1. What is the name of the Ruyton -Trinity partnership that recently celebrated its 30th anniversary?

2. What is the name of Trinity’s Therapy Dog?

3. What is the language origin of Trinity’s Outreach program, Harambee?

4. At what celebratory occasion are Trinity graduates formally inducted into the Old Trinity Grammarians’ Association?

5. Recent graduate Tom Gross (OTG 2024) was drafted into which AFL team?

6. What is the name of the pivotal award given to a member of the Parents’ Association at the end of their time at Trinity?

7. What inventor is known for the ‘failure as a tool for success’ model?

8. In what year was the first Trinity Grammar School Captain appointed? 1903, 1906 or 1909?

9. Before this year, when was the last time Trinity won the AGSV Athletics Premiership?

10. Simon Moss (OTG 2000) co-founded which OTG Sports Club?

11. Year 12 student Alex Chieng recently appeared in The Age speaking about his experience studying which subject?

12. The pattern on the inside covers of this magazine (pictured left) is made up of what iconic Trinity symbol?

$16

Thick material with Mitre branding

$17

$18

$12

$35

Mitre pattern on the underside!

To purchase, contact the Community Engagement Office at communityengagement@trinity.vic.edu.au
or drop in to 55 Wellington Street, Kew during term time.

Simon Moss (OTG 2000) describes his time at Trinity as “transformative”.

“I came in as a dorky 11-year-old who’d never had a family member finish high school,” he said, “and left knowing that if I worked hard and was bold, I could do anything I wanted”.

Today, as co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, Simon’s work focuses on action-based international campaigns.

“We campaign to secure commitments to change policies and get large-scale funding for the world’s most impactful groups that work to defeat poverty and defend the planet,” he said.

Their model at Global Citizen, Simon says, is all about mixing pop culture – like films and music – with policy issues – like climate change. They’ve put on major concerts and events around the world, with artists from Kendrick Lamar to Billie Eilish, Post Malone and Beyonce.

The subjects and cocurricular activities Simon engaged with Trinity he says “set the course” of his life. Enhancement History gave him his first taste of politics and arguments about geopolitical power; areas of focus which are now central to his career path. Debating, he says, taught him how to build and convey complex ideas.

“When my German Language teacher encouraged me to apply [for a short study exchange] in Germany, it took me on a plane and overseas for the first time ever and gave me a global perspective,” he said.

Soccer was a passion for Simon during his time at school, and in Year 12 he was part of the school’s first AGSV Soccer Premiership. Simon went on to become a co-founder of the Old Trinity Grammarians’ Soccer Club in 2002.

Outdoor Education, another formative experience for Simon, he says taught him that being smart alone isn’t enough.

“It’s about how you work with others,” he said. In the year after Simon graduated, he became an Outdoor Education Assistant and spent time supporting school expeditions before backpacking overseas.

While studying a BA at the University of Melbourne, Simon says that he discovered that “doing” is “more fun than learning” and as such spent much of his time engaging with volunteer community, advocacy and fundraising projects; a trend that continues for him today.

Simon has spent much of this year working on a big idea “that we’ve just taken the wraps off”; partnering with FIFA to deliver the first ever half-time show at the Men’s World Cup Final in 2026.

“Based loosely on the NFL Superbowl Halftime show, we’re excited to be mixing it up, making it both entertaining and impactful, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to fight poverty,” he said.

Simon has lived in New York for several years now, where he says it’s been “wonderful” to see many OTGs pass through.

“Just last week I saw Michael Fan, 2023 School Captain, who is now studying at Princeton; and who by chance, had previously been on exchange to Münster in Germany with SAGSE just as I did back in 1999-2000,” he said.

In August, Simon returned to Trinity, speaking with a Year 10 Ethics Class and Year 9 Religious Education class about his work in global development.

“I’ve visited every couple of years, and what has struck me is how even though the individual students change, the buildings get fancier, and the teachers I know grow a little older, the ethos and values of the school stay the same,” he said.

“I’ve always valued the school’s emphasis on being a citizen and well-rounded person.”

“It’s what defined my experience, and it’s what the world needs more of”

Learn more about Simon’s work at globalcitizen.org

Upon graduating, there is a large change in the lives of students. The structure of daily school life comes to an end, the guidance and support of teaching mentors subsides and the peers they have been around daily begin adventures of their own.

With this change, the continuation of key and long-standing relationships is critical to providing support through the next stage of life.

As an OTG, I have found it easy to connect with fellow alumni, with shared values and experiences that assist in forming new friendships or business relationships. I have also made good friends with OTGs from different year levels who I have met along the way in my career.

Being a part of the OTGA, I have also been lucky enough to see some great networks continuing to thrive, particularly within the OTG sporting clubs.

The ‘4 C’ focus areas where the OTGA looks to drive engagement and impact; ‘Community’, ‘Careers’, ‘Clubs’ and ‘Connections’, are the spaces where we think we can add the most value. Many of our events and initiatives cross over more than one of these focus areas.

Mentoring, which is facilitated through events and our online platform Old Trinity Grammarians’ Online (OTGO), can be particularly powerful when it come from someone who is relatable. Some of our younger OTGs assist annually with events that provide guidance to Year 12 students on what to expect a university and how to navigate some tricky areas, such as timetabling.

It takes a big team effort between Trinity Grammar School, the OTGA, the OTG Clubs and many others to continue to foster these important connections.

Once Trinity students finish their secondary education, we are proud to continue to foster a deep and continuous affiliation with the school and its broader community.

Old Trinity Grammarians Online (OTGO) is a digital platform for alumni that facilitates social, networking, mentorship and career opportunities for OTGs.

Trinity’s history glitters with over a century of sporting glory. Over the years, many aspiring test cricketers and AFL stars have shown their mettle in the green and gold.

But in the summer of 2015/16, only one senior Trinity team brought home any silverware: the Lawn Bowls team. When the 2016 Drama Captain-elect, my friend Lachlan Gough (née Clarke), approached me in the lead up to that fateful summer, the last thing I expected was a sporting proposition. He, with VisCom guru-and-frontman-of-indie-rock-band-The-Smoking-Figs Brett Rothnie as coach, was resurrecting the school’s Lawn Bowls team. Lachie was to be captain, and he wanted me to be his vice.

Well, I’d grown up across the road from the Fairfield Bowling Club, and I’d spent many a summer evening treading the green barefoot. He didn’t need to ask me twice.

We ran a relentless recruitment campaign with the promise of jerseys with custom nicknames and numbers. We signed up a total of 11 players for the sport, almost enough for four teams, while lesser sports struggled to fill two.

That season was full of characters. From the external coach who claimed to have coached the Indian Lawn Bowls team in the Commonwealth Games and still wore the Team India jersey they’d given him (I don’t reckon he’d taken it off since), to the boater hatted puritan who ran the school’s competition and couldn’t stand the green-and-gold zinc ‘warpaint’ we wore each Saturday.

And even though our team didn’t win a game all year (that premiership was won by the nominal Second III – shoutout to Adoni Konstantopoulos, Luke Fethers and Gabe Hill), it was genuinely the most fun I had on the school sports field. Lawn Bowls is a cracker of a sport, and I wouldn’t have known it had it not been for that summer. Even now I play carpet bowls with my housemates to pass the time, and having the stories of that summer up my sleeve is great for work Christmas parties at bowls clubs.

Vive la Invincibowls!

The voluntary Outdoor Leaders course, held at Trinity’s Lake Nillahcootie location, prepares Year 10 students to lead Year 7 and 8 Outdoor Education camps as peer mentors.

James Pirera’s (OTG 2015) experience in this program, both as a mentee and a mentor, is part of what inspired him to continue be part of the program as an OTG some eight years later.

What experiences have you taken from your time in the Outdoor Education program into your life beyond school?

I believe the most valuable part of the course, if it isn’t the leadership skills, is the confidence to communicate and be a leader, both directly and indirectly. Students learn to lead a group, teach lessons and adapt to the needs of a team.

The program is jam-packed with useful leadership, practical and soft skills. What I hope students take away from the course is to be a compassionate leader who can effectively communicate with a broad range of people while considering the needs of the task, the team and individuals.

What has surprised you about your experience now working in the program as an OTG?

Each year, I am impressed by the Year 11 training team. They are a committed group of young people who are willing to learn, take on feedback and are then utterly trusted to deliver a challenging task, teaching leadership to their peers in the outdoors. They do it with passion and skill beyond their years, without fail.

What do you enjoy most about being out in nature?

The slow pace of the outdoors is fantastic. Hiking up Mt Difficult in the Grampians on Year 10 camp, just before the 2015 bushfires, was one of my fondest memories of my time at school.

Recently as a group of school mates, we recreated the walk (pictured) and it was just as hard and spectacular.

Marathons

A number of Old Trinity Grammarians participated in the Melbourne Marathon series, including Josh McLeod (OTG 2019) who placed 8th in the 10km event, with an impressive time of 31:10. Nikita Varelas (OTG 2019) (pictured) also enjoyed running and completing the Athens marathon!

1980s catch up

Teckha Son (OTG 1989) caught up with Ravi Jassal, Chris (Wenker) James, Simon Williams, Heath Caddy, Chihiro Ishizuka, all of whom attended Trinity in the 1980s. The occasion coincided with a visit by Chihiro who was on holiday from Japan.

Peter Johnstone AM (OTG 1957) attended the Ruyton Girls’ School Kindergarten, then followed big brother John to Trinity. He was Vice Captain of the Prep school and involved with athletics, football, gym and swimming. In 1957 he was appointed Captain of Roberts House.

Trinity nominated Peter to attend Lord Somers Camp in 1958, he had many roles in the organisation, and never missed a Big Camp until the end of his term as Camp Chief of the organisation from 1982-1992. He was also integral in the inclusion of women in the organisation with the first camp for women being held in 1986. He was a modest man who believed in the Camp motto ‘prodesse
quam consipici’ – service without recognition, but he could not escape an Advance Australia Award or later membership of the Order of Australia, AM.

Fay Marles AM

We are saddened by the passing of Fay Marles AM, at the age of 98.

Fay’s husband Don Marles was the Headmaster of Trinity Grammar School between 1979 and 1992, and it is believed Fay was a strong advocate for the establishment of the Coordinate Program between Ruyton and Trinity, which commenced in 1993.

Fay attended Ruyton Girls’ School from 1933 to 1943, during which time her father, Percy Pearce, was a Physical Education Instructor at Trinity 1923-1949.

Representatives from both Trinity Grammar School and Ruyton Girls’ School attended the service.

Friends of Cricket endeavours to create a sense of community amongst the students who have chosen cricket as their summer sport, as well as bring the parents together and support the coaches. This is done through arranging BBQs for boys and parents at home games, supporting coaches with ground set up and scoring, and Pink Stumps Day, which doubles as a fundraiser for the McGrath Foundation.

Parents from most year levels are involved, which means we get to meet a wider group, giving it a real cross-age family feel. Because we love the sport, and love to watch our son(s) play, it has been a delight to be involved in this capacity. It means we share long lazy summer days with fellow “cricket-crazies”, and food always brings people together.

The staff involved with the cricket program, Bulleen ground staff, as well as the Community Engagement Office staff have all been very supportive. It is great to be part of a school that values community engagement and positive relationships so highly.

And when effort is put into something that our children are involved in, it gives them the message that they matter. While we are in this season of life, this is where we have chosen to invest our energy. It gives us a “tribe” and we get to know the boys and parents of the boys that our sons hang out with, which in turn, we know shape them as people.

Memories are being made!

Attendees at the Spring Luncheon event. 

I have been a Class Representative and Trinity Shop volunteer for many years, as well as a member of the Cowey Club (Friend of Rowing), a Friend of Skiing and a member of the Trinity Community Choir.

Class Representative tasks have involved organising and hosting parent social events through the year, assisting with school functions such as the Trinity Fair, Trinity Ball, Junior School Mother’s Day Breakfast and the Year 12 scone morning, attending Class Rep meetings and being a conduit for feedback between parents and the school.

As a Trinity Shop volunteer, I have sorted and labelled donations, assisted parents and students with uniform queries, done sales, and more recently, helped with the move and set up of the shop in its new location. When the boys were rowing, I helped set up or pack up the marque and provided food for the boys as a member of Cowey Club (Friends of Rowing), and when they were
skiing, I volunteered the at Interschools Snowsports on Race Duty with Friends of Skiing. Rehearsing and performing with the Trinity Community Choir in the annual Trinity Carol Service at St Paul’s Cathedral has been another wonderful engagement experience.

What I enjoy most about being a PA volunteer is meeting and getting to know many different parents, students and teachers.

To me, Trinity is a warm and inclusive community, that cares deeply about the boys, fairness and justice.

Fine Foods volunteers at the Founders’ Day Fair.

Creative art experiences such as drawing, painting, clay and wire sculpture, dancing, and music, play a significant role in the development of young children. They provide a unique avenue for children to express themselves, explore their world, and learn valuable life skills.

As our learners experience new art materials or techniques, there is unhurried time for them to simply explore the possibilities and elements of each material. Children have the right to learn in diverse, rich and deeply meaningful ways; allowing them time to explore the visual arts to support making their thinking visible and communicate what they know, understand, wonder about, question, feel and imagine.

Some of the most effective means that our learners have for explaining things to themselves and others are drawing, painting and clay work. While using them to make images and form ideas, they explore feelings and ideas. Our educators’ presence in the space creates a support for children to sustain their interaction of the materials on offer, guiding and supporting, questioning and challenging them or giving them space and unhurried time to develop an understanding of the world around them.

The creative arts serve as a powerful platform for young children to learn and develop. They foster self-expression, cognitive and motor skill development, and social growth, while also nurturing creativity and emotional intelligence.

Encouraging children to engage in creative arts experiences from a young age can have a profound impact on their overall development and future success.

As children see their creations take form, their confidence and self-esteem grow. This self-assuredness can extend to other areas of their lives.