Mentone Girls' Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Mentone Girls' Grammar School is an independent
, Anglican day school
for girls, located in Mentone
, a bayside suburb of Melbourne, Victoria
, Australia.
Established in 1899 as the Mentone High School for Girls', the school
has a non-selective enrolment
policy and currently caters for approximately 500 students, with girls enrolled in the Early Learning Centre
(3 and 4 years of age), Kindergarten
to Year 12.
Mentone Girls' Grammar is a member of Girls Sport Victoria
(GSV), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia
(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV), and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.
Mentone Girls' Grammar became affiliated with the Church of England
in 1962, and subsequently the Bishop
's mitre
was added to the school crest
.
Parts of the campus are named after recent headmistresses. For example, the Prudence Lewty hall was named after former headmistress Prudence Lewty.
in suburban Mentone, directly adjacent to Mentone Beach.
Features of the campus include: a pre–tertiary
learning centre for students in Years 11 and 12 known as the "Cobbalanna Senior College", the Junior School
with specialised facilities, the Simpson Art Centre with facilities for photography
and ceramics
, "The Bay Cafe
" a new cafeteria style lunch space, the Annette Kellerman science
wing and pool, named for the underwater ballerina of the same name, whose mother was a member of staff at the school during the 1920s, Library
, multi-media laboratories, and Performing arts
spaces. Sporting facilities include Tennis Court
s, a Gym
nasium, a 25-metre outdoor heated swimming pool
and a smaller indoor heated pool used by the ELC and Prep students.
The school also makes use of outside facilities such as Mentone Beach
.
was designed in 1924, by Headmistress, Mary Pearson. To complement the school crest, Pearson developed the school motto
of Vero Nihil Verius, which may be translated from Latin
as "Nothing truer than Truth".
The crest is based on the design of St. George's shield, and is made up of four components:
Former Headmistress, Prudence Lewty and Bursar
Mary Coxall added a laurel wreath
around the crest in 1963. In heraldic terms, the laurel wreath identifies hero
es returning from battle
and technically should only be displayed on crests which have been carried into battle
. For this reason the laurel wreath was removed in 1999.
Annual house competitions include House Athletics, House Swimming, House Music and House Dance.
since its foundation in 2001. Through this association, students from Year 7 to 12 are given the opportunity to compete against 24 other girls' schools, in up to twelve different sport
s. Students from Year 4 to 6 participate in the local CDPSSA inter-school sports program.
, the Old Girls Club (OGC). Some notable Old Girls' include:
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, Anglican day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
for girls, located in Mentone
Mentone, Victoria
Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
, a bayside suburb of Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia.
Established in 1899 as the Mentone High School for Girls', the school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
has a non-selective enrolment
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
policy and currently caters for approximately 500 students, with girls enrolled in the Early Learning Centre
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre is a British chain of shops selling toys for very young children.-History:Originally set up as a mail order company in 1974 and was always based near Swindon; by 1980 it had ten shops; and it has grown to include 215 shops in the UK and over 80 in 19 other countries such...
(3 and 4 years of age), Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
to Year 12.
Mentone Girls' Grammar is a member of Girls Sport Victoria
Girls Sport Victoria
Girls' Sport Victoria was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting association in Victoria, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne....
(GSV), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia
Junior School Heads Association of Australia
The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia , is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia....
(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV), and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.
History
Mentone Girls' Grammar School was established in 1899 as the Mentone High School for Girls, by the four Simpson sisters at "Cobbalanna", in Como Parade, Mentone. "Cobbalanna" is now the name given to the new Senior College. In 1924, the school was re-opened as the Mentone Girls' Grammar School (St. Margaret's) under the leadership of the then Headmistress, Evaline Mary Pearson.Mentone Girls' Grammar became affiliated with the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in 1962, and subsequently the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
's mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
was added to the school crest
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
.
Parts of the campus are named after recent headmistresses. For example, the Prudence Lewty hall was named after former headmistress Prudence Lewty.
Campus
Mentone Girls' Grammar School is located on single campusCampus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
in suburban Mentone, directly adjacent to Mentone Beach.
Features of the campus include: a pre–tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
learning centre for students in Years 11 and 12 known as the "Cobbalanna Senior College", the Junior School
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
with specialised facilities, the Simpson Art Centre with facilities for photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and ceramics
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, "The Bay Cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
" a new cafeteria style lunch space, the Annette Kellerman science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
wing and pool, named for the underwater ballerina of the same name, whose mother was a member of staff at the school during the 1920s, Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, multi-media laboratories, and Performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
spaces. Sporting facilities include Tennis Court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s, a Gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, a 25-metre outdoor heated swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and a smaller indoor heated pool used by the ELC and Prep students.
The school also makes use of outside facilities such as Mentone Beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
.
School crest
The Mentone Girls' Grammar School crestCrest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
was designed in 1924, by Headmistress, Mary Pearson. To complement the school crest, Pearson developed the school motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
of Vero Nihil Verius, which may be translated from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as "Nothing truer than Truth".
The crest is based on the design of St. George's shield, and is made up of four components:
- The three starStarA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s represent the Holy Trinity: GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
the Father; God the Son and God the Holy SpiritHoly SpiritHoly Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
. - The three wavy gold lines symbolise the school's location by a BayBayA bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
. - The bishop's mitreMitreThe mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
was added in 1963 to signify the School's association with the Anglican Church of AustraliaAnglican Church of AustraliaThe Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
. - The colour's of murreyMurreyIn heraldry, murrey is a "stain", an occasionally used tincture.According to dictionaries, murrey is the colour of mulberries, somewhere between gules and purpure , almost maroon; but examples registered in Canada and Scotland show it as a reddish brown.The Flag of the Second Spanish Republic was...
, blue and gold, also add significance. Murrey, a traditional heraldic colour, represents the bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
of ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. Blue represents both the skySkyThe sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
and the waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and indicates the height and depth of learningLearningLearning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
. Gold represents the sandSandSand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s of the shoreShoreA shore or shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In Physical Oceanography a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past and present, while the beach is at the edge of the shore,...
.
Former Headmistress, Prudence Lewty and Bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
Mary Coxall added a laurel wreath
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
around the crest in 1963. In heraldic terms, the laurel wreath identifies hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es returning from battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
and technically should only be displayed on crests which have been carried into battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
. For this reason the laurel wreath was removed in 1999.
Houses
There are 4 Houses at Mentone Girls Grammar School.- McCowan House
- Kent House
- St Margarets House
- Grammar House
Annual house competitions include House Athletics, House Swimming, House Music and House Dance.
Sport
Mentone Girls' Grammar School has been a member of Girls Sport VictoriaGirls Sport Victoria
Girls' Sport Victoria was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting association in Victoria, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne....
since its foundation in 2001. Through this association, students from Year 7 to 12 are given the opportunity to compete against 24 other girls' schools, in up to twelve different sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s. Students from Year 4 to 6 participate in the local CDPSSA inter-school sports program.
Notable alumnae
Alumnae of Mentone Girls' Grammar School are known as Old Girls and may elect to join the schools alumni associationAlumni association
An alumni association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students. In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools , fraternities, and sororities often form groups with alumni from the same organisation...
, the Old Girls Club (OGC). Some notable Old Girls' include:
- Dulcie Boling – Magazine editor and company director
- Annette Marie Sarah KellermannAnnette KellermanAnnette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer...
– Swimmer, aquatic performer and film actress - Jenny Kinder – Choreographer; Founding director of TasDance; Head of School of Dance at the Victorian College of the ArtsVictorian College of the ArtsThe Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
- Vera Mackie – Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow, History, The University of Melbourne
- Penelope Ward – Partner with law firm Baker & McKenzieBaker & McKenzieBaker & McKenzie is an international law firm, founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie. It is home to more than 3,800 lawyers spread over 70 offices in 42 different countries....
- Nicole BradtkeNicole BradtkeNicole Bradtke is a retired professional tennis player from Australia.Bradtke won three singles and nine doubles on the WTA Tour in her career. She reached the semifinals of the 1988 French Open, and won a bronze medal in doubles at the 1992 Summer Olympics, partnering Rachel McQuillan...
– Professional tennis player
See also
- Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of EducationThe Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
- International Baccalaureate
Further reading
- Burren, P.B. 1984. Mentone: The Place for a School - A History of Mentone Girls' Grammar School from 1899. Hyland House Publishing P/L, South Yarra, Vic. ISBN 0-9080907-2-2.