The student leaders, both primary and secondary, were commissioned at

separate assemblies. This is when we officially acknowledge the students who

have been elected or appointed to formal school leadership roles. It is also the

occasion for the staff and student body to accept them as their leaders and agree

to support and encourage them.

Our Year 6 cohort and the Year 12 students were also acknowledged as leaders

in the school; they are the role models for younger students and can use their

gifts and abilities to make our school community stronger. It has been a joy to have our new

Chaplain, Mrs Monique Riviere-Pendle playing a major role on both of these occasions.

Last Wednesday we celebrated our high academic achievers of 2016. An assembly, attended by

parents, celebrate the achievement of students who have had academic success. Such success is

rarely achieved without hard work, and we congratulate students who gained award badges. As the

year moves forward we will recognise students’ achievement in other areas – The Arts, Sport,

Service and Endeavour.

We welcomed our Year 7 parents last Tuesday evening, with an introductory presentation of our

new Learning Management System, SEQTA, and how it will work with the student and parent

portals. SEQTA will enable better communication of student course work, assessment, homework

and end of semester reporting. Parents then had an opportunity to meet their child’s Pastoral Care

Mentor.

Margaret Buttigieg - Principal

From the Principal

Monday 27th February 2017

24 HR ABSENTEE LINE Please ring 5991 0801 (not the school’s main number) to alert the school of a child’s absence

DATES TO REMEMBER

Student Photo Day 10 Mar

Primary Twilight Sports 15 Mar

Year 8 Sport 17Mar

PAGE 1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

From the Office 2

Around The School

3

From The Chaplain

4

Term 1 Fees - Now due

Annual Fees - Now due

Monthly Fees - Due the 28th of each month from January to November.

School Fees

To help us communicate more effectively with our Parent/Student community

Casey Grammar School has its own Skoolbag iPhone and Android app .

We ask all parents & students to install our app to be able to receive any

important alerts from the school.

To install it, just search for our school name "Casey Grammar School" in

either the Apple App Store, or Google Play Store on your smartphone.

App Configuration Instructions

Parents can choose to subscribe to push alerts for a specific year level. Push

alerts are alerts sent to your phone to notify you of an important upcoming school event.

To configure these, click the 'More' option in the bottom right of the screen then 'Setup'. From here you may

choose which category you will receive push alerts from.

Casey Grammar Smartphone App

PAGE 2

FROM THE OFFICE.

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF)

Casey Grammar School’s canteen supplier, Bazil's

Mobile Catering Service, has introduced an online

ordering system for school lunch orders through

Flexischools. Please note that written lunch orders are no longer being

accepted.

To set up an online ordering account please follow the steps in the link

to our website at

http://www.caseygrammar.vic.edu.au/?q=flexischools

Lunch Ordering

CSEF is a new state Government initiative to assist eligible families to help cover the costs of school trips, camps and

sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be

eligible for CSEF. The allowance will be paid directly to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps,

excursions, or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student will be: $125 for primary school students or $225 for secondary school

students.

Eligible families will need to apply through the school by completing the CSEF Application form on the school website and returning the form, together

with a copy of a valid concession card, to the school by 30th April 2017.

Here’s hoping you had a great holiday break, and that you are ready for a challenging school year, with lots of opportunities to check out the so many

career options available. You need to be informed, flexible, ready to re-train, with good communication and team-work skills to assist you to build a

sustainable career.

Attending career expos, Open Days, information sessions and career seminars will assist you in your career development process. Students who

attend career functions, do research and talk to others about careers are usually able to make wise decisions.

WHAT IS A CAREERS EXPO?

As a rule, career expos have representatives from universities, TAFE’s independent training providers and employer groups (e.g. defence force) in

attendance to provide information and an opportunity to ask your questions. There are a number held throughout the year, some large ones running for

a few days (e.g. the VCE and Careers Expo 4 May – 7 May @ Caulfield Racecourse), while others are smaller regional expos (e.g. @ Lilydale). Career

expos are of a general nature and are a good starting point for some career exploration - more information later.

WHAT IS AN OPEN DAY? Universities, TAFE’s and some independent providers open their doors, usually once a year on Sundays in August, for the public to see facilities,

attend information sessions, talk to staff and current students, and to check out clubs and societies. These are useful for obtaining a more in-depth

experience of a particular institution and its courses.

WHAT IS A CAREERS SEMINAR, AND WHY ATTEND? Many institutions run seminars about particular courses or careers, often on week-nights or in school holidays. For example, Monash (see below) and

the University of Melbourne (dates in next issue) run evening seminars on particular courses, while RMIT, La Trobe and Deakin run school holiday

programs about their courses (note: this list is not exhaustive). In addition, seminars on studying psychology, sport related careers, and on

occupational therapy have been run for many years. These programs give an in-depth picture of courses and career outcomes, and provide an

opportunity to ask your questions. More information in later editions.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AVIATION?

The power of military aviation will take centre stage at AIRSHOW 2017. See the latest heavy metal put through its high

octane paces at this event. Combat jets, bombers, heavy lift aircraft, military display teams and rotary winged warriors

will be on show. There will also be historic aircraft from the classic years of aviation, with displays of innovations in

aerospace, aviation and defence products. When: Public sessions: 10am-4.30pm, Fri 3 March – Sunday 5 March;

Where: Avalon Airport Geelong; Bookings and further information: www.airshow.com.au.

From the Careers Office.

Sustainable School Shop -Second Hand Uniforms

A reminder to parents that the school now has an improved facility for

school families to be able to buy and sell their second-hand uniforms and

text books via the online ‘Sustainable School Shop’.

For full information including a link to view stock levels, please visit our

website at:

http://www.caseygrammar.vic.edu.au/?q=sustainable-school-shop

PAGE 3

AROUND THE SCHOOL.

Some would call us crazy to

take over one hundred

teenagers ‘out bush’ so early in

Term 1, when there is so much

to prepare and so little time to

get this done. But after only

five school days, we jumped on

the bus and headed to Rawson

to spend time getting to know

our classmates, making new

friends, challenging ourselves in new and exciting ways, and making

memories to last a lifetime.

Camp happened to be during three of the hottest days this month.

But despite the heat, we

completed a series of outdoor

activities such as a

commando course, high

ropes, mountain biking and

canoeing – the Thomson

River water was a welcome

relief!

The Year 7 students have

impressed me in the way that they recognise the importance of

supporting each other and in their understanding of what it means to

work as a team. With this in place now

that we have returned to our usual

classes, we can look forward to the year

ahead where everyone feels that they are

a true part of our Casey Grammar

community.

I would like to take this opportunity to

thank the many staff members who gave

up their time to attend camp and the

interest that they have taken in the lives of

our students. I also would like to give

praise to the Year 9 Leaders who came on

camp to encourage the younger students

and to share with them their experiences from two years ago.

Kate Morgan - Year 7 Coordinator

Year 7 Camp 2017- Rawson Village

The PFC had a successful meeting on Monday 13th February sorting

through this years activities. This term we will be cooking sausages for

the Twilight sports on 15th March and for the P-2 sports day on 21st

March.

If anyone would like to help out on the day, please contact Bharti Green

on 0419184245. Further information will be sent out from the

classrooms.

The next meeting will be on Monday 20th March at 6:30pm. Please

contact Bharti on the above number if you would like to attend.

Pam Foley

PFC News

On Thursday 9th February and the following Friday, some Year 9

students volunteered to visit the Cranbourne Library to assist the

“Friends of the Library” in setting up for their book sale.

The students learned to sort and stack books along with other tasks.

The book sale is organised by the “Friends of the Library” and is a great

way to raise funds for the library. Funds raised from previous book sales

have been used to purchase things such as children's furniture, shelving

and even artwork, to make the library an inviting place that people want

to visit.

The “Friends of the Library” appreciated the willingness of our students

to help out because it was a huge task with thousands of books to sort

for sale. We were also allowed to bring home a few books each, in

return for our hard work over the two days.

It was a good experience for us to see what goes on behind the scenes,

in the library, and in the community. Without the volunteers who are the

“Friends” this kind of work and fund raising would not be possible.

All the “Friends” and the library staff were wonderful hosts to us,

supplying coffee, tea, biscuits and lots of chats.

Catherine T & JoJo Z

Casey’s Year 9 Volunteers at Cranbourne Library

Three of Casey Grammar's Year 5

students, Olivia Walker, Isabella

Hetherington and Angie Bulte, were

all selected to represent the City of

Casey in the U11 Representative

Netball Squad for 2017.

The 3 girls were selected from

approximately 40 girls who play

regularly within the Cranbourne

South West Netball Association

(CSWNA). Currently the girls are training every Sunday in preparation

for Tournaments commencing on the 19th March running through to

Aug 2017.

Greg Newham - Year 5 Coordinator

Student Sporting Achievement

AROUND THE SCHOOL.

PAGE 4

As a child growing up in the Baptist tradition, Lent barely rated a mention. I was aware of the tradition but no-one in my family would have described it as a significant focus in the lead up to Easter. Besides, who would willingly give up chocolate? Surely Jesus understood why it was a 21st Century necessity! As a Graduate teacher I worked at a Catholic school and found myself participating in an Ash Wednesday service for the first time. As the Ashes formed the cross on my forehead, I felt some connection to this ancient practice for the first time. The school did not serve any meat in the canteen on that day and students in my classes started to talk about eating fish on Fridays. Lent it seemed, was coming to me.

Later, as I attended a Salvation Army church, the Officer talked about how Lent can be giving up something of value in the form of fasting but also that we can sacrifice our time as well. Sometimes this is of far more value to us! That year, I tried to make prayer art for different people in my life – I failed in my aim to make forty but as I engaged in creating something for those I loved, I reflected a little more and focused on praying for others. Something changed inside me. So, my own experience of Lent has been something of a journey. Next Wednesday it will start again and my encouragement is for our school community to consider how we might engage in this time of reflection. One idea that I am planning to adopt is the 40 Acts of Kindness challenge. This is a movement that had 100,000 people sign up globally last year and we are hoping that students and families will get involved. It is a Christian organization but there is something in this for everyone. Each day during Lent a new challenge will be posted to spread a little more kindness into our community. Of course, everyone is busy and some days a challenge may simply not be possible. However, I would encourage your family to use this as an opportunity to be more conscious of how we can be more generous and kind to one another . Some adaptions from the 2016 40 Acts of Kindness Campaign that you may wish to consider are:

Buying a ‘Thank you’ card at the shops (or making one) and writing to someone who has helped or impacted you in some way

When going for a walk, take a bag/ glove and pick up some rubbish if you see it

Write some post-it notes encouragements and stick them around the house

Write a nice memory of someone and give it to them

Encourage your children to choose and cook a meal for the family Also during Lent, the Chapel will have a range of different stations for reflection. Parents are welcome to come to the Chapel with their children or alone to spend some quiet time. Our lives are very busy, and regardless of whether you are Christian or not, my hope is that you will come and engage with elements of what is available. The stations are an invitation only; but for some it might be one of the only places of quietness and stillness available in an otherwise hectic day. Please feel welcome to participate on whatever level you are comfortable with. Blessings as you commence this Easter season. Monique Riviere - Pendle

From the School Chaplain

3 New Holland Drive Cranbourne East Vic 3977

PO Box 302 Cranbourne Vic 3977

Telephone (03) 5991 0800 Email info@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au

www.caseygrammar.vic.edu.au

On Monday 20 February, Year 4 students enjoyed an excursion to the Melbourne Museum and IMAX theatre as part of their topic about “Life Cycles”.

Students were able to view areas of the museum and watch an educational movie about the life cycle and migration of the Monarch Butterfly.

An enjoyable day was had by all who attended.

Kate Grech - Year 4 Teacher

Year 4 Museum Excursion