Student Involvement & Academic News 

MATHS

International Day of Maths, also known as Pi Day is celebrated around the world on March 14th to recognise the important maths symbol and constant of Pi 

At Dromana College we brought awareness to this day outside the language centre at lunch with maths talk and party pies! To receive a party pie students needed to do two of the following: recite Pi to 5 decimal places, explain why Pi is rational or irrational, explain how Pi relates to a circle or state a formula that uses Pi. 

We also had an online scavenger hunt, as well as competitions for the best free hand circles, maths jokes and reciting Pi to the most decimal places. Well done to Jennifer Japha from Year 10 who was our 2023 Decimal Place Competition champion. Jennifer recited Pi correctly to 170 places! Thank-you also to our Maths Captains Balin Crooke and Taj King for their support on the day and judging skills.

DEBATING 

It has been a busy Term 1 for Debating. This year, we have entered 4 teams in the Schools Competition – the most we have ever had! It is also the first time we have ever entered a Year 12 team, which is a great achievement. So far this year we have had two rounds of debating. Topics for debate have included “That we regret the rise of AI” and “That we should ban Uranium mining in Australia”. So far, our Year 10 and Year 12 team have won all of their debates, and our Year 9 and Year 11 team have narrowly lost theirs. To finish off the term, our debating captains Natalia and Jamila ran some debating workshops, to help the team improve specific skills in debating. We are looking forward to continuing our success in Term 2. 

LIONS YOUTH OF THE YEAR

Earlier this year, Natalia Fakos, Charlotte Denman and Indi Thomas participated in the Lions Youth of the Year competition. The students had to sit an interview for a panel of judges, and then answer some general knowledge questions in front of an audience and give a five minute speech on a topic of their choice. Charlotte and Indi both spoke about the importance of mental health for young people, and Natalia spoke about her journey to self-confidence. 

All three students were a credit to the school, with Natalia winning the public speaking award, and Charlotte winning the overall round. Charlotte progressed to the District final several weeks later in Trafalgar, where she was also successful. She will be competing in the State Final in Wangaratta, at the end of term. Good luck, Charlotte!