Week 5, Term 1 – 2018
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FROM THE HEADMASTER
The French philosopher Henri Bergson once said that we should ‘Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.’ Our school motto Viriliter Agite is a call to act manfully – an extraordinary imperative for all in our community. It is a challenging call to arms. It is an evolving and dynamic motto in one sense because of the changing way in which we want boys and men to act manfully in modern times. Gone are the days of machismo and overt displays of aggression defining what it is to be a man. We want our Trinity men to become great citizens in the wider community, good partners, good fathers, good employees and indeed good employers. We want our Trinity men to always give of their best, to be honest and humble, to always show integrity, to be courageous and, lastly, be of service to others. It is here we find one part of our motto that remains constant: Agite; we are called to action. The specifics of how and what we do may change, but our motto, our school, our society, and our country demand that we are people of action.
We are called to action in the school motto, by our ETHICS, by our moral compass, and by individual and collective community values. There will be times when we are called in big, bold ways: in the Run for Linus, in the AGSV Walkathon, or in House activities, but there are also quiet, subtle calls to action. These may be to give up our seat on the tram, to help a fellow student who is experiencing loneliness or ill health, the call to do the right thing when your friends are doing the contrary. John F. Kennedy reminds us that ‘There are risks and cost to action. But there are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.’ We are far better to act than to regret inaction. It is what we do at Trinity; we are men of action, action in the service of others. When I reflect on the word agite, I am reminded of the words of John Eales, the former World Cup-winning Australian Rugby Captain, who extolled the virtue of living a life in constant agitation, because there is always something that can be done to improve the circumstances of those around you.
In this edition of the Trinity News you will see the first recipients of the Agite Awards. These are Trinity boys who, during the week, have acted in the service of others. The boys are nominated by their peers and their teachers. We will publish these awards every week, publicly acknowledging those who serve others in our community in concrete and meaningful ways.
We are called to action then by the words of the school, the expectation of us as a community, and indeed by the example of each other. I look forward to recognising the service of the boys with the Agite Awards and know that at Trinity we have many great men of service to choose from every week.
AGITE AWARDS
Dr Michael Davies
Headmaster
JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Partnering with Parents
The academic success of students is positively impacted when a home-school partnership flourishes. This past week, Parent-Teacher Interviews provided an invaluable opportunity for parents to connect with teachers, hear about their son’s progress and learn how their son was settling into his new environment.
Building a strong partnership with our school community is essential. Whether it is attending PYP discussion forums, volunteering for excursions, supporting students with reading or cheering poolside at swimming carnivals, there are numerous opportunities for parents to explore where they best fit within our community.
Our partnership extends into your homes as we invite you to visit our parent pages on myTGS. The classroom experiences captured provide a launchpad for dinner conversations, further inquiries at home and encouraging the boys to take action based on their learning.
We invite all parents to partner with our school as we strengthen our learning community and work towards the common goal of supporting our boys in achieving excellence.
Emily MacLean
Deputy Head of Junior School (Innovation and School Excellence)
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Parent Information Session: Home Reading Help and Parent Helper
An information session has been organised for Prep to Year 2 parents on Wednesday 14 March 2018. This presentation will be held in Arnold Hall commencing at 9.00am, and will be repeated at 7.00pm.
The first portion of the session will be about how best to assist your son with his home reading. The second half will provide information about being a parent helper in the classroom. Those parents who have attended a Parent Helper information session previously may choose to depart at the end of the Home Reading section of this event.
Please confirm your attendance through the Trinity Connect invitation.
Any queries can be direct to your child’s classroom teacher, Virginia Middleton at middletonv@trinity.vic.edu.au or Matt Lander at landerm@trinity.vic.edu.au
Virginia Middleton
English and Humanities Curriculum Coordinator
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Year 3 to 6 House Swimming Sports
Last Friday, the Year 3 to 6 House Swimming Sports were held. The cheering, chanting and singing generated a wonderful House spirit throughout the entire day. The first major House activity of the year included 136 individual events alongside relays and treasure hunts. Allan Liang once again proved a force in the pool breaking five School Records – Open 50m Butterfly, Open 50m Breaststroke, Open 50m Backstroke, Open 50m Freestyle, Open 100m Freestyle
The final results were as follows
House Swimming Cup:
- Inglis
- Friend
- Henderson
- Summers
House Spirit Cup:
- Friend
- Inglis
- Henderson
- Summers
Individual Age Group Champions
12+ Years
- Allan Liang
- Charles White
- Jayden Berti
11 Years
- Ethan Chiang-Cruise
- Joshua Witkowski
- Charlie Sammartino
10 Years
- Ben Tiso
- Rock Qiao
- Daytona Derbogosijan
9 Years
- Hugo Gray
- Alex He
- Jake Witkowski
Overall Junior School Swimming Champion 2018 – Allan Liang
David Ponsford
Director of Junior School and Cocurricular Activities
SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Top Designs – Congratulations
We are proud to announce that Charlie Dixon (Year 12 2017) will have his work exhibited in this year’s Top Designs exhibition as part of the VCE Season of Excellence 2018. For anyone wishing to check out Charlie’s work, Top Designs will be open from Saturday 18 March – Sunday 16 July at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton.
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St Paul’s Choir
Congratulations to two Trinity boys who have been appointed into leadership positions with St Paul’s Choir.
Sol Donald (Year 10) has been named Dean’s Chorister, while Kevin Wang (Year 10) is now Head Chorister.
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House Swimming
Congratulations to all the boys and House Staff for an excellent House Swimming Competition at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre last Tuesday. It was great to see so many boys swimming. The final results will be announced at the Headmaster’s Assembly this Thursday.
Thank you to Mike McEwin, Brendan Mahony, Mike Moreira, Christian Neeson and Guy Begley for coordinating the event, and to Diana Salvitti and all the Heads of House for their support of the event.
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Staff vs Students Basketball Game
The annual Staff vs Students game was held on Friday at lunchtime. The students narrowly defeated the staff team but the highlights were Chris Weinberg, Mike Moreira, Michael Naawi and their skilful shooting.
Final Score: 26:23 to the students.
Almost $1200 was raised from the Harambee Sausage Sizzle held in front of the gym, with all money going towards sponsoring children in the slums of Uganda.
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Homestay families sought for German exchange students
As part of the German language program, an exchange between our sister school, Das Marianum, takes place every two years. Staff and students from Das Marianum are visiting us from Friday 9 March, arriving 11.20pm at Melbourne Airport, and departing Saturday 24 March at 9.30am.
We are seeking accommodation for five female students, the majority of whom are 16 years of age and are in Year 10 or Year 11. They will be attending school, and attending regular classes from Tuesday 13 March to Friday 23 March inclusive. They are encouraged to participate in all parts of school life at Trinity from House Performing Arts to sport and drama.
Historically, the school has organised activities such as art and cooking classes, as well as excursions to Torquay and Healesville, and a visit to a local Indigenous gallery.
This is a study tour for the students, who are here to experience family life, daily routine and also to improve their English. They are expected to fit in with your daily routine, which you are not obliged to change.
The group will be accompanied by two German teaching staff, for whom we are also currently seeking accommodation – Max, 26, and Verena, 24.
Should you be in a position to host a student or staff member, for even part of their stay, please contact me via email to smidm@trinity.vic.edu.au or on 9854 3600.
Herr Meindert Smid
German Teacher
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Trinity-Ruyton Year 9 Play
Trinity and Ruyton Year 9 students are performing Antigone at the Kew Court House on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 March 2018. Both sessions start at 6.00pm.
This is a small venue, so get your tickets before they are sold out by clicking here.
SPORT NEWS
Team of the Week
Congratulations to this week’s Team of the Week – Firsts Tennis.
Competing for the Trinity-Camberwell shield, the team played some of their best tennis last weekend, with Ben Oliver at Number 1 in his final Trinity match sealing the win. Well done also to the other Year 12’s Felix Curtis, Jesse Langfelder and Dom Marshall – a wonderful set of careers in tennis!
Results and Fixtures
For a full set of results and fixtures, please click here.
MUSIC NEWS
House Performing Arts Festival (HPAF)
Tickets for the House Performing Arts Festival are now available for booking by clicking here.
During the initial booking period, a maximum of three audience tickets per family will be available (student performers do not require a ticket). Please book carefully as there will be no ticket transfers/returns. The School reserves the right to reverse all tickets without consultation should an individual choose to book more than three audience tickets per student. Additional seats may be booked from the Tuesday 13 March.
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Afternoon Music Recitals
Students are warmly invited to perform in the Afternoon Music Recital to be held this Thursday 1 March from 3.30pm – 4.00pm in Room CY4 of the Music Department. Siegfried Franke will be available to accompany students at the recital and rehearse with performers during lunchtime that day. Interested participants should contact Therese McCoppin via email to mccoppint@trinity.vic.edu.au to register their interest.
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Free Music Classes
Siegfried Franke will run free classes for all interested students from 7.25am to 7.55am in Room CY1 of the Music Department on the following days
- Wednesdays, Day 3: Theory
- Wednesdays, Day 8: AMEB/VCE Aural
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Parents’ Association and Class Representatives
Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to be involved with our Parents’ Association and as a Class Representative for 2018. This is a great opportunity to strengthen relationships across our community and become more involved with other parents at the School.
To any parents who would like to sign up to be on the Parents’ Association or a Class Representative – it would be wonderful to have you on board! Please click here for more information.
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Trinity Ball – Save the Date
Saturday 19 May at the Glasshouse – more details to follow in the coming weeks.
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Trinity Cafeteria
To volunteer in the Trinity café for Term 1, please click here. Thank you to everyone who has generously given up a morning to assist. To find out more about volunteering in the café or if you have any feedback, please contact Sue McNally, Parent Volunteer Coordinator, or Sharon Kendall, Community Liaison.
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Uniform Shop
The next dates for the Trinity Shop are Thursday 1 March and Thursday 15 March. Should you be interested in assisting, please contact Susan Lane (parent volunteer) for details.
Thursday 1 March: 2.00pm – 4.00pm
- Pricing: Liz Beasley, Xi Gao, Leanne Larkin
- Sales: Christina Branagan, Meileen Tan, Diane Di Stefano
Thursday 15 March: 2.00pm – 4.00pm
- Pricing: Carolyn Crouch, Jenny Bennett, Jane King
- Sales: Robyn Walker, Deborah Hunt, Kate Jennings
NOTICES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
We’re changing the way you log in to Trinity Connect
This week, please look out for a personalised email which will contain details of changes to the login method to Trinity Connect. The email will remind you of your six-digit Trinity ID number, and will contain instructions to obtain your password if it is stored in a browser. You will need to re-enter both your ID number and your password to log in to the new system for the first time.
You may want to keep the email handy to refer to when you first log in to the new system.
Ben Ryder
Director of Innovative Learning
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Donations of unwanted/unused SLR Film cameras and lenses
The Art Department would be most grateful for donations of unwanted or unused SLR film cameras and lenses. Please contact John Waller, Head of Art, if you can help.
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Parents’ Book and Poetry Groups
The next meeting of the Parents’ Poetry Group will take place on Tuesday 6 March from 7.00pm in the Tudor Centre. The poet for this evening is Audre Lorde.
Looking ahead:
- Tuesday 13 March: Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
Poets for Term 1:
- Tuesday 6 March: Audre Lorde
- Tuesday 20 March: Carol Ann Duffy
- Tuesday 27 March: Seamus Heaney
For information regarding these events and other details, please contact me at bantickc@trinity.vic.edu.au.
Christopher Bantick
Senior School English Teacher