2020 will be remembered by students, parents and members of staff as the year with the greatest level of unprecedented disruption to ways of learning and living. Despite this, the Ivanhoe Girls’ community was able to navigate each and every challenge and to find a new way to work that enabled quality learning to continue albeit in different ways. Surveys are an important tool for collecting information that can improve our school’s ability to meet the needs of our students so, in 2020 we were particularly interested to hear from our students, staff and parents about their experiences.

At Ivanhoe Girls’ we conduct a range of surveys with some being annual and others every two or three years, which provide us with valuable insight into issues important to students, parents and members of staff. In our experience, the anonymity of our school surveys allows members of our community to be open and honest with their answers. The results we receive from these surveys are very detailed. These results are taken into consideration each year as we plan for ongoing improvement. We believe it is also important to share the overview of the independent survey results with our community hence, in this Newsletter you will find an overview of best practice areas and areas of improvement as identified in the following three recent surveys:

2020 Parents’ Survey

All areas received ‘Excellent’ (4.00 – 5.00) or ‘Good’ (3.00 – 4.00) scores on a scale from 1 to 5 with an average score of 3.94/5.00 which equates to a 79% satisfaction across all sections of the survey including general areas. In 2020, 41% of parents (Prep, Year 5, Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12 parents were surveyed in 2020) responded to the survey which was a pleasing increase from the 24% and 40% of parents who took up the opportunity to complete the survey in 2019 and 2018 respectively. The year on year comparisons of results are noted below:

2020 Year 12 Students’ Exit Survey

The Year 12 Exit Survey is conducted annually and just prior to the students finishing their formal schooling at Ivanhoe Girls’. In 2020, Year 12 examinations were pushed much later into December due to COVID-19 which impacted the best time to offer the survey to the Class of 2020. 

This may have been the reason for the decline in participation rates for this survey in 2020 from 86% in 2018 and 92% in 2019, to 63% in 2020. Despite the lower participation rate, once again, all areas received ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ scores with an increased average score of 3.82/5.00 or 76% satisfaction across all sections of the survey. The year on year comparisons of results are noted below:

2020 Early Learning Centre (ELC) Parent Survey

Students and parents in the Early Learning Centre had a different experience throughout COVID-19 to those in older years of schooling as their learning environment is very different. We were, however, proud of their adaptability to take on a new style of learning.

The format of the ELC Parent Survey is different to that of the Whole School Parents’ and Year 12 Exit Survey, due to the smaller numbers of parents in the ELC. In 2020 only 16 parents completed the survey compared to 34 parents in 2019. Key results from the survey included 100% of parents saying they either strongly agree or agree that:

• The education program is engaging and enhances the children’s learning and development
• The equipment and resources provided are appropriate to optimise learning
• Children are supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment and sustainable practices are embedded in the program
• Interactions with my child are warm, responsive and help to build trusting relationships
• I was satisfied with the orientation process, starting procedures and if relevant, home visits to help my child settle into the ELC

There were many comments from parents in the General Feedback section noting their appreciation of the staff in the ELC and their creativity and adaptability throughout the year. Some comments included:

"Everyone has done a phenomenal job navigating the interruptions and challenges covid has provided, thank you!"

"Really appreciated the effort and involvement of the teachers trying to translate a program to continue non-formal learning given the difficulties of the young age of the children and their short attention spans."

"Educators did a fantastic job during COVID helping my daughter maintain some sort of normality during a very uncertain time."

While none of us know exactly what 2021 will look like, we do know we have all learned so much from our experiences in 2020. We are now even more well equipped to make an even smoother and effective transition to offsite learning should the need ever arise. We know that virtual opportunities for parents to meet with teachers, instead of personally attending Learning Progress Interviews, was greatly appreciated by some parents so we are continuing to offer a hybrid model of at school and online opportunities throughout 2021. We will also be maintaining an online virtual capability for parents to attend a range of meetings including Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School Parents' Association (IGGSPA) and some Information Nights.

More generally, the feedback that parents, staff and students provided to us in 2020 will enable us to refine how we facilitate learning and to care and nurture students throughout their years at Ivanhoe Girls’. Thank you to everyone who took the time in 2020 to complete a survey for us and we look forward to hearing from you all again later this year.

Dr Deborah Priest
Principal

At Ivanhoe Girls’, our incredibly strong academic program is complemented by extensive, diverse, and engaging incursions, excursions, co-curricular activities, clubs, and offerings. It therefore comes as no surprise that the resumption of many school activities beyond the scheduled timetable in 2021 has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by staff and students alike.

In the first two weeks of Term 2 alone we have enjoyed both the House Cross Country and House Athletics Carnivals; Year 9 Trek students have visited an art studio and participated in a barista course at Melbourne Polytechnic (Preston Campus); Year 10 Human Rights students visited Camberwell Grammar School to collaborate with a group of students on planning for their upcoming joint Human Rights Conference; and Year 7s shared in a Science Wild Action Zoo incursion. Along with this, there has been evening Debating, after school Future Problem Solving, new season Girls Sport Victoria (GSV) matches, regular Music ensemble rehearsals, a Twilight Concert and the ‘bump-in’ for this week’s School Production, "The Government Inspector".

There are wide reaching benefits for student involvement in such activities. Most importantly, it fosters connectedness and belonging, as students work with others who have like-interests and passions. This leads to wider friendship opportunities both within the year level and beyond. The co-curricular arena is where we often find students in their element, much like the late Sir Ken Robinson shared in his book, The Element – How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. When students find themselves in their element, they feel inspired, find high levels of personal achievement, wellbeing and satisfaction. They find that moment of flow, where time is fluid and seems to move more quickly.

To help facilitate such wonderful opportunities, we are now integrating the management of all school excursions, extended co-curricular activities, camps, sporting activities and trips into the new platform, Consent2Go.  This provides greater transparency for all families into these activities and streamlines the provision of information and communication around them. Consequently, you have begun to receive notifications about upcoming activities for your child/children through the Consent2Go system. 

Please be aware that you will receive either a consent request or simply a notification. Consent is required when students are participating in off-site activities that are out of normal school hours, have a high-risk component, or are overnight. For each of these instances, you will receive an electronic consent notification that requires you to confirm consent for your child’s attendance.  Otherwise, if the activity does not include the details outlined above, a notification is simply sent to inform you of the activity. 

We trust you are finding this new consent platform useful and ask that you support the staff members organising the particular activity by promptly responding to a consent request. Without consent, your child will not be able to attend the activity.

We remind you that Consent2Go is also the place where you can make updates to your child’s medical conditions and thank you for your involvement and support of this new platform.

About Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson worked with governments, education systems, international agencies, global corporations and some of the world’s leading cultural organisations to unlock the creative energy of people and organisations. He led national and international projects on creative and cultural education in the UK, Europe, Asia and the United States. Sir Ken Robinson is the most watched speaker in TED’s history. He defined his book, The Element (2009) as “the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion”.

Davina McClure
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

The Senior School production of "The Government Inspector" opens on Thursday 6 May! 

Tickets are still available for some performances, so book your seats now! 

Nikolai Gogol's comedy masterpiece satirises greed, stupidity and political corruption. Director Ms Helen Mutkins has infused the production with a contemporary Aussie flair, and audiences are sure to delight in the sparkling wit, the cracking pace of the dialogue and the hilarious performances. 

Please note: this play contains adult themes. 

At Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School, we value an education that challenges and connects, leading to powerful and progressive thinking. 

Differentiation is a key component of meeting the diverse skills and abilities of our students. Whilst programs within the classroom are differentiated to cater for this diversity, additional targeted provisions for ‘Highly Able’ and ‘Gifted and Talented’ students is essential. These provisions may take place within the classroom, in small groups or individually. 

The Talent Development and Enrichment Program takes a multi-faceted tiered approach to the early identification and provision of appropriate learning programs for ‘Highly Able’ students. The process begins with high-quality instruction and universal testing of all children in the general education classroom. Students are identified and placed within the tier based on the level of differentiation required. 

Ivanhoe Girls' acknowledges that with the guidance of teachers and by collaborating with families, ‘highly-able’ students can develop their academic and personal potential.

Louisa Scerri
Director of Learning and Innovation

The annual Year 12 Retreat, held at Lorne, is one of the highlights of the year for our Senior Students. The Retreat is an opportunity for our Year 12s to foster deeper connections with their Tutor Groups, engage in a range of challenging physical activities, and build lasting memories. We travelled to Lorne as a group on Wednesday 31 March, full of excitement and anticipation, despite the 7.00am departure time. Whilst on Retreat, students and their Tutors participated in surfing and body-boarding lessons with Go Ride A Wave; a workshop run by Circus Oz; tree-top obstacle courses and trampolining at Live Wire Park; and an evening of trivia, where competition between Tute groups was high.

It was wonderful to see all students attempt each activity – elements of which were very challenging – with a willingness to engage and be open to new experiences.  Each student embraced the opportunity to extend themselves and give of their best. Most gratifying was the level of support and encouragement students gave to each other during activities and throughout our time away. My thanks to all Year 12 students for their enthusiasm, co-operation and energy. Thank you to the Year 12 Tutors, who shared in the activities with their Tutes, for their invaluable contribution to the positive spirit of the Retreat, and for ensuring the smooth running of all activities.

Germana Tendelli
Year 12 Coordinator

The Year 11 Conference was held during the last two days of Term 1. It provided an opportunity for students to focus on practising teamwork to solve a range of individual and group challenges whilst building relationships within their Tutor Groups.

The first day of the Conference was held onsite and incorporated a variety of activities that included music, art/craft, engineering and physical activity.

A 90-minute experience of African Drumming was especially popular. Students were taught some basic percussive patterns using the djembe (pronounced jem-beh) to which they added some choreographed movement resulting in a powerful rhythmic performance. There was an opportunity to ask questions during which time the presenters shared information about their culture. This resulted in a better appreciation for some of the differences the African presenters have experienced living in Australia. 

During a Hula Hoop session, students worked together in small groups to create a short routine based on a theme. Afterwards they reflected on the group dynamics focusing on the changes and adjustments of the members of the team, their relationships with each other and how leadership can change depending on the nature of the task.

Creating a chair from cardboard with a time limit and using a design-thinking process was another problem-solving activity presented to each tutor group. This activity was conducted in the Innovation Station. The variety of amazing responses in the design and production of these chairs reflect the high levels of creativity and initiative that this year level possess. Other year levels have been invited to vote for the most interesting, most attractive and most comfortable chair.

Tutor groups were also involved in designing and making a greeting card using quilling (or paper filigree). Students were given instruction on how to “quill” before working collaboratively to produce an original card. We aim to use these cards to assist with raising funds for one of our service activities.

Day two of the Conference was held offsite, alternating between an indoor rock-climbing centre and a scavenger hunt at Blackburn Lake Sanctuary. Students were given instruction and encouraged to set their own level of challenge to try a number of different walls at the rock-climbing centre. They climbed using a partner belay method and were encouraged to actively support and encourage each other. Over 90% of students indicated they enjoyed this activity and interestingly reported climbing higher than they expected.  The other activity involved a scavenger hunt. The hunt required tutor groups to capture a variety of photos and videos that focused on the natural environment and solving riddles. Bonus points were awarded for creativity.

Guided very capably by their Tutors, the Year 11 students had two fun and productive days working together, learning more about teamwork, solving problems and cementing relationships with members of their tutor group.

Sam Jempson
Year 11 Coordinator

House Cross Country was an exciting event in which Senior School students had the opportunity to demonstrate their athletic ability and House spirit. 

Many students ran wearing their House colour with pride, as well as the Year 12’s collectively dressing in the ‘Where’s Wally’ theme. Highlights of the event included the supportive and enthusiastic environment created by students cheering each other on, as well as the excitement of playing music whilst running. 

To conclude such a successful event, the House leaders collaborated to host an after-party congratulating the students that participated in Cross Country by handing out icy poles. 

The results were close, with Oswald taking out the Junior Division and Rowena taking out both the Intermediate and Senior Division. For the first time, we also had an overall winner across all divisions which for this year, was Rowena. Congratulations to all involved!

Georgia Vavala-Minnis, Taylah McCrae and Bonnie Liu
Ashby House leaders

Congratulations to Maia Kelly, Vivienne Pally, Jaida Sacco and Olivia Uren who swam in the Years 12/13 4x50m Freestyle relay at the Victorian State Swimming Championships on Monday 26 April at MSAC. 

In what was really tough competition they came 6th in the State. The team has been training every Tuesday morning before school with our Head Swimming Coach, Philip Clark. They should be very proud of their efforts! Well done!

Mia Francesconi
Head of Health and Physical Education

The weather’s getting colder, winter uniforms are being hauled out – it’s Term 2, which means the House Reading Challenge (HRC) is right around the corner! The HRC starts on Monday 3 May and is an opportunity to win points for your House by doing something you already do – read books! You only have to read five books from different genres by the Friday 25 June (the last day of Term 2) to win a point for your House and yourself – and with over 20 different genres to choose from shelves and shelves of books, there’s tonnes of choice! 

To get your point, all you need to do is fill out the HRC form (which can be found on your House hive page) with each book you’ve read. Once you’ve read your five books, you can pick and read more books from any genre you like, which will then go towards your House tally.

We’ve got almost two months to go in Term 2, so get reading. As well as points for your House and yourself, the tute with the most books read for Years 7, 8 and 9 gets a prize!

Happy reading everyone - and go Rotherwood!

Josie Ellis
Year 9
Rotherwood Reading Representative

It is important that each student has the opportunity to take on a leadership role at some stage in Junior School, to grow and develop confidence, responsibility and service, and the ability to collaborate with others to make things happen. Already there have been examples of our students taking the initiative and showing leadership in different areas.

Commencing each term with a Leadership Assembly brings our leadership philosophy of giving service to the forefront of our thinking. This term was no different and with our Leadership Assembly taking place in Centre Ivanhoe this year, with guests in attendance, added another level of importance. Each student proudly accepted her badge from Dr Priest to signify the beginning of her role.

Anzac Day

The Leadership Assembly was followed by a commemoration of ANZAC Day and this section of the Assembly was planned and hosted by our Junior School Captains Milly Bernardi and Vivienne Pally. I was very proud of the professional and sensitive manner in which they conducted this section of the Assembly. Leadership begins very early at Ivanhoe Girls’ and Isabelle Fitzpatrick in Prep read The Ode from the lectern with a confidence that belied her young age. Sophie Kuzmina played The Last Post from the balcony, again challenging herself to take on this leadership role and perform in front of the whole Junior School. Supporting our students to challenge themselves is integral to their success - and Sophie did not disappoint!

Guest Speaker: Sam Brahman

It was the turn of Ilaria Premoselli and Ellen Tao, Year 6 Class Captains, to lead and they introduced our guest speaker, Sam Brahman OAM, to speak on his life experiences. Sam had his leg amputated from the knee when he was five years old, but this did not deter him. He went on to swim for Australia in two Paralympic Games winning medals on both occasions. He is a perfect example that it is your attitude towards life challenge that makes all the difference. He spoke with humour regaling some funny stories of his experiences at school with his prosthetic leg. He hardly dwelled on his Olympic successes but spoke more so on gratitude and resilience. His humour resonated with the girls as did his attitude to life. We were all very touched by this event and Ellen and Ilaria took the initiative and organised a Thank You card so that any students who wished to could write their reflections, or express their gratitude to him. Sam was very touched by the gesture when he received the card.

Social Service Activity

Continuing on the theme of leadership and service, Year 3 with their Social Service leaders Zoe Milson and Lavinia Liali decided they wanted to support Lentil As Anything as part of their social service contribution. They chose it because it is a restaurant that provides food to anyone who drops in. In order to keep it viable, patrons are asked to donate what they can either through a gift of labour, skills or simply ‘pay as you feel', thus creating an effective tool for promoting social cohesion and inclusion. The values that it stands for are those deeply rooted in a healthy human community where they believe that everyone deserves a place at the table. The fun-loving Year 3 students decided on DodgeBall as an activity to raise money by having a gold coin donation to participate and also to be inclusive to all as anyone in Junior School regardless of age can participate.

Junior School Council

This term’s Class Captains had their first Junior School Council last week and those certainly ‘spoke for themselves’ with even the youngest having the confidence to air their thoughts and challenge those of others at the meeting. Some insightful commentary ensued across a range of year levels. It was delightful to see these students take on the responsibility of their roles with such eagerness and enthusiasm.

Talent Show

We had a Talent Show take place last week during lunch hour for anyone who wanted to participate. This was the initiative of our two Music Leaders, Saraya Comerford and Maya Oldroyd. It took a lot of work to coordinate this by these students, but the success of the venture can be measured by the participation rate as the numbers far outweighed their expectations. These two girls are to be congratulated on the sensitive way in which they developed this concept as I think this was what gave so many girls the confidence to give it a go. In the background was Ms Levy our Junior School Music Teacher whose energy and enthusiasm is infectious and the event went even longer than anticipated and we had to include two more lunch times.

Year 4 Camp

We are certainly grateful that we are actually going on camp this year. Camps are such a valuable learning experience providing opportunities for the students to live together and develop social and interpersonal skills, foster independence, encourage personal organisation skills while living away from home and of course have fun with their classmates.

The students will depart for Mt Evelyn on Wednesday 12 May for ‘two sleeps’ and return on Friday 14 May. The camp focus in on the outdoor environment and they will partake in a range of outdoor activities. As Mrs McClure discusses in her article, we are now using Consent2Go for all excursions and camps. It is new to all of us so we were most appreciative of you coming on board so readily and replying to the email detailing the excursion logistics and giving consent for your daughter to attend.

We recognise that there will be a mixture of excitement tinged with some fear of the unknown as camp gets closer. This is to be expected and probably even more so this year as it is the first time these students have been away on camp and indeed most likely away from their parents for prolonged periods.

Mary Bourke
Head of Junior School

Last week while learning about Volume, Year 5 students investigated what one cubic metre looked like by constructing a cube with newspaper.

In teams, students had to roll the newspaper sheets into rods and tubes in order to construct the 3D shape. Using metre rulers, students ensured that each of their tubes was exactly one metre long. Then they problem solved how to use the rods as connectors to bring their cube to life.

Once constructed, students realised that their cubes had many engineering challenges. Some tubes sagged, some cubes would not stand up on their own and some teams ran out of materials before completing their cube.

Despite the challenges, all teams worked together to innovate on the initial design and materials, re-engineering their cubes to be stronger and more usable. Many students were surprised at how large the cubic metre was, commenting that their cube was ‘bigger than expected’. As a class, students discussed how many cubic metres might fit into their classroom and compared this with their initial estimate.

To finish off the ‘constructive’ lesson, one class decided to measure how many Year 5 students would fit into a cubic metre – can you guess how many?

Michelle Everest and Sonya Geraets 
Year 5 Teachers

The 2021 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open for registrations on the Challenge website, and we would like to invite all ELC to Year 6 students to participate. The aim of the challenge is to promote a love of reading. It is not a competition, but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. The Premiers’ Reading Challenge is open to all ELC to Year 6 students and runs from now until the end of August.

ELC

ELC students who accept the Challenge, are asked to ‘experience’ 40 books during this period, with the help of an adult or older reader. The reading records for ELC students will be managed by the Library staff.

Prep – Year 2

Students in Prep to Year 2 who accept the Challenge need to read or 'experience' 30 books during this period, 20 of which must come from the Challenge list.

Year 3 – 6

Students in Years 3 - 6 who accept the Challenge must read 15 books during this period, 10 of which must come from the Challenge list.

The Challenge books are listed online at: https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au/home

Please register using the reply slip that can be found on hive. Reply slips are to be returned to the Junior School office by the end of May. Paper copies of this form are also available from the Junior School Library.

After registering for the Challenge, Prep to Year 6 students will have an online account set up for them. Information about how to access this online account will be provided after registrations close. We ask that students use this online account to record the books they have read, and have a printed copy signed by their parent/guardian, that will be collected at the end of the Challenge. Students can start reading for the Challenge immediately, as long as they keep a record of the books read. 

The Reading Challenge will be a House challenge for Junior School again this year, so students can read to help their House win! 

A large number of the books from the lists are available from the Library. A selection of these will be displayed to allow the students to easily choose books from the Reading Challenge if they wish to do so.

Happy reading!

Marissa Caluzzi     
Junior School Teacher Librarian                        

On Friday 30 April we had an incredible incursion with Mr Hoy, Mr McBurney, Ms Howitt and Pete from CodingEdge. We each had to code different robots in our groups. One group was led by Mr Hoy and they coded the Edison robots using Scratch code. Mr McBurney's group programmed Spheros to represent the Indigenous Australians. Pete’s group programmed the Pixibots to represent early explorers to Australia. Ms Howitt’s group (the super secret group) coded Mini Bots. We put on a cute little play about children stealing stuff and going to New Holland (Australia).

What we learned:

We learned about Australia’s history, the First Fleet and why they came here, and about Captain James Cook. We learned it in a very fun way by using robots instead of just reading facts from a book. We thought that Captain James Cook was the first person that set foot on New Holland (Australia) but we were wrong, there were a lot of other people who set foot on New Holland (Australia) in other places in Australia before Captain James Cook. We also performed our presentation to our buddies and the Year 3’s.

We loved programming and coding the robots, and presenting it to Years 1 to 3. We learned a lot about the First Fleet, Captain James Cook and Australia’s history as well.

Anishka Pilania and Amy Kyriakou
Year 4

This term at Kinder, we are focusing on fostering language and communication skills. Some of the ways we do this already, are by singing songs, noticing rhyming words, creating social play areas that encourage talking and negotiation, and of course, telling and reading lots of stories.

Story time is a special time to listen to a story on the mat before they go home. This daily experience allows the girls to develop an understanding of sounds, letters, written words and develop a sense of belonging with their peers.

Miss Franceschi and Ms Sawyer really value and appreciate the positive impact parents and families have on their child’s learning and development, so we have invited familes to come in and share a story with the children for end of day story time.

This week, Lavinia’s Dad, David came to Kinder to read us all a special story called ‘I Am Australian Too’. The story celebrated people who had come from all around the world and decided to live in our wonderful country, Australia. In the story, one of the people comes all the way from Vietnam, grows up and becomes a veterinarian (vet), helping lots of sick animals. We decided that we want lots of people to come to Australia and live because then we can have lots of friends and they can help to make our country special.

We can’t wait to hear more special stories read by our Kinder families.

Emily Franceschi
Kinder Teacher

Monday 17 May, 7.30pm 
Performing Arts Centre (accessible via Noel Street, Ivanhoe) 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘consent’ is defined as “permission for something to happen or an agreement to do something”. In action, giving consent is allowing another person to interact with you in a particular, agreed upon way; thus, consent also includes setting boundaries in order to be safe and maintain a sense of agency. Consequently, in its simplest form, consent education is the learning that we all have the right to set boundaries with others and to advocate for our own wellbeing. Because consent is largely about self-empowerment, it is a concept that many learn as young as preschool. In fact, the first layers of consent are established when we teach our children that they are allowed to make choices about if they want to play a certain game or if they would like a hug from anyone. As children progress through primary school and all the way into secondary school, the conversations around consent evolve with them. Teaching young people about their rights can help keep them safe from predators, but it can also help them learn how to build healthy and respectful relationships with others and with themselves. 

Download the Flyer for more information [PDF 106Kb]

 Topics addressed in the Seminar include: 

• The importance of consent education and what it looks like at every age 
• Strategies for parents to use when equipping children with the skills of giving and withdrawing consent 
• Guidelines for age-appropriate conversations 
• A brief overview of the sexual and digital consent laws in Victoria
• How Ivanhoe Girls’ embeds consent education into its curriculum and empowers our students with the necessary knowledge and tools to build healthy and respectful relationships.

Brett Borbely grew up in the USA, where her parents cared for over 350 foster teens. Being exposed to the trauma others had experienced and having witnessed how the power of compassion and emotional literacy can transform lives ignited a passion within Brett for social responsibility and wellbeing education. Brett is the Director of Student Wellbeing at Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School. Her passion also inspired her to complete a Master of Education, with a focus on student wellbeing. Brett is always looking for new ways to help students learn how to develop healthy relationships with themselves and others. 

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy) tests are conducted in May each year for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, beginning on Tuesday 11 May and concluding by Friday 21 May.  NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. Our School will complete NAPLAN online as we have done successfully for a couple of years now.

Students in Years 3 and 5 will sit the tests in the Sharwood computer room or the Junior School Library each morning as follows:

• Tuesday 11 May – Writing (Year 3 Writing test will remain as a pencil and paper test in the classroom.)
• Wednesday 12 May – Reading
• Thursday 13 May  – Language Conventions
• Friday 14 May - Numeracy
• Junior School catch-up tests will take place on the morning of Tuesday 18 May.

Students in Years 7 and 9 will complete the tests over the two-week period, with the majority of tests taking place between 11 and 14 May. Senior School students will be organised by Tutor Groups using various computer rooms and the Senior School Library. Students absent for any of the Senior School tests will be able to catch up later in the assessment period as negotiated with the student.

Students are required to bring plug-in ear buds or headphones to each test to access audio features. Wireless headphones/ear buds can not be used on the School computers. Headphones are provided for students in Year 3.

We will endeavour to help students feel relaxed, confident and well-prepared for these tests.  Many students participated in a coordinated practice test last term and all students are encouraged to become familiar with the online test platform and question format by visiting the NAPLAN demonstration site: NAPLAN demonstration site.

We remind students that these tests form part of our ongoing assessment to review their progress and learning needs. We appreciate your support with this message. NAPLAN results add to our knowledge of each student’s progress and help us to better tailor our teaching to their learning needs. Results are delivered to schools and are sent home to families later in the year, usually in September. 

For more information about the tests, please visit the VCAA website or the NAP website.

Please note that students who have Music lessons are asked to check the NAPLAN timetable in their Year Level Centre. Year 3 and Year 5 students should check the timetable with class teachers. If there is a clash with Music or Speech and Drama lessons, students need to reschedule their lesson as soon as possible.

Helen Moore, Director of Curriculum, Learning and Innovation – Junior School 
and Rob Fuller, Director of Curriculum Senior School

The Music Department would like to congratulate all students who sat the AMEB Rockschool Drumkit Examinations and make special mention of the following students who received Distinction in their AMEB

Jessie Wu - Grade 1
Giovanni Presta - Grade 4
Lucy Cleminson - Grade 5
Siena Pitruzzello - Grade 7
Mehak Gupta - Grade 7

Sylvia Gilbert
Music and Speech Department Administrator

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) is provided by the State Government of Victoria to assist eligible families with the costs associated with learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. 

Parents and guardians may be eligible for the CSEF a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. 

The allowance will be paid directly to schools to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions, or sporting activities for the relevant child. 

Funds received by Ivanhoe Girls’ for eligible families will be credited against the relevant fee accounts to offset the cost of camps and excursions/incursions included in the Consolidated Charge. 

If you applied for the CSEF in 2020, you do not need to complete an application form in 2021 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:

• New student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2021 or you did not apply in 2020.
• Changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2021.

The annual CSEF amount per student in 2021 will be: 

• $125 for primary school students 
• $225 for secondary school students. 

How to Apply

Application forms can be downloaded from 

www.education.vic.gov.au or from hive. 

Closing Date 

CSEF application forms should be lodged at the Reception at 123 Marshall Street, by Friday 25 June 2021. 

For more information about the CSEF visit: 

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about

Jarrod Guiney
Director of Corporate Services

As previously advised, the School will begin the process of transitioning to a new school uniform towards the end of 2021. As part of this process, the Ivanhoe Girls’ Second Life Uniform Shop (SLU) is only accepting unwanted items that are currently low in stock or in perfect condition. All other items will be donated to one of our charity partners. Please keep this in mind when delivering unwanted uniforms.

Any unwanted School Uniforms can be delivered to Main Reception at 123 Marshall Street for lodgement. Uniform items must be clean, ironed and in suitable condition for resale. Items that are stained, ripped or faded will not be accepted. Blazers and Winter Skirts MUST be dry-cleaned with the dry cleaning tag attached to the garment. All items are to be placed in a bag with a lodgement form attached and completed in full.

Kylie Sapuppo
Convenor, Second Life Uniform Shop

Twilight Concert 3 and a Brass Masterclass will be held on Thursday 3 June from 6.30pm-7.30pm in the Performing Arts Centre. 

• Twilight 3 (PAC Auditorium) is open to string, piano, woodwind and percussion players. Please note, the event will be capped at 20 performers. Any accompanying music is to be either emailed or brought in to Mrs Gilbert by 31 May.

Please click this link to enrol.

Brass Masterclass

All brass students are invited to participate in a masterclass run by our brass tutors (Room A211). This will be a great opportunity for students of all ability levels to share their learning in a warm and supportive environment.

For details please contact Alan O’Dell (Head of Brass) on aodell@ivanhoegirls.vic.edu.au

Sylvia Gilbert
Music and Speech Administrator

Belated Congratulations – Intermediate Softball Teams

What a great season our Intermediate (Years 9 and 10) Softballers had during Term 1!  We had three teams, an A grade team and two B grade teams.

The Intermediate A Softball Team had a great season with their coach Sinead commenting on the great progress all team members made. It's hard to finish as one of the top four teams, but our A team managed it, and played in the Semi Finals on the last day of Term 1. They played a tough match against St Catherine's, losing 7-11. All team members should be really proud of their efforts.

Our two B Teams, named B1 and B2, played in the same zone and were competing against each other to finish on top of the B grade. They finished first and second in their zone – fantastic!  Unfortunately, only one team could make it through to the Grand Final. Congratulations to the B1 team who, under the guidance of their coach Elli, won the Final, defeating Mentone 21-2. Fantastic effort!

A huge thank you to Mr Brad Carter for all his work with the Intermediate softballers and for coaching our excellent B2 Team so well this season.

GSV Representative Swimming Team

Congratulations to Emilia Cilauro (Year 11) who has been selected to compete as a member of the GSV Swimming Rep Team which will be competing at the VSAC Competition on Monday 10 May at MSAC.  Emilia is one of only 17 students from all GSV schools who will represent the GSV against other school associations on Monday. Congratulations Emilia and good luck!

Alpine Snowsports – Final Call for Interested Students

A letter has been sent to families who have indicated they are interested in their daughter participating in the Ivanhoe Girls’ Alpine Snowsport program this year. If you are interested, but have not yet  informed the School, please contact me so I can send you the information at juliefraser@ivanhoegirls.vic.edu.au. 

Completed forms and deposit are due Monday 10 May.

Cross Country

It is Cross Country season and we are looking forward to a range of upcoming cross country competitions both Athletics Victoria and GSV. Trainings are on for all students on Mondays and Fridays 7.00am meeting at the PE office. Get involved in this great sport!