News and Events
School News
Mentone Girls. Remarkable Water Babies!
With the beach on our doorstep, Mentone Girls' Grammar School is intrinsically linked with Melbourne's bayside way of life and it is wonderful to see so many of our ‘water babies' achieve such tremendous success in a range of water-based activities.
The School's Lifesaving team has been victorious over 71 other schools to take out the title of School Surf League State Female Champions. In a recent ceremony, the team was presented with their medallions and team members Lara Zalmstra (Year 10) and Jessica Silvester (Year 11) accepted the trophy presented by Ms Kylene Simmons on behalf of Surf Lifesaving Victoria (pictured). Lara and Jessica represent two of our many Swimming, Diving and Lifesaving stars. Both have competed in several local, state and national competitions and also put their skills to good use as volunteer Lifesavers.
Jessica also recently competed in the ‘Blood Big Swim', an 11.2km swim from Frankston to Mornington, where she came second by just 16 seconds in the female section, and 6th overall in the competition. For Jessica, her next goal is to qualify for the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships in 2010, and maybe even to reach Commonwealth or Olympic standards. For Jessica, Swimming and Surf Lifesaving in particular is a passion, a life-long commitment, and a way for her to give something back to the local community.
"It has been great to be part of a school that has such a strong tradition of water related sports and activities. My ability has improved a lot through our Year 8 Foreshore program with Mentone Life Saving Club, and through the challenges of the Duke of Edinburgh program. It has also been fantastic to be able to compete against other schools and clubs and to be part of some amazing Swimming and Lifesaving teams at Mentone," said Jessica.
In more news, one of our Old Girls, Liz Tosh from the Class of 2008, came 6th in the challenging Olympic Distance Triathlon (1500m swim, 40km ride, 10km run) held in Geelong on 5 April 2009. This was the final race in the seven-round Challenge Series, signifying the last chance for competitors to secure crucial selection points for the Australian age group team to compete at the World Championships on the Gold Coast in September. With her fantastic result, Liz has been selected for the Australian team and is looking forward to representing her country in this incredible event.
It is wonderful to see our Mentone girls become such remarkable women. This tradition of water-based success stems way back to the 1900's with one of our most remarkable ‘water babies' Annette Kellerman. Annette pushed many boundaries and scoffed at the social restrictions that women endured in her era. She was a true pioneer of women's endurance swimming and became a world famous Swimming and Diving champion. She also became a movie star with films including Neptune's Daughter and Queen of the Sea. In 1952, the film Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams was made about her life.
Principal Fran Reddan said that there are many talented, passionate and committed students at Mentone Girls' Grammar School with diverse interests and specialities.
"We encourage our students to follow in the footsteps of the many remarkable, pioneering women who have graduated from our School. We ask them to challenge themselves, defy their own boundaries and limitations to achieve excellence in everything they do, and really go above and beyond to make a difference to the people and environment around them. Like Annette, Liz, Lara and Jessica, many of our students take this spirit of adventure and service to the community one step further, and we are very proud of the achievements, dedication, and life-long commitment shown by all our students," said Principal Reddan.
