Light Blue - December 2019

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ISSUE 105 DECEMBER 2019

Enabling Wisdom

Miles Prince Sharing his wisdom from the race to cure blood cancers

Farewelling Jeremy Kirkwood CELEBRATING THE GENEROSITY OF OUR INAUGURAL GGS

GIVING DAY


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“With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.” – Job 12:12

Editor Brendan McAloon Design Chloe Flemming Claire Robson Photography Susie Donald (The Hermitage ‘75) Nick Fletcher Margie Gillett (Cordner, Clyde ‘71) Belinda and David Henry (FB’70) Peter Lemon (FB ‘64) Brendan McAloon Jo McGuire Joe Murphy Matthew Preuss Katie Rafferty (Spry, Ga’84) Drew Ryan Nathan Stirk Anna Tucker (Kimpton, Clyde ‘71) Ann Tyers (Fairley, The Hermitage ‘68) Bence Vekassy Website www.ggs.vic.edu.au Email lightblue@ggs.vic.edu.au

Recent academic studies have confirmed The Book of Job’s suggestion that wisdom is a virtue gained through life experience. A 2016 study led by Frank Durgin, Professor of Psychology of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, found that older adults were better at interpreting the correct slope of a hill than younger people. Similarly, a University of California study of financial decision-making surmised that experience and acquired knowledge offset older people’s declining ability to learn new information. This all builds on the body of work around fluid intelligence (cognitive processing and the ability to think abstractly and solve problems) and crystallized intelligence (the accumulation of knowledge, facts and skills) 1 . On the eve of the School’s 165-year anniversary in 2020, this issue of Light Blue explores the contemporary expression of our founding motto (Christus Nobis Factus Sapientia), Enabling Wisdom. As the School prepares to celebrate this milestone, we farewell our long-serving Chair of Council, Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), and marvel at the experience and knowledge that Jeremy acquired from 23 years on Council; the past 15 years as our Chair. Wisdom is often interpreted as both a way of thinking (through experience and observation) and a body of knowledge gained through such thinking. To be “wise” is to apply this body of knowledge to life. Over many years, Jeremy has applied his wisdom to grow and strengthen our School, overseeing the introduction of Positive Education, the refurbishment of the School’s boarding facilities, the building of the Handbury Centre for Wellbeing, the Timbertop fire refuge and the School for Performing Arts and Creative Education (the SPACE), commencing the development of Creative Education, and completing the transformation of our Toorak Campus, including the relatively recent addition of the Toorak Wellbeing Centre.

“ But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” – Job 28:12

The Book of Job suggests that wisdom cannot be found “in the land of the living” nor “gotten for gold” – that it belongs to God. The School’s founding motto, Christus Nobis Factus Sapientia, is derived from 1 Corinthians 1:30 and generally translated as “Christ was made wisdom unto us”. Michael Collins Persse once wrote that our founders’ belief that the School had been blessed with the wisdom from and of God was “a brave statement… bordering on bravado”. This leads one to ponder the depths of this wisdom, intensified through the knowledge and experience of our school community across the past 164 years, through darkness and light. How are we today utilising this gift (and optimising our curiosity, courage and compassion) to interpret and understand the slope of the hill? We began Term 3 with our 2019 Indigenous Festival, Ngarramillingal, which is a Wadawurrung word that means “celebrate together”. It was a vibrant celebration that reflected our vision of inclusivity and diversity by exploring the significant impact of Indigenous culture on our lives through art, music, literature, language and food – where awareness and knowledge enabled respect and pride. Later in the Term, the School recognised White Balloon Day, which is Australia’s largest campaign dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. Hundreds of students circled the white balloon marked out on Perry Oval at Corio for a poignant ceremony led by our Principal, Rebecca Cody, that reinforced the School’s commitment to child safety and healing historical harm. Term 3 concluded with the 29th annual Lorne 160 relay run. This year’s team of Year 11 students decided to raise funds for local Geelong charity, The Power In You Project, which provides programmes to assist and empower people with drug and alcohol issues. Through each of these learning experiences, our students were gifted the knowledge, awareness and understanding to enable wisdom. Brendan McAloon Director of Community Engagement

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04

16

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06 FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

18 CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

28 FLYING SOLO

08 MILES PRINCE

20 SPRING CONCERT

29 RAPID SUCCESS

04 CHAIR OF COUNCIL

16 YEAR 10 STEM

27 LORNE 160

29 ON THE (WING) ATTACK

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10 SENIOR CHAPLAIN 12 PROJECT PLAY 14 WHO WE ARE

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22 WINGS TO FLY

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30 POSITIVE EDUCATION 32 FOUNDATION 36 MAIL ROOM

23 DRAMA 24 BOGONG HIGH PLAINS 26 WHITE BALLOON DAY

1 Horn, J. L., & Cattell, R. B. (1966). Refinement and test of the theory of fluid and crystallized general intelligences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 57(5), 253–270.

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CHAIR OF COUNCIL

In a recent letter to the GGS community I advised that I would be retiring from Council at the end of the year and that Paddy Handbury (M’72) has been elected to succeed me as Chair of Council. Paddy is an OGG, a past parent, a past Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation and a past Member of Council (rejoining in 2018 after a four-year hiatus). Together with his wife Helen (Godfrey, He’73), he has a deep affection for the School.

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I am delighted that Paddy has agreed to take on the role and bring his common sense and caring wisdom to form what I expect will be a wonderful partnership with our Principal, Rebecca Cody.

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Over my time as Chair, there have been issues from every conceivable angle and I have, as a result, learned much about things I would never have otherwise, as well as about myself. Perhaps the two most important things I have come to appreciate are: not to judge or determine a matter until one has all the facts; and to trust one’s gut instincts. These might seem contradictory at first but in my experience they are complementary. Issues that come to the Principal and Council to determine are by their very nature difficult and knotty – they would have been properly dealt with beforehand if they weren’t! There are often several layers and it takes time to peel those away to get to the kernel of the problem. The most difficult matters to address are those that bring ethical and moral principles into consideration in addition to financial and legal aspects. One needs to establish a hierarchy of principles to help determine one’s decision on such tricky matters. This is easier to write about than it is to do in practice, and I have found that listening to one’s gut is necessary to navigate these types of issues. My main concern for leaders of schools today and into the future is that they are expected to be wise in all things and make decisions that are in the best interests of individuals and the whole school. More often than not, it just isn’t possible to satisfy all and the relentless pressure brought by some parties through litigation, social and traditional media, and general harassment, make the job of leading a school one of the most difficult imaginable. This is true for all schools but GGS is arguably more challenging due to our being a coeducational boarding school, spread across four campuses, with adventurous and innovative educational programmes.

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The School is fundamentally in a strong position. Our enrolments, the lifeblood of any school, remain strong. Our strategy, based on the three pillars of Adventure Education, Positive Education and Creative Education, set a clear emphasis and pathway for all our staff, whilst Rebecca is gradually implementing the necessary organisational changes to deliver it.

Our focus is, and always has been, preparing children for life, not just an ATAR, and Enabling Wisdom in them to tackle the vicissitudes of life. The educational journey at GGS is unique in its complexity, environment, relationships and challenges – and this is what delivers an Exceptional Education. There has been significant capital works at the school over the past 15 years and critical to the oversight of this has been the Assets Sub-Committee of Council. Tony Mussen (P’58) recently stepped down from that Committee. As a Professor of Architecture at Melbourne University, Tony has been able to guide the design and location of new buildings and ensure renovations of old have been done both functionally and sensitively. On behalf of the School, I thank Tony for his great service to it.

I have had the great privilege to work closely with two excellent leaders. Stephen Meek was Principal when I was elected Chair at the end of 2004 and he led the School with distinction until his retirement in early 2018. He and I formed a close partnership as we managed a number of challenging matters and I greatly admire his clarity under pressure and perspicacity. I was fortunate to be Chair at the time we searched for new leadership and the appointment of Rebecca Cody as our 12th Principal is the most important decision by Council during my Chairmanship. After working closely with her for over 18 months, in addition to time that we spent meeting before she commenced, I am confident that GGS could not have a better person for the job. She has quickly become embedded in our community and is implementing a comprehensive strategy she developed which will, in my view, position the School as a truly great, global educational leader. In closing, I would like to thank the broader GGS community for their support. I have been blessed to receive letters, emails, calls and had conversations with so many of you in which your care and best wishes have been at the fore. I wish Paddy a progressive, rewarding and exciting time ahead with Rebecca as they lead our wonderful School and I am sure that all the support you have provided me will continue for him. Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79) Chair of Council

One of the wonderful experiences I have had during my time on Council is working with so many wise, generous and compassionate people. I have really valued the collegiate way in which Council has operated and different members have collaborated in regard to different issues to ensure that the best decision is made. I would like to thank them all for their support for and confidence in me.

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It has been an enormous privilege to serve as Chair of the Council. I have been very fortunate to have been blessed throughout with a Council that has been collegiate, thoughtful, supportive and appropriately questioning. A phrase I use often to describe the role of a school council (or indeed any governing body) is “noses in and fingers out” and our Council has managed that balance consistently well. We focus on strategy, policy and oversight for what is, in anybody’s world, a complex organisation.


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TURNING THE WORLD “...Could the world be about to turn? My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!” - ‘Canticle of the Turning’, Rory Cooney

Just like decades past, the quality of singing in our Chapel of All Saints is an item of vast variability. The quality can be determined by the age of our singers, the time of day and year, the level of familiarity with the hymns, the mood of the moment and even the weather! Despite said variables, Geelong Grammar School’s senior students do tend towards robust renditions of ‘Canticle of the Turning’. This may well be connected to the tune. There’s a possibility too that the sentiments resonate, especially for our Class of 2019, whose lives have just turned through a significant rite of passage. Recently experiencing their collective energy in our sacred space prompted renewal for me, at a time in the world that can so often be characterised by: Volatility; Uncertainty; Complexity; Ambiguity (VUCA). In military terms, VUCA is an acronym often used to describe four categories of challenge. More specifically, unpacking the acronym has become a tool for leaders during changing times. In October, I spoke with our 2019 leavers about changing times. Ahead for them (and us) there is likely to be volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. As an educator I gain enormous perspective and hope from working alongside students whose very way of being makes me believe that they will be the ones to master the necessary antitoxins in a VUCA world. 6

As our 2019 School Captains, Maddy Atkins (Yr12 Cl) and Bobby Jamieson’s (Yr12 M) commitment to be true to themselves and to share their voices genuinely and honestly is exactly the kind of leadership we depend on to chart the unpredictable and oppositional culture that breeds unrest. VUCA first came to my attention five years ago. It was as if the globe momentarily stood still while attempting to understand the tragedies of flights MH370 and MH17. This year, the tragedy of the Christchurch massacre was another event that seemed unfathomable. As an adult, I’ve despaired. I’ve imagined too that on the brink of adulthood our students at Geelong Grammar School have pondered how we make sense of such madness. Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, poet and cultural commentator often helps me to make sense of madness. As a modern philosopher his work oftentimes reminds me that anything may be possible without fear and that our future is always in motion. VUCA is sustained by fear. Through poetry Leunig magnificently positions both love and fear for our VUCA world.

There are only two feelings. Love and fear. There are only two languages. Love and fear. There are only two activities. Love and fear. There are only two motives, two procedures, two frameworks, two results. Love and fear. Love and fear. – Michael Leunig from the book A Common Prayer (Harper Collins, 1991)


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Right: Helen and Geoff Handbury

There’s a profound wisdom in positioning love and fear so starkly. There’s also a comfort in distinguishing between the two with deceptive simplicity. There are our everyday fears of missing out, of failure, or not quite measuring up. There’s also the fear associated with the vulnerabilities of change, loneliness and extremism. Whatever the fear, we have choices in terms of our response. Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, responds with curiosity: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Just asking that question opens so many creative options. What is it we can do to drive out fear in our own community? How can we support and guide others to determine the best ethical outcome by discussing difficult situations and wicked problems, without fear? Whilst there are not necessarily easy answers to such questions, love seems a great place to start. I imagine that Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79) felt the fear of accepting the momentous responsibility of being our Chair of Council, all those years ago. He didn’t allow it to dominate though; instead, Jeremy let his love for our School win out and thus began a period of selfless and distinguished service. In recent weeks, I have also thought about Geoff Handbury, another altruistic

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contributor, and marvelled at his kind and generous choices. Geoff made a positive difference to the lives of generations of Geelong Grammar School students through his example, and his support of scholarships, Positive Education and Creative Education, as well as the eponymous Handbury Centre for Wellbeing at our Corio Campus. His wit, egalitarian spirit and practical wisdom endeared Geoff to all who were fortunate to connect with him.

Shaping an enduring legacy of love, not fear, is not the only turning to enable wisdom in the world; however, it may well be exactly the kind of movement we can depend upon. Christus Nobis Factus Sapientia Rebecca Cody Principal

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TRUTH & WISDOM It was 10 years ago, in November 2009, that internationally renowned blood cancer specialist, Professor Miles Prince AM (A’80), co-founded the Snowdome Foundation. During that time, Snowdome has raised more than $30 million to accelerate next-generation treatments for Australian blood cancer patients to help them live longer, better lives. Snowdome has supported ground-breaking research to help uncover new treatments and diagnostics, whilst providing Australian patients with access to new, cutting-edge therapies. It has made an enormous impact on the treatment of blood cancers – myeloma, lymphoma and leukaemia – most recently through the development of state-of-the-art genomic testing at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where Miles is the Director of the Centre for Blood Cell Therapies. He is also Director of Molecular Oncology and Cancer Immunology at Epworth Healthcare and a Professor of Medicine at both Melbourne and Monash universities. Miles spoke to Light Blue about wisdom.

To me, wisdom is a capacity to recognise the truth and the reality of trying to achieve what is in yourself. The truth is finding the real reason you’re doing something.

I got a scholarship to go to Geelong Grammar. My family had lived in India and we moved to Geelong because my Dad got a job in Geelong. My family thought that education was the most important thing and they could see that the local schools couldn’t offer us everything they wanted for us, so they sent us off to get scholarships (at GGS). Kim (A’76) went into Form 5 and I went into Form 1. I got a lot of positive feedback from my parents about academic achievement. I remember being quite driven and quite competitive. Timbertop was transformative for me. I broke my leg and I was in hospital for four weeks. My parents were overseas at the time and it was pretty lonely. I formulated that I wanted to do Medicine at that time. What drew me ultimately to it was that it was both stimulating intellectually and very hands on – you are helping people. I think it was the fascination of the human body but also recognising that you could fix things and be with people. When I think about wisdom, part of it is your own experiences but there is a point where your life becomes dependent on other people’s wisdom. Maybe you don’t actively look for mentors but somehow they find you. Paul Sheahan (Staff 1973-83) was my Maths teacher and he was also my Cricket coach. He taught me a lot about not being selfish – that it’s not all about you, it’s about the team. He re-focused me academically. He’d sit me down and tell me that I had talent but that I needed to work. Later, when I was at the Austin Hospital and failed my Physician’s exam the first time, I went and spoke to Dick Smallwood (P’54). He had a big influence. He helped me get through that. When I started Snowdome, I had the wisdom to get good people around me. I got people in business, people in government, I asked Paul to get involved as the Chair for the first few years, and I talked to Dick Smallwood, who was fantastic and gave us some kudos. We ended up having a very strong, innovative board.

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I was captain of the Harlequins Rugby Club and I had the choice of going to Sydney and playing senior rugby there but I decided to stay down in Melbourne and focus on university and medicine. One of my teammates, Ewen McKenzie, went to Sydney and ended up playing for Australia and winning a World Cup. I’m not saying I would have done as well as him but it was a sliding door moment. In the early 1990s there was a whole explosion around understanding genetics and how cancer worked. I went to Canada in 1995 to learn about stem cell research, bone marrow transplants and how you manipulate the immune system. We were targeting the so-called “kiss of death”: the immune synapse. That was my research and it was pretty interesting stuff. I came back and said to the people at Peter Mac that we needed to start working in this area as it’s going to be important. We needed to be able grow cells, manipulate them and do gene therapy. At that point in my career I was full of ideas but you’ve got to start making some choices and honing those ideas. When you go into the incredibly sophisticated and disciplined environment of a high quality research laboratory, you’ve got to focus and you’ve got to work out what the right question is. The sharper you are, the deeper you penetrate.

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I wanted to cure people. When we started on this no-one really believed that the immune system was going to be the major difference (in curing cancer). We started off in a world of chemotherapy, and now immune therapy is the thing that is beating cancers. With these immune-based treatments, we are seeing miracles every day where patients are not responding to standard chemotherapy. We’ve had to drag a lot of people along the way. It really dawned upon me at that time that if you have an idea and you need seed funding, you need philanthropic help. You’ve got to find somebody who is going to back you. That’s really why we ended up starting Snowdome, because there was a funding gap for blood cancers. The beauty about blood cancers is that they are accessible and they have always led the way in making biological understanding of cancers. In the last two years in the United States, 34 drugs have been approved for blood cancers and only one of them is chemo – 33 are either immune-based therapy or genomics. It is moving faster than it ever has before. Our focus right now is on genomics and getting the right diagnosis to the right patient. It’s what I call personality profiling. If you look at all the genomic research around the world, it has all been funded by philanthropy. Governments don’t fund it. Snowdome is the same and we’ve made a huge impact on genomics in Australia.

To me, wisdom is a capacity to recognise the truth and the reality of trying to achieve what is in yourself. The truth is finding the real reason you’re doing something. The reality is being realistic about actually doing it. Whether achievement is the end game or whether the wisdom is in itself just the recognition of that truth and that reality, I don’t know. I do know that the wisest choices I’ve ever made have been when I’ve slowed down to think about what is the truth and what is the reality of that choice. Wisdom is not making the right choice, wisdom is making the truthful and realistic choice for you at the time. Wisdom is not necessarily about right and wrong. I would argue that there is no wrong in wisdom. When I go back to that decision of rugby versus university, I made a choice that was truthful and achievable for me. I don’t know if it was right or wrong. Who knows? Maybe I could’ve been a rugby star and I could be running a foundation in India and saving millions of people. If I look at the decisions I have made, at all of those points I have taken the time to slow down and contemplate and look at it in its most truthful way. My word association for wisdom would be quiet contemplation. You need that. Wisdom is a tool to give you the answer. To learn more about Snowdome: https://www.snowdome.org.au

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In the First Book of Kings, God says to Solomon: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you”. Solomon asks for wisdom, which pleases God, who gives him wealth and honour in addition. I wonder what I would have asked for if I had been given the same opportunity? I suppose it would depend on my age and circumstances. When asked what I'd like at the age of five, I asked for a fort with soldiers… or a bike… most of all, I was desperate for a dog; a German Shepherd. At the age of 16 I was desperate to go out with the most beautiful girl I had ever seen at that point in my life. At 21 years old I wanted a pass mark in my degree. At 34, the safe delivery of my first child. At 42, and suffering a challenging physical set back, good health. In my 50s, financial security. Above all, I think I may have been seeking knowledge; a wanting to know. Knowledge, of course, is important and highly prized, but on its own empty of soul and unlikely to shape the kind of better world we would all want. Perhaps much too much is demanded from knowledge. These days I think Solomon’s answer to ask for wisdom was incredibly wise… and looking back I would hope that I would choose to respond in the same manner. Wisdom may have persuaded me not to smoke. Wisdom may have helped me be more courageous in myself. Wisdom may have prompted me to make right choices instead of profitable ones. Wisdom may have led me towards greater adventures.

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“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” - Maurice Switzer

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” - William Shakespeare

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” - Mark Twain

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” - Socrates These brief snapshots are just that, snapshots. What they do not reveal are the years in their making through experience. It is thought to be inevitable that these experiences will sometimes involve horrendous mistakes, difficult trials and much misfortune. Suffering can be great soil for wisdom, and we need not be eager to seek such, as it comes all too readily. Hard and challenging times do enable wisdom provided those in search of it are

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courageous enough to employ self-reflection, discussion and possess the humility to admit that we still have much to learn. These things are solid fuel for the subtle and sometimes latent development and delightful discovery of wisdom. Add to these the authenticity of friends and mentors, and we are much more likely to become wiser than we were; more curious, more compassionate and more open to adventure.

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These days there is much wisdom to be had and we can easily find it now by going to Google. Here are some examples:

Perhaps wisdom can be taught? Those who teach like to think so. Our Geelong Grammar School motto, Christus Nobis Factus Sapientia, or ‘Christ has become wisdom for us,’ suggests that if we wish to find wisdom we should look to Christ. In a Christian school such as ours, this remains a core belief. Many would agree that even with no faith connection, there is still great value and wisdom in the teachings of Christ. These values are regularly taught at Geelong Grammar School, in the Chapel, the classroom and through the example of its leaders and mentors who practice these values within the daily life of the School. Our Institute of Positive Education reflects the similar values based on well-researched evidence. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about wisdom is that it cannot be contained. It is unrestrained, ever changing even in its constancy, adapting to each individual pursuit and purpose. Elusive and attainable at the same time. Pure and simple. Its oxygen is silence, stillness and reflection. Its divine purpose is the shaping of not only a better person, but a better world. Worth pursuing, worth enabling. Rev G K Lingard Senior Chaplain

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Be brave, take risks, nothing can substitute experience.

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The introduction of the School’s Strategic Framework spurred energy and enthusiasm amongst the staff and students at Bostock House. In Term 2, discussions commenced around how we might connect the three Strategic Pillars of Adventure Education, Positive Education and Creative Education. The School’s Creative Education Collaborators, Matt Limb and Daniel Davies, commenced a joint effort with Bostock House’s Positive Education Coordinator, Wendy Breer, on a project aimed to develop student voice around the reimagining of place and space at Bostock House. “I wanted to give students a voice on how they would like their school ground to look and also enable students to feel a deep sense of connection to any renovations that might take place on campus.” – Wendy Breer The work that went into the development of Project Play not only gave rise to our students developing a secure base to risk exploring the world around them, it also allowed us as educators to take risks, explore and learn alongside the students. Students worked with teachers who shared a similar passion for a particular type of play and became involved in an inquiry-based, multi-aged learning experience. Students from ELC 3 to Year 4 took part in adventures exploring the local community and beyond; spending a day searching the community for the ultimate play experience within environments that allowed them to experience Indigenous culture, nature, risk-taking, teamwork, problem solving, imaginative and physical play. “I got enormous satisfaction watching Project Play flourish once staff got on board and took ownership of their own group. By placing students into multi-age groups based on a shared interest in a certain type of play added an element that far exceeded my expectations.” – Wendy Breer “It was wonderful to see the collaboration of students across age groups, especially the care and compassion that the older students showed their younger peers. It was through this care that the younger students were able to show courage in their play.” – Matt Limb “Students had to collaborate, take calculated risks and make creative decisions. There was a real flurry of excitement as students departed and many stories to tell upon their return.” – Wendy Breer To celebrate our findings, each multi-aged group identified play experiences that highlighted their day. Delegates from each group presented their findings to our Principal, Rebecca Cody, at a Project Play Presentation Assembly. The project confirmed that when given an opportunity to explore and a voice to express their findings, students develop fabulous ideas that should not be underestimated. Rachael Dewhurst Head of Campus, Bostock House LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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This year’s PYP Exhibition at Toorak Campus – an opportunity for students in the final year of the Primary Years Programme to share their learning with the School community – focused on the transdisciplinary theme of ‘Who we are’. Students were required to identify, investigate and consider solutions to real-life issues as the basis for the Exhibition. The topics chosen included the effects of concussion in contact sport, gaming and screen addiction, the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System, and food allergies and their effect on one’s ability to maintain a nutritious diet. Each topic was presented at the Exhibition on Thursday 29 October in four sections- my issue, my connection, my discoveries and my actions. Harry Gance (Yr6) chose the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System as his issue after reading about it in a technology magazine, leaving his interest piqued. Harry’s action was writing to Victoria’s Minister for Health, the Hon. Jenny Mikakos, detailing his findings.

“My research inspired me to create and send an informative email to the Victorian Minister for Health so she has a better understanding of the system, and reasons why the government may buy one, or not,” Harry said in his PYP reflection. “I chose to inform Ms Mikakos, because health is a state issue, and she has control of our funding and hospitals in Victoria.”

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Momo He (Yr6) wanted to know how people with allergies can eat a nutritious diet. She discovered that 1 in 10 children in Australia are born with a food allergy; a number which is increased when the child has moved to Australia from another country at a young age. Momo’s action was very well received on Exhibition night.

“I made a recipe book for people who have allergies and cooked some samples of these recipes for people to taste on our opening night.” Abbey-Rose McKay (Yr6) was one of a number of students whose issue related to anxiety and overall mental health. Abbey’s action was to decorate the bathrooms in the Year 5 and 6 area, filling them with colour and plastering the walls with inspiring quotes.

“When someone goes to the bathroom to seek refuge, instead of being in a dark, boring, dirty place, it can be a place where they will feel inspired and a place where they can change their mindset,” she said.


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The Year 8 Navigate Programme in Middle School offered students a vehicle to collaborate with their classmates while also exercising critical thinking, problem posing and problem solving. One group used this vehicle to build an actual vehicle: a go-kart. Sam Pearce (Yr8 Hi) and Gustav Foletta (Yr8 Ot) have a passion for building and tinkering, and the Navigate Programme enabled them to feed this passion during class-time.

“Building a go-kart was something we had wanted to do for some time, so it was fantastic to be able to do it as part of our school work,” Sam said. The pair took an old ride-on mower and through a lot of trial and error during the Navigate process, the pair created a go-kart capable of reaching speeds of around 15 km/h.

“Students appreciated being listened to and enjoyed how the Programme catered to their passions and interests while challenging them to think and learn,” Michelle said. Gustav and Sam have been able to avoid a “Three Men and a Comic Book”-type scenario, with Gustav keeping the original ride-on mower (with a view to using it for lawn mower racing), while Sam removed the modifications added to the mower and may be able to re-purpose them in the future. When asked how they will foster this passion for building things during their Timbertop year in 2020, Gustav joked that he might have his parents send up parts to build a motorbike “one piece at a time”; the sort of creative thinking the Navigate programme fostered.

Each unit of inquiry was designed to develop skills (collaboration, critical thinking, problem posing and problem solving) identified by our Creative Education team as essential to student learning. “Students could choose a Student Chosen unit or a Student Negotiated unit to inquire into,” Head of Middle School, Michelle Phillips, said. The units ranged from students using technology to support the creation of music and students visiting the Geelong Tech School to learn about coding and build their own robots (Student Chosen) to students designing and making a city in MineCraft, and go-kart building (Student Negotiated).

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The unique thing about Term 3’s Year 10 STEM project is that it did not have a natural end point. A presentation morning was held in The SPACE on Thursday 15 August where the students presented to staff – both teaching and operational – their ideas to improve the Geelong Grammar School experience and fielded often mind-bending questions from Middle School students. While this was the final stage for a number of groups, others weren’t content with just making plans and began to explore ways to implement their suggestions.

Indi Laycock (Yr10 Cl), Rebecca Gunnersen (Yr10 Cl) and Alexander Matherson (Yr10 A) chose heating the Chapel as their project, after noticing that some students were skipping chapel during the winter months due to the temperature inside the building. “We started brainstorming different ways to heat the Chapel, including gas heating, water pipe heating or solar panels could be used to save energy,” Indi said. When presenting to staff in The SPACE, the team from Facilities, as well Reverend Gordon Lingard, took a particular interest in the project. “He applauded our initiative and suggested that they were always looking for ways to improve the Chapel,” she said.

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From there, meetings were lined up with the School’s administration and research has been completed on what other schools do, including at Wesley College where they recently opened their re-built Chapel. The process is ongoing, but for Indi, Rebecca and Alexander, they have loved the experience of seeing their classroom ideas come to life. “I also think that the development process undertaken (for our STEM project) has helped me with other assignments as it helps me to break down ideas.” Michaela Sorrenti (Yr10 EM), Lilli Cowan (Yr10 He) and Aston Fernandez (Yr10 A) investigated whether there was an avenue for students to more easily access part-time work while at Geelong Grammar School.

“We conducted a survey of Year 10 students which revealed that 80% of students would be interested in part-time work during term time,” Michaela said. “It is difficult for boarding students to get holiday jobs because we are only at home for 2-3 weeks at a time.” When presenting the findings of the survey, the team outlined some of the benefits of part-time work as: building financial literacy, learning how to balance work/ study commitments and how to interact with a variety of people. Michaela and her team were under no illusions about whether this could be solved overnight. Working on campus, in the Uniform Shop or the John Court Café for instance, was presented as an option but faced such issues as peak time for the Shop falling during school holidays and the fact that Alliance Catering, as opposed to the School itself, operates the Café. Boarders seeking part-time jobs off campus was also floated, but would clash with sport and music commitments while creating additional responsibilities for Heads of House. Despite the obstacles presented, discussions have continued since the presentation as to the feasibility of part-time work for GGS students. “We really enjoyed this project because we feel it is the beginning of a solution to a very relevant issue that will have a great outcome,” Michaela said.

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Across three jam-packed days of Creative Workshops, our Year 9 students embarked upon collaborative problem solving activities that had been specifically designed for the Timbertop context. The most important activity at Timbertop, in terms of time and in the minds of students, is hiking. Consequently, the Creative Workshops challenged students to reimagine hike food. In total, students camp for more than 50 nights during their Timbertop year. Consequently, the Creative Workshops prompted students to redesign their tents. Students develop a strong connection to the local environment at Timbertop, from Mount Buller to the Bogong High Plains. Consequently, the Creative Workshops inspired students to build on the storytelling traditions of the Indigenous Taungurong people and create their own Timbertop story.

“One of the great things about the Creative Workshops at Timbertop is that we are able to contextualise the projects,” Creative Education Collaborator, Matt Limb, said. “They spend a fair bit of time in their tents at Timbertop and they get to know the tent design pretty well. If they were able to change one component, how might they do that? They might have different ideas and perspectives to the people around them, so that sets out a collaborative challenge. We try to create situations where they can build those collaborative skills like conflict resolution, listening to other people’s ideas and understanding points of view or alternative perspectives. We do see a shift in the social environment over the three days and that is one of the powerful things about the Creative Workshops, because when you see a shift in the social environment it contributes to their attitude to learning.”

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Matt explained that activities like the Creative Workshops build a toolkit of attitudes and skills that equip students for whatever challenges they might face in the future, whether it be at Timbertop, Senior School or beyond school. “We are learning to be more explicit about the skills we are developing in Creative Education,” Matt said. “What does it mean to be a problem solver? What is the process that we could follow? When can we deviate from that process? So it’s not just implicitly building skills but for students to explicitly know that they’ve got these skills in their toolkit. We’ll continue to work with these students throughout their Geelong Grammar School journey, so it is a gradual build over time, not just one-off inoculations. It’s about understanding how students use these skills, within their subjects and beyond their subjects, in sport, art or whatever it might be. The bigger picture is enabling students to be creative in their approach to learning, to approach learning with enthusiasm and to draw on strategies that they’ve built over time that help them in each situation.”

Despite this strong platform for collaboration at Timbertop, not all of the activities during the Creative Workshops went to plan… which was also part of the plan. “Learning can be uncomfortable at times,” Matt explained.

“Sometimes things don’t quite work out. Creative Education is about having the patience and the stamina to step back and look at a situation differently and shift the way we think about something. It’s about being okay with being stuck, being okay with taking risks, and having the tools, the strategies and the attitude to do something about it. Creative Education gives power back to the students and provides independence and self-belief in their ability to be and do in whatever situation they are in.”

Creative Education cultivates the skills of collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving and problem posing. Matt suggested that the social environment at Timbertop is unique in that students have already built strong connections through Unit Life and Hike Groups, which provide a platform for collaborative problem solving. “Collaboration is not just cooperation,” he said. “Collaboration is when you build something better together than what you would have done by yourself. It is not simply working side-by-side. Building those skills is one aspect we are really focusing on through the Creative Workshops.”

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This year’s Spring Concert had a 'Knights of Cydonia' theme and the night itself – the School’s largest annual celebration of music – was filled with uplifting, powerful performances from nine student ensembles from both Senior School and Middle School, in the vein of English rock band Muse’s 2006 top-10 hit. LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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Wings to Fly “When communities collaborate through art they can express and celebrate their values, creativity and identity.” Toorak Campus students from ELC3 to Year 6 collaborated to create a stunning mosaic that breathed life into their unique expression of “wings to fly”. Guided by Art teachers Sarah Bell and Justine Siedle, with expert assistance from Artist-in-Residence, Libby McKinnon, the students spent seven weeks designing, developing, collaborating and creating. Inspired by Toorak Campus’s strategic vision of enabling “each child to discover their wings to fly”, the image of a set of wings was a rich and visually uplifting theme to spark imagination, with each year level shaping their own design brief, developing an understanding of symbols as visual metaphors. The project embraced diversity and celebrated each student’s strengths, with more than 300 individual pieces combining to create the final mosaic. Unifying the different elements and styles – from natural materials such as gum nuts and banksias pressed into clay by ELC students to intricate ceramic mandalas created by Year 6 students – resulted in a joyous explosion of colour, movement and texture, with the mosaic wings interplaying with additional pieces, including a flying owl. “Like a mother bird teaching a bird to fly.” – Oliver Gance, Yr2 “Wings to Fly to the top of your imagination.” – Andreas Agushi, Yr2 “During the making of the mosaics it was really quite calming to think about where to place the colours and how to mix and match to your design.” – Leonie Kosasi-Papdan, Yr6 “I have learned that there are many different skills and patterns used in mosaics. Mosaics around the world have ancient cultural heritage.” – Cornelia Los, Yr6 “I think they are art with tiles.” – Rupert Wallace, Yr1 “I made a mosaic and went to an art museum and there was a mosaic. I made a dog, a horse and my brother.” – Sophia West, Yr1 22

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This year’s Senior School Musical brought a bit of razzle dazzle to The David Darling Play House across three nights in Term 3. Chicago showcased 40 of the School’s brightest performers, supported by another 20 students working behind the scenes and providing the soundtrack for an incredible run of performances. LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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BOGONG HIGH PLAINS WINTER EXPEDITIONS

Countless Old Geelong Grammarians have stories, somewhat embellished, of their Timbertop year and their interaction with and love of the High Country.

As young men and women, testing the boundaries of their capacity and burgeoning adulthood, what better force to push up against, to lean into and learn our limits from than something as vast and as beautiful as the natural world. It was for these reasons that in 2014 the Timbertop programme commenced an annual pilgrimage to the Bogong High Plains to test the mettle of students and staff against the elements of this broad expanse of stunning alpine wilderness. For young people (indeed anyone) to truly care for something, we must first have a relationship with it. So it is with the natural world. In 2019, we continued our snowy crusade into the High Plains to expose students to a slightly different alpine environment than the one in our own backyard and to enable them to form a connection with a different locale – one that will hopefully stick in their memory for many years and become the basis for their own embellished Timbertop narrative. These pictures speak for themselves, but I’m sure you can appreciate the power of the relationship we are attempting to form between our students and the environment around them. We try not to over-facilitate the environmental ethics of it all but rather let the wonder of these places speak for themselves and allow this relationship to guide their care for the natural world in the years to come. This is what lies at the heart of Adventure Education. Tom Hall Head of Timbertop

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White Balloon DAY

For the second successive year, the School recognised White Balloon Day, which is Australia’s largest campaign dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. The white balloon acts as a symbol of hope for survivors of child sexual abuse and encourages them to break the silence by speaking out. It was adopted by Bravehearts in 1996 to raise awareness of child sexual abuse. As Australia’s leading child protection organisation, Bravehearts uses White Balloon Day to encourage communities like Geelong Grammar School to break the silence on child sexual abuse and renew our commitment to child safety. The School marked out a white balloon on Perry Oval at our Corio Campus, whilst our Timbertop students fashioned their own version in the snow. Our Principal, Rebecca Cody, led a small ceremony at Corio to recognise White Balloon Day and reinforce the School’s approach to child safety and healing the harms of child sexual abuse. “I remain steadfast that the School must acknowledge and learn from the hurt inflicted upon innocent children in the past,” Rebecca said. “We can only move forward if we recognise the devastating effects of childhood sexual abuse, keep sight of the learnings as to how such depravity was enabled, and by doing all we can to prevent such trauma ever being repeated.” For further information about the School's approach to child safety and healing historical harm, please visit: www.ggs.vic.edu.au/School/Our-School/healing-historical-harm

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LORNE 160

In glorious conditions on the last day of Term 3, twenty Year 11 students completed the annual Lorne 160 relay run from Corio Campus to Lorne and back again. The team departed Corio Campus just after midnight and completed the relay in a faster time than last year’s cohort; a fact that pleased the group ALMOST as much as the final fundraising figure of $44,000. The beneficiary of this year's Lorne 160 was The Power In You Project; an arm of South Geelong-based not-for-profit Community Veracity. The Project's mission is “to inspire and empower people affected by alcohol and other drugs to achieve lasting change in their lives”. Kane Nuttall, who drives the Project, was on hand to accept the cheque and said that the funds raised by the Lorne 160 ensured the Project’s survival for another year. “We’ve been running on the fumes of an oily rag for the past few years,” Kane said. “These funds will help with the building of our drop-in centre and allows us to purchase software for accurate note and recordkeeping for our programme participants.” One of the first tasks for each Lorne 160 cohort is, effectively, a pitch process where each participant recommends a charity/ not-for-profit to support and the group then decide from there. Sarah Sutherland (Yr11 He) nominated The Power In You Project and, from the time they were the nominated charity, Kane was very engaged in the Lorne 160 process. “He was even out supporting us on the run today,” Eja Collins (Yr11 Ga) said. For Eja, the whole experience has left her with a feeling of pride; pride in what the group had achieved, both in completing the 160-kilometre relay run and in all of the fundraising efforts that preceded it. “If we’ve been able to help the cause through what we’ve done in any way, then it’s been really worthwhile.”

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FLYING SOLO Year 12 at Geelong Grammar School is all about finding balance, juggling your studies with the things you have to do and things you like to do. For Scarlett Saunders (Yr12 EM), she finds peace and joy away from Corio by flying a few thousand feet above the ground in a hot air balloon. “What I love most about ballooning is how peaceful it is,” Scarlett explained. “Even though the sound of the burners can be heard from kilometres away, most of the time when they are not on, it’s surprisingly calming. I think it helps with the fact that you are rising with the sun, which starts the day in a refreshing way.” While the experience can be calming and peaceful, there is also a competitive element to hot air ballooning- particularly in the Saunders family. Scarlett’s father, Kiff, owns one of Australia’s largest ballooning companies and was the first balloonist to fly over Australia's highest

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peak, Mt. Kosciusko, and across the Snowy Mountain range. Her eldest brother, Paterson (M’14), will represent Australia at the 2020 World Hot Air Ballooning Championships in Slovenia, while Edward (M’16), a commercial balloon pilot, is chasing the absolute Australian Altitude record of 37,000ft; a record once held by Kiff. In July, Scarlett broke the Australian Women’s Altitude Record, flying ‘solo’ to more than 23,000ft above Deniliquin in the New South Wales Riverina region. While Scarlett has been on “too many flights to count”, this particular flight wasn’t one that had been meticulously planned months in advance. Due to pending changes to Class E Airspace which would see the maximum flight height lowered to 18,000ft, it was suggested to Scarlett that during the school holidays she should attempt to break the record before these changes come into effect. This required her to take a break from her studies to undergo training in altitude emergency procedures and physiology. All flights above 10,000ft require pilots to wear oxygen masks. “Reaching 18,000ft was all that I needed to make it slightly trickier for the next person to break, but currently the maximum Class

E ceiling height is at 24,500ft so I thought I may as well go higher if I can,” Scarlett said. And fly higher she did, reaching an official height of 23,714ft on what was a flight largely without incident; early strong winds and an occasionally failing pilot light were the only issues for Scarlett on her record-breaking flight. As the 2019 Year 12 cohort leave Corio Campus, their eyes turn to the adventures that await in 2020 and beyond. For Scarlett, not surprisingly, some of these will involve a hot air balloon. “Cappadocia would definitely be a cool place to go flying one day,” she said. “I think to fly anywhere in Europe would be incredible, particularly considering both its countryside and mountains are so beautiful.” Thankfully, though, Scarlett doesn’t have to fly a few thousand kilometres in an aeroplane to find new hot air ballooning challenges. “Each time feels like a new experience, as there is no direct path for balloons. It is completely up to the wind as to what your flight will entail and where you will go – in many ways, I hope my GAP year is as equally random and magnificent as my balloon flights.”

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Our school prides itself on the fact that the facilities at Corio Campus cater for a wide variety of sports. While Limeburners Bay can get a little choppy at times, freestyle kayaking isn’t necessarily one such sport. Jack Newland (Yr12 A), who this year became the first Australian junior to win a freestyle kayak World Championship medal, found a way to make it work in the Handbury Centre pool during his Senior School years. Jack travelled to Sort, Spain in the middle of 2019 to contest the ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships. Two years prior, in Argentina, Jack finished in the top-15 but was committed to improving this time around. After progressing to the final, Jack produced an incredible first run that was enough to secure third place. “It’s unbelievable, I’m so stoked. This is crazy,” Jack said, immediately after the final.

Jack’s achievement is heightened by the fact that his competitors were training week-in, week-out in conditions that mirrored those in Sort. Jack, on the other hand, could be found in the deep end of the Handbury Centre pool several nights each week with his training partner, his father Peter. “Swimming pool training gives you a lot of boat control and strength, but it doesn’t give you the feel for features and waves such as this one,” he said. Jack graduated from GGS this year and he is now in a position to really throw himself into a sport that’s already seen him compete on four continents, with his sights now set on the 2021 World Championships in Nottingham and what will be his first tilt at an open-age world title. “I’m pretty excited for the future, that’s for sure.”

ON THE (WING) ATTACK Ariana Luamanu (Yr11 A) left her mark on this year’s Netball World Cup as the youngest player to take the court in Liverpool, UK. Playing in her first major international tournament, Ariana came from the bench in Samoa’s opening game against Scotland and grabbed her opportunity with both hands, earning a starting role for their next match and proceeded to start the remaining matches at Wing Attack and led the team with 92 assists at the tournament. “It was a privilege and an honour to represent Samoa at the World Cup,” Ariana said. “It was such a surreal experience meeting and playing against all the players I grew up watching on TV.” Samoa lost their first three group matches, including one against the host nation, before winning their next four to finish 13th overall. From Armstrong Creek, Ariana came to GGS at the beginning of Year 10 and played a key role in the School’s 1st Netball premiership in 2018. She returns from the World Cup with an increased passion for the sport and a greater understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level.

“Playing at the World Cup helped me to push my game; I needed to think quicker, play smarter and stronger.” LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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PEEC CURRICULUM IN PRACTICE

The Institute of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School continues to demonstrate their commitment to Positive Education with the official launch of their Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC). PEEC is a research-based explicit curriculum created to help teachers lead dedicated Positive Education classes where students can learn the evidence-based wellbeing skills that contribute to living a healthy and fulfilling life. The curriculum is aimed at students from Early Learning (four years of age) through to Year 12, offers over 280 developmentally appropriate lesson plans and has been designed in consultation with developmental psychologists in the field of positive psychology.

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Positive Education is where the science of wellbeing meets best practice teaching and learning. Through teaching dedicated Positive Education classes, Geelong Grammar School has shown that wellbeing is a vital focus that benefits all students. Research shows that teaching life skills consistently will increase wellbeing and academic achievement in different social, economic, and cultural contexts. PEEC will enrich teachers’ foundational understanding of Positive Education so that students can flourish. The Institute’s purpose is to ‘place wellbeing at the heart of education.’ Justin Robinson, Director of the Institute believes that it is a shared responsibility to teach our young people these skills and knowledge. “This is a valuable resource for any school that is interested in increasing the wellbeing of their students,” he says. “It seems more important than ever to intentionally teach our young people and prioritise wellbeing to ensure each child has the opportunity to explore, understand and practice these skills.”

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“It seems more important than ever to intentionally teach our young people and prioritise wellbeing to ensure each child has the opportunity to explore, understand and practice these skills.”

The curriculum provides teachers with engaging information on key wellbeing domains and easy-to-read research summaries that underpin the curriculum. PEEC also provides teachers with a Developmental Scope and Sequence Framework, glossary of teaching resources, suggested reading lists and printable worksheets/scaffolds. The curriculum is also mapped to a number of existing frameworks including: Social and Emotional Learning outcomes, the International Baccalaureate, the Australian Curriculum and the Early Years Framework. Teachers know what works best for their students and have the detailed knowledge of their school context. This resource has been designed to allow teachers to have autonomy and flexibility to best meet their students’ needs. Lessons have been written to be an all-inclusive resource for educators at all levels as the curriculum has been designed by teachers, for teachers.

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The curriculum has captured the interest of schools nationally and internationally with more than 100 schools across 21 countries applying for the resource since its pre-sale period in March 2019. The curriculum has been piloted at Geelong Grammar School and Bacchus Marsh Primary School, in Victoria and international partner schools in Hong Kong and Dubai. “We chose to pilot PEEC because we felt that explicit curriculum support is extremely important. We highly value the research informed, evidence based explicit teaching that we can undertake in a confident manner. The curriculum is so flexible and provides a wonderful opportunity for responsive teaching on a daily and weekly basis,” Melinda Williams, Principal of Bacchus Marsh Primary School, said. “What can be cooler than developing emotional and social efficacy!”

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THANK YOU

Together we raised $1,173,697 through the support of 618 donors.

I am delighted that we exceeded our ambitious target of $1 million for our inaugural GGS Giving Day on Wednesday 12 June (which replaced our usual Annual Giving programme in 2019). Together we raised $1,173,697 through the support of 618 donors. I wish to thank our wonderfully generous community who gave on the day – our students are supported in their access to an exceptional education because of the generosity of people like you. My heartfelt thanks also to our matched donors, who gave so generously that all donations made on the day were tripled until we reached our target. We are truly grateful.

I am immensely proud of our community and the depth of their generosity and support for Giving Day, which was reflected in the record number of donors, including more than 300 new donors. It was a thrilling experience to witness gifts being made in real time and I would like to thank all the volunteers who manned phones on the day, including Foundation Board members, adding to the genuine sense of excitement and momentum. Giving Day really boosted our School’s wonderful culture of giving. It increased participation from across our community and raised vital funds, particularly for our new Australian Rural & Regional Scholarship, as well as other scholarships and appeals. More than $500,000 was raised for the Australian Rural & Regional Scholarship through Giving Day and, when combined with other gifts, this scholarship fund now has more than $1 million. Established to

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benefit students from remote, rural and regional areas, the Australian Rural & Regional Scholarship will enable a student who could not otherwise afford a GGS education to commence with us in 2021. I would like to thank and acknowledge the inspirational leadership of Roderic O’Connor (P’75) and Fiona Ratcliffe (Archer, Je’77). Giving Day was the Victorian winner of the Fundraising Impact Through Creativity Award at the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) State Awards for Excellence in Fundraising. I would like to congratulate our Advancement team and also acknowledge and farewell our outgoing Director of Advancement, Joanne Nitz, who has returned to Queensland and a position with The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law. I am very grateful for Jo’s input, enthusiasm and achievement over the past two years.

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APPEALS SCHOLARSHIPS:

$1,122,708

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FRIEND

2

PAST STUDENT

311

CURRENT PARENT

198

LIBRARY FUND:

$22,448 PINCOTT CLUB:

$7,000

TIMBERTOP REFURBISHMENT:

$14,541

FUTURE PARENT

DONOR TYPES

3

YACHT CLUB:

$7,000 SMALLEST & LARGEST GIFT

$1

$250,000

In total, Giving Day raised $1,122,708 for 16 different scholarships, including the David William Robert Knox Scholarship, Richard ‘Dick’ Crummer Scholarship, Tommy Garnett Scholarship and our Indigenous Scholarship Fund. As I explained in the Foundation’s 2018 Impact of Giving Report,

I believe passionately in the importance of scholarships. They are essential for the continuing diversity and vibrancy of our School.

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PAST STAFF

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PAST PARENT

275

CURRENT STAFF

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They provide life-changing opportunities for children whose families could not otherwise afford a Geelong Grammar School education and we can be proud of the contribution that the Foundation, through the generosity of its members, makes to the Scholarship programme. Scholarships and bequests are priorities of the Foundation’s future support for the School. It was wonderful to see so many people attend our recent Biddlecombe Society lunches in Melbourne and Sydney; hosted by our new Chair of the Biddlecombe Society, Charlie Sutherland (P’86), and with our outgoing Chair of Council, Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), as special guest speaker. Membership of the Biddlecombe Society has increased to 209 members during 2019, with 221 bequestors in total (not all bequestors are members

*Donors may fit into multiple categories

of the Biddlecombe Society). It is with heartfelt appreciation that I thank all those who have provided a Bequest in their Will to the Foundation in support of the School. I am continually inspired by the extraordinary generosity of our community, who enable our students to access the exceptional opportunities of a Geelong Grammar School education. Thank you! Penny McBain Chair, Geelong Grammar Foundation

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SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY “When you come from a tiny girls’ school with 300 pupils and walk into the Dining Hall at Corio, with a capacity of 500 girls and boys from all over the world, you have just entered a whole new universe”, according to Fiona Ratcliffe (Archer, Je’77). Her friend and fellow Tasmanian, Roderic O’Connor (P’75), recalls that he didn’t know much about Geelong Grammar School, except that it was big and interstate. “I wasn’t daunted by the move to the School, and aside from the feeling of separation from family, I began to imbibe the all-encompassing ease of the other pupils, teachers and the ethos of the School. This point in time changed my way of thinking, and from then on, my life was irrevocably changed. I never looked back and still to this day have this Grammar feel within me.”

“The Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship uniquely offers students guidance and is a perfect way to assist our very important rural and regional communities.” The opportunities of a Geelong Grammar School education had a seminal impact on Fiona and Roderic’s lives. They are keenly aware that they were “fortunate” to have had parents who could allow them to attend the School; equally, they know that a GGS education merely is beyond the means of many rural and regional families. This knowledge has motivated them to establish a new scholarship specifically for students from remote, rural or regional Australia. “We really wanted to allow another child to be part of this world and reap the benefits.” This scholarship has been an idea that has travelled a long road of discussion to fruition. They are hopeful that others will join with them to raise enough money to eventually provide several scholarships. For them, this collegial effort is vitally important, because the scholarship will provide more than assistance with fees. “We would like to draw from the donor pool to create a mentoring group,” explains Roderic. “So often, children are nurtured through the School, and then when they leave, it can be very confronting. To have a group of people who have been there all through your journey and are willing to continue into adulthood as someone you can turn to for guidance, or simply to listen, is very valuable.” The contribution of rural families, over many generations, to the diverse education on offer at Geelong Grammar School is valued and esteemed by our community. The new Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship will ensure that this relationship continues. Roderic and Fiona would like the recipient to be “a child who is a good contributor to their community and tries hard to do their very best… to further themselves and make a difference in society.” For this lucky person, that first experience of entering the Dining Hall at Corio may well be the start of something extraordinary. To make a donation to the Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship, contact the Geelong Grammar School Advancement Office on +61 3 5273 9349.

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AUSTRALIAN RURAL AND REGIONAL SCHOLARSHIP “The School is renewing its commitment to our rural and regional communities and it could not be a more important time to provide scholarship support.” – Rebecca Cody, Principal Rural and regional students have been a consistent thread of our story since the very beginning, when the sons of pioneering Western District pastoralists enrolled at what was then the Geelong Church of England Grammar School. Their energy and confidence helped shape the character and spirit of our School. The Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship recognises that many students from rural and regional areas now need assistance to afford a Geelong Grammar School education. Scholarships are a vital ingredient in the lifeblood of our School. Scholarships provide life-changing opportunities for a diverse range of students, whose presence enriches the whole school community. Currently, more

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than 25% of the secondary students at GGS receive some form of financial assistance through our Scholarship programme. The Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship will prioritise students from rural and regional areas, providing financial assistance and mentoring opportunities during and beyond GGS. The Geelong Grammar Foundation believes in the transformative power of education. The Foundation would like to extend this opportunity to children whose families could otherwise not afford a Geelong Grammar School education. In 2018, the Foundation funded scholarships for 53 students. That number continues to grow through the generous support of our community.

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↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

COMMUNITY NEWS 1942

1944

Edwin (Sydney) Crawcour

William George Dyer (Bill)

AO (FB’42), who was born

Middleton OAM (Cu’44), who

26 December 1924 and died

was born on 28 September

on Saturday 12 October

1926 and died on 2 July 2018,

2019, pioneered Asian and

was described as “Australia’s

Pacific studies at Australian

first greenie” by long-serving

universities. Sydney began

Liberal MP for Corangamite,

school at Glamorgan in 1930

Stewart Macarthur AM

and left Corio in 1942 with the

(OGC’56). The son of Antarctic

Wilkins’ History Prize and the Old Geelong Grammarians’

expeditioner Dr Fred Middleton, Bill was born in Nhill,

Prize for Dux of the School. He was a Sub-Prefect,

where his father was a local GP. He attended GGS from

Member of the 2nd XVIII Football team and Secretary

1941-1944, with brothers John (Cu’42), Jim (Cu’47) and

of the Classical and Literary Society. He won a Major

David (Cu’69) also attending the School. Bill was Secretary

Resident Scholarship to attend Trinity College and held

of the Natural History Society at Corio before studying at

the R & L Alcock Scholarship, which he resigned in order

the Victorian School of Forestry in Creswick. He became

to enlist in the 2nd AIF in February 1943. After undergoing

a Forester with Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) and

Signals training (on languages and coding), Sydney was

in 1959 was appointed District Forester for the Wimmera

posted to the Australian Special Wireless, serving in New

Forest Nursery in Wail, near Dimboola, specialising in

Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville with the Allied

desert tree species. For 14 years, Bill hosted a popular

Translator and Interpreter Section. He was discharged

programme on ABC Wimmera Radio, talking about

as a Sergeant in December 1945 and returned to Trinity,

gardens, birds and natural history. When the Bolte State

graduating Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 1948. He then

government proposed clearing and selling land in the

went on to King’s College, Cambridge, where he graduated

nearby Little Desert region, Bill led the local conservation

MA in 1951. He followed this with studies at the Australian

campaign to save the area, which became the Little Desert

National University (ANU) in Canberra, where he was

National Park in 1969 and “a testament to his political

awarded his PhD in 1954 in the Research School of Pacific

and personal skills”. The Little Desert campaign led to

Studies. He went on to become the Head of Department,

the formation of the Conservation Council of Victoria

Far Eastern History, Research School of Pacific Studies at

and, ultimately, the Land Conservation Council, which

ANU from 1970-1980 and was Acting Director of ANU’s

independently reviewed public land use. Bill continued

Australia-Japan Research Centre from 1982-1983. He was

his advocacy for the preservation of native vegetation

Professor of the University of Singapore’s Department

and bird habitat through the Trust for Nature Victoria. He

of Japanese Studies from 1984-85, a visiting Fellow at

was appointed Supervisor of the Potter Farmland Plan

Oxford University’s Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies,

for ecologically sustainable agriculture, which became

Senior Associate of Melbourne University’s Department of

the blueprint for the Landcare movement. In 2003, he

Japanese and Chinese Studies from 1990-99 and President

helped establish the Stretton Group, an environmental

of Monash University’s Japanese Studies Centre from

advocacy group focused on forest and fire management.

1996-97. He was also a Volunteer Guide at Melbourne’s

“He was one of the most dedicated, most important and

Royal Botanic Gardens from 1997-2010. Sydney received

most enthusiastic conservationists of our time,” Macarthur

the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government

said. He had a lifelong love of birds. As a boy he would

in 1986 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of

cycle from Nhill as far as the Lawloit Ranges in search of

Australia (AO) in 2016 for distinguished service to higher

bird life, particularly malleefowl and diamond firetails.

education, particularly to Asian and Pacific studies and

Bill hosted many visiting ornithologists and worked with

languages as an academic and administrator, and to

Scottish ornithologist James McDonald on the first Harold

Australia-Japan trade and cultural relations. Sydney is the

Hall Expedition of the British Museum. He was awarded an

father of Michael Crawcour (FB’74).

OAM in 1999 for service to conservation, the environment and land management. Bill’s wife Joan died in 2013 and he is survived by their two children, Sally and Peter.

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George (Neil) Kennison (Ge’49), who was born on 2 March 1932 and died on 6 August 2019, was remembered as “one of life’s true gentlemen”. He was the son of Robert and Marion Kennison of Newtown and the younger brother of Angus (Ge’43) and Peter (Ge’46). He attended Geelong Grammar School from 1943-1949 and was a House Prefect and a Company Sergeant Major of the School Corps. A talented pianist, Neil was a member of the School’s Musical Society. An avid sportsman, he was a member of the 1st XVIII Football team, the 2nd VIII Rowing crew and the 1949 School Swimming Champion. After graduating from GGS, Neil attended Longerenong Agricultural College from 1950-1951 and was an active member of the Old Geelong Football Club from 1950-1963. During that time he played only one match, in 1954, but served on various committees and was Social Secretary in 1962. He met his wife Jill in 1959 and they were married in the School Chapel in 1961. He worked for C.S.R Chemicals and Dow Chemicals before retiring to Peregian Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 1988. Neil is survived by his three children, Caroline, Sally and Alexander.

1954

1956 Richard Southby KStJ (FB’56) was appointed as a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in the Priory of the United States of America for the Faith and in the Service of Humanity. Dr Southby has been involved with St John Ambulance Australia for many years and served as Vice Chancellor of the St John USA Volunteer Corps. He is the Professor of Global Health and Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. He was previously Director of Health Services Research and Teaching in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at The University of Sydney. Richard is President Emeritus of the Royal Society of Medicine Foundation, a past President of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, a past President of the Australian Public Health Association, and President of the International Health Policy and Management Institute. He has also been Director of the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives, which is the major professional development program for senior health professionals in the United States Armed Forces and Department of Veterans Affairs, and has been a Visiting Professor and consultant with numerous universities and organisations around the world.

1959

Hon. Stephen Charles AO QC (M’54) presented the 10th annual Tony Fitzgerald Lecture at Griffith University in August, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Fitzgerald Report that uncovered widespread corruption in the Queensland government. A retired Victorian Supreme Court judge, Stephen used the lecture to discuss the Federal government’s proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission, which he suggested was “too weak and too narrow”. Stephen is a Member of The Australia Institute National Integrity Committee and has been a leading voice in calling for the establishment of a National Integrity Commission. He had a distinguished legal career. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in Victoria in 1975, lectured at both Melbourne and Monash universities, served as Chairman of the Victorian Bar and President of the Australian Bar Association, and was appointed a Judge of Appeal in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1995 – a position he held until he retired in 2006.

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Antony David Charles (Tony) Blazey (P’59), who was born on the 4 October 1941 and died on the 10 June 2019, went from a cadetship at Coles to Managing Director of garden care supplier Hortico. Tony attended GGS from 1952-59, followed by his brother Clive (P’62), son Antony (M’92) and daughters Jacqueline (Ga’05) and Amanda (Ga’09). An enthusiastic sportsman, Tony was a member of the 1st XVIII Football team, 2nd XI Cricket team, represented the School in Shooting in the Clowes Cup and Early Roberts Trophy, won the Eton Fives competition in successive years (1958-1959) and the Steeplechase at the 1959 School Sports. Beyond GGS, he was an active member of the Old Geelong Football Club, both as a committee member and player, winning the club best & fairest at Como Park in 1962 and 1967, and as a member of the 1966 premiership team. Described as “wildly cheeky and rebellious”, Tony went straight from school into a cadetship at Coles before joining the family company, Hortico, in 1965 and eventually becoming Managing Director. He was later Managing Director of ASX-listed company, Defender, and acquired a rendering business in Adelaide before retiring to his beef cattle property, Northwood Farm, on the Goulburn River flats just north of Seymour. He is survived by his wife, Cathy, and three children.

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1949


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The Diggers Club and the gardens of Heronswood and St Erth to the Foundation to ensure that their important work continues well into the future. While Clive said that he was “pretty chuffed” with the recognition, he was happy just to wander around and admire gardens. “To me gardening is horticulture plus art and that’s what I get pleasure from.”

1964 David Robert Essington

1959

Lewis (P’64), who was born on 10 May 1946 and died on 10 September 2019, was an influential public servant

Angus Macneil AM (M’59) became a Member of the

who spent two decades as

Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to primary

Director of Water Rights and

industry and to the community. From his property at

Markets for the Victorian

Green Park in Rand, Angus has served the Riverina district

government and oversaw the

of New South Wales for more than 50 years. He spent 10 years as Treasurer of the Lockhart and District Hospital Board, was President of the Lockhart Golf Club and was a founding member and inaugural President of the town’s Apex branch. He played a pivotal role in establishing Woodhaven Aged Care Hostel in Lockhart, and served as Chairman from 1990-2016. Angus has also been a member of the NSW Farmers Association, Grain Producers Australia, the Urana Shire Council and Landcare NSW. “I just wanted to contribute back to society that had given me such a good start in life, I guess that was really the motivator,” he told The Rural newspaper.

1962 Clive Blazey AM (P’62) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to horticulture, conservation and the community. A self-confessed backyard gardener, Clive and his wife Penny founded The Diggers Club in 1978 and published their first seed catalogue the same year. Concerned about the impact of mass production, genetically modified crops and a supermarket-driven food supply, Clive pioneered the revival of heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties in Australia. “We were pretty scientific,” he told the Mount Evelyn Mail. “We were always trying to offer different plants to what was common and mainstream, and when we went overseas we realised there were different species of tomatoes, so we collected those seeds and trialled them back here.” The Diggers Club has grown into Australia’s largest gardening club, with more than 75,000 members, while Clive has authored eight books (including the seminal The Australian Vegetable Garden) and countless articles for the Diggers Garden magazines. He has travelled the country on speaking tours, linking the role of gardening to sustainability and conservation as a campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation and Seed Savers Exchange (USA). In 2011, the Blazey family established the Diggers Foundation, gifting ownership of

38

development of water trading and the creation of Victoria’s water register. The grandson of prominent Australian industrialist, Essington Lewis, who was successively Managing Director and Chairman of BHP as well as Director-General of the Department of Munitions during World War II, David was the only son of Betty (née Price) and Robert Brook (Bob) Lewis AM (M’36). His early life was spent in Adelaide, where his father was Master of St Mark’s College at the University of Adelaide, with sisters Diana (Cl’61), Trish and Margie. He joined Timbertop in 1961, then continued at Corio from 1962-1964, where he was a Sub-Prefect, an active member of the Aeropagus, a member of the Library Committee, editor of The Corian (1964) and received the G.T. Russell Prize for English Literature and a Commonwealth Scholarship. He returned to South Australia to complete an Honours Degree in History at the University of Adelaide in 1969, taught briefly in Australia and Indonesia, before completing a Master’s Degree in Sociology at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. His public service career began in Tom Uren’s Department of Urban and Regional Development before stints in Adelaide and Melbourne as a senior policy adviser in natural resources, planning and housing. David started working on water rights in Victoria in 1995, with a particular focus on redefining entitlements to water from the Murray River. He established the Murray Water Entitlement Committee and, through extensive consultation with farmers, horticulturalists, water corporations, environmental groups, government agencies and local councils, published Sharing the Murray (1997), followed by The value of water: a guide to water trading in Victoria (2001). He made a significant contribution to the Victorian Government’s 2004 white paper, Our Water Our Future, and coordinated a team of water engineers, scientists, economists, accountants and IT specialists to build the Victorian Water Register in 2007. In May 2019, David co-authored the Inside Story essay Why has the Darling dried up? with former Murray-Darling Basin commissioner John Langford. Former colleagues, Tim Cummins and Campbell Fitzpatrick, suggest David’s work on water rights and markets is one of the reasons why Victoria has escaped the “watergate” scandals surrounding the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. David is survived by his wife, Deirdre, and their children Isabel and Jack. LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


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1967 Andrew Lemon AM (FB’67) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to community history and the racing industry. Andrew is a multiple award-winning historian, best known for his three volume History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing ( joint winner of the 2009 Australian Society for Sports History biennial book prize). He has written biographies, local, company and school histories, including The Master Gardener: A Biography of T. R. Garnett (2018) and The Pride of Miss McComas: 111 years of preparatory education at Geelong Grammar Glamorgan (1999). He co-authored Poor Souls, They Perished: The Cataraqui, and Australia’s Worst Shipwreck, which won the 1986 FAW Wilke Prize, while his book A Great Australian School: Wesley College Examined (2004) was shortlisted for the New South Wales state Premier’s History Award. In 2005, The University of Melbourne awarded him the degree of Doctor of Letters for his published work. In 2012, he was a John H. Daniels Research Fellow at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Virginia, USA. Andrew has been a long-serving volunteer for the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, editing the Victorian Historical Journal for a decade, serving as a Councillor from 2009 and then President until 2014. He was also Treasurer, Vice President and President of the Friends of the State Library, served on the State Library Development Committee, the Board of the State Library of Victoria for eight years, and was a member of the Heritage Council of Victoria

Reverend Jeff O’Hare (Cu’79) was appointed incumbent of the Parish of Christ Church Belleville in Ontario, Canada, in September. A celebration of Jeff’s new ministry was led by the Bishop of Ontario, The Rt. Rev. Michael Oulton, on October 6. Jeff has served in both rural and city parishes and as Senior Chaplain at Geelong Grammar School, both at Corio and Timbertop. Jeff also served as executive team member at the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Melbourne with oversight of Chaplaincy and diocesan partnerships, focusing on indigenous reconciliation and the journey and settlement of Southern Sudanese refugees. Most recently he was vicar at Christ Church in Daylesford before moving to Canada.

1979 Ian Darling (P’79) was nominated for Best Documentary at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards for The Final Quarter, about AFL footballer Adam Goodes, which screened across Australia on Network 10/WIN in July. The documentary tells the story of the final three years of Goodes’s career, when the cheers turned to boos and the proud Indigenous footballer became a lightning rod for intense public debate. Crafted by using only archival footage, the film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June (where it was also nominated for Best Documentary) and has received critical acclaim. “The documentary is a powerful portrait of a three-year period, not only in the vexed public life of Goodes, but in the Australian media and society.” The Age’s chief football writer, Jake Niall (P’83), said. Ian and his team at Shark Island Productions has made the film freely available for every sporting club and school in Australia, supported by a suite of educational resources, including a 46-lesson planner for Years 5-12 developed by Cool Australia.

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↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

Pictured at the 1979 40 Year Reunion:

1979 40 YEAR REUNION

1. David Cordner (Cu’79) and Andrew Jackson 2. John Sevior (P’79), Christopher Perry (P’79) and Melissa Heath ( Je’79)

9. Alison Gibson (Gordon, A’79), Sue Kessell (McKendrick, Cl’79) and Jane McKellar (Cl’79)

3. Fergus Cameron (FB’79), Sandy Carr (FB’79) and Guy Barnett (M’79)

10. Rohan Yates (Cu’79), Kate Hayward ( Je’79) and Justin Miller (Cu’79)

4. David Julian (A’79) and Mal Hiscock (Fr’79)

11. Penelope McKeown ( Je’79), Catherine Milne (Cl’79) and Anna Glynne (A’79)

5. Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), Jessica Leahey (Klingender, Cl’79) and Fred Kininmonth (M’79)

12. Christopher Perry (P’79) and Anthony Borya (Glamorgan ‘73)

6. Antony Lynch (Edgar) (Cu’79), Anita Ward (Putkunz, A’79) and Glenn Heath (FB’78)

13. Tracey Malady (Robertson, Fr’78), Dee Nicholas (Cl’79) and Emma Harvey (A’78)

7. Amanda Starkins (Slipper, Je’79) and Fiona Royston (McNeil, Je’79)

14. Richard Lester (P’79) and Alastair Boyd (M’79)

8. Murray Wallace (Fr’79), Meredith Treseder (Cl’79) and Fred Kininmonth (M’79)

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1979 40 YEAR TIMBERTOP REUNION 2

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10

11

12

13

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Pictured at the 1979 40 Year Reunion:

4. Nick Heath (Cu’82) and Tim Broers (Cu’82)

1. Off to hike up Mt Timbertop: Georgina

5. Anna Pappas (A’82), Barry and Kerry

Gubbins (Cl’82), Ali Moore ( Je’82), Jen Clarke (Ryan, Je’82), Cathie Grey ( Jones, A’82), Libby Ross (Milledge, Je’82), David Findlay (M’82) and Simon Wilkins (M’82) 2. Charles Angas (Cu’81), Russell Cornwall (Cu’82) and Andrew Dunoon (Cu’82) 3. Cate Campbell (Robinson, Cl’82) and Margot Spencer (Redden, Cl’82)

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Jackson (Box, Cl’82) and Ruth Vagnarelli (Hickinbotham, Cl’82) 6. Tom Wenzel (P’82), Petille von Bibra ( Je’82) and Mark Ritchie (P’82) 7. Mal McCullough (A’82), Nigel Peters (Fr’82) and Jim Gray (A’82)

10. Anthony Keach (M’82), Ted Landy (M’82) and Matthew Burgess (FB’82) 11. Alex Gilks (Fr’82), James Sutherland (P’82) and Philip Galloway (Fr’80) 12. Richard Jowett (P’82), Robert Lofven (P’82) and Mark Heydon (P’81) 13. Naomi Hatton (Bradley, Cl’82), Peter Hatton and Penny Olden (Preston, A’82)

8. Mary-Ann Lewis ( Je’81) and Liz Peach (A’82) 14. Andrew Janosi (FB’81) and Bill Fry (FB’82) 9. James Flintoft (Cu’82) and Paul Davis (A’82)

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1981

James Sutherland (P’82) has

Sue Peden AM ( Je’81) was made

Football Club Board of

a Member of the Order of

Directors. An avid Cats fan,

Australia (AM) for significant

James was Cricket Australia

service to the community.

CEO from 2001-2018 and has

Sue has been on the board of

built a reputation as one of

Carers Australia since 2015 and

Australia’s foremost sporting

President of Carers Victoria

administrators, having worked

since 2017. Sue was keen to

as Finance Manager at the

recently joined the Geelong

Carlton Football Club before

contribute to Carers Australia after caring for two of her four children, who were both

joining Cricket Australia as General Manager in 1998. In

born with a rare, life-shortening genetic disorder. Having

his 17 years as CEO of Cricket Australia, James led the

personally experienced the issues faced by carers, Sue

organisation through a period of huge growth. Revenue

has been an active volunteer with MJs, raising funds for

grew from $50 million to nearly $500 million, attendance

Glenallen School, McAuley Women’s Refuge, Malvern

figures increased by 137% and there were increases in

Emergency Food Programme and the Avalon Centre, as

participation (by 250%) and sponsorship (500%). Also of note

well as volunteering and fundraising for Care to Compare,

during that time were the launch of the Big Bash League,

the Neuroscience Department of the Royal Children’s

a huge growth in women’s cricket and several World Cup

Hospital and Malvern Scouts. Sue has worked for more than

victories. “James has such a wide breadth of experience

25 years in advertising and communications with leading

in many facets of the sporting industry, and to be able to

creative agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett,

add him to the Cats board is a significant step for the club,”

George Patterson and Clemenger BBDO, before establishing

Geelong Football Club president Colin Carter said. “There

her own business. Sue has a Bachelor of Commerce from

is nothing in the world of sport that James has not worked

The University of Melbourne and has mentored students

through, and he has done so with great success over a long

through the Access Connections Mentoring Program since

period. He is a strong leader and we are looking forward to

2014.

his knowledge and expertise helping the club in his role as a director.”

1982

1983

Georgina Gubbins (Cl’82) was a finalist in the recent Weekly Times Shine Awards celebrating rural women who

Jim Whalley (P’83) has been

make a real difference to their communities, businesses

busy attracting business and

and industries. As Managing Director of Manaroo

investor interest in South

Farms, Georgina runs a prime lamb and beef enterprise

Australia since being appointed

at Heywood in the Western District. Her data-driven

the State’s inaugural Chief

approach charts every animal’s productivity, from genetics

Entrepreneur last August. A

and pregnancy to intramuscular fat and nutritional intake

former RAAF fighter pilot,

in order to make informed decisions. The support she

Jim co-founded Nova Systems

has received from others during difficult times in her life

after leaving the Air Force in

has made Georgina passionate about giving back to the

2000. The company, which specializes in engineering and

industry and encouraging other women to take leadership

project management for the defence industry, has grown to

roles, believing their input to the agriculture industry

employ more than 600 people in Australia, New Zealand,

is greatly needed. Georgina volunteers on industry

Singapore, Norway and the UK. The Nova Group now

committees, government boards and is currently the Chair

encompasses civil aerospace company GVH Aerospace,

of LambEx 2020, a biennial sheep industry conference

geospatial mapping and information systems specialists

taking place in Melbourne from July 1-3.

Geoplex, and software developer Two10Degrees. As South Australia’s Chief Entrepreneur, Jim’s vision is to attract start-up companies in defence, digital, creative industries and agribusiness to the State. He has been leading the process of transforming much of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site (known as Lot Fourteen) into an entrepreneurial innovation precinct, which is now home to the recently established Australian Space Agency. “We want to give people – I’m going to use the term – a ‘safe space’ to fail,” Jim told Adelaide’s InDaily newspaper, noting that he had failed repeatedly in some of his own business ventures and had learned important lessons from the experience. Part of Jim’s role is to provide advice to the South Australian government on entrepreneurship policy as Chair of the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. South Australian Minister for Industry and Skills, David Pisoni, said that Jim

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help raise the profile of South Australia as the best state in the nation to start and grow a successful business”. Jim is a graduate of the Royal Air Force’s Empire Test Pilots’ School

Francois Tetaz (A’88) received

(ETPS) in the UK, holds an MBA from the University of

the 2019 AACTA Award for Best

Adelaide and a Science Degree (Physics) from UNSW. He

Original Score for the movie

is a director of the Adelaide Festival, American Chamber of

Judy and Punch (2019),

Commerce in Australia (AMCHAM) and Australian Naval

an Australian black

Infrastructure. He is a member of the Sir Ross & Keith

comedy-drama film directed

Smith Fund Advisory Committee, the Defence Innovation

by Mirrah Foulkes. Composer,

Steering Group and the Council of UniSA.

mixer and music producer,

1984

Franc has previously won the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) / Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) 2006 Feature Film Score of the Year Award for the movie Wolf Creek (2005). He scored Luke Doolan’s short film Miracle Fish, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010. He won an ARIA for his work on Gotye’s ‘Making Mirrors’ album in 2011. In 2012 he co-wrote and produced Bertie Blackman’s 4th studio album, ‘Pope Innocent X’ and the soundtrack to the light sculpture ‘Fiat Lux’ with Drew Berry (M’87) for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. That year he also scored the music for Underground: The Julian Assange Story, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2013 Franc won the Grammy Award for Record of the

Richard Marles (P’84) was elected unopposed as deputy leader of the Labor Party as part of a leadership change following May’s federal election loss, with NSW MP Anthony Albanese replacing Bill Shorten as leader. Richard

Year at the 55th annual Grammy Awards for ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ (Gotye, featuring Kimbra). The record was produced by Wally De Backer (Gotye) and engineered and mixed by Wally and Franc.

has served as the Member of Parliament for Corio since 2007 and won his seat comfortably on May 18 with a swing of +4.18% of the primary vote. He has risen steadily through the ALP parliamentary ranks over the past decade; appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry in 2009, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs in 2010, given the additional role of Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2012, and became Minister for Trade and a member of Cabinet in 2013 (when Kevin Rudd defeated Julia Gillard for leadership of the Labor Party) before the ALP lost government at the 2013 election. In opposition, Richard was appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, then Shadow Minister for Defence in 2016. “I’ve always wanted to be in the Labor movement, I think that was clear to me from the first day I went to university,” Richard told the Geelong Advertiser. “I wanted to make a difference; trying to help people most vulnerable in our society was the motivation for me. Thirty-plus years down the track from when I joined the Labor Club (at Melbourne University), I would say that idealism burns as bright inside me today as it did then.” Richard graduated from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws with Honours. He started his career as a solicitor with Melbourne industrial law firm Slater and Gordon before becoming legal officer for the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) in 1994. He was elected TWU National Assistant Secretary four years later and became Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 2000.

1992 Sally Wilson (Cl’92) performed alongside past GGS Director of Music, Tom Healey (Staff 1981-2006), in the School’s Chapel of All Saints as part of the 11th Annual Windfire Music Festival in May. A mezzo-soprano with Melbourne Opera, Sally was also accompanied by her concert pianist husband Mark Kruger, with Tom playing the organ. Tom was the President of this year’s Windfire Music Festival committee, with Corinne Robin (McHarry, Hermitage’51) serving as Vice President. The Festival also featured current Music School staff member John Shawcross (Staff 2018-) (piano) performing at the Basilica of St Mary’s, while Tom conducted the closing concert at the Basilica. Tom joined GGS as Organist and Choir Director in 1981 and was Director of Music from 1994-2005. He led the Choir on two European tours, winning second place in the International Youth Music Competition in Vienna each time. He returned to the Geelong region in 2014 and directs the Vox Angelica Geelong Chamber Choir and is Organist and Choir Director at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Geelong.

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SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

1988

was an “outstanding business person with the right skills to


↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

Pictured at the 1989 30 Year Reunion:

1989 30 YEAR REUNION

7. Chloe Keogh (Blackwell, Cl’89), Alexander Turnbull (P’89) and Sarah Gatenby-Doyle (Gatenby, Je’89)

1. Peter Clark (Cu’89), Andrew Smith (A’89), James Bufton (Cu’89) and Wes Ward (M’89) who incidentally, are still after 30 years, the current 4x100m GGS Record Holders

8. Mich John (A’89), Deborah Edwards (Griffiths, Fr’89) and Edwina MurphyDroomer (Murphy, Ga’89)

2. Jeremy Cox (Cu’89), Anabelle Guest (Cockram, Ga’89), Sophie Plowman (Cl’89) and Peter Clark (Cu’89)

9. Toby Brown (Fr’89) and Jennie McInerney (Bromell, Cl’89)

3. Charlotte Lindsay (Austin, Je’89), Scott Dunstan (M’89), Nick Fairfax (M’89) and Jane Maisano (Oliphant, A’89)

10. Katie Carmichael (Morgan, Cl’89) and Scott Vickers-Willis (A’89)

4. Scott Austin (A’89), Martin Salter (P’89) and Myke Mollard (P’89)

11. James Cunnack (P’88) and Helen Kent ( Je’89)

5. James Pettit (Fr’89) and Emma Lee (A’89)

13. Nicola Somers (Gordon, Cl’89), Adam Furphy (M’89) and Charlotte Lindsay (Austin, Je’89)

12. Tom White (Fr’89) and Derek Hunt (P’89)

6. Jane Meinert (Lindblade, Ga’89), Ralph Ashton (FB’89) and Kate Khamly (Lillie, Ga’89)

14. Stuart Holmes (FB’89) and Duncan Barber (FB’88)

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Pictured at the 1999 20 Year Reunion: 1

Liz Kuiper (A’99), Laura Laybourne (English, He’97) and Georgie O’Dwyer (Povey, Fr’99)

2. Chas Forrest (Glamorgan ‘93), Toby Cook (FB’99), Laurence Peck (FB’99) and Robbie Sands (Glamorgan ‘95) 3. Reunion organisers Mark Leslie (M’99), Fiona Mackintosh (Cl’99), Fi Thomson (Cl’99) and Nick Ashton (P’99)

4. Nik Searby (He’99), Nicola Dyer (Dunn, He’99) and Phoebe Jefferson (Gleeson, He’99) 5. Tim Bayles (FB’99), Anita Mirchandani (Ga’99) and Jess Gardner (Couch, He’99) 6. Alex Lyons (Fr’99) and Luke Johnstone (Fr’97) 7. Amanda Maple-Brown (Ga’99) and Jeff Noble (Cu’99) 8. Lorenzo Sillitto (Cu’99), Dan Redman

9. Lucy Stegley (Cl’97), Op Hutachareon (P’99) and Afzan Jamalullail (Amir, Cl’99) 10. Pini Luechaikajohnpan (P’99) and James Mackinnon (M’99) 11. James Royle (M’99) and Julie McClelland (de Crespigny, Ga’99) 12. Sunday Ganim (Ga’98) and Charlie Hinckfuss (FB’99) 13. Ben Crookes (A’99) and Nick Ashton (P’99)

(Cu’99) and Cat Boston (Viggers, Fr’99)

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1999 20 YEAR REUNION


↓ SECTION 05 — MAIL ROOM

OGG SPORT APS PAST STUDENTS’ GOLF DAY Twelve players represented Geelong Grammar School at the APS Golf Day at Woodlands Golf Club in Mordialloc on Friday 22 November. In the Arthur Robinson Cup Teams Event (the best 10 scores from a school) Wesley College finished first on +2.3 with Geelong Grammar School coming a very respectable fourth with a score of -3.1. The President's Trophy (best player per school) was awarded to Peter Scott (Cu'77) from Geelong Grammar on +1. Congratulations to all players!

OLD GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB WOMEN’S RESERVES PREMIERS

WOMEN’S INTERSCHOOL GOLF A team of four women, past students of Geelong Grammar

Congratulations to the Old Geelong Women's Reserves who created history at the Old Geelong Football Club by bringing back the first piece of female silverware to Como Park. After losing the decider last year to West Brunswick, the Oggettes led from start to finish against Old Xaverians before ultimately winning by fourteen points. A huge congratulations to all the girls, the coaching team and also to Vicky Tan who was judged best on ground.

School, are being sought to participate in the 2020 Women’s Interschool Golf Challenge Cup on Monday 23 March at the Sorrento Golf Club. Please contact Katie Rafferty in the OGG Office on email: oggs@ggs.vic.edu.au or tel: +61 3 5273 9338 to register your interest.

OGG GOLF DAY

The team is made up of past students from several schools. OGGs playing on the day included Lauren Simpson (Ga'09), Emma Calvert (Cl'16), Lizzie Slattery (He'13), Erin Strong (Ga'14), Georgina Rule (EM'13), Caroline Edwards (He'09), Jemma Allsopp (Ga'15) and Judy McKay (He'13).

The OGG Golf Day was held on Friday 8 November at the Barwon Heads Golf Club in extremely difficult weather conditions. Congratulations to Kirsten Scudamore (A’80), the overall women’s winner of the Tommy Garnett Cup, and to Phil de Fégely (FB’78), overall men’s winner of the Boz Parsons Cup. Boz Parsons (M’36) joined everyone in

Pictured at the OGG Golf Day:

the clubhouse and was on hand to present the cup to Phil. Thank you to Boz and his wife Barbara for being there for

1. Phil de Fégely

the presentation.

(FB’78), overall men’s winner of

Many thanks go to Jon Malpas (Fr’97) for organising the

the Boz Parsons

OGG Golf Day, to Alex Suvoltos (FB’97) for his assistance

Cup with founding

on the day and to Zara Brookes (Morrison, Cl’82) for her

OGG Golf Day

efforts in trying to encourage more OGG women to join

organiser Tony

in the event. The OGG Golf Day will take place again next

Carty (Cu’60) and

year on Friday 23 October.

Boz Parsons (M’36) 2. Kirsten Scudamore (A’80), the overall women’s winner of the Tommy Garnett Cup with 2

event organiser Jon Malpas (Fr’97) 3. 4BBB Female Winners Sophie Holloway (Cl’83) and Zara Brookes (Cl’82) with event assistant Alex Suvoltos (FB’97)

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LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


Ruby Barkmeyer (Ga’18), Elle Leydin (A’18) and Allie Smith (A’17) were part of the Australian Netball League-winning Victorian Fury team this season. The Fury won an incredibly tight grand final against NSW Waratahs by a solitary goal on Sunday 30 June, with Allie playing a key starting role for the team. On the back of a stellar season with the Victorian Fury, Allie has been named in the initial Australian squad for the Netball World Youth Cup to be held in Fiji in 2021. Allie will train with the squad in February 2020 before the final squad is announced in August.

Jock Landale (M’13) represented Australia in September at the Basketball World Cup in China. He was in the starting five for every game as Australia charged into the semi finals, only to lose in heart-breaking fashion to Spain in double overtime. Jock came from the bench in the Bronze Medal match against France, in which Australia led for the majority of the game only for France to finish strong and claim the bronze. It’s been an incredible couple of months for Jock, having played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Summer League before playing for Australia against Team USA at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in front of upwards of 50,000 fans. Jock is playing for Zalgiris in the Lithuanian national league this season before having another crack at earning an NBA contract in 2020.

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NETBALL


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2001 Philomena (Min) Manifold’s (He’01) multi-disciplinary book about the geological history of the Great Ocean Road, Written in Stone: Reading the rocks of the Great Ocean Road, is about to go into its third print run. Released in December 2017, the first print run sold out within months. The book combines creative writing, sketches and photographs that chart the 135 million year story of the Great Ocean Road and its geology. Philomena is a geologist, creative writer, illustrator and educator. The daughter of Louise and Robert Manifold (M’66) of Camperdown, her work focuses on the intersection of Art and Science - she holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science (Geology) and a Diploma of Creative Writing from Melbourne University. "This book is a homage to the land that meets the ocean," Min explained. "A wild place to be treasured." The publication of Written in Stone: Reading the rocks of the Great Ocean Road was crowd-funded through Pozible and is

1993 Roland Wu (P’93) was an inspirational guest speaker at the Leavers’ Celebration Ceremony (previously known as Speech Day) in October. Roland began his GGS journey

available at all major bookstores in Melbourne, including the Melbourne Museum, Readings and Hill of Content, and along the coast.

2008

in Barwon House in 1989, went on to Timbertop and was in Perry House in Senior School, where he was a School

Justin Lewis (Cu'09) and Angus Robb (Fr'08), performing

Prefect, a House Prefect and a member of the Overseas

as acoustic duo Jack The Fox, opened the School's

Students’ Committee. He returned to Timbertop as an

inaugural Battle of the Bands at Corio on Sunday 26

Assistant in 1994 before studying at Sydney University and

May. At the conclusion of their set, Justin and Angus took

working for KPMG in Hong Kong. In 2002, Roland joined

their place at the adjudication table to hear the talents of

his mother’s textile company and is involved mainly in

current GGS students - over 15 bands from Year 5 to Year

textile trading, helping customers (including international

12 performed at the Battle of the Bands, including a band

fashion brands like Polo Ralph Lauren) source material

from Timbertop, who were judged the overall winner.

for clothing production. He also established the Cocoa

Justin (guitar/lap slide) and Angus (vocals/didgeridoo/

Lab social enterprise, which operates a café in Kowloon

harmonica) have been performing as Jack The Fox since

that provides above minimum wage on-the-job training to

2015. They have featured on Triple J Unearthed and their

blind people and assists them find permanent employment

debut single, ‘Brother’, has recorded more than 4 million

as coffee baristas and pastry chefs. More recently, Roland

plays on Spotify.

started a social inclusiveness and empathy education programme for secondary students in Hong Kong called Baking in the Dark. Roland works mainly in Hong Kong and China and has been the President of the Old Geelong Grammarians Hong Kong Branch since 2004. In that role Roland helps to build strong connections between Old Geelong Grammarians and the current Geelong Grammar School community in Hong Kong. Since 2012, this has extended to his involvement in the Lee Hysan Foundation, which provides an annual scholarship for a student from Hong Kong to join GGS from Year 8. Roland is a member of the scholarship selection panel, chaperones families on their pre-enrolment trip to Australia and acts as a mentor throughout each student’s five-year journey at the School. Watch Roland’s Leavers’ Celebration Ceremony speech: https://vimeo.com/geelonggrammarschool/roland

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2013

Charlie Vickers-Willis (FB’10)

John He (M’13) and Gemma Sullivan (EM’13) have launched

appeared alongside an

a business that develops plastic-free packaging products.

all-star cast in the Australian

Tuckr sells alternative packaging, such as beeswax wraps

feature film Palm Beach, which

and cotton mesh bags, on its website. John and Gemma

screened in cinemas across the

said that their goal was to “make our communities a more

country in August. Directed

environmentally conscious place, one small habit at a

by Rachel Ward and starring

time". "Australia took an amazing step towards a greener

Bryan Brown, Sam Neil and

future when our major supermarkets abolished plastic

Greta Scacchi, the drama/

grocery bags," they explained. "However, plastic bags for

comedy premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

handpicking fruits and vegetables are still widely used,

Charlie’s casting follows his appearance in season two of

whilst many supermarkets create totally unnecessary waste

Italian-British historical drama Medici, which screened on

by pre-wrapping natural products.” They hope that through

Netflix and SBS in Australia. Charlie was the 2010 recipient

developing natural and sustainable alternatives, "every single

of the Juan José Garcia Prize for Drama and School Captain

one of us can make a difference by making sustainable

at GGS. He completed a Bachelor of Arts (Music Industry)

choices in our everyday lives.”

at RMIT before studying Acting at one of the world’s most prestigious drama schools, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London. He featured in a number of performances at the Central and was cast alongside Peaky Blinders’ actress Gaite Jansen in the UK psychological thriller, Death in Shoreditch, before appearing in seven episodes of season two of Medici, which was filmed in Italy and the UK in 2018.

2011 Bella Cameron (EM’11) recently completed her Master of Law at Cambridge (LLM). She received a First Class Honours for every

2017

subject and was consequently

Tarryn Love (A’17)

elected to be the 2019 Bateman

(pictured below, with her

Scholar of her college, Trinity

mother Lisa (left) and

Hall.

Christine Couzens MP, Member for Geelong

2012

(right)) was the guest

Lauren Solomonson (Fr'12) received a Geelong Youth

Event in July. Tarryn

speaker at the Barwon Health NAIDOC Week used her speech, which

Award in June. The Geelong Youth Awards recognise and celebrate young people (aged 12 to 25 years) who have made significant contributions in the areas of leadership, community work, personal care for others, social justice, sport and the arts. A Paralegal at Geelong law firm Coulter Roache, Lauren was nominated in the Leadership and Positive Role Model category for her work with the Deakin Law Students’ Society Geelong, Deakin Law School Advisory Board and Deakin Law School Alumni Chapter; all activities where she has built stronger relationships with local law firms, helped connect students with leading employers and assisted the next generation of legal professionals transition into the workplace.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

was re-published in the Geelong Advertiser, to highlight the importance of the Uluru Statement and the Victorian government’s proposed treaty legislation. “Constitutional recognition, treaty and truthtelling are essential to moving forward together as a nation,” Tarryn said. “I will reach out to as many people as I can and help them grow their understanding, because understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is when we can reach a state of true recognition, reconciliation and national healing. And education is the key to all of this.” Tarryn is in her second year of studying a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University, majoring in Indigenous Studies and Sociology. She aims to study Law, focusing on Aboriginal affairs. She also plays VFL for Geelong and is an accomplished artist – she recently held an exhibition at the Courthouse Youth Arts gallery in Geelong with her sister Kelsey entitled Ngeerrangoon.

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2010


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2009 10 YEAR REUNION 1

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Pictured at the 2009 10 Year Reunion: 1. Sarah Bland (Fr’09), Em Clarke (Fr’09) and Basil Mackinlay Campbell (A’09) 2. Sam Begg (Fr’09), Tom Cohen (M’09), Johari Lok (Cu’09), Herbert Watts (FB’09) and Nick Barker (Fr’09) 13

3. Myvawny Costelloe (A’09), Elena Wilkinson (Cl’09), Eleni Nott (A’07) and Bea Litchfield (Cl’09) 4. Michael Jordan (Cu’09), Fearghus Wallis (P’09) and John Luxton (P’09) 5. Max White (FB’09) and Ard Nithipitigan (FB’09) 6. Poppy McBain (Ga’09), Daisy Gubbins (He’09) and Annie Blunden (He’09) 7. Namo Visudhipol (P’09) and Chrissy

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Suvoltos (He’09) 8. Anton Schwarz (M’09), Tom Cohen (M’09), Michael Powell (M’09) and Hamish Kelso (M’09) 9. Lauren Klein (A’09) and Anna Landale Cl’09) 10. Ed Sleigh (He’09), Rachel Bartlett (Cl’09), Eng Meng Chuah (FB’09) and Callum Gale (FB’08) 11. Stefanie Blake (Ga’09), Amanda Blazey (Ga’09) and Jack Salter (M’09) 12. Sabrina Tee (Ga’09) and Claire Hamilton (Cl’09) 13. Nick Zheng (Cu’09) and Rafiq Saiful Aznir (Cu’09) LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


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PAST PARENTS’ NETWORK

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1. At the PPN Autumn Cocktails: Robina Maconochie with Belinda Henry, Robert and Susie Sutherland (Hopkins, Fr’76)

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2. PPN Co-Chair, Markela Peck with Helene and James Gibson, and the host Shadda Abercrombie 3. Matthew and Nicola Forwood with Rowena and Alistair McArthur 4. Tully Barton-Spillane (Cu’18) and Niccolo Merlatti (M’18), with Past Parent Caron Wilson-Hawley and son Nick Hawley (M’18)

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5. Sallyann Pollard, Pene Patrick, Michael Bellofiore, Kate Paton and Kevin Wilson 6. At the PPN Spring Picnic: James Paterson, Francesca Hargrave and Sue Home 9

(Maberly Smith, Clyde’56) with Andrew Kincaid leading the way during the garden tour 7. Richard Bouvier (Cu’71) with Karen Ng and Julie-Anne Gibney (Ross, Cl’82) chatting to the host, Jenny Lansell 8. Reconnecting before the picnic lunch 9. The gourmet lunch is served!

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The Past Parents’ Network has held two very successful events this year: the Autumn Cocktail Party in May with well over 100 guests enjoying the kind hospitality of Drew and Shadda Abercrombie (parents of James (Fr’08) and Bayles (P’11)) in Toorak; and, most recently in November, the Spring Picnic at ‘Willawong’, Merricks North, in the exquisite gardens of Jenny Lansell (parent of Jeremy (Glamorgan’67) and Oliver (Bb’82)) with over 50 guests in attendance.

Visit PPN online at www.ggs.vic.edu.au/School/Past-Parents

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

10. Touring the magnificent gardens

It was particularly heartening to see many ‘new’ families coming along to both events, thus continuing their GGS connection. All past parents are encouraged to keep an eye out for future PPN invitations. Should you know anyone who may not be receiving their GGS Past Parent emails, but would like to - please suggest they contact Iga Bajer at GGS on events@ggs.vic.edu.au to update their details.

Join the PPN closed Facebook Page by searching: Geelong Grammar Past Parent’s Network

Co-Chairs, GGS Past Parents Network: Sally Kincaid and Markela Peck

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OGG PRESIDENT affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods and fires. Under the banner of OGG Connect, we are hoping to create a ripple effect across our community by acknowledging and encouraging OGGs to reach out and connect with other OGGs in need. A DYNAMIC COMMITTEE

Our new OGG President, Ian Coltman (A’77), pictured above with outgoing OGG President, Margie Gillett (Cordner, Cl‘71), attended GGS from 19651977, commencing at Bostock House and navigating his Senior School years during the School’s transition to coeducation. His father Kay (FB’46), uncle Barrie (FB’50), sister Robyn Fitzgerald (Coltman, Li’75), brother Chris (A’80) and sons, George (FB’14) and Hugh (FB’16), were all educated at GGS. After winning the 1,500m and 3,000m at the 1977 School Sports, Ian studied Law and Economics at Monash University. He has practiced as a lawyer with leading firms in Melbourne and London, held senior roles at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and as Head of Legal for the Australian arm of one of the world’s largest fund managers, Invesco, before starting his own legal practice, Coltmans Legal, in 2011. Ian joined the OGG Committee in 2014 and was elected President at this year’s AGM.

Like many OGGs after leaving school, I remained in close contact with old friends and attended reunions but had little contact with the School itself. It wasn’t until my two sons started at Corio in 2009 that I re-engaged with GGS. At that time I became involved with the John Landy Club Committee and in due course was asked to consider joining the OGG Committee to provide legal support following the retirement of Peter McIntosh (M’69). It was only when I attended my first Committee meeting in 2014 that I became aware that the OGGs were involved in much more than just reunions, and supported the School, our alumni community and their common heritage in a number of ways. Since then I have become increasingly interested in the ability of the OGG Association to facilitate OGGs supporting each other, and as a parent of recent school leavers, I

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am particularly concerned about the wellbeing of our younger members trying to find their way in the world. A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY The Committee has introduced and is exploring further initiatives to support our OGG community. Two years ago, in response to survey feedback, we introduced an online OGG Mentoring programme. More than 80 OGGs have connected through the programme, sharing knowledge, expertise and experience. The mentoring programme strengthens existing OGG networks and delivers tangible benefits for both mentors and mentees. I encourage any OGGs who wish to participate to register through the Alumni section of the School website. At the instigation of Sandy Mackenzie (FB’59), the Committee is wanting to promote and celebrate OGGs supporting other OGGs adversely

I have greatly enjoyed working on the Committee with OGGs from quite different eras to mine whose school experiences, while different, were also remarkably similar. At the OGG AGM in May, the Committee lost nearly 40 years of combined experience due to the compulsory retirement of several long-serving committee members. OGG Vice Presidents Nina Anderson (Thomas, Cl’93) and David Henry (FB’70), as well as Hermitage Old Girls’ representative Deirdre Griffiths (He’68), all retired after 10 years of service to the Committee. Pin Affleck (Cl’97) also retired as a committee member after eight years of service, whilst Margie Gillett (Cordner, Cl’71) stepped down after four years as President. Margie has left very large shoes to fill, and I am grateful for the insights, encouragement and support she has given me. Fortunately, she remains on the Committee as the Clyde Old Girls’ representative. In the five years since I joined the Committee it has been a pleasure to work with all our retiring members and I thank them for their significant contributions. The AGM also saw the appointment of three new Committee members, Tristan Dwyer (Fr’01), Elly Grace (Siperki, Cl’94) and Susie Donald (He’75), who is the new Hermitage Old Girls’ representative. As well as injecting fresh enthusiasm, these appointments mean that we continue to have a broad spread of skills and age groups represented on the Committee, with co-Vice Presidents Annabel Bainger (Southey, Cl’02) and Simon Kemp (Cu’70), Treasurer Will Richardson (M’02), Lucinda Bordignon (Cl’03), Andrew Burgess (FB’81), Bill Ferguson (P’72), Sandy Mackenzie (FB’59), Rob Perry (A’83) and of course (last but far from least) our tireless Honorary Secretary, Katie Rafferty (Spry, Ga’84). LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


↓ Tamie Fraser (Beggs, He’56) drew a

Despite the fact that OGGs are widely dispersed around Australia and the globe, our alumni attended reunions and events in record numbers in 2019. This year, more than 620 OGGs attended reunions,

crowd of more than 200 older OGGs.

with overall reunion attendance up almost 8%, which reflects the strength of ties created in a boarding and day boarding environment. We also had strong attendance at other recent OGG events, including the Riverina & NE Branch function in Albury, Timbertop Open Morning, OGG Business Lunch, Principal’s Tom Loughnan (Fr'05) speaks to Year 10 students at the 17th annual Careers Discovery Day in Term 2

Receptions in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and the 20th annual Tower Luncheon, where guest speaker

The constitution of the OGG Association provides that GGS staff who have served at least 20 years may be appointed Honorary OGGs. This recognition includes not just academic staff, but anyone who has served the School, from administrative staff, to catering, security and cleaners. This year Honorary OGGs appointed at the AGM were Diana Nichols, Dianne Martin, Merrilyn Ritchie, Josie Stewart and Laila Wilson. We warmly welcome them to our OGG community. Ian Coltman (A’77) OGG President

2019 Rainfall decile ranges

With much of rural Australia reeling from the worst drought in decades and recent bushfires stretching from South Australia to central Queensland, we acknowledge and encourage the many members of our OGG community who are reaching out to support other OGGs in need. There is a strong tradition of the OGG family coming together in tough times; from rebuilding St Wilfrid’s at Mount Duneed after it was burnt to the ground in 1944 to the recent donation of fodder from a farmer in Victoria to a drought-stricken OGG in western New South Wales. There are many practical ways OGGs can support other OGGs impacted by natural disasters, including donating fodder, lending equipment/labour or offering a holiday house. You might want to simply reach out and connect with one of your GGS schoolmates via Facebook or telephone. Reaching out and renewing relationships is a two-way process that has its own reward. Starting a conversation can also be a powerful and positive way to connect with someone who might be struggling. We want to promote and celebrate OGGs connecting to support each other to create a ripple effect across our community. If you have a story to share please email: lightblue@ggs.vic.edu.au

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700kms from Victoria to drought-stricken western NSW. “So much appreciated; both the hay and the thought and concern that came with it.”

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AN ENGAGED ALUMNI


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SYDNEY FUNCTION

OGG GATHERINGS

Pictured at the 2019 Sydney Function: 1. OGG NSW Branch President Will Wilson (P’78) and committee member Fiona Newman (MacGillivray, The Hermitage ‘65) with past parent, Peter Gillespie, father of Ali (He’10) and NSW Branch committee member Myles (M’08). 2. Xara Kaye (He’12), Sarina Hu, James Palmer (P’99) and past GGS staff member Matt Leeds 3. John Paul (Cu’54) with Principal, Rebecca Cody 4. Henry Voss (Cu’09) and Warwick Johnson (FB’77) 5. Xara Kaye (He’12) and Ali Gillespie (He’10) 6. Ane McBain (Ga’13), Alex Knights (EM’11), Jack Kincaid (P’11) and Tim Vickers-Willis (FB’11) 7. Those gathered listened to Rebecca Cody speak of news of the School 8. Kate Fagan (Squire-Wilson, Ga’93) and current parent Ann Bashford 9. Rowena Galvin (Bennett, Je’87) and Nick Graham-Higgs (Fr’80) 10. Steve Hocking (P’79) and Roger Squire-Wilson (M’59) 11. Past parents Julian and Lizanne Knights with Rebecca Cody 12. (Left) Sandra and Nick Fairfax (M’89) with (right) Katherine and Hamish Macdonald (M’94)

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BANGKOK GATHERING Pictured at the 2019 Principal’s Reception: 1. Picha Wattanasiritham (P’92) and Brenton Mauriello 2. OGG Thailand Branch President, Dejvit Santikarn (Cu’73) with OGG Thailand Branch committee member, Charlie Chanarat (Cu’74) 3. Nicholas Langdon, Simon Hollands (Cu’70) and Faye Hollands 4. Mechai Viravaidya (P’59) and Principal, Rebecca Cody 4

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5. Frank Sreesangkom, Steve Santikarn (Cu’75), Charlie Chanarat (Cu’74), Dejvit Santikarn (Cu’73), Mechai Viravaidya (P’59) and Daniel Hayward (FB’78)

KUALA LUMPUR GATHERING Pictured at the 2019 Principal’s Reception: 6. Guests in Kuala Lumpur 7. Suzanne Sia and Nicole Sia 8. Cindy Ng and Chris Leighton (Cu’71) 9. OGG Malaysia Branch President, U-En Ng (Cu’92) with Principal, Rebecca Cody 6

10. John van Hoboken (Fr’84) and Robert Dallimore 11. U-En Ng (Cu’92), Alia Tun-Ismail (Ga’11), Sulayman Tun-Ismail (FB’10) and Registrar, Angela Mellier 12. Eric Tan (Cu’86), Hee Lan Ng and Steven Sia

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TASMANIA BRANCH GATHERING Pictured at the 2019 Tasmania Branch Gathering: 1. Jeremy Ranicar (M’63), Marguerite Ranicar, Melanie and Neil Hawthorne (Cu’70) 3

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2. Kate and Roderic O’Connor (P’74), President of the Tasmanian OGG Branch with Rebecca Cody, Principal 3. Fiona Moses (Wallace, Je’88), Jane MacKinnon (Ayers, Clyde ‘65) and Nick Moses 4. Anthony Taitt with School Council

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member, Jan Hamilton and Ferdie Foster (Cu’57) 5. Lisa Hayes (Landy, Cl’81) and Angie Hope (The Hermitage ‘70) 6. Antony Gunn (P’78), Penny Rigney (Harvey, Cl’95), George Rigney and Eve Gunn

WESTERN DISTRICT GATHERING Pictured at the 2019 Western District Gathering: 7. Nick Bradley (M’93), Rick Fleetwood (P’71), GGS staff member Garry Pierson and Emma Pierson (Bayles, Cl’87) 8. Dougall Hamilton (Cu’13), George 7

Macdonald (FB’10) and Tom Gubbins (M’85) 9. Sally Beggs and James Bufton (Cu’89) 10. GGS staff member Marina Oman (Levy, Je’76), OGG Committee Treasurer, Will Richardson (M’02) and Trina Weatherly (Kelly, Clyde ‘71) 11. Roland Hope (M’66), Bill Weatherly (M’66)

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and David Bufton (Cu’96) 12. GGS staff member David Oman (P’66), Josephine and David Levy (M’77) 13. Verity Whitehead (Nettlefold, Glamorgan ‘52), OGG Committee member Sandy Mackenzie (FB’59) and Jane Starey

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RIVERINA & NORTH EAST VICTORIA OGG TIMBERTOP MORNING

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Pictured at the 2019 Riverina Gathering:

Pictured at the 2019 Timbertop Morning:

1. GGS staff member David Oman (P’66), Principal, Rebecca Cody and OGG Riverina and NE Victorian Branch President, Sandy Mackenzie (FB’59) 2. Prue Smith and Diana Austin 3. Anthea Atkins, Roland Heetel (M’84) and Annie Heetel 4. Jane McMicking (Turnbull, Cl’77) and Sally Stewart (Sutherland, Cl’84) 5. Chloe Stewart (Cl’13), Annabelle Stewart (Cl’16) and Harry Stewart 6. Celeste and David Collins (P’55) 7. Frank Austin (Cu’58) and Russell Simpson (M’56) 8. Stephen Crooke (Cu’68) and David Palmer (P’59) 9. James Laycock (P’90), Liz de Steiger (Henderson, Cl’91) and Tom de Steiger (Cu’90) 10. At the GGS stand at Henty Field Days were David Oman (P’66) and David Williams (M’47)

11. Jennie Angliss, Director of Community Engagement, Brendan McAloon, GGS staff member Garry Pierson and Arthur Angliss (P’60) 12. Sammy Wallace-Smith (Fr’12), Tenny Lang (EM’12), Trix Taylor (EM’12), Lily Lilburne (EM’12) and Annabel Adams (Cl’12) 13. Jim Peart (M’47) viewing the Timbertop Archives 14. Graham Lee (FB’74) and Simon Winchester (FB’74) 15. Sian Martin-Jankowski (P’10), Anna Hames and Bob Jankowski 16. Head of Timbertop, Tom Hall spoke to those gathered in the Dining Hall before a tour of the campus at the OGG Timbertop Morning 17. Alan Hood (FB’59) with his family: grandson Tommy, daughter Le-Anne and wife Barbara

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OGG BUSINESS LUNCH Dr Marianne Broadbent was an inspired choice as guest speaker at the Melbourne OGG Business Lunch by event organiser, Nina Anderson (Thomas, Cl’93). In more of a ‘fireside chat’ style, Nina asked Marianne questions that revealed knowledge, advice and information highlighting the breadth of Marianne’s experience and provided something for everyone in an audience that ranged in age groups from 1953 to 2017 leavers. Thank you to Nina for another enjoyable and informative Business Lunch.

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Pictured at the 2019 OGG Business Lunch: 1.

Stephanie Krstevski, Tom Rafferty (A’16), Lily James (Glamorgan ‘02),

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Harry Stephens (Glamorgan ‘03), Rupert Champion de Crespigny (Cu’10), Henry Thompson (Cu’16) and Sarah Thompson

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(Cl’12) 2.

OGG Committee member Andrew Burgess (FB’81) with Tamsin Jowett and Richard Jowett (P’82)

3. 4.

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Guests at the OGG Business Lunch Tony Walker (FB’64) and guest speaker Dr Marianne Broadbent

5. Georgina Robinson (Cl’17) with her father

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James Robinson (FB’77) 6. Adam Wang (Cu’97), Hamish Cole (M’94), event organiser, former OGG Vice President and Nina Anderson (Thomas, Cl’93) 7.

Vivienne Ritchie (Knox-Knight, Clyde ‘53) with her daughter Ros Adams (Ritchie, Cl’76) and Peter Chomley (Ge’63)

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OGG MOTORING EVENT The 9th running of the annual OGG Motoring event took place on Sunday 10 November. Special thanks to Tony Blakeley (M’77) for again providing the venue for the lunch break, in the grounds of his most beautiful property ‘Wormbete’. Over 40 individuals participated in the navigation and touring event in a great selection of cars.

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The day concluded back at GGS Corio beside the Main Oval for afternoon tea, with first place going to Chris McKeown (FB’70) and Simon Waters (FB’69) (pictured below with David Henry (FB’70) (right) beside the 2000 BMW 540 V8.) Congratulations and thanks to event organiser David Henry and his devoted assistant Belinda Henry. The OGG Motoring Event will take place again next year on Sunday 8 November.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


OGG v Old Geelong Collegians Golf Day, Barwon Heads Friday 6 March 2020 Women's Inter-School Golf Challenge Cup, Sorrento Golf Club Monday 23 March 2020 1980 40th Timbertop Reunion Saturday 28 March 2020 HOGA Autumn Lunch, Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club Friday 3 April 2020

Hermitage ‘49) 6. A toast to the School 7.

Courtney Pern (P’64), Richard Molesworth

2015 5 Year Reunion Saturday 4 April 2020

(M’66) and Charles Henry (FB’67) 8.

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The 20th Annual Tower Luncheon, for OGG, COGA and HOGA members who left school 50 years ago or more, was held on Saturday 9 November. Pictured at the 2019 Tower Luncheon: Guests ranged in year groups between 50 to 80 years out of School, the eldest 1. Prue Plowman (Manifold, Clyde ‘63) and being 99-year-old Bill Charles (Ge’37) David Gove (M’53) 2. The Chapel Service before the Tower Lunch who also read beautifully in the Chapel Service. Tamie Fraser AO (Beggs, 3. Tamie Fraser (Beggs, The Hermitage ‘53) The Hermitage ‘53) was guest speaker with OGG President, Ian Coltman (A’77) and shared fascinating, humorous 4. Tony Plowman (FB’56), Peter Chomley and insightful moments from her life, (Ge’63), Hubert Paas (Ge’65) and Ida Pass captivating the audience of over 200 5. Alison Roach (McDowall, The Hermitage ‘53) and Lyn Mulligan (Bleakley, The people. TOWER LUNCHEON

Gillian Trahair (Howell, The Hermitage ‘60), Christina Hayward (Pym, Clyde ‘55)

OGG ACT Branch Function, Canberra Tuesday 28 April 2020

and Eda Ritchie (Beggs, Clyde ‘59)

OGG NSW Branch Function, Sydney Wednesday 29 April 2020 OGG Qld Branch Function, Brisbane Thursday 30 April 2020 1

2

1970 Clyde School Reunion, Woodend Sunday 3 May 2020 Old Geelong Grammarians Annual General Meeting, Corio Tuesday 5 May 2020 2000 20 Year Reunion Saturday 20 June 2020 OGG UK Branch London Dinner Wednesday 24 June 2020 2010 10 Year Reunion Saturday 22 August 2020 OGG SA Branch Function, Adelaide Friday 28 August 2020

3

COGA Fun Cup Golf, Sorrento Golf Club Friday 11 September 2020 OGG Timbertop Morning Saturday 19 September 2020 1970 50th Timbertop Reunion Saturday 19 September 2020

4

1980 40 Year Reunion Saturday 17 October 2020 OGG Golf Day, Barwon Heads Friday 23 October 2020

5

6

Tower Luncheon Saturday 7 November 2020 OGG Motoring Event Sunday 8 November 2020

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For information on any of the above events, please contact Katie Rafferty, Alumni Manager on tel: 03 5273 9338 or email: oggs@ggs.vic.edu.au

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HERMITAGE OLD GIRLS’ ASSOCIATION 1.

Janet Yeates (Bone, The Hermitage ’77), Lucienne Kelly (Collins, The Hermitage ’77), Jeanie Crispin (Buntine, The Hermitage ’77) at Old Girls’ Day

2. Sue Warburton (Gooch, The Hermitage ‘61) and Jenny Hensell (Price, The Hermitage ‘60) at the HOGA Autumn Lunch 3.

Jenny Jackson (Doak, The Hermitage ‘66) and Rosalind Beyer (Doak, The Hermitage ‘63) at Old Girls’ Day

4. At Old Girls’ Day were Desiree Cohen (Horne, The Hermitage ‘68), Vicki Hambling (The Hermitage ‘68), Di Ross-Harris (Harris, The Hermitage ’68), Jan Koch, (Campbell, The Hermitage ’68), Pauline Greaves (Harvey, The Hermitage ’68) and Guest Speaker, Janice Simpson (The Hermitage ’68) 5. At the HOGA Autumn Lunch were Naida Hutton (Glen, The Hermitage ‘68), Jen Stewart (Speirs, The Hermitage ‘68), Jill Nicholls (Holmes, The Hermitage ‘68), Belinda Blake (The Hermitage ‘68) and Rosemary Brennan (The Hermitage ‘68) 6. Victoria Hickman (Carlyle, The Hermitage ‘75), Anne Wood (Grove, The Hermitage ‘71), Hilary Davies (The Hermitage ‘68), Glenda Barr (Holmes, The Hermitage ‘75) and Jenny Joyce (Nall, The Hermitage ‘75) at Old Girls’ Day 7.

Xandra Weber (Giles, The Hermitage ‘48), Shirley Whitaker (Lamb, The Hermitage ‘52), Beverley Foster (Smith, The Hermitage ‘52) and Judy Oakley (Lamb, The Hermitage ‘56) at the Autumn Lunch

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3

HOGA has had a busy and very successful year with the functions that we have held. We started the year off with what is now an annual event, The Autumn Luncheon, held at the Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club. The Luncheon was held on Friday 29 March, with 33 attending. From the chatter and laughter in the room, it was evident that everyone had a lovely time with friends from school days. Next year, the Autumn Luncheon is being held on Friday 3 April. Our Old Girls’ Day and Annual General Meeting was held at GGS in the Darling Hall on Saturday 7 September, with 67 ladies attending. Our guest speaker this year was past student Janice Simpson (The Hermitage ‘69), who gave us a very humorous and entertaining talk on her bike riding experiences around Europe. The HOGA Golf Day was held at the Barwon Heads Golf Club on Monday 30 September with 72 ladies attending. A lovely lunch was provided before Judy Chirnside (Sanders, The Hermitage ‘66) entertained us with the many trials and tribulations she encountered during her business life. The HOGA Committee presented Proud to be Women, the History of the Hermitage book to the Year 12 Girls from The Hermitage House. This is the second year we have done this, and the girls really appreciate the gesture. During the year many reunions were held, reports of which will be in the Newsletter. We are hoping to hold a HOGA reunion in Adelaide in the New Year, so those living in Adelaide, please keep an eye out for details.

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2

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5

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The annual COGA Jumble Sale was held at Toorak Uniting

CLYDE OLD GIRLS’ ASSOCIATION

Church Hall on Thursday 27 June. Profits of around $2300 were sent to Isabel Henderson Kindergarten (IHK) in Fitzroy, in aid of underprivileged children and families. Coordinator Jane Loughnan (Weatherly, Clyde ‘70) did a wonderful job organising the sales team of more than 20 Clyde Old Girls, with Simon Cole and Michael Loughnan doing the heavy lifting and helping with transport of donated goods. The annual Fun Cup golf was played at Barwon Heads on 6 September. Teams from Clyde, St Catherine’s and

1. At the Jumble Sale produce stall Roo Rawlins (Hornabrook, Clyde

top four players for Clyde were Lesley Griffin (Vincent,

Clyde ‘68) and Janet Gordon (Affleck, Clyde ‘64)

Clyde ‘60), Sheila Little (Vincent, Clyde ‘63), Roo Rawlins

2. Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation, Dr Penny McBain with Margie Gillett (Cordner, Cl’71) at the COGA Old Girls’ Day Luncheon 3. Ros Stansmore (McArthur, Clyde ‘62) and Julie Cole (Baird, Clyde ‘68) at the Jumble Sale 4. At the COGA Fun Cup Golf: Back L-R Tinks Urquhart (Austin, Clyde ‘71), Anna Tucker (Kimpton, Clyde ‘71), Jo Armytage (Barr-Smith, Clyde ‘69). Eda Ritchie (Beggs, Clyde ‘59), Sandy Taylor (Dalrymple,

Toorak College battle to claim the honours each year. The

‘59), Anne Stoney (Peardon, Clyde ‘62), Andrea Wilkinson (Clarke,

(Hornabrook, Clyde ‘59) and Susie Sutherland (Finlay, Clyde ‘59). Toorak College emerged triumphant with 143 points, ahead of Clyde in second place on 141 points. Next year the Fun Cup will be held on Friday 11 September 2020 at Sorrento Golf Club.

Clyde ‘75), Lesley Griffin (Vincent, Clyde ‘60), Anne Stoney (Peardon,

The COGA AGM and Old Girls’ Luncheon was held at Royal

Clyde ‘62), Sheila Little (Vincent, Clyde ‘63), Gay Morton (Howard,

South Yarra Tennis Club on Sunday 13 October. Our guest

Clyde ‘57), Susie Sutherland (Finlay, Clyde ‘59), Pip Heard (Lawrence,

speaker was Dr Penny McBain (Foster), current Chair of

Clyde ‘71),

the GGS Foundation Board and past parent. Penny was an

Front L-R Deb Calvert (Moore, Clyde ‘65), Heather Cameron (Dalrymple, Clyde ‘75), Sybil Baillieu (Barr-Smith, Clyde ‘68) and Ann ‘Roo’ Rawlins (Hornabrook, Clyde ‘59)

5. At the Jumble Sale book stall, Belinda Philp (Laidlaw, Clyde ‘59),

excellent speaker with a remarkable life story and career. After graduating in medicine at Melbourne University, she spent 30 years in IVF at private clinics and the Royal

Dizzy Carlyon (Clapham, Clyde ‘58), Fern Henderson (Welsh, Clyde

Women’s Hospital. Among her special achievements was

‘59) and Christina Hayward (Pym, Clyde ‘55)

the successful delivery of gorilla babies by caesarean section

6. Eda Ritchie (Beggs, Clyde ‘59) and Sheila Little (Vincent, Clyde ‘63) at

with a surgical team at Royal Melbourne Zoo.

the Fun Cup Golf

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STAFF Glen Albert Bechly (Staff 1966-96), who was born on 15 February 1933 and died on Wednesday 11 December 2019, was an influential presence at Geelong Grammar School for 30 years, teaching Languages and Classics, and as Housemaster of Connewarre, Jennings (now The Hermitage) and Francis Brown. Born in Queensland, Glen attended Maryborough State High School before studying at Queensland Teachers College (which became the Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education in 1976 and eventually part of the Queensland University of Technology) in Brisbane. He taught at primary schools in Maryborough, Duckinwilla Creek and Charters Towers, before returning to Brisbane to study a Bachelor of Arts (German and Latin) at The University of Queensland. He taught at Brisbane Grammar School and Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) before moving to Germany with his wife Jill (née Stewart) in 1961, teaching at Berlitz School in Munich and the International School in Hamburg, where he was appointed Deputy Headmaster. Glen joined GGS in 1966 and taught at Timbertop for two years before moving to Corio to succeed John Glover (Staff 1933-69) as Head of Modern Languages, teaching German and Latin. In later years he expanded his repertoire to include Classical Civilizations. “Typically, Glen struck the young initially as awe-inspiring, even rather terrifying, and there was no doubting his discipline or his moral power,” Michael Collins Persse explained. “Gradually, the fatherly human being was revealed beneath.” Glen was Housemaster of Connewarre (then a boys’ boarding house in Middle School) from 1973-75, then Jennings (now The Hermitage) in the first two years of girls’ boarding houses in Senior School, from 1976-77, and finally Francis Brown from 197887. He was also the Teacher-in-Charge of Tennis, organised the Year 10 Workshops and was a tutor in Perry House. Glen was remembered as “one of those good and faithful servants who understood and enriched (the School) by his sheer goodness and wisdom”. He is survived by his children, Marcus (M’86) and Gabrielle Patterson (Bechly, Cl’93).

Betty Laurine Watson (Staff 1975-90), who was born on 28 March 1928 and died on 13 September 2019, taught English and English Literature at Corio for 16 years. Born at Werris Creek, near Tamworth in northern New South Wales, Betty studied at New England University College (now the University of New England) and began teaching at Lismore High School, where she met her husband, Don, who taught Mathematics. Betty and Don raised five children, with Don serving as Warden of the RAAF Academy at Point Cook while Betty taught at Werribee High School alongside writer Helen Garner (Ford, He’60). She was brought to Corio by then Headmaster Charles Fisher in 1975 and

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helped ease the integration of girls as a tutor in Jennings (now The Hermitage), assisting Housemaster Glen Bechly (Staff 1966-96). The family moved to Corio in 1976 and Betty was appointed Head of English soon after, sharing her love of Camus, Orwell, Greene, Achebe, Sassoon and Shakespeare with a generation of GGS students. A lifelong learner, in addition to her Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education from New England, Betty completed a Bachelor of Literature and Master of Arts (Hons); writing her Master’s thesis on the novels of Iris Murdoch. She also gained Diplomas in Librarianship and Women’s Studies and published research on Australian writers Barry Oakley and Patrick White in academic journals. An avid traveller all her life, she joined school trips to South Africa (during the depths of apartheid), Thailand and Nepal. After retiring from teaching, Betty settled in Footscray with weekends at the family farm in Bacchus Marsh, and spent her later years in Byron Bay. She lived her life surrounded by books on all manner of topics, particularly literature but also history, philosophy, languages, art and travel. Betty is survived by her children, Katrina, Norval, Ashley (Li’77), Randal (M’82), and Frederick Gavin (A’86), and nine grandchildren.

Murray Guest (Staff 19941998), who was born on 18 December 1959 and died on 29 October 2019, was Head of Timbertop for four years before spending 21 years as Headmaster of The Armidale School (TAS) in northern New South Wales. Murray attended Sydney Grammar School and studied at The University of Sydney, majoring in Economics and gaining a Diploma of Education. He taught at St Clare’s College in Waverley (NSW), Shore School, Berkhamstead School (UK) and Cranbrook School, before being appointed Head of Timbertop in July 1994. During his four years at Timbertop, he contributed to the development of a strategic plan to grow the campus, which included the purchase of an extra 45 hectares and the building of additional boys’ and girls’ units. Murray’s enthusiasm for running and hiking was legendary at Timbertop. Memorable events included his completion of the 10-kilometre ‘Round the Block Dash’ on crutches after a knee reconstruction and leaving Mount Stirling in an ambulance after trying to ski through a creek. His enthusiasm continued unabated at TAS, where he regularly participated in Sydney’s City2Surf fun run and rowed the annual Hawkesbury Canoe Classic with students. Another past Head of Timbertop, Roger Herbert, recalled Murray’s “unique sense of humour, his love of hiking, his natural endurance and his tremendous support and understanding of what makes outdoor education work and why we do it”. Murray was appointed as The Armidale School’s 13th Headmaster in 1998. TAS Board Chairman, Sebastian Hempel, said that he charted a new direction for the School “with vision, energy and purpose”. “He took in his stride the challenges of operating a prestigious boarding school in a regional Australian city,” Mr Hempel said. “He loved his job and the School.” It was Murray’s vision that led to arguably his most enduring legacy when, in 2016, TAS became the first Great Public School (GPS) of NSW to introduce coeducation. Murray is survived by his wife Joanne and children Annelise and Harry (Staff 2019-).

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL


↓ Dianne Shirley Lord née Jacobs (Hermitage 1949-61) on 25 November 2019

Caroline née Burke (Ga'98) and Nick Carr, a daughter, Alice Belinda, on 13 September 2019

Marion Joy Burgess née Robinson (Hermitage 1947-48) on 10 August 2019

Betty Macdonald née Meldrum (Clyde 1943) on 17 June 2018

Geoffrey Hamish (Geoff) Burston (1946-59) on 20 December 2018

Clive Robertson Manifold (1944-56) on 2 August 2019

Jessica and Doug Ellinger (A'97), a son, Mason Kurt Douglas, on 21 August 2017

Helen Cameron Carter née McCallum (Hermitage 1947-48) on 31 March 2019

James Leslie Barrington Milne (1992-96) on 8 June 2019

Hayley née Doyle (A'03) and Nick Gilbert, a daughter, Matilda Stephanie, on 27 February 2019

Marcus Arthur (Dick) Collins (1932-44) on 23 September 2019

Malcolm Donald Munday (1953-54) on 3 August 2019

Nanette Ina Cowey née George (Hermitage 1948-52) on 11 November 2018

Karen Ann Murray née John (1975-84) on 13 November 2019

Prof Edwin Sydney Crawcour AO (1930-42) on 12 October 2019

David Lyth Nance (1942-47) on 17 May 2019

John Harold Yencken Darling (1965-70) on 11 August 2019

Patnarin (Note) Phongthananikorn (1995-99) on 27 July 2019

Geoffrey Charles (Geoff) Davidson (1954-57) on 27 September 2019

Rosemary Robin Pollard née Smith (Hermitage 1951-56) on 16 December 2018

Edrina Caroline Dunstan née Henty (Clyde 1953-59) on 19 May 2019

Robina (Ann) Redman née Burston (Clyde 1950-56) on 13 November 2019

Csaba Leslie Gabriel (Chubb) Fadgyas (1957-63) on 3 September 2017

Dr John Robert Rolph (1949-56) on 12 January 2019

Sarah and Jimmy Legoe (M'97), a son, Henry Oliver, on 11 September 2019

Dr Kenneth Fairburn Fairley (1939-45) on 10 November 2018

Isabelle Kendall (Coonie) Smith née Rye (Hermitage 1959-64) on 16 June 2019

Louise and Griffith Loughnan (Fr'03), a son, Digby Francis, on 23 September 2019

Christopher (Chris) Fitzgibbon (1959-62) on 15 August 2019

Dr David Clarence Sowden (1943-46) on 5 May 2019

Kate née Swan (Fr'03) and Nicholas Morrissey (P'03), a son, Alfred Joseph, on 2 January 2019

Richard Charles Forsyth (1948-55) on 2 April 2019

Betty Laurine Watson (Staff 1975-90) on 13 September 2019

Mary Helen Gathercole née Stott (Hermitage 1938-49) on 6 September 2019

David Robert Wood (Staff 1976-86) on 28 July 2019

Dr George Adam Geroe (1945-47) on 27 February 2019

Kenneth Robert (Ken) Woods (1932-38) on 14 October 2018

Geoffrey Rider Haggard (1935-44) on 15 August 2019

MARRIAGES

Donald John Horne (1946-47) on 19 August 2018

Doug Ellinger (A'97) married Jessica Jacques on 24 October 2015

David Hamilton Hume OAM (1938) on 7 September 2019

Clinton Howe (Cu'06) married Alice Harrison on 23 March 2019

John Alan Johnson (1945-49) in August 2019

Kathryn Inkster (A'08) married Simon Close on 24 November 2018

Ralph Fletcher Jones (1939-43) on 5 October 2019

Anna Loughnan (Fr'98) married Christopher Jenkins on 25 November 2017

DEATHS

Mietta Florence (Mimi) Kellett (2013-17) on 29 October 2019

Griffith Loughnan (Fr'03) married Louise Van Den Broek on 31 December 2016

Graham Forsyth Angus (1947-51) on 8 September 2019

Dr John Robert Lyall Kelly (1939-42) on 21 January 2019

Thomas Loughnan (Fr'05) married Camilla Aurel Smith on 27 September 2019

Glen Albert Bechly (Staff 1966-1996) on 11 December 2019

Stella Ann Kelly née Oswald (Hermitage 1951-53) on 24 May 2019

Skye Ranken (Cl'05) married Tom Harrison on 10 November 2018

William Robert Ricardo Beggs (1945-53) on 24 July 2019

George Neil Kennison (1943-49) on 6 August 2019

Camilla Walford (Cl'05) married Tim Dowling (Fr'03) on 23 February 2019

Antony David Charles (Tony) Blazey (1952-59) on 10 June 2019

Roger Gordon Penn Laws (1962-66) on 28 December 2018

Cherie Worthington [Staff 2013-15] married John Eisner (Cu'85) on 23 February 2019

Heather Margaret Bridge (Hermitage 1965-68) on 2 March 2019

David Robert Essington Lewis (1961-64) on 10 September 2019

Georgia and Hugh Cameron (Cu'98), a son, Ralph Hugh, on 2 September 2019

Eliza Heathcote (Ga'01) and Johan Gantin, a daughter, Sofia Nyon, on 20 December 2018 Alice and Clinton Howe (Cu'06), a daughter, Emmeline Michaela, on 20 June 2019 Anna née Loughnan (Fr'98) and Christopher Jenkins, a daughter, Saskia Elizabeth, on 15 March 2019 Angie née Taggart (Cl'01) and Will Leaf, two sons, William Louis on 11 August 2017 and Jack Gregory on 12 February 2019

Libby née Pettit (Fr'96) and Timothy Rhodes, a son, Rupert James, on 12 June 2019 Alexandra and James Richardson (M'00), a daughter, Daisy Nicole, on 22 August 2018 Zoe née Trethewie (Cl'05) and Tom Richardson (M'05), a daughter, Matilda Sophie on 10 March 2019 Celia née Harbridge (A'08) and Mitchell Talbot, a son, Oliver Ronald Cornelius on 29 August 2019 Susan née Buckley (Cl'99) and John Wallace (P'01), a daughter, Sophie Victoria Sturdee on 15 June 2019

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Gladys Margaret (Terry) Bubb née Spark (Hermitage 1935-37) on 17 March 2019

BIRTHS


2021 Scholarships NOW OPEN Our 2021 Scholarship Programme encompasses a range of opportunities across Academic, Creativity in STEM, Music, Choral and General Excellence, including the inaugural Australian Regional and Rural Scholarship. The latter scholarship is available to new students from remote, rural and regional Australia, who otherwise would not have an opportunity to attend the School. The Old Geelong Grammarians Scholarship (for families of alumni from Geelong Grammar, The Hermitage or Clyde schools) is also an intrinsic part of the programme. Applications close on Friday 14 February. Please share with your friends and family and encourage them to apply. www.ggs.vic.edu.au/School/Enrolments/Scholarships


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