Around the College

Term 4 has started on a high note for two students in particular: Oliver Dean (8E) and Berry Eain (10B).  Both students have achieved first place awards in state-level competitions! We would like to share the details of their remarkable achievements, as outlined below.   

HTAV Historical Fiction Competition: 

Winner announced!

Each year the History Teachers Association of Victoria invites students from Years 5 - 10 to enter their Historical Fiction competition. Students are asked to write about any period in history as long as the entry has a convincing setting that is historically correct in time and place. 

Judges award entries that are high in historical accuracy, use of language and originality in narrative and plot.

It is with great College pride we announce that Year 8 student, Oliver Dean, has been awarded first place in the Year 7- 8 category for his entry titled 'Sanity'. 

Here are the judges' comments about Oliver's piece:

Sanity is an artfully told story about a KGB agent tasked with censoring news about the Chernobyl disaster. The protagonist Andriy has a very distinctive voice. He is a no nonsense, methodical man who has become hardened, suspicious and cynical. The story is innovatively structured through titled scenes that act like definitions in a report, alluding to Andriy’s work in censorship while also speaking to the methodical way he tries to compartmentalise the Chernobyl disaster. The repetition of ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ throughout the story is a skilfully unsettling thread that holds all the different scenes together. The writing is crisp, the imagery is stark and the narrative is compelling. 

From the historical perspective, this story is a good example of historical knowledge very deftly applied. With the same maturity that this author shows in his writing and structural choices, he is in complete control of historical facts, names, and details like uniform colours, highly polished shoes and the fact that they used molasses to clean the radioactive fallout from the streets. The historical information is intriguing and persuasive, but it is always put to work to serve to the story rather than the other way around. Oliver has a clear talent for writing, and he should definitely keep writing and researching and bringing the two together in work of this quality. 

Sponsored by Fremantle Press, Oliver's winning story has attracted considerable attention and we look forward to seeing where Oliver's literary talents take him.  Well done, Oliver.   

Oliver has kindly shared his story, titled 'Sanity', with our Newsletter readers.  Enjoy!

International Student Public Speaking Competition: 

Winner announced!

The International Student Public Speaking competition was held via Webex on 11th Oct 2021. The competition was primarily a showcase for the incredible skills of our International students. It was an opportunity for them to meet and inspire each other online. The speeches were excellent and in some cases unforgettable. Both our finalists Berry EAIN and Harry BUI have done very well. 

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Berry who did extraordinary well and received first place! 

Please find her reflection of this event as below: 

I would like to share how grateful I am to receive full support from the College for the international student public speaking competition 2021. Special thanks to Ms Huang for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to step out of my comfort zone. I also would like to thank Ms Skennar and Mr Robinson for helping me along during the process and giving me feedback to get the best out of me. Lastly, thank you Ms McGee for your continuous support to the international team. All of your encouragement and support means the world to me!

Well done Berry and Harry. Thank you everyone for supporting them and all other international students at our College.

You can read Berry's winning speech in the following attachment.

Sally Huang

Director of International Student Program

2021-22 Premier’s Spirit of Democracy

On Thursday October 7th, Minister for Education, James Merlino, announced that applications are now open for the 2021-22 Premier’s Spirit of Democracy. Students with a keen interest in civics and citizenship can apply for the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and critical thinking through an immersive onshore study tour.

Successful students will gain a glimpse into how ancient Greece helped shape modern Australian democracy through a five-day study tour in Melbourne and Canberra.

The study tour will take place from 10-14 April 2022, and is open to all secondary students currently in Years 9, 10 and 11 – with 22 students and four teacher chaperones to be selected.

To enter, students must submit an application in the form of an essay, short story, audio or video presentation, musical composition or artwork, as well as a statement of intent with any non-essay entries.

For more information please visit this website:

Applications close on Sunday 7 November 2021.

Transdev Term 4 Update