Artemis
Our Artemis Centre embodies Melbourne Girls Grammar’s commitment to the wellbeing of girls.
Visit the Artemis Centre website to learn about Artemis Gymnastics classes, Learn-to-Swim, Swimming Club and Holiday Clinic programs.
About the Artemis Centre
At Melbourne Girls Grammar, we believe that an exceptional education for life provides not only academic skills and attributes, but also emotional and physical wellbeing. Our sustained focus is therefore on making girls’ wellbeing central to the school experience.
The new world-class Artemis Centre – named after the mythical goddess who represents strength and good health – enables us to provide programs (including Artemis Gymnastics, Artemis Aquatics as well as Artemis Holiday Clinics) and resources that underpin our proactive approach to student wellbeing.
To find out more about Artemis Gymnastics classes, Learn-to-Swim, Swimming Club and Holiday Clinic programs, visit the Artemis Centre website.
Artemis centre PROJECT
Wellbeing lies at the heart of personal success and it is with the premise of a healthy mind, body and spirit that our extraordinary Artemis Centre serves the MGGS community.
Dr Toni Meath, Principal
Purpose
We recognise that physical activity has many benefits for the health and wellbeing of young people and is important in maintaining good health.
Physical activity may also improve a young woman’s psychosocial wellbeing through improvements in self-confidence, self-esteem, energy levels, sleep quality and ability to concentrate. When young people are in good health they are more likely to achieve better educational outcomes.
The Artemis Centre was designed to provide a space to symbolically reflect this concept, and provide a platform for girls to develop the confidence, competencies and habits to proactively monitor and manage their health and wellbeing — an approach that will positively inform their adult years.
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Melbourne Girls Grammar recruited a team of women from BVN Architects to design the Artemis Centre for girls. The space has been designed in response to how we know girls like to live and learn together.
We want every girl to feel confident in an environment in which she can be physically active.
Construction and Facilities
Construction of the Artemis Centre commenced on the site (formerly the Tom Thomas Building) in May 2015 and was completed in July 2017.
The result is an extraordinary building featuring highly sophisticated engineering and elegant finishes, tastefully melding a contemporary façade with traditional elements of the Anderson Street campus.
The world-class Centre includes:
Read more- 25m multi-purpose hydraulic swimming pool
- Court spaces for basketball, netball, badminton and volleyball
- ‘Me Zones’ for small groups and one-on-one wellbeing coaching
- Outdoor seated amphitheatre
- Fitness Hub
- Fitness Studio
- Jumpstart room for 3 – 8 year olds to explore movement and learn to take appropriate risks
- Learning, study and consultation spaces
- A café with indoor and outdoor meeting spaces for our senior girls, staff, parents and broader community
Without the exceptional generosity of the Melbourne Girls Grammar community, we could not have accomplished the Artemis Centre. The Artemis Building Campaign was fundamental to realising this inspirational facility.
artemis Centre and our Old Grammarians
Kitty Chiller
Wellbeing Has Influenced Kitty Chiller’s Life
Former modern pentathlete, Kitty Chiller, represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and in 2013 was named as the Chef de Mission for Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Chiller began her athletic career whilst a student at Melbourne Girls Grammar, representing the School in swimming and athletics, and first competed internationally while she was a student at university. Initially she took part in the sport of aquathon before she began her modern pentathlon career. She was national champion on 12 occasions, won seven World Cup medals and was ranked number one in the world in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Following her retirement from competition she took up a position at the Holmesglen Institute of TAFE in Melbourne where she was responsible for providing training to 15,000 members of the workforce for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She also worked on training for the 2006 Asian Games, held in Doha, Qatar and spent 2 years living in the city.
In 2013, ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee named Chiller as the Chef de Mission for the 2016 Australian team; she was the first female to hold the role for Australia.
the Holmes Sisters
A Dream Comes True for 1950s Swim Captains
Life at Melbourne Girls Grammar in the 1950s is remembered with great fondness by Old Grammarian sisters Prue Johnson (Holmes, 1953) and Louise Gourlay (Holmes, 1955). Mad about sports – particularly swimming, hockey and baseball – the two girls were consecutive swimming captains in 1953 (Prue), 1954 and 1955 (Louise).
The sisters had a natural ability for swimming, Prue in backstroke and Louise in freestyle. Even their older sister Jenny took to the water, excelling in breaststroke. They would train three to four times a week off-campus as there was no swimming pool at Merton Hall in the 1950s.
Prue continues to swim today (hitting the pool at 6.30am twice a week to swim 1.5km) and now the Artemis Centre boasts a 25m indoor/outdoor swimming pool.