I never would have thought that I would need to provide this context to this publication but, given the impact of the pandemic shutdowns of recent years, it is a necessary overlay to put in place.
This edition of The Mentonian clearly articulates the busy nature of our School this year. It includes not only the achievements in our classrooms, but the broad range of activities undertaken outside of our classrooms. I pay tribute to all who have facilitated the reactivation of the School as an onsite provider and ensuring that our staff and students are the beneficiaries of such an excellent program.
What we are learning as the time beyond lockdowns progresses, is that there has been an impact on the social development of young people. This is not surprising given the isolation they had to experience over the last two years. It is pleasing, however, that academic data collected by the School indicates that there has been little, if any, decline in our academic achievements which is a credit, particularly, to the staff who worked tirelessly to provide for our students throughout the challenging years of the pandemic.
As we come to the end of the School’s 99th year it is with great anticipation of the School Centenary in 2023. As we approach the Centenary, it is important to reflect on the large number of people and the diversity of programs that have come before us and to be acknowledging that, this year included, a strong foundation has been laid on which we build at this time. Gratitude is an important characteristic of any worthwhile organisation, and it is my hope that we are all grateful to all who have come before us for their insight, vision and energy which has placed this School in such a strong position today.
I thank all who have contributed to our wonderful School throughout the year and for the ongoing support of so many stakeholders. I hope you enjoy reading of the School’s many achievements this year in this informative document, The Mentonian of 2022.
Labore et Honore
Mal Cater Principal
In some ways, it almost seems that now that the pandemic restrictions are very much in the rearview mirror – and we hope it stays that way – that we have forgotten that we started 2022 with a great sense of excitement, but also trepidation wondering at what point we might slide back into our new normal of lockdowns, masks and RAT testing. Yet, that is how we began 2022.
I remember well staff, then students, returning at the start of the year, so excited to experience the simple things in life that we used to take for granted. Our students were so excited to be back at School with their friends and with the hope that all of things they had so dearly missed over the past two years would now, fingers and toes crossed, again become their reality. And it was from there, we set our agenda for 2022 – Reconnection. Our Staff Conference in January had three key themes:
1. Reconnection to each other.
2. Reconnection to our unique Mentone Grammar Culture.
3. Reconnection to our Explicit Improvement Agenda. During this conference, our theme resonated through all that we did and helped to set the tone for the academic year.
This theme carried through to our students’ experiences. For example, we knew that our Year 7s and 8s had missed their much-loved Central Australia Learning Journey, so we coordinated ‘catch-up’ trips to Uluru. We knew that our Year 9s had missed Central Australia and their International Learning Journey, and knowing they couldn’t yet travel overseas, we coordinated unique trips to Kakadu, the Blue Mountains and Far North Queensland. Our Year 10s too had missed two years of Learning Journeys, so we created the inaugural whole year level trip to Forster in NSW. All of this was coordinated knowing that there was a significant COVID overlay to all this planning that had the potential to significantly impact all that we did. Instead of accepting this potential fate and putting it all in the ‘too hard basket’, we instead put further risk mitigation strategies in place, and forged ahead. I am so pleased we did. Despite a COVID ‘hiccup’ on the Year 10 Learning Journey (which I am incredibly appreciative of how well our staff and students managed it) the feedback from students across all years has been incredibly positive. I appreciate that I am biased, but it does strike me as something quite unique about Mentone Grammar; the willingness of our staff to work together to overcome adversity if we know it will have a positive impact on our students.
For that, I am very thankful for the many staff across many year levels who helped to bring these Learning Journeys to life.
Throughout the year, this theme continued across all areas and perhaps none more stunningly obvious than the Senior School Production of Mamma Mia! Being cautious of now sounding parochial, but as someone who has been to various school plays over my career, I can categorically say that this year’s was beyond what I thought imaginable for a school production. The standard of acting, singing, choreography, lighting, music… everything, was truly outstanding! These students and staff reconnected with their passion for the Performing Arts like I had never seen before, and they should be, rightfully, so incredibly proud of their efforts.
Mentone Grammar’s recent history is one of progress and improvement and in 2022, this has continued to be a key theme as we commenced our building works for the new Bayview Building. Our ELC, Eblana, Riviera and Year 8 students have been witnessing an amazing transformation of the Year 7 building and the oval to what is now a hive of activity of trucks and very large diggers and alike as they prepare the earth for construction of the building, car park and new oval.
We are pleased that there has been very minimal disruption to learning and in fact, our K-6 students have been able to integrate what has been happening before their eyes into their classrooms with the builders, architects and construction managers coming to speak with them about the works they are undertaking.
No doubt, 2022 has been a curious time for us all. Who knew how the past two years might impact on us all? Who knew how we might adapt back into our past norms? And who knew whether we might have to again adapt our lifestyles and return to remote learning? I am so pleased that our staff and students are again able to enjoy all that Mentone Grammar has to offer and that we have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to.
Labore et Honore Jarrod O’Neill Deputy Principal
You don’t have to walk far to see high quality learning and teaching taking place at Mentone Grammar. We are fortunate to have a very visible learning culture at our School, which means that whether walking through the grounds or in the corridors, it is easy to find students applying themselves to their studies and to observe teachers employing high-impact teaching strategies to guide their classes towards excellent outcomes.
This year, on an average learning walk around the School, one would likely have witnessed Health and PE staff out on the oval experimenting with different game styles and, through targeted questioning, seen them challenging students to evaluate their prior knowledge and build new understandings. Moving into the Creativity Centre, a glance through the Food Studies area would have seen practical demonstrations – teacher and student modelling of kitchen techniques like correct knife handling when dicing onions – while across the corridor in the Design Technology rooms students could be observed creating iterations of bridge designs and coding using the Design Thinking process. Passing the glass classrooms in the Frogmore and Greenways buildings, you could find moments of explicit instruction and worked exemplars, married with student-centred tasks like ‘hot questions’
and jigsaw routines, students taking the opportunity to become the experts and to share their learning with their peers. Over Lucerne Street to Eblana and there were more open classrooms, this time different Expos showcasing student poetry or inquiries into space and travel. Again, young people demonstrating their curiosity and creativity in powerful ways, sharing with their peers and inviting feedback from each other as they sought to take the next steps in their learning. Once again, Dylan Wiliam’s Formative Assessment framework and Project Zero’s cultures of thinking continued to underpin this work, producing excellent student outcomes and challenging students to increasingly become owners of their own learning.
Learning also continued beyond the School gates in 2022, with more opportunities to take curriculum into real-world contexts following the restrictions of the last couple of years. Business Management students explored the Yakult business model, while Physics students viewed Luna Park through the lens of the Victorian Institute of Physics. Younger students also embraced opportunities such as the Year 7 classification visits to Melbourne Zoo as part of their Science Program. In each case, the outcomes were carefully considered and aligned with classroom outcomes to ensure that student learning was enhanced.
Alongside the visible learning both within and beyond the gates of the School this year, we also had the opportunity to visualise future learning opportunities that are set to emerge in 2023. With the exciting development of the new Years 7 and 8 building, there have been stimulating discussions around designing classrooms that continue to promote visibility but that also harness contemporary technologies to enable blended learning opportunities and student ownership. The decisions around how technology will influence learning in the new building has also meant changes in other parts of the School through 2022, with shifts towards screens in classrooms instead of traditional whiteboards enabling, amongst other things, greater digitalisation of teacher board notes and the opportunity to record lessons for later reference. The staged introduction of Vivi screen projection has also allowed greater student access to screen sharing, with the teacher able to provide written feedback directly back into students’ work from the front of the room.
Advancements such as these in our learning spaces will also be consolidated through the implementation of a new Learning Management System in 2023. One of the particular pleasures
of this year, personally, was running student focus groups that enabled students from different parts of the School to give their voice as to what they wanted to see in such a platform. In sharing their insights, regardless of age, they showed incredible understanding of their own learning and what this might look like in a digital space. Based on this feedback, learning will become even more visible through our Canvas platform in 2023.
Once again, I wish to thank all those teaching staff who have worked through the year to create authentic, meaningful and visible learning experiences for our young people in 2022. I also acknowledge those who work ‘behind the scenes’ to create digital learning platforms, analyse data that tells student stories so clearly, and others whose contribution make this such a strong hub for learning. There are exciting times ahead next year as the School continues to embrace new ways of teaching while continuing to embed our approach in the research that defines high-impact teaching.
James Walton Director of Learning and Teaching
One of the questions I was recently asked in one of my Year 7 classes was ‘What’s your favourite thing about RE?’ This was one of those RE questions that was easy for me to answer – responding to student questions.
Teaching Religious Education means that you get all sorts of questions from students, ranging from the frivolous to the profound. Some I can easily answer, others like ‘How many AFL players believe in God?’ I am not sure how to even begin to start answering. Some questions such as ‘Over the course of human history, specifically Christian history, what one event do you believe was the most important?’ lead to some really interesting discussions as I invite the students to share how they might go about answering them.
This year the results of the 2021 Census were released and the results raised all sorts of questions for those of us who call ourselves Anglican. From the 2016 Census to the 2021 Census the Anglican Church had the largest numerical decline of any religious denomination – declining from 3.1 million adherent in 2016 to 2.5 million in 2021. According to my spur of the moment back of the envelope calculation that meant that on average 328 people left the Anglican Church every day over the past five years. We looked at the Census results in class and this prompted one student to ask me ‘Do you think the church has a future?’ It was a really good question.
While the Anglican Church faces significant challenges, Anglican schools offer a beacon of hope. The numbers in the pews may be declining but the numbers in our classrooms are on the rise. While the Census revealed that the average Anglican is 56 years old, the average age of the students I work with is 13 years old.
While organised religion may be on the statistical decline, interest in religion is still high if conversations in my classroom are any indication.
One of the distinctives of Anglican schools is that we have a ‘non anxious’ approach to student questions. Student questions don’t frighten us but are warmly received. Questions are not only welcome, but students can have the confidence that their question and the questioner will be taken seriously. They also know that the Chaplain will respond to their question to the best of their ability. Questions are an important part of what it means to be an inclusive school where differences of opinion are seen as a blessing not a problem.
As a teacher in our School, I go into a classroom with confidence, knowing that I have something to give but also knowing that I have something to learn from the students too. I think this is a helpful attitude for the church to have as it looks to the future.
Rev. Andrew Stewart Chaplain
Whilst many will be aware of your outstanding achievements on a hockey pitch where you are a National representative, many will also not know that you are a high achieving cricketer, that you have represented the School in the AGSV Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country events and that, like Charlie, you have received an Academic Merit Award every semester you have been at this School.
Alongside these achievements you have represented the School at Tours and have demonstrated leadership in your House Leadership Team. You volunteer at the Black Rock Life Saving Club where you are a patrol leader. You are actively involved in House activities.
You demonstrate the School Values to a very high level and you also demonstrate a great passion for your School and a passion to be a strong leader within our village.
I am delighted to appoint you as a Head Prefect of Mentone Grammar.
Charlie DaddoIt is rare for a student to achieve an Academic Merit Award for every semester they have been in our School but you have done this. You have kindly volunteered for School Tours regularly over the year, pursued leadership opportunities in the Cadet Unit and in your House and actively and enthusiastically engaged in School and House sport activities.
You have volunteered, over the year, with the St John’s Ambulance Service, umpired AFL football through the SMJFL and supported ANZAC Services at the Mentone RSL.
You have a very genuine passion for leadership and you exhibit the School Values in an outstanding manner. Alongside your friendly demeanor and care for others I am delighted to appoint you as a Head Prefect of Mentone Grammar.
Mal Cater Principal
Wow. We would like to start by saying, what a year it has been! Returning after what has been two difficult years of COVID lockdowns, Frogmore and Mentone Grammar has returned to its vibrant state once again. With a range of functions and events including House Arts, Swimming and Athletics, Years 5-12 gathered and re-established the House culture and spirit that makes Mentone Grammar such an exciting and enjoyable school to be a part of. Outside of these events, students across all year levels have developed their passions across many facets of the School, whether that be through the Performing Arts, Saturday Sport or even our inaugural Esports events. As Head Prefects, we have seen students across the Senior School develop positively through their academia. It has been delightful to see so many utilising the multitude of resources the School has to offer and develop positive relationships with their peers inside and outside of the classroom.
For us, some of the most enjoyable and heart-warming moments of this year have been seeing students connecting and developing themselves through their interaction with others. Whether that be on the sports field or at House events, this inter-year level connection has flourished and has brought back the culture and spirit that makes the School so amazing to come to each day. After what could have been an extremely difficult transition, we were so proud of the support that each individual willingly gave their peers as the care and respect that was given and received helped our School return to the inclusive culture that we are so proud of.
For senior students, Term 1 saw the highly anticipated Prefects’ Ball which, after a year of waiting, lived up to all its glory. Students dressed spectacularly and came together to celebrate after what has been a challenging few years. It was a night filled with smiles, dancing, singing and laughter and we are sure it will be an evening that will be cherished for years to come.
In the Performing Arts, countless hours of hard work and dedication led to the incredible performances of Mamma Mia!, our Singers’ Concerts, Creative Dance, Opera, ensembles’ concerts and the Jazz Cabaret. These productions were the talk of the town that brought an incredible amount of joy across our community.
Additionally, the feats that Mentone Grammar’s athletes were able to achieve this year were extraordinary. Students came together to push each other and support one another which evidently meant we developed not only as athletes but as people as well. With numerous premierships across Summer and Winter competitions, the commitment and drive to succeed is something that we were all proud to watch and be involved with.
It brought us so much joy watching every student being able to get involved in their own ways and follow their passions. As the opportunities on offer this year enabled everyone to strive, whether that was through the S.M.A.R.T Program, Cadets or in their Art, the devotion showed to achieve personal goals was an incredible sight to see.
As our time at the School draws to an end, we would like to firstly congratulate our peers who are finishing the journey with us. The hard work and dedication you have all put into the School and your studies over the past few years has been amazing and we can’t thank each and everyone of you enough for the lifelong memories and friendships that we have made! Moreover, to the teachers, the resources and experiences you have provided and will continue to provide in the years to come have been outstanding and as a cohort, we thank you for the dedication you have put into helping us to achieve our goals and get to where we want to be!
With the last chapter of 2022 coming to a close, we could not be more grateful for the journey that this marvellous school has guided us on and we could not be more excited to see the School continue to thrive and develop in the years to come. We are incredibly proud to have been a part of Mentone Grammar.
Evie and Charlie Head Prefects 2022
‘Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”
This year, within the field of academics, Mentone Grammar has had many steps forward, all in the right direction. These seemingly small successes deserve celebration, as do the students and staff who were a part of them.
Myriad students completed the Australian Science Olympiads, in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth and Environmental Sciences, scoring Distinctions and High Distinctions across these subjects. The Climate Science Olympiad was also attempted, for the first time, with the duo team successfully proceeding to the Quarter Finals. From multiple choice questions about carbon emissions in France to marine conservation protocols – students endeavoured to learn and share their knowledge. The variety of competitions on offer was made possible by science extraordinaire, Mr Peter Wynne.
Similarly, the Australian Maths Competition, completed by a large range of students yielded many positive results. An honorary mention goes to ‘Best in School’, woman in STEM, Annalisa Calvi, as well as our thanks to Mr Kevin McMenamin for bringing these challenges to the School.
Additionally, after the lockdowns halted any progress in past years – Write a Book in a Day was the light at the end of the tunnel in Term 3. A total of $362 was raised for The Kids’ Cancer Project, and a novel featuring aspiring jeweller King William Francis Carlton was submitted. Tremendous organisational efforts were made by Alannah Marriott and Mr Smith throughout the entire process. Thank you to everyone who was involved in challenging themselves in 2022.
Ashika Sarma and Ulyana Kondratova
Academic Captains 2022
Robert Collier
The International students had another wonderful year in Frogmore. To start the year, all International students and teachers had a Lunar Lunch together. We had a chance to reconnect to our culture and celebrate New Year as a group. Traditional clothes were worn and lovely Chinese food was provided. We would like to thank The Mentonians Association for kindly sponsoring this meal. We would also like to thank Mr Mann and Beck Russell for organising this event. We had a really good time and this created a great start for us.
During the year, we also received much kindness from the School community. With the School theme of Inclusion this year, we had the chance to be part of the video. We had fun, and we experienced how much we are all valued as equals in this community. Mentone provided us with an inclusive and encouraging environment, making the School not only a place to learn but also a place to rest.
We would like to give special thanks to Ms Hughes and Ms Ma, as they are the EAL and Chinese teachers. The International students always rely on them for both studies and school life. And without their help, our school life wouldn’t be as smooth.
As International Captains, we are lucky to have a small and lovely group this year. We enjoyed hanging out together both inside and outside of the School. We thank you for being such a respectful and loving group and we wish the Year 11s and 10s well as they will be moving forward and becoming leaders of the group. For Year 12s this year, we would also like to thank you all as well. Within this small group you all provided much support for us as well as the younger year levels. Thank you all so much for that.
As they always say, good things always come to an end. Both the school year and the Year of the Tiger are reaching the end. The memories we have made this year are precious and we’d like to thank everyone again.
We wish the School community and students well for the upcoming year and we believe better things will be accomplished next year, the 100th year of Mentone Grammar.
Best wishes
Yicheng (Peter) Zhu and Xianghan (Julie) Liu International Captains 2022
This year was filled with unique experiences and many learning opportunities. We started 2022 with a transition camp at Shoreham, creating a chance for all the VCAL students to get to know each other and create a family bond within our VCAL Program.
We then jumped into the first full and very busy VCAL year on Campus since 2019.
We started with a pizza lunch, selling four types of pizzas made, cooked, and sold all by students, to gain valuable workplace skills. Later that term, our Year 11 students embarked on their second camp of the year. They ventured on a three-day trip stopping at multiple iconic landmarks along the Great Ocean Road and participated in numerous activities, supporting hard-hit communities and businesses as part of their Seasoned Travellers Project.
Our Year 12s also had some great projects during the term, including learning about the uses and technology behind drones, where we were able to fly drones as a part of the project.
In Term 2, the Senior VCAL students (Year 12s) completed a stunning camp in Sydney. We roamed the historic streets on engaging tours and scaled the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge. The students completed a fantastic Amazing Race, having to independently navigate Sydney’s unknown and complex streets and undertake a range of challenges before designing our own race in Melbourne, to run as an event for the Year 11 students.
From the multiple musical performances that our VCAL students are a part of to the Subject Supermarket and Open Days, where we shared our VCAL experiences, Term 3 was a busy one. We completed School improvement projects, personal branding assets and mock interviews, while having some of our last visits to Shoreham on a preparation hike for our Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The Year 11 students visited Melbourne city in a new light, being guided through the city and exploring the widely different experiences of marginalised people in Australia. They also participated in the Wheeltalk program, gaining a deeper understanding of people living with a disability. Locally, we constructed bat boxes to help the dwindling microbat population in the bayside area.
The term ended with a bang, attending the VCAL hike or the annual Cadet Camp. Both camps pushed the students and made them grow as individuals and as leaders and team members. The Year 11s have shone throughout the year, showing their love and excitement for the Program. With the badging of next year’s Applied Learning Captain Ashlee Monk, the future of VCAL is in good hands.
Thank you to all the teachers who supported us along the way.
Ella Heidecker Applied Learning VCAL Captain 2022
Performing Arts has returned stronger than ever this year, bouncing back from COVID in an instant with an exciting line up of concerts, productions and shows.
The year started with shows that presented great talent with the first Singers’ Concert and Limelight, before our jazz ensembles, stage band Froggers, jazz choir The Cat’s Meow and free jazz ensemble The Roquettes went into full swing, competing in the 2022 Generations in Jazz Competition. A special congratulations to Brass Captain Maximilian Topor on his selection in the Division 3 Superband and to The Roquettes on achieving 3rd Place in the National Small Jazz Combo section.
The Bayview play, The Final Frontier, offered many younger performers their first stage experience, and they loved it! Next on the calendar was the Creative Dance spectacular, which had an outer-space theme, showcasing our incredible dancers across four campuses. Focus then shifted to our first live Ensembles Concert in three years, where a wide range of musicians and ensembles presented their hard work in front of a packed-out Thorold Theatre.
In Term 3, a standard was set for the years to come. A standard created by three incredible shows. First, Jazz Cabaret, a Jazz Party! A fun night for all students involved in the Jazz Program where singers and band combined for a terrific show. Next the Opera. Mentone Grammar has the only schoolbased opera company in the state of Victoria, and the production of Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant Et Les Sortileges did not disappoint.
Finally, the jewel in the crown of Mentone Grammar Performing Arts, the Senior Production: Mamma Mia! After so long stowed away on Microsoft Teams, to come back and perform in front of a packed theatre, four nights in a row, was an experience the cast, crew or orchestra will ever forget. To round out the year, Term 3 ended with a second Singers’ Concert, and in Term 4, an emotional end to the Year 12’s journey with the Semester 2 Ensembles Concert. Our younger performers enjoyed the junior productions of, The Little Mermaid and in Riviera, The Haunted House on Pennylane Way.
As Performing Arts Captains, it has been an honour to lead this department in such a wonderfully strong and emotionally powerful return. A big thank you to all instrumental teachers, assistant directors, choreographers, make up and stage teams for all your help in allowing this year to happen, and especially to Performing Arts Coordinator Ms Fielding, Assistant Head of Performing Arts Mr McCarney and Head of Performing Arts Mr Cornish for all of the hard work that goes into getting all performers ready for such a big year.
Jake Newman and Priya Gill Performing Art Captains 2022
As the year comes to an end, the Visual Arts community at Mentone Grammar has an opportunity to reflect on the great catalogue of works produced, and the amazing progress each student has made. With such an emphasis on creativity and expression, it is often difficult to determine if a work is inherently ‘good’. Fine craftsmanship and meticulous details are easy to look at and marvel over, yet an artwork is at its best when it shows personality. Whether you are a parent, teacher or student, there is something larger than what lays in front of you to appreciate. There is unseen experimentation with new and potentially unknown materials and techniques, development of uniquely personal styles and, most importantly, memories which will be fondly remembered.
While some students plan to dedicate themselves to a future in the Arts, for others, it is an outlet for creativity, and a break from the often-stifling nature of academics and school life. Personally, we have seen many classes in action; whether it’s the junior kids’ printmaking, three-dimensional sculpture tutorials, or VCE students’ personal concepts. It’s often easy to dismiss our School’s dedication to the Visual Arts, being accustomed to our amazing teachers and resources.
In Year 9 at my previous school I was denied a position in the Art class, but here at Mentone, I was encouraged and guaranteed an opportunity to follow what I love doing.
This year, there was an instance where I asked for help with my personal project, and was encouraged to observe the Year 7s at work, as they were also working with lino-printmaking like me. Their many trials and practices taught me the processes of an art form I had never experienced before.
Transferring to this School only two years ago, I was both surprised yet so happy to see that every student had so many opportunities to try all these amazing materials, which to me now, are still largely abstract. Using words to summarise an entire year is the biggest injustice to the Visual Arts here at Mentone Grammar.
We, as your Visual Arts Captains of 2022, couldn’t be more proud of what has been achieved this year, and we can proudly leave this school knowing the greatest days for our future artists are still ahead.
Jevons Wang and Zoe Pertzel Visual Arts Captains 2022
As the Sports Captain for 2022, it has been a privilege to be able to represent the School in all sporting aspects.
As passionate athletes, it has been very exciting to see the sporting achievements of students and the potential of the younger year levels. A massive thanks to everyone who has been involved in any way with Sport, in and out, of Mentone Grammar. We particularly thank Mr O’Gorman, Mr Bainbridge, and Ms Hunt in assisting us throughout the year.
All the House events this year have been a blast and a massive success across all year levels. It was amazing to see everyone participate and get around their House and respective events. Following their amazing performances, congratulations go to Anderson House for winning House Arts, and to Jones House for winning House Athletics, House Swimming and House Cross Country.
Alongside House events, the AGSV Saturday Sport competitions, in which most students participated in every Saturday morning, were a triumph. We are proud to say Mentone Grammar won four Premiership cups this year, which is an outstanding achievement. So, huge congratulations to our:
• AGSV/APS Girls’ Touch Football team
• AGSV Girls’ Swimming team
• AGSV Girls’ Cross Country team, and
• AGSV Girls’ Athletics team.
For each win it was the great team effort and dedication to training from all involved, that got them over the line. Further congratulations go to all the students across the School who were selected to represent the AGSV in the annual AGSV versus APS competition. This is a major accomplishment, and we are all very proud of your effort and excellence in your chosen sport.
The culture that Mentone Grammar has reignited around Sport this year has made it so easy to lead the School. The Friday night games where students and teachers stayed back to support Mentone have been amazing experiences and something we are sure we will always treasure!
Once again, we congratulate everyone on their efforts this year and for their participation in sport at Mentone, and we thank you for making our time as Sport Captains so amazing.
Zoe Leaver and Hudson Bucci Sports Captains 2022
When we first applied to be Wellbeing Captains, we had some fears that we would not be able to achieve all that we wanted due to online learning and lockdowns, like the previous two years. Thankfully, that was not the case, and we were able to have a hands-on role in supporting all the students across the School community, and what a wonderful year it’s been! It has been so amazing to have achieved all we could have possibly wanted and so much more! This year has been filled with fun, learning and growth as we, the students, as well as the wider community have been given so many incredible opportunities throughout 2022.
We began the year by planning for International Women’s Day and considered ways in which we could help to break down barriers and empower not just women, but the entire community. We worked to Break the Bias with classroom lessons and created a dynamic video that highlighted the importance of empowering the women around us. Each classroom was given a large lightbulb poster, where the students would write about a time where they broke the bias, exemplifying experiences when they stepped out of societal norms that can often hold us back. Most importantly, this was a day of celebration and unity across the School.
The middle of the year was certainly busy, filled with many exiting events and experiences. In May, we had our Indigenous Celebration Week, where the Firsts teams were presented with their uniforms featuring Indigenous designs at a special assembly and wore them with pride during the Indigenous Round. In June, we celebrated Pride Month! We had guest speaker, Jason Ball, give a wonderful speech at our Pride Assembly, where he spoke to us about his experiences facing the world of AFL as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Later that afternoon, we had our Pride Cross Country House event. Although the weather was gloomy and grey, the students certainly brought colour and fun to the event, each wearing an array of rainbow hats, capes, socks and other pride-themed clothes and accessories. It was certainly a day we will remember and look fondly back on! On 29 July we celebrated International Friendship Day, where we handed out ‘we care cards’ to students in the morning at the gates.
Towards the end of the year, as some students began to feel a little tired, we thought it was essential that we spread awareness about the importance of sleep. On 9 September, we had Pyjama Day, where students came to school in their pyjamas or cosiest clothes. We put posters up throughout the school detailing sleep hygiene, and specifically why sleep is essential for young, growing minds. In September, we also had RUOK? Day. Here students were encouraged to check in on those around them and to add a splash of yellow to their uniforms to spread awareness for the importance of asking RUOK?
Finally, the senior students were given a talk about Drug and Alcohol Education by Paul Dillon in October. We were given extremely insightful and necessary information for young adolescents, and it was so great to have such an engaging speaker come and talk to us.
Overall, we have absolutely loved working with both the Wellbeing team and the students at Mentone Grammar to create an environment of support and growth. None of our achievements would have been made possible without Bridgitte Roberts, Cathy Martin, Matt Oswald, Brooke Fielke and our amazing student team from across the year levels. Our role as Wellbeing Captains this year has been more fulfilling than we could have ever anticipated, and we would just like to thank the students and teachers for being so involved.
Phoebe Palmer and Dominique Doig Wellbeing Captains 2022In 2022, Mentone Grammar has once again re-asserted itself as one of the best schools for Public Speaking and Debating in Victoria. With so many events cancelled over the past few years, we are delighted that our School has seen the re-emergence of a thriving culture in Public Speaking. To once again be witnessing the growth, development and improvement of so many passionate and dedicated students across the School has been a real joy.
The cornerstone of our School Debating Program is our annual participation in the Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV) school’s competition, the largest debating association in the world, with over 1500 teams across four year levels. The energy and commitment our debaters have put in this year has been inspiring, as many of us have juggled Units 3 & 4 SACs, theatre productions and more, while still finding the time to give it our all in Debating.
At the time of writing, our A Grade Debating team, which consists of the two Captains and Jake Newman, Ulyana Kondratova, and Ethan Green, have made it into the top 8 teams in Victoria, winning against stiff competition. We also thank Irene Lu and Alannah Marriott for stepping in when we needed you most, your efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Beyond this, our Ethics Olympiad team won Gold in the Victorian Division against 20 other schools and went on to compete in the International Ethics Olympiad competition, which was undeniably a significant achievement. For this, we thank our ‘ethletes’ Keira Patron, Ruben McSwan, Reva Thaker, Nimra Haseeb and Zitong Ren for their efforts in this competition. We also thank Avelyn Reynolds and Willow Bailey for their assistance in research and support.
Additionally, other activities have included Mentone Grammar’s hosting of the Model United Nations, where representatives from six other schools underwent a day of rigorous debate, where we represented countries such as the United States, Australia and Egypt, alongside others. Moreover, we have participated in Lions Youth of the Year competition, British Parliamentary and more. Needless to say, it has been an extremely packed year.
We would like to extend our thanks to Mr Mark Smith, our Head of Enrichment Programs and Sam Ponsford, our Head of Public Speaking and Debating, for their efforts in assisting and coaching us throughout the year. Finally, to Pippa Davies and Aimee Lancaster, our Centenary year Public Speaking and Debating Captains, we wish you all the best.
Zitong
Ren and Emilie Toby Public Speaking and Debating Captains 2022
Over the course of the year, it was our role to assist and support the School’s Open Days and School Tours, working with the Enrolments Team. We were delighted to work with an outstanding team of volunteer student tour guides who were both excited and proud to represent their School. All the calendared Tour Days were filled to capacity and all the guides were extremely busy, but really enjoyed the experience. Our senior students happily took these events as an opportunity to mentor the younger students, by demonstrating their leadership and public speaking skills. Cross-campus mentoring is very important in this capacity as it ensures that we will continue to have knowledgeable, skilled tour guides with a great knowledge of the School, well into the future.
It has been great to learn that the School’s enrolment numbers are peaking, with currently 1830 students, to having almost 2000 students enrolled for the 2023 school year! Our well-rounded community is also reflected in our current male/female ratio, hitting an amazing 60-40 per cent. We hope in some way that our mentoring role has been a part of the positive feeling across the School, as we head in to our 100th year.
We are grateful to all the staff for this unique opportunity to work closely with the Enrolments and Marketing team, to learn a lot about how schools function away from the classrooms.
We wish all the enthusiastic tour guides we worked with this year all the best as they move campuses, through the School.
James Commerford and Emma Burton School Tours Captains 2022This year, the Social Service team was fortunate to be able to organise and participate in a range of activities throughout the year, to support chosen communities that are less fortunate, beyond Mentone Grammar.
We were lucky enough to run the World’s Greatest Shave in Term 1 on 18 March, a day that is a Mentone Grammar tradition in our community. It is a huge fundraising event where students and teachers shave their heads to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. The Social Service team was involved in the planning for the day, cooking hundreds of sausages for the lunchtime barbeque, promotion of the day and encouraging the School community to donate. This year, we had a total of 12 participants shave their heads, with a whopping $15,853.76 raised! We also had a representative from the Leukaemia Foundation come to our Frogmore assembly where we presented the Foundation with a cheque from the money Mentone Grammar raised and they were able to share with us how the money will be used to help families battling Leukaemia.
In Term 2, the Social Service team focused on the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, an organisation that provides support and services for many vulnerable people seeking safety. All our students and staff were encouraged to bring in generous amounts of essential items needed by the ASRC. It was up to House groups and year levels to bring items that they were assigned to, with an entire truck load of items being collected on the day, a remarkable response by the School community. The Social Service Team was blown away by the overwhelming number of contributions the School made to the ASRC.
Our focus for Term 3 was on Yarrabah school, as we had the incredible opportunity to spend time with children of Yarrabah, a school that supports students with disabilities. The Social Service team was lucky enough to experience three days at our Shoreham Camp, hosting Yarrabah school. We had a great time playing games with the students and took them on a day trip to Phillip Island. We also raised funds for Yarrabah by selling chocolates at the intervals of the Mamma Mia! production, as well through donations as a part of Pyjama Day, to allow Yarrabah School to upgrade their technology and other necessary resources needed for their classrooms.
We have had the great privilege of serving as Social Service Captains this year and we are very appreciative of the opportunities that our team has experienced this year, considering what was missed over the last two years. We thank Mr Cater and the Heads of Campus for allowing us to extend our care beyond the School community and are grateful for the organisation and support from Mr Prabaharan and Mr Stewart. Thank you to our wonderful team for the endless help running events and for being a part of the team, making our last year at Mentone Grammar a fantastic experience.
Gabrielle O’Sullivan and Georgia Stewart Social Service Captains 2022At Mentone Grammar, leadership is a privilege and an honour but, more so, an opportunity to serve others. Mal Cater, Principal
L–R Row 4: Mr Angus Todd, Lucas Wagner, Ada Jenkins, Kristof Buschkuehl, Riley Hamilton, Ms Jayne Sheumack
Row 3: Georgina Self, Curtis Murphy, Alice Fletcher, Michael Kalopisis, Utkarsh Garg, Erin Selby
Row 2: Zahra Jacobs, Archer Elliot, Ella Whittaker, Raphael White, Michelle Veisman, Gisele Woll
Row 1: Sophie Brown, Hudson Close, Saby Dawar, Ned Robertson, Natalie Nomikos, Noah Horsley, Kate Pregnalato
Absent: Reahn Orfanidis, Campbell Brown
Wow, 2022. It’s been a wonderful year of ‘a new normal’ in the ELC, when we were all allowed back on site and together again in the classroom. It has been such a joy for staff and children alike to have visitors and to have our families re-engaged in our program. We have cherished engaging with our families and providing a nurturing place for everyone. To see the children develop their thirst for learning, make lovely connections with their teachers, new friendships with other children and their big smiles as they arrive each day, is a joy to behold.
Our staff plan myriad activities for the children, knowing their interests, their abilities, and the support they require to achieve positive outcomes. They are specialists in providing the tools each child needs to succeed. Resilience, a love of learning and a place where they feel valued for who they are, these are the important tools we encourage in the ELC – all skills for today and beyond!
This year, the children were exposed to many enriching incursions and excursions, from Reptile Encounters to familiarise themselves with creatures they might see on our nature programs, to visits to the beach and our magical
Shoreham site. A visit from the exciting Drama Toolbox artists helped our children to explore their creativity, imagination and helped us all to continue to embed indigenous culture into our Centre. We all enjoyed the Woodwork Workshops in our 4YO Program and embraced the sustainability/worm farming, paper recycling initiatives in our 3YO Program. It is so heartening, as both Director and room teacher, to see the children use these experiences to develop their learning and to apply them in other situations.
We were also fortunate to experience Edward the Emu, a live production, at Frankston Theatre, as well as an incursion to explain what happens behind the scenes to make the characters come alive on stage. The children were mesmerised by this performance, and this has been beautifully complemented by Mrs Simmonds’, Music and Movement workshops throughout the year. At the time of writing, it is so exciting to be able to, once again, present our ELC Christmas pageant for the first time in three years. I know this event really evokes the start of the Christmas Season for me, and develops the Christmas Spirit in our children, families, and broader community.
We were very excited to be able to recommence our Swimming Program, as we encouraged all families to support their child in learning to swim and with safety around water – it is never too late to learn to swim, so it might become a family affair to learn the basic swimming strokes to save yourself if ever faced with an emergency.
Book week, Chinese Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day visits were just some of the other fun experiences the children enjoyed throughout the year. Learning occurs everywhere for children, from stories read at bedtime, to discovering a snail on the path after the rain, to noting the changes in the leaves during autumn etc. As a family, the experiences you share with your child helps shape their learning and these interests are often discussed with their classmates and are explored at a greater level in the classrooms, driven by curiosity and a love of sharing their own stories. It must be noted that without all your support, our kindergarten would not be able to delve as deeply into these learning opportunities and we thank you for being part of this communal learning. As the old proverb states, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and we thank our village of ELC parents who have done such an amazing job over the last few challenging years.
As you may be aware, this is my last year as the Director of the Early Learning Centre, and it has been an honour and a joy to work with all the families and children over the last 12 years. I look forward to returning full time with the children next year as their classroom teacher. It has been a privilege to help shape your child and support them in their journey into the wider world, along with our wonderful team of educators we have in the ELC.
On behalf of my team, I wish all families in the ELC a very happy Christmas and a safe, healthy, and happy 2023. For those families returning to the ELC we all look forward to seeing you enter through the doors again, and for those starting in Eblana or beyond we wish you a wonderful start to your ‘big school’ education. It may be goodbye, but please stay in touch as you are all part of the ELC family and will never be forgotten.
Libby Chislett Director – Mary Jones Early Learning Centre
It is hard to capture all that has occurred this year, however, what we do know is what a relief and joy it has been to have our beautiful students on site for it all. A lot happens in Eblana, and our students finish their school year with so many fond memories. All of this is only made possible by the highly able, passionate and dedicated staff I am fortunate to lead. Despite the challenges, 2022 has been an amazing year.
‘When things do not go your way, remember that every challenge — every adversity — contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth.’ Roy
T. BennettThis year has been filled with myriad achievements, exciting events and rich learning taking place right across our Campus. Quality teaching and learning is at the very core of what makes Eblana such an impressive place to be and visiting classrooms continues to be the highlight of my week. It is during these times that I am truly able to experience the high quality learning that is taking place each and every day, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Eblana students have enjoyed some of their richest learning beyond the classroom.
Foundation students stepped into life as Firefighters, crawling through tunnels, lifting heavy hoses and carrying people to safety, as well as visiting our Shoreham camp, IMAX and the Melbourne Museum.
• Year 1 stepped back in time visiting Bundoora Park, writing on blackboards, lining up for nail inspections and learning by rote, as well as visiting our two wonderful zoos.
• Year 2 visited the MCG, CERES, Twisted Science, Melbourne Aquarium and a new camp preparation day down at Shoreham.
• Year 3 enjoyed Healesville Sanctuary, Scienceworks and their first camp experience at Shoreham!
• Year 4 explored the Royal Botanical Gardens, Polly Woodside and ACMI Museum of Screen Culture and had another great experience at Shoreham.
With strong links to the curriculum, these experiences enriched the learning happening in the classroom and created memories for the children that will be enjoyed and shared as they move through the School.
I am so proud of all that we achieve in a school year. Our students grow as learners, as people and as citizens of their wider community. The Mentone Grammar School Values underpin all that we do and frame the conversations we have about friendships and the way we interact with each other, with a focus this year on Service.
My thanks go out to all the staff in Eblana for another exciting, productive and successful year. I thank the Eblana families for working supportively with me and all our staff, to ensure a valuable partnership between home and school. Most importantly, I thank the students of Eblana for bringing their joy and laughter to our Campus. I look forward with anticipation to what is in store for 2023, our Centenary year.
Jess Richards Head of Eblana
Our year began excitedly as our Foundation students commenced their first year of formal schooling. Students explored many new places in Eblana including the Magic Garden, Discovery Garden, and their new classrooms. Each school day was busy with Literacy and Numeracy learning, as well as Music, Library, Art, PE, Chinese and Swimming lessons.
In Term 2, we enjoyed learning more about Australia’s indigenous animals and were lucky to have an incursion, where we had the opportunity to see and touch a variety of Australian animals. We also explored the culture and histories of our First Nations People and learnt about the importance of language and Country. Also, for the first time, Foundation students competed in an Eblana Cross Country.
Term 3 saw our students celebrate 100 days in Foundation. Students dressed up as ‘old people’ and enjoyed a morning of activities with their parents. During our unit of work on Community and Community Helpers we had a visit from a police officer and a paramedic. When learning about the history of Mentone Grammar, students toured the school, including a visit to Mr Cater’s office and we recreated the School’s first photo on the lawn.
Full of excitement and confidence, our Foundation students began Term 4 with enthusiasm. They began work on Minibeasts
and explored the world around them from a minibeasts’ perspective. A visit to the Melbourne Museum allowed students to view minibeasts up close, in the Bugs Alive exhibit. They read non-fiction texts and wrote facts about what they had learnt.
It has been an amazing year full of learning, new friendships, and memorable experiences. We are so proud of how much the Foundation students have achieved throughout 2022. We have enjoyed every day, teaching them and watching them grow and learn.
Bree Walker, Laura Savage and Sheree Smith Foundation Teachers
This is a wonderful milestone celebration for our Foundation students to celebrate with their parents, teachers and classmates. It is always a delight to see just how much progress has been made, both academically and socially, in such a relatively short time. Congratulations to all our Foundation students on reaching 100!
Our 2022 Year 1 community of learners is vibrant, kind and innately curious. This year has been their first full year of onsite School learning and although they learned so much academically in the past two years, nothing can quite compare to being in the dynamic and inspiring learning environment of Eblana. The students have experienced both the challenges and joys of learning with and from each other. They have approached their learning with awe and wonder – questioning, exploring, experimenting, and reflecting, and the children have enjoyed sharing their thinking and discoveries with their peers. Interpersonal skills such as sharing, taking turns, and regulating their own behaviour have flourished throughout the year, and they have loved just being in the company of their friends.
There was much excitement around first experiences of excursions and school events. The students were thrilled to head out on the bus to see what life was like in the olden days at Bundoora Park Farm, and to explore the creature features and habitats of different animals at Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo. Participating in the House Cross Country and Athletics Day, dressing up for Book Week, the Eblana Pet Service, Footy Colours Day and so much more – the children have really learned what a fun and exciting place school can be!
Cassie Dixon and Sonja Cowell Year 1 Teachers
We will look back fondly at 2022 as the year we truly reconnected and reignited the learning environment Mentone Grammar is renowned for.
As Year 2 teachers, we have been inspired by our wonderful students’ resilience, curiosity and creativity which returned with a vengeance in 2022. Our Year 2 classrooms have been filled with passion, creativity and determination. We built inclusive classrooms whereby all our students worked together, understood and valued different points of view, thought critically and were successful learners. It was so fulfilling to witness, first-hand, our students empowered to take ownership of their own learning.
The Year 2 teachers were eager to build our classroom communities after a couple of years of interruptions. Our routines brought excitement and eager anticipation. We found inspiration and a renewed sense of purpose, and we celebrated so many wonderful achievements in our classes. The students were both creative and courageous in their daily approach to learning tasks. They welcomed friends, old and new, and as teachers we engaged the classroom and our students responded with open minds, actively drawing meaning, and participating fully while making sense of the world around them.
When reflecting on the many excursions the classes experienced in 2022, an absolute highlight in this final term of the year was the Year 2 students partaking in a Familiarisation Day camp at Shoreham. Our focus for the day was on:
• building confidence
• igniting creativity
• problem solving
• stimulating a sense of adventure
• encouraging social interaction
• team building
• promoting independence.
This was also a unique opportunity for our students to become acquainted with our campsite in Shoreham. It was such an amazingly positive experience filled with lots of lasting memories.
It has been a very busy and productive year with rich learning experiences, and we have enjoyed teaching this wonderful group of students and wish each of them every success in Year 3.
Anastasia Antoniadis, Karen Sheehy, Meg Hayes and Lynda Macmillan Year 2 TeachersWhat a fantastic year it has been for Year 3! From their first school camp to their first Wakakirri performance and their first time experiencing House Sport, Year 3 is a year of exciting firsts that are enjoyed by students and parents alike.
In Term 1 we visited Healesville Sanctuary to watch the Spirits of the Sky show and witness the amazing flying abilities of birds, a perfect complement to our learning about living things in Biological Science.
We visited Shoreham Camp in Term 2 and enjoyed activities like a beach walk, sandcastle building competitions, building huts and spending time with friends. We also visited the Scienceworks Planetarium in Term 3 as part of our study of Earth and Space. This inspired us to choose our own Earth and Space topic to research during the term.
A highlight of the year was the Wakakirri story dance performance including students in Years 3 and 4. Our performance of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant was nominated for two National Excellence awards for the first time in the School’s history. We were invited to perform at the Victorian State Awards Night and really enjoyed the experience.
Next year a number of students will take on formal leadership roles within Eblana and as a cohort they will be the leaders of the School. They are now ready and looking forward to setting a great example for their peers as they complete their final year in the Eblana Campus.
Kris Little and Kate Wright Year 3 Teachers
Year 4 has been filled with many wonderful memories this year. Students have been presented with many exciting opportunities including Leadership responsibilities, presenting at Eblana assemblies, musical performances, Wakakirri and representing our School in sports events and other competitions. Our year level is certainly diverse in its pursuits!
We were fortunate to participate in two Learning Journeys to Shoreham, which was the highlight of the year for many. They loved being independent, spending relaxed times with their friends, as well as a wide variety of activities including rock pool rambles, boogie boarding, night walks and eating the glorious food.
In Term 1, our Year 4s experienced the Royal Botanic Gardens and Polly Woodside as part of our learning in Humanities. In Term 3 we went to ACMI to discover the art of Stop Motion video making, bringing this knowledge back to school to create our own movies.
House Spirit was everywhere during our Eblana Cross Country and our fun Athletics day. It was wonderful to see all Year 4 students be leaders during these events.
It has been so exciting to have a year filled with so many highlights. We hope these memories are treasured for years to come!
Lauren Trevis and Mandy Chamberlain Year 4 TeachersIt has been another busy year in the Finlay Anderson Library for Eblana students. Library lessons continued to focus on environmental and sustainability issues through the magic of books, both fiction and non-fiction. Lessons were designed to invite students to explore the real world around them whilst others invited them into a world of imagination and fantasy.
In November we were fortunate to have a visit from awardwinning author, musician, prolific storyteller, and now filmmaker, Boori Monty Pryor. Boori shared his unique perspective on the world. Combining humorous tales from his life experiences, Dreamtime stories, and instructive anecdotes, offering an insight into the multi-faceted reality of modern-day First Nations culture. By combining traditional elements of performance with contemporary stories, Boori helped students better understand both the past and present culture of First Nations People. Specific activities undertaken during Library are largely developed from the Australian Calendar of Environmental events and they included:
• Term 1 – Earth Day, Earth Hour, World Water Day, World Wildlife Day, SeaWeek and Clean up Australia.
• Term 2 – Hairy-Nosed Wombat Day, World Bee Day and World Oceans Day, National Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day.
• Term 3 – National Tree Day, Platypus Month and during September Biodiversity month.
• Term 4 – Australian Wildlife Week, World Habitat Day, National Bird Week, Wombat Day, Pollinator Week and National Recycling Day.
Eblana students also continued to be involved in annual Library initiatives which are intended to encourage students to read and to introduce them to a wider genre of literature.
Students were invited to participate in the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge. It was wonderful to see so many enthusiastic students sign up for the Challenge. During National Simultaneous Storytime in May students were treated to the book Family Tree by Josh Pyke, read by our wonderful Foundation students Teddy and Ryker.
The theme for Book Week this year was Dreaming with Eyes Open. We were excited to host and celebrate Book Week back on campus this year from the 22 to 26 August. This year’s theme was about stepping into your own story, dreaming with eyes open, listening to Country as the first storyteller and learning from friends who help you on your way. This was a very busy week as students explored and celebrated Australian authors and literature.
The week started with a live performance production titled Story Quest, presented by Perform! Education. We had a visit from Award winning author Claire Saxby whose book, Iceberg, won the Picture Story Book Section for 2022. For the first time we held a Great Book Swap which was a new, and very successful, initiative where all students brought in their favourite book in exchange for a gold coin donation. We raised $444 which will help gift carefully chosen books to children in remote communities across the country.
As always, the students had a wonderful time, with the end-ofweek parade being a highlight. The costumes and smiles worn by students is always one of the best parts of the week. Our staff dressed as Mr Men characters by Roger Hargreaves and had just as much fun.
Belinda McKindlay Teacher Librarian
In the Eblana Campus, we strive to create a fun and engaging environment for learning Chinese. We have been integrating AIMS, where learning is achieved through the use of storytelling, gestures, collaboration and repetition. We encourage students to achieve high levels of oral and written proficiency using gestures, contextualised in stories, songs and dance. Each semester students are given a Chinese booklet which includes the four main skills of learning Chinese: speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
In Foundation, students learn Chinese basic strokes and learn to write some simple characters relevant to the strokes. They also use different materials to learn Pinyin (a system of romanised spelling developed in China) and to create Chinese numbers.
Students in Years 1 and 2 learn to read and write their Chinese name and understand the meanings of their Chinese name. They also progress to learn topics such as introducing themselves and their family, expressing their likes and/or dislikes of colours and fruits and using sentences to make simple requests within the classroom.
Students in Years 3 and 4 learn to write complex Chinese characters and try to construct sentences using words learnt from previous years. They then progressed to learn the types of transportation they take in Australia, describe their personalities and clothing that they wear, and they also enjoyed expressing their favourite sports and foods.
Alicia Tan Chinese Language Teacher
In Eblana, 2022 was a year full of dancing, singing, exploring music from other cultures and developing musicianship skills. Each played an important part in developing our students’ confidence, creativity and willingness to create and perform, with the children always rising to the occasion to do their very best.
This year saw the return of live performances which included concerts, assembly performances and, of course, the return of Wakakirri during Term 3, for which our Years 3 and 4 students told the beautiful story of Elmer through dance.
The children embraced opportunities to perform. Assemblies were always popular and provided the children with regular performance opportunities, which included instrumental solos and dance performances. Eblana students also enjoyed opportunities to hear the older students perform during our assemblies or occasionally as a special in-class performance.
There were, of course, our formal Eblana Instrumental Concerts, which were held at the end of Semesters 1 and 2. These concerts showcased our two major ensembles, the Eblana Strings and the Eblana Singers, as well as our Years 2, 3 and 4 instrumental groups and a variety of soloists and small chamber groups. Some of our highlights included a drum kit duet and a quartet performance by some our most advanced string players.
Overall, 2022 has been a busy and productive year for all our performers with our finale being the wonderful Christmas Pageant, for the first time in two years.
Thank you to our wonderful String Captains, Linxi Zheng, Felix Jia and Singers’ Captain Joy Huang for their leadership and for the excellent job they did introducing performers at our concerts.
Debra McLeod
Picasso once said, ‘Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.’
Art is a favourite subject amongst many of our students as it gives them the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas in a creative way. The Visual Arts Program in Eblana aims to nurture and extend students’ creativity, interest, and skills. It is a fun opportunity to develop their imaginations as well as refine their practical and fine motor skills. They learn to make choices when experimenting with materials, tools, and techniques. The content covered in Visual Arts comes directly from the student’s interest and ideas, which helps foster enjoyment and pride in what is created. Students have the opportunity to explore a wide variety of different art mediums such as drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, clay, sculpture, construction, and textiles. The Art Room is an engaging and creative environment, with lots of ‘works in progress’ and projects that are ready to share and display.
Jillian Watkins Eblana Art Teacher
The importance of our environment and the involvement of our young people in how it is managed, in a collaborative and hands-on way, has remained at the forefront of the Eblana Growing Greener Initiative in 2022. This includes exploring how we can make small changes to the way we lead our everyday lives.
At the beginning of the year a new Green Team was elected, bringing a fresh perspective and new ideas to the group. The members have been involved in assembly presentations, maintaining the Magic Garden, and conducting talks in classrooms on the importance of reducing the amount of waste we produce.
The Growing Greener Initiative has impacted in the following ways:
• The Initiative kicked off the year with an incursion. Holly’s Bees visited the Year 4 classes to tell students about bees and how to respond and behave around bees in our natural play spaces. Holly brought in her observation hive so students could see a real honeybee colony in action.
• The Magic Garden continues to provide students with much enjoyment including the opportunity to experience the joy of watching plants grow and sampling a variety of vegetables when they harvest the produce.
• The worm farm is thriving which has allowed us to supply the ELC farms with worms and aiding in a reduction in food scraps. This closed loop system includes the liquid worm juice playing a large part in ensuring the success of the vegetable crops.
• At the beginning of Term 3 the Green Team introduced Waste Free Wednesday where classes receive points for lunch boxes with minimal packaging. It is our aim to reduce the amount of waste in Eblana by educating students to pack their food in reusable containers.
• Our final initiative in Term 4 was putting the ‘4 Rs’ into action regarding Eblana’s paper usage. Some of the suggestions have been to use both sides of the paper, recycle the paper, use the shredded paper for the worm farm and vegetable garden and to offer craft classes and reuse the paper for origami.
We all look forward to another amazing year of the Eblana Growing Greener Initiative in 2023.
Belinda McKindlay Teacher/Librarian Green Team CoordinatorWakakirri is an annual story/dance festival for schools and Eblana was very excited to welcome it back in 2022! With the philosophy that ‘great stories inspire change’, 60 Years 3 and 4 students worked very hard, busily making sets and props and learning choreography to create a spectacular dance performance to the story of Elmer –The Patchwork Elephant.
The students performed at Frankston Arts Centre in August to excellent reviews and for the first time ever, we earned a place in the Victorian Wakakirri Showcase, performing at The Clocktower in Moonee Ponds. Their performance received the following awards:
• Excellent polished performance
• Excellent group dance
• Excellent solo dance
• Excellent theme/concept
• Excellent overall costume design.
Feedback from the panel included:
‘What a beautiful opening. I loved everything about this performance and the theme was a perfect reminder that different is what makes you so special. The costumes were incredible. The sets and props looked great and framed the stage really well. I particularly liked the umbrella moment as you did a scene/ costume change. Very clever. The choreography was very creative and well-rehearsed. Elmer was a delight to watch. The story was simple, effective and very easy to follow in each scene and made for an extremely enjoyable performance.’
Congratulations to all the students involved and a special thank you to our Wakakirri staff: Kate Wright, Lauren Trevis, Kim Cartwright and Bree Walker.
Congratulations to our cast:
Charlize Stephens
Abigail Pearce
Kruz Tyagi
Aisha Rahhali
Torres Liu
Adit Prakash
Christopher Lund
Hudson Toovey
Rohan May
Eloise Carroll
Charlotte Sleep
Chloe Lin
Duomi Xu
Josh Webster
Addison Dannals
Connie Ruigrok
Shanuth Premaratne
Kimi Song
Amelie Strickland
Lucinda White
Advai Aradhya
Maia Livolti
Harry Ward
Thomas Forde
Michael Papanikolaou
Youn Han
Hugh Wiedermann
Alyssa Duman
Diego Fernando
George Lyons
Evie Mustica
Elissa Lanthois
Abel Korybutiak
Sura Chen
Phillip Tsiatsias
Kennedy Grant
EJ Paice-Brandt
Caspian Becconsall
Cameron Turner
Eliza Trevis
Ashleigh Hooker
Mannix Woods
Manny De Zoysa-Lewis
Trinay Vinothkumar
Zaden Goodson
Anokhi De Silva
Penelope Connell
Jack Widdison
Harvey Dannals
Riley Oliver
Eliza Cregeen
Isla Lettieri
Abbey Neeman
Aprameya Awasthi
Yichi Zhang
Alexis Antoniou
Pippa Leonard
Grace Newman
Following a special Mother’s Day gathering on Campus, our Eblana families headed to Keysborough for the biggest sporting event of the year – the Eblana Cross Country! On a pleasant autumn morning the Playing Fields were a blur of colour as all the runners ran with pride for their House. Congratulations to House champions, Lionel Large, and to all the year level medallists for their impressive efforts that morning.
BOYS
1 Carter Livolti
2 Wayne Wang
3 Harrison Pullar
GIRLS
1 Clara Amos
2 Laurina Mullins
3 Savannah Toovey
Congratulations to Lionel Large!
1 Lionel Large
2 Were
3 Jones
4 White
5 Drinan
6 Deighton
7 Anderson
8 Finlay Anderson
Troy Drinan
Eblana Sport
BOYS
1
1 Leo Evans
Eq. 2 Ashton Poulios
Eq. 2 Benjamin Wane
3 William Forde
GIRLS
1 Gemma Hooker
2 Millie Plapp
3 Eliza Smith
BOYS
1 Nicholas Joseph
2 Benjamin White
3 Beau Messina
GIRLS
1 Charlotte Lorinc
2 Frankie Mustica
3 Ashlyn Tan
BOYS
1 Patterson Manning
2 Beau Ridd
3 Christopher Lund
GIRLS
1 Aisha Rahhali
2 Addison Dannals
3 Joy Piao
BOYS
1 Mandel De Zoysa-Lewis
2 Mannix Woods
3 Zaden Goodson
GIRLS
1 Alexis Antoniou
2 Isla Lettieri
3 Eliza Cregeen
Reflecting on 2022, it was a year of constant change and opportunity for the Riviera Campus. We were welcomed warmly to the community and have enjoyed the times when we have been able to invite parents and families into the Campus or the school grounds.
It has also been a journey of learning, as we settled into the School and asked ourselves; what are the current strengths that we can build upon? What are the opportunities for growth and how can we help our students transition smoothly from Year 4 in Eblana and on to Bayview? Throughout this year we endeavoured to show a commitment to seek every opportunity to learn and a belief that one can always learn something new.
Highlights of the year for the students and staff have been their Learning Journey opportunities such as time in Sovereign Hill for Year 5, Canberra for Year 6 and Shoreham experiences for both Years 5 and 6, with their classes and Mentor at the start of Term 4. Each of these experiences has provided time with their peers in a different learning environment as well as sharing resources and trying a range of challenging activities, whether that is snorkelling at Portsea Pier, or touring Point Nepean National Park or simply managing their belongings and self, away from home. As our students further develop their independence, opportunities like these are invaluable to support their social and emotional development.
A key part of our year, as staff, was reflection, in all areas of school life. Reflective practice provides us an integral process in which we, as a team, strive to improve our practice to effectively meet the learning and wellbeing needs of our students. Some ways in which we have used reflection are:
• At the end of Learning Units – How can we improve the opportunities for the students through a balance of explicit teaching, and inquiry that is relevant and challenging for our students?
• At our Riviera staff meetings – We start our meetings focusing on what is going well for us professionally as well as individual students we work with. We take time to acknowledge these successes at an individual level. Staff often share highlights such as: seeing student learning coming together, differentiating feedback for students, embedding thinking routines into classroom activities, working collaboratively with our peers to further build on the successes of the Campus, both academically and beyond.
My highlight(s) of this year have been the concerts, including the Winter Concert and the Jazz Cabaret. I really enjoyed these because I love playing in ensembles with other people and being able to share the music we play with others. Astrud Year 6
A highlight of my year in Riviera so far is getting to learn lots of new things and achieve many things. Whether it’s from awards and medals, to just achieving self-confidence. In class, we’ve learnt about countries in Europe, fractions, and informative texts. I’ve improved and developed in all of these learning focuses. All of the Learning Journeys and experiences that we’ve been to were all so much fun! Tiffany Year 5
We thank the students, families and staff of Riviera for their engagement and positive approach to the 2022 school year. It was a year that provided, at times, many challenges as we returned to full time onsite learning and juggled the restrictions that COVID continued to provide, with significant numbers in isolation, particularly in Term 1 and 2. Every community member has risen to the ever-changing learning environment as it evolved and developed. Students have built on their independent skills to learn at home if in isolation and we were all pleased that by the end of the year we saw most of our students onsite every day and interacting and learning alongside their peers in person rather than through a screen.
We are appreciative of the dedicated staff who work with Riviera students to ensure that they are healthy, happy and high achieving young people each day: Always looking for ways to build relationships and engage the students in both learning and cocurricular activities.
Mary Craven Angela O’Connell Head of Riviera Deputy Head of Riviera
A highlight of my year was going to Canberra. I enjoyed going to all the different parliament related buildings in Canberra. I had a good time with my friends. My favourite place was Parliament House. Rahul Year 6
‘Together with the Riviera teachers, our goal is to foster a positive environment, where every student feels included and nurtured in their learning. We are confident that the Years 5 & 6 students will have a wonderful journey in Riviera, and we look forward to seeing them flourish socially, emotionally and academically.’
Mary and AngelaAs part of our Riviera opportunities, students in Year 5 and Year 6 have immersed themselves in a Learning Journey to either Sovereign Hill or Canberra. Each of these experiences link to the learning undertaken in the classroom within Humanities.
Late in Term 1, Year 5 students and staff had a wonderful time exploring Sovereign Hill. Learning Journeys such as this offer students the opportunity to thrive and connect in a different way – learning and living alongside each other for the three days.
Our Year 6 students travelled to Canberra for a week’s immersion in our capital city, in the days prior to the 2022 Federal Election. It was an incredible opportunity to see things in Canberra that are only accessible as part of a school group. Evening activities were also part of this experience; hearing from people associated with The Big Issue and their life journey as well as taking part in activities at Questacon and the evercompetitive bowling evening, when many reconnected in a different, fun way.
‘One place in Canberra I really enjoyed was Questacon. Questacon is a science centre in Canberra that has multiple rooms across multiple floors, accessed by a ramp which leads to the end goal, which was a model of Mars. At every milestone it would show how many kilometres to go until you reached Mars. Questacon had different science experiments and hands-on activities that I am sure everyone enjoyed doing.’ Aaryav 6D
We are so pleased that this year we were able to resume our Learning Journeys as these have provided invaluable experiences that we are sure the students will remember for years to come.
Angela O’Connell Deputy Head of Riviera
In Riviera’s inaugural year, Years 5 & 6 Sport has provided many fun opportunities for students to participate and represent their School with pride. Our Riviera students were invited to compete within the AGSV competition and also within our local schools’ competition, Cheltenham District.
Within the District we were represented in Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country, Basketball Soccer and Football. Our teams all managed to go through and compete at the next level in these sports, which was a great effort.
Our Year 6 students were also able to participate in Lightning Premierships at our Keysborough Playing Fields which were always fun occasions. They were able to step outside their comfort zone and play sports against other schools from our local area.
There were lots of incredible moments that happened in 2022 but two big sport moments for us all were:
• Marlia De Zoysa–Lewis winning the Butterfly 50m race at MSAC in the State Finals. She swam with such style and grace, and it was fantastic to see her win the top prize and be rewarded for all her efforts in the pool.
• At the Kingston Division Cross Country event, a Year 5 competitor was struggling to finish the race. Fergus, one of our Riviera students, stopped in his tracks and helped this student cross the line at the end. When I asked him why he said, ‘Well I couldn’t leave my mate behind.’
The camaraderie our Years 5 & 6 students have is fantastic to see and something that runs through our School at every year level. It is just part of what has made our first year of Riviera Sport so exciting.
I am looking forward to 2023 to even more incredible Riviera sports moments. Thank you to all our students for their enthusiasm and sporting spirit in both competitions this year.
Katherine Nish Junior Sport Coordinator
That quote certainly rings true in 2022 as it has been the first full year of freedom, coming out of COVID. This year has been an educational reawakening for students, a chance for them to remember what type of student they were prior to COVID, what type of student they are now, and what type of student they want to be.
Students had to learn how to socialise again; something that seemed commonplace and obvious to us as adults, took time to be re-established. Learning Journeys to Shoreham, Central Australia and Gembrook this year allowed our students the ability to grow and develop as individuals. Group challenges promoted confidence-building and trust, while students made new friends, reacquainting themselves and reconnecting their social networks. The idyllic photo of the sun setting at Central Australia below, typifies our mantra this year of unity and togetherness. Smiling faces, caring comments, and engagement in these Learning Journeys, led to most students slipping seamlessly back into school life. For other students, it did take longer to become involved and for their immune systems to adjust to large groups again.
I am proud of all our students for giving their best and persisting through challenges and having the capacity for resilience. Even prouder am I of our staff who have re-engaged students, developed a sense of ownership in student learning and continued to support each other in their teams. Many staff went over and above their normal workload, assisting with sometimes up to four or five Learning Journeys to help staff who were ill, or due to extra trips scheduled for this year.
This year was special for us in Bayview, as it was our first year with only Years 7 and 8 students, with the opening of the Riviera Campus for Years 5 and 6 students. While it was sad to leave our younger levels behind, this allowed us to target learning, assemblies, and special events more for these year levels and cater specifically for their age and stage needs.
It has been a year to celebrate, celebrating a return to the classroom, celebrating the challenge of improving and consolidating skills and habits once again and celebrating old and new friendships. Students were justifiably happy to become involved in their summer and winter sports, to regain fitness lost last year, to extend their friendship groups and to use their unlimited energy levels.
Students immersed themselves into the many cocurricular activities on offer such as the Bayview Play, the Woodwind Concert, Cre8tive Dance, Victorian School Music Festival culminating in the Bayview Festival. The talent on offer at all Performing Arts events this year has been amazing, and I thank all staff for their inspiration, enthusiasm and management. Students and staff worked extremely hard rehearsing throughout the year, spending many hours before or after school to achieve excellence in their area. Highly able students have been busy taking part in a Solar Car Challenge, De Vinci Decathlon, Ethics Olympiad and Stories of the Gifted. Thank you to the Head of Enrichment Programs, Mark Smith, and his team for coordinating these activities. Fiona Watts, Head of Learning Enhancement, and her team have also had a busy year to ensure that students, post COVID, are keeping pace with their learning.
Staff in all faculties develop students’ special talents by organising incursions or excursions. Some of these have included Kryal Castle, Tai-Chi and Oktoberfest for Languages, Entrepreneur Enterprise unit, trips to the Melbourne Zoo for classification, The FUSE Cup for ESports and finishing with the incredible Art and Design Expo where the talent of students is always amazing.
Thank you to our Wellbeing staff who are often the unsung heroes of our School, but assist all students and staff to become the best they can be. Counsellors help everyone to clarify their thoughts, deal with issues and develop strategies that help us create better self-awareness. We also thank Ella Whittaker, our Year 8 Bayview Wellbeing Captain, for looking after us. She has been involved with gate greetings, making us aware of special days such as ‘RUOK?’ day and helping run other charity events such as the much-loved Shave for a Cure charity, which raised close to $15000 for the Leukaemia Foundation.
To all our Year 8 Leadership team, especially our Bayview Captains, Natalie Nomikos and Ned Robertson, well done on everything you have accomplished in 2022. We hope the leadership skills you have developed, will stand you in good stead in future years. Natalie and Ned have been terrific in overseeing events and assisting with assemblies. Their leadership, recommendations and ideas have been very much appreciated by me and Year 8 Coordinators.
Thank you to Terry Matthew and Fiona Slocombe, for their guidance and collegiality. As Acting Head of Bayview this semester, I have enjoyed working closely with all Year Level Coordinators, Jane Sheumack, Elli Monro, ably supported by Angus Todd and Jacqui Cartwright. Their tireless work is appreciated. This year had made me realise how wonderful our community and our Mentone Grammar ‘village’ truly is and I publicly thank all staff and parents for their continued support. Enjoy Christmas with your family and have a safe and happy holiday period.
Michael Martin (Acting) Head of Bayview
My favourite thing that has happened in Year 7 is going to Uluru. I will never forget stepping out onto the vibrant red dirt and looking up at the enormous red rock. I will never forget sleeping in swags under the breathtaking stars and gleaming moon. I will never forget everything I have learned about our country and our culture. Some of my best memories were made there and they will never leave my mind. I loved Uluru. Lucy
My favourite thing in Year 7 was going to Shoreham. I found that it was such a great start to the year and being new to the School it was the first time I was with my new classmates, away from school. It was such a great chance to get to know them and feel more comfortable with my Mentor. The activities were really fun; my favourite definitely was snorkelling with the dolphins. Clemmie
My favourite part of Year 7 so far has definitely been the opportunities that we’ve been given within our Learning Journeys. It was unbelievable to go to Central Australia as a group and experience what we did within the Indigenous community of Lilla and then Uluru. It helped us learn heaps about each other’s character strengths in an outback environment and how to care for ourselves. For most kids in Year 7, it can be a HUGE step of independence to go on a plane and fly to a regional location just with your class, but the instructors and teachers made it very comforting and now I’d love to go and do it again. It was so entertaining to be amongst all the wildlife and we learnt heaps about Indigenous Australian culture. Being able to go and touch one of the wonders of the world just topped it off as one of the best school camps I’ve ever been on!! Sam
I’ve very much been enjoying the Year 7 Precinct because I feel that being so close together with the other Year 7 classes has made me branch out more, making myself more social and interactive with people who I don’t know from other classes. I feel it brought us together as a whole Year 7 community. I also like how the Language classes are in other Year 7 homerooms so if you do have to move rooms, the Year 7 Precinct makes it easier. Rehaan
The Precinct is great as it feels like it belongs to the Year 7s. The classrooms are a great space to learn, with posters for different subjects on the walls and the Class Charter is decorated and looking nice, while still having important information. Our class has made our classroom our own and at the centre is our Class Charter values. The Year 7 hall is also a great space to hang out with friends during lunch and recess. Olivia
The Year 7 Precinct has been a wonderful place to hang out and chat, especially on cold days. The hall is amazing as it is toasty warm, and it is open at all times. At recess and lunch, the comfortable couches are a great place to sit and chat or play some board games. The Year 7 Precinct is one of my favourite places. Vandana
What have you learnt about yourself during your first year of secondary school?
I have learnt that I was born to be a leader. Having all-girl classes has made me feel much more confident to put my hand up and speak in class and I feel as if I have come out of my shell. I’ve learnt that it isn’t the end of the world if I get a question wrong in class and all that matters is that you learn from your mistakes.
GeorgiaI have learnt many things about myself, however, one thing that stands out is that I like trying out and exploring new opportunities. Lilly
I think that Year 7 is around the time when you start to really get a better understanding on how everything works, and personally I have found that to feel more comfortable at school you need to choose a good group of friends, and then just go with the flow.
SamI think the main thing I have learnt during my first year in secondary school, and at Mentone Grammar, is that working hard really pays off and taking part in as many experiences as you can gives you a better school life and helps you feel more a part of the School community.
Clemmie
What does it mean to you, to be a member of the Year 7 Mentone Grammar community?
For me, I am really proud to be a part of the Year 7 Mentone Grammar community. Being a part of this community is something I cherish daily. Everyone feels respected for who they are, and we all try to support each other. We all bring something different to our cohort which is what makes it so interesting and special. Even when someone is having a hard time, we try to bring them up and guide them through whatever is going on for them. For this community it’s not only the students who make it what it is, but the teachers as well. I can most definitely say that all our teachers are not only very knowledgeable in their subjects but also very approachable and welcoming. Therefore, we proudly call ourselves Mentonians, our community is why. Bimal
It means that I’m a part of a large community of people who are similar to me. It means that I have some sort of connection to everyone in Year 7 and in some way, the school. Islah
To me, to be in the Year 7 Mentone Grammar community means that I belong in a community with my peers, and that we are all helping each other out and going through both our struggles and our triumphs together. Daisy
I am very grateful and proud to be a member of the Year 7 Mentone Grammar community. It is a bubbly and positive environment that I love and am comfortable around. I am glad to be a part of it. Vandana
Elli Monro Jacqui Cartwright Year 7 Coordinator Year 7 Assistant CoordinatorLearning Journeys allow our students to grow and develop as individuals, so it was with great excitement that our much-loved Central Australia trip was back again in 2022. Our Year 7 classes flew in and out of the Northern Territory over the winter months and from the first sight of Uluru from the air, knew that they were about to land somewhere incredibly special.
After a very long bus ride, with one righthand turn, the Year 7s were welcomed to Country by Aunty Vera and the residents of the Lilla community, in the shadows of Kings Canyon. They relished the red dirt and sunsets and absorbed the learnings and history of our Indigenous culture on the many peaceful walking tours around Country and Kings Canyon. They shared meals, dot paintings, campfires and sunsets with their wonderful hosts before heading off back across country to Yulara where they walked the base of spectacular Kata Tjuta, The Valley of the Winds and jaw dropping Uluru. They slept under star-studded skies and agreed that immersing themselves in the magical Dreamtime culture of Indigenous Australia, really is life changing.
Year 8 in Bayview this year has proved to be nothing short of exciting! Our students have embraced countless Campus activities that promoted leadership, teamwork and resilience ranging from learning activities, musical and drama performances, sporting competitions and the most recent Bayview Musical of The Little Mermaid. All of these opportunities have given our students a space to shine and have expanded their understanding of the world around them which has also promoted reconnection for all of us in the Year 8 community.
Our Bayview Peer Support Leaders were inducted at the beginning of the year and set about the task of leading the Campus, representing student voice, and participating in initiatives in teams across Bayview. They were specifically proud of leading Bayview in their assembly time, practising their public speaking skills and promoting their initiatives, while also introducing key members of our community.
All our students were particularly excited by the Entrepreneurship Program they experienced in Humanities, where they were able to formulate their own ideas and engage in a journey where they created their own business plan around a product or service that they were passionate about selling. Students were then able to pitch their product or service to their peers and gain valuable feedback to guide them moving forward. Some students were lucky enough to sample some of the trial products on offer!
Another highlight for many of our students this year was our excursion to Kryal Castle where they were able to experience the lifestyle of people living in Medieval times. Students spent time in lessons on Medieval armoury, apothecary, leather work, archery, calligraphy and learnt about the court system and Medieval torture devices. This allowed our Year 8 students to participate in these real-life activities and apply the research they had conducted in the classroom to further explore their understanding. They were even treated to a live jousting show hosted by Medieval Knights!
As our most senior members of the Bayview Campus, our students have embraced all of the opportunities afforded to them while developing their leadership skills and independence.The Year 8 Mentors are incredibly proud of all that our students have achieved and wish them every success as they embraced their graduation to Greenways Campus and excitedly prepare for the new opportunities that await them for their Year 9 experience.
Jayne Sheumack Year 8 Coordinator
After two interrupted years, Year 8 Learning Journeys were back in a big way in 2022. Students were challenged and engaged across our Learning Journey program with trips to Gembrook, Shoreham and, for some classes, Central Australia.
In Term 1, six Year 8 classes attended the Central Australia Learning Journey, as it was postponed from the previous year. Students marvelled at the amazing sight of Uluru as well as enjoying the variety of challenging hikes, stunning sunsets and wildlife encounters. Despite the incredible heat, students enjoyed immersing themselves in a different culture where they learnt about Indigenous people and their customs.
In Term 2, every Year 8 student attended the Gembrook Learning Journey where they engaged in a series of activities designed to push them outside their comfort zones. Across the five-day trip, students completed mountain biking, caving, abseiling, canoeing, the flying fox as well as a two-night hike. Sleeping in tents and the challenging weather conditions pushed some students, however, all left with a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie having beaten the elements together.
Finally, Year 8 students attended the School’s camp at Shoreham for an action-packed three days. Students experienced horse riding down to St Andrews Beach, a daylong hike through the picturesque Two Bays Waking Track and mountain bike riding down to the Shoreham Beach. After each activity, students enjoyed their downtime at the Shoreham site, where they could hang out and be kids; all without the everpresent impact of their phones and social media!
Angus Todd Year 8 Assistant Coordinator
A true Disney favourite, The Little Mermaid, has been a pleasure to bring to life in the Thorold Theatre. Students from Riviera and Bayview have been so enthusiastic and eager to learn the songs and choreography, as they brought these wonderfully charming and hilarious characters to life. For many students, this has been their first time on stage in a full-scale musical and they have blown everyone away by their talent, focus, characterisation and energy. It has been truly exciting to bring this magical underwater adventure to the stage and the audiences loved it!
Thanks to everyone involved in this production, particularly our incredible students! Well done to you all. A huge thank you to our incredible Performing Arts team and backstage crew.
Adam Palmer Director
Zahra Jacobs – Ariel
Riley Hamilton – Prince Eric
Grace Hughes – Ursula
Michael Friedli – King Triton
Mitchell Rogers – Sebastian
Chloe Britter – Flounder
Georgina Self – Scuttle
Zoe Dwyer – Flotsam
Kimorah Wong – Jetsam
Rhys Basin – Grimsby
Elin Kwok – Carlotta/Ensemble
Nikki Malotsis – Chef/Unfortunate Soul
MER SISTERS
Sienna Lyons – Adella/Ensemble
Mary Chamberlain – Allana/Ensemble
Cordelia Walker – Aquata/Ensemble
Coralie Chamberlain – Arista/Ensemble
Elisabeth Finnis – Atina/Ensemble
UNFORTUNATE SOULS
Yvette Isaksson
Amelia Poole
Ava Pregnalato
Kate Pregnalato
PRINCESSES/ENSEMBLE
Stephanie Begic
Odesa Kaurin
Neha Mishra
Hannah Pitt
Arabella Thomas
Myra Arya
PILOT/ENSEMBLE
Aaryav Deshpande
SAILORS/ENSEMBLE
Evy Davies
Madeleine Teirney
Emily Birch
SEAGULLS/ENSEMBLE
Addison Hamilton
Mason Kersley
Peach Flanagan
Grace Murphy
SEAHORSE/ENSEMBLE
Teddy Fisher
SEA CREATURES/ENSEMBLE
Diya Khosla
Madeleine Lansdell-Clarke
Tianyu Li
Zara Segal
Freya Stisen-Billing
Arna Ghosh
The 2022 Bayview drama production, Final Frontier, was most certainly a wild and memorable ride! An incredible mixture of styles including science fiction, classic western, a pirate adventure and most definitely, absurd comedy, this play had it all! As the first live production to be staged in the wonderful Thorold Theatre for over two years, the cast, crew and everyone involved were so enthusiastic and excited to be back! And what marvellously hilarious performances we witnessed. Many in the cast played multiple parts with gusto and fabulous energy as they threw themselves into their roles and continued to develop their comic timing and performance skills. These will hold them in very good stead as they progress through Mentone Grammar’s extensive Performing Arts programs and productions.
The play itself was written by Mentonian Chris Stockdale (Class of 2010), added to by me then workshopped and brought to life by our wonderful cast. Every single performer was able to add an extra line or two as well as ideas for comic business in a truly collaborative experience. There was not a single rehearsal where numerous cast members hadn’t been struck down with you know what, including myself, as well as other illnesses, away for camps etc., and yet everyone pulled together, problem solved and brought this weird and wonderful show to life! Our sets, costumes, lighting and sound were all of a dazzling high standard and our audiences certainly enjoyed a unique and hilarious experience. And yes, the rubber chicken made an appearance, as well as severed legs, an awesome cannon, flying fish, many pickle jokes and very topical references from the news! All so much fun and joyously performed by our talented students.
Adam Palmer Director
It was wonderful to see everyone getting into the spirit of competing for their House this year. The camaraderie, the enthusiastic cheering and the bright and colourful costumes with zany accessories, added that extra fun element to each event. The support students gave each other made every House event so special, whether students were competing or watching from the sidelines. Students were reminded of the joy and value of House Sport and just how much they had missed it over the past few years.
House Swimming was our first event for the year, held at the popular Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre (GESAC). In what was an extremely close carnival Were House won the day, defeating White House and Anderson House who both tied for second. Thank you for to all students and sport staff and Bayview staff for their assistance on the day.
Students participated in House Football, Soccer and Volleyball during the Winter Sports Carnival, over two weeks. These sports were highly competitive, but the emphasis was on fun, fitness and participation, so no House points were recorded.
Place House
1st Were
Equal 2nd White
Equal 2nd Anderson
4th Lionel Large
5th Deighton
6th Jones
7th Finlay Anderson
8th Drinan
The highlight of the year for Houses is competing in House Athletics at Lakeside Stadium at Albert Park. Students in four campuses get the opportunity to compete together which is exciting for everyone. Being such an inclusive school, younger students love to be involved in House chants, meet older students, and enjoy all the festivities on the day. Older students encourage younger students, assist them to learn more about Athletics, and inform them when their events are on. Congratulations to Jones House for finishing in first place. They can be seen celebrating their success below.
Overall
The colder weather did not dampen the spirits of all runners at our Keysborough Playing Fields for House Cross Country. The event catered for all runners, with many of them training hard and competing for a top ten placing; a goal quite a few students set. Other students happily set the target of jogging at a consistent pace throughout the three kilometres distance of each event. A few students chose to chat to their friends in a pleasant environment at walking pace. Colourful tutu skirts and other accessories added to the atmosphere. The overall result was determined by averaging all runners’ positions. Congratulations to Jones House runners who were convincing in defeating Lionel Large, with Anderson House taking third place. Place
This year has been full of exciting and adventurous activities for our Greenways students, which have taken them all over Australia. Our great hope is that these journeys will have prepared the class of 2022 for the myriad challenges they will face as they prepare to begin their Frogmore journey in 2023.
When the Year 9 students began their time in Greenways at the end of 2021, there was a great feeling of excitement and anticipation around the campus. Wearing their new Greenways fleeces, they commenced their Transition Program with enthusiasm, vigour and diligence. It was so pleasing to see our new cohort find their place quickly and seek challenges with a willingness to embrace opportunity in a new learning environment.
At the beginning of 2022, our students settled into the routine of the Greenways Campus with ease. The excitement of having friends and classmates working in the Greenways Café was a joy to see and the line to buy muffins, bagels, noodles and Zooper Doopers seemed never ending. There were other exciting additions to the Greenways Campus which the students utilised at every opportunity – a toasted sandwich machine, a microwave and an additional basketball small court. With two basketball rings now available for the Greenways students, this area has been a sought-after space to play, rivalling the everpopular down ball space.
On Campus, the weeks became very busy very quickly and involved a number of exciting events, including Wednesday Sport sessions with Year 10 students, to prepare for summer and winter Saturday Sport competitions, Mamma Mia! auditions and rehearsals, and cross-campus House activities including Swimming and Athletics Carnivals.
Another highlight for Greenways students was the introduction of the Cadet Program, where Frogmore Cadet Under Officers conducted training sessions, teaching a broad range of skills. This culminated in the annual Cadet Camp at Puckapunyal where platoons spent time together in the bush sleeping under hoochies, working on navigation skills, and even spending time at the shooting range, while working with and learning from senior students.
Similarly, our off-campus activities began in earnest. Our Community Pathways Learning Journeys are designed to challenge and broaden students’ understanding of communities outside their own and provide opportunities to succeed and explore personal growth and development. Including their Café experience and barista training, all students participated in an Urban Learning Experience, a Shoreham Learning Experience, an Indigenous Learning Experience, an Outdoor Expedition and an Individual Community Project.
Most profoundly, students embraced their Urban Community week which focused on this year’s theme of Inclusion, a powerful premise that underpinned a variety of programs offered. Sessions with Ceres Community Environment Park, The Man Cave, The Big Issue, The Intersection and Elite Wellbeing also focused on a range of themes including empathy, the environment, physical and mental health but most significantly, inclusion. Each opportunity helped students to reconnect with each other while exploring the ways in which they feel included in their community; what inclusion means and how they can incorporate the idea of inclusion into their own lives.
Year 9 classes also spent time in first aid and personal health training sessions at Mordialloc Surf Life Saving Club as they prepared for their interstate Learning Journeys over winter. These trips took them to either Far North Queensland, Kakadu or The Blue Mountains. These Learning Journeys were a highlight for many and will long be remembered by our Greenways cohort. The opportunity to travel by plane was exciting, particularly after the last two years where interstate travel was not possible. These trips allowed students to work with others who were not in their Mentor Group and provided a wonderful opportunity to mix with a new group of people. The chosen destinations allowed our students to spend time with people all over the country and focus on Indigenous culture and history in places that members of the public would not otherwise be allowed to visit. This was indeed a privilege and working with World Expeditions and local Indigenous land councils was very special, and our students were respectful, mindful, and aware of just how unique this opportunity was.
Back on Campus in their Mentor sessions, students worked collaboratively with their classmates and focused on various sessions, including a Careers Program to prepare them for subject selections in Frogmore, educational pathways following their time at Mentone Grammar and even part-time employment in their spare time. Additional activities included working on Study Skills and Techniques in preparation for assessment and exams and preparing for the inaugural Greenways Gala Event, where students shared their learning from their time in Greenways, with their families and friends. These sessions allowed students to focus on their mental health and wellbeing, while developing a skillset that will hold them in good stead as they move on to the Frogmore Campus.
This will be a year that will long be remembered by our Greenways Students. The programs offered were embraced by many, and the return of opportunities that are such an integral part of life at Mentone Grammar, were a great success. We are incredibly proud of those who challenged themselves and made the most of every possible program, excursion, Learning Journey and challenge they were presented with. They should be proud of themselves and look back on their year with a great sense of pride and accomplishment.
Julie James
Catherine Poulton Head of Greenways Deputy Head of Greenways
It has been a busy year for the Year 9s who joined the Cadet unit in 2022. Coming off the back of two years of disruptions, it has been great that the Year 9s have been able to complete and experience all the opportunities that Cadets provides. During Terms 2 and 3, the Year 9 recruits completed four training days on Campus and at our Keysborough Playing Fields. These days aimed to develop the core knowledge and skills the students would require for our annual Cadet Camp at Puckapunyal. Over these four days the students were taught how to march, set up hootchies, perform first aid, navigate through the bush, use radios and many other important skills.
At the end of Term 3 and after two years of cancellations, the Year 9s were able to attend our annual Cadet Camp. On the Monday the students were bussed up to Puckapunyal and delivered to their company locations. They spent the rest of the first day setting up their platoon sites and practising their navigation skills in the bush. Over the next two days the students participated in a full day navigation exercise and completed lessons and leadership activities. Despite a fair amount of rain on their final night most of the Year 9s demonstrated top notch hootchie construction skills by staying dry. For their final day of the exercise the students packed up their platoon sites and then got to experience shooting the Army’s F88 Austeyr assault rifle at the rifle range. After four intense and fun filled days of excitement the students headed back home having thoroughly enjoyed their Cadet experience.
On the last day of term, the students attended school to debrief with their Year 10 leaders on the experiences they had had on Cadet Camp. It was pleasing to see how positive they all were from their time at Camp and how many were keen to continue with Cadets next year.
Capt. Cameron Wilson MGACU
Our students have had a fun year running the Greenways Café. After completing a Food Hygiene Certificate during changeover at the end of 2021, followed by a Barista Training course with Complete Hospitality in Elizabeth Street in Melbourne’s CBD. This course provided a unique learning opportunity to experience Melbourne’s café culture, while learning the art of making the perfect coffee in order to bring a little bit of coffee culture back to Mentone. No doubt, it is always great to see our Greenways alumni working in the local cafés in the bayside area.
During the year, all students had two stints working in the Café. With classes alternating across the four terms, it has been exciting to see our students produce wholesome, seasonal and delicious meals for our Mentone staff, students and families to enjoy. A highlight for those working in the Café has been having their family members visit for a coffee and a treat. It is definitely a moment of pride for parents and extended family members to order a coffee and a muffin that has been made by their child, and we continue to encourage our Mentone community to visit the Café during the school day.
Thank you to the Greenways Students of 2022 who embraced the Café Program with such enthusiasm. All have been a credit to the Program, and we look forward to welcoming them back to the Café as Year 12 customers, when they need a coffee and a muffin!
Our greatest thanks go to the Greenways Café Team of Katherine Nish, Mark Stembridge, Melanie Nimorakiotakis, Atsuko Spink, Lachie Howard and Greg Holledge. Thank you for making the Program run so smoothly and efficiently. Our students are so lucky to have you behind the counter.
The Greenways Team is now looking forward to an exciting full program in 2023 and especially the opportunity to welcome new students into the Café. Thank you to the School community for your continued support. We’ll see you in the Café in 2023!
Catherine Poulton Deputy Head of Greenways
L. Charley
In 2022, Frogmore students have grasped all opportunities presented to them as Mentone Grammar returned to a more normal year, onsite. While the focus of our senior students has been on their academic pursuits, this year we have seen Frogmore, once again, return to a full program offering students a diverse range of opportunities and experiences beyond the classroom. I commend Frogmore students for the enthusiastic manner in which they have reconnected with the School and embraced those opportunities.
The development of our academic programs in Frogmore continued throughout 2022, under the leadership of our Head of Learning and Teaching, James Walton and our expert Heads of Faculty. Staff engaged with their Teaching Learning Communities to enhance their professional practice using the strategies of Formative Assessment and the work of Professor Dylan Wiliam, building upon the excellent work undertaken over previous years. Our teaching staff have been nothing short of outstanding, supporting our students as they navigated a new educational environment. Congratulations must also go to our fine group of student leaders, under the direction of our exceptional Head Prefects, Charlie Daddo and Evie Stansby. These leaders made the most of every opportunity to reconnect their cohort as they enhanced student engagement, wellbeing and a sense of community.
At the core of our School philosophy is the understanding that student achievement and success is underpinned by health and happiness. The pastoral role of our House system is fundamental in providing wellbeing and support for Frogmore students. The strength of the House system has once again been on display highlighting the important role played by House Coordinators and Mentors. I would like to acknowledge the fantastic work of this dedicated team, who alongside the Wellbeing Team, have supported our students as they returned to school.
In 2023, Lionel Large Coordinator, Craig Best will be moving into an exciting staff development role within the School and Anderson House Coordinator, Louise Daly will be taking on further opportunities beyond Mentone Grammar. We thank Craig and Louise for their contribution to the House system and to the pastoral care program in Frogmore. We also congratulate Darragh Howard and Sharon Chance who will continue their roles as Were and Finlay House Coordinators respectively. As Frogmore grows so does our pastoral care system. In 2023, our Centenary year, we look forward to welcoming two new Houses, Johnston and Clark along with two new House Coordinators.
As students re-engaged in House activities this year, a strong sense of pride and camaraderie was on display. Standout House events such as Athletics, Cross Country, Music and House Dinners all provided opportunities to build House spirit. The House Captains made the most of every opportunity to get their teams involved in events and activities and re-ignite House spirit. It was fantastic to experience the Mentone Grammar spirit in its full glory and these events served to form special bonds between groups as Frogmore came back together. I thank them for their leadership and resilience, and the camaraderie they provided to our Campus.
With the return of programs, our students have been engaged in various activities as part of their well-rounded ‘school life’. Students have been involved in camps, Cadets, work experience, subject-based excursions, social service and wellbeing initiatives, and a program of careers counselling. Our Performing Arts calendar was also returned to is full glory with events such as Singers’ Concerts, the Limelight Concert, Opera, Jazz Cabaret, Cre8tive Dance and Mamma Mia!, all showcasing the enormous talent we have within our student cohort.
“GREAT OPPORTUNITIES COME TO ALL, AND THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IN LIFE IS TO BE READY TO GRASP THEM WHEN THEY ARRIVE. ”
Frogmore students returned to full seasons of AGSV Sport, proudly representing the School across many sports and producing numerous team achievements and personal best performances. Congratulations to our Girls’ Athletics and Cross Country teams who have continued their success by winning back-to-back premierships while our Girls’ Swimming team won the sixth AGSV Girls’ Premiership. In another strong year for the Girls’ Touch Football team, they remained undefeated to, once again, claim the Premiership. It has been an excellent year in Sport and our thanks go to our Directors of Sport, Sports Coaching Team and Team Managers for their persistence and determination in ensuring our students were prepared to make the most of their sporting opportunities.
I would like to extend my sincere congratulations and a very fond farewell to our wonderful Class of 2022. This group of ‘fine young people’ have achieved much throughout their time at the School and it has been a privilege to work beside them. The manner in which you have supported each other through the highs and lows has been extraordinary and will be remembered. I wish you well for what lies beyond the gates of Mentone Grammar.
I am very fortunate to be supported in my role by a team of dedicated Frogmore staff. I would especially like to thank the Head of VCE Performance, Nizam Abdallah, the Deputy Head of Frogmore, Andrew Pate, and Frogmore PA, Rebecca Russell, for their tireless work and support in the effective leadership of our Campus.
Finally, we have so much to be proud of in Frogmore this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this journey and supporting our remarkable Frogmore students as we celebrate their achievements and success.
Thank you to our Frogmore families for making 2022 such a memorable year. I look forward to the Centenary of the School in 2023 as we continue to provide a supportive and engaging environment where students have every opportunity to find their own definition of Happy, Healthy and High Achieving.
Jason Mann Head of Frogmore
This year saw the final year of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning. Our VCAL program at Mentone Grammar has been an alternative pathway to the VCE since 2017, offering students opportunities to undertake vocational and workplace training as part of their final years of secondary schooling. Some of the first students to complete the program in 2018 and 2019 are now fully qualified tradespeople, having begun their apprenticeships while still at school. Others have gone on to TAFE and university courses, are pursuing sporting ambitions or are enjoying the challenges of working life. All of them remain connected to Mentone Grammar, have wonderful memories of their time in the VCAL program and are immeasurably grateful for the experiences and opportunities it afforded them.
In 2023, we will see the introduction of the Vocational Major within the existing VCE certificate. The change aims to showcase Many Talents, One VCE, so all students will receive their VCE upon completion of their selected program. Most aspects of our award-winning program will remain the same as we aspire to provide even more opportunities for students to develop work related skills and prepare for further education and training. This year, we farewell our Senior VCAL students and wish them well in their adventures, with more than a third going on to university pathway programs and more than half already having secured full time apprenticeships. We are immensely proud of James Commerford who was awarded the 2021 VCAL Intermediate Work Related Skills award at the VCAA VCAL Achievement Awards in June, and our Applied Learning Captain, Ella Heidecker, who won the 2021 Intermediate VCAL Outstanding Achievement award.
Shelley Muir VCAL Coordinator Head of Pathways & CareersThe Duke of Edinburgh Award is an internationally recognised award that acknowledges the incredible things that young people can do and connects well to the skills and experiences acquired within the VCAL Program. The requirements of the Award are for students to commit to 3, 6 or 12 months in the following categories:
• Physical Recreation
• Skills Development
• Service to the Community
• An Adventurous Journey.
Currently, Mentone Grammar has 56 students actively participating in the Award across the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, with a new and exciting program planned for 2023.
Students have been involved in an enormous range of activities including martial arts, skiing and yoga. Students have pushed their chosen skillsets by learning to play chess, speaking a new language, learning to drive a car and develop real-world work skills.
Our strong service to community has continued to expand, with students volunteering at the Yarrabah School, delivering meals to the elderly, patrolling the beaches as volunteer Lifesavers and assisting in learning accessibility.
Our adventurous Journey program has taken Cadets to Puckapunyal for a week, seen multiple hikes throughout the Mornington Peninsula, Wilson’s Prom and Port Phillip Bay, as well as rural trips to country Victoria.
Congratulations to the following students who have completed their Duke of Edinburgh awards in 2022.
Bronze Award
Keira Patron, Amelia Lea, Nimra Haseeb, Nicola Thompson, Asha Jewell, Dimitri Aravindth, Grace Huxtable, Morgan Shearer, Thomas Wale.
Silver Award
Olivia Lea.
Gold Award
Ella Heidecker, Ulyana Kondratova, Alannah Marriott, James Commerford, Enrico Tirta.
Mentone Grammar’s diverse program offering qualifies most students for all categories of the Award. Next year will see an expansion of the program throughout the School. I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to those who have completed their Awards and to those currently undertaking them. I look forward to seeing many more students undertake the program in 2023.
Daniel Kellett Duke of Edinburgh Award Coordinator
I have to remind myself how different things were just a year ago now that School is back in full swing. As a result of the combined 2022 timetable, this year we had five separate chess clubs at separate times on two days. Eblana, Riviera and Greenways/Frogmore Chess Clubs took place at their respective lunch times on Mondays and Bayview and Frogmore/Greenways Chess Clubs were on Friday lunch times.
Once again, we had a great balance of students who just want to play socially and others who are more focused on improving their chess skills. We are very fortunate to have two very skilled Mentonian chess players in Blake Rosenberg and Daniel Poberezovsky, running our clubs. Blake and Daniel not only get along really with our students but are really able to upskill those who are keen.
It’s been great to have ‘in-person’ tournaments recommence towards the latter half of this year and even more pleasing that we had three teams qualify for the next stages of the annual interschool tournaments. While lots of exciting Learning Journeys meant that we didn’t always have players able to play in qualifying tournaments – we tried our hardest to ensure that every interested student was able to attend at least one qualifying tournament.
Some of our Year 12s found online chess a good strategy for an outlet and recreation in the midst of their VCE studies. This seems to be something that happens every year and, as a result, they have been amongst the most keen to participate in interschool tournaments when SACS and assessments allow. Out of these, Kevin Zhong, Matt Mairs, Ryan McCormack, Jordan Kurta, Phong Phan and Liam Jacob (Year 10) qualified for the Chess Vic State Finals held at Brighton Grammar.
Using different qualifying criteria Saby Dawar, Tristan Grant, Alex Cao, Timur Akhmedov and Liam Jacob qualified for the Northern Star Chess State Finals held at Kingswood College.
Our most enthusiastic team was also our largest: Eblana students Sura Chen, Hamish De Livera, Lachlan Yang and Riviera students Rahul Aravindth, Coralie Chamberlain, Aaryav Deshpande, Kabeer Gursahani, Michael Friedli, Joshua Mudalige, Alisa Ogar and Oliver Tang qualified for the Northern Star Chess State Semi Final held at St Bridget’s College in Balwyn. The Mentone Grammar Chess team consisted of three students from Eblana and eight students from Riviera. Competing against some of the best chess players in the State, the team placed 6th out of 27 schools. An amazing effort by all who attended. Special mention goes to Hamish De Livera who won 5 out of his 7 games and qualified to compete in the next round. Congratulations to all the students who competed: Hamish De Livera, Alisa Ogar, Sura Chen, Lachlan Yang, Oliver Tang, Joshua Mudalige, Kabeer Gursahani, Rahul Aravindth, Michael Friedli and Coralie Chamberlain.
At the time of writing, four students from Bayview and Greenways competed in the Inter-School Secondary Chess State Finals at St Oliver Plunkett’s Primary School in Pascoe Vale. Competing against the top chess players in the State the Mentone Grammar team placed an outstanding 7th out of 36 schools. A fantastic achievement for the team. Special mention goes to Alex Cao who won 6 out of 8 rounds and finished 18th out of 162 students. Congratulations to the team: Alex Cao, Timur Akhmedov, Tristan Grant and Saby Dawar.
The enthusiasm at Chess Club throughout the entire school has been tremendous during the year. The students have enjoyed their lunchtime sessions due to the tremendous mentoring of our amazing coaches, Blake and Daniel.
Rev. Michael Prabaharan Chess Club Manager
Throughout 2022, we were fortunate to be able to engage in more experiential learning for our students. This included:
• Gen Industry, a forum run by Y-lab, at which our students collaborated with other schools, employers and employees in the manufacturing industry. Students provided a voice for community and workplace organisations to explore the issues related to youth employment and education pathways.
• A visit to the Victorian Tunnelling Centre to learn about the different industries that come together to work on projects such as The Westgate and Metro Tunnel projects. From OHS inductions, to cranes and tunnel boring machines, the students discovered the vital roles of engineers and tradespeople in large civil construction projects.
• Job-ready preparation for Year 9 students, with students developing a personal resume, elevator pitch and cover letter as well as attending a workshop to enhance interview skills.
• The VCE and Careers Expo at Caulfield Racecourse, at which Year 11 students were inspired by the many University and TAFE programs on offer, with many attending seminars ranging from careers in sport or the Defence Force, to careers in the health sector and VCE exam success.
• The BGKLLEN Industry Expo gave a group of Year 10 students the opportunity to physically try a range of industrybased activities and explore a variety of careers.
Success Day saw Year 10 students excited about their VCE Pathway. With the introduction of the new Vocational Major within the VCE program in 2023, students have an enhanced understanding of vocational education and the benefits of studying a vocational course as part of their VCE. A highlight of the day was the seminars delivered by a range of Universities and TAFEs which gave students excellent insights into different programs available and helped them prepare for subject selections.
At our Career Quest event in August, Year 12 students engaged in conversations with former Mentonians about a range of courses and universities. An inspirational keynote address was given by Daniel Kellett with a key message to be open to all possibilities, expect change, establish strong support networks, and do what you love. Students enjoyed the panel Q&A that followed, during which our past students shared their insights into uni life, work, changing courses, finances, juggling commitments and combining work and travel. We are proud of the way our Year 12 students have thoroughly prepared themselves for pathways meetings, having researched courses, TAFEs and universities, gap year adventures and work opportunities, and it was a privilege to facilitate meaningful discussions about the exciting next chapter of their lives.
During National Careers Week, students competed in a daily quiz which had them guessing their teachers’ first jobs, and our ELC students shared their dreams of what they want to be when they grow up! A group of Frogmore girls attended the Women in Trades and Tech expo at the Exhibition Building, at which they heard some great insights into Victoria’s Big Build project, pathways for women in gaming and IT, and participated in a range of hands-on activities to engage with different industries. The week provided a platform for robust classroom discussions about future directions and changes to the post-pandemic world of work. Despite being digital natives, there remains strong work preferences for variety, collaboration and community contribution among our student cohort.
A highlight on the Careers calendar this year was Work Experience, with a record number of Year 10 students undertaking the program for the first time since 2019. Students engaged in rigorous, hands-on opportunities to develop industry knowledge and grow their employability skills. Some students have even found part-time work or additional work experience as an outcome. Employers gave rave reviews of our students, indicating they were hard working, friendly, and interested in the work, asked lots of questions and were a pleasure to host.
Shelley Muir and Sue Carey Careers Counsellors
After two years of interrupted activities, our 2022 Cadet leaders were eager to get back into it and put our all into making the most of this year’s Cadet Program.
In March, we began with a ‘recruit camp’ for the 2021 Year 9 students, to provide the opportunity for a three-day camp at Puckapunyal Army Base, after not having the opportunity in 2021. This kickstarted the year, as the Year 10 students, having now experienced life out on camp, were able to apply themselves to leadership opportunities and partake in an inhouse leadership course directed by our senior Year 12 leaders of the Cadet Unit. Having successfully completed this course, those involved went on to be promoted to Corporals, to fill the ranks of the Unit in preparation for the incoming Year 9 Greenways recruits.
With all the positions in order, the Unit was ready for the intake of the just over 300 recruits. This task involved kitting each of them out with uniforms and essential items before they undertook their training.
For the first time in two years, we were able to successfully run our four scheduled training days. On these days, the Unit ventured out to the Keysborough Playing Fields where senior rank delivered prepared lessons and activities to the Year 9 recruits. The recruits developed a range of competencies and values from practising the skills required to navigate with compasses and maps, learning about history and tradition, to applying discipline and resilience in performing drill movements in smaller platoons and as a whole unit.
These training days prepared them for the annual September camp out on Puckapunyal Army Base. This being a week of days and nights spent in the bush. It was filled with practical lessons, a full day navigation exercise, night activities, an experience firing a semi-automatic weapon (f88 Austeyr) at the range and a multitude of team building and bonding opportunities amongst year groups. A highlight for many being the stories shared and marshmallows toasted around the fire each night as everyone rested up after an action-packed day of activities.
This year also showed the overwhelming dedication and pride of our ranked cadets as many volunteered to participate in a multitude of services, parades, marches and ceremonies across the year. These services often required time and dedication, beyond school hours, to prepare for and attend. Those involved in the Vietnam Veterans service were especially grateful for the opportunity as it was the last large-scale service of that nature to be conducted at the Shrine of Remembrance. A huge thank you to those involved in these services.
It is fair to say that this year was one of learning for everyone involved. It’s not an easy job to be a leader but being in the Cadet Unit provides a unique opportunity to learn how to step up. Our Year 12s especially, who stepped into their roles with determination and enthusiasm, learnt the importance and what it takes to become a leader no matter the role. Thank you for the ongoing commitment, maturity, teamwork and leadership that you have shown throughout these years.
Rhianne Brown Year 12 Cadet Under Officer WO1, RSMResilience is the capacity to face, adapt, be strengthened, and bounce back from adversity. We are Resilient! Never has there been such a unique time when students, parents, teachers, and our community have needed to develop their skills and knowledge to build resilience in themselves and others. Developing a toolbox of strategies to adapt and get through our changing lifestyle both personally and at school has been key to adjusting and supporting our mental health and wellbeing.
In 2022, school days returned to a ‘normal’, full-time, onsite program. Camps resumed, sports programs were back, and opportunities for student leadership prospered. Our cocurricular programs were extensive, with the performing arts, debating and public speaking, Cadets, music, House events, exams, specialist courses, work experience, NAPLAN, and many other opportunities, were full steam ahead! The students, teachers, and parents, rose to the challenge.
Our House and Mentor programs were reinvigorated with excited students keen to experience and engage in new learnings. Our RULER program, and the Resilience Project continued alongside the curriculum from the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program. The increased time allocated for Mentor classes enhanced the development of individual relationships and support for students.
Throughout the year, our Student Wellbeing Team and our wider student community came together to assist in raising awareness and educating others on a range of current and important themes. Some of these included:
International Women’s Day – On 8 March we recognised and showed appreciation for the amazing women in our community and focused on ‘Breaking the Bias’. Student-led gate greetings provided our students and visitors with bookmarks featuring prominent women and men, who are known advocates for the rights of women and girls. Classroom resources and lessons guided students on the importance of gender equality and students were asked, ‘What actions can you take to call out gender bias, discrimination, and stereotyping when you see it?’ Students then posted their notes on ‘light bulb posters’ around the school. We came together, united.
Indigenous Celebration Week (May 2022) – A special assembly was held for Years 7-12 students to further raise awareness on our Indigenous people and culture. We were joined by special guest speaker, Carmal Mullins, who shared her personal journey and insights into her Indigenous culture. Our Firsts sport teams played in an Indigenous jersey, designed by our friends from Lilla in Central Australia, during the AGSV Indigenous Round.
PRIDE Month (June 2022) – To celebrate and raise awareness about PRIDE month, we ran several events. Jason Ball, the 2017, Young Australian of the Year, pioneer and advocate for the LGBTIQ+ community spoke at our Years 9-12 assembly about the role sport and allies have, in promoting diversity and inclusion for young people. We held a dedicated House Cross Country event, with students wearing a touch of pride to show support and allegiance to the LGBTIQ+ community. We had an AGSV football PRIDE match against Trinity Grammar and the Wellbeing Committee held gate greetings and provided bookmarks, outlining ways students can be more inclusive. Classroom mentor sessions focused on raising awareness and building discussion on diversity and inclusion.
International Friendship Day (29 July) – Students greeted their peers on the gates and provided ‘We Care’ cards, designed and created by Emma Burton (Year 12), which have been provided to students across the City of Kingston.
Sleep Awareness (9 September) – The intention of Pyjama Day was to raise awareness about the importance of sleep and to provide students with helpful information and resources about sleep.
Drug/Alcohol Education (11 & 12 October) – We welcomed the engaging, insightful and informative Paul Dillon (DARTA) back to Mentone to provide our Years 10-12 students with drug and alcohol education. Current research trends and practical strategies were also provided to parents and the wider community at a Mentone Stories event.
Mentone Stories – The team from Man Cave ran a series of workshops with our Year 9s, building on the theme of connectedness and belonging. Man Cave also worked with students and parents on engaging in meaningful conversations, building resilience and developing emotional maturity to become thriving adults. The Cyber Safety Project assisted parents in navigating online tools and strategies to develop fundamental digital safety and wellbeing.
We continued to have access to extensive information and resources about relevant topics (mental health, cybersafety, school survival, healthy body, positive parenting, and other special reports) impacting parents and students at: https://mentonegrammar.schooltv.me/
Thank you to our caring therapy dogs, Lenny, Scout, and Darcy, who have provided unconditional care and support to our students and staff in 2022.
Thank you to the Mentone Grammar community for your ongoing support, resilience, care, and kindness shared throughout the 2022 year.
Bridgitte Roberts Head of Student Wellbeing
It was a wonderful year of reconnection for Anderson House. At the beginning of the school year, we sat together as a team and decided on our mission statement and goals that we would work towards together, as a unified group. This was our Mission Statement for 2022:
Anderson House members will strive to be inclusive and respectful of everyone. We will embrace new challenges to help us learn, grow, and flourish. We will encourage each other to strive to be our best and participate where we are needed.
Anderson House 2022 could not have been a more amazing group of people. With Ms Daly back in RED as Anderson House Coordinator, and fresh new faces joining us in both Year 10 and Year 11, we were ready to have our best year yet. Our time apart, attending school remotely over the past few years, did little to stop Anderson’s culture of camaraderie and mateship.
This year, we continued with our ‘Choc-Noms’, an Anderson legacy upheld since time immemorial. Every Wednesday Whole House Rollcall, we acknowledge those who have helped others throughout the week, by nominating our peers for a chocolate Freddo. Congratulations to Annalisa Calvi who took home the Inaugural Choc-Nom award!
We wanted to be inclusive, respectful and reach our personal best. We had a strong belief that we could succeed if we had a positive attitude, participated fully in every event, and supported one another. I am so pleased to say that every Anderson House team member did indeed work to their personal best, no matter what that looked like, to contribute fully to the House Competition, Inter-Mentor activities and, most importantly, to the development of our House culture.
Anderson House continually demonstrated genuine House spirit, particularly on competition days, and we enjoyed the leadership of our senior students who kept the House motivated and inspired through their willingness to go the extra mile. Peer mentoring was an important aspect of our House collegiality in 2022. This was clearly demonstrated in both the rehearsal process and performance for House Music. I am so proud of so many who stepped out of their comfort zones and danced and sang their way to victory!
I want to thank our Anderson House Year 12 students and our House Captains – Enrico Tirta and Ella James who have been such an integral part of the growth the House has enjoyed this year. We will miss your humour, kindness, and camaraderie. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
A special thank you also goes to Anderson House Mentors – Melinda Allsop, Anthony Bacon, Gavin Cornish and Liat Neuenschwander who have not only been of countless support this year, but who have gone above and beyond in the care of their mentees.
Louise Daly Anderson House Coordinator 2022During Monday Whole House Rollcalls, the ‘Army’ competed in a variety of fun-filled Inter-Mentor Competitions. Competitions included Kahoots, Tunnelball, Trivia, Celebrity Heads, Competitive Jenga and Paper Plane Competitions. The 10-Minute Monday Rollcall was always something to look forward to and the competition set the enthusiasm bar high for the rest of the week. This year, Kokoda Mentor Group, named in honour of the battle of Kokoda, took home gold in a last-minute upset! The Mentor Group took home first place in the final two rounds in a breathtakingly spectacular photo finish, turning the competition on its heels!
This year we witnessed massive participation in all House Events. With a focus on inclusivity and giving everything a redhot crack, fun-filled events such as Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics only rekindled our ardour for the House Cup. With limited opportunities to compete in the past two years, eager hands shot up to compete in House events, repeatedly exceeding the number of available team slots we could fill.
House Music was undoubtedly the biggest win of the year. Taking home first place for the win, the House had such an overwhelming presence on stage. Don’t Stop Me Now called for enthusiasm Anderson had never seen before. With such an iconic tune, reflective of Anderson culture, and a fiery moxie, we truly did ‘burn through the skies’. From the costume and makeup crew, who ensured everyone had enough RED to make our mark, to the dancing and singing crew who had absolute control of the stage, House Arts is, by all means, a memory which will not be forgotten any time soon.
A huge shoutout to Tess Shilson-Josling for an amazing solo vocal performance. The melody of Sure on this Shining Night by Samuel Barber, had us all on the edges of our seats. You did not disappoint!
Leading the Army in 2022 was a privilege not to be taken for granted. We are forever thankful for the opportunity to lead such a spirited group of people. However, a team is only as strong as the sum of its members and we couldn’t have done it without you, Anderson House, and to this we owe you our thanks.
To the patient and ever-supporting Anderson Mentors and House Coordinator – Ms Allsop, Mr Bacon, Mr Cornish, Ms Neuenschwander, and Ms Daly, your tireless work in organising activities and ensuring the House ran as smoothly as possible was essential – we couldn’t have done it without all your support. Thank you for aiding us along this journey in such a jam-packed year.
With the Centenary year just around the corner, Anderson House is in such a great place moving forward.
We wish the best for the Centenary Year House Captains: Ben Anderle and Ruby Raymond. May the Anderson banner be held up high, the House Cup to be brought home, and the enthusiasm taken to the next level!
Oh, how I long to be with the Army! Go Anderson!
Ella James and Enrico Tirta Anderson House Captains 2022
YEAR 11
The Deighton Devils are a strong and resilient family. We show our House spirit and enthusiasm in all we do and pride ourselves on our ability to support one another. From running alongside a younger student in a track event to filling events and stepping outside our comfort zone when students have been unwell, we’re there. Our amazing Mentors: Kara Banks, Jamie McCarney, Prue Richards, Rachel Fraser, and Wendy Hong lead the way, cheering on from the sidelines, to challenging students’ thoughts on gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.
A huge thank you to our House Captains Amelia Luca, Jayde Temby, and Noah O’Brien and our House Leadership Team of Eliza Hulley, Ethan Green, Ryan Lewis, Skye Shipton, Summer Albiston and Willow Bailey for coordinating the House Activities across the year and providing exceptional House spirit and role modelling for all Deighton students.
A special congratulations to this year’s winner of the Michael Wilton Cup for Outstanding Service to Deighton House, Ryan Lewis, and to our Deighton Mentor Award winners, Amelia Luca, Skye Shipton, Ruben McSwan and Benjamin Fenech.
Vanessa JohnstonDeighton House Coordinator 2022
Deighton’s theme this year was ‘community’ and, as a House, we demonstrated we are the strongest community here at Mentone Grammar. Often community within a House is built over years, however, as you all know it wasn’t easy to bring all of Deighton together over the last couple of years. As a result, the current Year 12 had not experienced a full year in Frogmore until this year so, therefore, everyone took it upon themselves to embrace the sense of community that comes with this great House.
As we reflect on the year that was not burdened with lockdowns and online learning, we have been lucky enough to have some amazing Deighton moments, such as House Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics and House Music. Our competitive InterMentor competitions consisted of Basketball Knock-out, Mentor Dodgeball and even Paper Aeroplane Competitions. During this time, students were able to work together in groups and show their competitive side to help their team get over the line. Every single person across all year levels was involved in some way or another. Whilst we didn’t bring home the trophies, despite our remarkable efforts this year, we took it in our stride, and we capitalised on our strengths as created memories that will last forever.
Whilst we were fortunate enough to have a trio of Captains in 2022, all Year 12s became leaders this year, moving the House in the right direction, to rekindle that sense of community and togetherness that has been lost over the past few years while we were locked away in our homes. The amazing efforts of our Leadership Team, aspiring Year 10 leaders and Mentors cannot be forgotten, with their hard work behind the scenes not going unnoticed. Deighton’s future is looking brighter than ever with and incredibly resilient and determined group of people who continue to embody Deighton spirt wherever they may be.
Amelia Luca, Jayde Temby, and Noah O’Brien Deighton House Captains 2022
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
This year was about remembering what House Spirit was and rebooting Drinan House. Our Year 12’s, with only had a brief experience of the House environment when they were in Year 10, truly had their work cut out to lead the rest of the House. But somewhere deep down, the Dragon fire and determination began to burn, and the House ignited.
Our Dragon’s fierce competitive nature once again exploded in Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics and House Music. These events brought the House together where participation and fun become the underlying elements that became the key to our success.
I am so proud of the House and the progress we have made together this year. Our sense of community has once again begun to flourish and pride in who we are and what we can achieve as a team is once again on display.
Thank you to the Mentors for their kindness care and support of all students and thank you to Henry and Mia for their leadership this year.
Go Drinan.
Lisa Turner Drinan House Coordinator 2022
Enthusiasm and pride for our House has been the driving force in Drinan this year. This was demonstrated with fantastic participation and involvement from each and every member throughout our many aspects of House life, including Mentor and House events.
It has been a phenomenal collective effort that all our Drinan members have put in throughout the year, especially in our House events. We started the year with Swimming, led valiantly by our two superstars in the pool, Louis and Nick. Their efforts, however, were bolstered and elevated by a fantastic full House performance and a can-do attitude by so many, making sure that no race was left unfilled. The highlight of the day was when we all got together to chant. In our opinion Drinan was definitely the loudest.
Our next event came months later, and despite the harsh weather conditions, we turned up for our Cross Country event. Dragons flew through the rain and across the finish line. Celebrating PRIDE was the focus of the day and rainbow colours were everywhere. Thanks to all those who ran or walked across the line – every point counted.
Despite being somewhat depleted in terms of numbers for the lead up to House Athletics, the troops rallied and produced another strong performance. Athletics truly demonstrated the importance of putting your hand up and having a go.
Then came, what was the highlight of Drinan House in 2022, House Music. We worked hard which helped us produce a fantastic rendition of Welcome to the Moulin Rouge and saw everyone having an amazing time performing (much to our surprise!!)
Most importantly, this year Drinan House has been a fun, safe, and supportive environment and one that everyone has enjoyed being a part of. The Year 12s have all had an amazing year and have been so grateful to be immersed, once again, in Drinan House culture. How fortunate we have been to be surrounded and supported by such an amazing group of people for our last year.
Thank you to the Year 12 cohort and best wishes for your future endeavours, whatever they may be.
Henry Mentiplay and Mia Collins Drinan House Captains 2022
This year has seen the re-introduction of the much-anticipated House activities and events. The Falcons have adapted to the fast pace and high demands of a normal academic year, with ease. Our focus as a House this year was to create a culture that encouraged all members to participate and feel connected with the community around them and foster a friendly competitive spirit along the way. Ability is not important but competing with a smile and having fun is paramount. The House has epitomised our core values of friendship and camaraderie this year.
Wow! What a year it has been for the legends of Finlay Anderson. As House Captains, we are ever so proud of every Falcon, as they have embraced the enriching House culture that has returned, since the lockdowns.
Entering the year of 2022 as grateful Captains, we set goals regarding what we wanted to provide to everyone and achieve as a House. After two years of intense times, we needed to go back to basics to ensure that Finlay could be built up again through a strong core foundation and a safe haven for all. Finlay Anderson’s main aims were to spark up the House culture, create and strengthen friendships, to enhance morale and a sense of togetherness with a group who had very little physical connection together in Frogmore.
The Mentors have guided and encouraged House spirit and helped to build stronger relationships within their Mentor groups by having mini competitions and playing family games. This has resulted in easing the Year 10s into Frogmore and allowing them to adjust to the senior school. The foundation has been set for them to flourish. Our VCE students have shown how to balance their academic commitments with their responsibility to the House. At every event this year, students would enquire how they could help with organisation, set up, tidying up or whatever they needed to do to ensure a Falcon was in every race. These actions demonstrated the House culture and what it truly means to be a Finlay Anderson Falcon.
The leadership team has demonstrated the skills required to enthuse and support each member of the House and their hard work and dedication was an inspiration to all subsequent Finlay Anderson House Captains.
It was an absolute pleasure being part of such a remarkable group of students, willing to put on a splash of yellow and stand up to be contenders. So, as the Year 12s leave and the Year 9s join us, we can look forward to another year where the Finlay Anderson flag will continue to fly with pride.
Sharon Chance
Finlay Anderson Coordinator 2022
We switched things up and created excitement by starting Monday and Thursday mornings in House roll calls with multiple activities. The Falcons were welcomed with uplifting music, received festive chocolates and even appearances from our mascot, Big Bird, on occasions. Finlay also responded extremely well to incorporating activities such as Kahoots, celebrity heads, raffles, and riddles, to spark people’s minds where a prize would be awarded. Following on from previous years traditions of Inter-Mentor competitions, dodgeball once again was a group highlight as it was a battlefield to fight for pizza lunches. The locker bays were always filled with yellow decorations and House photos that brought smiles to people’s faces.
Finlay Anderson performed exceptionally well at all House events this year including Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics, and House Music, with improvements in all placings compared to previous years. However, most importantly was the improvement in everyone’s participation and contribution in pushing their teammates to show off their true Finlay Anderson spirit.
We would further like to acknowledge the leadership team, House Mentors: Mr Murphy, Mr Zerman, Ms Despotellis and Ms Shepherd and our House Coordinator, Ms Chance, for all their contributions and ongoing support to Finlay Anderson, thus say a massive thank you.
As Captains, we are very proud of everyone’s achievements inside and out of the House and efforts to come together to make the House as special as it was in 2022.
Riley Spence and Akshay Taneja
Finlay Anderson Captains 2022
I am extraordinarily proud of all the Jones House members for their exceptional efforts this year. They have supported each other, participated strongly, and shown House spirit at every event.
Although winning the House Cup was a highlight for the whole of Jones House, it was the camaraderie and participation that I was most proud of, as well as our fantastic House Captains rebuilding the strong Jones House culture of our pre-COVID years.
It has been a wonderful year in Jones House, and I look forward to continuing the Jones spirit into 2023.
Sally Smith Jones House Coordinator 2022Heading into 2022, Jones House had a vision and a few key goals in mind that would allow us to expand and build upon the great foundations that had been set years before us. These goals were to support one another, build friendships, create a positive and inclusive environment for everyone and re-build the Jones family that we’ve all missed over the past couple of years.
With no time to waste, we kicked the year off with House Swimming. Jones House showed up with enthusiasm and outstanding energy, and whether the Jags were in the pool or in the cheer squad, the air was filled with Jones House chants and supportive vibes. This would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the whole House contribution and everyone coming together to support and get around one another.
With this momentum rolling from our first win, we didn’t slow down and, once again, as a collective, we took out the win at Cross Country and Athletics. Nevertheless, we didn’t set out to fulfil just one individual goal, we aimed to have fun in whole Mentor trivia, dodgeball, and other awesome activities that enabled us to build strong relationships across all year levels and, in turn, create the most positive and inclusive environment we could.
Although our winning streak ended when we landed in 4th place in House Arts, our House spirit continued to thrive. Seeing all the year levels come together and step out of their comfort zones was very much a rewarding experience; something that we as House Captains were beyond proud to watch. Moments like these are the ones we will never forget.
This year has been a memorable, and one that has made history. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from our amazing Mentors, as well as being surrounded by the greatest group of people we could ask for. Thank you and go Jags!
Peri Dart, Ethan Gorringe and Amelia Johnson Jones House Captains 2022
The sporting year for Lionel Large started with a bang in the pool, with House Swimming. The excitement from the whole House was overwhelming, and although we did not take out the win, the day was filled with a commitment to getting in and doing our best. There was incredible enthusiasm from not only those in the water, but from those who were cheering from the sidelines, really demonstrating the true Lionel spirit. Jess Sampson, Josie Bohlken and Archie Weldon represented the House with tremendous pride and by the end of the day were exhausted by the efforts.
Cross Country came along shortly after and yet again, the Lions didn’t fail to surprise with their dedication, bringing enormous effort. In cold and wet conditions at Keysborough, everyone gave it their best shot, and we can’t thank them enough for their efforts. Stand out performances came from Riley Barker, Jackson Mellett and Will Nish.
House events in Term 3 kicked off with House Athletics, for which we were all exited. The levels of anticipation were high, along with House spirit, and with some pump-up tunes on the bus we were all ready for a great day. The enthusiasm and dedication within the House were showcased in all year levels with students filling every event and supporting everyone across the day. Bridget Scott, Oli Rowley and Phong Phan were all exceptional performers on the day.
House Music was the next big event and our choice of songHakuna Matata from The Lion King - allowed us to explore our lion side and show our fight. This was our first Frogmore House Music in a while, so the excitement was high. With a huge helping hand from the leadership team, in particular Zara Quin and Elisha Fitzgerald, the House’s musical side was beginning to show. Zane Ishchenko, Mathieson Meakins and Keira Patron had the moves and helped others who lacked their rhythm. After many rehearsals and video analysis, thanks to Mr Best, the House formed a fun and energetic routine. The final performance was filled with laughter, smiles and commitment from the whole House, leaving a lasting memory for all Year 12s in their final House event.
Approaching the end of the year, the annual Cadet Camp was upon us. With many great leaders in Frogmore Lionel Large, we connected with each other and with the Greenways Lionel Large students. Training days were filled with new experiences and plenty of learning, leading towards the Puckapunyal Camp where friendships where made and stories were told around the campfire. Lionel Large is in good hands with the next generation of Lions coming through.
Throughout the year, bonds have been continually strengthened through House activities and Mentor periods. This was highlighted by the overly competitive games of Family Feud which never failed to make everyone laugh. The dedication of our wonderful Mentors Mr Wilson, Ms Heine, Mr Palfery, Ms Lane and Ms Prentice throughout the year did not go unnoticed, and we thank them enormously for all their hard work and support throughout the year.
We hope the legacy that has been created in 2022 can be passed on and grown by all future Lionel Large students.
Go Lions!
Charlotte Laws and William Robertson
Lionel Large House Captains 2022
Craig Best
Lionel Large House Coordinator 2022
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
This year in Were House there has been a great focus on participation and engagement in House activities. Led brilliantly by our graduating Year 12s, Were has achieved some excellent results in a number of events, notably finishing third at the Swimming Carnival in March. The Year 12 cohort has been exceptional in setting the example for our younger students, challenging all members to make the most of the opportunities on offer. The House Arts Competition proved to be a major highlight of the year. All Were House students worked together throughout Term 3 to perfect their dance moves to You’re Welcome from the Disney film Moana. The final performance on the day was exceptional, with many saying it was their favourite event of the year.
Another significant moment from earlier in the year was the Year 10 Camp to Forster, New South Wales. This camp allowed the newest members of the House to get to know each other and bond as a group. As we farewell our Year 12s, we thank them for the indelible mark they have left on Were House and assure them they have set a high bar for future year levels to live up to. At the beginning of the 2022 we wanted to ensure all students reconnected with each other and the House and now that it draws to a close it is evident all members have bought in and should be proud of what they have been able to achieve.
Darragh
Were
Howard House Coordinator 2022Were House started 2022 with the goal of creating a supportive, welcoming environment by building a strong House culture where participation and encouragement from everyone is prioritised.
We started the year with House Swimming, where we experienced all-star performances not only in the pool but out of the pool, through cheering and supporting our House mates with our incredible House chants that set the tone for the year. We finished with an impressive third place.
We rallied the Warriors together throughout our ‘inter-tribal competitions’ through a very competitive dodgeball series backed up with the impressive, inaugural karaoke competition which consisted of ABBA, Kanye, The Jackson 5 and Justin Bieber bumping through the Were mentor rooms.
As House Athletics came around, we had grown some unbreakable bonds in the House as we had a day of running, jumping, throwing and, most importantly, cheering. We saw everyone try their best in whatever event they did. Although finishing sixth, we still left in a bus full of champions belting out Adele with our heads held high knowing we gave it 110 per cent and had a blast.
To finish the year with House Music, we worked hard on our song. We loved the incredible enthusiasm and participation from all the Warriors through hours of practice that reflected fantastic singing and dancing from all, that led to an outstanding third place.
This year was a blast, and it couldn’t have happened without our wonderful Mentors as well as all our amazing Warriors.
Go Were!!
Sophie Sibbald and Hayden Selby Were House Captains 2022
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
Wolves are complex, highly intelligent animals who are caring, playful, and above all devoted to family. White House demonstrates all these values each and every day.
White House Wolves are leaders. We don’t leave anyone behind as our Captains and leadership group walk at the back of the pack, ensuring everyone has what they need to be their best selves. We are a pack, a family, and a TEAM. Our culture and people are magnificent, and we give everything at every event. With the opportunity to be front of stage, we encourage everybody to run, sing, swim and participate in Cross Country. And much to their surprise, dress up and dance the entire routine in House Arts with every move!
We have experienced a year of astonishing moments and it has been an honour to assist and support these incredible young people along the way. All members of our House are appreciated for their willingness to get involved and put their heart and soul into the generation of House spirit. A very special mention to our Captains Mikayla and Brendon and our leadership team, for helping their peers in any way they could. They set an example for their House and have mentored everyone to bring their best.
White House is positioned well for future endeavours and House competitions but, most importantly, in carrying the flag for our very special wolf pack family.
On behalf of all students, I would like to thank and acknowledge the Mentors for all their incredible support and care of their mentees this year: Nadia Janetzki, Natalie Morgenstern, Luke Wintle and Laura Neary.
Congratulations to all in White House for a wonderfully successful year and one that we shall remember as a year of wins and reimagining our incredible pack.
HOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLLL!
Gennie McNair White House Coordinator 2022This year in White House was really special for a multitude of reasons. As Term 1 commenced, everyone in White House, new and old, was super excited for the year ahead and for all the possibilities and for all the outstanding opportunities that were on offer for the year.
With all our House events back in the timetable, we were determined to fight for the House Cup. In Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country, and House Arts, we saw outstanding individual performances and genuine excitement and involvement from all students, to make White House the best it could be. This dedication was best on show when all students stepped out of their comfort zone and participated to showcase their White House pride. We saw that supporting and cheering from the crowd for every student, in every House event, is crucial to the building of House spirit. As Captains, we are so incredibly proud to call White House our family, and we feel that despite two years apart, this year has placed our family back in line with the wolf packs of the past. The future of White House is especially bright, with the spirit, care and involvement of all students further setting us up to take a swing at the House Cup next year.
And to Mrs McNair, all her hard work as House Coordinator cannot be ignored. She has made our year as House Captains quite an experience and we thank her for it. We would also like to thank all the Mentors - Ms Morgenstern, Mr Wintle, Ms Neary and Ms Janetzki for their hard work and hours of dedication in building connections throughout the House.
Thank you everyone for a memorable year!
Brendon Holmes and Mikayla Watson White House Captains 2022
Providing students with artistic confidence and knowledge is empowering to them personally, and a key step in cultivating creativity. Research has proven the Visual Arts develop neural systems that produce a broad spectrum of benefits ranging from fine motor skills to creativity and improved emotional balance. Quite simply, the Visual Arts are invaluable to our proper functioning individually and as a society. When students know they will share their work with an audience beyond the classroom, they are motivated to aim for a high quality. Working towards our Art & Design Exhibition 22, students had to think critically, problem solve, and revise through multiple drafts. The ADE22 provided a creative challenge to young artists, and an opportunity to connect with families, friends, and the wider community.
Year 5 students explored a variety of materials and techniques, producing drawings of luminous Australian landscapes using chalk pastels, plus interesting sculptures made from paper. Completing a colourful, collaborative painting as well as quaint, decorative images of Australian animals on timber blocks, encouraged students to work together to create artworks that reflect the community.
Year 6 students explored a range of Visual Arts tasks that included creating sculptures from air dry clay, utilising embellishing techniques to create the ‘Foxy Lady’, learning colour theory through various painting projects, and building on their drawing skills through a variety of imaginative and observational tasks.
Year 7 students were challenged with a variety of activities that broadened their artistic knowledge and skills. Drawing techniques such as observational and one point perspective were introduced, as well as abstract painting, inspired by Sonia Delaunay. Experimenting with different effects with lino printing and coloured inks proved to be very popular with the students.
Year 8 students created a variety of Visual Arts projects this year, including learning how to draw in two-point perspective, designing and painting surfboards and etching through printmaking and collage. Many of the classes learnt about Aboriginal art and culture, producing a collaborative weaving artwork and wonderful calico bags displaying embroidery and beading techniques.
Our Year 9 elective classes explored a diverse range of artmaking this year, as well as learning to trial and record all aspects of the creative process. Students were encouraged to give each topic their own individual touch. Printmaking inspired by aquatic and architectural themes; sculptural forms created from air dry clay, looking at the idea of ‘family’; bright, colourful paintings inspired by the Pop Art movement; pencil drawings of Still Life in sepia tones; typeface producing words that visually reflected their meaning; sculptures exploring the qualities of wire; mixed media collages of beautiful shells…such a productive year!
Art
Year 10 Art students created a collaborative project using polymer clay in the style of Amilie Hsiao, exploring the relationship humans have with viruses. A range of other activities included Photo Extension drawings and Cherry Hood portraits, or watercolour paintings inspired by the surreal style of Marija Tiurina and Out of Place collages.
The distinctive drawing style of Vernon Ah Kee provided inspiration for the Year 11 Art students, who completed detailed self-portraits focusing on the eyes. Preparation for the ADE22 allowed students to work independently, exploring an artform of their own choice. Students had the opportunity to communicate their passions, interests and concerns.
Year 12 Art students developed their own artistic practice using a range of processes, materials and techniques. Students created a body of work that reflected personal concepts and ideas and included at least two finished artworks. These stunning works were on display at the ADE22.
Year 10 Studio Photography students spent the first half of the year exploring the different functions of a DSLR camera. The three key areas where they developed skills were in using the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings. They were also able to experience photoshoots at Mentone beach during local walks.
Our Year 11 Studio Arts class explored a range of themes and materials that enabled them to develop their photographic knowledge and skills. At the beginning of the year, students were able to experiment with disposable film cameras and the DSLR cameras, trialling photo-collages and other techniques.
In March, the Year 12 Studio Arts students visited the NGV to view the Chanel exhibition as part of their theory requirements. They were able to immerse themselves in the chronologically curated exhibition which displayed an extensive range of Chanel fashion. Most of the year was spent exploring a personal theme leading to two final artworks.
Year 10 VCD students were introduced to the design process and the three design fields: Communication Design, Environmental Design and Industrial Design. They developed their rendering skills, produced a logo design and designed a chair.
Year 11 VCD students developed their understanding of the three design fields through exploring a range of design tasks. They furthered their rendering skills, produced lamp designs, logo designs and magazine covers. This year, students worked with a range of manual and digital drawing techniques, including Adobe Illustrator, and had the opportunity to produce architectural models of zoo-themed bus shelters.
Year 12 VCD students explored a range of topics that extended and built upon their creative and technical skills. Throughout the year, the students were able to focus on their own folio where they selected their own client and designed two different needs. Logo designs, interior designs and posters where among their chosen topics.
Kim Wootton Head of Visual Arts
WE CONGRATULATE AND RECOGNISE THE FOLLOWING MENTONE GRAMMAR ARTISTS FOR CREATING AND SHARING THEIR INSPIRING ARTWORKS IN 2022.
The Principal’s Award for Visual Arts is an award personally selected by our Principal, Mal Cater, and is displayed at the School for 12 months. This year’s winner is Priya Gill, Year 12.
As the seven figures entwine together, the human experience is illuminated in the form of our reactions to grief. Meticulously blended using colour pencils, the decorative blue pattern glazes across the piece, acknowledging a historical significance in the form of Chinese porcelain, pondering the influence of one’s personal heritage when experiencing inter-generational loss. Finished with gold leaf, the kintsugi inspired cracks grant a newly found novelty for supposed shattered sufferings. Jevons
The Mentonians Emerging Artist Award is awarded to Jevons Wang. The Award is supported by The Mentonians Association who purchases the work on behalf of the School. The work becomes part of the School’s permanent art collection and will be displayed for students, teachers and community members to enjoy, well into the future.
In the tradition of the Archibald Prize, we invite members of the installation crew to select the annual Packers’ Prize.
This year it has been awarded to Ella Mahoney for her artwork titled: Eyes – a detailed self-portrait.
Congratulations to Ava Kombol (Year 10) on being the winner of the People’s Choice Award for 2022. Students, staff and visitors were able to vote for their favourite artwork in the exhibition and this year a huge number of votes were cast for a range of artworks. Ava’s still life painting Moj Dam (My Home) which depicts the connection she shares with her Croatian heritage, received the most votes overall this year.
YEAR 5 VISUAL ARTS AWARD
Nathan Jones
YEAR 6 VISUAL ARTS AWARD
Lily Stilianos
YEAR 7 VISUAL ARTS AWARD
Henry Guo
YEAR 7 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Brae Bernasconi
YEAR 7 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Olivia Monro
YEAR 8 VISUAL ARTS AWARD
Eliza Bull
YEAR 8 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Kiara Fernando
YEAR 8 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DATA ANIMATION AWARD
Atahan Yildiz
YEAR 9 VISUAL ARTS AWARD
Angelique Gomes
YEAR 9 PRODUCT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD (CAD/CAM)
Alan Jiang
YEAR 9 PRODUCT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD (MATERIALS)
Eliza Anderson
YEAR 9 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Jessica Chaplin
YEAR 10 ARTS AWARD
Ava Kombol
YEAR 10 STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD
Hayden Gilligan
YEAR 10 VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN AWARD
Holly Nish
YEAR 10 PRODUCT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Bek Phillipson
YEAR 11 ART AWARD
Lillian Toncinich
YEAR 11 STUDIO ARTS AWARD
Eliza Hulley
YEAR 11 VISUAL COMMUNICATION
DESIGN AWARD
Elizabeth Muller
YEAR 11 PRODUCT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Lexie Allan
UNIT 1/2 VCE VET CREATIVE AND DIGITAL MEDIA AWARD
George Fennessy
UNIT 1/2 APPLIED COMPUTING AWARD
Jiahao Quin
YEAR 12 ART AWARD
Priya Gill
YEAR 12 STUDIO ARTS AWARD
Rhianne Brown
YEAR 12 VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN AWARD
Jevons Wang
UNIT 3/4 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Zen Nimorakiotakis
UNIT 3/4 VCE VET CREATIVE DIGITAL MEDIA AWARD
Charlie McFarlane
UNIT 3/4 VCE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AWARD
Justin Grant
Albert Einstein once said, ‘creativity is intelligence having fun!’. While this year certainly hasn’t come without challenge or endeavour, the fun of learning has definitely returned to our technology classrooms. Once again, our students been able to engage practically, with a hand-on approach, enabling the development of their creative and critical thinking skills to come to the fore as part of a host of exciting and rewarding activities.
In recent times, digital technology skills have certainly become an invaluable requirement throughout every facet of education. While some may describe this generation of students as digital natives, there remains an ever-increasing responsibility to develop their skills and knowledge outside of the realm of entertainment. This year’s digital technology students from Years 5-12 have embarked across a range of projects and activities from programming robots and drones to perform specific tasks, to designing and developing the workings behind the latest App or game. Developing and understanding network protocols and infrastructure as well as web design and animation through the Adobe Suite, further drive our students’ understanding of the ‘real-world’ implications and applications of digital technologies. No longer do these students take the availability of computer networks or the functionality of an App or game for face value, but have an intrinsic understanding about how such resources are made available for the consumer.
Our Food Studies area has been a hive of activity from the outset this year, paired with the aroma of freshy prepared meals wafting through the lower level of the Creativity Centre. Food Studies in 2022 continued to be a highly enjoyable and engaging interdisciplinary approach to the exploration of food. Paramount to this, is extending our students’ skills and knowledge around food though both practical and theoretical experiences, all underpinned by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
Students in Years 8 and 9 have thoroughly enjoyed creating and responding to design briefs and having the opportunity to taste test, analyse and respond to their final creations. Our Year 10 students have enjoyed exploring nutrition and performance and how this manifests to improve both health and wellbeing. Our VCE students would attest to the importance of learning about the holistic approach to global issues related to food, not to mention, the broad range of influential professions associated with Food Studies such as nutritionists, dieticians, food technologists and scientists who constantly explore means to sustainably feed an ever-expanding population.
The Design and Technology workshop from Years 7-12 has been in constant use since the beginning of the year. While the digital design skills we honed in our time away haven’t gone unused, our students have definitely relished in the opportunity to manipulate and shape materials, by hand, once more. As such, this year’s approach has been a deliberate combination of automated manufacturing (CAD/CAM) such as laser cutting and 3D Printing as well as more traditional kinaesthetic methods. Along with the design framework applied to each project, our students still remain exposed to a range of industrial and commercial standards and techniques that hopefully inspire them to a future beyond. Careers in architecture, engineering, industrial (product) design and even construction, remain as viable pathways for the design minded.
While this year has been one of transition, on many levels, as we head towards establishing a new normal, it is encouraging to know that the practical skills inherent to technology are alive and well and brimming with the creativity and enjoyment that has always made being a technology student a special experience. This year’s Art and Design Exhibition is testament to this notion as was the remarkable digital and physical work on display from all our students. Next year we grow again as a faculty and welcome Units 3 & 4 Product Design and Technology to our list of VCE offerings, for the first time at Mentone Grammar, and look forward to extending our students design thinking and practical skills in a way only technology subjects can provide.
Anthony Bacon Head of Technologies
It was great to be back in full swing in 2022! With the easing and eventual disappearance of restrictions around performing activities, all rehearsals and performances progressed with little to no hinderance. With a full Performing Arts calendar, expanded due to greater student numbers and a new Campus, we were joyously able do what we do best: create, challenge, build skills and knowledge and inspire.
After an interminable hiatus of live performance, we began the season of concerts with the Limelight Concert, back on stage in the Thorold Theatre. The Concert featured 26 students from Years 5-12 in a solo, duo or small ensemble settings. We heard two drumkit solos, a saxophone quartet and string ensemble, a flute solo, six vocal solos, an electric guitar duo, a piano duo, a violin duo, a saxophone solo, a viola solo and a bassoon solo.
The piano solo Feux D’artifce by Debussy performed by Zitong Ren was a special treat. This return concert was brought to a rousing close by the incomparable vocal trio of Mathieson Meakins Jayden Paine and Fergus Rann with their distinctive interpretation of O Sole Mio.
The year’s Ensembles Concerts featured all larger ensembles and choirs performing works from a wide range of styles and genres. The concert program comprised the Senior Vocal ensemble, the Bayview Singers, Cat’s Meow, Froggers, Concert Band 1, Concert Band 2, MG Orchestra 1, MG Orchestra 2, the Opera Orchestra, the Clarinet ensemble, the Brass ensemble, The Roquettes, the Chamber Wind Ensemble and the Percussion Ensemble. It was also a pleasure see our youngest musicians back on stage in two exceptional Instrumental Concerts this year. Our future looks very bright indeed, with the joy and smiles we all witnessed this year.
With a return to stage, our Singers’ Concerts were once again a moment of great joy for both those on stage and in the audience. This year it was an early opportunity to attend a live concert event, which has expanded to two concerts due to larger numbers of vocalists, 29 in total. A feature of this popular concert series is the surprise ability to uncover brilliant new performers, and this year was no exception. The concerts comprised a variety of musical styles and genres ranging from stage musicals to pop and opera much to the delight of the large audiences in Thorold Theatre.
The mood soon shifted to a brassy club scene with the return of the much-loved Jazz Cabaret. Featuring all our dedicated lovers of jazz music, the mocktails were flowing as the sounds of jazz returned to the stage once again.
Cre8tive Dance 2022 was out of this world, with a show titled Outer Space. This spectacular show involved 60 dancers who took to the stage with sequences and shimmer. The program featured 23 items ranging from solos, small groups to the full ensemble. On stage we saw silver space suits, brilliant lighting effects and amazing choreography. The music comprised compellingly themed songs titles such as Space Oddity, Saturn, Across the universe, Cosmic Girl leading to the big finale, Starships by Nikki Minaj.
The Rock Band Experience concert event this year was conceived as a tribute to The Beatles, titled All You Need is Love. The students performed in the Thorold Theatre with technical assistance from the VCE VET Music Industry students. The show featured all Rock Band Experience groups, playing a selection of the much-loved Beatles hits, presented by a John Lennon look alike and sound alike MC. The audience really enjoyed the big finale singalong of All You Need is Love, sung by young and old.
The Bayview Play, Final Frontier, was a new work created specifically for Bayview students. It was an absurdist comedy combining styles such as classic western, science fiction and swashbuckling pirates. It was a tale set alternatively in a ‘one horse town’, with battles in outer space which somehow
connected with pirate shenanigans on the high seas…yes, it was crazy! Nothing was as it seemed. However, this year we had the good fortune of a live performance in front of a live audience, or did we…
At the time of writing, we are eagerly awaiting the junior productions of The Little Mermaid Jr and The Haunted House on Pennylane Way. It has been a joy to see the sheer enthusiasm and love of being on stage from our Riviera and Bayview students. Bravo.
Our senior production, Mamma Mia was a resounding success. Double casting of the lead character roles is now a routine feature of our senior productions which enables opportunities for greater number of the highly skilled performers. Ultimately, this production proved to be an incredibly fun feel-good experience for both the cast and the audience. Indeed, each performance culminated in an uplifting singalong, and dancealong finale.
To end the year, our singers and musicians were magnificent in their performances at the majestic St Paul’s Cathedral during Valedictory celebrations and the Service of Lessons and Carols, to end what has been a year of grateful musical reconnection both on and off the stage.
Gavin Cornish Head of Performing Arts Director of Music
OUTER SPACE
60 dancers, 23 dances…out of this world.
Our Opera students staged this wonderful and intriguing creation by the French composer Maurice Ravel with a libretto written by Colette. The thrilling score captures the wonder of a child’s imagination, with musical references from the early 20th Century exhibiting the impact of American popular music, stage musicals and Reviews on Maurice Ravel’s musical language. George Gershwin was a friend of Ravel, and both shared a respect for each other’s musical creations. However, one wonders what Gershwin might have thought of the hilarious and baffling interchange between the ‘Teapot’ and the ‘China Cup’ characters. Bravo to all on a mesmerising performance.
Mamma Mia, here we go again! Once again, the Thorold Theatre was jam packed for the triumphant return of the Senior School Production, Mamma Mia! For our graduating Year 12 cast members it’s been a long journey. The last time they presented a show to a live audience, was when they were in Year 9; however, it was certainly worth the wait. They had audience members up and out of their seats dancing, singing along with, and laughing at the exceptional performances.
As student numbers have continued to grow in our school and Performing Arts program, we have been blessed to be able to double-cast our production, allowing for more students to share the spotlight. This provided the opportunity for students to rehearse their characters together, to step in for others when they were ill and create a sense of what it’s like to be in a professional production with understudies and swings. It also amplified the mentoring that takes place from Year 12 to Year 9 with the students collaborating, meeting outside of hours to rehearse and support each other, building not only a show but a culture and a community. This process ensured that our students reached exceptional heights embracing the funky pop hits of ABBA and larger than life characters, to present hilarious shows night after night that wowed everyone lucky enough to be in Thorold Theatre.
Congratulations to all cast and crew involved on what was a triumphant return to the stage for the Senior Production.
Jamie McCarney Assistant Head of Performing Arts Drama Teacher Director
SOPHIE
Gemma Hollingsworth
Meg Lewis
DONNA
Priya Gill
Phoebe Palmer
TANYA
Olivia Lea
Charlie Turner
ROSIE
Georgia Stewart
Tess Moran
SAM
Jake Newman
Fergus Rann
HARRY
Mathieson Meakins
Nic Saunders
BILL
Nic Corcoran
James Commerford
SKY
Jackson Kemelfield
Jayden Paine
ALI
Sahana Paine
Emily Fitt
LISA
Nalisha Ong
Amelia Lea
PEPPER
Ruben McSwan
EDDIE
Sean Kulakovskiy
PRIEST
Aurora Hogios
Avelyn Reynolds
ENSEMBLE
Abby Barrett
Hugo Barbey
Pippa Bethune
Emma Burton
Tom Burton
Gracie Cooley
Pippa Davies
Casey de Kock
Jasmine Denbury
Emma Enkelman
Elisha Fitzgerald
Lily Flynn
Oskar Garrett
Angelique Gomes
McKenzie Hood
Amy Jones
Aimee Lancaster
Eve Opie
Sarah Rafferty
Lucy Riddle
Brianna Smith
Reva Thacker
Sofia Trantino
Sara Weeks
‘ON THIS OUR 99TH FOUNDERS’ DAY, WE REMEMBER ALL WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US AND UPON WHOSE SHOULDERS WE STAND. WE REFLECT ON A JOURNEY THAT BEGAN SO HUMBLY IN 1923 TO THE WONDERFUL, DIVERSE SCHOOL WE SHARE TODAY. IT’S ALSO A TIME FOR US TO CONSIDER WHAT MAKES MENTONE GRAMMAR A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE CAN BELONG.’
Deputy Principal, Jarrod O’NeillOn Thursday 3 March, the School Community marked this special occasion with gratitude for the incredible work and daring vision of our School Founders.
The educator should ask himself, first, not will the child pass his examinations as the result of my teaching? but rather, will he be a happy and moral citizen?’ Headmaster, Tonkin, 1923
Fast forward 99 years and our gathering began with an Acknowledgement of Country for the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation as the Traditional Owners of the lands where Mentone Grammar stands, and the recognition that these have always been places of teaching and learning.
We paid respect to their Elders – past, present and emerging – and acknowledged the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have played and will continue to play in our country.
Acting Principal, Jarrod O’Neill, welcomed guests and Year 12 students to the Thorold Theatre whilst the rest of the School, and Community, joined the celebration online. Founders’ Day is a marker for both reflection and progress and so it was fitting for Mr O’Neill to outline the School’s pledge to further its work and to embed ‘Inclusion’ into the fabric of Mentone Grammar life.
‘Building and nurturing our Community is even more critical in today’s complex digital world, not to mention the impacts of COVID lockdowns and isolation. So today, we don’t want to focus on social distance and disconnection, we want to celebrate our Community, our connections to each other and the importance of Inclusion.
For us, Inclusion comes out of our School Values of Caring, Respect and Service. It’s about ensuring every individual feels valued and heard. Inclusion is about embracing and celebrating our differences, but it also means different things to different people. Fundamentally, Inclusion is not just a word to be thrown around, it’s an action and one that we are all responsible for taking.
As a school, we are committed to doing more in this area and looking at what it means to be a truly inclusive community. To support this, we have developed a new Inclusion Committee that will be made up of students and staff. This Committee will meet regularly, with an open agenda, to allow staff and student voices to be heard on this important topic. …Thinking about my own actions and behaviours: Am I always being inclusive? Do I always listen to others? Do I let hidden biases dictate how I interact with other people? I think these are important questions we all need to ask ourselves.’
Senior students, Nicky, Year 12 and Keira, Year 11, shared reflections and their own moving, inspiring stories of Inclusion.
Nicky shared three lessons he had learnt about Inclusion on his way to breaking world records in (deaf) swimming and becoming an ambassador of Deaf Children Australia:
1. There’s a big difference between feeling different from others and the feeling of being comfortable and proud of who you are as a person, despite those diversities and differences.
2. Understanding the importance of having people around you, to help you and the importance of also having people who need your help.
3. Sometimes you need to be the one to get yourself involved, to be included.
Keira shared her passion and understanding of Inclusion as a student who was not born in Australia. She believes that Inclusion is a very important part of building relationships with others, supporting others, being a kind person and both acknowledging and accepting others’ differences.
It means ‘that you not only accept others and their differences but view those differences as special and unique things about someone that deserve to be respected.
And so, the message of universal Inclusion and the School’s mantra of Better Together were well and truly launched as each student left with a Better Together cookie following a heartfelt video montage that reminded us all that we are definitely, better together.
A great School tradition. Former Board Member John Fisher (Class of 1972) join our Head Prefects, Evie and Charlie, together with Kayla and Jai, the two youngest students, to cut the cake with Colonel Charles Weir’s sword.
Thank you to:
Riley S, Year 12 – Acknowledgement of Country
Nicky L, Year 12 – Inclusion Reflection
Keira P, Year 11 – Inclusion Reflection
Gabrielle O, Year 12 – The Thanksgiving
Stuart Bainbridge (1997) – The Lesson
Jono Ling (2008) – School Prayer
Ned R, Year 8 Bayview Captain – The Blessing
Cake cutters:
John Fisher (1972)
Evie S, Year 12 Head Prefect
Charlie D, Year 12 Head Prefect
Kayla W, ELC
Jai L, ELC
The primary aim of the Parents and Friends (P&F) Association is to organise and facilitate friend-raising opportunities within the School. There have been few opportunities to do so over the last couple of years, so it has been wonderful to begin hosting gatherings again this year.
Capacity restrictions meant that the School couldn’t host the traditional start-of-year Welcome Function, so towards the end of March, the P&F organised a Welcome Night for Years 5 & 7 parents, as these years typically have the biggest intake of new students and, therefore, new families to the School community. This was well-attended, and it was fabulous to see many new and ‘old’ parents mingling and reconnecting.
The annual Trivia Night, hosted in conjunction with The Holland Foundation, was another success! As always, the tickets sold out quickly and all who attended had a fun-filled evening!
Mon Ami and Dads@MG are social groups associated with the P&F. Mon Ami aims to connect and support Mentone Grammar families, many of whom have moved from overseas or interstate. The group meets socially a few times each term for dinners, walks and cultural activities. Dads@MG aims to create connection, friendship and support among the men of our community, via a series of organised events throughout the year. The events organised by both of these groups have been very well-received this year.
The inaugural Biggest Morning Tea, a fundraiser in aid of the Cancer Council Victoria, was held in May. Guests enjoyed a delicious array of tasty treats whilst raising around $800 for a cause close to many of our hearts.
The Moulin Rouge Cocktail Party in August was a sensational night. The School gym was transformed into a Parisian Night Club, and Cherrybomb played a selection of party anthems and classic hits, enabling parents to dance the night away.
P&F events will close out with the much-anticipated Christmas Lunch on Friday 2 December. This is always a highlight in the calendar, and a lovely way to end the school year.
The P&F could not function without the support of the School and the School community, so the committee extends its thanks to all who have contributed to make this year a great one! If you would like more information on the P&F or would like to join us, please reach out to one of the committee members below or contact: pandf@mentonegrammar.net
Natalie Burrows PresidentParents and Friends Association Committee
President: Natalie Burrows
Secretary: Kate Edwards
Treasurer: Robina Shearer
Uniform Shop Convenor: Jo Howe
Event Coordinators: Molly Grant
Social Media Coordinator: Lisa Kirwan
Newsletter Editor: Fiona McCall
Family Support Coordinator: Andrea Wilson
Dads’ Club Convenor: Hayden McNamara
Mon Ami Convenor: Graciela Ramon Michel
General Committee Members: Niki Buschkuehl, Christine Davie, Natalie Isaksson, Vanessa Lyons, Claire Ruberu, Vanessa Rushworth, Jill Saville, LeeAnn Sullivan, Juke van der Scheer, Belinda Walton
World’s Greatest Shave
World’s Greatest Shave giant cheque fundraising
Father’s Day in the ELC
Head Prefects 2023 badging
SHANE KEITH WARNE (13 SEPTEMBER 1969 – 4 MARCH 2022)
THE MENTONE GRAMMAR COMMUNITY WAS SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY THE SUDDEN PASSING OF A BELOVED MENTONIAN, SHANE WARNE, REGARDED BY MANY AS THE GREATEST LEG SPINNER OF ALL TIME AND A TRUE INTERNATIONAL CRICKETING LEGEND. HE ENJOYED A LONG AND ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER FROM 1990 UNTIL HE OFFICIALLY RETIRED FROM ALL FORMS OF THE GAME IN 2013.
AT SCHOOL, SHANE CAPTAINED THE MENTONE GRAMMAR AGSV PREMIERSHIP 1ST XI CRICKET IN 1987 AND HE REMAINS AN INSPIRATION TO OUR CRICKETERS TODAY, AS HE DOES FOR SO MANY AROUND THE WORLD.
WE MOURN THE LOSS OF THIS SPORTING GREAT, AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS REMAIN WITH HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, ESPECIALLY HIS THREE CHILDREN, AT THIS DEVASTATING TIME.
John Mason – former teacher, cricket coach and fan has recorded his memories of Shane Warne which will no doubt resonate with his fellow teammates from Mentone Grammar and with those who have come to know the icon that is Shane Warne…
The Shane Warne story acquired legendary status in the wider community even before his untimely death shocked the cricketloving world. I feel deeply privileged to have been a very small part of that story – the part which involves the aspirations of young players and their acquiring of commitment, skills and a loyalty to their teammates and school. Seeing the photo of all those Old Boys (all wearing their caps so proudly) at the Shane Warne MCG Tribute was a wonderful reminder of the relationships and endeavours of so many outstanding schoolboy cricketers who played the game with a wonderful determination and courage. Moreover, it seemed to me that there could not have been a more fitting venue than the MCG for such an event, the celebration of a remarkable player and the sense of sadness at the loss of a sporting hero so movingly expressed.
We all know how much Shane valued friendship and camaraderie and this was articulated by so many who got to know Shane over the journey and who wanted so much to show their respect and affection for Shane on that memorable autumnal evening under the glare of TV cameras and a worldwide audience. Cricket lovers in all cricket playing nations wanted to express both empathy and admiration of a unique player and person – an exponent of the art of leg spin whose feats on the field mesmerised opponents and delighted his countrymen. Shane’s career was marked by a level of success, even his most loyal teammates and coaches could not have fully anticipated. We, at least those of who have known the challenges of cricket on and off the field, had sensed that for Shane it was always about so much more than just a struggle for dominance between two teams.
An image that has been imprinted on my memory was an afternoon when I had resumed coaching duties as (coach) Barrie Irons had a wedding to attend – and, having dismissed Marcellin for a paltry score we had amassed a considerable lead – Raj Krishnan batted with controlled aggression and we were attempting to dismiss them a second time. Shane and Wayne Fuller (1988) known as ‘Dutchie’ were bowling in tandem and there were literally a circle of fielders surrounding the batters who clearly were becoming increasingly intimidated with each ball, made worse by the intermittent dismissals of their over-awed teammates. Incidentally, it should be stated that Dutchie was an excellent foil for Shane in that, besides being an excellent left-arm orthodox spinner, he could maintain a consistent line and length, thereby adding to the pressure being applied to the batters. A rather strong view held by AGSV coaches of that time, was that, although there were more competition points to be gained in the event of an outright win, it wasn’t a realistic goal in a day’s play. That afternoon Shane and Dutchie proved them wrong!
So, what will be Shane’s legacy? During his playing days, I’m certain that coaches everywhere noted as I did, that no longer did we have to encourage the art of leg spin. Every other boy suddenly expressed an interest in the art. However, as Shane so astutely asserted in his autobiography, there is something innate about wrist spin – and even if you are innately born with that ability, it takes a level of discipline and practice well beyond the limits of most aspirants. Though regarding academic pursuits Shane could be something of a dilettante, when faced with a sporting challenge there was nothing feeble or half-hearted in his approach. Nevertheless, I suspect that the search for another Shane may well become another search for the Holy Grail in the form of a leg-spinner with almost super-powers of spin and deception.
Shane had an irrepressible attitude and competitiveness that never failed to inspire his teammates, but he also had a huge respect for the game, its past heroes and his opponents. There were two messages that he articulated both in words and in his attitude on the field – always respect your opponents and their efforts, but most of all be honest in your dealings with others and true to yourself. In other words, be authentic. This he reiterated on many occasions, but more importantly those who knew Shane well would agree, authenticity was what he demanded of himself. It mattered a great deal to him, and he was just that, authentic and honest. The only occasions when his normal easy-going demeanour would disappear was when he was galvanised by a question or insinuation regarding his integrity. No wonder he had so many close and genuine friends – loyalty and honesty were not just a glib assertion but principles upon which he based his life.
I’m certain we will all treasure some special memory of Shane. For most it will be a sporting one – the unplayable Gatting delivery rated by some students of the game as the greatest ball bowled, his extraordinary spell against the might of the West Indies at the MCG, his test hat-trick etc. etc., but for me it will be the moment when a slightly bemused Shane was asked by the English wicket-keeper Alex Stewart during a One Day International at the MCG to come onto the playing arena to calm an increasingly volatile and unruly crowd – this he duly accomplished but seemed still quite bewildered by the request. There was no grandiosity or affectation about Shane, and that humility of spirit and connection with people is what set him apart from so many who are successful and famous.
Vale Shane Warne (R.I.P)
The 2022 Summer Sport season saw many outstanding achievements across all sports. Although shortened, the five-week fixture kicked off four days after the school year commenced, with four weeks being played in glorious sunshine and then one weekend being washed out by a torrential downpour. The Firsts teams enjoyed an extended season, playing matches against all schools that entered teams in the respective Firsts divisions. It was great to be back.
Our Firsts teams results were strong in both Girls’ and Boys’ fixtures. Our Girls’ Softball and Volleyball teams approached preseason training with a positive attitude, committed to producing to the best of their ability. With succession plans always in mind, our Girls’ Firsts teams often included students from younger year levels, and this was very much the case this season with students from Year 8 training and playing in our Firsts teams.
Our Boys’ Firsts teams had a significant turnover from the previous season. The Basketball, Cricket and Tennis teams fought hard throughout the season. The ladders at the end of the season demonstrated how close the competitions were from third place through to eighth place. Our Boys’ Volleyball team produced an excellent season, only being defeated by the two teams, that ultimately faced off in the Grand Final, with the Mentone Boys finishing the season in third place. Also finishing in third was the Boys’ Swimming team. The team recorded an excellent result at the AGSV Swimming Carnival and were up against some exceptional swimmers within the AGSV.
With great excitement, two of our Firsts teams achieved the ultimate success in the Summer of 2022. Led by Monique Zahra, our resilient Girls’ Swimming team defeated some strong schools to claim the AGSV Swimming Premiership by an impressive 39 points. There is no doubt that the encouragement and support they all shared, was a driving force. In true Mentone spirit, our hard-working Girls’ Firsts Touch Football team completed an undefeated season, winning their last home and away match to claim the title. All students who contributed to these teams should be proud of their achievements – well done girls!
Congratulations to all students on their enthusiastic approach to their chosen sport over the summer and special mention to all our Firsts teams for challenging themselves to train hard to produce such a wonderful set of results.
Stuart Bainbridge Director of Sport
The 2022 AGSV Swimming Carnival provided some extremely memorable moments for the Mentone Grammar Swim Team. Highlighted by the Girls’ Team winning the Premiership and the Boys’ Team finishing in a strong third position.
All Mentone Grammar swimmers were impressive from start to finish, displaying consistency and commitment across all strokes, distances, and age groups.
The Team responded with resilience to the last-minute changes which were required due to illness. The changes saw many squad members swimming out of their Age Group and in events that were slightly unexpected.
The Girls’ Team, captained by Monique Zahra had stand out individual performances from Paris Burlock, Alanah Becker, Hannah Wagner, Ashley Dunn, Kiara Fernando, Gemma Sullivan and Marlia De Zoysa-Lewis. These swimmers swam the maximum of four events on the night and were a part of many outstanding races that brought home maximum team points.
The Boys’ Team finished a close third behind Camberwell Grammar and Trinity Grammar. The Team, led by individual race winners Louis Ainley and Nicholas Layton – the Open Boys rounded out a fantastic night, winning the Open Medley relay in AGSV record-breaking time.
On behalf of the combined squad members, we sincerely thank the Year 12 swimmers for their contribution to the sport. We look forward to putting in the hard work required to defend the Premiership and continuing the proud tradition of Mentone Grammar Swimming.
Andrew Lauterstein Swimming CoachOn Friday 25 March, MSAC proved a happy hunting ground, once again, as our Girls’ Swimming Team made history by winning the Championship by an impressive margin of 39 points. At a special assembly the following Monday morning, Swimming Captain, Monique Zahra, shared the following:
Good morning, Mentone. As most of you would be aware the AGSV Swimming Championship was held last Friday. I would like to begin by acknowledging Louis, my fellow Captain. You led the Boys with passion and determination. All the boys swam with courage and grit, fighting in every single race, placing a deserving third, overall.
To my girls…you went out there with your eyes on the target and gave it absolutely everything in every single race. The support you showed for each other was exceptional and truly showed the kind of team we are, which is a very special one. To the younger girls in the team, I hope you took in all the screams from your friends and supporters and the atmosphere. I wish I could go back to Year 7 and experience it all over again – these nights are so precious and before you know it, you will be in Year 12 doing your very last swim, so make every second count.
To the Year 12 girls, I am honoured to have experienced that night with such a beautiful group of women. Your resilience throughout the years of impossibly slim losses then COVID-19, shows how strong you all are, and it is just amazing we were able to go out with an absolute bang.
To the girls who couldn’t be there with us on the night, our thoughts were with you in each of our swims. Each and every one of you trained so hard and put in so much work, I could not have asked for more. Hold your heads extremely high and thank you for selecting me to be your Captain. I was honoured to have been able to lead such a memorable and humble group of girls to a victory, won by all.
A huge shoutout to Mr Bainbridge and his team for organising everything from trials through to team selections and to making sure our competition didn’t know what was about to hit them. Thank you to our coaches, Andrew and Josh, for dealing with us on those early mornings and for pushing us to achieve what we did.
Monique Zahra
Girls’ Swimming Captain 2022
(Excerpt from Celebration Assembly speech – 28 March 2022)
Thirteen talented girls made up the final squad. Zoe Leaver, not just a gifted athlete but also a genuine leader, was voted in as Captain and Amy Watkins and Mia Collins as Vice Captains.
We received the draw and very quietly circled the game against Caulfield Grammar, but we knew we had to use the old cliché and take one game at a time. With season wins against Haileybury, Carey Grammar, PEGS, Ivanhoe Grammar and Peninsula Grammar it set up a ‘winner takes all’ final round against the, also, undefeated Caulfield Grammar that boasted some of Victoria’s best junior talent.
This was the game we earmarked as the one we wanted. We had done all the work and prepared the best that we could. We were ready. As the game got closer, a big crowd gathered and the girls starting to get a little nervous. Some calming words by Captain Zoe and a rev-up by Ash, the girls came out running. We pulled out to a 4-1 lead but to Caulfield’s credit, they didn’t give up and kept coming back at us. We would eventually go into half time 5-4 up with Mikki Watson scoring her second as well as Mia Collins, Zoe and Lucy.
The second half was a grind, and it was a matter of which team would crack first. A second half double to Lucy as well as tries to Mia Collins and Amy got the crowd going, but the biggest roar of the evening came when Ash Rundmann stepped on the field. She finally had an opportunity to make her season debut in the dying minutes of the game as our six Year 12s finished off the game for an entertaining 9-6 victory.
The moments after that are ones to remember. Our supporters came from everywhere for a massive team Wogga and the tears flowed. The pressure was finally off and the girls had achieved what they set out to achieve. Six in a row!
Zoe Leaver was selected in the Victorian Women’s Open team in Coffs Harbour for the third time. Zoe is also the inaugural Captain of the AGSV Representative team. Mia Collins, Mikki Watson, Amy Watkins, Zoe Leaver and Arabelle Jeffery were all selected as AGSV Touch Representatives.
We are very thankful to our Year 12s for helping our sport continue to grow and at the same time leaving your own legacy for the next generation. To Zoe, Mia, Ash, Amy, Mikki and Riley, it has been a lot of fun coaching you over the past few years. A special mention to the leadership group, without you pushing this program the way you have, we would not have had the success we have. Great work.
We have all heard that a good team culture is the key to success. That is very much the case with this group. Thank you for giving Touch Football a go. To start a brand new sport from Year 7 sounds daunting but you gave it a go and wanted to be the best players you could be for your School. You are all great role models for the next generation of players. We achieved our goals, and you all grew as athletes. I thank the School, Stuart Bainbridge and staff and the parents, (who admitted they didn’t know what they were watching most of the time), for supporting us wholeheartedly. Thank you.
Elies El Chaar Touch Football Coach(Except from Sport Awards Evening speech – 30 March 2022)
The Firsts Softball Team showed its passion for the game in Season 2022. All students always came to training with a great attitude and inquisitive mind. Training would sometimes come to a halt whilst numerous questions were asked about the rules we had encountered on the weekend. Understanding grew and the girls began to play situations in the game, based on what they had learnt, like trying to play lead runners instead of the simple out-at-first-base and playing with different shifts and depths based on who the hitters were. As coaches, it was fulfilling to see the girls continually want to get better and, therefore, improve.
The Firsts had a couple of really close games, where four or five of the innings played were tight but with one innings getting away from us. The standout game was against Caulfield Grammar. We scored three runs to take the lead late in the game and had the tough task of getting three outs with only six minutes left of game time. The enthusiasm to get the result was fantastic and whilst we managed to get one of the outs quickly, time beat us to get the remaining two and the score reverted back to Caulfield being up by two.
The Softball Firsts had a great share of contributors. Ulyana Kondratova was the catcher almost every week and Rhianne Brown continued to improve her pitching. What is just as pleasing is the attitude the girls demonstrated, with Tess ShilsonJosling the ultimate encourager, Irene Lu the designated play advisor and Eliza O’Connor becoming a strategic thinker, always wanting to know the situation of the game.
I would like to thank all the girls for their contributions and for demonstrating the Mentone Grammar Values when they played. I would also like to thank the Sports Department for allowing us to return to the Firsts and go out on a high!
Shane Goodall Head Coach – SoftballGoing into Season 2021-2022, it was always going to be a rebuilding season after losing the bulk of our First XI players. Over the season we presented nine First XI caps to players with the highlight being Evie Stansby. Evie is the first female cricketer to be selected for the Mentone Grammar First XI. Well done, Evie.
Our season started poorly at Camberwell Grammar after getting knocked over for 101, cheaply, as it was never enough runs but COVID had hit us badly in quite a few games and didn’t have the depth to cover it.
We were well in the game against Trinity Grammar but just fell short 7/180 v 8/179 despite good performances from: Charlie Costa 60, Fletcher Batty 3/32, Christian Howe 37, 2/37.
We then ventured to Assumption College where we were totally outplayed by a good strong batting and bowling outfit.
Next up was PEGS at home where we played well but just fell short again (8/186 v10/184), with notable players: Charlie Costa 35, Jesse van Rooyen 52 and Fletcher Batty 3/16.
We had a washout game against Peninsula and then a midweek game win against Yarra Valley with Will Brown 43, Matt Langenfelds 59, Nat Petty 2/24, Murphy Dickson 2/30 all having good games.
Round 8 was our Grand Final, playing Ivanhoe Grammar at home with the result being: 4/229 v 10 /150. It was a complete performance and very satisfying, with Skipper Matt Langenfelds 43, Christian Howe 89, Nat Petty 4/26, Jesse van Rooyen 45, Murphy Dickson 3/29 all leading the way.
Our last game against Marcellin College, after two good wins, was a disappointing effort after once again being affected by both COVID and injury.
Overall, our squad is developing very well, and we are looking forward to season 2022/ 2023 with great optimism. I would like to thank James Shaw Driver for all his help and Matt Langenfelds for his great leadership as First XI Team Captain for 2022.
Peter Buchanan Cricket First XI Coach
In 2022, for the Boys’ Firsts Volleyball Team it was going to be a season of catch up, not something completely new to us though. We only had three returning players along with nine players new to the sport of Volleyball.
Playing against teams that had played together for up to four years meant that we had to learn fast.
Learn fast is exactly what this group of young men did. From day one they were interested and keen to learn, not just the skills, but the different positions of advanced rotations, watching clips on YouTube to upskill.
The draw was very kind to us, playing the, so called, softer teams to start so we could get into the season and understand the game better. This worked. Going 4-0 in February, prepared us well for playing Ivanhoe Grammar and Trinity Grammar in door-die matches.
With no semi-finals this season, we had to beat Trinity Grammar but, sadly, we were just a bit off our game and went down fighting. The next week against Ivanhoe Grammar, the Number 1 team by far, we played the game of our season and almost got over the line. It is a shame we didn’t bring that game against Trinity.
So, third place it is for 2022, but we only lose one graduating player this year, so bring on the 2023 Premiership, as we won’t be playing catch up next time.
Luke Campbell Boys’ Firsts VolleyballCoach
This year, the Girls’ First Volleyball team took to the court with its biggest squad to date. Filled with energy, enthusiasm and excitement, the team stepped into the 2022 season with a bang, claiming their first game as a win. Although the weeks that followed were filled with bigger challenges, the team showed incredible resilience and dedication to the sport. Pushing through the disruptions of COVID, the entire team stepped up to the plate and finished the year with the same energy, enthusiasm and excitement as they started. As Head Coach, I am incredibly proud of each team member this season. Every player has contributed their absolute most to the squad, attending multiple trainings and putting in the work required to develop their skills. With our youngest squad to date, we look forward to what this team has to offer in the coming seasons. Bidding our Year 12s goodbye and good luck for their upcoming endeavours is always sad, but we look forward to welcoming the squad back for another season, later in the year.
Annie Counsel
Girls’ Firsts Volleyball Coach
It is great to finally get back on the basketball floor and, not only compete, but achieve some hard-fought wins along the way to finish the season strongly.
The early part of the year was met with a high level of enthusiasm with over 20 players trying out for Firsts Basketball and no fewer than 15 players gaining some experience playing at this AGSV level by the end of the season. Injuries and health protocols certainly kept us flexible with line ups and available players. A special thanks to Paul Khazal for his continued work in helping to ensure all were organised, well informed and ready to train and play.
The scheduling of the season was also flexible and so provided some elongated gaps and some NBA-style three games in seven days, to which all adapted well. We commenced the season against one of the favourites, Camberwell Grammar and, while taking a considerable loss on the scoreboard, we gained some valuable insights into what parts of the game we needed to improve. The result was to return the next week and play Trinity Grammar, another very good team, to an exciting home draw. The next game against PEGS was like a carbon copy of the Trinity game, where it went all the way to the last possession and a chance for us to win on the last shot – we missed, but we did build our team play, camaraderie and competitiveness, to take forward.
The road trip to Assumption College didn’t play out in the way that we had hoped, where we let them get too big a start and couldn’t get close enough in the second half to put the pressure on. This reminded us of the importance of being ready to compete at the start and playing consistently throughout the game. This may have given us the spur we needed to enjoy our three-game winning streak that began against Peninsula Grammar, continued against Yarra Valley Grammar and then capped off with another good win against Ivanhoe Grammar. The last game of the year was tough. Marcellin has such a good team, but we finished our season as well as we could, sending off our Year 12s: Mason, Phong, Carlos, Byron and Zac – with the team’s best wishes.
This year we were able to play some younger players from Years 10 and 11, so we look forward to the next couple of years with enthusiasm to see where these young players can take the Basketball Program.
Thanks to all who have supported the team throughout the year. We enjoyed the competition, played the game in a positive way and all look forward to the future.
Darren Perry Head Coach – BasketballAt our Winter season launch, the celebratory tone of being able to return to the ovals, courts, pitches and tracks was tangible as our students eagerly looked forward to an uninterrupted season. For many of our younger students, it was their first chance to represent Mentone Grammar in Winter Sport. Our theme for the season was simply, ‘we love to watch you play’, with coaches, parents and the broader Mentone Grammar community reminded that in amongst all the good, the bad, the ups and the downs, the reason why we love our students playing sport so much is, quite simply, the love of watching them play.
And play they did! Our Keysborough Playing Fields were once again a hub of activity each Saturday, with the three Ovals, Soccer and Hockey pitches and Netball courts hosting multiple games each weekend. Similarly, our School was busy with Girls’ Soccer, Basketball and Netball on non-stop rotation and our Cross Country runners did us proud competing in events all around Melbourne each week, including our annual hosted event at Braeside Park.
An exciting highlight of this season was the fielding of our inaugural Girls’ Hockey team that, due to an abundance of talent, entered the Firsts AGSV/APS competition immediately. Whereas some teams will take time to make their mark at this level, our Hockey girls did an outstanding job, acquitting themselves brilliantly with a team of Years 7-12 students who were unbelievably proud to be the first Girls’ team for Mentone Grammar. Particular mention must be made of Head prefect, Evie Stansby, who, along with her great friend Jayde Temby, co-captained this team. After being the first female to play First XI Cricket for Mentone Grammar earlier in the year, Evie was named in the Australian U21 Hockey team, the Jillaroos, throughout the Winter season but always prioritised playing for Mentone, even when scheduling clashes made this difficult. She, along with Jayde, Zara Geddis and Sarah Connell were all also part of State teams throughout the season, a great reflection of the level of talent the squad possessed, and their individual and collective leadership of the younger students set the standard for years to come.
Our Boys’ Soccer and Girls’ Soccer Firsts teams also had very successful seasons, with the Boys hosting an afternoon match against Marcellin on Frogmore Oval which saw one of the largest School crowds ever gather to watch a match, that was of the highest quality. Our teams had outstanding seasons, with the Girls displaying some of the best skills and teamwork our Firsts had ever displayed and the Boys falling agonisingly close to causing an enormous upset in their semi-final match against the more fancied PEGS team, going down 2-1 to the eventual premiers, in a result that gained them the greatest of respect from their opponents. These teams have high levels of motivation for 2023 and will no doubt set their sights on even higher prizes next year.
Mentone Grammar was excited to be part of the AGSV Reconciliation Round celebrations and, as a tangible example of our commitment to Indigenous connection and awareness, all our Firsts teams were proud to wear our Indigenous uniform, specially designed by two sisters from the Lilla community in the NT, a place well-known and enjoyed by our Bayview students. The idea behind the design was community and connection, with circles representing communities, and even though these are geographically separate, they are strongly connected as depicted by connecting lines. The importance of water within both communities is also importantly represented. Our students were enthusiastic and respectful of these concepts and were actively involved in detailed conversations and learning opportunities around them, which made the Indigenous Round one of the absolute highlights of the year.
In a further example of our School’s focus on Inclusion and Diversity throughout the year, our Boys’ First XVIII team was invited to participate in a Pride match against Trinity Grammar. As part of this celebratory fixture, both schools participated in a variety of learning opportunities throughout the week in the lead up to this game, with renowned presenter Jason Ball speaking at both schools and to both teams prior to the match, on the important role each of us can play in ensuring all individuals feel welcome to participate in sport.
As well as some great team success, two of our students deserve particular congratulations after they represented Australia in different Athletics competitions. Both Tom Byrne (Year 12) and Claudia Hollingsworth (Year 11) competed in the Oceania Athletics Championships held in Mackay, Queensland in June, with Tom running the 400m Hurdles and the 4 x 400m Relay and Claudia winning the 1500m and coming second in the 800m events. In further recognition of her outstanding ability, Claudia was then selected to again represent Australia at the World Championships in Oregon, USA and the U20 World Championships in Cali, Columbia. As a 17-year-old, this in itself is a phenomenal effort and her experiences during these events and being part of these Australian teams has further motivated her for future endeavours. We are so fortunate to have students like Evie, Tom and Claudia represent Mentone Grammar and they are all outstanding examples of students who give their all to their chosen sporting pursuits and our School as a whole. Congratulations on being extraordinary examples to our younger athletes.
This season, we have been incredibly proud of our Girls’ teams. They competed in 10 Firsts Sports in 2022, winning no less than four Premierships, more than any other AGSV school. Our girls continue to raise the bar and set the standard across our Association(s) and for that, we thank and congratulate them.
To all our students who represented Mentone Grammar in the Winter season – we loved watching you play.
Peter O’Gorman Head of Sport
In September, our Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics teams were excited to finally be back at Lakeside Stadium, to compete in the Association’s 100th running of the AGSV Athletics Championships. This was the culmination of an Aths season that began in earnest with a pre-season camp held during the Term 2 holiday break, training sessions that began during the same break and continued throughout Term 3, three days a week with record numbers of students attending, creating an incredibly positive vibe across our team that included students from Years 6-12. It was great to finally be back competing on the track.
The last time these championships were held in 2019, our Boys finished in sixth position out of the nine AGSV schools, and our Girls won the Premiership for the first time. With the time in between, the strengths of other schools were unknown, and our Years 7-9 students were participating for the first time.
It was a long day, with 148 events on the program, a combination of individual and team track and field events. As the day progressed, both our Boys’ and Girls’ teams, who compete for separate Premierships, were looking impressive.
Some outstanding individual and relay performances took place – our Boys’ Captain Tom Byrne was simply stunning, winning the Open 100m, the Open 200m, the 110m Hurdles and anchoring the 4 x 100m Open Relay team, which included Tom O’Rourke, Noah Davis and Noah Eley, to victory in the final event of the day.
Luca Scott (Year 9) won the U16 Hurdles and came second in the U16 Boys’ High Jump, Sam Albiston won the U17 800m and 1500m events, came second in the 400m and the 4 x 800m event with Hudson Bucci, Jackson Mellett and Nick Harris. The U17 Boys’ 4 x 100m team of Will Sargeant, Chris Chambers, Sean Lai and Gabe Uberti was brilliant, winning their relay, while Ben Seers was also outstanding across multiple events in a program where we could rave about every member who competed. In the end, we fell agonisingly short, finishing 11.5 points shy of the winner, Camberwell Grammar, finishing a close third place.
Every one of our Boys’ competitors was simply outstanding and could not have done any more than they did.
In 2019, our Girls won their first Athletics Premiership, and with two interrupted years since, returned to Lakeside with the intention of, for the first time in our history, achieving the Premiership quad, having already won the Girls’ Touch Football, Swimming and Cross Country Premierships in 2022.
Under the leadership of Captain Ash van Rooyen and ViceCaptain Monique Zahra, the girls were primed. Yarra Valley dominated the early events, but as the day went on our athletes started making their mark. A few of the highlights included: Libby Hathway’s U17 Shot Put and Discus demolition, Claudia Irving’s U17 800m first place, Lily Parsons U17 Long Jump win, Madi Carr winning the U15 Shot Put, Long Jump and High Jump, Alanah Becker winning the U17 400m event, Ash van Rooyen winning her Open Long Jump by 1cm, Summer Leonard’s Open Shot Put win and Claudia Hollingsworth’s extraordinary efforts, setting new AGSV records in the 1500m, 800m and 400m events, and also remarkably winning the Open 200m event in a combination of events that had never been won before in AGSV history.
Like the Boys, the day came down to the Relays, as historical rivals Mentone and Ivanhoe looked like the only winners. With three events to go, there was three points in it with the pressure on our U16, 17 and Open 4 x 100m relay events. The U16 team, including Madi Carr and Gracie Cooley did a sterling job to give Mentone some breathing space, before the U17 team of Lily Parsons, Ella Rankin, Alanah Becker and Claudia Irving did their bit by smashing their relay. The Open team of Ash van Rooyen, Monique Zahra, Ruby Raymond and Claudia made it party time, winning the final event of the day and securing the Girls’ Athletics Premiership for the second time.
To say I am proud of these girls would be an understatement. Every single one of them committed to three trainings per week plus Saturday early morning trial meets. The enthusiasm and energy from everyone was outstanding and even from those individuals who showed up to every training and trial but unfortunately were not selected in the final team. Your dedication did not go unnoticed and has been, and will be, appreciated in the years to come.
Ash van Rooyen Girls’ Athletics Captain 2022
Our start to the season was tough, with a couple of games where we struggled to get into the contest, but the way the girls responded is true testament to their character. There was an opportunity to drop off and go through the motions, but they united, worked so hard and showed, right throughout the season, just how tough and resilient they are. The growth that the girls showed individually and as a group over such a short season was very impressive. They became competitive really quickly, which was demonstrated by a couple of heartbreaking losses, with two games lost by just two points.
With true grit, we pushed one of the best teams in the competition, despite being three players short, and Haileybury’s coach, Peta Searle, declared we were the hardest team to play against in the whole competition, which again demonstrates the amount of fight in this group. However, it was the spirit that the girls played with that filled me with pride. They turned up to every Tuesday morning training with a smile on their face, regardless of what the scoreboard said the weekend before. Despite losing the first nine games of the season, that spirit and never-say-die attitude drove an outstanding performance in the last game of the season, a 26-point win over the team that beat us by 50 points in Round 1, again highlighting how far this group had come in such a short time. I couldn’t be more proud of them and it really was a privilege to coach such a special group of girls.
Danny Byrne AFLW CoachThe Boys’ Football First XVIII team had a difficult task to follow in the footsteps of the 2021 team. With such a high turnover of players, it felt like a new era. Outstanding Year 12 midfielder Mitchell Rowe was duly named Captain for 2022. Mitch would go on to represent Victoria in the Australian Championships, a magnificent feat. He was arguably the most outstanding AGSV player of the season, despite our side only winning one game (one draw, six losses). Other key Year 12 players included 2022 Vice-Captains Tully McKinnon, a spectacular high leaping forward, and Jacob Whitehouse, a never-give-up backman. Both players were leaders and mentors to younger players.
The 2022 season saw impressive contributions from future competition stars, including talented multi-sport athletes Lachie Smith (Australian baseballer), Christian Howe (State cricketer), Tom O’Rourke (400m national level sprinter). Two other eyecatching contributors were Year 11s Josh and Sean Lai who, at their best, were a dominant force. Year 10 players Ben Seers and Gabriel Uberti also staked their claim as players to watch in the next two years. If the team adopts a stronger focus on strength, speed, and skill development, Mentone Grammar will bounce back next year and be in the top four, where it truly belongs.
Paul Kennedy First XVIII Coach
In 2019, our Girls won their third consecutive AGSV Cross Country Premiership, cementing our School as a significant competitor in a competition that year on year has become stronger. Thus, in 2022, having held the title across the interrupted years, we approached the event day with great enthusiasm to defend the title, albeit with a very different team.
In a unique event, it is important to ensure the team has appropriate coverage across the three divisions, Junior, Intermediate and Senior, as each of these contribute to an overall score to determine the premiership. Many would be familiar with the popular arcade game Pac Man, and it was with this mentality that our athletes approached the event, encouraged to gobble up opposition runners throughout the course, always aiming to finish in the highest position possible, and to catch that next runner in front of them on the way to the finish line.
As the event began, it was clear that our traditional rival, Ivanhoe Grammar, had some incredibly strong runners and that retaining the trophy would not be easy. Urging all our runners to compete as strongly as they could, despite some individual brilliance from other schools, we knew our depth was going to be important and as more and more athletes crossed the finish line, it was clear the result was going to be a close one.
Some outstanding individual performances from Mentone athletes included those who won the Gold Medal for finishing first in their individual year level: Kiara Fernando (Year 8) and Team Captain, Summer Albiston (Year 12), an athlete who had committed her heart and soul to competing for Mentone Grammar across her time at School. Similarly, impressive were Silver Medal winners, Zoe Becker (Year 8) and Claudia Irving (Year 11), along with Bronze Medal winners Eliza Schmidt (Year 11) and Zoe Leaver (Year 12).
In the end, it was due to the contribution of all athletes that Mentone was once again crowned the AGSV Girls’ Cross Country Premiers, retaining the trophy and at the same time, continuing to set the standard for Girls’ Sport across the AGSV. Whereas once our Girls’ Cross Country team consisted of two girls down at the beach who only quickened from their walk when told there was a rat chasing them, the team now is one that many can’t wait to join. In an era when female sport has so many powerful and positive role models, and along with the School’s mantra to develop happy, healthy young people, it is great to see so many girls taking up the opportunity to be physically fit and active, and a little Premiership success along the way makes it even better!
Cross Country has been on a positive trajectory over the years, making incremental improvements towards premiership contention. Knowing the last winner was decided in literally the last race of the season, there was great excitement throughout the pre-season that we would, once again, be in contention.
The traditional twilight season opener at Marcellin lived up to expectations, with all schools competing fiercely. The results in the three divisions, Senior, Intermediate and Junior, indicated that the competition would be incredibly tight and each athlete’s finishing position important, regardless of where that was in each race.
What became apparent, alongside our squad’s improved strength, was that perennial powerhouse, Marcellin, and, now, Camberwell had also improved significantly, so the race for the title quickly became a three-way battle, with only slim margins separating the teams.
Our Senior team was terrific throughout the season, led by Team Captain and Year 12 Gold Medal winner, Hudson Bucci who, in his final season of running for Mentone Grammar, performed admirably week on week and was rewarded with the highest individual honour. He was ably supported by his equally talented running mate, Sam Albiston, who won the Year 11 Gold Medal, with both these students routinely finishing in the Top 5 of the Senior 6km race. Riley Barker and John Humble were also regular strong contributors.
The Intermediate group did a sterling job, with Nick Harris, Harvey Lansley, Will Orchard, Ollie Scott, Ashley Waddell and Lachlan Caldwell all pushing each other to higher levels. Stepping up to the 4.5km distance, the competition was very strong each week, and all our athletes worked hard with and for each other to make sure they achieved very strong collective results throughout.
Running for Mentone for the first time, our Junior athletes represented the School admirably, trying to better their individual performances on a weekly basis. The level of competition was very high, and each of the athletes learnt about the importance of always just trying to beat the runner ahead of them, in doing so benefiting our overall points score. Lachlan Glotzer, Michael Kalopsis, Will Hilton and Kushlan De Silva consistently ran well, and with a greater knowledge of how the competition works and an emphasis on continued improvement, this group will only keep developing over coming seasons.
Overall, our team finished third in a very tight competition. Like most teams, we managed availability and team composition throughout the season which proved challenging some weeks, however, all students are to be commended for their commitment to our Cross Country team and culture.
Craig Mottram Cross Country CoachAs our squad assembled for season 2022, there was a nice mix of age groups all with the intention of working together to develop individual skills to create a successful, competitive team.
Captain Abbey Naffine and Vice-Captain Ruby Raymond did a terrific job leading and motivating the group in a season where wins were hard to come by. With good leadership, the group never gave up and was super competitive against teams that were often far older, bigger and stronger. In particular, it was very beneficial to our younger players to see the standard of the Firsts competition, and this will no doubt be of significant benefit in future seasons.
Achievable goals were put in place, broken down within each game, with a particular focus on structures that allowed the team to defend resolutely, before attempting to provide ourselves with greater scoring opportunities through improving ball movement patterns. The improvement from game to game was easy to identify, with the team becoming harder to score against whilst increasing our own scoring capabilities each week.
To have Year 8 students, Isabella and Taj, along with Year 10 students, Charlotte and Noemi, play most of the season in the Firsts team has been a great credit to these girls, with all of them also playing at a significant level outside of School. At the other end, it was great to see Tyra and Abbey finish their time as Mentone basketballers with such distinction, and their efforts over a long period are acknowledged.
Samantha Groves Girls’ Basketball Coach
Approaching Season 2022, and with our Girls’ First XI taking to the pitch for the first time, the challenge was presented to our Boys to fill the key spots that our elite girls had filled in recent times. Whilst there may have been some consternation as to how both these teams might fare considering we were splitting our talent, one of the most pleasing aspects of the whole season was the capacity of our Boys to rise to the challenge and remain as competitive as they had been over previous seasons.
Having to keep the sticks at bay in Round 1 with a Bye, our first game was against the always well-matched Marcellin team and our group went into this fixture knowing that a positive start to the season was crucial in a winnable contest. Pleasingly, what had been worked on throughout the pre-season came to the fore, albeit in a very tight contest, and we managed to come away with a hard-fought victory. The win reassured us that our decision, to have both a Boys’ and Girls’ First XI team, was the right one, regardless of how the rest of the season would pan out.
Whilst some of the teams we played against held a significant advantage in size and speed, potentially the most pleasing result of the season came in the tightest of tussles against eventual Premiers, Trinity Grammar, who despite no doubt expecting a reasonably comfortable time, took every minute of the match to eventually come away 3-2 winners. This game showed the sharp improvement of our Hockey over the past six years and, even though it ended in a very tight loss, showed that our progress is real and the gap between the best in the competition and our team is narrowing.
The team was very well led by Captain Mayukh Bera who, as a Year 10 student, was extremely well respected by all his teammates and set a fine example for other team members to follow. Pleasingly, the team was made up from Years 7-12 students, another example of our coaches spending time to identify talent across the School to ensure that, as well as the current season, the team continues to develop with an eye to the future, one that looks increasingly bright.
Ben Rogalsky Hockey CoachIt was with renewed enthusiasm our new-look team began its pre-season training for the season to come. With an understanding that, although we were a little shorter than ideal, we would have to make up for this in other ways, combining fast ball movement, quick shifts from offence and defence and a willingness to work as a team to get the most out of the individual talents.
Under the leadership of Captain Zoe Leaver, one of our talented Year 12 netballers in her fifth and final year playing Firsts Netball for our School, the team quickly gelled and knew their strength would come from their capacity to stick together. Although wins were difficult to come by in a competition of significant depth, it should be noted the players were very competitive in every match they played, often pushing teams with more depth to dig far deeper than they intended.
The team committed to additional training sessions every Monday morning, and regardless of the sometimes freezing conditions, they dutifully ensured they continued to attend, participate and develop their skills. Pleasingly, the girls placed high expectations on each other, but did so in a manner that ensured they were able to enjoy themselves, and rather than worry about the win/loss column, instead focused on the small wins that came within training sessions and games which give an indication that the team was consistently improving week by week.
Strong wins against Peninsula Grammar and Assumption College were just reward for a team that refused to give up at any stage in games, or throughout the season. Year 9 student, Emma Adams, deserves great praise for playing the whole season in a competition normally dominated by senior students. In addition, Year 12s Mia, Peri and Tess did an exceptional job in their final season for Mentone, representing our School in the exact manner we expected – trying their hardest, encouraging their teammates and being strong role models for the younger players in the team.
Leah Percy Firsts Netball Coach
On the back of positive momentum built throughout the interrupted years, with the implementation of a Future Firsts Program and a talented squad with increasing maturity, there was a high sense of anticipation. Training standards were improved, connection between the players had never been stronger and the level of commitment to School Soccer was at an all-time high.
A one-sided result against us in Round 1, against a very highly credentialled Trinity Grammar had the potential to be a season breaker yet, despite going down, there was a level of resolve about the group. Knowing they had to make a mark in Round 2, they did so with great aplomb, getting the result against Ivanhoe that then reassured all concerned that with perseverance and a strong mindset, our initial thoughts were on the money. They then set the challenge to win the next three games against like opponents, and did so brilliantly, albeit with some nervous times, none more so than the late penalty given against Peninsula, saved brilliantly by Goalkeeper Josh Simmons only to then score up our end in the last two minutes of the game.
Knowing this was the time to make their mark, the team then played in a home fixture against Marcellin on Thursday afternoon on Frogmore Oval. It was a game for the ages and will be long remembered. It positively re-set Soccer at Mentone for the better, with over 1,000 members of our community staying to watch and support the boys. Although going down 2-1, the contest was a cracker and proved to the team and to all watching that the hard work was paying off and the bridge between the best was narrowing. Any success in the future can be in part attributed to the team that represented Mentone on this day.
In the final round, a semi-final place against the same opponent, PEGS was already guaranteed. The result was one-sided, albeit with nothing to play for. Being reminded that anything can happen, the team was asked to think of the semi-final, ‘what if’ and, in going down 2-0 to the eventual Premiers, had even the opposition coach and supporters heaping huge praise on a team that literally never gave up.
Captain Max Athanas and Vice-Captain Tom Byrne led and played superbly all season, Nick Brigo was outstanding up front although it is unfair to individualise too much as the success of this team was based on exactly that: a team effort that did so much more for Soccer at Mentone than simply just play the season. The mentality and landscape have now changed, and we can’t wait to see what can be achieved in 2023.
The Mentone Grammar Firsts XI Soccer team is a unique group, full of individuals who are willing to fight, support and play for one another. Made up of girls across various year levels, the team put in the hard yards from the very first day of pre-season, determined to do their team and their School proud. Dealt a major blow on the eve of the season with Vice-Captain Maya Jacobs ruled out for the year with injury, the girls rallied around Maya and bound together to show the competition what they were made of.
No matter how tough the opposition, the girls gave it their all and played some beautiful football to secure some wonderful results. The match that really summed up the team’s belief, culture and ability was on the final day away to Ivanhoe. Being 1-0 down on the scoreboard and with one player on the bench in front of a loud contingent of Ivanhoe supporters, the girls produced a scintillating display of football in the final 15 minutes of the match to come from behind and run out 3-1 winners. The same belief was shown in their final fixture, coming from 2-1 down at half-time to storm home as 4-2 winners, away at Geelong College. Whether it was Captain Sienna Sainsbury leading from the back, MVP Keisha Jacobs winning challenges in the midfield or youngster Caitlin Smith bombing down the wing and finishing with a spectacular goal, every member of the Firsts squad played their role and should be incredibly proud of their respective seasons.
Yana Kypsaris and Rebekah Stott Girls’ Soccer Coaches
In August, 27 Mentone Grammar students from Foundation to Year 12 represented the School in the 2022 Victorian Interschool Snowsport Championships at Mt Buller. There were 205 participating schools with over 2700 students competing in multiple ski and snowboard events between 22-28 August.
The events for the youngest competitors began early in the week. At 7.30am on Monday, our young competitors turned out to compete in some of the most challenging weather conditions Interschool competitions had seen. High winds, chilling temperatures and very poor visibility resulted in postponement of most events on the day and the unfortunate cancellation of the Division 6 Ski Cross event for our team of five boys in Year 2 and below. Those who competed that day showed particular resilience and determination while waiting for their turn to swish down the slopes.
The weather steadily improved over the week and by week’s end, our students had competed in over 60 race events. They had great fun together and achieved some excellent results. These events cannot occur without the support of many generous parents, especially those who act as volunteer marshals and team managers over the week of Interschools, so thank you.
Five Mentone Grammar School students qualified for the National Interschool Snowsport Championships in Perisher by finishing in the top 20 event competitors. Taylor Lyons (Year 2) in Division 6 Male Alpine Giant Slalom, Isla Lettieri (Year 4) in Division 5 Female Moguls, Lachlan Kirwan (Year 4) in Division 5 Male Moguls, William Richardson (Year 8) in Division 3 Male Slopestyle Ski. Viktor Kirsta (Year 7) qualified for the Division 3 Moguls and also as Victorian Champion in the Division 3 Male Slopestyle Ski event.
Viktor went on to compete in both events at the National Interschool Snowsports Competition, coming third nationally for Division 3 Slopestyle Ski. Congratulations Viktor!
Snowsports at Mentone Grammar has parents and students from various year levels all skiing and boarding together. This year it began with a Family Fun Day on the last weekend of the Term 2 school holidays. Over 40 participants, students and parents, raced down the Skyline Giant Slalom course and celebrated the fun with dinner and awards on Saturday evening. The Snowsports community had the opportunity to meet again during Interschools week with a dinner on Monday night for the families with younger competitors and again on Friday night for the families with older competitors.
A special mention goes to Mel Lyons, who stood down as Snowsports Coordinator this year. Over the last five years, Mel has been tireless in her efforts coordinating and building Mentone Grammar Snowsports from just a few students and families into an ever growing, motivated, fun, and welcoming community. Its current success is due to the many hours that Mel and a few other dedicated parents put into building Snowsports at the School and contributing to make the Family Fun Day and Interschool events fun and to run so efficiently for both students and parents.
Mentone Grammar Snowsports and the Victorian Interschool Competition are fantastic events to be involved in and we encourage anyone who has a love of skiing or snowboarding to get involved in 2023.
Anita Atkinson SnowSports
Our Aerobics team, led by Captains Eve Marsh and Olivia Lea, began the year with our inaugural in-house display event, which was a fantastic opportunity for the students to perform in front of an audience, some for the very first time, to get them competition ready.
We then had a very successful preliminary competition, followed by the State Championships where we had seven State Champions, four second and two third placings, all of whom qualified for Nationals.
So, at the end of Term 3, the team travelled to Brisbane to compete in the 2022 FISAF National Championships. With the hard work out of the way it was all down to the athletes to do their job and that they did!!
With approximately 60 students ranging from Year 3 to Year 12, Mentone Grammar entered 13 teams, our largest contingent yet and from that we had five podium finishes:
Primary Individual: First Place and National Champion
– Cameron Turner
Secondary Individual: First Place and National Champion
– Ella Hinton
Secondary Small Team: First Place and National Champions
– Mentone Magic
Secondary Fitness: First Place and National Champions
– Mentone Disco Divas
Secondary Pairs: Second Place – Eve Marsh and Olivia Lea
Secondary Individual: Fourth Place Gracie Cooley
Secondary Advanced Team Years 10–12: Fourth Place
– Mentone Blue Diamonds
Primary Small Team: Sixth Place – Mentone Shimmer
Secondary Large Team Years 7–9: Sixth Place – Mentone Shine
Primary Novice Pre-Choreographed Year 3: Ninth Place
– Mini Mentonians
Primary Novice Pre-Choreographed Year 5: Ninth Place
– Mentone Stars
Secondary Novice Pre-Choreographed Years 7–9: Ninth Place
– Mentone Mystic
Primary Advanced Pre-Choreographed Year 6: Tenth Place
– Mentone Sparkles
Not only should our winners be congratulated, but the whole squad should be commended for how they presented and conducted themselves on and off the stage. Overall, it was a wonderful experience for the students, everyone performed to the best of their ability and walked away knowing they gave it their all! It was wonderful to see the improvement in all students, from the beginning of the year. We could not be more proud.
We are also incredibly happy that we all got to experience a full year of competition, something that did not come without its challenges! However, to see the smiles on the girls’ faces each week, the improvement from competition to competition and the enthusiasm to better themselves and strive for more, was simply incredible.
Personally, I was humbled to receive the Coach of the Year award from FISAF Australia, a huge honour and we all cannot wait to see what 2023 will bring!
Shannon Seers Aerobics CoachAGSV CROSS COUNTRY
Row 3: Pippa Davies, Akshay Taneja, Loke Egede-Poulsen, Elisha Parkes
Row 2: Claudia Hollingsworth, Nicholas Harris, Zane Ishchenko, John Humble, James Davey, Ella Rankin
Row 1: Eliza Schmidt, Ella Michell, Summer Albiston, Sam Albiston, Lily Riley, Ava Bizzotto, Riley Spence
Absent: Joshua Baker, Riley Barker, Hudson Bucci, James Commerford, Harrison Cowan, Jareth Haagen, Thomas Kurta, Harvey Lansley, Vir Luthra, Sasha McLennan, Jared Ruberu, Riley Shilson-Josling, Jett Spence, Edward Steer
AGSV CROSS COUNTRY – GIRLS
Row 4: Josephine Bohlken, Zara Measures, Nichola Di Tirro, Kiara Fernando, Vandana Ramesh
Row 3: Zoe Becker, Lily Riley, Mia Collins, Emily Zallmann, Bridget Scott, Ava Bizzotto, Abi Tucker
Row 2: Ella Michell, Pippa Davies, Alanah Becker, Yasmin Ishchenko, Ella Rankin, Claire Coquerel, Zoe Leaver, Lucy Riddle
Row 1: Lucy Kitchen, Emily Murray, Sofia Trantino, Summer Albiston, Eliza Schmidt, Gemma Sullivan, Gracie Cooley
Absent: Amelia Bull, Claudia Irving, Georgina Laws, Eliza McGann, Sasha McLennan
AGSV SWIMMING – BOYS
Row 3: Cooper Gallant, Oliver Fitt, Ned Wilson, Ky Rowse, John Humble
Row 2: Julian Lau, Jared Ruberu, Charles Holmes, Nicky Layton, Ashley Waddell, Charles Anderson
Row 1: James McGrath, Luke Tucker, Lachlan Grant, Louis Ainley, Michael Di Tirro, Noah Eley, Jesse Russell
Row 4: Tess Moran, Sienna Moore, Kiara Fernando, Abi Tucker
Row 3: Zoe Becker, Hannah Wagner, Paris Burlock, Emily Zallmann, Lexie Booth, Ella James, Lina Fedotova
Row 2: Alice Fletcher, Sophie Sibbald, Alanah Becker, Olivia Stott, Abigail Barrett, Meg Lewis, Lulu Moore, Lucy Riddle
Row 1: Emily Murray, Eliza Schmidt, Piper Harris, Monique Zahra, Gemma Sullivan, Abigail Leydin, Riley Dunn
Absent: Marlia de Zoysa-Lewis, Ashley Dunn, Chloe Gibbons, Angela Hooker, Ashleigh Lowe, Jessica May
Row 2: Owen Lazzari, Alexander Stavropoulos, Luca Cavarra, Carlos Reynolds, Zac Sniezek
Row 1: Rico Morrison, Phong Phan, Mason Cartwright, Byron Shim, Blake Lamble, Max Pavlidis
Absent: Will McGlone, Tully McKinnon
Row 2: Tyra Kousis, Harvie Batty, Alyce Kerr, Emily Zallmann, Charlotte Ryan
Row 1: Noemi Sniezek, Holly Nish, Taj Reynolds, Ruby Raymond, Mia Callow, Isabella Blanche, Jamie Shepherd
Absent: Abbey Naffine
CRICKET – FIRSTS
Row 3: Jesse van Rooyen, William Mutton, Brendon Holmes
Row 2: Fletcher Batty, Murphy Dickson, Jack McNamara, William Robertson, Angus Marcombe, Nat Petty
Row 1: Evie Stansby, Christian Howe, Matthew Langenfelds, Will Brown, Charlie Costa
FOOTBALL – BOYS FIRSTS
Row 4: Kai Reed, Joshua Lai, Alexander Thow, Harrison Long, Jade Hanson, Sean Lai
Row 3: Timur Kaan Guneysu, William Nish, George Lewis, Blake Lamble, Christian Howe, Charlie Daddo, Matt Scherger
Row 2: Nat Petty, Elliot Styles, Carlos Reynolds, James Dennis, Mason Cartwright, Thomas O’Rourke, Sam Lewis, Benjamin Seers
Row 1: James Appel, Harvey Backman, Jackson Mellett, Tully McKinnon, Mitchell Rowe, Jacob Whitehouse, Gabriel Uberti, Luke Tucker, Noah Whitehouse
Absent: Thomas Federici, Benjamin Fenech, Lachlan Smith, Coen Ursprung
FOOTBALL – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 4: Maddi Cox, Jada Stephens, Libby Hathway, Hannah Wagner, Evie Hall, Bridget Scott
Row 3: Madeline Miles, Holly Wale, Monique Zahra, Skye Shipton, Ella James, Amelia Luca
Row 2: Amy Watkins, Giselle Mure, Lulu Moore, Ella Clark, Ginger Fennessy, Jess Sampson, Gemma Hollingsworth
Row 1: Chiara Pribil, Sascha Pribil, Chloe Shipton, Ashley van Rooyen, Summer Leonard, Lily Parsons, Mikayla Watson, Hayley Parr
Absent: Charly Donchos, Scarlet Park, Mia Ursprung
HOCKEY – BOYS FIRSTS
Row 3: Mathieson Meakins, Charlie McFarlane, Edward Hall, Charles Anderson
Row 2: Justin Grant, Ethan Riach, Thomas Van Ameyden, Tom Madden, Ruben McSwan, Thomas Felsenthal, David Hayes
Row 1: Caleb Riach, Joshua Jakob, Mayukh Bera, Declan McNamara, Ryan Jeoffreys, Silas Stansby
Absent: Kai Brown, Jack Kennedy
HOCKEY – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 3: Perleen Arora, Zara Geddis, Stella McPherson, Sienna Lyons, Cordelia Walker
Row 2: Harper Carroll, Mai Monro, Lexie Allan, Sarah Connell, Grace Murphy
Row 1: Eva Redfern, Evie Stansby, Jayde Temby, Sophie Brown
Absent: Loretta De Nittis, Lulu Stansby
NETBALL – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 2: Elly Krinelos, Alanah Becker, Jasmine Williams, Ava Collins, Tess Farrow
Row 1: Peri Dart, Mia Collins, Zoe Leaver, Lucy Page, Jessica Smith
Absent: Emma Adams, Alannah Crowhurst, Zara Quin
SOCCER – BOYS FIRSTS
Row 2: Dimitri Rellos, Fraser Helliwell, Thomas Staunton, Declan Fogarty, Nicholas Brigo
Row 1: James Dimopoulos, Byron Shim, Thomas Byrne, Max Athanas, Ollie Stafford, Thomas Jackson, Alexander Iatropoulos
Absent: Liam Davis, Harper
Frankeni, Max Noble, Joshua Simmons, Arya Thearam, Steven Wan
SOCCER – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 2: Alisa Chechelnitskiy, Maya Jacobs, Ruby Samild, Keisha Jacobs, Claudia Irving
Row 1: Amelie Harper, Poppy
Samild, Jemma de Vos, Sienna
Salisbury, Mia Georgantis, Amali Viel, Amelie Blackham
Absent: Amelia Bull, Olivia Katsouranis, Maddison Moore, Madeleine O’Hara, Caitlin Smith
SOFTBALL – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 2: Georgia Griffin, Ella Heidecker, Eliza O’Connor, Lexie Allan, Ulyana Kondratova, Irene Lu
Row 1: Jasmin Hadjiyannakis, Gabrielle O’Sullivan, Emilie Toby, Rhianne Brown, Keira Richmond, Fleur Harper, Maddison Moore
Absent: Georgia Constantinou, Tess Shilson-Josling
STATE SAILING TEAM
Row 2: Trent Neumann, Theodore Karageorgiou, Jake Newman, Josh Baker
Row 1: James Antoniou, Cameron Berry, Hamish Berry, Tayla Newman
Absent: Sam Colliver, Zakaria Rahhali
TENNIS – FIRSTS
Row 2: Presley Evans, Maksi Kaurin, Jake Daniels, Sophie Christie, Diesel Reid
Row 1: Hudson Close, Harrison Tzounos, Akshay Taneja, Timur Kaan Guneysu, Naima Luthra, Alex Boeve
TOUCH FOOTBALL – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 3: Bella Orchard, Mikayla Watson, Riley Spence
Row 2: Gemma Hollingsworth, Tara van Straaten, Amelie Davis, Ashleigh Rundmann, Tess Farrow, Lucy Page
Row 1: Arabelle Jeffery, Amy Watkins, Zoe Leaver, Mia Collins, Mia Castello
VOLLEYBALL – BOYS FIRSTS
Row 2: Sean Lai, Alexander Thow, Darcy Richards, Finn Vorrath, Harrison Long, Matthew Bourke
Row 1: Ryan Lewis, Blake McClure, Thomas O’Rourke, Phoenix Hall, Harrison Brand
Absent: Niall Hayes, Owen Rowlands
VOLLEYBALL – GIRLS FIRSTS
Row 2: Caitlin Cooper, Sarah Connell, Alyce Kerr, Tyra Kousis, Shaya Clarke
Row 1: Nalisha Ong, Alana Carruthers, Jazmine Kruss, Amelia Luca, Jemma de Vos, Ava Gibbons, Mady Kalogerakis
Absent: Sophie Frost, Eve Opie
CAT’S MEOW
Row 3: Emilie Toby, Dominique Doig, Georgia Stewart
Row 2: Jayden Paine, Jake Newman, Nicholas Corcoran, Maximillian Topor, Ms Lidia
Mancini
Row 1: Priya Gill, Charlie Turner, Phoebe Palmer, Ryan Huang, Irene Lu, Avelyn Reynolds, Ella Heidecker
Absent: Amelia Lea, Tess Shilson-Josling, Reva Thaker
CLARINET ENSEMBLE
Row 1: Julian Dimopoulos, Eva Redfern, Skye Wienand, Alexander Marriott, Natalie Nomikos, Jasmine Webster, Ms Sally Haworth
Absent: Olivia Monro, Luke Sheppard, Arthur Wang
CONCERT BAND 1
Row 3: Thomas Bailey, Flynn Hodgkinson, Rhys Lewis, Lucas Wagner, Matthew Temby, Kevin He, Patrick Reynolds
Row 2: Jodhi Carter, Curtis Murphy, Maximillian Topor, Mitchell Campbell, Alex Marriott, Charlie Chen, Abigail Walker, Mia Daniell, Ms Natalie Morgenstern
Row 1: Julian Dimopoulos, Nelly Connor, Skye Wienand, Ella Whittaker, Ella Watkins, Natalie Nomikos, Hudson Close
Absent: Alexander Burrows, Lucas Derham, Tianqi Li, Tiger Ma, Luke Sheppard, Reva Thaker, Arthur Wang
CONCERT BAND 2
Row 4: Cordelia Walker, Marlia De Zoysa-Lewis, Riley Dunn, Jasmine Webster
Row 3: Katerina Iatropoulos, Tianyu Li, Linnea Isaksson, Eva Redfern, Alice Nicol
Row 2: Kimorah Wong, Ben Hodges, Hamish Thomlinson, Helena Murphy, Grace Murphy, Leahm Orfanidis, Oliver Derham, Astrud Richard, Ms Sally Haworth
Row 1: Linus Cheah, Peach
Flanagan, Oliver Tang, Lily Ji, Max Tan, Sophie Shing, Caleb Gomez, Addison Scott, William Dormer
Absent: Olivia Monro
Row 5: Ashlyn Tan, Advai Aradhya, Eva Nicol
Row 4: George Lyon, Mason Livingstone, Theo Bouloukos, Hamish De Livera
Row 3: I’Ochre Mullins, Charlotte Sleep, Tracy Li, EJ (Ethan) Paice-Brandt, Demi Panopoulos, Zoe Livingstone, Lucinda White
Row 2: Celia Khong, Sura Chen, Eliza Trevis, Ryan Piao, Aprameya Awasthi, Ashleigh Hooker, Chloe Lin, Alyssa Duman
Row 1: Chloe Orfanidis, Anna Nagato, Willow Ridd, Scarlett Marshall, Joy Huang, Mischa Robinson, Amelie Strickland, Charlotte Lorinc, Orjas Pradeepkuma
Absent: Addison Dannals, Mandel De Zoysa-Lewis, Nathaniel Maingi, Joy Piao, Adit Prakash, Ms Samantha Robertson, Duomi Xu
Row 3: Charlie Chen, Maximillian Topor, Zenas Nimorakiotakis, Matthew Temby
Row 2: Enrico Tirta, Hamish Berry, Mitchell Campbell, Jayden Paine, Jake Newman, Brendon Holmes, Ms Natalie Morgenstern
Row 1: Hudson Close, Astrud Richard, Ella Whittaker, Zitong Ren, Avelyn Reynolds, Ella Heidecker
Absent: Christopher Hirst, Joshua Hunter
Row 5: Annika Ioannidis, Cordelia Walker, Neha Mishra, Tayla Newman, Freya StisenBilling, George Shen, Addison Hamilton
Row 4: Arna Ghosh, Kate Pregnalato, Hamish Thomlinson, Grace Murphy, Zara Segal, Yee Lam Kwok, Ava Pregnalato, Kimorah Wong
Row 3: Elizabeth Finnis, Jasmine Webster, Zahra Jacobs, Arabella Thomas, Grace Hughes , Evy Davies, Amelia Poole, Nikki Malotsis, Emily Birch
Row 2: Coralie Chamberlain, Chloe Britter, Aria Laurent, Stephanie Begic, Hannah Pitt, Odesa Kaurin, Tianyu Li, Myra Arya, Zoe Dwyer, Astrud Richard
Row 1: Mia Basin, Mitchell Rodgers, Madeleine Lansdell-Clarke, Mason Kersley, Riley Hamilton, Yvette Isaksson, Madeleine Teirney, Madeleine Saunders, Peach
Flanagan
Absent: Rhys Basin, Marlia De Zoysa-Lewis, Mary Chamberlain, Aaryav Deshpande, Kiara Fernando, Michael Friedli, Diya Khosla, Ms Lidia Mancini, Alisa Ogar, Georgina Self
MG ORCHESTRA 1
Row 4: Skye Wienand, Henry Guo, Ella Whittaker, Irene Lu
Row 3: Jiahao Qian, Tianqi Li, Brendon Holmes, Charlie Chen, Alexander Wilson
Row 2: Mr Gavin Cornish, Zitong Ren, Ian Chaplin, Jake Newman, Nicholas Corcoran, Zenas Nimorakiotakis, Enrico Tirta, Ms Natalie Morgenstern Row 1: Astrud Richard, Hudson Close, Christopher Hirst, Maximillian Topor, Ryan Huang, Ella Heidecker, Avelyn Reynolds, Patrick Reynolds, Keira Patron
Absent: Hamish Berry, Jennifer Bodinnar, Anika Cherney, James Dimopoulos, Ella Michell
MG ORCHESTRA 2
Row 3: Leo Wang, Alexander Cook, Max Tan, Yanxiang Cao, Emma Jung
Row 2: Yvette Isaksson, Mika Arvanitakis, Nikki Malotsis, Henry Guo, Kevin Meng, Maya Akgun, George Shen, Oliver Derham
Row 1: Hamish De Livera, Dylan Flavo-Karakurt, Joy Huang, Sura Chen, Felix Jia, Yenuth Premaratne, Mannix Woods
Absent: Mia Basin, Christian Burrows, Kristof Buschkuehl, Anika Cherney, Jaime Clark, Hudson Close, Mr Gavin Cornish, Kushlan de Silva, Isabella Mirhom, Ella Rankin, Tiffany Te, Gregory Verdiants, Rueben Verdiants, Linxi Zheng
MG ORCHESTRA 3
Row 3: Celia Khong, Hudson Toovey, Christopher Lund, Kimi Song, Ryan Piao, Sura Chen, Chloe Lin
Row 2: Yenuth Premaratne, Lachlan Yang, Theodore Bouloukos, Joy Huang, Joshua Webster, Tracy Li, Eloise Carroll, Alice Zhang
Row 1: Constance Ruigrok, Lionel Wang, Hamish De Livera, Felix Jia, Kruz Tyagi, Youn Han, Duomi Xu
Absent: Isaac Barron, Anush Bromidis, Anokhi De Silva, Sienna Khong, Ms Deb McLeod, Joy Piao, Lucinda White, Linxi Zheng, Maximus Zou
Row 3: Avelyn Reynolds, Jessica Chaplin, Sahana Paine, Megan Lewis, Gemma Hollingsworth
Row 2: Ms Angela Wasley, Emily Fitt, Jackson Kemelfield, Nicholas Corcoran, Fergus Rann, Nicholas Saunders, Mathieson Meakins, Ms Samantha Robertson
Row 1: Zahra Jacobs, Keira Patron, Priya Gill, Charlie Turner, Nalisha Ong
Absent: Tess Shilson-Josling, Jessica Rafferty, Sara Weeks
Row 2: Mr Gavin Cornish, Caitlin Cooper, Ryan Huang, Maximillian Topor, Zitong Ren, Christopher Hirst
Row 1: Patrick Reynolds, Avelyn Reynolds, Jake Newman, Keira Patron, Ella Heidecker
Absent: Jennifer Bodinnar, Reva Thaker
Row 3: Emilie Toby, Dominique Doig, Curtis Murphy
Row 2: Keira Richmond, Alexander Wilson, Nicholas Saunders, Jared Ruberu, Lexie Allan, Mr Frank Recchia
Row 1: Julian Dimopoulos, Avelyn Reynolds, Ella Whittaker, Charlie Turner, Gemma Hollingsworth
Absent: Casey de Kock, Presley Evans, Tiffany Guo, Jay-Keane Lee, Tiger Ma, William Mutton, Ryan Vassallo
Row 5: Dominique Doig, Ruben McSwan, Sahana Paine
Row 4: Jayden Paine, Aurora Hogios, Emily Fitt, Mathieson Meakins
Row 3: Avelyn Reynolds, Zitong Ren, Jake Newman, Hugo Barbey, Maximillian Topor, Lucy Riddle, Ulyana Kondratova
Row 2: Phoebe Palmer, Jasmine Denbury, Nicholas Corcoran, Tomas Barlow, Oskar Garrett, Fergus Rann, Georgia Stewart, Luci Neumann
Row 1: Emma Burton, Keira Patron, McKenzie Hood, Pippa Davies, Gabrielle O’Sullivan, Irene Lu, Sofia Trantino, Kayleigh Wallwork, Aimee Lancaster
Absent: James Commerford, Amelia Lea, Ms Lidia Mancini, Olivia Parkes, Jessica Rafferty, Sarah Rafferty, Tess Shilson-Josling, Reva Thaker
Row 1: Avelyn Reynolds, Jake Newman, Maximillian Topor, Ella Heidecker, Ms Natalie Morgenstern
Absent: Tess Shilson-Josling, Mr Niran Dasika
DEBATING TEAM
Row 2: Nimra Haseeb, Ethan Green, Jake Newman, Charlotte Maddern, Ulyana Kondratova
Row 1: Ella Michell, Pippa Davies, Zitong Ren (Captain), Hannah Wagner, Aimee
Lancaster
Absent: Emilie Toby
ESPORTS TEAM
Row 4: Zhenling (George) Shen, Clara Cuevas Real, Jaime Clark, Jasper Nixon
Row 3: Ashley Thomas-Bone, Zejun (Joe) Weng, Lexie Allan, Hayden Gilligan, Jun (Alex) Cao, Atahan Yildiz
Row 2: Hayden Cooley, Max Doyle, Tom Madden, Matthew Mairs, Charlie Chen, Jake Pyszczek, Finn Horsley
Row 1: John Mason, Scarlett Patterson, Jiahao Qian, Samuel Ferguson, Jake Daniels, Frederick Liu, Harry Faeller, Ivy Patterson
PRIMARY CHESS TEAM
Row 2: Joshua Mudalige, Kabeer Gursahani, Oliver Tang, Rev. Michael Prabaharan
Row 1: Lachlan Yang, Coralie Chamberlain, Wenxin Chen, Rahul Aravindth, Hamish De
Livera
Absent: Aaryav Deshpande, Michael Friedli, Alisa Ogar, Kushlan Silva
SENIOR CHESS TEAM
Row 3: Jessica Chaplin, Alex Cao, Kevin He
Row 2: Matthew Kennedy, Jordan Kurta, Matthew Mairs, Phong Phan, Ryan McCormack, Kevin Zhong, Rev. Michael Prabaharan
Row 1: Tristan Grant, Max Doyle, Alan Zou, Rehaan George, Saby Dawar
Absent: Timur Akhmedov, Rhys Basin, Liam Jakob, JiaHao Qian
SOCIAL SERVICES TEAM
Row 3: Lucinda Neumann, Rebekah Philipson, Irene Lu, Emilie Toby, Ella Heidecker, McKenzie Hood, Jasmin Hadjiyannakis
Row 2: Rev. Andrew Stewart, Pippa Davies, Sarah Connell, Brendon Holmes, Amelia Johnson, Mathieson Meakins, Emily Fitt, Nimra Haseeb, Rev. Michael Prabaharan
Row 1: Emma Burton, Keira Patron, Georgia Stewart, Gabrielle O’Sullivan, Jodhi Carter, Aimee Lancaster
The Gibson-Roberts Memorial Prize
Awarded to the best all-round sportsman & sportswoman in Frogmore for 2022.
Thomas Byrne
Evie Stansby
Acknowledgement of the 2022 Head Prefects
Charles Daddo
Evie Stansby
The Simon Appel OAM Medal
Ulyana Kondratova
Jazmine Kruss
Olivia Lea
Zoe Leaver
Amelia Luca
Angus Marcombe
Alannah Marriott
Eliza Matthews
Sasha McLennan
Henry Mentiplay
Jake Newman
Ashika Sarma
Byron Shim
Sophie Sibbald
Georgia Stewart
Scarlett Tibb
Enrico Tirta
Emilie Toby
Jevons Wang
Amy Watkins
Mikayla Watson
Deakin Young Influencer Award
Valedictorian Awards 2022
The Good Samaritan Prize
Gabrielle O’Sullivan & Georgia Stewart
Performing Arts Award
Priya Gill
Visual Arts Award
Jevons Wang
Excellence in Applied Learning
Awarded to the Year 12 student who has demonstrated ongoing commitment to vocational training, academic endeavour and personal growth within the VCAL program.
Grace Huxtable
The Spirit of Mentone Grammar Award
Awarded to the Year 12 student who demonstrates ‘the spirit’ of what our School stands for.
Zoe Leaver
In honour of Mr Simon Appel’s service as Chair of the Mentone Grammar Board, this award acknowledges leadership, scholarship and the broad engagement a student has had within the School. It also acknowledges the positive influence the student has had on our School community.
Jake Newman
Academic Excellence Awards
Academic Excellence Awards are based on the ranking of student’s academic results across all classes as judged by their various subject teachers.
CERTIFICATES OF EXCELLENCE
Academic Merit Awards
Annalisa Calvi
Oscar Constantinou
Charles Daddo
Liam Davis
Pia Gade
Priya Gill
Fleur Harper
Kerui Huang
Alexander Thow
ADF Future Innovators Awards
Year 10: Justin Li
Year 12: Annalisa Calvi
ADF Long Tan Awards
The Australian Defence Force
Long Tan Leadership Awards recognise students in Years 10 and 12 who demonstrate leadership and teamwork within both the School and wider community and who display strong values such as ‘doing one’s best’, ‘respect for others’ and ‘mateship’, that are integral to Australian society.
Our award winners for 2022 are:
Year 10: Ella Michell
Year 12: Maddison Moore
The Ken Smith Perpetual Trophy is an annual award made to the Year 12 member of the Mentone Grammar Army Cadet Unit who is judged by the Officer Commanding to be the highest performing cadet and who demonstrates the following qualities:
• Exceptional leadership of peers, including the ability to maintain an appropriate and professional distance when exerting authority.
• Diligence, conscientiousness and flexibility while managing responsibilities.
• Superb performance under the pressure of multiple demands during Unit activities.
• A caring and patient manner in all interactions with younger cadets and respectful, cooperative interactions with Officers of the Unit.
2022 Recipient
Emily Fitt
Company A Award
Amiens Medal
Sophie Sibbald
Company B Award
Beersheeba Medal
Amelia Johnson
Company C Award
Cape Gloucester Medal
Jayden Paine
Year 12
Full Academic Colours
Annalisa Calvi
Priya Gill
Ashleigh Horton
Kerui Huang
Ulyana Kondratova
Alannah Marriott
Enrico Tirta
Jevons Wang
Amy Watkins
Year 12
Half Academic Colours
Max Athanas
Josephine Bohlken
Rhianne Brown
Paris Burlock
Mason Cartwright
Mia Collins
Sarah Connell
Oscar Constantinou
Charles Daddo
Peri Dart
Liam Davis
Dominique Doig
Pia Gade
Emily Growdon
Fleur Harper
Christopher Hirst
Avery King
Jazmine Kruss
Jordan Kurta
Matthew Langenfelds
Olivia Lea
Zoe Leaver
Xianghan Liu
Amelia Luca
Tom Madden
Matthew Mairs
Angus Marcombe
Eliza Matthews
Charlie McFarlane
Tully McKinnon
Sasha McLennan
Jackson Mellett
Henry Mentiplay
Lulu Moore
Jake Newman
Clemence Neylan
Phoebe Palmer
Phong Phan
Sascha Pribil
Carlos Reynolds
Mali Romanis
Jared Ruberu
Sienna Salisbury
Ashika Sarma
Byron Shim
Sophie Sibbald
Riley Spence
Georgia Stewart
Scarlett Tibb
Emilie Toby
Charlie Turner
Holly Wale
Mikayla Watson
Monique Zahra
Jed Zammit
Year 11
Academic Half Colours
Jack Falconer
Ava Gibbons
Ethan Green
Mathieson Meakins
Thomas O’Rourke
Jiahao Qian
Zitong Ren
Eliza Schmidt
Year 11 Academic Merit
Award
Lexie Allan
James Armit
Willow Bailey
Alanah Becker
Amelie Blackham
Sienna Block
Jennifer Bodinnar
Alana Carruthers
Sophie Christie
Caitlin Cooper
Alannah Crowhurst
Toby Duckinson
Thomas Dumoff
Tess Farrow
Ginger Fennessy
Makenzie Flower
Declan Fogarty
Zara Geddis
Phoenix Hall
Anirudh Hariram
Ella Hinton
Maya Jacobs
Sean Lai
Joshua Lai
George Lewis
Ella Mahoney
Jessica May
Miranda McLean
Tilly Meagher
Jasmine Mellett
Zenas Nimorakiotakis
William Nish
Lucy Page
Olivia Parkes
Keira Patron
Nathaniel Petty
Archer Read
Avelyn Reynolds
Ruby Samild
Jessica Sampson
Jude Scott
Jamie Shepherd
Skye Shipton
Brianna Smith
Jada Stephens
Maximillian Topor
Luke Tucker
Yiyang Wan
Emily Zallmann
Xizhen Zhu
Year 10
Academic Excellence
Mayukh Bera
Phillippa Davies
Amelie Davis
Nimra Haseeb
McKenzie Hood
Ava Kombol
Aimee Lancaster
Amelia Lea
Justin Li
Trinity Madden
Charlotte Maddern
Ella Michell
Aidan Rankin
Ella Rankin
Hamish Rankin
Noemi Sniezek
Reva Thaker
Hannah Wagner
Moritz Weller
Lucy Wloszczak
James Wu
Year 10 Academic
Merit Award
Matilda Best
Sophie Bond
Anna Brady
Ava Collins
Nelly Connor
James Failla
Samuel Ferguson
Arunita Ghosh
Angus Hall
David Hayes
Leo Hennessy
Dylan Hoang
Flynn Hodgkinson
Aurora Hogios
Emily Holmes
Arabelle Jeffery
Ryan Jeoffreys
Elly Krinelos
Blake Lamble
Aiden Laurent
Rose Mackenzie
Katherine McCormack
Eva McDonald
Kiara Morris
Trent Neumann
Remus Nimorakiotakis
Holly Nish
Sahana Paine
Keqing Peng
Rebekah Philipson
Jordan Pyszczek
Kiyomi Rossborough
Will Sargeant
Bridget Scott
Brendan Sheppard
Trinity Shield
Blake Short
Jessica Smith
Rohaan Thilak-Mathew
Nicola Thompson
Amali Viel
Alexander Wilson
Greenways – Academic Excellence Awards
Semester 1
Dimitri Aravindth
Russell Armstrong
Aaron Britter
Lachlan Caldwell
Daniel Chamberlain
Jessica Chaplin
Max Doyle
Jake Fix
Lily Flynn
Chloe Gibbons
Daniel Green
Ciara Hayes
Kevin He
Darcy Hodgson Melrose
Thomas Hoyles
Yasmin Ishchenko
Zian Jiang
Matthew Kennedy
Indiana Kruss
Julian Lau
Naima Luthra
Siobhan Phillips
Lucy Riddle
Helena Scott
Andy Shi
Grace Sibbald
David Sprung
Sofia Trantino
Abi Tucker
James Van Heerden
Greenways
Academic Merit Award
Emma Adams
Ruby Appel
Liam Bacon
Amelia Bull
Thomas Burton
Madison Carr
Siyi Chen
Anika Cherney
Lachlan Christie
Shaya Clarke
Gracie Cooley
Jasmine Denbury
Samuel Dumoff
Emma Enkelman
Jenson Flower
Angelique Gomes
Finnegan Gowdie
Yuntian Guo
Edward Hall
Sienna Hall
Zach Hawkins
Edward Henshall
Edward Holmes
Eliza Hunt
Isaac Johnson
Arshpreet Kaur
Hugo Large
Georgina Laws
Alicia Lemke
Adam Malaeb
Angelica Malamatinas
Scott Marrow
Merna Mekha
Oscar Mentiplay
Eve Opie
Oliver Prince
Zachary Raffaut
Hudson Read
Mitchell Reed
Hugo Roest
Emilie Royale
James Salisbury
Poppy Samild
Priithika Sarma
Luca Scott
Oliver Scott
Matthew Shing
Aryan Singh
Sienna Sullivan
Evelyn Tilli
Tilda Utber
Joshua Villanti
Sara Weeks
Atahan Yildiz
Alan Zou
Greenways Citizenship Awards
Angelica Malamatinas
Ciara Hayes
Alicia Lemke
Georgina Laws
Yasmin Ishchenko
Ruby Appel
Isla Brown
Morgan Shearer
Asha Jewell
Emma Adams
Anika Cherney
Amelia Bull
Hugo Roest
James Van Heerden
Edward Holmes
Anthony Karageorgiou
William Clayton
Oliver Scott
Darcy Hodgson Melrose
Ashley Waddell
Julian Lau
Dimitri Aravindth
Samuel Dumoff
Taylor Hough
Hudson Read
Finnegan Gowdie
Max Doyle
Matthew Shing
Kai Munro
Aryan Palai
Bayview
Academic Excellence
Awards
Natalie Nomikos
Gisele Woll
Jacinta Li
Alice Fletcher
Michael Kalopisis
Jiling Duan
Eliza Bull
Harrison Tzounos
Sarabjeet Dawar
Olivia Apostolidis
Utkarsh Garg
Ella Whittaker
Rimjhim Singh
Raphael White
Diesel Reid
Ella Watkins
Zahra Jacobs
Kate Pregnalato
Pippie Lansley
Harvey Arnold
James Antoniou
Bayview Academic Merit Award
Sophie McMinn
Jordie Hurlston
Kezhen Wang
Reahn Orfanidis
Jae Hadjiyannakis
Hudson Close
Kiara Fernando
Ava Pregnalato
Lois Batty
Noah Horsley
Olivia Stott
Emma Kombol
Ray Lai Cheong
Jessica Pipito
Claire Coquerel
Jackson Baker
Zane Banda
Chiara Pribil
Piper Harris
Jinning Mu
Mackenzie Blunden
Alanna Watson
Clare Thompson
Alexander Marriott
Tsz Tam
Daniel Harding
Perleen Arora
Ada Jenkins
Dylan Wells
Zoe Becker
Eliza Paterson
Stephanie Begic
Ky Rowse
Joshua Hawker
Thomas Bailey
Archer Elliot
Linnea Isaksson
Ashley Thomas-Bone
Vinuki Fernando
Lucas Wagner
Odesa Kaurin
Benjamin Costa
Georgina Self
Amelie Coates-Wood
Max Parsons
Michelle Veisman
Ethan Fogarty
Evangeline Teirney
Taj Reynolds
Yuehan Gao
Lily Kathriner
Finn McGrath
Chloe Scott
Benjamin Missen
Archer Cole
Isabella Blanche
Ryan Dong
Oliver Tzounos
Jack Rawlings
Zakaria Rahhali
Christopher Coates
Allegra Lewis
Campbell Brown
Mia Daniell
Natalya Vayenas
Xin Fan
Joseph Hadiwiyana
Ned Robertson
Harry Burton
Charlie Langhorne
Neha Mishra
George Massis
Alexander Burrows
Sofia Bishop
Finlay Corrigan
Riley Ayyuce
Jiya Bhansali
Sienna Lyons
Performing Arts Colours
Full Colours
Dominique Doig
Priya Gill
Ella Heidecker
Chris Hirst
Brendon Holmes
Ryan Huang
Jake Newman
Jayden Paine
Phoebe Palmer
Avelyn Reynolds
Tess Shilson-Josling
Enrico Tirta
Charlie Turner
Performing Arts Colours
Half Colours
Hamish Berry
Jennifer Bodinnar
Nicholas Corcoran
Emily Fitt
Gemma Hollingsworth
Irene Lu
Mathieson Meakins
Zenas Nimorakiotakis
Keira Patron
Fergus Rann
Zitong Ren
Nicholas Saunders
Emilie Toby
Georgia Stewart
Maxim Topor
Performing Arts Commendation
Jodhi Carter
Caitlin Cooper
Flynn Hodgkinson
McKenzie Hood
Jackson Kemelfield
Ulyana Kondratova
Aimee Lancaster
Amelia Lea
Meg Lewis
Tianqi Li
Tess Moran
Luci Neumann
Nalisha Ong
Gabrielle O’Sullivan
Sahana Paine
Jessica Rafferty
Keira Richmond
Jared Ruberu
Matthew Temby
Reva Thaker
Alexander Wilson
Mitchell Campbell
Jessica Chaplin
Ian Chaplin
Charlie Chen
Kevin He
Alan Jiang
Drama
Full Colours
Phoebe Palmer
Priya Gill
Charlie Turner
Tess Moran
Emily Fitt
Jayden Paine
Jake Newman
James Commerford
Olivia Lea
Georgia Stewart
Emma Burton
Drama
Half Colours
Oskar Garrett
Nic Corcoran
Jackson Kemelfield
Nic Saunders
Fergus Rann
Meg Lewis
Gemma Hollingsworth
Mathieson Meakins
Avelyn Reynolds
Nalisha Ong
Ruben McSwan
Dance
Full Colours
Olivia Lea
Jamieson Papagiannis
Dominique Doig
Bella Orchard
Ella Mahoney
Meg Lewis
Dance
Half Colours
Zara Quin
Briana Smith
Georgia Stewart
Priya Gill
Tess Moran
Phoebe Palmer
Charlie Turner
Emily Fitt
Cadets
Full Colours
Amelia Johnson
Benjamin Fenech
Brendon Holmes
Christopher Vorster
Ella Heidecker
Emilie Toby
Emily Fitt
Emma Burton
Gabrielle O’Sullivan
Jake Newman
Jasmin Hadjiyannakis
Jayden Paine
Liam Davis
Maddison Moore
Mikayla Watson
Noah Davis
Olivia Lea
Rhianne Brown
Sienna Salisbury
Sarah Connell
Thomas Van Ameyden
Ethan Riach
Joshua Jakob
Sophie Sibbald
William Robertson
Public Speaking
Full Colours
Ulyana Kondratova
Jake Newman
Emilie Toby
Zitong Ren
Public Speaking
Half Colours
Ethan Green
Social Service
Full Colours
Gabrielle O Sullivan
Georgia Stewart
James Commerford
Irene Lu
Ella Heidecker
Social Service
Half Colours
Emilie Toby
Emma Burton
Jasmin Hadjiyannakis
Lucinda Newman
Mathieson Meakins
Sarah Connell
Emily Fitt
Social Service
Commendations
Aimee Lancaster
Nimra Haseeb
McKenzie Hood
Reva Thaker
Sports Colours
Basketball
Full Colours
Mason Cartwright
Basketball
Half Colours
Byron Shim
Carlos Reynolds
Cricket
Full Colours
Christian Howe
Matthew Langenfelds
Cricket
Half Colours
Nat Petty
Sailing
Full Colours
Cameron Berry
Hamish Berry
Softball
Full Colours
Ulyana Kondratova
Softball
Half Colours
Ella Heidecker
Gabrielle O’Sullivan
Swimming
Full Colours
Hannah Wagner
Alanah Becker
Alexander Barrett
Eliza Schmidt
Emily Zallmann
Luke Tucker
Meg Lewis
Ned Wilson
Charles Anderson
Jared Ruberu
Louis Ainley
Monique Zahra
Nicky Layton
Paris Burlock
Sophie Sibbald
Tess Moran
Swimming
Half Colours
Charles Holmes
Jessica May
John Humble
Noah Eley
Ella James
Lexie Booth
Lulu Moore
Riley Barker
Tennis
Full Colours
Naima Luthra
Timur Kaan Guneysu
Tennis
Half Colours
Sophie Christie
Touch Football
Full Colours
Lucy Page
Amy Watkins
Mia Collins
Zoe Leaver
Touch Football
Half Colours
Mikayla Watson
Riley Spence
Volleyball
Full Colours
Phoenix Hall
Thomas O’Rourke
Jazmine Kruss
Volleyball
Half Colours
Ryan Lewis
Amelia Luca
Sarah Connell
AFL & AFLW
Full Colours
Tully McKinnon
Mitchell Rowe
Ashley Van Rooyen
Summer Leonard
Sascha Pribil
AFL & AFLW
Half Colours
Sean Lai
Thomas O’Rourke
Joshua Lai
Gemma Hollingsworth
Mikayla Watson
Soccer
Full Colours
Nicholas Brigo
Max Athanas
Sienna Salisbury
Keisha Jacobs
Soccer
Half Colours
Joshua Simmons
Thomas Byrne
Ruby Samild
Amelie Blackham
Cross Country
Full Colours
Sam Albiston
Hudson Bucci
Summer Albiston
Cross Country
Half Colours
Eliza Schmidt
Riley Barker
Hockey
Full Colours
Evie Stansby
Jayde Temby
Sarah Connell
Netball
Full Colours
Zoe Leaver
Netball
Half Colours
Mia Collins
Basketball
Half Colours
Ruby Raymond
Abbey Naffine
MATHS TALENT QUEST
Year 6
High Distinction
Joshua Mudalige
Anish Saigal
Distinction
Reagan Nguyen
Year 5
Distinction
Tiffany Te
Emily Birch
Zhenling Shen
Credit
Yanxiang Cao
Lily O’Hare
Charlotte McKenzie
Year 4
High Distinction
Hamish De Livera
Dominik Buschkuehl
George Lyons
Distinction
Riley Oliver
Linxi Zheng
Credit
Ethan Paice-Brandt
Year 3
High Distinction
Lionel Wang
Shanuth Premaratne
Hudson Toovey
Distinction
Chloe Lin
Kezhen Xu
Yiming Song
Year 2
High Distinction
Anna Nagato
Max Xie
Theodore Bouloukos & Sharman Wang
Celia Khong
Distinction
Mason Pascoe
Credit
Maximus Zou
AUSTRALIAN MATHS
COMPETITION
Year 9
Distinction
Jun (Alex) Cao
Edward Henshall
Russell Armstrong
Credit
Max Doyle
Finnegan Gowdie
David Sprung
Lily Flynn
Aryan Singh
Year 8
Distinction
Alice Fletcher
Rafael White
Kate Pregnalato
Jiling Duan
Joseph Hadiwiyana
Ava Pregnalato
James Antoniou
Natalie Nomikos
Credit
Jiya Bhansali
Arthur Wang
Angela Fan
Utkarsh Garg
Finn McGrath
Jacinta Li
Rimjhim Singh
Kristof Buschkuehl
Perleen Arora
Ella Watkins
Vinuki Fernando
Stephanie Begic
Year 7
High Distinction
Henry Haowei Guo
Tristian Grant
Distinction
Alex Boeve
Lillian McKenzie
Skye McCowan
Navina Varma
James Monro
Elin Lam Kwok
Joshua Ong
Ethan Grossinger-Binstok
Ashmay Chandoke
Joshua McKenzie
Leahm Orfanidis
Ejay Viel
Credit
Georgia Syrros
Anna Best
Ziggy Okalyi
Daisy Doyle
Vandana Ramesh
Mary Chamberlain
Harrison Kay
Christine Jiang
Rhys Lewis
Charlie Tanner Bandara
Bimal Seneviratne
Sophie Shing
Haya Al-Hashimi
Cooper Imlach
Rehaan George
Harry Roberts
Year 6
Distinction
Xavier Batras
Patrick Begic
Christopher Hobbs
Joshua Mudalige
Patrick Reynolds
Anish Saigal
Lachlan Smith
Oliver Tang
Credit
Rahul Aravindth
Charlotte Bell
Colalie Chamberlain
Marlia De Zoysa-Lewis
Aaryav Deshpande
Michael Friedli
Zac Hones
Ashley Keil
Lily Kerr
Yenuth Premaratne
Year 5
High Distinction
James Xu (Best in School)
Distinction
John Mason
Charlotte McKenzie
Zixuan Meng
Lily O’Hare
Tiffany Te
Credit
Tia Batras
Yanxiang Cao
Hudson Chan
Abigail Christie
Taron Clarke
Miles Cullen
Harrison Edwards
Joshua McCoy
Zhenling Shen
Year 4
Distinction
Zixuan Huang
Mason Livingstone
Changxi Piao
Mannix Woods
Linxi Zheng
Credit
Aprameya Awasthi
Luka Bozic
Bob Cao
Hamish De Livera
William Dormer
Felix Jia
Benjamin Kohler
George Lyons
Year 3
High Distinction
Harrison Keil
Hudson Toovey
Distinction
Blake Galanos
Shanuth Premaratne
Kimi Song
Lionel Wang
Lachlan Yang
Credit
Youn Han
Chloe Lin
Patterson Manning
Jinyue Piao
Joshua Webster
Kezhen Xu
MATHS CHALLENGE FOR YOUNG AUSTRALIANS
Year 8
High Distinction
Jiling Duan
Angela Fan
Alice Fletcher
Jacinta Li
Natalie Nomikos
Rimjhim Singh
Distinction
James Antoniou
Saby Dawar
Noah Horsley
Ella Watkins
Credit
Jiya Bhansali
Alexander Burrows
Utkarsh Garg
Michael Kalopisis
Ava Pregnalato
Kate Pregnalato
Year 7
High Distinction
Henry Guo
Leahm Orfanidis
Distinction
Sophie Shing
Credit
Haya Al-hashimi
Daisy Doyle
Christine Jiang
Elin Kwok
Skye McCowan
Ziggy Okalyi
Joshua Ong
Vandana Ramesh
*Years 5 and 6 results not available at time of print.
AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITION
Year 12
High Distinction
Annalisa Calvi (Best in School)
Distinction
Max Athanas
Liam Davis
Kerui Huang
Ulyana Kondratova
Matthew Mairs
Enrico Tirta
Kevin Zhong
Year 11
High Distinction
Jiahao Qian
Distinction
Jennifer Bodinnar
Ethan Green
Haihong Huang
Archer Read
Xizhen Zhu
Year 10
High Distinction
Justin Li
Distinction
Amelie Davis
Nimra Haseeb
Ryan Jeoffreys
Sean Kulakovskiy
Year 9
Distinction
Russell Armstrong
Jun Cao
Edward Henshall
Year 8
High Distinction
Ray Cheong
Distinction
James Antoniou
Joseph Browning
Saby Dawar
Jiling Duan
Archer Elliot
Alice Fletcher
Joseph Hadiwiyana
Sophie McMinn
Natalie Nomikos
Ava Pregnalato
Kate Pregnalato
Lucas Wagner
Rafael White
Year 7
High Distinction
Tristan Grant
Henry Guo
Distinction
William Blackham
Alex Boeve
Ashmay Chandoke
Ethan Grossinger-Binstok
Elin Lam Kwok
Lillian Mackenzie
Skye McCowan
Joshua McKenzie
Harrison Mellas
James Munro
Joshua Ong
Leahm Orfanidis
Navina Varma
Ejay Viel
Year 6
Distinction
Xavier Batras
Patrick Begic
Christopher Hobbs
Joshua Mudalige
Raegan Nguyen
Patrick Reynolds
Anish Saigal
Lachy Smith
Oliver Tang
Year 5
High Distinction
James Xu (Best in School)
Distinction
John Mason
Charlotte McKenzie
Kevin Meng
Lily O’Hare
Tiffany Te
Year 4
Distinction
Zixuan Huang
Mason Livingstone
Sura Mi
Ryan Piao
Mannix Woods
Linxi Zheng
Year 3
High Distinction
Harrison Keil
Hudson Toovey
Distinction
Blake Galanos
Shanuth Premaratne
Yiming Song
Lionel Wang
Lachlan Yang
RACI INTERNATIONAL CHEMISTRY QUIZ
High Distinction
Noah Eley
Jiahao Qian
Ulyana Kondratova
Enrico Tirta
Distinction
Amelia Hall
Phoenix Hall
Eliza Schmidt
Kevin Zhong
Credit
James Armit
Mackenzie Flower
Harrison Gaitanis
Fred Hong
Hanbin Jiang
Tianqi Li
Jessica May
Declan McNamara
Archer Read
Oliver Xiang
Sarah Connell
Alannah Marriott
Sasha McLennan
Jake Newman
Tony Zhang
Year 6
Major Bursary
Joshua Mudalige
Distinction
Zhenling Shen
Patrick Begic
Merit
Anish Saigal
Year 5
Major Bursary
Yanxiang Cao
Distinction
Emily Birch & Tia Patras
Charlotte McKenzie & Willow
Bridge
Merit
Levi Dayaseela
Year 4
Major Bursary
Hamish De Livera
Riley Oliver
Minor Bursary
Alexis Antoniou
Felix Jia
Mannix Woods
Distinction
E J Paice-Brandt
Year 3
Minor Bursary
Blake Galanos
Hudson Toovey
Michael Papanikolaou & Patterson Manning
Distinction
Lionel Wang
Harrison Keil
Yiming Song & Shanuth
Premaratne
Year 2
Minor Bursary
Rana Wassmann
Distinction
Ayaan Zaheen
Anna Nagato & Scarlett
Marshall
Max Xie
Theodore Bouloukos
Merit
Mason Pascoe
AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE
OLYMPIAD EXAMS –FROGMORE STUDENTS
High Distinction
Jazmine Kruss Biology
Annalisa Calvi Physics
Distinction
Alannah Marriott Chemistry
Jiahao Qian Chemistry
Ulyana Kondratova Earth and Environmental Science
Ulyana Kondratova Biology
Kevin Zhong Physics
JUNIOR SCHOOL ETHICS
OLYMPIADS
(Years 5 & 6)
Rahul Aravindth
Zac Hones
Michael Friedli
Jasmine Webster
Mika Arvanitakis
Kimorah Wong
Marila De Zoya-Lewis
Chloe Britter
Elizabeth Finnis
Ashley Keil
MIDDLE SCHOOL ETHICS
OLYMPIADS
(Years 7, 8 & 9)
*Results pending
Year 9 Students (Honourable mention)
Max Doyle
Year 8 Students (sixth place)
James Antoniou
Michael Kalopisis
Pippie Lansley
Rimjhim Singh
Perleen Arora
Year 7 Students (Honourable Mention)
Lilian Mackenzie
Skye McCowan
Cooper Imlach
Alex Boeve
SENIOR SCHOOL ETHICS
OLYMPIADS
(Years 10 & 11)
Winners of Victorian Division and International Olympiad
Final Participants:
Zitong Ren
Ruben McSwan
Keira Patron
Reva Thaker
Nimra Haseeb
Research: Willow Bailey & Avelyn Reynolds
APSMO MATHS OLYMPIAD
Year 8
First Place Mentone:
Joseph Hadiwiyana (Top 10%)
Equal Second Place Mentone:
Carol Duan (Top 10%)
Perleen Arora (Top 10%)
Rafael White (Top 10%)
Top 10%
Alice Fletcher
Top 25%
Jacinta Li
Kate Pregnalato
Noah Horsley
Utkarsh Garg
Rimjhim Singh
Natalie Nomikos
Ava Pregnalato
Sarabjeet Dawar
Michael Kalopisis
Finn McGrath
Ella Watkins
Alexander Burrows
Year 7
First Place Mentone: Henry Guo (Top 10%)
Second Place Mentone: Chet Jawalekar (Top 10%)
Third Place Mentone: Tristan Grant (Top 10%)
Top 25%
Navina Varma
Leahm Orfanidis
Skye McCowan
Joshua Ong
Elin Kwok
Joshua McKenzie
Harrison Kay
James Monro
Year 6
First Place Mentone: Patrick Reynolds (Top 10%)
Second Place Mentone: Anish Saigal (Top 10%)
Third Place Mentone: Rahul Aravindth (Top 25%)
Top 25%
Joshua Mudalige
Zac Hones
Oliver Tang
Chritopher Hobbs
Patrick Begic
Year 5
First Place Mentone: Yanxiang Cao (Top 25%)
Second Place Mentone: Zixuan Meng (Top 25%)
Third Place Mentone: Junzhe Xu (Top 25%)
COMPUTATIONAL AND ALGORITHMIC THINKING (CAT) COMPETITION
Year 7 to 10
High Distinction
Alice Fletcher
Distinction
Carol Duan
Jessica Chaplin
Justin Li
James Wu
Credit Rimjhim Singh
Participation
Kiara Fernando Jacinta Li
Keqing Ping
KINGSTON COUNCIL –STORYLINES WRITING
Competition Winners
14 – 16 Years Age Group
First – Lucy Riddle (Year 9)
Second – Jessica Chaplin (Year 9)
Third – Jacinta Li (Year 8)
GATEWAYS CHALLENGE COMPETITORS
*Results pending
Years 5 & 6
Zhenling Shen
Zac Hones
Lily O’Hare
Zixuan Meng
Tiffany Te
Emily Birch
Anish Saigal
Patrick Reynolds
Aaryav Deshpande
Yenuth Premaratne
Joshua Mudalige
Charlotte McKenzie
Years 3 & 4
Blake Galanos
Harrison Keil
Hudson Toovey
Patterson Manning
Lionel Wang
Shanuth Premaratne
Yiming Song
Lachlan Yang
Apra Awasthi
Felix Jia
Zaden Goodson
Linxi Zheng
Changxi Piao
Ashleigh Hooker
Zixuan Huang
Mannix Woods
ASX SHARE MARKET GAME
Year 9
Dimitri Aravindth (1st Place Mentone)
Indiana Kruss
Helena Scott
Matthew Shing
Aryan Singh
Abi Tucker
Alan Jiang
Jessica Chaplin
Jake Fix
Zachary Raffaut
Max Doyle
David Sprung
Alan Zou
Julian Lau
Andy Shi
Darcy Hodgson-Melrose
DAVINCI DECATHLON
Year 7
11th Place from 53 teams
Best Section Results:
Science – equal First place Engineering – Fifth place
Art/Poetry – Sixth place
Creative Production – Ninth place
Vandana Ramesh
Navina Varma
Leahm Orfanidis
Skye McCowan
Chet Jawalekar
Bimal Seneviratne
Harrison Mellas
Daisy Doyle
VIDEOS FOR CHANGE –COMPLETED VIDEOS
Year 7
Maya Akgun
Haya Al-hashimi
Brae Bernasconi
Navina Varma
Sophie Shing
Mary Chamberlain
Skye McCowan
Vandana Ramesh
Leahm Orfanidis
Elin Kwok
Daisy Doyle
Cooper Imlach
Joshua Ong
Ashmay Chandoke
Henry Guo
Findlay York
Bimal Seneviratne
Harrison Mellas
OZCLO LANGUAGES AND CODING COMPETITION
– Frogmore Students
Ulyana Kondratova
Alannah Marriott
Enrico Tirta
Jake Newman
Zitong Ren
Analisa Calvi
Irene Lu
Ryan (Kerui) Huang
SOLAR VEHICLE CHALLENGE
Year 8
Kiara Fernando
Natalie Nomikos
Alice Fletcher
Ava Pregnalato
Kate Pregnalato
Utkash Garg
James Antoniou
Lucas Wagner
Joe Browning (4th Place)
Sheridan Cars
Harvey Arnold (4th Place)
Sheridan Cars
Jacinta Li
Ella Watkins
Piper Harris
Gisele Woll
Michal Kalopisis
Rachael White
Sarabjeet Dawar
Year 7
Sophie Shing
May Spink
Lillian Mackenzie
Vandana Ramesh
Skye McCowan
Maya Akgun
Haya Al-hashimi
Eva Redfern
WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY
– Frogmore Students
*Results Pending
Alannah Marriott
Ulyana Kondratova
Jazmin Kruss
Irene Lu
Kevin Zhong
MODEL UN MENTONE
AUGUST 2022
Zitong Ren
Reva Thaker
Mathieson Meakins
Keira Patron
Flynn Hodgkinson
Ruben McSwan
Willow Bailey
Nimra Haseeb
Sophie Frost
Aimee Lancaster
Jennifer Bodinnar
Pippa
Eliza Schmidt
Miranda McLean
Emily Zallmann
Eblana Awards
Academic Awards by Class
Zack Nickols Foundation A
Hughie Yang Foundation B
William Lund Year 1A
Yusheng Zhang Year 1B
Edison Te Year 2A
Maximus Zou Year 2B
Blake Galanos Year 3A
Lachlan Yang Year 3B
Linxi Zheng Year 4A
Mannix Woods Year 4B
Academic Endeavour
Awards by Class
Thomas Robertson
Foundation A
Mira Dugar Foundation B
Benjamin Wane Year 1A
Gemma Hooker Year 1B
Max Xie Year 2A
Sharman Wang Year 2B
Charlize Stephens Year 3A
Abigail Pearce Year 3B
Felix Jia Year 4A
Ryan Piao Year 4B
Citizenship Awards by Class
Emilie Andric Foundation A
Kai Sayasane Foundation B
Sofia Cook Year 1A
Jayden Perera Year 1B
Zoe Livingstone Year 2A
Francesca Mustica Year 2B
Christopher Lund Year 3A
Lionel Wang Year 3B
Anokhi de Silva Year 4A
Kiarah Perera Year 4B
Sportsmanship Awards by Class
Hugo Hart Foundation A
Audrey Du Foundation B
Ashton Poulios Year 1A
Joshua Ruigrok Year 1B
Nicholas Joseph Year 2A
Benjamin White Year 2B
Joy Piao Year 3A
Amelie Strickland Year 3B
Isla Lettieri Year 4A
Kennedy Grant Year 4B
Eblana Visual Arts Award
Cameron Turner Year 4
Eblana Music Award
Felix Jia Year 4
Eblana Chinese Language Award
Ashleigh Hooker Year 4
Cashion Brothers Writing Award
Ashleigh Hooker Year 4
Acknowledgement of Captains
Linxi Zheng Year 4
Mandel De Zoysa-Lewis
Year 4
GERMAN LANGUAGE GERMAN POETRY COMPETITION STATE FINAL STATE CHAMPION
Year 8 (DaF) Competition: Natalie Nomikos
Second in the State Final Year 8 (Open) Competition: Kristof Buschkuehl
State Final Honorary Mentions:
Viktor Kyrsta (Year 7)
Helena Scott (Year 9)
Matthew Kennedy (Year 9)
REGIONAL FINAL OF THE GERMAN POETRY COMPETITION
Mentone Grammar
Representatives:
Year 9
Abby Barrett
Lily Flynn
Year 8
Michelle Veisman
Gisele Woll
Stephanie Begic
Year 7
Steph Gray
Lilly MacKenzie
Please note: Not all annual competitions recommenced in 2022. Not all Award recipients may be listed as some results had not been decided at the time of publication. Additional awards and competition winners are also noted in other School publications or via social media.
Not pictured:
Dani Begg
Maddie Dunstan
Will Durston
Kim Harper
Lauren Hevey
Ilona Kiss
Petra Klein
Lina Park
Tracy Sheppard
Kate Sleeth
Parker Yang
Staff Register compiled to October 2022
Malcolm J. Cater
B Bus (Acc), Dip Ed, MACE, MACEL, MLM Ed, MAICD Principal
Jarrod O’Neill
M Ed (School Leadership), B App Sc, Grad Dip Sports Sc
Deputy Principal
Nicole Bradshaw
MBA (Exec), B Bus (Acc), CPA, Grad Cert PsychRisk GAICD Director of Business
James Walton
M Ed (Leadership and Management), BA (Hons) English Studies, PGCE Secondary English
Head of Teaching & Learning
Katya Dunham BSc BioMedSci (Hons) Director of Advancement
Yana Hall
BA (Business Administration) MA (Ergonomics, Health and Safety), GAICD Risk and Compliance Manager
Cameron Lancaster M Ed Leadership and Management), B ASc (Digital Technology), Dip Ed
Head of School Operations
Jess Richards B Ed, B (Teach)
Head of Eblana
Mary Craven M Ed, Post Grad (Leadership and Wellbeing), B Ed
Head of Riviera
Terry Matthew (to Term 3) B Ed (Hons) B Primary Ed English Teacher
English Language Teacher
Head of Bayview
Michael Martin (from Term 3) Dip Teach, Grad Dip (Curric Admin)
English and HPE Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 8 (Acting) Head of Bayview
Julie James
B App Sport Sc (Hons) Head of Greenways
Jason Mann
M Ed (Management), B App Sci, (Mathematics), Grad Dip Ed
Head of Frogmore
Nizam Abdallah Grad Dip (Business Management & Accounting)
B. Bus Comm (Accounting)
Business Management & Commerce Teacher
Head of VCE Performance
Anderson House Mentor
Melinda Allsop
B Ed (Language and Literature)
English Teacher Anderson House Mentor
Christina Altidis
B (Mgt), Grad Dip (Education), CPE, Cert IV (Workplace Training and Assessment)
Business Management Teacher
Head of Teaching Practice White House Mentor
Anastasia Antoniadis
B Ed (Primary)
Eblana Teacher – Year 2
Madeline Armstrong (Sem 1)
M Psych (Ed & Dev), Grad Dip (Psych); BA (Psych) Counsellor/Ed Psychologist
Anita Atkinson
M Ed (Special Educational Needs), Grad Dip Ed (Primary), M (Project Management), Grad Dip (Midwifery), Dip App Sci (Nursing)
Learning Enhancement –
Eblana
Jaki Atwell
Cert III (Children’s Services)
ELC Co-educator
Anthony Bacon
BA Design (Industrial Design), Dip Ed
Head of Technologies
Product Design & Technology Teacher
Frogmore Mentor
Anderson House Mentor
Stuart Bainbridge
MLM Ed, BA, B Ed
Director of Sport
Officer Commanding – Cadets
Kara Banks
B Ed (Physical Education)
Health and Physical Education Teacher
Deighton House Mentor
Linda Barnard
B Sc (Applied Mathematics), M Teach (Secondary)
Mathematics Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Amanda Barnhoorn
B Comm, Grad Dip (Education) MLM Ed.
Commerce Teacher
Daily Organiser
Vicki Baron
BA (Business Studies), Dip Ed
Expert Observer/ Commerce Teacher
Assistant Head of Humanities and Commerce
Marina Basin
Certificate III
(Children’s Services)
ELC Co-educator
Leanne Bayliss
B App Sci (Environmental Science)
Science Laboratory Technician
Kristie Beames
B Eng (Electronic) (Hons), B Ed (Secondary) M Sc (Maths Education)
Frogmore Mathematics Teacher
Assistant Head of Mathematics
Phoebe Beard B Fine Arts (Hons) Visual Arts Technician
Vicki Beaumont BA (Early Childhood Education), Grad Cert (Business) ELC Teacher
Debra Bernasconi Dip (Early Childhood), Cert III (Children’s Services) ELC Co-educator
Craig Best BSc Dip Ed, Grad Dip (Outdoor Education) Mathematics Teacher Lionel Large House Coordinator
Sarah Bof B Sci, M Teach (Secondary) Science Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Nick Booth Grad Dip (Secondary Ed), BA (Film) Greenways Mentor English/Media Teacher
Joanne Boyd (Sem 1) Food Technology Technician
Charlotte Britten-Jones BA, M Ed (Secondary) English Teacher Classroom Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Angus Brown BA (Fine Arts) Design Technology Technician
Sarah Byrne BA (Early Childhood Studies), BTEC Higher National Dip (Early Childhood Studies) ELC Co-educator
Veronica Byrnes Cert III (Children’s Services) ELC Co-educator
Sue Carey BA, Dip Ed, Grad Cert Careers Education Careers Counsellor
Jacqui Cartwright
Dip Teach (Primary), Grad Dip Special Education (Hearing Impairment), Grad Dip Deaf Studies (Auslan)
Year 7 Assistant Coordinator
Bayview Mentor
Accredited Mental Health First Aider
Kim Cartwright
Eblana Classroom Support
Mandy Chamberlain
Dip Teach (Primary), Grad Dip (Information and Communication Technology) Eblana Teacher – Year 4
Sharon Chance
BSc (Hons), PGCE Science Teacher Finlay Anderson House Coordinator
Olive Cheong PhD (Research), B Biotech (Hons) Science Laboratory Technician
Libby Chislett
M Ed (Special Ed), Dip Early Childhood Ed, B Ed ELC Teacher
Director of ELC
Thomas Christiansen
BA (English and Mathematics), BA (Teach)
Mathematics Teacher
Head of Digital Learning & Innovation Foundation – Year 12
Stuart Cleeve
B Ed (Secondary), M Teach
Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Sondra Clogstoun
BA (Dance), Grad Dip Ed Performing Arts
Year 7 Mentor
Finlay Anderson House Mentor
Louise Clowes (Sem 1) BA, Grad Dip Ed, M Ed English Teacher
Amanda Conly BCom
Grad DipEd (Secondary) Commerce Teacher
Sarah Connell
B Arts, Dip Ed (Secondary)
English and Humanities
Teacher
Assistant Head of Humanities and Commerce
Aaron Cook
BA (Hons), Post Grad Ed, M Ed (Lit Ed), M Ed (Hons) Humanities teacher
Head of Humanities and Commerce (shared) Jones House Mentor
Gavin Cornish
B Mus, Grad Dip Ed, Cert IV (Assessment and Workplace Training)
Head of Performing Arts
Director of Music Officer of Cadets
Nigel Coutts
B Ed, BA (Hon Sociology & Anthropology) Grad Cert
(Gifted Ed) Grad Dip (Special Ed) MEd
Head of Teaching & Learning F-6 Bayview Mentor – Year 6
Sonja Cowell
G Dip Ed (Primary), B Bus
Eblana Teacher – Year 1
Samantha Cunnington Dip (Children’s Services)
Cert III (Children’s Services)
Integration Aide ELC Co-educator
Louise Daly
B Ed (Drama Dance Sociology)
Senior Drama Teacher Anderson House Coordinator
Nadia Davison
BA, Post Grad Dip Ed
English Teacher
Bryce Deller
BA, B (Laws), M Teach
English Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Jason Dennis (Sem 1)
B Ed
Visual Arts
Jen de Longville
Dip (Outdoor Recreation), B Ed (Sport and Outdoor Education)
Outdoor Education Teacher
Tayeesha Despotellis
B (Communication Design)
Master Teach (Primary and Secondary)
VCD and Visual Arts Teacher
Finlay Anderson Mentor
Stephanie Devitsakis
M Teach (Secondary)
English/Humanities Teacher
Melanie Di Rosato
Cert III (Children’s Services)
ELC Co-educator
Cassandra Dixon
B Ed Primary (Hons)
Eblana Teacher – Year 1
Troy Drinan
B App Sci (Hons), Dip Ed
Eblana PE & Sport Teacher
Bayview PE Teacher
Bridget Elliot
M Teach (Primary & Secondary), BA
Riviera Mentor – Year 5
Ursula Erdelyi-Götz
LLB, BA, Grad Dip Ed
Teacher of Languages
Lionel Large House Mentor
Umut Ersezer
B Sc (Biology Major)
Science Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Wayne Essing
B Ed (Primary)
Riviera Mentor – Year 6
Ruth Evans
M Ed, BA (Hons), Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip Arts Enrichment Programs
Facilitator Foundation to Year 12
Lucy Fairhall
B Ed (Secondary) (Hons)
B Sci (Physiology, Chemistry) Science Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Brooke Fielke
M Psych (Ed & Dev), B Sci (Psych), Grad Dip (Psych)
Counsellor/Psychologist
Miriam Floyd
B (Early Childhood Studies) (Hons), Dip Soc Sc (Child Care Services), Cert (Applied Social Sciences – Child Care Studies)
ELC Teacher
Tammy Frankland
Dip (Children’s Services)
Cert III (Children’s Services)
ELC Co-educator
Rachel Fraser
B (Psychological Science), M Teach (Secondary)
Psychology and Humanities Teacher
Deighton House Mentor
Kate Frazer
M Teach (Primary/ Leadership), B Comm (Journalism)
Health & PE Teacher
Catherine Friend
B Mus (piano/singing), A Mus A (piano/singing theory), MIMT, Grad Dip Ed
VCE Music Teacher
School Pianist/Accompanist
Instrumental Music Teacher
Robyn Fuerst
MA, Dip (Art & DesignCeramics), Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip (Visual Arts)
Visual Arts Teacher
Jones House Mentor
Wendy Gardner
B App Sci (IT), M Teach (Prim Sec Ed)
Digital Technologies Teacher
Esports Coordinator
Drinan House Mentor
Michele Gill
B Ed (Design)
Visual Arts Teacher
Frogmore and Bayview
Assistant Head of Visual Arts
Were House Mentor
Stacey Gwilym
M Teach (Secondary), B SC Hons (Biology)
Assistant Head of Science
Science and VCE Biology Teacher
Were House Mentor
Matthew Hardie
B Ed (Primary)
Riviera Mentor – Year 5
Emma Harty
M Learning Intervention (SLD), B Ed, BA (Psychology)
Learning Enhancement Teacher
Meg Hayes
PhD (Research), M Ed (Research), B Ed, Dip Modern Languages (Advanced Indonesian)
Eblana Teacher – Year 2
Olivia Haynes
B Ed (Primary)
B Mus (Hons) (Violoncello)
Riviera Mentor – Year 6
Emma Heine
B Ec, Grad Dip (Education) Frogmore Teacher
Lionel Large House Mentor
Danielle Henshall
BA, Dip (Library and Information Services)
Library and Information Services
Finlay Anderson Library
Lesley Hill
M Ed (Special), Grad Dip (Visual and Performing Arts), Dip Ed (Art major) Cert IV (Assessment and Reporting)
Visual Arts Teacher Year 8 Mentor (shared)
Wendy Hong
M Teach (Secondary), B (Medical Science)
Science/Biology Teacher Greenways Mentor
Deighton House Mentor
John Horler (Sem 1) B Ed Frogmore Teacher
Annabel Horsley
ELC Teacher
Darragh Howard
BA, Grad Dip Ed (History & Humanities)
English/Humanities Teacher Were House Coordinator
Mary Howard
Cert III Education, Cert IV Disability (ACRACS), Cert IV Ed Support Education Support Officer Administrative Assistant Learning Enhancement
Lachlan Howard S.M.A.R.T Program Coordinator
Greenways Café Assistant
Jo Huang
M Teach (Secondary), BA
Language Teacher – Chinese Greenways Mentor
Assistant Head of Languages
Dimity Hughes
BA – Writing/English
Grad Dip Ed – English
M Ed (TESOL)
EAL and English Teacher
Marisa Hughes
B Ed (Secondary) (Environmental Science)
Enrolments Coordinator
Eblana Classroom Support
Matt James
B Bus, Dip Ed
Mathematics Teacher
Scott James
M Teach (Secondary)
Head of Commerce
Nadia Janetzki
B Sci, B Teach (Secondary)
Mathematics Teacher
(Acting) Assistant Head of Mathematics (Term 1) White House Mentor
Vanessa Johnston
BA (Music Theatre), MA (Teach), Grad Cert (Ed Research), Cert III (Community Recreation)
Drama and Dance Teacher
Deighton House Coordinator
Aoife Jones
B Sc Biological Sci & Physics (Education)
Teacher of Science
Year 8 Mentor
Joanne Kamp (on Leave)
B Ed (Science)
Biology Science Teacher
Were House Coordinator
Mentonian Editor
Liz Kelly
B Ed, M Ed (Teacher Librarianship)
Riviera Mentor – Year 5
Karen Kennedy
BA, Dip Ed
Senior English Teacher
Dana Killmister
B Sc (Mathematical Sciences),
B Ed (Secondary), MLI
Learning Enhancement
Teacher – Frogmore
Petra Klein
BSc (Biotechnology), Grad Dip Ed (Secondary), M Teach (Primary) Science Teacher
Kirsty Klimas (Term 4)
BA (Visual & Media), Grad Dip Ed (Secondary)
Cert IV (Training and Assessment)
Visual Arts Teacher
Finlay Anderson House Coordinator
Jono Koh
M Teach (Primary & Secondary), B Comm (Management and Behavioural Commerce)
Humanities Teacher
Greenways Mentor
Melanie Lane (to Term 3)
BSc, Dip Ed
Lionel Large Mentor
VCE Physics and Science
Teacher
Lionel Large House Mentor
Bernadette Latorre
Dip (Graphic Art), B Visual
Arts, Post Grad Dip Ed
Visual Arts Teacher
Year 8 Mentor (shared)
Alana Leahy
B Ed (Early Childhood)
ELC Teacher
Geraldine Lennon
B Ed (PE and Social Science),
M Ed (Special Ed)
Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment
Learning Enhancement Teacher/Case Manager
Gudrun Lessing (from Term 4)
MPsych (Ed & Dev), BSc (Hons)
Counsellor/Psychologist
Zoe Levey
Cert III in Early Childhood
Education and Care
ELC Co-educator
Megan Li
B Sci, M Sci, M Teach
Mathematics Teacher
Year 8 Mentor
Siew Pyng Lim
BA, Dip Ed
Frogmore/Bayview EAL, Humanities/VCAL Teacher
Frogmore Mentor
Lionel Large House Mentor
Jackie Liepa (on Leave)
B Ed (Primary & Secondary)
Eblana Teacher – Year 2
Emma Lindsay
B Sci, Dip Ed Science Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Kris Little
M ED (Wellbeing), B Ed (Primary), B App Sc (Human Movement)
Eblana Teacher – Year 3
Julie Littlechild
Higher Dip Secondary Teaching (Art)
VCD Teacher
Juan Lizcano
Bachelor (Industrial Design) M Teach (Secondary)
Design & Digital Technology Technician
Yan Ma BA, Dip Ed
Chinese Language Teacher Finlay Anderson House Mentor
Lynda MacMillan
Grad Dip Ed (Early Childhood)
Eblana Learning Support
Pip Madden
B App Sc (Speech Pathology), M Teach (Primary)
Primary Educator Riviera Mentor – Year 6
Lidia Mancini B Music (Hons) (Education)
Classroom Music Teacher Jones House Mentor
Cathy Martin M (Ed Psych), BA (Hons), BSc
Counsellor/Psychologist
Paul Matthew
PhD, BSc (Hons), Grad Dip Ed, MACE Frogmore Mathematics Teacher
Jamie McCarney
M Teach (Senior), BPA
Deighton Mentor
Drama Teacher
Assistant Head of Performing Arts
Deighton House Mentor
Bernadette McGill
B Sc (Education)
Mathematics Teacher
Assistant Head of Mathematics
Stuart McIntyre
B Des (Product Design & Digital Modelling), PGCE (Secondary Education) Product Design Technology Teacher
Belinda McKindlay
Grad Dip Ed (Teacher Librarianship)
Eblana Teacher Librarian
Sustainability Leader
Ben McLellan
M Teach (Secondary)
English Teacher
Debra McLeod
B Ed (Secondary)
A Mus A (Violoncello)
STCA (Pri) (Suzuki Piano/ Violoncello)
Eblana Music Teacher
Eblana Instrumental Music Coordinator
Kevin McMenamin
B Sc (Ed), GCMME, PDMME
Head of Mathematics
Gennie McNair
B Ed (Sec Arts)
Cert IV (Training and Assessment)
English Teacher White House Coordinator
Belinda McNeil
M Ed (Special Education), BA, Dip Ed (Secondary)
Learning Enhancement Teacher
Tony McRae
B Ed (Hons) Mathematics
Mathematics Teacher
Margaret Mielnik
B Arts, B Teach
Riviera Mentor – Year 5
Tess Monda
Grad Dip (Tech Ed)
Dip (Hotel Management and Catering), Cert IV (Workplace Training and Assessment)
Head of Technologies – Food
Jones House Mentor
Elli Monro
BA, PSYD, Grad Dip (History), Dip Ed (Secondary)
Humanities Teacher
Psychology Teacher
Year 7 Coordinator
RAP Committee Coordinator (shared)
Joe Monro
BSc, Grad Dip Ed
Humanities Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Natalie Morgenstern
Grad Dip Ed, BFA (Jazz Studies)
Head of Woodwind Music Teacher White House Mentor
Michelle Morozov
Dip (Library and Information Services)
Library Technician Gregory Fish Library
Ken Morrish
B Ed, ECE
ELC Teacher
Shelley Muir
BA, PG Dip Psych, Dip Ed (Secondary), Grad Cert (Career Education and Development), Cert IV (Workplace Training and Assessment
Head of Pathways and Careers
VCAL Coordinator
Drinan House Mentor
Carly Mulvihill BA, B Ed
Learning Enhancement Administrator
James Murphy
B Ed (Outdoor Ed & HPE) Outdoor Education Teacher
Rohan Murphy
B Health Sci (Human Movement), Grad Dip Ed, Cert IV (Workplace Training and Assessment)
Frogmore HPE Teacher
VCAL Teacher
Finlay Anderson House Mentor
Head of HPE (Sem 2)
Laura Neary
B App Sci (Physical Education) (Honours)
Physical Education Teacher White House Mentor
Liat Neuenschwander
BA, Dip Teach Secondary
English and Drama Teacher Anderson House Mentor
Arena Nilsson
B Ed (Hons) (Secondary), Graduate Dip Genetic Counselling Science and Chemistry
Teacher
Assistant Head of Science
Melanie Nimorakiotakis
B App Sci (Consumer Science), Dip Ed, Cert (Barista)
Food Studies Teacher
Greenways Mentor
Greenways Assistant Café Manager
Katherine Nish
B Ed (Secondary), B (Health Science)
Cert IV (Training and Assessment)
Greenways Café Program Coordinator
Sports Coordinator
Vikki Octigan
BA (Early Childhood Studies), Assoc Dip Soc Sc (Childcare) ELC Teacher
Angela O’Connell
B Ed (Primary), BA (History)
Deputy Head of Riviera
Peter O’Gorman
M Ed (Leadership and Management), B Ed, B App Sci (Human Movement)
Director of Sport
Jenna Oliver
B Teach (Physical and Health Education)
HPE Teacher
Head of HPE (Sem 1)
Drinan House Mentor
Matt Oswald
M Psych (Ed & Dev), Grad Dip (Prof Psych), B Psych Psychologist/Counsellor
Kate Padley
B App Sc (Physical Education), Grad Dip Ed, Health & P.E Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Andrew Palfery
B Commerce/Arts, Dip Ed
Humanities Teacher
Lionel Large House Mentor
Michelle Palfrey
BA, Dip Ed, English/Humanities
Teacher (CRT)
VCAL Teacher
Andrew Pate
B Ed, Cert IV (Program Technologies) Technologies Teacher
Deputy Head of Frogmore
Timetabler Officer of Cadets
Francesca Penfold
M Ed (Teacher Librarian)
BA, Dip Ed Teacher/Librarian
Emma Phillips (on Leave)
M Ed (Student Wellbeing), B Sci, Grad Dip Ed Psychology and Science Teacher
Caitlyn Platt
BA, M Teach (Secondary)
English Teacher
Acting Head of English
Catherine Poulton
M Ed (Leadership and Management), B Teach (Primary and Secondary), BA (Criminology and Linguistics), TCRG: An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha (TCRG)
Humanities and Physical Education Teacher
Greenways Mentor
Deputy Head of Greenways
Rev. Michael Prabaharan
B Th (Hons), Dip Min, M Ed (Counselling), Dip (Training & Assessment)
Chaplain
Religious Education Teacher
Victoria Prentice BA, M Teach (Secondary) Humanities Teacher
Lionel Large Mentor
Bernard Quay (Term 1) Post Grad Dip Ed (Secondary), BA (Social Science)
Languages Teacher – Chinese Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Jessika Rabe 1st and 2nd State examination for Primary and Secondary School Teaching – Germany
Teacher of Languages
Frank Recchia BA (Mus), Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip Hum, Grad Dip Arts (Mus), Cert IV (Training and Assessment)
Music Teacher Were House Mentor
Leonie Redfern B Ed (Secondary) Bayview Mentor – Year 8 Maths/Science Teacher
Vanessa Riach M Teach, BSc Humanities Teacher
Assistant Head of Year 7 Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Aaron Richard BA, BSc, Grad Dip Ed French, Chinese and German Teacher Head of Languages White House Mentor
Prue Richards BA, Grad Dip (Secondary) Senior English and Humanities Teacher Teacher Development Mentor
Cameron Riley B Ed (Primary) Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Bridgitte Roberts M (Psych), Grad Dip (Adolescent & Child Psych), BA (Psych/Comm) Officer of Cadets Counsellor/Psychologist Head of Student Wellbeing
Deborah Robinson (to Term 2)
B Ed, Grad Cert (Literature & Writing)
English Teacher
Scarlett Rodoreda
M (Teach), B Sc (Psych), Grad Dip (Psych)
ELC Teacher
Beverly Ross (Term 1)
BA, Dip Ed (Secondary), M Ed (Teacher librarianship)
Teacher Librarian – Bayview, Greenways and Frogmore
Dominique Rowlands
BA, Dip Ed
French Language Teacher
Anita Saavedra
BA, Dip Ed
Legal Studies Teacher
Business Management Teacher
Laura Savage
B Ed (Primary)
Eblana Teacher – Foundation
Deb Sewell
B Ed
Eblana Teacher – Years 3 & 4
Christine Shanahan
M Ed (Special Education), Grad Cert Gifted Education (COGE), Dip Ed (Teaching), BA (Maths & Sociology)
Learning Enhancement Teacher
Karen Sheehy
BA, B Ed (Primary and Secondary), Post Grad Cert Ed, (Numeracy Leadership)
Eblana Teacher
Tracy Sheppard
Cert III (Commercial Cookery)
Food Technology Technician
Jodi Shepherd
B Ed, (Maths & English), Grad Dip (IT for Ed)
Mathematics Teacher
Finlay Anderson House Mentor
Jayne Sheumack
BA, B Ed
Bayview Mentor
Year 8 Coordinator
Yvonne Simmonds
B Ed (Early Childhood)
Eblana ELC Teacher (Music)
Louise Slann (Sem 1)
B Ed (Hons)
Riviera Teacher – Year 5
Mark Smith
M Ed, Grad Cert (Gifted Ed)
B Ed, Dip (Teach)
Head of Enrichment Programs
K to Year 12
Sally Smith
B App Sci (Psych), B Teach (Secondary), M (Counselling)
Psychology Teacher
Jones House Coordinator
Sally Smith Cert III Early Childhood
ELC Co-educator
Sheree Smith
B Teach (Primary)
B Ed (Primary)
Eblana Teacher – Foundation Literacy Coordinator F-4
Atsuko Spink
Cert 3 (Commercial Cookery) Cert (Barista) BA (Japanese)
Café Assistant – Greenways
Mark Stembridge Grad Dip (Tech Ed), Cert IV (Professional Cookery), Cert IV (Training & Assessment)
Assistant Cafe Manager Food & Technology Teacher
Rebecca Stembridge
BA, Grad Dip (Journalism), Grad Dip Ed (Middle Years),
M Ed (Specific Learning Difficulties)
Learning Enhancement and Humanities Teacher
Trevor Stevens
BSc, HEd
Frogmore Science Teacher Officer of Cadets Were House Mentor
Rev. Andrew Stewart
BEc, MA, B Div, Adv Dip Theo, Dip Ed
Chaplain Religious Education Teacher
Heather Stone
Higher Dip Ed
Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Mathematics Teacher
Olivia Stott M Teach
English Teacher Greenways Mentor
Mingjia Su
M (Teach)
ELC, Riviera, Bayview Teacher of Chinese Language
Hillary Sullivan
Dip Teach (Primary), Grad Dip (Special Education) Eblana Classroom Support
Alicia Ning Si Tan
BA (Chinese language and literature), Dip Ed Teacher of Chinese Language – Eblana
Juby Thomas Dip Lab Tech, M Science (Biotechnology) Science Laboratory Technician
Madeleine Thomas
M Ed (Special Education), B App Sc, Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip (Occ Health Practice) Learning Enhancement Bayview Facilitator
Sarah Thompson Cert III (Early Childhood Education and Care), Dip (Early Childhood Education and Care), BA
ELC Co-educator
May Tian B Teaching, B Ec (Accounting)
Chinese Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Angus Todd BA, M Teach (Primary and Secondary)
English and Humanities Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 8 Assistant Head of Year 8
Sam-Alyce Trchala BSc, B Ed (Hons)
Mathematics & Science Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Lauren Trevis B Ed Primary BA Policy Studies
Eblana Teacher – Year 4
Lisa Turner BA (Psychology), B Ed (Primary & Secondary)
English Teacher Drinan House Coordinator
Jennie Valente
Dip Teach B Ed (Primary)
Learning Enhancement
Teacher
Bayview
Sarah Volum
B Ed (Hons), Dip (Children’s Services), Cert III (Children Services)
ELC Co-Educator
Enzo Vozzo
B Tech (Computer Studies), Grad Dip (Secondary)
Mathematics, Science and Technologies Teacher
Briana Walker BA, B Teach Eblana Teacher – Year 2
Jillian Watkins
B Teach, Grad Dip (Children’s Services) Eblana Visual Arts Teacher
Amy Watts Bachelor App Sci (Health Sciences), B Teach (Secondary) VCAL Teacher
Fiona Watts
M Ed (Special Educational Needs), B Ed, Dip Ed (Primary)
Head of Learning
Enhancement
Learning Enhancement
Teacher Eblana
Sarah Wells BSc (Mathematics/Statistics)
Data Analyst
Jeff Welsh
B Teach, B Sc (Earth), B Sc (Environment), M Ed (Info Tech Ed)
Science and Technology Teacher
Bayview Mentor – Year 8
Asst. Head of Digital Learning and Innovation
Kym Willett
MHRM (Training and Dev), B Ed
HPE and English Teacher Jones House Mentor
Cameron Wilson
B A (Hons), Grad Dip (Teaching and Learning – Secondary)
English Teacher Greenways Mentor Officer of Cadets –Quartermaster President of Staff Association
Mark Wilson Mathematics Teacher
Lisa Winding
M (Teach), B Bus, Dip Ed Legal Studies Teacher
Luke Wintle
B App Sci, Grad Dip Ed (Secondary), Dip (Sports Development)
HPE Teacher White House Mentor Head of HPE (Sem 2)
Amelia Wong
B Ed (Secondary and Science)
Mathematics Teacher Bayview Mentor – Year 7
Michael Woolhouse (Sem 1)
B App Sci (Human Movement), Grad Dip (Ed), HPE Teacher
Head of HPE (shared) Deighton House Mentor
Kim Wootton
BA (Fine Art), Dip Ed (Secondary)
Head of Visual Arts
Kate Wright
M Teach (Prim), BA (Media and Communication)
Cert III (Sport and Recreation)
Eblana Teacher – Year 3
Peter Wynne
BSc ED, BSc (Hons)
Head of Science
Anderson House Mentor
Peter Zerman
BA, Grad Dip Ed, MMM, Cert IV (Assessment & Workplace Training)
Design Technology Coordinator
Finlay Anderson House Mentor
Paolo Albertella
B App Sci (Computer Science/ Instrumental Science), Grad
Dip Ed (Second Class Hons)
Mathematics Teacher
Sharon Brady (Sem 1)
Archivist
Edward Dixon
Language Teacher
Kim Harper
Riviera Teacher
Greg Holledge Greenways Café
Ilona Kiss
Art & Design Teacher
Lauren Hevey
Learning Enhancement
Linda Hogan
English Language Teacher
Amy McAlister
BA, M Teach (Secondary)
English Teacher
Catherine Ryan Science Teacher
Parker Yang
Mathematics Teacher
Chinese Language Teacher
Susan Batten (Oboe/Piano)
Chris Bieniek (Guitar)
Justine Clark B Teach (Pri) and B Ed (Suzuki Violin/Violin/Piano)
Gavin Cornish (French Horn/Trumpet/ Trombone)
Stephen Coutts (Speech & Drama/Voice)
Liam Cullen (Cello)
Niran Dasika (Trumpet)
Kelsey de Prada (Flute)
Catherine Friend (Piano/Theory)
Sally Haworth (Clarinet/Saxophone/Flute)
Reave Maloney (Guitar/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Electric Guitar/Cello/ Harp)
Lidia Mancini (Voice)
Duane Manning (Drums)
Debra McLeod (Cello/Piano)
Natalie Morgenstern (Bassoon/Clarinet/Flute/Oboe/ Saxophone)
Catherine Narayan (Cello/Suzuki Violin/Viola/ Violin)
Mia Quist (Bassoon)
Frank Recchia (Drums/Guitar/Bass Guitar Unplugged/Pop Piano/ Electric Guitar)
Aaron Richard (French Horn/ Trombone/ Tuba/ Keyboard)
Samantha Robertson (Voice)
JB Smith (Drums and Orchestral)
Angela Wasley (Voice)
Jason Wasley (Voice)
Catherine Waugh (French Horn)
Julie Aarons B Bus (Acc), CPA Finance Manager
Ric Arnold Dip (Live Production and Events), Adv Dip (Audio Engineering) AV & Theatre Technician
Suzanne Ashley BA (Legal), Dip (School Marketing), CMS Alumni Manager
David Atkinson B.InfoTech, CUE50303, IT Systems Administrator
Andrew Baillie Dip Property Services Property Manager
Tim Baker B (Info Systems) – BIS, MA (Info Systems Exec) –MISEXEC Director of ICT
Sharon Bates Accounts Receivable Officer
Jennifer Blackburn MA (Prof Comm), Grad Dip (Communications), Dip (Prof Writing and Editing) Publications Manager Officer of Cadets
Connor Bourke B Bus (Marketing) ICT Support Officer
Nick Christoforou OHS Assistant
Jasmin Crawford Risk and Compliance Assistant
Kelli Dawes Dip (Event Management and Public Relations) Events & Catering Manager
Madie Dunstan B (Business) Risk & Compliance Coordinator
Pernilla Eklund Allan Registrar
Julliet Eksiyan Grad Cert (Business Administration), Adv Dip Business (Acc) Management Accountant
Stephanie Fielding B. Bus (Event Management and Marketing) Performing Arts Coordinator
Claire Forbes Accounts Payable Assistant
Navid Ghaghli
ICT Support Officer
Nathaniel Guinan
ICT Support Officer
Tom Halbert
B Ed SIS Specialist
Nichole Hargreaves
EA to Principal
EA to Deputy Principal
Deborah Heath
Cert IV (Frontline Management)
Facilities Manager
Erin Hunt BA (Sport and Recreation Management)
Sports Administration Assistant
Deborah Kenner Dip (HR Management)
PA to Head of Eblana PA to Director of ELC
Georgia Kenny PA to Head of Greenways
Laura Kenny Dip (Business)
HR Assistant
Garrett Kinchington
B Comm (Marketing)
BA (Media and Communication)
Marketing Manager
Stephanie Kinnear
B Design & Comm (Hons) Marketing and Communications Officer
Ksenija Krasova
BBA, Grad Dip (ACC), CPA Financial Accountant
Michelle Lewis Cert IV (Business Administration)
Assistant Registrar
Teresa McLennan
Senior HR Advisor
Monique Lawrence
EA to Director of Business
Marie Lunt
IT Administration
Robyn Mill (Sem 1)
EA to Director of Business
Lisa Mitchell
B Ed
PA to Head of Riviera
Michelle Morton
EA to Director of Learning & Teaching
EA to Head of School Operations
VASS Coordinator
Peter Newton
TMA Volunteer
Man-Chi Nguyen (Sem 1)
B App Sc
Database Administrator
Kylie Reardon Receptionist/Admin/Events Assistant
Colette Russell
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD Senior Business Analyst
Beck Russell Cert (Service Coordination)
PA to Head of Frogmore
Fiona Slocombe PA to Head of Bayview
David Song
BSc
IT Administrator
Rachel Travica
HR Advisor
Leanne Vallance Professional Development Administrator
Main Reception/Administration
Kerryn Van Der Merwe
B Comm (Bus and Eco Sciences), Grad Dip (Bus Admin and Management), Hons (Bus and Eco Sciences)
– Marketing and Finance Records & Archives Manager
Paul Watson Cert III (Printing and Graphic Arts), Dip (Printing and Graphic Arts) (Digital Production)
Ricoh Printing Services
Sam Williams
IT Support
Danny Yardis Dip (Art & Design –Graphic Design)
Senior Graphic Designer
MEDICAL EDGE
Corey Bock Operations Manager
Jane Williamson
Div. 1 Registered Nurse
Cert. Neonatal Intensive Care IBCLC School Nurse
Eleanor Holland Div. 1 Registered Nurse Grad Dip (Emergency Nursing)
Dani Begg First Responder
Chris Larson Maintenance Supervisor –Operations
Tom Donnell Grounds Supervisor
Patrick McCarthy Grounds Supervisor
Luis McLaren Set up Assistant
Ben Still Maintenance
Wayne Fuller Ground Staff
Will Durston Setup Coordinator
Will Smith Grounds Apprentice
Peter Francis Security Supervisor Cert III (Security Operations)
Adnan Ahmad Sethi Security Officer Cert II (Security Operations)
Mohammed Mohsin Security Officer Cert II (Security Operations)
After a ‘lifetime’ at MG, we wish our 21 Lifers all the best and thank them all for the memorable contributions they made along the way. They will be missed in the pool, on the stage, in Cadets, at House events and in class. We look forward to seeing them all back for the opening of the time capsule in Eblana in 2062.
Once a Mentonian, always a Mentonian. Best wishes from the Mentone Grammar community.
Mentone Grammar has taught me lifelong lessons. I have been at this School longer than I can remember and some of my earliest and most treasured memories I have are from Eblana. From nap time to pyjama day to hot chocolate on the deck. I can even remember the lyrics we made in Year 2 for a song about pronouns.
Still to this day, I have carried many friendships from as early as ELC. I have always cherished the opportunities that have been provided by this amazing School. Mentone Grammar will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I will greatly miss the School along with the incredible people.
Shani RussellMy time at Mentone Grammar has been so special to me and is something that I will always cherish. Every stage of my life, that I can remember, has been through the School and I am feeling emotional to be finishing. All the excursions since ELC, musicals and plays in Eblana, camps and Learning Journeys in Bayview, Cafe in Year 9, and of course the Formal in Frogmore. I have too many memories to detail but some of my favourite highlights of my school journey would be all the Learning Journeys across the years including, Shoreham most years, Sovereign Hill, Canberra, Central Australia, Cambodia and, despite my thoughts at the time, Cadet camp was pretty good too. These camps are my favourite highlights when I think back to each year. The past two years I have enjoyed being a part of the Cross Country team and although it was very challenging, I’m glad I was able to do it. Year 9 was a year I always look back on, there was so many fun times with camps and cafe work, I became closer to a lot of people, and we always joke about the times we shared in class.
I’ve been so lucky to build the relationships I have with teachers, since ELC, and I am very grateful I was able to grow in this community, with friends that I will have forever. I have a strong connection to the School and will always miss being a part of it.
Lily Riley
Spending most of my life at Mentone Grammar has been a great journey to say the least. I’ve had countless opportunities and great experiences, whether that be as little as toasties after swim training in the morning or travelling halfway across the globe to Nepal for our Year 8 Learning Journey. Being here for this long, I have watched the School grow and those around me, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. I’ve had countless amazing memories at Mentone such as playing head soccer with Mr Little, making a time capsule with Mr Y, and winning the Foundation Award in Year 6, all the way to leading Jones House in 2022.
I would like to thank my parents for the opportunities they have given me by sending me to Mentone and a big thank you to all the teachers I have had over my 15 years. They have helped shaped me into who I am today. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends, family, and this great school, so thank you.
Ethan Gorringe
To think my time at Mentone Grammar has come to an end is insane. I started my journey back in Prep and I still remember my very first day. It’s been surreal to watch the School evolve over the years; especially now as new building works commence. The sheer amount of opportunities that Mentone Grammar has offered and the support it shows, to encourage kids to follow their passions, is something I will be forever grateful for. I will always look back fondly on the Learning Journeys, Shoreham camps, Saturday Sport, House events and more. I will especially miss the Cadet program which I loved since Day 1 back in Greenways, never thinking I would end up leading the program in my final year.
Although it’s weird to think I won’t be seeing my friends every day and it’s sad to see my time as a Mentone Grammar student end, I am excited to move forward to this next chapter of my life. There is no way I would be who I am today without Mentone Grammar, and I will be forever thankful for the School, its people, and the opportunities it has provided me.
Rhianne Brown
Mentone Grammar will always have such a special place in my heart. It is incredible that I was able to start and finish my school journey at this School, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the valued memories I have made. I believe that all of us ‘lifers’ have such a special bond, and we share something extremely rare – staying at the same school for our entire life. There is a great feeling of sadness in me, knowing that this it will be my first year away from this School, for the first time ever, but there is also a deep feeling of satisfaction.
I want to thank all the teachers who have helped me become who I am and have taught me all the basics. One of the key moments at Mentone Grammar was burying our time capsule in Year 2 (2012), that we are going to open in 50 years from then. I also loved how Mr Drinan had distinct games, that I still remember to this day, that we would play during sport in the gym. I also loved playing gang-up tiggy at lunchtime with the entire year level and reading picture books in the library. I cannot thank enough, every single person at Mentone Grammar who has impacted my life.
Zoe Pertzel
