Head of Campus update – 1 December 2016

As the end of Term 4 draws to a close, so does another successful year in the history of Berwick Grammar. Our Speech Night and Junior School Presentation Nights afforded us the opportunity to remember, reflect and celebrate the many successes and exceptional performances across all areas of the school and acknowledge the ongoing support we have received from you, our Berwick Grammar School community.

With the completion of VCE, I wanted to offer my personal congratulations and thank you to the Class of 2016. They leave us in the knowledge that their contribution to the proud history of BGS is complete. As a cohort they have demonstrated commitment to their studies and the way they worked together as a group has been terrific. They have shared friendships, demonstrated strong leadership and commitment to community service. They should be very proud of what they have achieved. They have and always will be a significant part of the history of this school and all that it has become.

As our Year 6 boys graduated from Junior School, I would like to extend my congratulations to them on completing their Junior School education. As you graduate you are about to embark on the next stage of your educational journey with us. I hope that over the course of you secondary schooling that you will be empowered to embrace all of the challenges and opportunities that will come your way and be inspired to achieve extraordinary things. Be proud of what you have achieved, who you have become and all of the things that you are yet to accomplish.

This year we bid farewell to three staff members. Ms Lina Wei, Chinese and Mr Kevin Graham, Learning Support Assistant and Ms Lara Dresser, Year 6 teacher. On behalf of the staff, students and Berwick Grammar School community I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to them for the contribution they have made to the school and for the enthusiasm and passion by which they have taught and supported our boys. I thank them and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

It gives me great pleasure to confirm the following positions of responsibility at Berwick Grammar School for 2017.

Deputy Head of School (Administration) Mr Scott Chittenden
Deputy Head of School (Wellbeing) Ms Lauren Cook

Year Level Coordinators
Year 6/7 Mrs Kate Jackson
Year 8 Ms Alice Carlisle
Year 9 Mr Andrew Lardner
Year 10 Mr Darragh Howard
Year 11 Mr Anthony Smith
Year 12 Mr Mark Dunstan

House Coordinator Miss Zoe Clark
House Convener (Battye) Mr Dennis Rodwell
House Convener (Forsyth) Ms Theodora Vrakatselis
House Convener (Richards) Ms Debbie-Rae Cameron

Sport Coordinator Mr Nicholas Bruton
Cultural Coordinator Mr Sean Pieper
HPV Coordinator Mr Andrew Lardner

Assessment and Reporting Administrator Mr Laurie McDonald

During 2016 the school undertook a review of all Head of Department positions. From the review a decision was made to change from Heads of Department to Leaders of Learning. This change was to reflect our alignment with the Australian Curriculum and F-10 Victorian Curriculum Learning Areas. It also enabled a more strategic focus for our school in accordance with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

The Leaders of Learning are:

Leader of Art and Design Technologies Mr Damien Bell
Leader of English Mr Nigel Jones
Leader of Health and Physical Education Mr Nick Simpson
Leader of Humanities and Social Sciences Ms Theodora Vrakatselis
Leader of Languages Miss Kristen Turner
Leader of Learning Diversity Mrs Glenda Clarke
Leader of Mathematics Ms Debbie-Rae Cameron
Leader of Performing Arts Mrs Robyn Hambly
Leader of Sciences Mr Dennis Rodwell

I would like to thank you for your on-going support and commitment to Berwick Grammar this year, as we have journeyed together in 2016. I wish you all a well-deserved, relaxing festive season and look forward to your safe return in 2017. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Mr Charles Swanepoel
Head of Berwick Grammar School