From the Head of Senior Boys – 19 September 2019

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is to work with young student leaders, in particular the Student Representative Council.  The last two weeks of term have really been action-packed with student-led social service initiatives.

Friday 6 September was a school-wide Footy Colours Day to raise money for kids with cancer.  It was wonderful to see so many boys wear their colours and donate a gold coin to this worthy cause.  We also held a best-dressed competition in each house and the winners were Evan Johnson, Alex Milas and Dion Selimi.  There were a couple of footy-themed lunchtime challenges as well, all of which were taken out by Battye with Text Marsham winning the longest kick, and Veton Maliku keeping the soccer ball of the ground for 29 juggles.  Thanks to SRC and Year 12 Captain Sam Chipperfield for running these activities.

On this same day, we held a BBQ to support the social service trip to Thailand.  The four boys pictured were instrumental in setting up and running the barbecue.  A special thanks goes to Year 11 students Angus Bares, Trent Mitchell and Kurt Caddy for their leadership and generosity of time here.  They are all training up Year 8 student Amir Ali so that BBQs –our most popular fundraiser – can continue smoothly after they graduate in just over a year’s time.

In Week 9, we celebrated RU Ok Day by wearing yellow and completing special activities in Mentor time.

In the final week of school we are supporting The Great Book Swap, a day that raises finds and awareness for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.  On this day, boys bring a book to swap and a gold coin, and go home with something new to read.  Readers certainly are Leaders here at Berwick Grammar!

And finally, many of our senior boys have signed up to our major social service project in early Term 4 – the Melbourne Marathon.  St Margaret’s girls and Berwick Grammar School boys work together to man a water station to give much needed relief to runners of the day.  Each volunteer also raises $100 for the JMB Foundation, a Foundation which does crucial work for young people with acquired brain injuries, often due to what has become known as the “coward punch”.

These moments and this work speak volumes about the character of the young people we work with and are perhaps the best measure of the work of our school to Grow Good Men.

Ms Lauren Cook
Head of Senior Boys, Wellbeing