Welcome to our very first edition of the Ivanhoe Girls' Future Families News!

This is an exciting time at Ivanhoe Girls’ with empowerED, our new learning program and purpose-built facility for Years 7-10 students, under construction and ready to launch in Semester 2, 2027. Read more about how our students have been involved in the project in this edition, with the construction and design of the building itself being a conduit for learning and student voice, well before the classrooms themselves are in place.

From our youngest students in our Early Learning Centre, to our Junior and Senior School students, the breadth of opportunity at Ivanhoe Girls’ enables students to build confidence and resilience, while increasing their knowledge and understanding of the world, and their place in it.

Students thrive academically, socially and personally at Ivanhoe Girls’.

We hope that you enjoy learning more about how Our Girls Speak For Themselves.

Ms Franceen Challons
Director of Admissions

Limited Places Available: Year 5 and Year 7 2027

Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School is delighted to offer a limited number of places for prospective students entering Year 5 and Year 7 in 2027.

Families interested in securing a place are encouraged to explore what makes our school community special and the School Values that underpin all that we are at Ivanhoe Girls'. 

Personal tours are available for families considering Year 5 or 7 entry in 2027, so you can make an informed decision regarding completion of an application. With transition events for Year 7 2027 commencing in Term 3 2026, we encourage interested families to make contact with us for a personal tour as soon as possible.

Our tours provide the opportunity to experience the vibrant atmosphere firsthand, meet our dedicated educators, and learn about our tailored programs. For further information or to begin the enrolment process, visit the School’s website or contact the Admissions Office directly – we are here to guide you through each step.

Year 7 2029 Admissions Process

Ivanhoe Girls’ will commence the processing of our Year 7 2029 cohort in Term 3 2026. At this time, the Admissions Office will contact waitlisted applicants to ascertain their intention to proceed with your application for Year 7 2029 entry.

First round interviews will take place in Term 4 2026. We have recently changed our process from previous years and will be conducting enrolment interviews prior to offers being sent to families. The purpose of this change is to learn more about each student individually and provide an opportunity for families to ask any questions, so they can make an informed decision regarding acceptance of an offer of place.

We will continue to conduct further rounds of interviews until such time that all places are filled.

We encourage interested families to attend one of our remaining 2026 School Tours: 

• Tuesday 21 July
• Tuesday 8 September and 
• Thursday 22 October.

We encourage you to attend a School Tour to gain an understanding and feel for Ivanhoe Girls’ prior to accepting an offer of enrolment.

Year 7 Orientation at Ivanhoe Girls'

We are excited to begin our transition events for our Year 7 2027 students during Term 3 2026.

At Ivanhoe Girls’, we understand that a robust and comprehensive transition program is critical to student success. It provides the framework for students to feel connected and supported, understand expectations and opportunities, and offers a strong foundation to assist students to commence their studies with confidence and to thrive.

In Year 7, we have several events taking place across Terms 3 and 4, that provide multiple opportunities for students to familiarise, engage and connect with the School and their peers.

These include:

Solo Flyer Afternoon (By Invitation Only) – Newly commencing students who do not have established peer connections for Year 7 meet with other students in the same position for a relaxed afternoon tea. This event allows for connections to be made so students have a familiar face when larger orientation sessions commence shortly thereafter. Current Year 9 students attend the Solo Flyer Afternoon to mentor and support the students in attendance.

A Day in Year 7 – All new and current students transitioning into Year 7 in 2027 will meet for the first time as a cohort on this day. Targeted activities take place to foster connection; outline expectations aligned with the School Values and explore curriculum opportunities.

Orientation Day – All students join together again for an action-packed day full of varied engaging activities to continue to build connections, reflect on and celebrate strengths and passions, and embed a culture of inclusion and acceptance. Students learn their Tutor Groups and meet their Tutor. New students are formally inducted into a House and are provided an opportunity to learn about Music and Sport offerings available to them. The Year 10 Peer Support Leaders actively engage with and mentor the students, supported by key members of the Senior School Leadership Team.

Commencement for Year 7 Students - Year 7 students commence one day earlier than other students in Term 1, so they can settle into the rhythm of school life without the busyness of all other students on the campus.

Should you still be considering Year 7 2027 or 2028 entry, we do have very limited places available within both cohorts at this stage.

Please contact our Admissions Team if you have any queries regarding Year 7 at Ivanhoe Girls’.

Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School is dedicated to preparing students for productive, fulfilling, and sustainable futures in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world.

Recognising that many future careers are uncertain or yet to exist, the School focuses on equipping students with essential transferable skills – such as independent learning, collaboration, critical thinking, innovation, empathy, and adaptability – that are highly valued across all fields.

Anticipating significant shifts in education and aligned with global frameworks like the OECD’s Learning Compass 2030, Ivanhoe Girls’ is proactively embedding these capabilities in our new empowerED Learning Program, utilising the University of Melbourne, New Metrics, Complex Competencies, ensuring students can confidently navigate and thrive in unfamiliar future contexts.

empowerED will be delivered from Semester 2 in 2027, in a dedicated term, in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. Our students will be coached and mentored to develop, plan and execute projects that spark their interest. During their empowerED term each year, students will be accessing the Australian Curriculum and preparing for their VCE, but they will be learning through projects and experiences rather than ‘subjects’. They will get to experience the freedom of being ‘off timetable’ so that they can go deeper into their learning.

A purpose-built Learning Hub for empowerED is under construction so our students can immerse themselves in the program for a term each year whilst staying connected to their co-curricular activities, House, and all the support structures we offer them.

With the construction program still on schedule, the empowerED Learning Hub is expected to be completed, commissioned and handed over to us in April 2027. That will provide us ample time to familiarise staff and students with the new facility, and to potentially run some short-term trial activities with students, prior to the formal commencement of the empowerED program in Term 3 2027. It also ensures that, should we encounter any unforeseen delays over the next 10 months, we can still have confidence in a successful Term 3 2027 commencement of empowerED for our Year 8 students.

To view more information about empowerED on the Website, click on the logo below.

At Ivanhoe Girls’, our GROW Wellbeing Framework reminds us to stay true to our Values and how living our Values in action builds the foundation of how we learn and connect.

Developed with our students, our Community Norms are integral to our collective journey to define how we do things and what it feels like to belong to our community.

By naming and nurturing our Community Norms, for both staff and students, we create a shared language that supports every student and staff member to understand our expectations, celebrate our successes, and respond with empathy and consistency when challenges arise.

As a member of the Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School community, I will try my best to: 

Show respect to all students and staff by: 

• Addressing them in a respectful way, using appropriate language 
• Giving people who are speaking my full attention 
• Fully engaging in conversations with others 
• Communicating my thoughts, feelings, and ideas empathetically and thoughtfully .

Demonstrate that I value my education and the education of others by: 

• Being prepared for class 
• Valuing other people’s time 
• Cultivating a supportive environment for others to learn in 
• Trying my best to complete set tasks by the due date, OR asking for help and communicating with the appropriate people if I cannot complete these tasks on time 
• Producing work that I am proud of and that I feel is a representation of my best 
• Using my devices for learning, not as a distraction 
• Appreciate every opportunity to form meaningful face-to-face connections and be present in the moment
• Be brave in seeking support when required
• Celebrate my achievements and the achievements of others
• Consider the impact of my actions on Ivanhoe Girls’ staff and students
• Make the most of every opportunity available to me, and acknowledge that receiving those opportunities is a privilege. 

Just as our students learn and evolve, so too will our Community Norms. In doing so, we are not simply defining expectations, we are co-creating a way of being that embodies the heart of Ivanhoe Girls’ a community built on our School Values of Kindness, Connectedness, Curiosity, Vibrancy and Bravery.

Ms Karlie Payne
Director of Student Wellbeing

Construction Crew is a unique opportunity to step inside the build of the new empowerED Learning Hub and see a major project come to life from the inside. Open to all students in the Senior School, the opportunity attracted strong interest, with more than 50 students opting in to become members of the Construction Crew. Across 2026, these students are visiting the construction site at key moments in the build, gaining firsthand insight into what it takes to deliver a project of this scale.

In Term 1, the focus was on substructure and concrete superstructure. Students heard from experts working on foundations, in ground services and early structural elements. This phase highlighted the critical importance of precision, planning and systems thinking, and helped students understand how decisions made below ground shape everything that follows.

In Term 2, attention shifted to concrete superstructure and façade framing. Project specialists: Cox Associate Architect, Rachael Halstead, and Senior Structural Engineer, Rebecca Markson from 4D workshop, spent time with our students explaining how multi-level buildings rise, how structural systems are coordinated, and how façade framing begins to define both the performance and appearance of the building. It was fantastic to see students’ knowledge grow alongside the building process. They became acutely aware of how engineering requirements, architectural intent, and construction realities are balanced through collaboration and informed decision making. The following day, members of the Construction Crew visited the site. Dermot Walsh, Senior Project Manager for IBC (Ireland Brown Constructions) took students on a tour enabling them to bring their learnings to life as they asked questions and connected the knowledge gained from Rachael and Rebecca to what they experienced on site.

In Term 3, we envisage another transformation to the construction site, with steel structures, façade cladding, roofing, and internal wall framing underway.

In Term 4, the focus will move to services, finishes and fit off. Professionals involved in joinery, wall and floor finishes, services installation and external works explain how a building is brought to life.

As the empowerED Learning Hub rises from substructure to finished space, student understanding grows alongside it. Construction Crew is more than a club. It is an early, powerful expression of learning for life, grounded in real world experience and future-focused thinking

Ms Louisa Scerri
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

In Term 2, the Year 6 students visited the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) for an exciting day of hands-on learning.

One of the things we learnt about was extinction and adaptation. We got to study real fossils, including coprolites and mammoth teeth, and think about the features that helped different organisms survive in their habitats. In one activity, we worked in groups with different habitat boards and magnets showing organisms that lived there. Each group had a different environment, such as the rainforest. Then one part of the habitat was taken away, and we had to think about how the remaining organisms might need to adapt to survive.

Another highlight of the day was going on a “trip to Mars”. During this experience, we investigated whether humans could survive on Mars by carrying out different experiments. We explored how plants grow, compared Mars rocks with Earth rocks, and looked at ways to filter water. We even got to wear blue spacesuits with the Australian flag on the sleeve, which made it feel even more real.

Some of us also had the chance to be Mission Control. In this role, we communicated with the people working at the “Mars Base” and received updates from the groups carrying out the experiments. At the end of the mission, everyone had to evacuate because there was an unknown virus in the water, which made the experience feel dramatic and exciting.

Our trip to VSSEC was a fun and memorable experience. We learnt so much about adaptation, micro organisms, and the challenges of surviving on Mars, all through hands-on activities that made the science come alive.

Adelie (6H) and Lena (6P)

Earlier this year we asked our Kinder students what our School Values mean to them.

Watch the video to hear how our values establish a positive environment and create a sense of purpose in our Early Learning Centre.

Limited places available for ELC3 (Kinder) and ELC4 (PrePrep) in 2027. Please contact our Admissions Team if you have any queries regarding an ELC enrolment in 2027.