Teaching and Learning

Term 2 has provided wonderful opportunities for our students to take the knowledge and skills they have gained in the classroom and apply them in a variety of real-world settings.

• Our Year 9 and 10 students triumphed at the Science and Engineering Challenge and were the outright winners for the second year running.  By applying their knowledge of science and mathematics, our students solved problems such as what structures are best used in construction to withstand earthquakes and other natural forces. Read more about this below.
• Students in Year 10 and 11 brought together their knowledge from a variety of subject areas to engage in the Model United Nations Assembly and Mock Trial. Both these competitions replicate the real process that occurs at the UN and the court room.  Students are given the opportunity to show their research, persuasive and public speaking skills together with their knowledge of current events, History, Geography and Legal Studies.  Read more about this event below.
• Our VET Construction, Hospitality and Primary Industries students have had a week of work placement within their relevant industries, giving them connections and insight into the workplace.

Congratulations to all students who have been involved in these initiatives and I encourage all young people to seek out opportunities to enrich their learning.

Year 12 Wilderness Major Expedition

"On the 14th May the Year 12 Wilderness Studies class set off on the major expedition – the Mittagong to Katoomba. This was the first time the trip had been run since 2019, and since 2019 the area had been ravaged by bushfires and floods so we were unsure what state the land would be in. Soon into day one, we realised just how bad the regrowth of vegetation was as we started our ascent out of the Wollondilly River. Weeds including masses of passionfruit vine had grown so thick that tracks that once were clear were now non-existent. Even a 10km stretch of fire trail had been allowed to grow over to the point where we almost needed a compass to navigate at times. From the twelve times I have hiked this route, I had seen nothing like it! This said, the group were tough and resilient and despite the constant battle with the bush, all pushed on, helping each other, encouraging each other. The first three days to Kanangra Walls felt like we had hiked four! It was here that the hard decision was made to end the trip due to reports of how overgrown the last two days of the hike were. Although a tough call, it was necessary given the nature of the previous two days of the hike. So - a valiant attempt by the group: I couldn’t be more proud of them and the amazing way they persevered on what was the most challenging three days of Mittagong to Katoomba I’m sure have ever been hiked."

Mr Matt Heard - Leader of Learning - PDHPE

Da Vinci Decathlon

The Da Vinci Decathlon is an inter-school event where students compete in teams of eight across ten disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics and Chess, Codebreaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

This year’s events were held at The Illawarra Grammar School and we had numerous teams who proudly represented Chev and enjoyed the challenge of stretching their minds into new dimensions.

The Year 8 team – Rylan B, Charlie F, Zeke F, Jack G, Isla G, Ruya G, Max H, Yvette K – achieved incredible results against stiff competition from schools across the southern region. They achieved 1st in Art and Poetry, 1st in Mathematics and 2nd in English.

The Year 9 team – Amirali B, Anna D, Emily W, Hannah R, Jamie M, Jayashruthi P, Lily B, Sebastian B – came 3rd in Codebreaking.

The Year 10 team – Allegra M, Conor S, Eden R, Finnegan M, Lucinda C, Milene S, Venetia B, Xavier H - came 1st in Creative Producers and 3rd in English.

This year the theme was chaos, which required students to apply ideas like the butterfly effect to English, ideate how they would protect a global business from a solar flare, engineer a water, housing or energy solution for a hurricane-affected island, find locations of wars such as the Falklands and transpose a map from an image, find as many codes as possible contained in an image, and have wide ranging science and maths knowledge, and create a performance in eight minutes that is performed in one minute in front of a panel of judges.

Congratulations to all the participants on their hard work and efforts. They represented the school beautifully and did well in a very tough competition.

MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly)

Recently some of our students participated in the Bowral Mittagong Rotary Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) at the Wingecarribee Shire Council chambers.

They joined with students from across the Highlands to debate and discuss world affairs in an environment similar to the United Nations. In doing so, it helped them develop research and debating skills, time management strategies, essential teamwork processes and gain self confidence in public speaking.

Congratulations on the amazing effort from our wonderful delegates from Ireland and India!

Mock Trial 

Last week our Year 11 Mock Trial team took on Danebank Anglican School for Girls, Hurstville.

Our team came away with a well deserved win, 239 to 228 points. Congratulations to our team: Tanishq S and Indy J (barristers), Mia L (solicitor), Bridget R and Chkye T (witnesses) and Krishna P (court officer). Sarah R, Aaliyah K and Amelia W helped them prepare for the trial. All in all, a good result, but there's no room for complacency!  Round three awaits and provided we win that, we should go through to the elimination rounds, contested by the top 32 schools across the state.

The Southern Highlands Science and Engineering Challenge

On Monday the 22nd of May, the Science and Engineering Challenge team, made up of 32 students from Year 9 and 10, competed against 7 other high schools from the local region. The students competed across a range of problem-solving challenges from designing and sending codes, building bridges, towers and Mars rovers, scheduling, and designing electrical grids. The students were brilliant and received lots of positive feedback about their teamwork and communication skills from the organisers. 

Team member Allegra M summarises the day:

Chevalier College has always been fantastic at providing opportunities for its students to grow, learn and build, which is why the Science & Engineering Challenge was an optimal experience for all involved and a great showcase of the ingenuity, flexibility and collaboration that Chev prides itself on. These challenges drew on real-world science and engineering scenarios using limited materials and under time pressure. Our teams of four performed consistently well in each challenge, culminating in the high score of the day, and the first-place plaque! I’m exceptionally proud of my peers who demonstrated their core Chevalier College dispositions and have hopefully amassed enough points to send us to the State Finals later this year.