Weekly Update 6 march

One of the most important roles for the School Board is to appoint a Principal. I am very pleased to inform you that the Board has just re-appointed Mrs Anne Coutts as Principal of CGGS until the end of 2020.

Since her initial appointment in 2011, Mrs Coutts has been most effective as Principal. Her leadership of the staff and students is strong. The School has a reputation as the pre-eminent school for girls in the region. It is well-respected and well known for its excellent results and its support for our diverse, yet cohesive School community. Student numbers, both for day and boarding students, remain consistently strong. Parent and staff surveys show overall satisfaction and ongoing contentment with the School.

The Board has just finalised a new five-year Strategic Plan to guide development and implementation of a number of exciting projects and developments. We look forward to working together with Mrs Coutts and the staff to bring them to reality in the coming years.

Belinda Moss
Chair of the School Board

This time last week we were launching our new digital platform Canvas. Since then we have had over 1300 logins which shows that parents are accessing this resource immediately.

PHOTO: The Canvas button is located in the top right-hand corner of the School website.

Parent feedback so far has been positive, you are finding Canvas easier to navigate and more intuitive than Studywiz. You are also appreciating the clarity and flexibility of diary entries.

One area of concern from a few parents has arisen over the buttons for Facebook, LinkedIn etc. Please be assured that these buttons are simply for you to select how you prefer to get notifications from the School. None of the data within Canvas can be accessed through Facebook etc, you can only login with your secure password through the Canvas portal. Any information within Canvas is secure and can not be seen by anyone but you as a parent. If you haven't received the information regarding accessing Canvas last week please contact e-Learning Coordinator, Eric Roussel eric.roussel@cggs.act.edu.au

I am pleased that the School Board has offered me a new contract which will enable me to stay at CGGS to continue to make some of our plans for the future reality. I have very much enjoyed being part of the School community and working in beautiful Canberra. I look forward to the School's continued progress over the next few years.

I will be in Hong Kong and Tokyo later this month and if you also happen to be in the area, it would be wonderful to see you at my Reception for the CGGS community in Asia. Please refer to the invitations in this Weekly Update under 'News' and contact Community Relations on communityrelations@cggs.act.edu.au for more information. 

Anne Coutts
Principal

Last weekend, our Women's Dragon Boat Team won the 18–24 years final at the Chinese New Year Regatta held at Darling Harbour on Saturday.

They had combined, earlier in the day, with CGS to win the mixed title and our second crew also reached the final in both events. The Chinese New Year Regatta is second only to the Australian Championships in attendance and standard of competition.

What struck me, in preparing to comment on the achievements of both our teams, was how reporting on the results, while important, so often does not do justice to the participants and their journey to a moment of achievement. Vanessa Ma, our 2014 Dux, spoke so beautifully earlier in the year about her family's support and the 'secret' to her success. The secret, for Vanessa, was not some extraordinary regime. It was in that she had chosen subjects she enjoyed, she worked to the best of her ability on each task and involved herself as much as she could in the life of the School—an insight into her journey over Year 11 and Year 12. In the relative simplicity of her approach was the powerful message for the current students.

The dragon boating successes were well-deserved and the crews can look to the Australian Championships, soon to be held in Perth, with confidence. The real story was about the importance of community reflected in the literally hundreds of competitors from an extraordinary range of towns and cities—coastal and rural from far and wide. The competitors also ranged in age from our crew of Year 11 and Year 12 students to the 'Grand Master' category.

The enthusiasm of family and friends supporting the efforts of their representatives was so warm and genuine. The need to be connected to a community and enjoy the ups and downs of the competitive moment was the real success of the event I felt. I see that same sense of community evident in the warmth of the CGGS environment.

Assessment task due dates are starting to arrive. I would encourage parents and guardians to keep talking to your daughter or daughters about what task is coming up and how they are going with their studies—the continual dialogue is so important. Having said that I believe the long weekend is an opportunity for family time, study time and a balance of leisure time.

Peter Milligan
Head of Senior School

Ngwao Letshwao performs for the Junior School.

CGGS is very proud of our community, and we comprise people who come from all parts of the world. With this comes a highly valued diversity and the offer of rich learning about cultures and traditions.  We had such an opportunity this week. The Junior School was privileged to have renowned Botswana dance group, Ngwao Letshwao perform on Monday morning in an energetic and exciting start to the week! 

Initiated by Ms Oratile Khama, who works for the Botswana High Commission and is also a member of our school community (and the mum of one of our students), the cultural performance included various ethnic dances of the different tribes in Botswana, as well as traditional musical instruments.

Students at all levels were enthralled and keen to participate in the dance moves, singing and clapping. We were delighted that so many from the High Commission came along, including the High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Molosiwa Selepeng.

Heather Ablett
Head of Junior School