From the Vice Principal – Dr Middleton – 15 February 2019

A wonderfully warm and hearty welcome to all Berwick Grammar School families at the start of 2019. A particularly strong welcome to families joining us here for the first time. This is a wonderful community and one that thrives on the quality of people it attracts.

May I just say that it has been an extremely smooth start to the academic year and I thank you all for your tremendous support in ensuring that little touches of haircuts, uniforms, shiny shoes and punctuality have been evident.

We start the year on a real high – tremendous VCE results, lots of fresh enrolments and some outstanding new staff. We are well on the way to achieving our vision of being a great school.

Great schools are comprised of great people, and I am just so proud of the wonderfully dedicated group of people that create out learning community.

At our most recent assembly I used the initial quote from the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu as a starting point for our year. I talked to the boys about the rise and rise of the New England Patriots, Super Bowl champions yet again. We had talked earlier about the successful NFL team and how they became the ultimate champion team through preparation, persistence and operating under pressure. An absolute focus for the team is on preparation – whether it be analysing opponents, physical conditioning or game simulation. Preparation is the key to their success.

So too is preparation essential in schools, learning and personal growth. The most important for the start of the school year is preparation and my thanks are with the dedicated team of educators, administration staff and facilities colleagues who have ensured that all the things students need for a smooth start were in place. Preparation is also so important for your son’s learning – ensuring that he is disciplined, well organised and ready for each school day by spending some time the evening before to check uniform, school bag and schedule.

We are well and truly prepared for a great year at Berwick Grammar School.

Staffing News
We have been blessed with the quality of teachers joining our team. An incredible mix of experience, expertise and energy is evident in our new teachers and staff, including Mr Ron Ruzzier (English/Growing Good Men Project), Mrs Fiona Foreman (Humanities), Mr Peter Bennett (Music/Drama), Mrs Nicole Berrell (Humanities), Mr Jose Rault (French/Mathematics/Science) and Mrs Maree Tenant (Science Tech).

As we welcome these wonderful new colleagues, it is with sadness that I inform our community that after 15 years of outstanding service at St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School, Mrs Susanne Tozer will be retiring from our School and her current role as my wonderful and erstwhile EA. Mrs Tozer will be greatly missed by staff, students and families and we wish her every rich blessing as she contemplates life on the Sunshine Coast. I will personally miss Mrs Tozer’s dedication, professionalism and passion for all things Berwick Grammar School.

Dr Steven Middleton
Vice Principal and Head of the Senior Schools