Principal’s Blog 033 - Grant success, school improvements and upcoming events

Hello, and welcome to the monthly Principal's blog. In this post I discuss our successful grant funding application, recent school improvements, upcoming events and more.

Chris English, Playground Duty with Students, February 2023

Grant success

We’re very excited to share with the RGS community this fantastic news announced by our local MP, Dave Layzell. In addition to 10k received from Bengalla Mining Company in 2022, we have received a grant of $306k to create safe bus access to the front of the school! This is a large project that couldn’t happen without an available grant like the Stronger Country Community Fund and the support of local organisations. We look forward to commencing the project later this year. Thank you to everyone involved for your support of our school and the safety of our children.

State MP, Dave Layzell, parents, teachers and students Richard GIll School, February 2023

School Assemblies

Last week we held our first, fortnightly assembly for students, now that our student body has grown. Each sport’s “house” within the school will rotate responsibility for delivering the assembly, ensuring they have a strong focus on the children, with Barrington (blue) leading our first assembly. Towarri (red) and Wollemi (yellow) will have their turn in weeks to come, with our school houses named after nearby national parks in the Upper Hunter, Wollimi, Towarri, and Barrington. The children all shined when undertaking their leadership responsibilities. A perfect opportunity to support our students in building self-confidence and leadership skills.

Richard Gill School’s first assembly for 2023

School Improvements

Improvements to our playground have been completed, with retaining walls, rainwater tank and pool-style fencing installed around our vegetable gardens and undercover eating area. We hope to install a new piece of playground equipment throughout the year as a result of reviewing submissions made by our students last year through their STEM project learning task.

New water tank being installed at RGS

Individual Education Plans

Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) are a key feature of Richard Gill School, which staff develop in collaboration with families for EVERY student. Meetings with families are being scheduled for Week 8, giving time for children to settle back into their school routines and a strength-based plan to be formulated to ensure our students can work to their potential.

Upcoming Events

There are lots of events and initiatives planned this term!  

Today we participated in the Clean Up Australia Day initiative where all students donned their hats and gloves and ventured to nearby grass clearings, collecting numerous bags of rubbish and discussing the importance of putting our rubbish in the bin and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. It is always a joy to take the children outside of the classroom to participate in these kinds of community initiatives. The children really look forward to hands on activities, and I’m sure our neighbouring residents appreciate the reserve to the rear of the school being free of litter.

Clean Up Australia Day at RGS 2023, Friday March 3, 2023

Our inaugural swimming carnival is next Friday, which all staff and students are extremely excited about. This will be our first official sports carnival event and will see students participate in three competitive events of freestyle, breaststroke, and diving. It will also be the first time they are able to sing their sports house’  ‘war cry’ outside of practicing it at school. All house war cries were composed by Richard Gill’s son, Anthony. Sports carnivals are an exciting time for the whole school, and we can’t wait to watch the children enjoy their first event that encompasses lots of team spirit and healthy competition.

Richard Gill School students are also excited to be preparing for our first performance for 2023 at the Upper Hunter Show on Friday, March 17. Myself and Mrs Sherringham have been working hard to prepare a program of predominantly vocal works for the exhibition, where Kindergarten children will be performing for the first time. We will be performing at 2pm. Keep an eye out for details on our Facebook page if you would like to attend.

Enrolment 

Next Thursday we are offering an “Early Bird Tour” for families who have already expressed interest in joining Kindergarten in 2024. This will be followed by our popular “Kindy for a Day” program on Friday, May 26, after which time enrolment offers will be made to families. With 6 siblings joining the class, there are only 14 places in Kindergarten available for 2023. There is also a lot of interest for Kindergarten by new families for 2023, so if you are at all interested I would suggest you register your interest in enrolment as soon as possible.

Enrolment is open to Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students in 2023, and a waitlist is in place for Kindergarten 2023. To enrol or join our waitlist, please contact the school.

Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Media

Stay tuned for a “Cyber Security” blog incoming from www.chrisenglish.com.au , following attendance at the inaugural AISNSW Cyber Security Symposium hosted by Microsoft in North Sydney last Friday.

Donations

Thank you so very much to Valerie Tamblyn-Mills and Sheila Keane who have contributed another $4,000 to our school, in addition to the $8,000 they contributed in 2022. A reminder that Richard Gill School is a tax-deductible charity, and we welcome donations to support the work we do at our school.

Richard Gill School is always on the lookout for donations of good quality upright pianos, as we forecast the need for up to 8 more pianos in the school in the years to come. This will ensure we have a piano in every learning space, which we know would make Richard most pleased. If you have a good quality piano you would consider donating the school, please contact us and we will organise delivery and tuning.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 031 - Final update for 2022, Stanmore Wrap-up and Christmas Spectacular

Hello, and welcome to the thirty-first of my monthly Principal's blogs and my final update for 2022. In this post, I discuss our race toward the end of the year, upcoming performances, and plans for 2023.

Update

We are mid-way through our 10-day intensive swim school and preparing for our inaugural “Celebration Assembly” next Friday, December 9. We are currently recruiting for a full-time Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO) as we farewell Mrs Linda Dolbell, and look forward to our final performance of the year, at the Upper Hunter Christmas Spectacular on Saturday December 10.

Intensive Swim School

As part of the school’s commitment to giving our students the best physical education opportunities as well as a way to teach an important life skill, all students have been offered the opportunity to take part in our Term 4, 10-day, intensive swim school program. The students have loved this change to routine over the last week and we hope that all students will be better prepared for the school holidays by the end of the program, where hot days often means swimming and water play. Thank you to the Muswellbrook Public Pool staff for facilitating this important initiative.

Images: RGS Intensive Swim School Program

Stanmore Festival of Music wrap-up

Thank you to the festival organisers, our Board Members, Reverend Angela Peverell, and Chair Kim Williams AM who came and supported our school, in addition to our lovely families who traveled considerably for the performance. We had a wonderful day and enjoyed performing our program and watching many other performances.

We are so proud to have been included in this year’s festival, which honours Richard, is well supported by his family and friends, and which forms an important part of the school’s legacy and commitment to music education.

Images: Stanmore Festival of Music Excursion

Kindy transition to school

On Monday we commenced our official Transition Program with our 2023 Kindergarten class. It is always a joy to have such young children in our school, so full of optimism and happiness. We thank Miss Presland for the wonderful work she is doing with the children.

We recently held a Family Info Night for our new families, and also for our existing families to meet our new classroom teacher for 2023, Mrs Tara Stanford. We host these events to communicate clearly with our community and provide opportunities for relationships to build and flourish as we support the children in their learning journey at Richard Gill School. Thank you to all who attended as well as the P&F for volunteering their time to put on a sausage sizzle for everyone.

Image: P&F Volunteers at School Transition Info Night.

Other school events

November was an exceptionally busy month, with Richard Gill School hosting a number of special visitors who each gave their time to our children free of charge, including:

Guest musical performances from both Nexas Saxophone Quartet who performed and answered questions for our students on November 9; as well as Mrs Gillian Miles and Clem from the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music who performed on the cello for prepare for Year 3 students who will commence a cello program in 2023.

Images: Musical Performance from UHCM (L), and Nexas Saxophone Quartet (R)

This was followed by our local PowerFM breakfast team of Lachie and Dylan who broadcasted their show live from the school on Thursday November 17. Some of our students even got to speak on the radio and the school sang a song live on air.

Image: Power FM Live Broadcast from RGS

Finally, Surf Lifesavers from the “Beach to Bush” program provided a wonderful safety session for our students as the weather begins to warm. Our students loved getting to use colourful zink to learn the importance of sun safety.

Image: Surf Lifesavers at RGS

It is so wonderful to be able to offer all of these experiences and more to our students and we hope to have many more in 2023.

Upper Hunter Christmas Spectacular – Saturday December 10

Richard Gill School are excited to combine with to our local community youth choir, Upper Hunter Voices for their debut performance at Muswellbrook Showground for the Upper Hunter Christmas Spectacular on Saturday December 10. The school will sing 3 short pieces as RGS at 4:15pm, followed by a combined choral ensemble performing 3 Christmas themed pieces at 4:30pm. We will also take the stage at 7pm for a massed item, “Jingle Bell Rock”, which may even see a VERY special guest arrive by helicopter and take the stage, I wonder who this could be… ? The event is free of charge thanks to incredible local sponsorship and PowerFM, and will commence at 3pm, with fireworks to conclude the evening at approximately 9pm. We hope you can make it!

Please feel free to subscribe Upper Hunter Voices, newsletter for news and updates about the Choir, performances, audition opportunities and more.

Enrolment

Enrolment is open to Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students in 2023, and a waitlist is in place for Kindergarten 2023. To enrol or join our waitlist, please contact the school.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

As we recharge our batteries over Summer, the next blog post will be at the start of February. On behalf of the staff and Board of Richard Gill School, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yours in Music, 

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 030 - Happy Birthday Richard, Stanmore and Christmas

Hello, and welcome to the thirtieth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I discuss our race towards the end of the year, upcoming performances, and plans for 2023. Oh, and Happy Birthday Richard! Our very own Mr Gill would have been 81 today, and we think fondly of the immense contributions he made to music and education throughout his life.

Richard Gill, 2005. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP

Update 

With only 6 weeks of the school year remaining, the children appear to be growing right before our eyes. We are looking forward to finally celebrating Grandparents Day next Wednesday, having postponed twice due to a Covid-19 outbreak that saw absences rise across the school the week previous.  

World Teacher’s Day

World Teacher’s Day was celebrated on Friday October 28. On behalf of the school, the board, and our families, we’d like to wish a big, happy World Teacher’s Day to our wonderful classroom teachers Miss Presland, Mrs Sherringham, Mrs Clement, and our incoming Mrs Stanford.

St Anmorè (Stanmore) Festival of Music

Stanmore Festival 2019 - Image by Kris Egan

Tomorrow morning bright and early at 6am our children and their families are heading to Stanmore! We are so excited to perform at the festival as representatives of Richard Gill School.

For all your last-minute timetable and other event information, visit St Anmorè Stanmore Festival website.

We hope you can come and participate in the opening march from 11:30am, commencing at the Gill household, followed by the opening formalities at which the students will sing our school song composed by Nigel Westlake. Following the formalities, watch us perform a short program at the St Michaels stage from 12:30-1pm.

Upper Hunter Christmas Spectacular – Saturday December 10

Richard Gill School are excited to combine with Upper Hunter Voices for their debut performance at Muswellbrook Showground for the Upper Hunter Christmas Spectacular on Saturday December 10. The school will sing 3 short pieces as RGS, followed by a combined choral ensemble performing 3 Christmas themed pieces at approximately 4:30/5pm. The event is free of charge thanks to incredible local sponsorship and PowerFM, and will commence at 3pm, with fireworks to conclude the evening at approximately 9pm. We hope you can make it! 

Enrolment

Enrolment is open to Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students in 2023, and a waitlist is in place for Kindergarten 2023. To enrol or join our waitlist, please contact the school.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Donations

Thank you to the QLD Orff Association who have donated a bass xylophone to Richard Gill School.

Thank you to one of our incoming Kindergarten families, the Melichar’s, for donating a wonderful, brand new, timber cubby house for our playground.

Media

As always, we do our best to closely follow music education advocacy pieces in the media.

Below is a link to my personal blog summary of the recent Positive Education conference. Thanks again to the Where There’s a Will foundation for sponsoring my attendance at the event, as part of 41 delegates from the Upper Hunter.

Re-Connect – Key Takeaways from the National Positive Education Conference 2022 – by Chris English

And an interesting article on the benefits of learning Music

If you want your child to be more resilient, get them to join a choir, orchestra or band – By The Conversation

At Richard Gill School, we start every day with whole school singing and do daily music lessons. All our children are by default part of our school choir, and various music ensembles throughout their music lessons. Our musical offerings will be expanded in 2023 through partnerships with the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music, which we look forward to sharing in the weeks ahead.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 029 - Holiday construction works, Stanmore Festival of Music and More

Hello, and welcome to the twenty-ninth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I discuss our new teacher for 2023, holiday construction works, Stanmore Festival of Music, and more generous donations!

Update

Today we near the end of the spring school holidays as we prepare for Term 4 at Richard Gill School. It seems so much has happened this last month, so strap yourselves in for an action-packed update.

Firstly, we would like to thank and congratulate Miss Olivia Ellis, our recent practicum teacher, for completing of her 10-week practicum at Richard Gill School. It has been a pleasure having Miss Ellis at the school and we wish her all the best for a long and prosperous teaching career.

Teacher 2023 appointment

We are excited to announce the appointment of Miss Tara Stanford to the Richard Gill School teaching staff, commencing in 2023. Miss Stanford is a local teacher with a young family of her own, who has a passion for whole school wellbeing and positive education. We look forward to Miss Stanford joining the team and know she will bring about new and exciting opportunities for our students and school community.

Holiday construction works

These holidays have seen the completion a new footpath, a covered outdoor eating area, and acoustic panels and cabinetry in our third classroom. It is always exciting to see our school grow.

Students are also currently working on a STEM project to design a new piece of playground equipment, and we look forward to reviewing the designs and installing the successful project in the months ahead.

You can see the update on our Facebook video here

St Anmorè (Stanmore) Festival of Music and Fundraiser

On Thursday, September 29, a fundraiser was held at the Salisbury Hotel in Stanmore, Sydney. We are most grateful to the festival organisers, Tony and Simon, for offering to raise funds for our school to cover bus transportation costs. Whilst the final figure raised is still being calculated, I am excited to announce that the bus hire fee has been COMPLETELY covered, with some additional funds to go towards equipment purchases made to facilitate our live performance.

We hope to see you at the festival on Saturday, November 5! For more information, visit their site here.

Professional learning – Orff and Positive Education

These holidays as Principal, I have been busy completing an Orff Level Course, and attending a Positive Education conference, thanks to local organisation and newly formed partnership with Where There’s a Will. Through this partnership, the school are adopting a strength’s-based wellbeing framework in 2023 to support the growth of our students.

2022 Orff Course, Sydney

2022 Orff Course, Sydney

Music teaching at Richard Gill School is grounded in the Orff pedagogical style (and Kodaly), and it was most enriching to spend a whole week making music and refining teaching practice. It was wonderful to attend this course and connect with other like-minded music educators.

Upper Hunter Voices

In partnership with the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music, the school is excited to announce the launch of Upper Hunter Voices, a children’s community choir with voices drawn exclusively from The Upper Hunter Region, including those of Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter Shires. Upper Hunter Voices comprises of young people between the ages of 6 and 12, with a keen interest in singing. Singers are provided with performance opportunities and access to professional training and musical skills development.

The development of the organisation has been ongoing for more than 18 months and is another way that Richard Gill School is working to engage with the community and further promote the importance of music and singing.

The ensemble is currently recruiting members, with their debut performance confirmed for the Christmas Spectacular in Muswellbrook on Saturday, December 10.

For more information, visit the Upper Hunter Voices website.

Enrolment

Enrolment is open to Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students in 2023, and a waitlist is in place for Kindergarten 2023. To enrol or join our waitlist, please contact the school.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found at here.

Donations

Sheridan Carmichael, a local supporter of the school, has very generously donated $10,000 to our scholarship fund and $5,000 to our library. This is an incredible contribution, especially considering Sheridan donates her time each week to support our Early Childhood Music program and is also a community representative of our Parents and Friends Association (P&F). Sheridan has also previously donated a beautiful upright Yamaha piano to the school which is in our instrumental room. What would we do without you, Sheridan?!

For over 50 years Dr Carol Richards has been involved in many aspects of Orff Schulwerk - in her teaching and in her professional development work. At completion of the Orff Levels Course last week, which may sadly be her last time presenting, Carol kindly made a donation of a soprano glockenspiel to the school. Thank you, Carol!

St Anmorè (Stanmore) Festival of Music – as mentioned earlier, the festival have raised approximately $3,000 to go towards bus hire and equipment for our performance at the festival. This figure was contributed to by about 65 different people, who bought a meal, raffle tickets, or made a direct donation. Thank you to the festival community for supporting our school.

Media

As always, we do our best to closely follow music education advocacy pieces in the media. Below are links to 2 stories which resonated with us, that you might enjoy.

Why Music Matters

Alberts Launches Music Education Right From The Start Initiative

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 028 - Early Childhood Music, Bus Turning Bay and Kindergarten.

Hello, and welcome to the twenty-eighth of my monthly Principal's blogs. It has been an action-packed month. In this post I share the huge array of wonderful activities the students and staff have engaged in, Early Childhood Music, Bus Turning Bay, Kindergarten at capacity and more.

Update

Today sees the end of Week 6, Term 3 at Richard Gill School. Our students have engaged in a wide range of learning activities throughout August, including Book Week, an author visit from Nicola Bolton, excursions to the Library and Art Gallery, guest music teaching from the wonderful Danielle Abbott at the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program, a Magic Show on resilience from Joel Howlett, a puppet show about Waste Management from Muswellbrook Shire Council, and more!

School Excursion - Muswellbrook Library and Art Gallery

Guest music teaching from the wonderful Danielle Abbott

Staff have also partnered with local visible learning organisation, Where There’s a Will, and we’ve welcomed new volunteers into our school who have been so valuable. We’ve also seen the finishing touches of our 3rd classroom commence completion, with our glass sliding doors recently installed. Today staff and students are encouraged to celebrate Jersey Day, which aims to raise awareness about organ donation. See more information here.

2022 Book Week - Richard Gill School Staff

2022 Book Week - Richard Gill School Students and Staff

Early Childhood Music at Muswellbrook Pre School

At Richard Gill School, sharing music and delivering structured music education is part of our core philosophy. We also believe giving opportunities to children to enjoy and learn music from a young age is critically beneficial to their learning and development - and lots of fun! For these reasons we like to find ways to share music with the community outside of school grounds which is why recently Mr English conducted a series of Early Childhood Music sessions for children at Muswellbrook Pre-School, which were well received.

MS Readathon

Throughout the month of August we had 7 students at RGS sign up for the MS Readathon, raising money for multiple sclerosis. Congratulations to these students, their families, and donors for exceeding our fundraising goal by over 300%! We are so proud of our student’s efforts. What a wonderful result. There is still time to support this great cause simply visit the RGS Fundraiser page.

Bus Turning Bay

The school is currently embarking on a fundraising quest to allow the completion of a safety access road to accommodate large bus access to the front of the school. As our student population continues to grow, we are eager to ensure access via our carpark and via bus transportation is as safe as it can possibly be.

We are grateful to Bengalla Mining Company who has already contributed $10,000 towards the completion of our Bus Turning Bay from their Community Development Fund. We will continue to keep you up to date with the progress of the project and our fundraising goals.

Enrolment

We are excited to announce that our Kindergarten class for 2023 has reached capacity and families can now join the waitlist. What makes this such encouraging news is that the community of Muswellbrook are recognising the importance of a musical education!

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Media

Good news for the musicians, and of course all the Richard Gill School students; “Researchers find link between learning instrument while young and improved thinking skills later in life” Read article.

St Anmorè Festival of Music

Richard Gill School students are excited to be preparing to perform at the St Anmorè Festival of Music to be held in Stanmore, Sydney, on Saturday November 5. The festival was created in honour of Richard Gill, and is a free-to-attend, open-air style event featuring a diverse range of musical performances. We would love to see you there!

From all at RGS, we hope you enjoy a warmer month ahead as we embrace the beginning of Spring.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 027 - Teacher Mentoring, 100 Days of Kindy and Sustainability

Hello, and welcome to the twenty-seventh of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I discuss the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program, 100 days of Kindy, our Sustainability Grant and more.

Update

Today sees the end of the third week of Term 3 at RGS. It has been a challenging start to the term, with absences impacting both staff and students. Nevertheless, the learning journey continues and we soldier on! 

National Music Teacher Mentoring Program

We are thrilled to commence our involvement with the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program (NMTMP), an initiative spearheaded by Richard Gill himself, and recently had our first visit from our incredible mentor, Miss Danielle Abbott. Both children and staff have learnt a lot from Miss Abbott in a short period of time and look forward to future visits throughout the term.

Music and Movement professional learning with Musica Viva

On Tuesday, August 2nd, Richard Gill School hosted Julia Rennick from Musica Viva who presented a 2-hour workshop on “Music and Movement”. It has been wonderful to partner with organisations like Musica Viva, who Richard and many others in our community have had so much to do with. It is an honour for our school to be involved with supporting the musical professional development of teachers in the Upper Hunter and beyond, and we thank the attendees and Musica Viva for choosing Richard Gill School as their venue for this learning experience.

Sustainability Grant

Earlier this year RGS was successful in applying for a sustainability grant through Muswellbrook Shire Council. Thank you to Alyssa, mother of Edie, for assisting with our application. Recently, we received our “C-Thru” bins, which will- assist the school and our children to separate their waste at recess and lunchtime, to divert waste from landfill. A great way to engage and educate the students in caring for their environment, which we are passionate about at RGS.

MS Readathon

Throughout the month of August, we are encouraging students at RGS to sign up for the MS Readathon, to encourage a love of reading and raise money for multiple sclerosis. We are thrilled to see our students and their generous families and friends have already exceeded our fundraising goal!

Please visit Readathon RGS Fundraising Page to support this great cause.  

100 days of school for Kindy

Recently, our Kindergarten children have celebrated their first 100 days of “big school”. Go Kindy!

Enrolment

In 2023, enrolment is open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students. There are only 2 places remaining for Kindergarten 2023!

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Donations 

Elizabeth O’Neill – thank you for the donation of music teaching resources to our school.

Media

There were some great articles about music education shared over the last month, two of which I’ve reshared below for your reading pleasure.

The Slow Fade of Music Education

Music Education Helps Improve Children’s Ability to Learn

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 026 - Aboriginal Education, our Strategic Plan, Kindy for a Day...

Hello, and welcome to the twenty-sixth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I discuss Aboriginal Education, our Strategic Plan, Kindy for a Day, and the Stanmore Festival of Music returning.

Update

Today is the last day of Term 2, with staff and students no doubt looking forward to a well-earned Winter break. Students return to school on Tuesday, July 19, with a Staff Development Day being held on Monday, July 18.

Aboriginal Education – “Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up”

On Thursday, June 2, three of our students represented Richard Gill School at an Aboriginal Flag raising ceremony hosted by Muswellbrook Shire Council at Simpson Park. Audrey, Eli, and Izaac represented the school with pride and observed a Welcome to Country and a didgeridoo performance, which was then shared with our students back at school. Throughout the month of June, we’ve had a strong indigenous focus to our lessons across many KLA’s where the students have learnt an indigenous song, completed numerous indigenous artworks, made Johnny Cakes and damper, participated in a yarning circle, and have generally sought to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through our History lessons. We look forward to forging strong connections with our local indigenous elders and organisations as our school continues to grow.

Strategic plan

We are pleased to share with our friends and followers the Richard Gill School Strategic Plan for 2022-2026. After numerous revisions and feedback from various stakeholders, the Board of Directors and I believe this plan clearly outlines a strong vision for the establishment of the school.

View our Strategic Plan here.

Kindy for a Day

On Friday June 24 we held our first “Kindy for a Day” session for the year, with prospective students considering enrolment at Richard Gill School in 2023. We are excited to see interest in our school surge as our reputation grows, and currently have 17 enrolments confirmed for Kindergarten 2023, with only 3 places remaining. Thank you to Miss Presland, Mrs Sherringham, Miss Smith and Mrs Hines for all their work coordinating a fantastic day for our prospective students.

Stanmore’ Festival of Music

We are excited to announce that students from Richard Gill School have been invited to perform at the annual Stanmore Festival of Music, a festival created in honour of Richard. The festival will be taking place on Saturday November 5. You can follow the Festival’s Facebook page here.

See below the caricatures of Richard Gill being used as part of the Festival’s promotion.

by Bill Leak

by Shakespeare

Enrolment

In 2023, enrolment is open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students. 3 places only are still available for Kindergarten 2023.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Donations

Thank you to the following people who have made recent contributions to our Scholarship Fund. We are so very grateful for your generous donations, which will go directly to ensuring children from all backgrounds can attend our musically focused school:

• Kim Williams AM

• Valerie Tamblyn-Mills and Sheila Keane

• Warrick Jordan

• Diana Humphries

• Kerin Brown

Thanks also to Jane Spencer who has donated a beautiful French Horn to our school, and to Elizabeth Grainger who is donating some wonderful music teaching texts.

Media

Intentional looping/repeat teaching is a key characteristic of learning at Richard Gill School, whereby our students stay with their teacher for 2 or sometimes 3 years. This is something I have seen have great success in Steiner schools (although they take the idea a little too far IMO) and in Big Picture Education. The article below examines research that supports the idea of looping – website link here

“Researchers found that repeat teachers are linked to slight increases in students’ test scores in math and English/language arts across all grade levels.”

The impact of Covid 19 on 15-19yo Australians - Orygen and Mission Australia have released their report on the impact of COVID-19 on young Australians in 2021, based on an annual Australia-wide survey of more than 20,000 young people. Whilst the children at RGS are much younger than those surveyed in this report, Covid 19 has brought many disruptions to education, particularly for those who commenced Kindergarten in 2020.

The full report is available to download here: Clusters of COVID-19 Impact

Finally, the staff and I are looking forward to a well-deserved break, with school returning Tuesday, July 19, and hope you stay safe and dry in the days and weeks ahead.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 025 - Biggest Morning Tea, Musica Viva and More

Hello, and welcome to the twenty fifth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I will discuss the Biggest Morning Tea, Adventures in Antarctica, our NESA inspection and why every child should have access to a musical instrument.

Update

The commencement of Term 2 has seen some challenges with staffing in our school, as Covid and general absence has made the availability of casual staff unbelievably slim. The nationwide teacher shortage is certainly real and being felt in schools everywhere. We are grateful for the support of our Board of Directors, who have endorsed the recruitment of an additional part-time teacher for Term 3 and 4 to provide additional support to our staff.

Biggest Morning Tea and Family BBQ

On Thursday, May 19, Richard Gill School hosted a Biggest Morning Tea to raise money for cancer. Our generous parent body all provided a plate of sweet, savoury, or fruit items, and we invited our neighbours at ‘Little Kindy’ to join us. Together with Little Kindy, we were able to raise $138 for cancer.

Later that afternoon we also hosted a Parent/Carer BBQ where families were invited to the school to view student work and speak with staff in a less formal setting.  It’s the first time we have let families into the school this year with Covid restrictions now eased. $157.95 was raised for our P&F from the sausage sizzle and a further $70 was received in donations from Mrs Lee Curran, Mrs Judy Anshaw and Mrs Gail Greedy. It was great to see everyone face to face once again. And thanks to all who participated.

Musica Viva – Adventures in the Antarctic

On Thursday, May 26, all students at Richard Gill School visited Muswellbrook Public School (MPS) to attend a Musica Viva concert titled “Adventures in Antarctica”. The harp was a featured instrument at this performance, and our students enjoyed engaging with the lesson materials in the lead up to the excursion. Students were also able to enjoy recess at MPS which is a much larger school than ours! Thank you to Mrs Suzie Troon (Music Teacher) and Mr Clive Kerrigan (Principal) for allowing us again to visit their school and participate in the performance. The students had a wonderful time.

NESA Inspection

On Friday May 27, Richard Gill School were involved in an annual inspection from governing body, the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). As a new school adding new years of schooling each year, this will be an ongoing process for RGS until we are fully established. The inspection provides a good opportunity for staff and administration to review our policies and processes to ensure we are following best practice and constantly improving how our school operates. We are pleased to report that the inspection went extremely well, and I thank our staff for their work preparing for the inspection.

Donor appeal

As the end of the financial year approaches, we hope some of our supporters may consider making a tax-deductible donation to Richard Gill School. As a new school in its very early stages, we have a strong vision for the types of activities and resources we would like to conduct in our school. Please contact the school at admin@rgs.nsw.edu.au if you might be in a position to make a donation to our school and students.

Donations can be considered for our scholarship fund, building fund, or library fund.

Enrolment

In 2023, enrolment is open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 students. With numerous siblings joining Kindergarten next year, don’t delay, contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Our “Kindy for a Day” program scheduled for Friday, June 24 is now full! We are so excited to now have so much interest that we have required a wait list for this program, suggesting we may reach maximum kindergarten enrolments in 2023, which we hope will be a trend moving forward as our reputation in the community grows. We will be holding another Kindy for a Day next Term on the 19th of August. If you would like more information or to be added to the waitlist visit this info page.

Media

There have been some excellent articles this month promoting the importance of music education, both of which Richard Gill School is tackling in our own unique context:
Children In Wales To Receive Free Access To Musical Instruments
Schools of rock: why music education should be mandatory for kids

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 024 - Anzac Day, Mentoring and Music Education

Hello, and welcome to the twenty fourth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post, I discuss ANZAC Day, Orff Professional Learning, the importance of mentoring, and how music education is just as important as English or Maths.

Update

After a restful Autumn holiday period, our staff and students are back into gear and charging into our musically infused teaching and learning at Richard Gill School. Our school is constantly buzzing with songs, chants, rhymes and rhythms, just the way we like it!

ANZAC Day

Richard Gill School students march in the Anzac Day parade, 2022

On Monday, April 25, Richard Gill School was represented at our local March and mid-morning service in Muswellbrook. Students and staff gathered in their formal school uniforms to join other schools and community groups in marching the main street and commemorating ANZAC Day at an excellent service. 2 of our students, Livia Spelde of Year 1 and Edie Bestmann of Year 2, recited a poem on stage in front of an enormous crowd. The school is very proud of all students who gave their time to participate in this important event, and thanks to their families for their ongoing support.

Edie Bestmann reading Anzac Poem, Anzac day 2022

Livia Spelde reading Anzac Poem, Anzac day 2022

Orff Mini-Conference at RGS

Richard Gill School are excited to be hosting the Orff NSW mini-conference which kicks off this evening and continues all day tomorrow. The course will feature many outstanding presenters including Christa Coogan, Sarah Reeve, James Madsen, Virginia Esparraga, Danielle Abbott, Jason Foy, Peta Harper, and Sarah Powell. This conference is an outstanding professional learning opportunity for not only our own teachers but for teachers across Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter. We are thrilled to be developing a partnership between RGS and Orff, which Richard would have been so pleased to see.

National Music Teacher Mentoring Program – Danielle Abbott

Danielle Abbott NMTMP

Following on from the Orff mini conference, presenter extraordinaire and National Music Teacher Mentoring Program lead mentor, Danielle Abbott, will be spending her first day at Richard Gill School as we commence our involvement with the NMTMP (National Music Teacher Mentor Program). The NMTMP is of course another initiative started by Richard Gill, which we are proud to be a part of. We can’t wait to start this important learning journey with Danielle as we continually strive to improve our practice in Music teaching.

Pre-service teachers at RGS

When Richard first developed his vision for the school, a key component was to create a hub where pre-service teachers could engage in a musically rich practicum experience. Richard knew and understood the importance of great teaching, even for (and perhaps most importantly for) the adults preparing to become teachers, and whilst the school is still in its very early stages of development, we are excited to have welcomed our second practicum student to RGS this week.

Donor appeal

As the end of the financial year approaches, we hope some of our supporters may consider making a tax-deductible donation to Richard Gill School. As a new school in its very early stages, we have a strong vision for the types of activities and resources we would like to conduct in our school. Please contact the school at admin@rgs.nsw.edu.au if you might be in a position to make a donation to our school and students.

Enrolment

In 2023, enrolment is open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 students. With numerous siblings joining Kindergarten next year and we cap our infants classes at 20, don’t delay in contacting the school on 02 6543 1900 to book a personal tour with myself or to secure your enrolment.

We are also offering a Term 1, 2023 discount to new families who enrol their child in 2023 prior to June 30, 2022.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Media

It was inspiring to read a recent article by Music Academic, Margaret Barrett, regarding the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program which Richard created and the impact of music on the holistic education of the child. Be sure to give it a read.

Article: Just as important as English or maths': how mentoring is bringing music alive for primary school students.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 023 - Nearing the End of Term 1

Hello, and welcome to the twenty third of my monthly Principal's blogs, and my third for 2022. This is no April Fools! In this post I discuss our recent events, school growth and strategic plan.

The Upper Hunter Show

On Friday March 18, all students at Richard Gill School performed a program of 4 vocal works at the Upper Hunter Show, at Muswellbrook Showground. Performing for an enthusiastic group of parents, carers, and community members, this was our second ever live performance opportunity as a school, the 1st in over 12 months due to the disruption of Covid. For the Kindergarten students, it was their very first public performance. The staff and I are very proud of our students. While it may look like an easy task to some, being able to remember words, stay in time and in key (mostly!) is no little feat for little ones, especially those 4-5-year-olds who have only been at big school for as little as 30 days. We look forward to seeing how they will progress in their performance skills and confidence as we share our love of music and singing with Muswellbrook and beyond.

You can watch the video’s of the performances here:
No more pie - https://youtu.be/kDA9EVN43XE
Oh come now my friends (School Song) - https://youtu.be/3Ub_QOsu8w4
One small voice - https://youtu.be/BQyizaDnM08
Wibbleton to Wobbleton - https://youtu.be/X8fhT7-v0bE

Clean Up Australia Day

It’s always a joy to take the children outside of the classroom and participate in a community event, which is what we did on Wednesday March 23 for a belated “Clean Up Australia Day” (delayed due to poor weather). The children really look forward to hands on activities such as these, and I’m sure our neighbouring residents appreciate the land to the rear of the school being free of litter; a “win win” for everyone.

ANZAC Day

On Monday April 25, students from Richard Gill School will be involved in the ANZAC Day March and mid-morning service held at Olympic Park in Muswellbrook. 2 students from our school will be selected to read a poem, and students will also sing our National Anthem and Royal Anthem, God Save the Queen, with other local schools. We thank the Muswellbrook RSL Sub-Branch for their ongoing commitment to organising this important event. If you are in the area, we look forward to seeing you there. We would also love for you to march with us. We will commence our march from Simpson Park. More details to come.

Strategic Plan

After going through numerous rounds of revision and stakeholder feedback, our Strategic Plan is nearly ready to be shared publicly. This important document frames our vision for the school in 2022-2026, with considerable care taken to ensure Richard’s vision and philosophies are honoured in our work in the years to come. Keep an eye out for this in the coming weeks.

NESA

The school has just submitted our application with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to deliver education to Year 3 in 2023. This is an annual process RGS goes through as we grow to be a K-6 school by 2026, and potentially a K-12 school beyond. It is a valuable process to refine our policies and procedures and ensure the school is operating to the best of our ability.

Donor appeal

As the end of financial year approaches, we hope some of our supporters may consider making a tax-deductible donation to Richard Gill School. As a new school in its very early stages, we have a strong vision for the types of activities and resources we would like to conduct in our school and the generosity of donors will assist us in seeing this vision come to life. Please contact the school at admin@rgs.nsw.edu.au if you might be in a position to make a donation to our school and students.

Individual Education Plans

A unique facet of Richard Gill School is our development of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for all students. An IEP is a written statement that describes the adjustments, goals, and strategies to meet a student’s individual educational needs, so they can reach their full potential. We believe an IEP is essential as it helps plan and monitor a student’s unique learning needs. The end of term will see our first family-teacher IEP meetings to discuss learning and set goals for the coming year. We look forward to welcoming our families into the school during the final week for this important meeting.

Enrolment

In 2023, enrolment is open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 students. With numerous siblings joining Kindergarten next year, don’t delay, contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

This will be my final post for Term 1. Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter break and we look forward to seeing everyone again in Term 2, which commences on Wednesday, April 27.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 022 - Off to the Best Start

Hello, and welcome to the twenty-second of my monthly Principal's blogs, and my second for 2022. In this post I will discuss our busy start to Term 1 at Richard Gill School, including our upcoming debut performance!

Kindergarten off to the Best Start

Last week Mrs Sherringham has been utilising the Best Start Kindergarten Assessment tool to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our Kindergarten students. This tool assesses the Literacy and Numeracy skill of the students as they first arrive at school and provides teachers with information so they can plan effective teaching and learning programs throughout the year. The assessment took about forty minutes each and Mrs Sherringham conducted the assessment one-on-one with each student while making sure each child felt at ease and comfortable. Key information will be shared with our families later in Term 1.

STEM Specialist Teacher

I have the pleasure of introducing Mr Matt Leman, who is working with Richard Gill School this term as our specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teacher. Mr Leman has been appointed by the Upper Hunter Economic Development Corporation, and is using Richard Gill School as the pilot school as he develops a STEM program to be rolled out to participating schools across the region.

To start the program, Mr Leman has helped establish one yabbie tank for each of the two classes. The students are more than excited to see the yabbies grow, learn about their life cycle and care for them each day.

Police Visit

Senior Constable Sheree Gray from Muswellbrook Police Station was kind enough to visit our students this week to talk about being safe in the community. This is a valued event on our calendar which was well received by the students. Senior Constable Gray educated the students on the importance of knowing who the police are, who safe people are in the community and how to identify family members in times of need, and other important aspects of how to be safe in the community.

Our first upcoming performance

Richard Gill School students are excited to be preparing for our debut performance at the Upper Hunter Show on Friday March 18, at 2pm. Mr English and Mrs Sherringham have been working hard to prepare a program of predominantly vocal works for exhibition, including a piece composed by Mr Richard Gill AO himself. If you are in the area on the day, the students will be performing at 2pm so be sure to come see them.

Article of Interest

I’d like to share with you a wonderful and well-researched article written by the President of the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA), Else Shepherd AM, promoting the importance of music education, which we at Richard Gill School never grow tired of reading. Read here.

Enrolment

Limited enrolment places for 2022 are still available, contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2023 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3. With a number of siblings enrolling into Kindergarten in 2023, places are limited.

Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 021 – Embracing 2022

Welcome to the twenty-first of my monthly Principal's blogs, and my first for 2022. In this post, I welcome our new Kindergarten class for 2022 as well as discuss some of the school’s plans for the year ahead.

I would first like to wish a happy New Year to all! We hope our friends, families and supporters have enjoyed a restful and connected summer holiday period and are feeling optimistic and recharged.

New Kindergarten Students

Kindergarten, Jan 2022

In 2022, we are excited to expand from one class only, to two classes at the school. We again welcome Mrs Nicole Sherringham as our Kindergarten teacher for 2022, as Miss Presland follows her 2021 K/1 class on as they become a Year 1/2 class.

Juggling the role of father and Principal

This week has been particularly special for me, as my very own daughter Harriet has joined the Kindergarten class of 2022. What a joy it is to be able to see and talk to your own child during the school day, and watch as they grow and experience school for the first time. I must admit my heart has been bursting all week!

We are excited to have 25 students enrolled at Richard Gill School in 2022, a fantastic outcome for such a new school with a unique vision; an encouraging sign that the community are recognising the good reputation of the school as well as the educational benefits of a musically focused education.

Sensitive kids starting school

While starting school is an exciting time for most, it can be quite stressful and anxiety-inducing for others, both parents and children, especially sensitive ones. I've found a wonderful article by well known Australian parenting author, educator and speaker, Maggie Dent, which I felt addressed this area quite eloquently and outlined a few great tips for easing separation distress. Have a read here.

School improvements

This year we have 2 main projects planned for the school. The first is improving school bus access to the Richard Gill School site. Whilst we currently have a turning bay in place, it is not large enough to allow a school bus to turn around safely. We hope to address this throughout 2022 and trust this will be well received by our school community.

The second project is the final fit out of our 3rd classroom in preparation for a new cohort of Kindergarten to join the school in 2023 as we grow to be a K-3 school. We will aim to complete these works mid year so we have an additional classroom to use for all manner of learning, orientation, and transition activities in Term 3 and 4.

NSW Orff Mini-Conference

We look forward to partnering with and hosting the NSW Orff Mini-Conference at Richard Gill School in early May. This conference will see educators from across the region and beyond come to the school to undertake the highly respected ‘Orff Schulwerk’ training. 

Orff Schulwerk is an approach to music education that was developed in the 1920s and 1930s by German composer and educator Carl Orff and his colleague Gunild Keetman. People often shorten the name to ‘the Orff approach.’ This approach encourages the student to develop their own compositions from their thoughts and creativity. In a sequenced music education program, the Orff approach recognises the importance of rhythm in children’s early musical experiences. This is fostered through movement and dance as well as singing, speaking rhythmically and instrument playing.

This valuable music teaching training opportunity will mean all Richard Gill School teachers will complete the Orff training on offer and will also be available to staff from all schools and sectors across Australia, of whom we can’t wait to welcome to our school. 

Student Community Performances

With performance opportunities being an important aspect of a robust music education, we are looking forward to being able to perform in the community numerous times throughout the year, Covid permitting, and have begun discussions with some local groups and events to give short student performances. After a disruptive 2021, we are excited by the potential to showcase our growing musicianship to Muswellbrook and beyond.

WHOLE SCHOOL SINGING

One of Richard’s essential features for how he wanted his school to run is that each day would start with whole school singing. In 2021, our music lessons would always commence at the start of the school day as we had one class only. However, in 2022 with two year groups at the school, we are now able to combine the students and the whole school singing experience suddenly feels real. While some students are still finding their voice, the experience is a special one and is sure to only grow in vigour and excitement as every student at Richard Gill School sings together daily for years to come.

Enrolment

Limited enrolment places for 2022 are still available, contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 are open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found at https://richardgillschool.nsw.edu.au/documents

Until next time.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 020 - Signing off for 2021

Hello, and welcome to the twentieth of my monthly Principal's blogs, and my last for 2021. In this post, I will share some highlights of our recent school swimming excursions, Kindy Orientation and our participation in The National Music Teacher Mentoring Program, while also wrapping up our successful first year of operations as we plan for the future.

Update

The last 2 weeks have seen significant flooding impact Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter and has been far from the dry, hot spring and summer you might expect in regional NSW! Regardless, our children have been making great progress in their learning and enjoying their time together at school following a disruptive year of lockdowns.

New England Hwy Muswellbrook November 2021 (Image by Mathew Perry, Muswellbrook Chronicle)

Strategic Plan 2022-2026 

The Board of Directors and I have been working hard on developing an overarching Strategic Plan for the school that will guide and shape our priorities for the next 5 years. This began with a full-day strategic planning session in July, followed by many subsequent follow up meetings, discussions and reviews of documentation to ensure our vision and the wording of our plans were as true to Richard’s plans for the school as possible. The document will be live on our website in the coming weeks.

Enrolment

Limited enrolment places for 2022 are still available, fill in our online form or contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Kindergarten 2022 Transition

Our new teacher, Mrs Nicole Sherringham, has been on-site at Richard Gill School in recent weeks conducting a 3-week Kindy Transition Program for our new incoming students. Each of the sessions has of course commenced with a music lesson, followed by a range of fun and engaging activities designed to help the children get to know one another, and for Mrs Sherringham to get know them as young people and learners.

Learn to swim program

Today we finish a 10-day intensive learn to swim program at Muswellbrook Aquatic Centre. Thank you to all the pool staff including Tracy, Sandra, Ella, Nick and Josie, as well as Carlie at Upper Hunter Youth Services who have kindly made their 12-seater minibus available for our use.

National Music Teacher Mentoring Program

The National Music Teacher Mentoring Program (NMTMP) is aimed at improving the quality of music education in classrooms around Australia. The program pairs experienced music educators with generalist classroom teachers in order to build their skills and confidence in teaching music. The NMTMP was founded by our very own Richard Gill AO. He believed that teaching music reaps countless benefits.

“Music requires the most intensive concentration and listening. To get music, you really have to listen, and when children listen with direction and concentration, their focus goes up spectacularly… and the evidence points to the fact that a structured program of music education has benefits in all learning.” Richard Gill AO

Richard Gill School has started the conversations with NPTMP and is excited to begin the journey towards partnering with them as soon as we can in 2022, just as Richard would have intended.

Final Dates for 2021

Our last Early Childhood Music lesson will be held on Wednesday, December 8 and recommence Week 2 of Term 1, Wednesday, February 9, 2022. If you or anyone you know is interested in early childhood lessons then please get in touch via our online EOI form so we can put you down for next year. We thank all of our families and volunteers for a wonderful first year.

Our final day of School day for 2021 is Thursday, December 9 and we welcome back our students for Term 1 on Monday, January 31, 2022.

The school will be closed from Monday, December 20, 2021 until Monday, January 10 2022, when staff will recommence for the year.

In 2022 our monthly blogs will continue on the first Friday of the month, commencing on Friday, February 4.

Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and Covid/lockdown free Summer break.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 019 - Kindy Day Recap, New Teacher Introductions and a Special Birthday

Hello, and welcome to the nineteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post, I recap our successful Kindy for a Day program and introduce you to our Kindergarten 2022 teacher, Mrs Nicole Sherringham.

Update

It has been a welcome change to finally resume normality at Richard Gill School for weeks 2-5 of Term 4. Consistency and routine have been on the agenda as the children have refamiliarised themselves with school and formal learning.

Our children have enjoyed using our wonderful Orff instruments in recent weeks, including the recent assembly of our Alto/Bass Marimba donated by the Humphries Family, which complements our existing Contrabass Marimba donated by Greg and Kathy Butcher.

Kindy for a Day

Our Kindy for a Day program is an initiative introduced by the school to allow students to experience Richard Gill School for a day, to help them decide if the school is right for them and their families. Last Friday we had a group of children commencing Kindergarten in 2022 enjoy a program full of fun, creativity and learning with Miss Presland and myself. The day also happened to be World Teacher Day, where we celebrated and thanked Miss Presland for her tireless work as our inaugural infant’s teacher. We cannot thank Miss Presland and all the teachers around the world enough for the important and wonderful work they do.

Early Childhood Music Resumes

It was wonderful to recommence our complimentary Early Childhood Music classes this month, after what feels like a very long break due to Covid-19. It was so rewarding to see the children’s faces light up once again as we all sang, clapped and danced to music together. We still have some positions in our Wednesday afternoon timeslot for anyone not yet registered. If you or someone you know has preschool-aged children, why not come along and experience a wonderful and engaging afternoon of music and creativity with your child. For more information or to register, visit our Early Childhood Music page.

Enrolment

We are looking forward to welcoming a new Kindergarten student in the coming days, in addition to 11 new Kindergarten students for 2022. Places are still available, contact the school on 02 6543 1900 to secure your enrolment.

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here

Mrs Nicole Sherringham

I am thrilled to announce the appointment of our second full-time teaching staff member, Mrs Nicole Sherringham. Nicole is a passionate educator and has worked with children for over 20 years. She is a mother of three children: two in primary school and one in high school. Nicole comes to Richard Gill School from Newcastle Grammar Junior School and The University of Newcastle where she lectures in primary music education. Nicole’s experience includes teaching early childhood music, instrumental teaching, primary music teaching and other classroom teaching. An accomplished performer, she has played professionally with orchestras on both modern and early instruments. Nicole believes that holistic learning which actively promotes the development of learner attributes enables students to succeed. She is excited to join Richard Gill School and looks forward to joining next year’s Kindergarten as they begin their educational journey.

Happy Birthday to Richard Gill

The marvellous Richard Gill AO would have celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday on November 4. The most wonderful conductor, music educator and advocate. We trust Richard’s friends, family and followers celebrated his legacy in their own special way. We all sang Bim Bam with the children and reminded them of who Richard Gill is and how lucky we are to be at his school.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 018 - One Special Day at School and Looking to the Future

Hello, and welcome to the eighteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post, I will provide a general update of the school, a special day we had with our students and information on upcoming events.

Update

Richard Gill School in Muswellbrook and our neighbouring Upper Hunter LGA’s were very pleased to have our Covid restrictions reduced from Level 4 to Level 3 on Thursday, September 16, allowing the school 1 single day with our children on-site before school holidays, following 6 weeks of remote learning.

One Special Day

We had the most wonderful day celebrating a belated Book Week, launching Spoonville and handing out care packs the Richard Gill Staff had put together for our students and their families. The children loved seeing their classmates once again and had lots of fun catching up, playing and learning. Miss Presland asked the students what they had missed the most and many of them said ‘our friends’ and ‘doing music every day’, which was great to hear. Our first face-to-face music lesson in weeks was undoubtedly wonderful for all.

Book Week 2021

Spoonville 2021

HOLIDAY CARE PACKS

Our “Holiday Care Packages” sent home with families on the final day of Term 3 proved to be quite popular with both families and the local media. These were a fun way to wish our families all the best for the holiday period, and to hopefully put some smiles on the faces of our school community. See below some pictures we shared via our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, and the radio interview I did with Dylan and Dana from 98.1 PowerFM

Listen to: Power FM Radio Interview

Lockdown was no doubt a challenging time for our families and community, and we thank them for their efforts and resilience during the 6 weeks of remote learning.  

Unfortunately, while the freedom was wonderful, it was somewhat short-lived, with Muswellbrook being placed into a new “snap 7-day lockdown” on Monday 27th of September, due to end on Tuesday evening. We are grateful for the time we were able to see the children and are hopeful this new lockdown will be lifted and not impact Term 4 at Richard Gill School - which commences on Wednesday. Let’s all keep our fingers and toes crossed! In good news, the NSW Government has announced all K-1 years will recommence from October 18 across the state.

Upcoming Events

For families considering enrolment at Richard Gill School we have 2 exciting events approaching in the coming weeks, lockdown permitting.

The first is our “Family Info Night”, which is on Wednesday, October 13 from 6-7pm at Richard Gill School -

The second is our “Kindy for a Day” program, which is on Friday October 22 from 9:30am-2:30pm for children to experience a day of Kindergarten at Richard Gill School. Registrations for both events are essential, so please follow the links below:

Family Info Night

Kindy For A Day

Enrolment

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

AdditionAL Transport

A new, daily, school bus service has just been announced from Singleton to Muswellbrook, so we are excited to begin promoting Richard Gill School to our neighbours in Singleton. If you know of any friends or family living in Singleton who may like to know more about the school, please feel free to share.

For more information on school buses, contact Osborns.

Scholarships

Scholarship applications are now open and available to local children entering Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2 in 2022. Scholarships are available across a range of areas, including Equity, Academic and Talent.

If you are looking for a scholarship or know a family who might benefit, please don’t hesitate to apply today.

Scholarships at Richard Gill School are to provide wonderful opportunities for students who, because of financial or other special circumstances, would not normally have access to the educational opportunities provided by the School - as well as a way to build up areas of excellence within the School. Families can apply for a scholarship in confidence by contacting the Principal or filling in an application form here.

Thinking of everyone enduring what seems to be a never-ending set of lockdowns, and remaining optimistic for brighter days just around the corner.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 017 - Remote learning and planning for 2022

Hello, and welcome to the seventeenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I will provide a general update of the school including how we are fairing in lockdown, getting set for 2022 and a link to My Top 10 Tips For School Readiness article.

Update

This has been a quiet month for Richard Gill School as we have rapidly adapted to the reality of remote learning, a first-time experience for our new school. Despite Muswellbrook, Singleton, and the Upper Hunter yet to experience a single confirmed case of Covid-19, we have of course joined all of NSW in mandatory lockdown. I remain optimistic that the NSW State Government will make the sensible decision to release regions, such as ours, from the lockdown as soon as practicable so that our students can return to face-to-face learning which they are so desperately missing. I wish to congratulate the staff of Richard Gill School for their outstanding work in these difficult times, and to the Board of Directors who have been wonderfully supportive.

Covid lockdown at Richard Gill School

On Thursday August 5 at 11am Muswellbrook was put into a snap lockdown from 5pm. Richard Gill School staff immediately put into action our “Remote Learning Implementation Plan” and were able to mobilise quickly enough that hard copy materials were sent home with the children that afternoon to facilitate remote learning on Friday August 6. 

Zoom sessions are being conducted in 3 small groups of 4 students each, 3 times per day for 15 minutes in the morning, midday and afternoon. This is where teaching staff can explicitly explain the learning tasks for the upcoming session and answer any questions from the previous session.

Families have been encouraged to continue the same school week routines in their household such as wake up and bedtime and wearing of school uniform, as “structure and routine is an excellent antidote to anxiety in times of change”.

Thankfully, all of our families have good access to technology and internet, however printed hard copies of materials are being put out the front of the school each morning as required for collection. A daily email is going to families at 4pm with soft copies of the following days’ worksheets and live links to online content, and a general update about the lockdown situation. Music and chess lessons continue amongst the other key learning areas, however we are following the Department of Education advice of 2-3 hours per day of structured learning for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students, encouraging families to have children play outside, do puzzles, bake, clean, garden etc. to fill their days.

Having now been in lockdown for 4 full weeks, we have adopted “Fun Friday” with less structured lessons, out of uniform and lots of music and dancing, as well as “Wellbeing Wednesday” where staff check in with families via phone and discuss wellbeing strategies with the children.

Staffing

Richard Gill School are currently advertising for our 2022 Classroom Infants Teacher. Applications should be submitted via the Seek link below, and close on Monday September 13 at 4pm. Please don’t hesitate to forward this link to anyone you know who may be suitable and looking for a move to beautiful regional NSW.

Infants Classroom Teacher (K/1/2) - Advertisement

Enrolment

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Scholarships

Scholarship applications are now open and available to all students entering Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 in 2022. Richard Gill School offers scholarships in areas of Equity, Academic and Talent. For more information, please visit our scholarships page.

Media

I have recently started on my own professional blog space for sharing my opinions and ideas about education. I recently compiled by “Top 10 Tips for School Readiness” which were shared on our social media pages. This month for my blog at www.chrisenglish.com.au I have reshared this content with greater detail provided around each of tips, as I was bound by a character limit on social media.

Read: My Top 10 Tips For School Readiness

Wishing everyone the very best as we endure challenging circumstances. Happy Spring!

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal's Blog 016 - Covid Update, Enrolments and Inspiration

Hello, and welcome to the sixteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I will provide a general update of the school and enrolment activities.

Update

With confirmed cases of Covid-19 emerging in the Hunter region, we have now entered a 7-day lock down, with our “Remote Learning Implementation Plan” coming into full effect today. This morning I joined Miss Presland and our K/1 students, who have been divided into 3 groups, for their morning Zoom sessions which will be repeated at lunchtime and in the afternoon each day of lockdown. I am confident we have done all we can to provide outstanding continuity of learning at extremely short notice and must thank our staff for going above and beyond in difficult circumstances.

Tree Planting

On Wednesday July 28, Richard Gill School students participated in National Tree Day and were supplied with 50 native trees to be planted in the school grounds. Thank you very much to Muswellbrook Shire Council and the Sustainability team of Mick Brady and Tracy Ward for fostering this initiative and teaching us how to plant the trees, and to Final Form Regeneration for doing the hard yakka and digging the holes for each tree, allowing our students to plant the trees with ease.

Playground

We are grateful to have our playground works completed and can report that the children are having a wonderful time using the equipment during their break times. Many thanks to AM&JD Contractors for their hard work on this.

Enrolment

Family Info Session – Postponed

Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, we must postpone our Family Info Night originally planned for next Wednesday, August 11. We will await the end of the lockdown period until we decide if our Kindy for a Day program scheduled for Friday, August 27 will be postponed also. Stay tuned. For now, please still register for the events if you are interested in finding out more about Richard Gill School.

Kindy for a Day

Family info Session

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found on our Enrollment Documents page.

Early Childhood Music

Unfortunately, despite the recent growth of 4 new enrolments, our Early Childhood Music program must be postponed until the lockdown subsides. These classes bring me great joy each week, and I am grateful to Sheridan Carmichael who is our outstanding volunteer assistant. We will have these running again as soon as possible.

Scholarships

Scholarship applications are now open and available to all students entering Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 in 2022. Richard Gill School offers scholarships in areas of Equity, Academic and Talent. For more information, please visit our scholarships page.

Inspiration

Seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers asks

"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?"

Breaking down the research-backed ways parents and caregivers can support children's healthy brain development, Wright highlights the benefits of play on lifelong learning, behaviour and well-being, sharing effective strategies to help all kids thrive by the age of five. She's joined onstage by one-year-old Ari and his dad, Amarjot, who help illustrate her big ideas about brain science.

It’s a brilliant and inspiring watch for parents and carers. I would highly recommend taking a look.

This TED Talk was produced in collaboration with Minderoo Foundation as an educational tool for parents and caregivers around the world and is supported by UNICEF.

Follow Chris English

I have recently started on my own professional blog space for sharing my opinions and ideas about education. I recently reviewed the 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report and welcome you to read my commentary at www.chrisenglish.com.au.

Wishing everyone all the best.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 015 - Playground, Donations and Jingle Competition

Principal’s Blog 015, Friday July 2, 2021.

Hello, and welcome to the fifteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post I will provide a general update of the school including our new playground, exciting purchases thanks to generous donations, our jingle competition entry and more.

Update

Covid 19 – I am sure we are all tired of talking about Covid, however, it is of course the most pertinent topic in NSW schools at the moment. Whilst I am hopeful schools in regional NSW might be spared the worst of potential restrictions and requirements for online learning, parents can rest assured that staff, consultants and myself have put plans in place for a range of scenarios, including any potential remote learning requirements, to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for our students upon the commencement of Term 3. 

Playground

Our children will have new playground items to play on very soon, bringing lots of new opportunities for free and imaginative play, an important aspect of the Richard Gill School philosophy. We are grateful to James, Drew and Des at AM & JD Contracting in Muswellbrook who are commencing installation of our outdoor playground next week. I know our families and children are very excited about the playground being installed, as are staff.

Construction

Whilst the bulk of our construction works were completed in January, there were some minor works outstanding due to a pesky box gutter roof leak. We are grateful to RMS Services for resolving this issue which has enabled the final foyer ceiling works to be completed this week, coordinated by Lahey Constructions. What a relief to finally know our Stage 1 construction works are now complete!

Enrolment

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Scholarships

Scholarship applications are now open and available to all students entering Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 in 2022. Richard Gill School offers scholarships in areas of Equity, Academics and Talent. Being able to offer as many of our community’s children access to Richard Gill School is important to us. If you know of or have children who you think might benefit from a scholarship, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. For more information, please visit here.

Donations

We are thrilled to have received a considerable donation from the extended family of Mr E.C. Humphries and Mrs C.W. Humphries. This donation will contribute towards the installation of a new Smart Board, a Bass/Alto xylophone, a new classroom music rug, a set of level readers, playground equipment and sports equipment. We thank the Humphries family immensely for their generous contribution to our school and students.

Media

Mr English and the K/1 class recently entered a jingle writing competition for a local business named “Life of Pie” run by the 98.1 PowerFM radio station. Voting has now closed and we have our fingers crossed for a win! Whatever the result, it was a fun and enriching experience to undertake a songwriting activity with our students - they all did very well.

Wishing everyone a (Covid) safe month ahead, and a restful holiday period for the chalkies amongst us.

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School

Principal’s Blog 014 Enrolment, Musica Viva and our first Kindy for a Day

Hello, and welcome to the fourteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. This month I provide an update on the school playground, highlights of our school excursion, Kindy for a Day and more.

Update

Our playground installation is being scheduled for the school holidays, as are the final construction works which were delayed due to ongoing investigation and repair of a minor roof leak. I am pleased to say these items have both now been resolved and we look forward to completing the scheduled works during the holiday period. 

The Board of Directors and I recently held a productive Strategy Planning Day, where we reviewed parent feedback of how the school is progressing and established goals and priorities for the school moving forward based on these responses and the collective experience of our team. We look forward to further developing our Strategic Planning documents in the months ahead and sharing them publicly once complete.

Enrolment

Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.

Kindy for a Day

Today we have hosted our first-ever “Kindy for a Day” program for prospective Kindergarten students. It was very exciting to have another group of students in the school, as we start to envisage how the school will look as we grow in size in 2022. The group of children who participated had a wonderful time. The current students loved having new friends to meet and play with too!  

School Events

It has been a busy month at RGS where our students have participated in a Musica Viva concert “Wyniss” hosted at Muswellbrook PS, hosted the Power FM School Breakfast with live broadcast held here at the school in addition to a visit from our local Police Liaison Officer, Constable Gray.

Donations

With the end of financial year approaching, we have received a number of enquiries about donations to the school. A reminder that we are a registered charity and can provide a tax-deductable gift receipt for any financial contributions made to the school which we can allocate towards scholarships, building works or teaching resources.

An enormous thank you to Greg Butcher and his wife Kathy for their donation of a 2-octave contrabass Marimba from Optimum Percussion. This will be a wonderful addition to our Orff ensemble. It has been wonderful to chat with Greg about his own musical experiences and connection with Richard. 

Media

I recently read an excellent article about the importance of play in the early development of children. Many of the points made by the author, who is talking in response to a 2020 meta-analysis of 78 different research papers spanning four decades of research published in Developmental Review, resonated with me, such as “Physical play creates fun, exciting situations in which children have to apply self-regulation.” 

Read more here

To share with you a snippet of our vision document composed by Richard in 2018, it states “We need to allow the children to be children for as long as possible without compromising their learning and without the imposition of endless testing.” It would seem Richard was ahead of the curve in this area, as he was in so many other areas. 

Yours in Music,

Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School