PREMIER VCE AWARDS
EXCELLENCE AWARD -
BERTIE SPENCER
Congratulations to Nicholas Spencer who was recently presented with a Premier’s VCE Award for his outstanding academic results in 2017. He received a study score of 50 (best in the state of Victoria) for his efforts in Units 3 and 4 of Informatics.
The annual Premier’s VCE Awards recognise the top-performing students in the state, with 274 students presented this year with awards for their outstanding results.
The entire Mount Eliza community is proud of Nicholas and would like to congratulate him on being the recipient of such a prestigious award.
Nicholas accelerated in the subject as a Year 11 student, so we wish him all the best for his remaining Year 12 subjects at Mount Eliza Secondary College this year.
Well done Nicholas!
-Dan Talha (2017 Informatics teacher)
(Photo of Nicholas “Bertie” Spencer with James Merlino MP – Victorian Minister of Education and Deputy Premier)
To read more about the Premier’s VCE Awards, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/vceawards
YEAR 10 FORMAL
The Year 10 formal was held this year on the 18th of May, at the Frankston RSL. It was a night of delicious food, amazing outfits and lots & lots of dancing. Surprisingly, everyone stuck to the formal dress code, and we all looked incredible (the effort that everyone had put into their outfits for the night was outstanding). We were treated to a wonderful two course meal, consisting of either fish & chips or a parma, and chocolate mousse for dessert. There were awards such as best hair, accessories, outfits (and of course King & Queen), but by far the most exciting award had to be best dancer, which went to our (extremely enthusiastic) DJ, Jason. The teachers did an awesome job at planning our formal, the night was absolutely perfect. I believe I speak for all of Year 10 when I say we would do it again in a heartbeat.
Sam Howlett
WORLD'S GREATEST SHAVE
On Friday 18th of May our school came together to help support a foundation committed to helping the lives of those effected by cancer. The World’s Greatest Shave specialises in blood cancers, primarily, leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and assists with emotional and practical support for the families affected. Everyone knows that cancer is an unforgiving thing, we don’t invite it into our homes or upon our families but it still finds a way into every corner, with 35 Australians being diagnosed with blood cancer every day. That is every 41 minutes someone is receiving devastating news.
The World’s Greatest Shave works to help raise money for this cause and here at MESC we were able to contribute to the many donations they receive yearly. In support of this foundation one of our very own students, Sophie McQuie, made the brave decision to shave her hair in the quad at lunchtime, with all of her fellow school students there to give words of encouragement and praise her bravery. It made for a very emotional and moving day at MESC. Sophie had made the decision to shave her hair as she too had lost a loved one to lymphoma and wished to help support those going through the same thing. Her selfless act showed just how courageous she was and made everyone appreciate her commitment to the cause and realise what we have.
On this day we wore free dress for a gold coin donation, with the chance to get our hair sprayed or buy a sausage for lunch to help support and raise money. The whole school came together in support of Sophie and The World’s Greatest Shave. All the money donated was given to this cause and will fund vital research that can help save those with blood cancers and improve their quality of life. Overall, this day was about supporting a cause that effects many of us in some way while spreading awareness and encouraging others to take part in this fulfilling act.
Sophie Van der Linden
VCAL
Did you know that 3.6 million people in Australia have trouble feeding themselves and their families, 652,000 people rely on food banks every month, 27% of people affected are children and 65,000 people are turned away from food banks due to food shortages leaving them with no other option than to go without.
The Senior VCAL class are running a Feed Melbourne Food Drive. The Feed Melbourne Appeal is an annual fundraising campaign run by Leader Community News and Food Rescue Charity Fare Share, supported by Newman's own foundation.
You can help by bringing in a non perishable food item of either pasta, tinned tomatoes and plain flour and leaving it in our collection points in the sub schools. Please help donate as many items as you can to help those in need!
MUNA CAMP
On Friday the 18th of May to Sunday the 20th of May, Kiana Shillington attended a mock UN political camp called MUNA as representatives of the country United Kingdom. Coming up to the event we were very nervous and felt unprepared. We did have our good looking costumes nailed down, a Scottish girl and English business woman and we also had our table decorations that consisted of a framed picture of the queen and a Prince William teabag.
We had 6 resolutions to debate over the course of 2 days. It all began with a guest speaker that spoke to us about careers and having belief in ourselves which was very rewarding.
On the first day we had a practice run and that's when a few interesting things happened that I can now laugh at and understand that it was better it happened to me!
Kiana and I sat at our table ready to represent the UK. We had to vote on a question along the lines of “should we abolish the UN?” We had to think about what our country’s stance would be so we decided to vote against abolishment. The guest speaker that asked the question then wanted to see why each country voted the way they did.
First, she asked Turkey why they chose ‘for’ and I swear Albert Einstein answered as it was the most sophisticated and complex answer I have ever heard. The speaker than walked around looking to choose someone that voted ‘against’. I remember just thinking….. please don't ask us….. and, guess what? She asked us! She walked over and asked our stance on this question and Kiana and I both froze. I then had to stand up in front of everyone, including the Secretary General and basically everyone important in the world. I asked for a repeat of the question but that did nothing as I had NO idea what I was going to say! The things running through my mind were;
I wonder if my kilt looks like a kilt? If I brought bag pipes could I just blow myself outside and run away? I wonder if tonight's dinner will be chicken?
I stood there for a while, jumbled on my words and the only thing that came out which sounded so unsophisticated and Aussie was…. “ well, um we need them because ya know, to resolve stuff, but I'm against it because it's not building peace so oh! Maybe um…Uh…yeah…sorry….” The lady then put me out of my misery and grabbed the microphone and fixed the answer for me.
After that soul destroying experience the guest speaker walked up to me and said “You were very brave and you were put on the spot and you should be proud”. This made me feel reassured and I felt better but then someone else came up to and said in the nicest way possible…… “you are now the reason we are doing nervous exercises” (not worded exactly like that but in the moment that's all I could hear)
It was pretty funny and it was also helpful because I got the scary part of public speaking out of the way and at the time I didn't know, but we were there to make mistakes! After my answer, people suggested ideas on how I should answer the next questions and it really did feel like such a nice, comforting environment and I felt more relaxed and like myself being there, even if I was more nervous than Prince Harry at his wedding.
The whole experience was incredible and everyone there was so amazing. At the end of it we were all just one big happy family! I definitely recommend the camp to anyone who either loves the United Nations or even doesn't, as you get so much out of it and it exposes you to the issues this world faces. In conclusion, it was definitely worth going and I suggest everyone should try it !
Isabella Worrall