Two journeys from philosophy to profession

Moments of support mean the most

With 34 years of teaching behind him, all of them at Melbourne Grammar School, it’s not easy for Mike Shaw to summarise his thoughts as he looks towards retiring at the end of 2022.

“I’ll miss the people and the relationships I’ve forged in this community over so many years,” Mike says. “There are times during the year when Melbourne Grammar doesn’t sleep, and I love that vibrancy, as well as working alongside people who wanted to put in that extra bit purely because they love the place.”

FROM THE SEMINARY TO THE CLASSROOM Despite the fact that he has taught many thousands of Melbourne Grammar students, teaching was not Mike’s first calling in life.

“I spent six years studying in a seminary,” he explains. “That took me to Taiwan, where I learned Chinese and met my wife. I’d always wanted to work alongside young people, so that’s when I decided to take another path, and I’ve never looked back.”

Since coming to Melbourne Grammar, initially as a student-teacher in 1988, Mike has held many roles, from teaching Chinese, Philosophy and Religious Studies to serving as Head of Miller House and Perry House, and then as our inaugural Director of Boarding. Alongside all this, he has found time to coach soccer teams throughout his time at the School. Mike was also instrumental in establishing a unique Values in Action program – Project Holy Name – in Papua New Guinea. “Students lived with local families in a village with few resources during these trips. We also raised funds to helped strengthen the facilities they had there to provide the best possible education for their children,” Mike explains. “I loved the freedom I had to set up programs like this, and I appreciated the trust the School had in me to do a good job, no matter what I was working on.”

THE CALLING OF PASTORAL CARE Reflecting on more than three decades at Melbourne Grammar, Mike is clear that the best moments have been those when he has been able to be there for a student.

“Pastoral care has been the highlight for me,” he says. “Even when I first started as a tutor in Deakin House, I loved that sense that the students were part of a small family within a much larger family.” “Moving from a day House to boarding and knowing that you’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for boarding students is very meaningful,” Mike adds. “You get to see the boys at their best and worst. To go on that journey with them, and their parents, is a special thing.”

As a colleague, Mike has always been there to give advice, show support, or give a small nod of encouragement when it has been needed. The twinkle in his eye has never dimmed from the day he began here, and we wish him well as he begins this next part of his life’s journey.

Ben Hanisch, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Three other long standing staff recently retired. Their stories were published in the October 2022 edition of Grammar News. You can read them at news.mgs.vic.edu.au Search: Rod McLeod, Rob Shields, Tony Walker

Taking the initiative to spark change

One of the defining characteristics of our School culture is our understanding that the impetus for change does not always have to come from teachers and staff. Our students also know they have the capacity to transform the way we do things, and the permission to ask: how can we do better?

This year the three Senior School leaders – School Co-Vice Captains Hugo Bennett and Oliver Martin, along with Captain of School Jack Flintoft – came together to ask this question in relation to one of the School’s core strategic priorities: sustainability.

While the achievements they have made are just the beginning of a transformative project, the groundwork they are laying has enormous potential.

BRINGING THE RIGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER Encouraged by Director of Teaching and Research Andrew Baylis, Hugo, Oliver and Jack began their project by defining three strands of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic.

“At the start, we did a lot of brainstorming with the help of the Sustainable Lifestyle Improvement Committee (SLIC),” explains Hugo. “We eventually came up with a mission and vision, which we pitched to the other 10 Senior School student committees, outlining what we hope the School can achieve over the next five years.” “Starting with a small group meant we could make decisions easily and take action more quickly,” Hugo adds. “Mr Baylis was always there to encourage us, and to hold us accountable as well.”

TAKING SMALL STEPS TOWARD BIG CHANGES The three School leaders explain that one of the key aspects of their approach was to resist the temptation to look outside the School before they had considered the sustainable actions already underway at Melbourne Grammar.

“When we met with student committee leaders, we made sure we talked about what they were currently doing that aligned with our sustainability goals,” explains Jack. “It turned out there were many areas where our ideas and their actions overlapped. Having these conversations, we could also see we’d planted the seed to get them thinking about what else they could achieve.”

“We realised we had to look inside our own community first, before we tried to solve all the problems of the world,” adds Oliver. “We saw that we only needed to take small steps to have a real impact and that, even though our community includes a lot of diverse ideas, we all have the same goal – it’s just a matter of how we get there.”

Having sparked a conversation across many student groups, Hugo, Jack and Oliver have also communicated their plans for sustainable action to next year’s school leaders, as well as to the Wadhurst community, so their efforts can continue. It’s our belief that everyone should be involved in student-led actions like this. There are many opportunities here for us to come together around our Towards 2030 goals, and this kind of work shows just how much students can do when they are supported to take action themselves.

Andrew Baylis

An ‘Australian Animals’ exhibition at Grimwade House

All Grimwade House students contributed to a wonderful art exhibition relating to Australian native animals and habitats which was recently staged at the School.

Each of the artwork themes linked to specific learning objectives, according to Mrs Lee-Anne D’Paul, Head of Visual Art at Grimwade House. “For example, when Year 3 students were creating koalas in trees, there were discussions about the impact of the loss of native vegetation on this species,” she explains. “Another year level looked at the textures that animals might leave on a landscape through, for instance, their footprints.”

The use of a wide variety of media was intentional as was the inspiration drawn from Australian and First Nations artists. “The influence of these artists is visible throughout the exhibition,” says Lee-Anne. “However, we challenged students to interpret, rather than copy, their style.”

Some pieces, such as a life size paper mache emu sculpture, were created collaboratively, then complemented by smaller individual works.

“I am so proud of our students’ ability to create pieces of art at a level far beyond what might normally be expected from children of their age,” Lee-Anne adds.

The images here provide only a small sample of the artworks which were on display. You can view more images on our website at news.mgs.vic.edu.au Search: exhibition