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the ruyton reporter
Understanding and improving our emotional wellbeing
has been the subject of increased attention over recent
years, as we learn more about the relationship between
our physical bodies, hearts and minds, and spiritual
health in determining our overall welfare. The release of
the popular film
Inside Out
highlighted the reality that
we all experience a range of emotions and that feeling
challenging emotions is part of our growth. It is how we
develop our capacity to cope with and manage our
emotions that is critical. The film was the inspiration for
Emoticon,
our Prep to Year 2 Production for 2015. The
play took the complex ideas of
Inside Out
and sought to
simplify them for the Prep, Year 1 and 2 girls.
Feeling a bit emotional? Need to get in touch with these
emotions? That is exactly what our excitable audience
experienced in the Royce Theatre in November. The Year
2 girls were exceptional in their roles of emotional little
monsters! Representing four different groups, we saw
the Angries, Sads, Happys and Smugs argue that their
emotion should be the dominant one to represent their
planet. It all came down to a special party night where
‘The One’ (played by our very own Head of Junior
School, Mrs Nicole Ginnane) spoke with great authority
and explained to the gathering that we should feel all
emotions equally. The little Monsters agreed and
thankfully harmony was restored to their planet.
The Year 1 monsters were fabulous in their
choreographed routine to
Big Girls Don’t Cry
and, of
course, the Prep classes were magnificent performing
the
Monster Mash
to a rapturous crowd. Perhaps the
highlight of everyone’s evening was the vocal stylings
of the gentlemen in the Junior School as Monster back
up singers in one of the many entertaining songs,
Mad!
Our thanks to Mr Mutton and Mr Baker for their
amazing contribution.
A lot of fun was had by all. Well done to all involved
in
Emoticon
- what a way to round out the year!
Mrs Georgie Parker,
Junior School Drama
Chinese Singing
Competition – a first
for Ruyton
In the Junior School
we continue to
provide our girls with
a strong foundation to
build their
competencies in the
Chinese language,
along with an
understanding of
Chinese culture. Following the introduction of
Chinese at Year 3 in 2014, 2015 was the inaugural
year of the Year 4 Chinese programme. All topics
studied were closely related to the girls’ personal
world. For instance, girls learnt to introduce
themselves and were able to talk about their
hobbies and favourite food. Girls also had
opportunities to participate in Chinese calligraphy,
painting, cooking, dancing and singing. There was
much singing in Chinese last year! During Chinese
Week in Term 4, which coincided with the Chinese
celebration of their National Day, we initiated and
hosted the first-ever Chinese Singing Competition
for Year 3 and Year 4 students. Students from
Trinity Grammar School, Carey Grammar School,
Auburn South Primary and St Peter’s Primary in
Berwick joined the girls to sing in Chinese. Mr
Gang Chi, the Education Consul from the Chinese
Embassy opened the competition. He highlighted
the enthusiasm Ruyton displays, both for learning
and teaching Chinese, and how we have enjoyed a
successful collaboration together. The competition
was sponsored by the Embassy, the Confucius
Institute of Melbourne University and the Chinese
Teachers’ Association in Melbourne.
‘If you talk to a man in the language he
understands, it goes to his head. But if you talk
to him in his own language, it goes to his heart.’
Nelson Mandela
Mrs Danyang McAuliffe,
Dean of Language Other
Than English (LOTE)
Emoticon
ManyWays to Learn