OTGA and WOTG

From the Old Trinity Grammarians' Association

As we enter the second half of 2022, it has been fantastic to see a return to many of the activities, increased connections and faster pace that were part of our lives prior to COVID-19 entering our world. Whilst in some ways we are still adjusting to the new normal across workplaces, school, physical activities and social settings, the benefits of more frequent face-to-face interactions to learning, relationships, collaboration, health and wellbeing are clear. Throughout Term 2, the OTGA took advantage of this opportunity with a number of our meetings moving to in person and our OTGs attending various important school events and functions.

On 29 March, the TGS Community Forum held in Arnold Hall was a chance for all parts of the school community to come together to hear about the progress of the strategic planning process and receive an update on the operations and financial health of the school. It was fantastic to see the strong engagement, discussion and collaboration between members of School Council, the Principal and senior staff, the Stakeholder group, the Parents’ Association and the OTGA. The Community Forum continues to be a key element of the school’s constitution and an effective mechanism to provide the community with visibility and greater awareness of activities happening across the school and key stakeholder groups. It was great to be able to share an update on the continued focus of the OTGA in supporting our Old Boy community and the school through our activities around Connecting, Community, Careers and Clubs.

The 2022 winter sporting season kicked off in April for our OTG Clubs with great anticipation for an uninterrupted season of fixtures. On 10 May, we held our annual OTG Clubs meeting which was attended by leaders of each of the sporting clubs, members of the OTGA and senior representatives from the school. It was a very engaging meeting where Mark Glover (Director of Business) and Lucy Cohen (Director of Community Engagement) provided an update on the North East Link construction works at Bulleen and led a discussion covering a range of topics relevant to the successful management of clubs and associations including governance, sustainable growth, finance, insurance, fundraising and social events. Our OTG Clubs are run by a group of passionate and impressive volunteers who not only encourage participation in sporting endeavours for OTGs but foster strong cultures. It was clear from the meeting that our clubs are in good shape coming out of Covid-19 with good numbers and a renewed focus on social events.

Each year, 1 June marks the start of a recent Trinity tradition of participation in the Push-Up Challenge. This was created to

promote awareness and encourage positive mental health through setting a goal of completing 3,139 push-ups over 24 days and raising funds for mental health charities. The objective of the challenge is to get fit, learn about mental health and have fun through connecting with OTGs and others in the community.

The OTGA assembled a dedicated team to take on the challenge and join a number of groups across the Trinity Community including the current Year 12s and other year levels.

The Push-Up Challenge is a favourite within a calendar of events that the OTGA promotes or participates in as part of our Beyond the Uniform strategy spearheaded by Eddie Gibbons (OTG 1994). The vision for Beyond the Uniform is to

For more information go to

www.thepushupchallenge.com.au

WOMEN OF TRINITY GRAMMAR

The Women of Trinity Grammar (WOTG) membership continues to grow and we look forward to welcoming new members.

WOTG is an informal social and networking group for women to join to retain friendships and connections, after their son (or youngest son) has graduated from TGS. We recently got together socially to celebrate Mother’s Day with a delightful afternoon gathering at Side Door Wine Bar. It was really lovely to catch up with everyone.

We are delighted to advise that two members have offered to organise our next catch-up around October to which you will all be invited. Watch this space!

Another member has also kindly volunteered to organise a WhatsApp group for communications so we can stay in touch more informally. If you have not yet joined, and would like to do so, please use the link below to register your contact details. Please note there is no joining or membership fee involved and new ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

support healthy individual OTGs and a healthy OTG community, underpinned by the shared pursuit of Viriliter Agite and the realisation of being a good son, a good mate, a good partner, a good father – a good Trinity man. The key elements of the strategy recognise that men encounter different challenges to their health across ages and stages of life: youth mental health, middle years social isolation and later years physical health checks. A key aspect of the strategy is to raise awareness of targeted initiatives throughout the year with well-known organisations such as RUOK?, Movember and Dry July.

Another exciting initiative during the term was the soft launch of the new OTGO (Old Trinity Grammarians Online) digital alumni platform powered by Graduway which is the leading alumni community software platform used by more than 2,000 schools across the globe. OTGO will help OTGs connect with fellow OTGs, see what they have been up to and stay in touch through a directory and feed, in addition to providing details of upcoming events and photo boards. It also provides a number of tools to expand OTGs’ professional networks through a business directory, jobs page and mentoring hub. A big thanks to Lucy Cohen for driving this initiative which we believe will significantly improve the way we stay connected with OTGs and assist them to stay connected with each other. Also, keep an eye out for the OTGO logo which was designed by our very own OTG, Antony Bernadou (OTG

1992).

WATCH: James Brown introduces Old Trinity Grammarians Online (OTGO)

Please check out OTGO at otgonline.net and sign up today!

James Brown (OTG 1992)

President

Please use this link

surveymonkey.com/r/women_

of_trinity_grammar to register your contact details and join WOTG.

Donna Cameron and Carolyn Crouch, Co-Convenors

Liz Beasley and Sue McNally, Patrons