Foundation President’s Report

SCOTT CHIRNSIDE (OGC 1970), PRESIDENT OF THE GEELONG COLLEGE FOUNDATION

Andrew Cameron (OGC 1978) retires from the Board

In February this year, Andrew Cameron sat in on his very last Board meeting as a Director of The Geelong College Foundation.

Andrew has been a director on the Board for 12 years, nine of those acting as Vice President, and we thank him for his candour and commitment over this time.

We acknowledged Andrew’s years of service at the Annual General Meeting on 27 March where he was presented with a gift for his many years of dedicated service.

Foundation Members’ Lunch

This year the College celebrates 50 years of co-education, so to support this important milestone, we invited Dr Pauline Turner, Principal of The Geelong College from 1996 to 2012, to talk to our Foundation members at our annual lunch.

The 2024 College Prefects also dined with us and School Captains, Annabelle Hutchings and Zephyr Seignior, spoke to our members about what co-education means to them.

Having multiple generations attend this lunch is both unique and worthwhile, so thank you to the Prefects for giving up their lunchtime to join us.

Thank you for giving

There has been a lot happening at the school and within our school community over the last few years.

Perseverance through the many COVID-19 lockdowns, the opening of our amazing Junior School in Minerva Road, incredible performances by College students in sport, music, the arts, community service and academically, and the construction and completion of our new Sports & Wellbeing Centre, Belerren.

Through all of this, I have been humbled and gratified by the generosity of our Geelong College community. Time, and time again, they show up when it countsdonating their time, skills, friendship, and gifts to scholarships and buildings.

Our students directly benefit from this support. It enables the Foundation to achieve amazing things, and ensures the longevity of our school.

I would like to thank The Geelong College community for all of this, and encourage you to continue your generous support in whatever way you can.

A Word from our Foundation Fellowship Recipients

We feel very honoured to be able to offer the staff at The Geelong College the opportunity to undertake professional learning through an experience, wholly or partially, in study, research, professional development, shadowing or immersion-based learning. The Fellowship builds on the College’s reputation for excellence and commitment to fostering a capacity for, and love of, life-long learning.

Below are quotes from recent Fellowship recipients Fabio D’Agostin and Aron Tremul who travelled to Finland in November 2023, and Delle Ritchie who travelled to Reggio Emilia in Italy in April 2024.

Finland

Fabio D’Agostin (SS Maths & Science Teacher) & Aron Tremul (SS IT Teacher)

It is difficult to encapsulate the breadth of our experiences, which were both broad and enriching.

We were able to explore the Finnish schooling system from Foundation through to tertiary and adult levels, observing many classes in practice.

In Tampere, we visited a variety of institutions including Tampere University, the International Finnish School (FISTA), and several comprehensive and selective schools. We also explored the innovative Business Village initiative for Year 6 students and the Tampere Skill Centre for Basic Education of Arts and Crafts.

In Helsinki, our visits included the Ruusutorppa Comprehensive School, the Helsinki Education Hub, and the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Educational Sciences, where we were guided by a fourth-year teacher education student. We also engaged with the Finnish Teachers’ Union (OAJ) and LUMA, a STEM education centre at the University of Helsinki.

Our visits featured formal briefings, presentations by education faculty leaders, school principals, and teachers, as well as Q&A sessions with secondary and tertiary students. We learned about educational policies, challenges, and innovations from a Tampere education department official and attended a seminar by a teacher

union official. A highlight was our two-hour session with Professor Maija Aksela, director of LUMA.

It was a breathtaking odyssey, a year or more worth of extraordinary PD in a fortnight. Add about 50cm of snow in Tampere and the experience was complete!

Reggio Emilia, Italy

Delle Ritchie (EL4 Teacher)

Attending the Reggio Emilia study tour as one of the 400 delegates

from 58 countries, I had a very valuable opportunity to discuss the Reggio philosophy in different contexts. I was also able to consider issues in education and compare ‘life in schools’ with colleagues from all over Australia and the world.

I am so happy to report that we at The Geelong College Junior School ‘do’ Reggio well.

We have taken our context of a school of Geelong, Victoria that has a value of listening to children and guiding their acquisition of knowledge, learning and development.

We know we don’t need to copy what is happening in Reggio Emilian education settings, but instead have made our own model. A model that considers the understandings of the 100 languages of children and promotes a positive and respectful image of children.

I look forward to working with members of the Junior School team to share what I have learnt and the ideas I have brought back.