The CEE Conference last week was a wonderful day of professional learning and networking for Melbourne Girls Grammar staff. The conference brought together delegates and speakers from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. In all, the conference attracted over 160 delegates. The conference challenged delegates to reimagine schooling, in a way that best addresses and prepares our girls to successfully navigate and flourish in the world they live in today and they inhabit in the future. Part conference, part think tank, the CEE event provided a platform for attendees to engage in meaningful discussions regarding the evolution of work and the necessity to reframe the experience of education to complement the changing landscapes that await school leavers.
The conference attracted an incredibly high calibre of speakers from both industry and the education sector. Jan Owen AM, the CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians and YLab, the global youth futures lab, was the convenor and she expertly tied the contributions of speakers and panel members to the research currently being undertaken by FYA. Jan was joined by keynote speakers, among them Old Grammarian Jacqui Savage: Founder and Director MedCorp Technologies, Professor Richard Elmore: Harvard Graduate School of Education and Mr Ross Dawson: Futurist.
The feedback below is representative of the beneficial nature of the conference to all delegates who attended:
“The work of @MGGS_CEE is the most exciting I’ve seen in Aus. This conference has been fundamental in shifting ideas.”
“Very positive experience and pleased to have the opportunity to hear such well informed and well researched speakers.”
We continue to be very proud of our role in leading the conversation on the future of Schooling and the future of our young people beyond their schooling experience. We are delighted that the CEE Conference has created a platform for like-minded schools and educators and look forward to it continuing to grow in significance.
Given the opportunity to bring drone technology to MGGS, I was keen to ensure the girls and our wider community take advantage of this technology. It certainly featured throughout STEM Week. Our Director of STEM, Mr Ivan Carlisle, and Student Enterprise Manager, Ms Renee Jackson, provided a terrific week-long schedule of empowering and engaging science, engineering and technology activities. We have an environment in which girls believe they can be scientists, coders, designers: we defy gender stereotypes by offering girls experiences and role models that promote self-belief and an expansive perspective on career possibilities. And lots of fun along the way!
Integral to a creative and compassionate experience of life is Music and Drama. Last week we enjoyed the variety of Classical Pops in Ross Hall and this week, the Senior Years Production A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The girls are so committed in their rehearsal and performance schedules and bring us much joy through consummate performances. Bravo to our musicians and best wishes to our actors. Click here to purchase a ticket.
Our sports girls continue to blaze their way through multiple disciplines. Our cross-country skiers competed at the Victorian Interschool’s Cross Country Championships over the first weekend of August. It was a great weekend with our girls competing against some of Victoria’s best Cross Country athletes. Well done to our Div 2, Div 3A and Div 4A teams who have all qualified for the Australian Nationals competition in early September. And good luck to all girls competing in this week’s Victorian Interschool’s Snowsports Championships at Mt Buller.
With an enormous team effort, our GSV Athletics squad qualified for the fiercely competitive Division 1 Carnival, to be held next week. It is worth noting the following division results:
– 3rd in Junior Division
– 1st in Intermediate Division
– 1st in Senior Division
MGGS finished first overall, and I congratulate the girls for their resilience, self-discipline and enormous school spirit!
I acknowledge the amazing achievement of Erin Garbler, Year 11, who is top 10 in the world, in the 100 and 200m, as a result of her extraordinary performances at the World Junior Para Athletic Championships in Switzerland. Humble in her approach to life, Erin simply returned from Switzerland and jumped back into life at MGGS. We are very proud of her athletic achievements, but even more so of her character, as an ethical woman of action!
Finally, the MGGS community mourns the passing of Old Grammarian, Rosemary Balmford AM (nee Norris, 1950). Rosemary’s career as lawyer, law lecturer and judge included significant milestones for the Victorian legal profession. In 1996, she was the first woman appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. MGGS will always be grateful for Rosemary’s contribution to our School and our Society.