents in the learning
process; focus on the importance of gender specific learning needs; and encouraged
a deeper understanding of current trends in adolescent psychology and social behaviour. Additionally, opportunities to visit high performing Middle Schools to observe
effective middle schooling practices and to talk with teachers and students about the
innovations each school provides for their young adolescents were organised. Some
excellent data, pedagogical strategies, workshops and useful tips related to Middle
Schooling were presented at the conference, relevant to our work in Bayview.
A number of Bayview students distinguished themselves
last week with excellent performances in the 2015 School
production, Seussical. The positive comments made by
those who had the joy of viewing this wonderful show have
been very encouraging. Congratulations to all students,
staff and parents who assisted in any way with this memorable production – we are very proud of you all!
The School Athletics Team has been training very hard over
the past few weeks. Next Wednesday 9 September, the
AGSV Athletic Championships will be conducted at Albert
Park. It has been very pleasing to see so many Bayview
Years 6 - 8 students training and competing with our senior
students at each of the training sessions and at Saturday
morning trial meetings. Good luck to all competitors who
will be selected to compete next Wednesday and special
thanks to all students for their enthusiastic approach to
supporting Athletics within the School.
4 September 2015
www.mentonegrammar.net
Key Dates
Monday 7 September
Year 7 Immunisations
Boys’ Athletics Eliminations
Tuesday 8 September
Years 7 & 8 House Sport
Athletics Training (Dolamore)
Wednesday 9 September
AGSV Athletics Championships
Thursday 10 September
Year 6 ESPT
Friday 11 September
Bayview Assembly at 8.35am
Year 6 Pamir Restaurant excursion
Sunday 13 September
Spring Concert rehearsals
Battlefields' Tour departs
Week 10
Tuesday 15 September
Years 7 & 8 House Sport
NAPLAN Student Assessment Reports for our Years 5 and 7
students have now been forwarded to parents. The information contained in these reports needs to be
considered with school-based assessment and
reports. Parents wishing to discuss their child’s
NAPLAN report should contact their Class
Mentor or relevant Year Level Coordinator.
Wednesday 16 September
Seussical images may be viewed in our Web Gallery
and if families wish to purchase prints, please visit:
www.digiproofs.com/mareedinger/ (PW—Seuss).
We thank photographer Maree Dinger for providing
this service. Proceeds to go to Mentone Grammar
Community Service charities.
Year 8 Examinations
Year 8 Examinations
Spring Concert
Thursday 17 September
Year 8 Examinations
Friday 18 September
Whole School Assembly
End Term 3
Our Year 8 students are currently preparing for their examinations, scheduled to take place at the end of the term. Ms Kamp, our
Year 8 Coordinator, and relevant members of staff, are working carefully with students to ensure they are adequately prepared for
their formal assessment. Further information can be found in the Year 8 section of this newsletter. Best wishes to all students.
At recent Bayview Assemblies many students, listed below, have been presented with Academic Excellence Awards and Academic
Merit Awards for Semester 1. We are very proud of our students and it is fitting they are congratulated and acknowledged on their
outstanding efforts.
Semester 1 Academic Excellence Awards
Year 8
Year 7
Year 5
Alanah Heidecker
Blake Rosenberg
Maddison Moore
Elyssa Osianlis
Nelson Jaden
Charles Daddo
Isabella Daddo
Mekhala Bera
Semester 1 Academic Merit Awards
Year 8
Year 7
Year 6
Year 5
Grace Phillips
Ava Castle
Isabella Terry
Monique Zahra
Ruby Timms
Tayla Fox
Zali Reynolds
Amelia Pritchard
Alana Jones
Yasmin Duffin
Scarlett Trudgen Frances
Maylin Roy
Charlotte Bratuskins
Jamieson Howe
Chyna McGilvray
Ella Heidecker
Mackenzie Howe
Charlee Peachey
Brooke McNamara
Sophie Sibbald
Mia Watkins
Matilda Appel
Mia Derham
Sienna Salisbury
Charlotte Pate
Sophie Peachey
Ellen Fletcher
Priya Gill
Erin Porter
Hannah Schmidt
Georgia Terry
Grace Laidlaw
Ellinor Humphreys
Tayla Langenfelds
Cassandra Newman
Zali Morris
Abby Leonard
Lily Bowles
Taya Brooks
Riley Spence
Alexandra Sheppard
Ella Mairs
Tiana Dimits
Holly Wale
Olivia Dickson
Lauren Malby-Luke
Livinia Stockdale
Mikayla Watson
Bronte Reark
Oscar Page
Peter Somogyi
Sarah Connell
Grace Bunting
Alexander Jones
William Frost
Daisy Laws
Zoe Lancaster
Trent Meakins
Matthew Harris
Hudson Bucci
Alexandra Richards
Adam Halliday
Cameron Connell
Max Athanas
Jessie Rosaia
Xavier Hogios
Jack Littleford
Cameron Berry
Karly Georgantis
Kieren Dyer
Angus Reark
Phong Phan
Imogen Davis
William Currey
Adam Persic
Jaden Prabaharan
Tessa Styles
Joshua Madden
Daniel Pate
Jeremy Miao
Ethan Murray
Harrison Huber
Vincent Thai-Chan
James Gowan
Zachary Angus
Adam Laws
Samasidh Siva Ram
Thomas Shepherd
Kegan Timms
Thomas Spencer
Jakob Sloan
Benjamin Murphy
Torey Bernamoff
Lachlan Howard
Benjamin Pertich
Akul Saigal
Jayde Maluga
Tighe Taylor
Charlie Officer
Callum Roberts
Carl Simondson
Sarthak Singh
REMINDER
Log in to the Village Square at https://
lms.mentonegrammar.net to check your
child’s latest results.
Years 5 & 6 – Mrs Jacqueline Cartwright (Acting Years 5 & 6 Coordinator – Pastoral)
Years 5 & 6 have been working hard on every aspect of the curriculum. As part of our poetry studies in Year 6 we have been investigating similes, metaphors, personification and other figures of speech that we might be able to add to our writing in order
to enhance the visual image for those who read it. When it came time for Year 6 to showcase their understanding of such poetic
devices they were given the prompt: ‘Describe a day in class from the teacher’s point of view.’ They used this prompt to practise
the three-step process to finally produce a poem. When given the picture ‘seed’ they first spent a moment brainstorming then
they wrote a response to the seed and finally they developed their poem. Many of their final poems successfully utilised numerous poetic devices, as you will see in the following samples.
She’ll eat you alive!
There once was a teacher, Miss Gloom
She came through the door with a “boom!”
This was our class on a normal day.
I remember Amelia Saunders
I walked in with a happy grin glued to my face.
My delicate walk was as smooth as a flower’s petal.
Who picked her nose in corners
Don’t forget Bobby Noth
The smell of perfume floated around my body,
Who slept all day like a sloth
Like hot wind blowing past my face.
Of course there was Anne Set
Walking into the room past the children with smiles on
their faces,
Who was Miss Gloom’s teacher’s pet?
There was also Jack Crown
My sweet scented perfume smells as strong as the scent of
a bag of lollies.
He was the toughest Tom in town
My dress looked as bright as sunrays reflecting
I only saw him for a day and a half
Off a window and glowing into your eyes.
This is serious, no time for a laugh
As a teacher, I love my class.
I saw her creep right up behind him
They act like happy animals playing all day in the forest.
Across her face was a scary grin.
As days pass and they grow like rockets shooting up to the
sky.
I will never forget my class 6A as they are like birds learning how to fly.
By Zali Reynolds
CHOMP!!!!!!
They say if you sit close enough
You can see her teeth all rough and tough
Who will be next? You can’t be sure
If you’re on her bad side there is no cure.
By Livinia Stockdale
Year 5 Excursion to the Mentone Aquarium
On Wednesday 12 August and Friday 14 August, Year 5 students visited the Mentone Aquarium. The Year 5s are currently developing their informational writing skills. The excursion allowed students to gather information in a real life setting and apply their research skills in
order to write their own informative text.
In the days leading up to the excursion each student chose an animal at the aquarium to research. Using the information they had gathered, students developed several deep questions
to answer during the excursion. Deep questions require longer, thinking type answers.
These questions aim to incite discussion and often start with ‘What if…?’ ‘What causes…?’ and
‘What would happen if….?’ Armed with their research and deep questions, students were able to
confidently initiate discussions with Aquarium staff and think critically about the information they
were collecting. Below are some quotes from Year 5 students reflecting on what they learnt
through asking deep questions at the Aquarium.
“It is easier because you get more information and more description about your topic. It is easier
than researching because when you research you don’t always get the answer you want. You
can’t always trust the internet”
Monique Zahra
“Asking a shallow question is harder because you don't get as much information and
detail as a deep question”
Daisy Laws
Many thanks to the Mentone Aquarium owners and Mentone Grammar parents,
Belinda and David Ingram, for your warm welcome and patience when answering
students’ questions. Thank you also to Melissa Parr, Ros Facey, Sam Berry, Sam Sniezek, Kimberley Reed, Kristin McKinnon, Amanda Moore and Kerrie Bennett for your generous assistance during the excursion.
Shortneck/ Murray River Turtles
By Sophie Sibbald 5A
Shortneck turtles are reptiles. They are cold-blooded and need sunlight to warm up. Their scientific name is Emydura Macquarrii.
Emydura means fresh water turtle and Macquarrii is the name of the lake where they found the first fresh water turtle.
A turtle’s diameter is 40-60cm. This allows them to look larger to their predators. Turtles are as small as your fingernails to start
with but get larger as they get older. They need lots of care, whether that is from you or their owner. Their bodies are very delicate but their shells are very strong and robust.
Shortneck turtles eat vegetation, worms and most types of insects. They are omnivores, which means they get protein from
meat or in this case, insects, and eat vegetables and fruit. Larger animals eat them like Murray cods and catfish. One of the biggest dangers turtles face is pollution, because plastic bags get stuck in their windpipes and we need to work to protect them.
Murray River turtles like to live in warmer waters near the North Pacific Ocean but also live in the Murray River, the border of
New South Wales and Victoria. Shortneck turtles can live up to 100 years in captivity but only for 60-75 years in the wild. Just like
any other reptile, Shortneck turtles shred and their scales fall off. The thing that keeps their shell strong is the same thing that
keeps our bones strong, calcium. It stops their shells from breaking. Turtles hibernate in winter and are active in late spring.
Cheltenham District Basketball
On the 20 August, the Year 6 teams went to Springers Leisure Centre to play a Basketball Round Robin against other schools in the Cheltenham district. The girls’ team did
well by winning 3 out of 7 games. The first game was a great win 8-3; in the second
game we lost 0-8; the third game we won 6-12; and then three more losses (6-22, 21-2,
6-14) and a win 8-6. The boys played well with 3 wins and 3 losses. We all had a great
day and enjoyed playing in the tournament.
Girls’ Team
Bethany Bratuskins, Brayden Johnson, Mia Derham, Tiana Dimits, Zali Reynolds,
Taya Brooks and Scarlett Trudgen Frances
Boys’ Team
Kane Wilson, Daniel Althoff Dowell, Jacob Edwards, Luke Gold, Jack Littleford,
Peter Papadopoulos, Angus Reark, Jordan Michell, Jack Doulgeridis and Oscar Tulloch
Congratulations Georgia Terry
Georgia Terry is to be congratulated for being the highest performing Year 6 student in Chinese for the recent
Language Perfect Competition. A great effort!
Year 7 - Mr Peter O’Gorman (Year 7 Level Coordinator)
Throughout Term 3, the Year 7 Mentor Program has focused on the concept of relationships. Specifically, each Mentor group has
been looking at the importance of building and maintaining the different relationships we have in our lives, and ensuring that
our students are aware of the multitude of factors that go into ensuring their relationships are positive.
This has complemented the work of our RULER program, which aims to develop emotional intelligence in our students utilising
various anchors such as the Class Charter, the Mood Meter and the Meta-Moment.
In Year 7, our Mentors spend a great deal of time assisting our students with a variety of wellbeing issues that arise throughout a
very important year of their schooling. Many of these relationships last for the duration of the students’ time at Mentone Grammar, with many senior students still regularly ‘touching base’ with staff they have connected with during their earlier years at
our School. Strong relationships that can be relied upon play a vital role in the development of our students and it has been
great to see the maturation and learning that has taken place throughout this unit.
Relationship Walls – 7F
Year 7 has been thinking about positive relationships and building capacity to manage
emotions during Term 3. Most recently, 7F considered the importance of different
qualities in a relationship or friendship and got together in small groups to build a relationship wall. They put the qualities they considered most important on the bottom to
build a firm foundation and then thought about the consequences for that relationship
if one of the qualities was taken away. Here are some of 7F’s reflections:
7F Student Reflection – Tim Kalouris
The relationship wall is a good way to see which relationship strategies are the most
important. I think the most important strategies are trust, forgiveness, support, acceptance and honesty.
The most important strategies go on the bottom of the relationship wall and the not so
important ones go on the top. After we built the wall we could see which strategies
held the wall together and which ones were just at the top. Most of the walls had consent at the top but after some discussion we quickly realised how important it was. The
relationship wall can vary because of different relationships; the relationship can be
with a friend, family member, teacher or it can be a romantic relationship.
Right: 7F Students ‘Relationship Walls’ activity during Mentor class
7F Student Reflection – Seb Zahra (7F)
On Thursday, 20 August we constructed and talked about relationships. In this we talked about the qualities of a relationship,
not only friendship, but love.
The wall of qualities represents the relationship in which you build up with a person and we listed the importance of these qualities from most important to least important then we built up the wall.
At the bottom, we had the five most important and at the top we had the least important qualities, and we talked about how
important these words meant by literally and physically doing them. This made me feel like I needed more of this in my relationships with my friends because if I didn’t have a quality like independence, the other person would dominate me and boss me
around like a slave. But if I knocked down a quality, like humour, the fun wouldn’t go away because we like playing sport together not just joking around.
In this discussion we talked about the word consent and how important it was in a relationship and the word means basically to
ask the person for something before just grabbing it and using it, and we talked about the difference if you didn’t use it in a
friendship to whether you use it, in a loving type of relationship. Because in a friendship, if you steal your friend’s pencil, then
they’re not going to make a big fuss about it; but if you stole your girlfriend’s priceless earnings, because you needed some money, then she would never forgive you.
7F Student Reflection – Lachlan Howard (7F)
To construct a relationship wall is a great way to visualise what we expect to see in a friendship. During Mentor last week, we constructed a wall made of blocks with the names of values on each, 21 to
be exact. We all had different opinions of what is the most important value and order they should go
in. Eventually we all agreed and got to the fun part, building the wall. It was a very hard 5 minutes. It
was time for the sturdy hands and constructive minds. We placed the blocks in order of the most
important at the bottom and the least important at the top. In the end we found that quite a few
other groups had similar ideas about where the values should go. Most of us had trust as a base,
important block. I found that it was a really great metaphor to use because, just like in real life, if you
take away a main building block, it all comes down.
I think that most of us can remember a time where we have experienced a relationship wall collapsing. Whether it be a relationship with a friend or family member, there will be a time when we all
experience it. It's sad but true. I remember at the end of Year 5 I had one really close friend who I
had been with throughout all of my primary school life. When I started Year 6, I saw that my friend
wasn't in any of the classes. It turns out that he moved to a different school and the only person he
didn't tell was me! For me, this removed the base block of trust and my friendship with him came
collapsing down.
Year 8 – Ms Jo Kamp (Year 8 Level Coordinator)
Student-led Parent Conferences
Congratulations to all Year 8 students on another successful afternoon of Studentled Parent conferences. Although many were nervous at first to speak with their
parents, it did not take long before the conversations began to flow. The dialogue
that ensued was generally positive and hopefully many students have now learned
the value of:

Preparation

Working steadily throughout the year and not leaving things to the
last minute

Reflecting on the year that was and using what they have learnt to
better themselves as they continue with their learning journey into
Greenways next year.
Examinations
Year 8 Exams will be held in the final week of term. To remind students of the exam schedule, a booklet was sent home with all
Year 8s outlining expectations with regards to Exams. This booklet, along with students’ seat numbers, is displayed on the Year 8
noticeboard outside the Year 8 Office. The booklet can also be found on the LMS in Exam folder - Year 8 Mentor, along with other tips and advice for studying for Exams.
Students should now well and truly have organised a study timetable to adhere to over the next couple of weeks.
Cultures, Communities and Civilisations International Learning Journey
Preparation for the International Learning Journey is well underway. All groups have been learning basic
greetings; geographical and cultural aspects about the country they are visiting; tips on how to deal with
the stress of travelling and being away from home as well as completing a basic First Aid course.
A huge thank you to the students of Year 9 who came out to talk to our students last week and give them
their valuable insight into the countries we are visiting along with their tips about travelling and engaging in
the culture, what to expect, along with their personal highlights.