About the School

Established in 1929, Canberra Grammar School is a co-educational Independent Anglican School offering outstanding academic education, co-curricular opportunities and pastoral care to day and boarding students of all backgrounds and faiths within a community guided by Christian values.

AT CANBERRA GRAMMAR SCHOOL, WE ASPIRE FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE CONFIDENT, CREATIVE AND COMPASSIONATE YOUNG LEADERS OF THE FUTURE; TO BE READY FOR THE WORLD.

The School respects and nurtures all students as individuals, seeking to inspire, support and celebrate the efforts of all in realising their intellectual, spiritual, cultural, social and physical aspirations. CGS is also the only co-educational boarding school in the ACT, and it is an International Baccalaureate World School and is the only school in the ACT to offer the NSW Higher School Certificate.

In a world shaped by globalisation, environmental change and technological advancement, our students will live and study and work in Australia and abroad in ways that we can scarcely imagine. They will collaborate with colleagues across cultures and disciplines to solve problems using tools that we have yet to invent. To flourish, they must have the critical capacity to analyse complex information, the ability to communicate in multiple languages, the adaptive creativity to find solutions, and the integrity to serve others always before self. Our strategic plans and our academic, pastoral and co-curricular education must support that.

Building on the professional expertise of its staff, the commitment of its community and the resources of the nation’s capital, Canberra Grammar School aims to be the most dynamic and distinctive centre of learning in Australia.

Formal CGS Acknowledgement of Country from the Head of School, Dr Justin Garrick

Canberra Grammar School takes this opportunity to acknowledge the age-old custodians of the land on which our School stands, the Ngunnawal people. On behalf of CGS, we offer respect and gratitude to elders past and present, and we affirm our obligation to honour the heritage of countless generations in our on-going care for this special place in which it is our privilege to learn and work.

The School Board includes:

Canberra Grammar School is a company limited by guarantee which is governed by a Board of Directors.

The Right Reverend Bishop Dr Mark Short, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn was Visitor to the School in 2020.

During the 2020 Calendar Year, the following people were Directors of the Board:

• Chair of the Board – Mr Stephen Byron • Deputy Chair of the Board – Ms Ayesha Razzaq

• Board Members – The Right Reverend Bishop Allan Ewing (until June) – Mr David Carr – Ms Belinda Clark (until May) – Dr Justin Garrick (Head of School) – Mr Stephen Jaggers (until June) – Ms Anne Myongsook Witheford – Ms Simonetta Astolfi – Ms Denita Wawn – Mr Sung Lee – Mr Kent Peters (Secretary)

The Executive Leadership Team of the School includes:

• Head of School – Dr Justin Garrick

• Head of Senior School – Mr David Smart

• Head of Primary School (Acting) – Ms Lucy Garven • Director of Business – Mr Kent Peters

• Director of Community Development – Mr Sandy Goddard • Director of Strategic Operations – Ms Kerri Rock

SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

FROM THE SCHOOL CHAPLAIN FATHER ANDREW ROBINSON

2020 is not a year any of us are likely to forget.

The year began in a tumultuous firestorm, followed by the catastrophic hailstorm that pelted the Quadrangle and then the unfolding crisis of COVID-19.

The pandemic left no corner of school life untouched, and the rhythms of gathering, teaching, playing and worship that have shaped our community since 1929 were spectacularly disrupted.

But through the challenges of the year a remarkable resilience and creativity emerged across the entire School. Chapel, like everything else, went online for more than half the year. We were joined by the Ven. James Coats to cover Associate Chaplain Libby Gale’s parental leave, and after only eight weeks in the School he readily adapted to the circumstances, even taking on a new persona as a talk show host in some of the Primary Chapel videos.

Video Chapel included puppetry, stop-motion animation, Zoom interviews, Tiktok videos, and occasional attempts at movie magic with the green screen. We gained a new appreciation for stage lighting, good audio, and the new CGS video production studio.

However, even though we have been spared much of the anguish faced elsewhere in the country and the wider world, here in Canberra, the challenges of 2020 were a chance to reflect deeply on our fundamental purpose as a school. We gained a new perspective on what it means to be a community, and an appreciation for all that we take for granted in everyday reality.

In our first Chapel Service by Zoom, in the earliest days of the pandemic, we found ourselves drawn to the story of Jesus stilling the storm. In the Gospel of Mark’s telling, it is evening and Jesus’ disciples find themselves engulfed in a surprising, terrifying storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus, strangely, is fast asleep in the stern. The disciples panic. They wake Jesus, furious and bewildered: ‘Don’t you care that we are perishing?’ But Jesus calmly replies, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ The disciples haven’t understood that God is with them, right there, in the boat.

How do you find hope and peace when all the outward indicators are looking pretty grim? For the disciples, it meant knowing and trusting the presence and goodness of God. Christ was in the boat with his disciples in the storm.

The challenges of 2020 and COVID-19 have pushed us to remember that what happens in this place really matters. The flourishing and growth of the young people in our care matters immensely, and all the more in a world driven by uncertainty and challenges. But God is with us through it all.

Father Andrew Robinson School Chaplain