Edition 4, Term 3 2020
MENU: From the Principal | Social Media Warning | Junior School | Senior School | Music News | Chaplain’s Chat | Community Relations
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
On Sunday we were greeted with the prospect of a limited and graduated respite from the restrictions that have denied us the opportunity to gather as a school community in the way we would like. The plans do honour the Year 12s and we can be pleased that they will be back after their holidays to undertake onsite assessments to start with. While we do not have clarity over everything, the core news for us is the following (from government):
- ELC students are able to return from 6 October.
- VCE students will attend onsite for the General Achievement Test (GAT) and other essential assessments from 5 October.
- Prep, Years 1 and 2, and VCE students will return to onsite learning from 12 October.
- Year 3 to Year 10 students will potentially return to onsite learning after 26 October, depending on public health advice and if the daily average number of COVID-19 cases in the previous 14 days is less than five cases state-wide, and there have been less than five cases with an unknown source in the previous 14 days.
The caveats notwithstanding, there is a prospect of getting our young people and our staff back onsite to resume a familiar, relationship-based daily school life, with some new understandings and enhancements learned from this year’s alternative model. That part of the equation is exciting. Less so, of course, is the reality that much of what we value alongside classes will continue to be compromised. We cannot yet be sure of everything, but sport, camps, major events, musical performances and other components of Trinity will be diminished at least and in many cases cancelled. We will work through the implications for all areas of our school, for students, staff and families, and communicate our situation once established fully.
It saddens me to read back over what I have just written. The solace is that we have a most resilient and impressive Year 12 cohort. While I have not seen them in all aspects of their school lives, I will certainly remember my first Year 12 at Trinity as one that stood up well to the challenges thrown at them. They can be proud of their efforts so far. Further solace is that next year will see the resumption of our fuller school life. As we enjoy the beautiful spring weather, and the promise that the early days of sunshine and garden aromas bring, we can start to think of the renewal that surely will attend our school over the final months of this extraordinary year.
Adrian Farrer
Principal
Social Media Warning
Dear Parents/Guardians and members of the Trinity community,
Today cyber-safety expert Susan McLean released an urgent message regarding a distressing social media post. The video is of a man livestreaming his suicide by shotgun and is circulating on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The clip is extremely graphic and is yet to be fully moderated/taken down. It is also currently hiding behind other ‘cute’ videos and so may be seen unwillingly by your sons.
During this period of Distance Learning, the boys will likely have easier access to a range of content and platforms, without the moderation and supportive learning conversations that would happen onsite at school. We recommend keeping your sons off social media for the next 24 hours, or heavily supervising their social media use in the coming days.
Please do check in with your boys today. Many of them will know about it, and those who have seen the video may well be distressed.
A discussion will help you judge how they may be responding, and what, if any, impact this has had. It will also let the boys know that you care and are there to help!
Headspace have a specific resource which may be appropriate https://www.headspace.org.au/assets/School-Support/How-to-talk-about-suicide-with-young-people.pdf
For advice and guidance on how to manage your son’s online use and e-safety, please visit:
www.esafety.gov.au/parents
www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au
JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
From building pasta bridges to designing a zoo and breaking Humpty’s fall, Junior School students immersed themselves in a day of science on Wednesday of Week 7. Each year level took on various missions throughout the day, engaged in a Microsoft Teams quiz and were able to join a live experiment with Lead Scientist Savill. The missions included a domino fall, an egg experiment, building a catapult, creating a rainbow and many more. Throughout the day, students utilised the PYP Learner Profile attributes of Inquirer, Open-Minded, Risk-Taker and Thinker. It was amazing to see the amount of engagement in each of these learning opportunities; we had over 115 students join the quiz for Years 5 and 6! Well done to all students who participated in and benefited from this wonderful day of learning.
Tim Naughton
Acting Deputy Head of the Junior School (Administration)
Intelligent Futures Online STEM Holiday Camp
Term 3 holiday programs are being run online by Intelligent Futures, with a range of STEM topics for students aged 7-18. You can find a flyer here. For those interested, please visit ifeducation.com.au for more information.
Entrepreneurship Competition
There is currently an entrepreneurship competition for children aged 8-13 years being run by First Pitch. They are shining the spotlight on young Australian entrepreneurs, who have a real passion and want to show what they’re made of. Are you a budding inventor? A quirky scientist? A creative artist? An aspiring engineer? A magical maths mind? An ideas person? The possibilities are endless!
Entrepreneurs see opportunity everywhere. A problem or challenge is an opportunity to help people. Think of a business innovation or social solution that could make a difference to your community or to Australia. Entrepreneurs are self-directed creators of Value. That value can be measured in any number of ways.
If you are interested in competing, please click here to follow.
Emily Saunders
Junior School Coordinator of Enhanced Learning
SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Last week and over the holidays
We still have three days of Term 3 to go. Hopefully, all boys are able to complete assignments, projects, essays and tests before the end of the Term. Sadly, we know students in Years 3 – 10 will continue with Distance Learning until late October.
Over the holidays, students in Years 11 and 12 will have a Practice GAT and revision lectures (online) in the first week and then SACs in the final week. Essential assessments and the GAT will be held during the first week of Term 4, before we can return to class in Week 2.
Well done to the boys and staff with Distance Learning, but we are all looking forward to a return to normal schooling if possible. For the boys in Years 7 – 10 this will be late October.
Minecraft Competition
Congratulations to all the boys who participated in the Minecraft for Mito Competition. The overall winner was Nathan Cotton. The event raised in excess of $2500 for the Mito Foundation.
Well done to the organisers, mainly Cinque Howells, James Liu, the Year 11 students on the Mitre Committee and Mrs Latham.
Alliance Française de Melbourne
Congratulations to the six Year 12 students of French who have made it to the finals of the Alliance Française oral competition. The boys obtained a maximum score of 20/20. They are:
Anthony Dimitropoulos, Naish Farrell, Stephen Mack, Daniel Sevo, Jack Stewart and Ethan Tibb.
German
Congratulations to Dulnith Samaraweera (Year 9) who came first in the Year 9 State Finals of the German Poetry Competition.
Rohan Brown
Deputy Principal | Head of the Senior School
Senior Debating News
On Sunday 30 August our illustrious Year 10 boys Aden Wilmshurst, James Fox and David Dodson competed against Maribyrnong Secondary College in the DAV Octo-Finals. One of 16 top teams in the state and fervently debating ‘That schools should prioritise vocational skills’, they gallantly succeeded in securing a place in the Quarter Finals against Melbourne High School, to be held on Sunday 11 October. Congratulations to all three boys on a wonderful achievement and best wishes for the next round.
Junior Secondary Debating Program
On Wednesday 26 August, six Junior Secondary Debating teams set out to debate the topic ‘That schools should enforce consequences for students who participate in strikes during school hours.’ For many of our Year 7 and 8 boys, this was their first foray into the debating arena, let alone on an online version of the competition! Four winning teams in the first round is evidence enough that our senior coaches: William Browning, Andrew Lim, Jack Stewart, Paul Lindsay, Max Yakubowski, Nick Fallaw and Henry Davis are doing a magnificent job mentoring and coaching their younger counterparts. All the boys are to be applauded for their efforts. Selected by their coaches, the following boys were nominated as Best Speakers: Kevin Wang, William McDougall, Peter Girdlestone, Theodore Hrysomalis, Daniel Riccioni and Aaron Zhang. Look out for the results of Round 2, which will be held on Wednesday 9 September.
Rima Khallouf
Head of Debating
Chess Team
On 25 August, a group of 12 Trinity boys participated in an online interschool zonal chess tournament that was hosted by Chess Victoria. There was a total of seven rounds, and the scores of each school were determined by the scores of the top five players. Overall, the Trinity chess team came third, just behind Scotch College and Melbourne High (equal first) by only half a point after a count back. Nine out of 12 players from Trinity qualified for the State Finals in October. Success in the State Finals could mean qualification for the National Finals. Special congratulations to Oliver Li (Year 7) and Steven Zhou (Year 11) who achieved an outstanding score of six out of seven against some very strong opposition. Thanks to all the boys who participated in this tournament.
Andrew Liu
President of the Chess Club
Trinity Drama meets Malthouse Theatre
In 2020 our Year 9 and 10 Drama students are participating in the Malthouse Theatre’s ‘Suitcase Series’ program. Studying a new Australian play, students are then asked to devise their own ensemble performance that uses the themes and concepts of the original play as stimulus.
In lieu of physical excursions to the theatre, our classes were fortunate to have the Malthouse’s resident Dramaturg, Mark Pritchard hold online masterclasses and workshops via Teams. In these sessions, students learnt the role of dramaturgy, how a play gets commissioned, how a production comes to life from pitch to performance and how the collaborative nature of professional theatre takes place.
Mark inspired our students to ‘be curious’ and ‘ask questions’, relevant advice in these uncertain times.
Ryan Bowler
Head of Drama
Practical cooking classes have continued to be a hit through online learning and the boys have been engaged with this new way of learning. The boys in the Year 10 cooking class were making omelettes Tuesday morning. What a nice way to start the day so well done to the Year 10 class. Please click here to view a photo of one of the omelettes.
Brett Stewart
Head of Hospitality
2020 BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge
Eleven Year 9 students have been invited to participate in the BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge, a 12-week mentoring program where students meet with a scientist who will work with them to solve a real-world problem.
The students will be working in two teams. One team, Jamie Blackburn, Joe Martin, Daniel Chin, Alastair Murphy and Lucas VanDenBerg, will be working in the area of nanotechnology, with mentor Snehal Midge, a nanotechnology research PhD student at Deakin University. The other team, Dion Arvanitis, Rahul Doloi, Michael Fan, Eric Li, Gordon Li and Oliver Horan, will be working in the area of neuroscience and their mentor will be Helen Jiao, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Melbourne.
We wish them every success!
Mrs Angela Kotsiras
Extension and Enrichment Assistant | Mathematics Teacher
Trinity Inquirer
What does it mean to ‘inquire’? To think deeply about the simplest things? To look up at the twinkling expanse of the night sky, stop and wonder?
The Academic Captains are proud to present Trinity Grammar’s answer to this question – the inaugural issue of The Trinity Inquirer, the school’s new student-led, -written, and -designed magazine.
It speaks directly to the inquiring and curious minds of Trinity Grammar School, including everything from perplexing puzzles to eye-opening op-eds, in addition to fascinating features and notable news articles on key events in the co-curricular academic life of our school. And, to boot, it was entirely penned and put together by just a few of Trinity’s many inquisitive student minds.
We hope that many of you will have a read – take a second or two just to think differently. Because you’re curious. Because you’re inquisitive. Just – perhaps – because you’re an inquirer.
Please click here to view the full magazine.
Andrew Lim
Editor of The Trinity Inquirer
Raffles
Many thanks to all the Year 12s and staff members who took part in the Harambee 200 Raffle, which ultimately raised $2,000 for the Village of Hope in Uganda and the Vocation Centre in Kenya. The raffle was drawn by Mr Brown at a special online event, where boys from Harambee also shared their experiences from past East Africa trips. Congratulations to those who won the prizes, which consisted of a number of signed AFL guernseys. The second Harambee Raffle, for the Year 10s and 11s, will be drawn on the last day of term and there’s another batch of awesome prizes up for grabs, with all proceeds going to the Village of Hope and the Africa Homework Club.
Letters Against Iso
In a world that can feel pretty dark at the moment, Trinity students, in collaboration with students from across Melbourne, are spreading comfort. Letters Against Iso was an initiative started at MacRobertson Girls’ School, and, since its inception, numerous other schools have joined the program. With COVID-19 especially affecting the elderly – and with nursing homes forced to close to visitors – this initiative invites students to write letters to residents of aged care homes experiencing isolation. Thus far, Trinity boys in Years 7, 8 and 9 have sent a total of 25 letters, bringing smiles to residents in aged care homes in Queensland, New South Wales and here in Victoria.
Nick Molnar
Captain of Outreach
MUSIC NEWS
Congratulations to those Junior and Senior musicians and their teachers, who have already or are about to perform in the Term 3 Online Music Recital Series.
These recitals provide a fine opportunity for students to continue to develop their performance skills: high level musicianship; solo performance or accompanied with a recording; continuity; professional standard etiquette and presentation; and engagement with and acknowledgement of the audience, all essential components of this activity.
Parents and family members are close at hand to enjoy the recital and support the performer.
Sunday 7 June: Piano (Mrs Chiah Quah)
Tuesday 23 June: Violin/ Viola (Mrs Therese McCoppin)
Wednesday 12 August: Harp (Ms Deon Entwisle)
Sunday 30 August: Violin (Mrs Moirsheen Kelly-Keesing)
Tuesday 1 September: Lower Brass (Mr Alex Jeantou)
Tuesday 1 September: Lower Brass & Piano (Dr Joe O’Connor)
Tuesday 1 September: Violin/ Viola (Ms Sarah Coghlan)
Saturday 5 September: Piano (Mr George De Niese)
Sunday 6 September: Saxophone (Mr Jamie Ransome)
Monday 7 September: Flute (Mrs Angela Mallia)
Tuesday 8 September: Flute (Ms Janine Hanrahan)
Tuesday 8 September: Cello (Ms Jasmine Alexandra)
Wednesday 9 September: Guitar (Mr Clinton Eldridge)
Wednesday 9 September: Violin/ Viola (Ms Shelley Heath)
Wednesday 9 September: Double Bass/ Electric Bass (Mr Ian Wilmot)
Wednesday 9 September: Cello (Mrs Virginia Bonollo)
Thursday 10 September: Trumpet (Mr Callum G’Froerer)
Thursday 10 September: Trumpet (Mr Tristan Rebien)
Thursday 10 September: Guitar (Mr Troy Downward)
Thursday 10 September: Percussion (Mr Dave Davis)
Thursday 10 September: Cello (Ms JiEun Lee)
Thursday 10 September: Violin/ Viola (Ms Ciara McCoppin)
Saturday 12 September: Piano (Mr Siegfried Franke)
Michelle Stanic
Director of Music
Chaplain’s Chat
Giving is good for us
It may seem to be a strange topic at the moment; most of us are just trying to get through each day. We have studies, work, family and COVID-19 to worry about. This can mean we just focus on looking after those who are immediately close to us, our family and some close friends. This is a great thing to do, but is this good for us?
Giving has many benefits, even when (or perhaps especially when) we’re facing a difficult situation ourselves. Giving:
- Helps us to focus on things outside our own situation
- Helps us to see that other people are doing it tough, putting things in perspective
- Helps us to be thankful for what we have
- Helps us to bring joy to others, which makes us feel good too
Jesus told a story about a woman who had very little and gave it away – reminding us that we all have something to give, even if it is small.
‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ – 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
I encourage you to think of how we can be generous with our money, our time, and our prayers. Trinity has a strong culture of sharing resources; it was pleasing to be part of the Minecraft for Mito and Harambee 200 events last week.
Look out for more ways to get involved in Harambee through Mr Purcell; there are also many other charities near and far you can get involved in.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please send a message through Trinity Connect or email me at halej@trinity.vic.edu.au.
Have a great week.
Rev’d James Hale
Assistant Chaplain
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Dear Trinity Parents
Father’s Day was such a different experience for us all this year, I do hope that you and your families had a wonderful day on Sunday.
During the past five weeks in lockdown, the Community Relations team has been busy supporting and helping to keep our community connected. There have been many innovative and fun projects we have very much enjoyed assisting you with. Keep sending us your ideas and keep up the good work!
Please note that over the September school break most of the Community Relations team will be away on leave. However, if there is anything we can do to support you during this time, please email me directly: hinesk@trinity.vic.edu.au or phone 9851 9498.
Remember to keep safe and well and please take care over the coming weeks.
Kindest regards
Kathy Hines
Director of Development & Community Relations
Trinity Woollen Blanket
Ideal gift for Christmas, OTGs and current families.
The order will be filled by the end of October – order quickly so you don’t miss out!
This beautiful Trinity-themed blanket is ideal as a throw rug or to keep in the car to have as a picnic rug. It could be a wonderful way to show our school colours while sitting on the benches or at the sidelines whilst watching Trinity sport (when we can). The joy of the weather in Melbourne is that it won’t only be useful in winter!
Please click here for further information and to order.
Important Dates
Tuesday 8 September
OTGA Committee Meeting 7.00pm, Online
Thursday 10 September
School Assembly 8.30am
Monday 14 September
Year 12 Revision Program 9.00am, Online
Tuesday 15 September
Year 12 Revision Program concludes, Online
Year 12 Boarders Exeat
Monday 28 September
Boarders completing VCE Unit 4 return
VCE Unit 4 SACs commence
Friday 2 October
VCE Unit 4 SACs conclude
Sunday 4 October
Boarders return 4.30pm