1. education
2. school

ALPHA NEWS
TERM 4 ISSUE 6
FRIDAY 14th NOVEMBER
EXCELLENCE
ENDEAVOUR
THIS COMING WEEK
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Year 5 & 6 Tennis
Yer 5 Bike Ed
Primary iPad session
6pm in the 3/4 area
WEDNESDAY
Year 1 & 2
Swimming
THURSDAY
PP-Prep swimming
Year 3 & 4
Tennis
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
INTEGRITY
RESPONSIBILITY
CREATIVITY
DIVERSITY
RESPECT
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
MOVEMBER BREAKFAST
I was delighted to see close on 200 people gathered recently to support our
fundraising efforts aimed at raising funds towards prostate cancer research.
I want to express my sincere thanks to all who were able to support our
major fundraiser, aimed at raising awareness about all men’s health matters.
I hope you all had a chance to see the wonderful set up, even if you were
not able to join us. We raised over 5,000 dollars on the morning.
A successful event like the Movember breakfast doesn’t happen without a
massive amount of work by many people over many months. In some ways,
securing a speaker the calibre of Ange Postecoglou was easier than all the
work that went into the background planning and execution of the event on
the day.
In particular, I was to thank our staff, Mrs Tracey Nicholson, Mrs Anna
Vayenas, Mrs Georgia Mavropoulos and Ms Kathey Coumaros who
have been part of the steering committee for many months now. Together
with Mrs Pauline Sistanis, our Office Manager and Mrs Sophie Doyle,
School Registrar and my Personal Assistant who have taken the brunt of all
marketing, ticketing, invitations and enquiries for the event and to
Mr Rowan Evans for ensuring that the “grunt power” we needed was in
place while still running a school. I extend a special thanks to
Mr Michael Sistanis whose auctioneering expertise and passion for the
cause helped us raise $2,500 at the live auction.
Jubillee Christmas Market
11am - 8pm
T EL: + 61 3 9 4 97 47 7 7
FA X : + 61 3 9 4 97 3 47 9
Old Heidelberg Road Alphington 3078
i n f o @ a g s .v i c . e d u . a u
w w w. a l p h i n g t o n .v i c . e d u . a u
Our dedicated parent committee members along the way, included PFA President, Mr Peter
Nikolakakos, Mr George Doukas, Mrs Tania Thodis and Mrs Popi Papadakis, ensured we
were not going it alone. The work on the PFA is tireless. We had a stream of staff, students
and parents help set up, serve on the day and clean up. Thank you to Mrs Voula Allimonos,
Mrs Roula Lostrom, Mrs Liz Nikolakakos, Mrs Margaret Fullard, Mrs Cavell Zangalis,
Mrs Maxi Tsibidis and Miss Alexandra Papadakis who helped the steering committee get
the look and outcome we were after.
Thank you to the School Business Manager, Mr Manual Pappos, for organising the
sponsorship of the billboard and photographer. I thank Mrs Josie Walta for all the posters
and banners while Mr Joe Damico, our Maintenance Man, was here very early to set up for
car park duty having spent days before ensuring table cloths were cleaned and the furniture
was in place both front and back of house.
The 2015 student leaders and some of the departing school committee members also lent
a hand on the day, arriving at 7am to serve meals to our guests while Miss Eva Doukas (8,
Socrates) and Mr Andy McGarvie, one of our music staff who entertained and helped gently
wake up the crowd before official proceedings took place. Thank you to Ms Jacinta Shannon
and Mr Jack Mithen who support us in all these public events.
I thank all our sponsors, but particularly thank Mr Simon Mavropoulos from Terry’s Tortes
and Treats who donated all the breakfast pastries and to Woolworths Ivanhoe who donated
the orange juice and bottled water for everyone.
Thank you everyone for making us such a strong school we can all be proud of.
ART SHOW
This week’s Art Exhibition saw more than 500 people gather in the Andrianakos Centre to view
more than 250 pieces of Art and sculpture.
The warm Spring evening saw families enjoy the art works while enjoying the BBQ and
refreshments supplied by the Parents and Friends Association. Thank you to Mr Sam
Papadakis who, again, played Master Chef on the BBQ and thank you to Mr Peter
Nikolakakos and his wife Mrs Liz Nikolakakos and Mrs Popi Papadakis for their hard work
in providing the refreshments throughout the evening.
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
I congratulate all students who have worked so hard to complete their piece of Art work and
add to the richness of all the work on display and thank all our classroom teachers for their
creativity and guidance of our students. The Creative Arts and, in particular, the Fine Arts,
helps our students develop tremendous skills, confidence and is a great vehicle for students to
explore and have fun while learning.
It is terrific that this year we have had Ms Nitsa Katsambanis set up a designated Primary
School Art facility and support the classroom teachers in their pursuit of excellence in the
Arts. It is with great pleasure I announce that Ms Katsambanis has agreed to dedicate the
next phase of her professional life to the creative Arts in our School and will now work full time
as an Arts specialist in both the primary and secondary years to work alongside Mrs Alex
Kimonides, co-ordinator of the secondary Arts program. I also take this opportunity to thank
Mrs Kimonides and the secondary students for the VCA Art and Studio Arts exhibition on
display during this week’s Art Show.
The Art Exhibition is very much part of Alphington Grammar culture and the driving force
behind it all is Mrs Tracey Nicholson, Assistant Principal – Head of Primary School.
Mrs Nicholson’s passion, creativity, energy and intellect make it an absolute pleasure to be
part of this school and to watch the depth and breadth of opportunities open to our students.
Nothing seems to phase her or diminish her enthusiasm for providing all our students and
families the very best in their learning journey.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenerary, marking
100 years since Australia’s involvement in the First Wolrd War
(2014 – 2018). In 2015, there will be a large number of activities
commemorating 100 years since the Anzac Gallipoli landing.
5000 Poppies is an exciting and ambitious nationwide grass
roots community tribute of respect and remembrance, and all
crafters across Australia have been invited to participate in this
meaningful and heartfelt project.
The aim is to “plant” a massive field of handmade poppies
in Federations Square, Melbourne, on Anzac Day 2015 as a
stunning visual tribute to Australian servicemen and women
for more than a century of service in all wars, conflicts and
peacekeeping operations.
This week, as part of our Remembrance Day service, the Year
7 and 8 students gave us a sneak preview of the Alphington
Grammar School poppy project. Led by Mrs Krystine Justice,
one of our secondary Art Teachers, the students have spent time
thinking about symbolism, colour and how best to represent the
different groups involved in the WWI campaign. The project will
continue until the end of the year. Students, parents, teachers,
grandparents or anyone from our School community who would
like to add a poppy to our compilation is welcome to do so.
Please be in contact with the school office and leave a message
for Mrs Justice. The Alphington Grammar ‘Poppies’ project will
be sent to the official committee by the end of the year so that it
becomes part of the 100 year celebrations of the ANZACS.
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
JUBILEE CHRISTMAS MARKET
I provide forward warning of our Christmas Market on Saturday
22nd November. This promises to be a fun day with lots of things to
see, buy and experience. With over 30 stall holders displaying their
creative talents, the unveiling of the Jubilee Collaborative Art Piece,
music, food stalls, adult drinks and lots of crafts, this promises to
be a wonderful day for those that can drop in for a while.
Please work this date into your calendars.
GREEK WEEK
As mentioned in last weeks newsletter the highlight of the recent
Greek Week was a visit from Professor George Contogiorgis.
He is a graduate of Law at the University of Athens and obtained
his PhD from the University of Paris. Dr Contogiorgis is a Professor
of Political Science at Panteion University of Athens. Professor
Contogiorgis was in Melbourne to deliver a series of lectures on
issues of languages and identity.
All W
Jubilee
Christmas
Market
Saturday 22
November
11am - 8pm








Jumping Castle - Bungie Run - Rock Climbing
Live music all day
Back to the Future’s DeLorean Time Machine
Market Stalls - Photo booth
Artwork for sale
Barbeque
Alcohol - Soft drinks
Coffee - Cakes
OUTDOOR CINEMA....Bring a rug & picnic basket and enjoy
the beautiful grounds of Alphington Grammar School
18 Old Heidelberg Road, Alphington. Ph 9497 4777
In the photo below Professor Contogiorgis is pictured together
with Dr Tsolakis and Professor Tassos Tamis and senior
students and staff of Alphington Grammar School.
Dr Vivianne Nikou
PRINCIPAL
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
elcom
e
FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - HEAD OF PRIMARY
ART SHOW
On Tuesday night we saw the culmination of many weeks of preparation by
students and teachers alike as we celebrated our Art Show in the Andrianakos
Centre.
Every year the art on show is different, and that’s just how it should be, as
the inspiration each year is different. Our theme this year was ‘Connections’
and the teachers guided students to connect to something or someone. The
connections that were explored varied…from history, to artists, to feelings
to books….the range was enormous and the results were amazing. As well
as a variety of themes, there were also many different art forms and media
showcased. These included photography, construction, textiles, clay, painting,
crayon and paint wash, paint masking and much more. We were also happy to
showcase the work of our VCE students and their work was reflective of their
considerable talents and of experience built up over many years.
There were many highlights of the evening. As well as having the Primary
Choir sing at the official opening at 7.00pm, throughout the evening we were
treated to many individual performances by instrumental music students
from the Primary School. This all added to the wonderful atmosphere of the
evening.
Another highlight was the ‘make and take’ area this year which featured
‘Sand Art’. I had many parents tells me that they themselves had great fun
(if not even more than the children!) creating a sand pattern or layering sand in
a bracelet or bottle, so I am chalking this one up as ‘connecting to childhood’.
Finally, our photo booth was a great hit as well. Children and adults alike
dressed up using props and came away with a terrific photo strip memento
of the occasion. Danielle and Adam Lichoudaris, who ran the booth, tell
me they took more photos in 2 hours at the Art Show than they did in 2 whole
days at the comic fair at the Exhibition Centre, so well done AGS students for
making the most of the opportunity!
I would like to thank all our Primary School teachers and the music
department for their hard work and also the Secondary art department.
We are also grateful to the PFA for their continued sponsorship of the Art
Show and for their delicious sausage sizzle. Thanks also to the front office
for helping with envelopes and arrangements. A huge thank you to all our
parents who were able to come along and support us on the night and to
those generous people who bid on the silent auction items, and of course to
those who couldn’t make it but purchased the artwork.
Now, I wonder what our theme will be for next year?................
Tracey Nicholson
Assistant Principal,
Head of Primary
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
ICAS 2014 MATHEMATICS COMPETITION
Results are in for this years ICAS Maths
Competition and once again we are thrilled
with the performance of Alphington Grammar
Students. Fifty-seven Alphington Grammar
students in total participated. Congratulations to
the following students for their excellent results:
High Distinction
Isabella Murtagh Merit
Year3 Distinction
Zander Roumeliotis
Year 3
Karthiga Sahathevan
Year 3
Stefan Katris
Year 3
Adam Patane Year 3
Marcos Fatouros
Year 3
Harrison Preiss
Year 4
Mia Mazzarella
Year 4
Jonathan Potiamianos
Year 6
Victoria Liodakis
Year 4
William Roumeliotis
Year 5
Credit
Lilla Kaptay
Year 3
Alexander Moses
Year 3
Jem O’Toole
Year 3
Thomas Kipouridis
Year 4
Ethan Maratheftis
Year 4
Valente Mavropoulos
Year 4
Terrence Mavropoulos
Year 4
Chris Trlin
Year 4
Alex Trlin
Year 4
Louis Dimopoulos
Year 4
George Sakkas
Year 6
Angelica Angsiting
Year 6
Christopher Seoud
Year 6
Christie Katris
Year 6
Dianne Downey
Primary IT/ Numeracy Coordinator
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
YEAR 3 OXI DAY PROJECTS
Oxi day is the day when the Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas
said oxi no to the Italian ambassador because they wanted to enter
Greece. To me oxi day represents freedom and independence.
Nicholas Filiopoulos yr 3B
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
CAREERS ROOM NEWS
University of Melbourne Engineering and IT
The Melbourne School of Engineering hosted the Programming Challenge 4 Girls (PC4G) this program
offers Year 9 girls interested in computing, the opportunity to experience the fun of programming at this
annual event. The students that attended were Catherine Zissis (Year 9 Socrates) and Emily Williamson
(Year 9 Byron) with Mr Adams, they had the opportunity to learn to program with ALICE, in an environment
that has the very high-tech facilities. The girls enjoyed the day very much, meeting girls from many other
schools who are also interested in IT/Engineering.
For all the year 12 students completing their exams, lots of luck and a reminder that you must register to
get your results via SMS, a separate email has gone out with the instructions. I will be at school on the
morning of the 15th of December, and most of that week for Change of Preference (COP), good luck and
see you on Monday the 15th of December from 9 o’clock onwards.
To all other families the Careers newsletter will be back again next year keeping you all informed and up to
date on Career pathways, Tertiary entrance requirements, careers expos and many more news items, best
wishes to you all for a safe and happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Eleni Mallis
Professional Careers Practitioner
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
MAC Shortcut Keys
Taking screenshots
Use these shortcuts to take a picture of what you see on your screen. You can also use Grab to take
screenshots, an app located in the Utilities folder.
Key combination
What it does
Command-Shift-3
Capture the screen to a file
Command-Shift-Control-3
Capture the screen to the Clipboard
Command-Shift-4
Capture a selection of the screen to a file, or
press the spacebar to capture just a window
Command-Shift-Control-4
Capture a selection of the screen to the
Clipboard, or press the spacebar to capture just
a window
LOOKOUT FOR MORE HELPFUL HINTS EACH WEEK
Rajen Chetty
Head of Learning Technologies
School Bus
Please contact the School
Office if you would like more
information about the AGS
School Bus Service or to apply
for the 2015 school year.
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
This week we have been concentrating on practising all the skills required for T-ball.
We started with some catching, throwing and fielding with our partner, then using the
T-stands to practise the correct swing used in T-ball and then finishing with a game of T-ball.
Each of the grades embraced the activities very well. The preps enjoyed working with a
partner and came up with all sorts of ways to use our spikey, pimple balls. The year 2s
particularly loved the hitting practise and to try hard not to adopt a chopping action but more
of a smooth swing. The year 3s and 4s were very interested in the game and learned some
strategies as to where to hit the ball to give yourself the greatest chance of getting to the
base safely.
We have enjoyed some wonderfully mild weather although with all of our activities we do get
warm and need to remove jumpers and jackets. If these items are labelled they will always
stay with their owners. Thank you for your cooperation in this.
Adrienne Bishop
Junior Physical Education Specialist.
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
NORTHERN METROPOLITAN REGION CHAMPIONS!
On Wednesday, 12 November our Primary Girls
Softball team undertook their next step in their
State Championship journey. The girls and Mrs
Lynn travelled to the Mill Park Softball Complex
to compete in the School Sport Victoria Northern
Metropolitan Region Championship. For the
team to have reached this level was a terrific
effort and the girls were excited and determined
to do their best.
Our first pool game was against Epping Primary
School, a tough start with Alphington losing 4 – 11,
the girls were a little nervous and did not play at
their best.
In order to ensure a place in the finals we had to win
our second game against Oak Park Primary School,
in the break the girls refocussed and determined to
give it their best shot, which they did. After a tight
start they out performed Oak Park and finished
strongly with an 11 – 2 win.
This gave us a place in the crossover final playing
Goonawarra Primary School, the first place getters
in the opposite pool. The girls were really starting to
hit their straps, batting and fielding effectively and
came out 13 – 8 winners.
The grand final saw us facing up to Epping again.
The team was really keen to take them on for the
second time and see if they could come out on top.
The game was very close with both teams playing
at a very high standard, scoring was difficult due to
high quality fielding. Alphington needed two runs to
win in the final innings. Both teams were determined
to finish as Northern Metropolitan Region premiers
but due to some terrific batting and base running
Alphington scored the required runs with only one
out. Outstanding effort by our girls.
Congratulations to the team and their coach
Mrs Gillian Lynn.
The team now moves onto to the School Sport
Victoria State Championship Jells Park Softball
Complex on Friday, 21 November, we wish them
luck. Go girls!
Stephen Spiby
Head of Primary Sport and Outdoor Education
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
All W
Jubilee
Christmas
Market
elcom
Saturday 22
November
11am - 8pm








Jumping Castle - Bungie Run - Rock Climbing
Live music all day
Back to the Future’s DeLorean Time Machine
Market Stalls - Photo booth
Artwork for sale
Barbeque
Alcohol - Soft drinks
Coffee - Cakes
OUTDOOR CINEMA....Bring a rug & picnic basket and enjoy
the beautiful grounds of Alphington Grammar School
18 Old Heidelberg Road, Alphington. Ph 9497 4777
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14
e
Entertainment, music and karaoke
provided by BOP TIL YOU DROP
$10 entry fee includes a drink, snack and glowstick.
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS DISCO
Friday 28th November
Andrianakos Centre
6.00pm-8.00pm
Open to all AGS Primary School Students
from Pre-Prep to Year 6
Entertainment, music and karaoke provided by ‘Bop ‘til you Drop’
$10 entry fee includes a drink, snack and glowstick.
Parents welcome to wait outside and buy a snack
Parents welcome to waitand
outside
buy a snack
and relax
at tables in school grounds.
relaxand
at tables
in school
grounds.
Dress for Christmas Fun! Tickets available soon.
Surprise
Visitor….who
willTickets
it be??????????????
Dress
for Christmas
Fun!
availabe soon.
Surprise visitor....who will it be???????
Information on how to obtain tickets will be sent home next week
T E R M 4 I S S U E 6 │ F R I D AY 14 th N O V E M B E R 2 0 14