Student Voice 

College Captain Report

With the conclusion of Term 1, we feel that we have properly settled into our roles at the school. Alongside studying and completing SACs, we have also endeavoured to maintain a high standard of work and effort, characteristic of our school value ‘High Expectations’, whilst also fulfilling our duties as leaders of the school. 

With the help of Ms Koziaris, we have picked up various skills to utilize in our studies to perform to the best of our abilities. Given the privilege of our Year 12 VCE Study Centre and finally, the arrival of our Year 12 Jackets, we feel as though our cohort is as close as ever!

As the year progresses and more work is expected of students, feel free to shoot your teachers a Teams message or email, or verbally ask for support during class time when you feel as though you are struggling to keep up. Alongside this, if you experience difficulty maintaining a positive outlook due to problems that have arisen both inside and outside of school, don’t be afraid to contact the Wellbeing Team or Student Services to seek support.

Maple La and Kyriakos Emmanouilidis 

Your College Captains 

International Student Captain Report

In Week 3 of Term 2, our Year 11 and Year 12 International Students had the opportunity to visit two of the most reputable universities in Melbourne: Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

Our First Stop: University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus

As we arrived at the University of Melbourne in the morning, we met a lovely member of the Onshore Recruitment Team. He introduced himself and told us many facts and information to assist us in choosing our future pathways at the University of Melbourne. I and the other international students were provided many opportunities to ask questions about the undergraduate courses offered, pathways, VTAC applications and Student Accommodation at the University of Melbourne. After the tour and presentation given by the Onshore Recruitment Team member, we were allowed to walk around and explore the Parkville Campus together with two the University of Melbourne Representatives.

Our Second Stop: Monash University, Clayton Campus

At Monash University, our students got to talk to different presenters from multiple faculties such as Arts, Science, Business and Education.  We not only got to learn about what it would be like to study at Monash and explore the Clayton Campus, but we also got to speak to both former and current students about their own experiences studying at Monash University.

Tris Phan 

International Student Captain 

IDAHoBIT Day 2022

IDAHOBIT is the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia and is celebrated on the 17 May. It is a day for all people internationally to stand against discrimination and support their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) mates, colleagues and families.

This day marks the anniversary of the day, in 1990, when the World Health Organization removed the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. It is a day for all people internationally to stand against discrimination and support their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTQIA+) friends, colleagues and families.

The Alphabet Soup Club organised a bake sale to raise funds for the Minus 18 charity. People from Victoria Police, Headspace Syndal, and Monash Youth Services came to speak to Year 8 students about the importance of inclusion and respect. We had a range of activities running throughout the day, including face painting and a collaborative music playlist.

South Oakleigh College Alphabet Soup 

(SOC Diversity and Inclusion Club)

Local and international research shows that positive and inclusive school environments lead to improved academic results, increased confidence, and better attendance at school. 

With support from students, teaching staff, Student Wellbeing Team, Victoria Police, Monash Council Youth Services and Headspace Syndal, we sent a message that discrimination and bullying are never OK by running lots of activities during the day.

Some sexuality or gender diverse young people find it difficult to ask for help. If you or someone you know are finding it hard to cope and your/their social or school life is being affected, it's time to ask for help. This might be a family doctor (GP), a counsellor or a school well-being staff. There are also quite a few online resources and youth support groups available locally. For more information please visit: https://minus18.org.au/  http://www.switchboard.org.au/

Penny Hsiao

Health Promotion Nurse

VicSRC Teach the Teacher Workshop

On Wednesday 11th of May, members of the SOC Student Representative Council took part in VicSRC’s first Teach the Teacher Workshop. 

The program is a whole school student-led initiative that will be implemented to encourage and enable student voice, agency, and participation. Teach the Teacher gives students the support to help drive change at school by leading collaborative conversations with teachers, school leadership and staff. The first session was an introduction to the program. We looked at VicSRC’s program overview and the stages that we will be working towards. We discussed and decieded on the issue that we will be working on this year as well as made some goals to accompany this. I am looking forward to seeing how far we progress throughout this year in the program. 

Thank you to Keisha from the VicSRC for taking time out of her day to come to see us.

Greg Acciarito

Leading Curriculum Representative

Student Representative Council 

Year 9 Study Skills Session, Elevate Education

On Thursday, the year 9's participated in a Study Skills program by Elevate Education. In this session, we learnt how to take more effective notes, using methods such as dynamic reading, mind maps, trigger words and using formatting to improve our note-taking. These methods are helping us with our preparations for Exams and preparing for CATs. The presenters were informative and interesting. Overall, we liked the session and thought it was really helpful for our students.

Viraj Shukla & Jamie Heng

Year 9 Students 

Year 10 Study Sensei, Elevate Education

On Tuesday, Elevate Education came to deliver us their Study Sensi program. It’s a program designed to help the year 10’s prepare for their exams and VCE studies. We learnt that there are 3 steps to being a Study Sensei: Create; Master; Learn. Each step had 3-4 rules to make studying easier and more efficient. 

I remember two big pointers that I found useful – How to use trigger words effectively and how to create mind maps.

• Trigger words: Small words to sum up and reduce paragraphs of information
• Mind map: Title in the centre, the first branch is a subheading, second branches are trigger words. 

Nathan Cohen

Year 10 Student

Year 10 SOC Gymnasts

South Oakleigh College provides opportunities for students to excel and perform in extra-curricula activities. Three of our Year 10 students: Chloe Saliaris, Charlotte Shin and Sumer Daly; are our gymnasts and shining stars. 

The South Oakleigh College gymnasts joined the school in 2022. The three gymnasts have goals of competing at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria and representing Australia at the Olympics. The Year 10 girls discussed their experiences at South Oakleigh College and training at Waverley Gymnastics Centre.

On the 23rd of April 2022, Chloe Saliaris competed in the Victorian Championships at Geelong. Chloe Saliaris was placed second on the floor and fourth all around. 

As a result of the competition, Chloe Saliaris qualified to represent Victoria in Queensland at the Australian Championships. Chloe will be up against the best gymnasts in Australia. Chloe has mentioned that she completes a large number of routines every day so that she can do her best in competitions.

Chloe’s schedule is very busy considering the thirty hours she spends in the gymnasium. Chloe also mentioned that she needs to be on top of her schoolwork. Chloe stated that “South Oakleigh College staff are always there to support us with our demanding schedules”.

In March, Sumer Daly competed in her first competition of the year which was the state trials. Sumer’s first trial went well, but unfortunately in the second trial Sumer landed crookedly and ruptured her ACL. What this meant was that she needed surgery for a knee reconstruction. Sumer Daly is currently keeping up her strength in her upper body. Her knee rehabilitation is ahead of schedule. Sumer is an example of perseverance and is a role model to students at SOC. Sumer stated, “South Oakleigh is very good at keeping a flexible schedule and it’s very easy for us to access our work and speak to our teachers. SOC provides supports and opportunities and individual assistance.”

Charlotte Shin represented Australia in Germany where she was placed second. In March this year, Charlotte had the opportunity to represent Australia in Stuttgart, Germany at the DTB Pokal Cup 2022. In the competition, ten teams were competing from different countries. Out of the ten teams, the Junior Australian team came home with the silver medal. On the floor, sixty athletes were competing, and Charlotte Shin was placed sixth on floor in the finals. 

Charlotte stated that, “This was an awesome experience as we got to explore the different places in Stuttgart and the team also learnt about the different cultures. The school has been great at making sure we’re on track with our school work, and they have been really helpful with managing classes around our training schedule”.

Well done to our Year 10 Gymnasts who are excelling at South Oakleigh College! Chloe, Sumer and Charlotte are role models at our school and SOC wish them all the best in achieving their goals in gymnastics. 

Travis Knox

Leading Teacher: Middle School

Breakfast Club

A well-established tradition by the Student Leaders at South Oakleigh is the weekly Thursday morning Breakfast Club. We would like to welcome all students and staff to come and enjoy a free, nutritious, and delicious breakfast between 8:00 am – 8:30 am in the Canteen. It is a great chance to meet up with old friends, make new friends and talk to teachers before classes. We also invite all interested students and staff to help with Breakfast Club. If you would like to help out please contact your S.R.C. Presidents Esther Walker (eewal4@schools.vic.edu.au) or Sylvia Krozian (shkro@schools.vic.edu.au) via email or Microsoft Teams.

Meghal Patel 

Your General Secretary and Leading Health & Wellbeing Representative

Student Representative Council 

Peer Support Program

The Peer Support Program has been going very well! Our Peer Support Leaders have had fortnightly meetings to plan the sessions they will run with their Year 7 students. In Week 2, our senior students focused on the value of ‘High Expectations’. They organised activities where they aimed to teach their Mentees how they can apply ‘High Expectations’ in their everyday lives! It was great to see so many creative ideas and enthusiastic attitudes from the Peer Support Leaders.

We also met last week and they planned their next sessions. In the next session, the Year 7 students will learn more about what ‘Respect’ is and how they can reinforce this value in their routines. After that, the Leaders will attend a meeting where they will plan their sessions for ‘Responsibility’.

It’s so great to see the involvement from both the Year 7 students and the Peer Support Leaders in this program. The SOC community is very proud to have such creative and determined Peer Support Leaders who showcase the HRRRT values every day!

Iliana Derzotis

Your Peer Support Mentor

Acacia House Captains

As Acacia House Captains we are finding this role to be a great opportunity that we both are incredibly privileged to be filling. This role is very rewarding, and it is fulfilling to be able to work with such inspiring school leaders from both the student body and staff. 

Throughout Term 1 there were many exciting events that we promoted to our house. Furthermore, winning the House Swimming Carnival was the best highlight of them all. In addition to this, our participation and great efforts at the House Athletics Carnival were nothing short of remarkable, as well as our commendable achievements in the House Cross Country Carnival. Veering away from sporting events, Acacia has developed great house spirit around our enthusiastic house chant and creative House Banner. The sense of community within Acacia is what makes everyone so supportive of one another.

We managed to complete this role with ease with the help of Mr Wilson, our Acacia House Leader who has guided us through all the tasks and assembly requirements needed for this role. We ensured that we were organised and that we collaborated with one another. Balancing this with Year 12, we mainly focused on teamwork and communication to juggle schoolwork and House Captain duties.

Coming up in Term 2 is our annual House Dodgeball Competition. It is definitely something we are looking forward to this term as it will help bring Acacia together. Whether you are playing or just watching, the GYM is always filled with loud cheers. It is amazing to see how supportive everyone is during this event, not just for Acacia but also for all houses.

If you would like to know more about what being a House Captain is like, or have any questions about what’s happening, please feel free to come up to us or send us a message via Teams. 

Cayla Kingsley and Kaitlyn Steel 

Your Acacia House Captains 

Lunch Time Concert

We would like to give a shout out to all the performers and thank them all for performing at the lunch time concert on Friday the 20th of May. Thank you to the audience and viewers as well who have supported these acts and have come to the lunchtime concerts. We encourage students and staff to come again and stop by for our next lunch time concert in the following fortnight and can't wait to see you all again soon!

Sophia Donnellon and Julia Creeley

Your Performing Arts Prefects