The Dragon | Edition 17 | 3 December 2021

Edition Seventeen 3 DECEMBER 2021

THE DRAGON

Know le d g

e Faith S e r v

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FORTNIGHTLY NEWS AND EVENTS FOR ST GEORGE’S PARENTS

From the Principal Tina Campbell

Where has the year gone?

My sincere thanks go to all our musicians and their families who were in attendance during what was a wonderfully balmy evening as well as our Head of Performing Arts, Mr Michael Newton, our Music Administrator, Mrs Leanne Fowler and the many other staff who made sure the event was a huge success. It was a great way to conclude the year for our music concerts.

As we quickly approach the end of the school year there is a buzz of excitement in the air as we talk about final examinations, final assessments, final excursions, final reports, final PCG sessions, final Chapels, the excitement of Presentation Evening and the highlights that Freedom Fest will bring to all within the School to conclude the 2021 academic school year. We even have Christmas carols playing throughout the school and the wonderful tunes of the Yagan Square Sunset Concert remain in our ears from what was another sensational celebration of the many talents of our musicians last Friday night.

There is still much to occur in the cycle of the St George’s school year, but we are beginning to celebrate all our many fine achievements throughout 2021 and looking forward to all that 2022 will hold for us collectively as a School Community. Mr Hardman and I enjoyed an early morning breakfast meeting with the 2022 Student Guild, and we are excited to hear of their plans and visions for 2022 and beyond. We hope that you are enjoying learning a little more about this delightful group of students through our recent Facebook posts.

In 2022 we will have the excitement of a new library being created within the school at 50 William Street under the direction of Dr. Annette Pedersen. We will welcome Ms Sharan Tagore in her new role as the APEx and Careers Coordinator to support our students selecting this pathway especially in our first year as part of the Murdoch University Flexi High Program. Mrs Deborah Kerfoot will begin her role as the Coordinator of Inclusive Education to 1

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support the academic wellbeing of all students within the school and Mr Alex Hanssen will also take on a new role as Coordinator of Technology with an emphasis on developing the increased use of technology across all curriculum areas as well as creating a range of programs to promote the concept of St George’s being viewed as a Technology Specialist School in the future. 2022 is indeed an exciting time to be a member of the St George’s School Community.

who have taught me daily that it takes ‘a village to raise a child’, to the students with whom I have shared so much fun and laughter along the way, they are indeed so very precious and I consider it both an honour and a blessing to share my days with them, and to the wonderful St George’s staff who understand that we constantly seek to inspire the future development and growth of all those within our care and that teaching is absolutely about educating the whole child – I am so very grateful to all of you.

As the weather begins to warm, attention to schoolwork fades and we consider all that the summer holidays will bring to us all with time away from the many regular routines and rigour of school life.

It is a time of refection allowing us to rest, recharge and reconnect.

I wish all students, staff, and the broader St George’s School Family a wonderfully happy, holy, and fun filled Christmas break.

I very much look forward to our last week together within the School and hope to see those able to attend Presentation Night on Wednesday evening at St George’s Cathedral.

God’s blessing in this festive season to you all,

This is the end of my first year as a new Principal and it would be remiss of me if I did not take a moment to thank all of you who have helped me in my journey – to our School Council who have been so patient and supported me, to the amazing parent community

Mrs Tina Campbell

Staffing Updates 2022

contributor to the co-curricular life of the School. I am hopeful that some of these things may even continue into her retirement.

Mrs Lazenby announces her retirement from the end of 2022

We will celebrate all that Mrs Lazenby has given to both the Anglican Schools Commission network of schools, St George’s Anglican Grammar School and education as a whole within Western Australia more fully next year.

Mrs Susan Lazenby has made the decision to retire from St George’s at the end of next year.

She will continue in her role as Acting Head of School Operations for Semester One and will then head into a period of long service leave prior to her retirement.

I wish her a wonderful retirement where she can unreservedly enjoy her beach walks, indulge her love of literature, and spend time with her precious family.

Susan has been involved in the Anglican School Commission Schools for many years. This year she was recognised for her 20 years of service ~ an exceptional accomplishment for any member of staff.

She has been a passionate teacher of English, a leader in Literature, an enthusiastic supporter of a wide array of school events and a keen

Mrs Gaile Racey has informed me that she will not be returning to St

George’s next year. Mrs Deborah Kerfoot who has replaced Mrs Racey whilst on long service leave will continue in her role in 2022 teaching Year 7 Maths and Ms Taryn Sephton will continue as Acting Head of Year 7 for 2022.

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Chaplain’s Corner

2021 has been a year of surprise and challenge. Our students and School community has changed so much this year, and we have learned a lot about our capacity to be welcoming and adaptable (it is excellent!). The fast approach of Christmas reminds me to celebrate not only the birth of Jesus, but also to give thanks for the continuous and merciful presence of God among us, abiding with us through the challenges and the triumphs, the gatherings, and the goodbyes.

This Advent season, as we come to terms with saying goodbye to 2021, we also need to say goodbye to those who are leaving St George’s and moving on to something new. This year I say my own goodbye to you all. I am very sad, but excited for the future. I have had the most wonderful Curacy of two years at St George’s Anglican Grammar School, and I will miss the staff and students so much. I am offering myself for Parish ministry but have not found a placement yet.

Keep me in your prayers!

Change is upon us!

This morning as we hurry through the last weeks of term, I am very conscious that change is upon us, even if we are not ready for it!

No matter what 2022 holds for us, we should remember that God is always with us, binding us together in a loving and divine community that defies time and space. I pray that God’s peace be with us all this Advent season, in the watching, waiting, and hoping for a bright and peaceful 2022.

In the Church calendar we are heading into Advent, which is a time of contemplation, and waiting. We are waiting to celebrate the birth of a baby that changed (and is still changing) the way that people viewed life, death, and all that happens in between, and beyond and before.

Before we come to the end of term, the beginning of the holidays, Christmas and New Year, it is good to look back at how we began, what we have been through and how far we have come.

My prayers are always with you.

Chaplain Sarah

School Operations Susan Lazenby

In preparation for the last week of school, there is time for students to check that they have all their possessions, and nothing is left behind.

The lost property will be on display for collection in the Cafeteria on Level 4 in Week 9 – parents are equally welcome to come and ensure there is nothing here that belongs to their household.

To make the last day of school easier, we encourage students to start taking home the books that they do not need for lessons during this week and clearing out their lockers. Lockers will be redistributed over the holidays and hence must be totally cleared by the last day of term.

Events for Week 9

On the last day of school we have our traditional Freedom Fest. At the start of the morning, we are checking lockers, returning locks, and making sure that classrooms are ready for the holidays. We then head off to Wellington Square for Sportzfest, a morning of interactive sport and games ably led by our wonderful PE Department. At lunchtime, the students walk to the Old Perth Girls School for an afternoon of music mayhem. Students can bring their own packed lunches or, if you haven’t done so already, order a lunch box here.

7 December 8 December

9 December

For the start of 2022 we have a variety of new events to meet the newest members of the St George’s family as well as to warmly welcome back our returning families! Please save these dates in your diaries as we look forward to your company.

Year 8 Excursion, WA Museum Boola Bardip Year 7-11 Presentation Evening, 6:00pm St George’s Cathedral. Compulsory for all students (winter uniform) The last day of Term!

Sportzfest in the morning and FreedomFest in the afternoon

Dates for the start of 2022

In addition, on Tuesday 25 January, we have a Senior Students’ Day for all Year 11 and Year 12 students where we will provide more formal information regarding the demands of Year 11 and 12, the academic dates that will be crucial to them and offer a range of advice and strategies to help them with their studies and to begin the year positively.

25 January

Senior Students’ Day for all Year 11 and Year 12 students in 2022.

26 January

Australia Day holiday

28 January

New Student Orientation (all NEW students Years 7-12) Students start Term 1

31 January 11 February

As the school year winds down, may you have a blessed Christmas, a glorious summer break and we shall see you in 2022.

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Year 12 Ball (Year 12 students may leave school at 12:00 noon)

Welcome Father Gift

ST GEORGE’S SUPERSTARS

With the completion of Rev Sarah Stapleton’s Curacy at the end of this year and her decision to take her next steps as an ordained priest into a parish in 2022, it is with much excitement that I announce the appointment of Father Gift Makwasha as our first full time Chaplain Father Gift as he prefers to be known!

Emily Shoebridge The winner of the 2021 Anglican School’s Commission (ASC) Christmas Card Design Competition was Year 9 student Emily Shoebridge. Emily’s design was selected from a range of submissions. Her digital artwork The Joy of Christmas is a symbol of connection and giving.

Father Gift Makwasha is currently the priest at Grace Anglican Church in Joondalup, a position he has loved since 2017. His name inspires him to be a ‘gift’ to the community which he serves, and this is precisely what he is looking forward to bringing to us at St George’s.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Father Gift is the father of four children. He was ordained a deacon in Harare in December 1995 and then a year later became a priest. He left Harare for the United States where he pursued further study and gained a Doctorate in Theology at Boston University.

He has been a School Chaplain before at an Anglican School in Harare and tells me that at 49 years of age he still only feels 25 because of his work with young people. Father Gift has not only been a parish priest but has also lectured at several colleges as Dean of Studies and been the Acting Principal of the Anglican seminary. As a father himself, he is thrilled to be returning to a school environment as our School Chaplain.

In joining St George’s, he intends to share the importance of the three P’s with students and staff – PRAYER, PLAY and PLAN. Father Gift has already spent a little time at the school meeting with both students and staff.

He has a diverse background and lots of genuinely interesting stories to inspire all members of our School Community to be the best version of themselves in this life. He firmly believes that your high school years are the very best days of your lives and hopes to support all to enjoy their time within the St George’s School Community.

Sadie Tibbitts Sadie, Year 9, is a St George’s music superstar!

Sadie is in the Swing Band, Flute Ensemble, Vocal Ensemble, Year 9 Rock Band, and she successfully auditioned for Select Choir. She was also recently in the Massed Choir and Concert Band for the ASC Concert. Sadie takes full advantage of all the amazing musical opportunities here at St George’s.

Family is pivotal to Father Gift and his various experiences and thinking have led him to see school as an integral part of what he sees as his family life. He is excited about the ‘sense of family and community’ that already exists here within the School and hopes to build on the many firm foundations that Rev Sarah has established.

Katherine Mullaney Congratulations to Katherine, Year 10, who has been selected as a student ambassador for the 2022 Premier’s Anzac Student Tour.

Katherine’s interest in Australian History and understanding of the Anzac legacy is to be commended. She is one of only ten students selected from Western Australia to attend the Tour. In 2022, the Tour will travel from Albany to Darwin between 16 and 26 April to commemorate the Anzac legacy in the context of nation building between the wars, and defence of the home front during World War II.

He will begin as our full time Chaplain in March 2022.

We look forward to following Katherine on her journey next year.

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Pastoral Focus

I want to end the year by thanking parents and students for their support of the World’s Greatest Shave, stationery collection, hygiene pack collection, Anglicare sleep out, and other events that help us to truly live by the schools underlying values of wisdom, grace and service.

Hilton Hardman

We look forward to adding to our Pastoral Program and refining what is such a crucial element to our student’s journey through school next year.

PREPARING TIPS FOR

GET ORGANISED FOR THE START OF SCHOOL When we talk to parents about why they choose to send their children to St George’s Anglican Grammar School, they frequently comment about the School’s high quality of pastoral care. We pride ourselves on the quality of relationships we have within our community, student to peer, teacher to student and parent to teacher. The collaborative nature of these very positive relationships plays a significant role in providing the best possible pastoral care.

GET YOUR ROOM READY Organise and rearrange your room and study space to make it a more effective learning area.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED?

Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that positive parent/ teacher relationships positively impact academic performance and student well being. The opportunity for us as a school to engage in ongoing, supportive, trusting and understanding relationships sends a clear message to our students and the value of education.

Sort out all your materials for School. Decide what to keep and how to organise your work or update your filing system.

During the Year 12 final assembly, the outgoing Head Girl and Head Boy had the following to say, “It is because of these experiences throughout High School that we can stand here right now, proud as can be. We have gone through this journey together, and all the good times we have had has brought us closer as a group and prepared us for what is to come. The friendships we have made will remain in our hearts for a long time to come. We are not just a class; we are a team. And today our team has earnt the championship”.

CREATE A TERM PLANNER Set up term planners for the year so you can map out your due dates when the year starts.

PLAN WHEN TO STUDY Set up a study timetable for the year so you have clear times allocated to complete your schoolwork during the week.

At the end of each year, when our Year 12 students graduate, it becomes clear that the bond between a small cohort is like no other. The bond is not only evident between students of the same year but through all year groups. To the Graduating class of 2021, we wish you well in the next chapter of your lives, stay true to who you are and be sure to come back and visit us often.

HONE YOUR SKILLS Think about building your skills in any areas of weakness or develop new skills such as touch typing.

From the start of this year, PCG reverted to a vertical format. It meant that each PCG would be made up of students in Year 7 to Year 12 from the same House. It has been an enormous success, and it is clear to see the students enjoy the format, with the majority of the incoming Students Guild referring to the fact that the one thing they loved about St George’s was the vertical PCG’s. This structure contributes to these bonds between students across year groups and not in isolation. It confirms the sense of community that makes St George’s so very special.

START READING If you can find out any of the novels you will be studying in the coming year, read them over the holidays.

Next year will see the continued growth of inter-year group activities and a greater emphasis on House identity and spirit. The Heads of House have some exciting things planned for the start of next term, including the introduction of House badges.

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Curriculum Update

achieves an overall average of 80% or greater for their overall semester mark and to be eligible a student must complete all assessment tasks for all subjects.

Year 7 – 11 Presentation Evening

Families of students in receipt of an award will be notified on Monday 6 December once all results have been finalised for the year. These families will then be invited to share in our Presentation Evening at the cathedral.

Victoria Kelleher

The Year 7 – 11 Presentation Evening will be held on Wednesday 8 December and is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our students throughout 2021. Special awards such as the Citizenship Award and the Endeavour Award along with academic acknowledgment through Attitude & Effort Certificates, Subject Excellence Certificates and Academic Achievement Certificates will be announced on the evening.

End of Year Reports Semester Two Reports will be available on SEQTA from Thursday 9 December 2021. As in previous years, staff have provided students with continuous feedback, supporting students with relevant and meaningful updates on their progress with the end of year report a culmination of this. Throughout the year, continuous feedback also provides our parents/guardians/carers with important insights into their child’s achievement, and I encourage you to read this report with your child, reflect on the year that has been and set new goals for the year to come.

Attitude & Effort Certificates

An Attitude & Effort Certificate is awarded to a student who has made huge efforts and maintained a positive attitude throughout the year in every subject having completed all tasks for all subjects.

A student who is awarded an Academic Excellence Certificate is not eligible to also receive an Attitude & Effort Certificate.

Thank You

Subject Excellence Certificates

To receive a Subject Excellence Certificate, a student must achieve 90% or greater for their final semester mark and be in the top 10% of students for their respective year. To be eligible the student must complete all assessment tasks for that subject.

As my time as Head of Curriculum comes to an end, I would like to thank the St George’s community for their unwavering support and kindness. The staff, families, and most importantly the students, have made my time here some of the best in my career and for that, I thank you. I leave you with the insightful words of the most contented and wise bear, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – Winnie-the-Pooh

Academic Excellence Certificates

An Academic Excellence Certificate is awarded to a student who

St George’s becomes the World’s newest Rotarians Today, St George’s Anglican Grammar School was proudly inducted as a corporate member of Perth Rotary.

Perth Rotary has members from many of WA’s leading businesses and organisations who all share a passion for making a difference to both the local and international community.

St George’s looks forward to connecting with a diverse group of professionals, making new friendships and volunteering for worthy causes and projects.

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Around the School

Art Masterclasses

Year 8 Rocks and Minerals

The Visual Art student’s Art Masterclasses started this week.

Workshops with Australian artists Anne Gee and Andy Quilty provide students an opportunity to work closely with practicing artists in a diverse range of art media.

Anne’s workshop focused on natural ink making using a wide range of natural and found materials to create handmade inks and pigments. Working collaboratively, students explored materials creating artworks in a broad range of colours. The objective was for students to explore through media testing then document their findings in their visual diary.

Recently the Year 8 students have been learning about rock identification. As part of these studies, we had a visit from Australian Earth Science Education (AusEarthEd) on Thursday, 25 November.

The students took part in some hands-on activities and learned about rock formation and categorising. Thanks to WASP, an initiative supported by Woodside and AusEarthEd, for an exciting incursion.

To finish off their studies in Rocks and Minerals, the Year 8s will attend an excursion to the Boola Bardip Museum on Tuesday, 7 December to explore the incredible display of rocks and minerals sourced from WA and around the world.

Andy’s session, next week, focuses on drawing and painting with students exploring mark making, colour and composition to improve their visual language. Exploring an intuitive approach to painting, students work through a series of creative problem solving strategies to create fascinating artworks in this one day workshop.

It has certainly been an exciting year for them.

Year 9 Forensics

Art certainly came to life in the Masterclass.

Chinese Lunch Excursion On 1 December, a large cohort of Year 7 and Year 9 Mandarin students eagerly strolled off to the Dragon Palace in Northbridge for a feast.

And what a delicious banquet it was! From steaming dumplings, tasty noodles, delicious spring rolls, prawn crackers and scrumptious fried rice, the students relished the opportunity to spin the “lazy susan” and delight their senses with an array of culinary delights. And of course, sharing laughter with friends was the highlight of the year in Mandarin.

With grateful thanks to Mrs De Witt for organising this wonderful opportunity to experience the food and culture, in a beautiful setting.

This term our Nobel Pathway Forensics Students have taken a more in-depth focus to forensics, studying DNA and producing DNA profiles to determine a parentage dispute. Students also learnt about blood spatter, and how blood evidence can be used to identify victims and suspects at crime scenes. We were teaching them the skills of CSI! The students have performed exceptionally well, learning skills that will transfer well into their Science studies in Year 10 and beyond.

I hope that they also found it enjoyable to determine ‘Who done it?!’

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Sounds@Sunset

Drama Showcase Last Tuesday evening, our Year 11 Drama students transported us back to the 1950’s streets of New York City, in their adaptation of West Side Story. Students performed this iconic piece on the rooftop in front of the city skyline to a public audience. It was outstanding!

There was singing, dancing, fight scenes, you name it!

Students were given the task of not only performing the piece, but they were also responsible for all of the production aspects as well. The direction, choreography, lighting plans, soundscapes, costumes, choreography, and props. It was a massive undertaking, but they rose to the challenge and performed a timely homage to the play’s composer and lyricist and Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim, who sadly passed away last weekend.

Last week the Sounds@Sunset Concert was held in Yagan Square. The Concert involved several student-created bands performing a song each to keep the masses entertained.

The large audience were enthralled with performances from the Jazz Band, Swing Band, Vocal Ensemble, Years 7-11 Rock Bands, Flute Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Imagine Unicorns (a band consisting of Year 7s playing their own original song), as well as a selection of soloists.

Past St George’s Music Captain, Ronan Dixon, also joined us, assisting as piano accompanist for some performances. It is always so lovely to welcome our ‘Grammarians’ back on stage.

The Concert was a great success. Congratulations to all staff and students who were involved. We look forward to returning to Yagan Square in 2022.

Year 7 Guest Speaker From the 1950’s in New York City to the pencil case of a seven-yearold, our Year 10 Drama students explored the idea of inanimate objects coming to life in the next performance of the night.

Throughout the semester, students had been writing an original drama based on this idea and last week they finally got to present it to their family and friends.

Yet another night of fantastic entertainment from our senior Drama students.

We thank all who attended the evening and look forward to seeing you all at our 2022 Drama events.

The Year 7s have embarked on a unique project at the end of Term 4. Miss Wilkinson and Ms Greener have planned a short unit on social issues in Perth, with a focus on the issue of homelessness.

This is an incredibly important issue to be looking at and links closely with St George’s values of kindness and service. The Year 7s have spent a week learning about statistics and possible solutions. We were very lucky to welcome guest speaker, Ms Valessi, a researcher at the University of Western Australian, to speak to the Year 7s last week. Ms Valessi has presented on the issue of homelessness at various conferences internationally. The students were able to gain a great deal of insight into the problem, with real life stories, data and a lively question and answer session.

St George’s would like to thank Ms Valessi and all the hard work the Year 7s are putting into this project.

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Term One 2022... Get ready for swimming!

Muso Profile

To start the 2022 Physical Education year, we will be diving into the swimming pools with our aquatic’s programs. All Years 7-10 students will be starting their 2022 PE Programme with Swimming at UWA for their PE lessons. Lock in these dates for early morning Swim Training at Trinity Swimming Pool, under the expert guidance from Western Sprint Coaches. Training takes place every Monday and Wednesday mornings at 6:30am.

Week 1

2 February 2022

Week 2

7 February 2022 9 February 2022

Week 3

14 February 2022 16 February 2022 17 February: Inter-House Swimming Carnival and Sync Swim, UWA Aquatic Centre

Week 4

21 February 2022 23 February 2022

Week 5

28 February 2022 2 March 2022

Week 6

9 March 2022 16 February 2022

Week 7

14 March 2022 16 March 2022

Harvey Miller

Instrument I currently play trombone, though I have played piano, bass, guitar, and vocals in the past as well.

What first got you interested in Music?

Music has been in my life for a while now. When I was six, I wanted to follow my brothers’ footsteps in taking piano lessons and singing in my primary school’s choir.

What’s the best thing about Music at St George’s?

My favourite thing about music at St George’s is the variety and opportunities that are available. There are also many genres of music to choose from - ranging from rock to jazz, and everything in between.

ACC E-Division Swimming Carnival is on Monday 21 March 2022. This is an exciting year, thanks to all our past St George’s swimmers who have successfully swam St George’s into our elevated E-Division level, as we now will swim in HBF Stadium’s indoor pool.

Why should other people do music?

Music is a great way to get involved with the school community, as you will always be included by people of all ages.

The PE Department wish you all an active, safe, and enjoyable holiday and look forward to the 2022 sporting year.

What’s your advice for anyone learning Music?

Health Update and Advice

Practise, practise, and practise. The more you practise, the better you become, and it will be an even more enjoyable experience.

We have had a small number of staff and students away from school in recent days with gastro related symptoms. If your child is unwell, please do keep them at home for at least 24 hours after any symptoms have finished. Drink plenty of water and see a GP if their symptoms persist.

A S C

We have increased our cleaning regimes throughout the School to a twice daily regime with both detergent and hot water.

INTERNATIONAL

Sharing Cultures | Creating Friendships

Part of The Anglican S chools Commission (Inc.)

It serves as a timely reminder of the need for good health and hand hygiene. We have plenty of soap dispensers in the bathrooms and there is hand sanitiser located throughout the school on all levels and throughout the classrooms and staff offices.

Student Hosting Opportunity

The Student Guild have been welcoming us all each morning with a cheerful ‘hello’ and a reminder to sanitise our hands as we arrive at school. This is most definitely a good practice to get into and there is plenty of hand sanitisers available at front reception.

• LONG TERM HOSTING

The Anglican Schools Commission International is looking for caring families to host* regional, interstate and international students intending to study at St George’s Anglican Grammar School.

• NO COST TO REGISTER • SHORT TERM HOSTING • TEMPORARY HOSTING (SCHOOL HOLIDAYS)

All enquiries to: Accommodation Coordinator | homestay@asci.edu.au

*Hosts are paid a weekly fee

These small steps should help keep us all fit and healthy as we head into the last week of term together.

www.asci.edu.au

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Electrocity

Started With You

Actors Hub - 8 Feb Actors Hub - 9 Feb Artwork by Marcus Fairhall (Yr 11) Photo by Zoe Walters (Yr 11)

Tix: fringeworld.com.au

ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL A school of the Anglican Schools Commission Inc. KW noiswd cee lo ed mgeGFraaitche SSeerrvviic