Fintona Girls' School

For other uses, see Fintona (disambiguation).

Fintona Girls' School
Location
Balwyn , Victoria Australia
Coordinates	37°48′51″S 145°4′48″E
Information
Type	Independent, girls' school, Christian, day school
Motto	Age Quod Agis (Latin) (Do what you are doing)
Denomination	Non-denominational
Established	1896
Chairman	Jackie Besley
Principal	Rachael Falloon
Staff	~120[1]
Years offered	ELC–12
Gender	Girls
Enrolment	~600 (K–12)[1]
Colour(s)	Navy blue and gold
Slogan	Do what you do well
Affiliation	Girls Sport Victoria
Website	www.fintona.vic.edu.au

Fintona Girls' School is a small, independent, non-denominational, day school for girls, located in Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Established in 1896, Fintona is a non-selective school and currently caters for approximately 600 students from the Early Learning Centre (ELC) to Year 12.

Fintona is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV),[2] the Alliance of Girls Schools Australia (AGSA),[3] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[4] and the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA).[5]

History

Fintona was established as a Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, in 1896. The school was founded by Annie Hughston and was originally located in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell.

The school occupies 'Balwyn', the historic home and vineyard built by early settler Andrew Murray, from which the suburb of Balwyn takes its name.[6]

Principals

Period	Details	Notes
1896–1921	Annie Hughston	[7]
1922–1926	Isobel Macdonald
1927–1929	Majory Black
1930–1934	Jeanie McCowan
1935–1962	Margaret Cunningham
1963–1991	Elizabeth Butt
1992–2000	Deborah Seifert
2001–2005	Karen Starr
2006–2017	Suzy Chandler
2018–present	Rachael Falloon	[8]

Curriculum

Fintona Girls' School is divided into 4 teaching sections:

• The Early Learning Centre (ELC)
• Junior School, catering for Prep to Year 4
• Middle School, catering for Years 5 to Year 8
• Senior School, catering for Years 9 to 12[9]

The school's ELC curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to education. From Prep to Year 6, students are involved in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program which covers the subject areas of language, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social and physical education.[9]

Fintona offers three languages, Latin, French and Japanese.[9]

Houses

The three Junior School (P–4) houses of Fintona are Bedggood, Menzies and Reid. The six Middle and Senior School (years 5–12) houses of Fintona are Boyne (after school benefactors), Clarke (after first Fintona boarder and matriculant), Hughston (after first headmistress), Murdoch (after Patrick John Murdoch of Trinity Church, Camberwell, where many boarders attended), Maxwell (after father of one of Fintona's first prefects), Ower (after member of staff 1900–1930).

Sport

Fintona is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV).

GSV premierships

Fintona has won the following GSV premiership.[10]

• Basketball – 2001

Notable alumnae

Old Fintonians Association logo

Ex-students of Fintona Girls' School are known as 'Old Fintonians' and may elect to join the 'Old Fintonians Association'.[11] Some notable 'Old Fintonians' include:

Media, entertainment and the arts

• Norma Bull – Australian painter[12]

Medicine and science

• Dora Mary Lush – pioneer bacteriologist[13]
• Dame Beryl Beaurepaire AC, DBE (née Bedggood) – feminist, former chairwoman of the Federal Women's Committee of the Liberal Party of Australia, wife of Ian Beaurepaire (of Beaurepaire tyre's fame)[14]
• Helen Caldicott – environmentalist and anti-nuclear campaigner[15]
• Andrea Coote – politician[16]
• Pattie Maie Menzies (née Leckie) – wife of former prime minister Robert Menzies, appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) for public duty in hospital work[17]

Sport

• Louise Bawden – Olympic volleyball player
• Georgia Griffith – Tokyo 2020 Olympics middle-distance athlete

See also

• List of schools in Victoria
• Victorian Certificate of Education

References

1. Fintona Girls' School: From the Principal Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:15-08-2007)
2. Girls Sport Victoria: Member Schools Archived 2006-08-20 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
3. The Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia: Member Schools Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
4. JSHAA Victoria: Directory of Members Archived February 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
5. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia Archived August 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
6. Travelmate: Balwyn Victoria Archived 7 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
7. "Our History". Fintona Girls' School.
8. "Our Principal".
9. Fintona Girls' School: Curriculum Archived 9 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
10. "Archives » Girls Sport Victoria". Retrieved 25 February 2021.
11. Fintona Girls' School: Old Fintonians Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
12. "Photograph - Norma Bull portrait - Victorian Collections". victoriancollections.net.au. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
13. Australian Dictionary of Biography: Lush, Dora Mary (1910 - 1943) (accessed:23-03-2007)
14. ABR Radio National-Bid Ideas, 24/4/05: "Wisdom Interviews: Dame Beryl Beaurepaire" (accessed:23-03-2007)
15. Green, Jonathan (30 March 2005). "Famous alumni on Latham's hit list". Politics. Crikey. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
16. Parliament of Victoria: Coote, Andrea (accessed:26-08-2007)
17. Australian Women Biographical Entry: Menzies, Pattie Mae (accessed:23-03-2007)

Further reading

• Chilvers, B.J. 1946. The History of Fintona 1896-1946. Fintona Girls' School, Melbourne.
• Reichl, P. 1986. Fintona 1896 - 1986: The Story in Pictures. Fintona Girls' School, Melbourne.

External links

• Fintona Girls' School official website