Student Involvement & Academic News
Term 3, 2022
YEAR 7 LEAP
Earlier this year ABC producers came to Dromana to run a writing workshop for some classes (thanks to Anne Sim for organising it again this year). Students in Year 7 LEAP worked on their stories and again one of the students won the Takeover Melbourne competition for our region!
Mia Coralluzzo (7 TH) is finally allowed to announce that she won – she has been keeping this a secret for a few months while producing her story for ABC radio. It is very rare for a year 7 to win so she is absolutely thrilled. The story premiered on the radio this morning and you can read / have a listen to it here:
MATHS OLYMPICS
The 2022 Maths Olympics Team consisted of a small group of junior students who met each Wednesday lunch throughout the year to engage with mathematical ideas, collaborate and make use of problem solving strategies. Some weeks they completed hands on activities such as exploring the Mobius Strip, creating Modular Origami figures or exploring fractals. Other weeks were spent preparing for, and sitting Maths Olympics papers as part of their participation in the Australasian Problem-Solving and Mathematical Olympiad. A big well done to all students who participated! A special mention to Kyan Trewin (8TH), who was awarded out highest scorer and was also placed in the top 25% of all participants.
INDIGENOUS PROGRAM
This term, Dromana College had the pleasure of hosting KELiS- which stands for Koorie Emerging Leaders in Schools. We were joined by other Indigenous student leaders from Bayside area including Rosebud Secondary College, Mornington Secondary College, Mt Erin Secondary College, Monterey Secondary College, Carrum Downs Secondary College and Elizabeth Murdoch College. It was also attended by our local KESOs Eric Clarke, Alan Johnson and Brian Walker. It was a rewarding day of culture and community, discussing leadership ideas and the improvements we would like to see in our schools. Sean from ‘Living Culture’ came in to teach us about local bushcraft and customs and we tried our hand at fire starting.
Unfortunately, spear/boomerang throwing and the bushwalk was cancelled due to inclement weather. Local Indigenous artist Kylie Armstrong from ‘Healing Art’ worked her magic with the students to produce some beautiful artwork. It was such a fabulous day, and it was wonderful to see the students connect with each other, make friends and join forces.
We look forward to the next KELiS conference in Term 1 2023.
Olivia Roeding
Marrung coordinator
DEBATE
It has been a very successful year for the Debating team. In fact, it has been our most successful year ever! Our C grade (Year 10) team finished third in our region for the year, which is an impressive achievement. Our D grade (Year 8/9) and VCE grade teams finished first in our region for the year, which is even more impressive!
Both our D grade and VCE teams were both invited to compete in the State Finals series in Melbourne, which meant several late nights and long drives. Our VCE team fought hard but ultimately lost to Star of the Sea College in an elimination final. Our D grade team were more successful, surviving their elimination final but narrowly lost to Mater Christi College in the octo-finals. Approximately 300 teams competed in D grade across the state this year, and by making it to octo-finals, our College’s D grade team is amongst the top 16 debating teams in the state for their age group.
Continuing on with our successes, Natalia Fakos in Year 10 received a Swannie Award for being the highest speaking C grader in our region. Natalia was invited to an awards ceremony in the city for her achievements. This is the second year in a row that she has won this prize, well done Natalia!
To round off the year, our Junior Debaters had a taste of the basics of debating by competing in the Online Junior Secondary Program. This involved some friendly, low stakes debates against other schools via Zoom. It provided the Year 7 debaters with an introduction to debating and public speaking.
My thanks goes to the students who participated in the Debating program this year – it has been our most successful year ever and it would not have happened without their persistence and dedication. I also wish to thank the parents and families for their support, as again, it would not happen without them.
Finally, if anyone wishes to join the Debating team in 2023, I will announce sign ups via Compass early in Term 1. Debating is open for Year 8-12 from the start of next year.
YR 10 EXTENSION MATHS TUTORING
Year 10 Extension Maths students! Do you feel like you need a little extra time to understand the concepts covered in class? If so, then sign up for GRIN tutoring in Semester 1 of next year! GRIN tutoring is a FREE tutoring program designed to help you succeed in Year 10 Extension Maths. Tutoring sessions run three times a week for 20 minutes, and you will work in small groups to revisit concepts covered in class, plus pick up some extra skills.
LOTE
This term we welcomed back international visitors to DSC. 22 students from Iwata Kozukata High School in Japan visited for the morning, enjoying a school tour, cultural activities and sports while buddied with our 2023 Year 9 Japanese students, as well as some of the year 11 & 12s. After a few initial nerves, everyone enjoyed the visit and made some new friends.
