From Launceston Church Grammar School’s earliest days, we have been committed to providing excellent education opportunities for students. During the first four week of our 175th year, we have held true to this in a myriad of ways.
Advances with Aviation
On 12 February, a new and inspiring Aviation space was opened at the Senior Campus. The space includes a dedicated workshop for the build of an RV-12 Vans Aircraft and drones. An advanced flight simulator room houses six connected simulators to allow students to apply the theory they have learned and to see how Science and Mathematics comes together in the context of aviation. Alumni who visit the Aviation space have remembered fondly having woodwork or art classes in the space and I am sure future generations of students will look on their aviation studies with similar fondness.
With notable alumni including Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh, co-founder of Qantas, David Warren, creator of the black box flight recorder, and Victor and Ivan Holyman, co-founders of Holyman’s Airlines, later to become part of Australian National Airlines and Ansett-ANA, aviation is very much a part of the School’s heritage, and now its future.
Scholarship Opportunities
Young people from across Tasmania and beyond who are interested in aviation are encouraged to consider applying for an Aviation Scholarship for 2022. Scholarship applications close on 1 March 2021 and extend beyond Aviation to include other areas such as Entrepreneurship, Music, Visual Arts, Drama, Dance, Public Speaking and Debating to name a few. Applications for scholarships are open to students from Grade 4 to Grade 11 and further information is available on our Scholarships page. I encourage you to share this information with friends and family who might not be aware that the closing dates for day and boarding scholarships is quite early in the school year.
Alumni Artist Ryllton Viney
An equally exciting and heart-warming event was the opening of Poimena Gallery’s first exhibition for 2021, The Sorrow of Black The Silence of White 1970-2020. On display until 4 March is a collection of close to one hundred pieces of art by Rylton Viney, a former student, staff member and esteemed artist. With exhibitions continuing to be held throughout the year in Poimena, I hope all alumni might able to come along to at least one gallery opening in 2021. A programme outlining the Poimena Gallery exhibitions for 2021 can be found on our Performing and Creative Arts page.
Pavilion Renewal
The Sir Gordon Rolph Memorial Pavilion was opened in 1961 by Robert Menzies and over the last sixty years has served our cricket and football teams well. To ensure the Pavilion continues to be fit for purpose for another sixty years, the space will be renewed over the next two months. The history of Cricket and Football at the School will continue to be on display in the space and a scorer’s table will be made from the old floorboards which are being replaced as decades of studded shoes has worn them down. The rear end of the building is where the majority of work will occur so that change rooms lead on to separate toilets and showers for each team and visitor toilets are separate from student facilities. As plans for the renewal have been developed there has been consultation with staff, students and alumni and when the 1st XI Cricket team were recently shown the final plans there was significant enthusiasm for the work that will be undertaken over the coming weeks.
Sporting Success
While a large focus of our sports programme is on helping students learn how to be healthy throughout their life, many of our students have been excelling individually and collectively. Our 1st XI Cricketers have won the first three games of the season and have defeated St Patrick’s, Hutchins and Guilford Young. This weekend (Saturday 27 February) the 1st XI play Scotch Oakburn at Launceston Grammar with the game starting at 10:00am.
Student involvement in rowing continues to grow and alumni are invited to attend the Head of the River at Lake Barrington on Saturday 13 March. Our rowing crews are to be congratulated on their recent performance at the Launceston and Henley Regatta where, despite some windy conditions, our crews were awarded trophies for winning Division 1 in the U14, U15, U16 and coxed quad scull events. Students also won the U19 mens quad and double and U19 womens quad at the State Championships last week with the School also being awarded the Schools’ Pennant for the 2020-21 season.
For some of our student’s football training is already underway and Kara Hennessy and Zoe Bourne are to be commended for their selection in the Tasmanian Devils football team.
All students at the School have participated this term in House Swimming Carnivals with Wilkinson House winning the day at the Senior Campus and Lyttleton-Hewton winning the day at the Junior Campus. Students are fortunate to have two mornings a week to attend the School’s indoor heated swimming pool for general fitness, intensive carnival training or team recovery sessions.
Beyond the Classroom
Already this year, Grade 7 have had their first Outdoor Education trip to Hanleth where I was impressed by how quickly students had made new connections and were bravely embracing the challenges that are part of Launceston Grammar’s outdoor education programme. It has also been great to see Grade 3 designing and making in the Technology Centre, Grade 5 out at a robotic dairy as part of their unit of inquiry on how the production of commodities drives human consumption, Grade 6 participating in a special team building walk and Grade 12 Agriculture students observing a Southern Systems plant trial at Cressy. As a School we are committed to leveraging the unique opportunities which are possible from our location in Northern Tasmania and I am grateful that staff continue to seek out new ways for this to occur.
Grade 12 Walkathon
For the School’s 58th Walkathon, Grade 12 have chosen to focus their awareness and fundraising efforts on the Cancer Council. As a grade, cancer has had a significant impact on them and I look forward to seeing the whole School community learn more together about how we can support individuals and families through the pain and loss cancer brings to communities. If you are in Launceston, Grade 12’s first fundraising events is the Acoustic Night held this Friday night at 5:30pm in the Quad at the Senior Campus. Food and drinks will be available and tickets ($5 child / $10 adult) are available at the gates. If you are in Launceston and looking for a relaxed and inspiring evening, do come along and support a great cause and wonderful students.
Alumni Reunions
A lockdown in Western Australia during February prevented the reunion scheduled for February going ahead. This was disappointing given close to thirty people had registered to attend. The Western Australia Reunion has been rescheduled for Friday 19 March and I look forward to attending with Mr Ben Clark from the Community Engagement Team. Bookings can be made for this event by contacting Brian Coogan (briancoogan47@gmail.com or 0417171092). In early June we are also planning reunions for Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra alumni and we look forward to sharing more detail around these events closer to the day.
175th Anniversary Events
If you have not already visited the 175 Anniversary page on the School’s website dedicated to the School’s 175th anniversary, I encourage you to have a look . Recently, a number of the key events scheduled for June were added to the page. Please check out what is planned during 2021 on our School Calendar page and put some of the key dates in your diary now, particularly the Generation Breakfast (18 May), Melbourne Reunion (11 June), 175 Cocktail Gala (19 June), Founders’ Day Service (20 June).
Richard Ford
Headmaster