School Highlights
Year 4 author visit
On 25 May, Australian author Sofie Laguna met with our Year 4 students to talk about her journey to writing her first children's picture book - My Yellow Blanky - 20 years ago, which she has since backed up with many acclaimed children and adult novels.
The students were enthralled with her writing tips and how she developed characters for her Grace and Lewis Carmichael series. Thank you Sofie.
Diversity Day
On 18 May, we celebrated Diversity Day, acknowledging and celebrating the beauty in our diverse community.
Staff and students dressed in the colours of the rainbow from head to toe, and we had lots of fun playing mini-carnival games, eating cupcakes and participating in the Great Book Swap.
As a result, over $2000 was raised for the The Indigenous Literacy Foundation which is a fantastic result. Thank you to Ms Goldenberg and the students for organising such a wonderful event.
After-school footy training
The Principal was out and about coaching the Year 7s at their after-school footy training at the Gunnery last night!
Year 9 Geography excursion - biomes and food production
Tia Perera, Year 9
On 23 March, Year 9 Geography students had the opportunity to visit CERES Community Environmental Park in Brunswick East.
We learned about how to utilise sustainable methods to produce food, which further assisted our understanding of food production and biomes.
The short bus ride to the park went by in the blink of an eye, as before we knew it, we were already stepping off the bus onto a gravel pathway and walking through the entrance gates.
Upon our arrival, we were instantly fascinated by the small bucolic buildings nestled between lofty native trees. After following a dirt path, we reached a small undercover pergola where our bags were dropped off, and we set off to participate in amusing activities centered around sustainability.
Our lovely presenter on the day explained that CERES aims to recreate the connection between buyers and the production of the produce they buy. They believe that an increasing number of people are losing touch with the land and the source of their food, and that growing food at home can help to bridge this connection.
We partook in three short workshops during our time at the park.
The first one introduced us to how small-scale farmers produce their crops. We roamed through the community garden, marvelling at the large amounts of home-grown yields where there was an abundance of free-roaming chickens. This was lovely to witness.
The second workshop focused on soil fertility and composting, while the final workshop was a taste-testing experience where we learned about certain indigenous plants that can be consumed, including saltbush and warrigal greens. We even planted our own versions of these and brought them home.
Overall, it was an enjoyable field trip as it provided us with an immersive experience and gave us the opportunity to take what we had learnt in the classroom and experience this first-hand in the real-world. It was a practical approach to becoming more sustainable.
Thank you to Ms Kiernan and Mr Schmidt for organising this event for us!
Global Connections Program - French and Japanese virtual forums
Lucie Dickens, Director of the Global Connections Program
FRENCH LANGUAGES CLASS VIRTUAL FORUM
Through our Global Connections Program, the Year 10 French class was able to attend another virtual forum with our partner school, St Joseph La Salle on Wednesday 25 May.
Due to the time difference, Kilvington students joined in at 6.30pm from home on Teams when St Joseph students were in their English class at 10.30 am in Toulouse.
The topic they discussed was linked to their current area of study: Music trends in France and in Australia. These authentic discussions in French and English ensure students engage in meaningful experiences as part of their Languages studies.
They also open students to different perspectives and attitudes, which contribute to building their own identity as global citizens.
Our next virtual forum will be on Thursday 9 June at 5.00pm.
JAPANESE LANGUAGES CLASS VIRTUAL FORUM
On Wednesday 11 May, Kilvington students took part in another virtual forum with our Partner school in Tokyo, Japan - Todoroki High School.
The theme of the forum was 'the benefits of outdoor education in Australia and in Japan'.
As Kilvington students came back from camp only a couple of weeks ago, they had lots of photos and experiences to share. They also had the time to reflect and think about the skills and personal growth they had acquired through their outdoor educational experience.
Todoroki High School students were very interested in how we run our camping program, and how our students build resilience by learning to step outside of their comfort zone including being away from home and cooking and sleeping out in nature.
In comparison, we learnt that at Todoroki High School, students take part in one long walk (15km) each year, but instead of separating each year level, it is an optional walk which students from all year levels will opt to do. They do not need to carry their food, tent and belongings. Instead, their parents cook for them and deliver the food.
Overall, both groups recognised the importance of outdoor education as not only an opportunity to learn survival skills or to challenge oneself, but also to develop stronger relationships within our community, enhance teamwork, empathy, compassion, resilience, and problem-solving skills which are transferable to so many areas of our lives.
Any students interested in joining, can meet our group every Friday (Day 10) in Room MSC3 at lunchtime.
Year 10 Tightrope of Trade
Meg Talbot, Humanities Teacher
This semester, students in the Year 10 Tightrope of Trade subject, have been looking at the importance and interaction between recent international world events, such as the war in the Ukraine and the COVID pandemic, and how international responses to these world crisis have a real life impact on everyday Australian standards of living.
The class is small; however, this affords the opportunity for all the students in class to have their voices and opinions heard on a wide array of topics such as globalisation, differing political ideologies, international global actors and the impact of world events on the political and economic world that we live in.
Some of the feedback from the students in this subject include:
I feel passionate about this subject because it continually broadens my understanding of politics and economics in Australia and the broader world. It has inspired me to want to pursue subjects like this in VCE. - Daniel Nazaretian
I have really enjoyed learning about world trade. I also enjoy learning about economics and politics and how closely they link to each other. - Ronnie Bhuteja
I am really enjoying Tightrope of Trade, as the content you learn is interesting and engaging. I am passionate about learning about the working parts of trade in the world and the implications of globalisation. This subject also opened up pathways for possible subject selections for next year. - Rimon Michealson
Economics and Politics has broadened my understanding of the world by teaching me about the systems and ways it operates. I now understand the connection between these two ideas and how events can impact Australia’s economic prosperity. By utilising and analysing contemporary world events, this subject has taught me about important aspects of our economy and how they impact us. - Milly Eyres
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anne O’Hare McCormick once famously said, "Today, the real test of power is not the capacity to make war, but the capacity to prevent it.”
Anne's quote was in reference to times in history when conflict and war were seemingly inevitable and everyone was preoccupied with ways to win. She sought to highlight that the braver path is oftentimes achieved through diplomacy, compromise and understanding rather than war.
The world of international politics and economics has always been deeply intertwined and this statement has never been more relevant than in today’s international political climate.