Middle School

Professional Learning Communities in Middle School

When reflecting back on our curriculum improvement successes in the Middle School for 2022, a huge part of it was due to our embedding of Professional Learning Communities. It is through this process that teachers have had the collective efficacy to focus on the learning growth of our students. 

Professional Learning Communities allowed teachers to investigate student data to consider strategies that they would then implement as a team to create positive change. The implementation of these strategies were tracked and modified accordingly as students continued developing. 

At Middle School, other than solely focusing on academics, we also had teams of teachers implement strategies to improve the Personal & Social Capabilities of our students from the Victorian Curriculum. Research suggests that the Year 9 age group strongly requires the teaching of these skills so that our cohort will develop the study skills needed such as resilience and asking for feedback that will then prepare them both for Senior School and the next season of their lives such as starting their first employment.

Tony Leung

Biology, Science, MyCSI & DiSCovery Teacher

Middle School Excellence in Teaching & Learning Leader

Year 9 Assembly

On Tuesday 22nd November we held a Year 9 Assembly in the Performance Centre to discuss important topics such as the transition to senior school, expectations, Year 10 work experience and supports and processes to help students take the step up to senior school learning. 

A highlight of the assembly was our Student Recognition Awards. Congratulations students for your outstanding work in:

• Australian Maths Competition and the 2022 Maths Games Day

• 95+% Attendance Awards
• Lead to Sustain 2022
• Victorian Young Leaders: Global Youth Forum

Year 9 Camp to Wilsons Promontory

Our Year 9s arrived at the Prom on Monday and got straight to work setting up tents and exploring the beach and boundaries. We shared our first meal together under the giant marquee, cozying up to a big bowl of pasta just as the rains set in. Some students were worried that there wouldn't be enough food but the duty group got to work with a fair serving size for all - followed by 2nds and 3rds! After some cookies and cream, students went off to their tents. It was quite a wet and dreary night! 

However, come Tuesday morning the sun was up early and the students jumped out of their tents ready for a jammed packed day of activities. First they worked together, to serve breakfast and make their lunch. 

We had our first 2 groups out paddle boarding and surfing whilst others rotated and swapped between hiking Mt Oberon, walking to Squeaky beach or free beach time where tidal river joins Norman Bay beach. 

Some young people learnt the hard way that the teachers handing out sunscreen weren’t doing it for show! SLIP SLOP SLAP! It was a proper summers day with big smiles all round.

Pictures don't do the sunset justice. We had all 100+ of us playing cricket or volleyball or just admiring the view, as we digested our yummy chicken couscous curry and cake before Mr Rule took us on Biddies Trail night walk. The sky was clear and full of stars as the moon lit our path. It was awesome to return to dry tents and great to see the improvement in students respect for communal living - or perhaps they were just too tired from all the fun, to stay up talking like the night before! 

In the morning students rotated through the activities they hadn't done yet and worked together to pack up the tents and marquee. 

Shortly after we were saying goodbye to Chef, the rosella's and wombats and headed home! 

What a wonderful adventure we had!

Lisa Chiuchiarelli

Positive Climate & Community Engagement Leader

Minecrafting DSC

Students not attending camp in week 10 participated in a collaborative project to build Doncaster Secondary College using Minecraft. Once complete, this digital build could function as a very useful map for our new students who prefer a 3D view!

Here is some of the work achieved so far. Does it look familiar? It's K-Block...

Year 9 Chinese Excursion to NGV and a Chinese Restaurant in China Town

At nine in the morning, when we left for school, it was really cold. Unexpectedly, Ms. Ni and I both wore black jackets on that day. Additionally, we both felt anxious before this trip. I was ready for the storm because it had been stormy for a few days and I frequently awoke throughout the night to the sound of thunder and lightning. However, our hearts were lifted at three o'clock in the afternoon when every student arrived back at school safely.

I recall that it was pouring rain outside as I waited for another batch of students in the downstairs hall shortly after leaving the exhibition. I believed that the trip to the Chinese restaurant in Chinatown would be difficult and that I might drown in route. However, the rain abruptly stopped and the sky became clear five minutes later when all of the students from the two courses arrived! Not as nice as I had expected was the cuisine at the Chinatown restaurant. However, the students didn't immediately complain and cleared away all the food. 

Students demonstrated understanding when expectations in restaurants and art galleries were not realised. They were all appreciative of the professors' thoughtfulness and commitment. I give them an A+ on the outing.

After the field trip, I grew to appreciate my students even more. Three kids won the first, second, and third places in my class's outing competition, respectively. This Friday, I was supposed to bring awards to class, but I forgot. They requested the prized, and they once more pardoned my forgetfulness. I want to share the competition's PPT with the DSC community. Do you know the answers? Check out the attachment.

The comments from some of my class's students are as follows. They offer a fair assessment of the outing. We can absolutely plan one better the next time! 

Ms Ning Zhang 

Chinese Language Teacher

Student Reflections

I like the rhino horn cup and the spring roll.  I enjoyed going out with my friend in the other Chinese class.

- Jessica K.

I like the ‘I forgive you’ painting and the fried rice. I enjoyed the excursion.

- Nicolas W.

I like the NGV Asian cultures, especially the modern Chinese and Japanese cultures. I like the Chinese dishes in the restaurant, but it is quite hard for foreigners to try since it is flavourful.

- Eric Z.

I liked the way we could enjoy the NGV gallery with other classes, as I felt that we learnt together as a whole. The fried rice was nice and I’ve learnt that the bats were a good fortune in ancient Chinese culture.

- Cynthia L.

I like looking at the paintings, but I feel like the guide didn’t do much and the food was kinda bad because it didn’t taste good.

- Culver C.

The gallery had a massive range of art works. It was really fascinating to see art from hundreds of years ago. The artwork gave me a deep Yin and Yang connection giving me the power of the seventh imperial dragon. I learnt about history deeper than what you can find online. 

- Leroy F.

I liked seeing the comparison of Chinese style art from the olden days to now. However, I did find the museum tour with the member staff boring. I would have rather continued to wonder around by ourselves. I loved the food at the restaurant except the chicken. 

- Escha R.

I liked how we could go see Chinese art pieces with the other class. But I didn’t like how we did the guided tour after the self-guided one because we just repeated the whole tour.

- Karen L.

We all enjoyed walking around the gallery and seeing different art pieces from China. It was a new experience for all of us and it was a very interesting and intriguing excursion. We got to learn more about the culture and the stories behind them told by our gallery teacher Sarah. The food wasn’t the best, and it didn’t look very appetising, many people were looking forward to the food but it was disappointing.

Kacy G., Aida A. and Alex S.

From the excursion, I learnt a lot of Chinese culture. My favourite artworks are those colourful buddas. The outing was very rewarding, and I hope to have more opportunities to go on Chinese educational excursions in the future.

- Mina L.

MyCity Adventures

Ice skating at O’Briens Icehouse in Docklands

On 26 November, two Year 9 classes as part of the MyCity program planned a fun trip into Melbourne CBD to visit O’Brien’s Icehouse in Docklands. Students were asked to plan the public transport from Doncaster Secondary College school to and from the ice-skating rink, with recommendations from Mrs Gucci about the bus and tram routes that work best from the city to the ice skating rink. Each class’s students had planned their travel routes and decided on the day to choose the route to get to the ice skating rink and back.

The students packed into a full bus on their trip to the city and were mindful of passengers that were also sharing the bus. We had a slight interruption as the bus arrived into the city and had to change buses because of a change in driver. The students adapted well to this change, jumping off the bus and on another bus promptly. It was a good experience for the students to have something that commonly happens with public transport - interruptions!  

When we arrived at the Ice rink after a short walk through the Docklands precinct, the students met the Ice skating instructors and were instructed to collect their ice skates and meet on the ice skating rink. The students received a short lesson on how to ice skate, including learning how to move with the ice skates, turn left, turn right, stop and how to safely fall and how to safely get back up once they have fallen off. Of course the best part was being able to practice falling to the ground and seeing the whole class on the wet ice skating rink! Being able to fall safely and get back up was a chance to practice resilience, because it is always the first time that is the scariest. Once they had done this, it gave students the confidence to know if it happens again they can get back up and keep moving.

Some students found the new experience of being in the ice skating rink challenging. Being in a new environment and trying something new isn’t for everyone however, it was a test of their confidence in trying to do something new and being able to set a small goal by giving it a go and continuing. It was really amazing to see that students did what they could to persevere and were able to manage how they were feeling and were encouraged and supported by their peers to keep going and moving forward on the ice skating rink at their own pace. As a natural environment without some of the controlled aspects of school, the ice skating activity worked well as a space where students natural abilities could come to the fore. Overall all the students seemed to enjoy their experience ice skating with their friends and helping and motivating each other to give it their best go.

Following the ice skating, students enjoyed a lunch break together from the eateries at the Docklands precinct and caught the tram and bus back to school. 

Well done to all the students who participated in the activity and particularly to those who challenged themselves, built their resilience and learnt some new skills on the rink!

Gemma

Wellbeing Placement Student 

MyCity Adventures:

MCG

On Wednesday 16 November both Iris and myself had the opportunity to accompany a wonderful group of MyCity students to the MCG where we had a guided tour of the MCG and learnt about our Australian sporting history. Combined with viewing the spectacular stadium, we also had admission to the Australian Sporting Museum where students soaked up more knowledge and could also participate in many interactive activities.

Congratulations to the student leaders who organised and planned this excursion so well, right from the minute we left DSC. Their transport scheduling was very well thought out and the tour was booked with a volunteer at the MCG.

Well done year 9’s we had an amazing day. You definitely made it extra special with you all just being you! 😊

What a wonderful class! So proud to have been part of this excursion.

Tina Theodore

CRT

Paint Chinese Traditions, Promote Chinese Cultures

I requested a few creative Year 10 Chinese students to design and paint cabinets and doors for two Chinese classrooms, A4 and A5, during the third term. Their design originality, painting technique, and finished product astonish me. The creation is almost finished after more than three months of laborious work, and it will take a little longer next year to finally finish it. 

I asked the students to briefly describe their initial goals and creative processes in writing. Describe to you below in English, simplified Chinese characters and traditional Chinese characters. Students from China's mainland use simplified characters, whereas students from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia use traditional characters. This is also a feature of Chinese culture as a whole.                                                                                                               

Ms. Ning Zhang

Chinese Language Teacher

I'm Christy from year 10, I feel really honoured and delighted to have been asked to participate in the project to paint the cabinets in the Chinese room (A4 and A5). When Ms Zhang hears that we are passionate about painting, she has the idea to paint and decorate the Chinese room in order to promote diversity at Doncaster Secondary College. We came up with the first painting idea of “The lion dance”, which is so well-known and frequently performed during the Chinese New Year, it is also a symbol of good luck and is said to ward off evil spirits. 

When I see a lion dance, I am transported back to my youth's exuberant festivals and celebrations. So the first Chinese cupboard idea was to create a Chinese lion dance and surround it with children. When we were almost finished, Ms. Zhang suggested that we can paint another room as well (A4). As a result, we came up with the second idea of painting a pair of "goalkeepers," sometimes known as "door gods." Doors and gates in Chinese folk religions are guarded by these gods, who can also be used to welcome beneficent influences. In Chinese folklore, it is well-known as a patron saint. Every family will get busy composing couplets and door knockers on the night of the Festive Season. 

These two cabinet paintings took us about three months to complete; we worked on them between lunch, recess, and lesson time. Despite the lengthy process, I really like progress, and more importantly, it makes me feel accomplished after the artwork is finished. I work on the right-handed side cupboard, which is the right "door god," and I would say that this is a very good opportunity for me as an art student because it gives me space and time to explore different areas and styles of paint. It also broadens my experience in painting different mediums. Each of us contributes to different parts of the cupboard in room A4.

The lion dance and goalkeeper artwork are all references to Chinese traditions. We hope that when students attend classes in these Chinese rooms, they will be able to sense and appreciate Doncaster Secondary College's strong Chinese culture and ethnic and cultural diversity.

Christy K., Year 10G   

        作品的靈感來源于中國的傳統節日- 農曆新年。 春節是中國傳統節日中最大、最重要、最熱鬧的節日，是家庭團聚的重要時刻。我們挑選了兩個中國農曆新年的重要習俗繪畫------舞龍舞獅和門神。 每到農曆新年，總會有「舞龍舞獅」的傳統表演。 舞龍舞獅的含義是「祈求神明的庇佑」，同時也代表新一年的福氣和財運。 而門神是農曆新年貼於門上的一種畫類。 門神源自先民對於萬物有靈的崇拜，人們會在新年時把門神貼於門上，用以驅邪避鬼、保平安、祈求吉祥等，是中國人的重要傳統習俗之一。 在中國傳統中，這兩項習俗都會帶來好運，所以我們希望透過這兩副畫作為大家帶來好運氣，更令大家多多認識中國的傳統習俗。 這個畫作歷時三個多月，當中遇上不少的困難。其中，挑選題材和起稿是我們最大的困難。中國傳統的門神一般樣子比較兇惡， 希望以此驅逐邪靈。 但是我們不希望嚇怕同學，所以我們把門神的樣子進行多次調整變得柔和，但是不失中國傳統文化的魅力。 

                                                                                                  10G  馮康悅

English translation:

The work is inspired by the traditional Chinese festival - Lunar New Year. Chinese New Year is the largest, most important and most lively festival among traditional Chinese festivals, and it is an important moment for a family reunion. We have selected two important custom paintings for Chinese New Year - Dragon and Lion Dance and Door God. 

Every Lunar New Year, there will always be a traditional performance of the "Dragon and Lion Dance". The meaning of the dragon and lion dance is to pray for the blessing of the gods, and it also represents the blessing and wealth of the new year. The door god is a kind of painting posted on the door during the Lunar New Year. Door gods originated from the ancestors' worship of animism. People will paste door gods on the door during the New Year to drive away evil spirits, avoid ghosts, keep them safe, and pray for good luck. It is one of the important traditional customs of the Chinese people. 

In Chinese tradition, these two customs will bring good luck, so we hope to bring good luck to everyone through these two paintings and let everyone know more about traditional Chinese customs. 

This painting took more than three months and encountered many difficulties. Among them, choosing the topic matter and drafting the manuscript are our biggest difficulties. The traditional Chinese door gods generally have a fierce appearance, hoping to drive away evil spirits. But we don't want to frighten our classmates, so we adjusted the door god's appearance many times to soften it, but without losing the charm of Chinese tradition. 

- Venus F.,10G

         我是来自10G的何靖乾。张老师给我下达了一个非常具有创意性并且能够体现中国文化的任务时，我的脑海里第一个浮现出来的想法就是中国的“阴阳太极图”。为什么我会选择这样一张图来展现中国文化呢？我所绘画的地方是两个教室之间的一扇门，这就刚好符合“太极图”的观赏性。当同学抬头一看到这张图时，会不由自主地疑惑画这张图的原因，从而去探索它背后的故事。“太极”是阴阳两分前之混沌状态，代表宇宙周而复始的本质，当然还有著名的“太极八卦阵”这个阵法，常用于兵法和中国著名的机关设计等等。所以我选择太极来体现中国文化深奥的思想观，而且这也很好诠释了中国的文明。

          我还在太极图的背面写了一首中国的古诗《梅花》。《梅花》是宋代著名诗人王安石的诗：“墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。遥知不是雪，为有暗香来。” 古诗的含义是墙角有几枝梅花，正冒着严寒独自盛开。远远的就知道这不是雪，因为有梅花的幽香传来。我用中国近代的黄信纸的颜色打底，以毛笔写诗，让这首诗变得比较有年代感，也可以让更多人了解到中国唯美的古诗。我也受到了班级上多位同学的帮助。古诗只完成了一半，明年第一学期我会全部完成。

          我感觉我很好地完成了老师交给我的任务，而且让我感受到了体现自己国家的文化是多么的开心和快乐！能让更多的本地学生了解到中国文化这让我感觉意义非凡，也鼓励了我虽在他乡也不能忘本。身为中国人我非常骄傲与自豪！

10G 何靖乾

English translation:

I'm Jingqian HE from 10G. When Ms Zhang assigned me a task that required me to be creative and portray Chinese culture, the first thing that came to my mind was the Chinese Yin-Yang Tai Chi Diagram. So why did I choose this image to represent Chinese culture? The location of my painting is a door between two classes, which corresponds to the appreciation of the Tai Chi Diagram. When students see this artwork, they will question why it was drawn and investigate its narrative. Tai Chi represents the nature of the universe going in circles and is the chaotic state before Yin and Yang are divided. There's also the well-known "Tai Chi Bagua Formation." Culturally significant ideas, and an excellent understanding of Chinese civilisation.

On the back of the Taiji diagram, I also put the old Chinese poem Plum Blossoms. Wang Anshi, a famous Song Dynasty poet, wrote the poem Plum Blossoms. The ancient poem's message is that there are several plum blooms in the corner of the wall that are blooming alone in the bitter cold. Because there is a subtle smell of plum blossoms, one can tell that the pure white blossoms are not snow from such a distance. I utilised ancient Chinese yellow letter paper as the background and wrote the poem with a brush to give the poetry a sense of time and to spread awareness of the beautiful ancient Chinese poems. Many peers in the class assisted me. The old poem is barely halfway finished, and I plan to complete them all in the first term of next year.

I believe I performed the work assigned to me really well, and it made me pleased and joyful to express my country's culture. It is really important for more local students to appreciate Chinese culture, and it also inspires me to remember my roots despite living in a foreign country. I am really proud of my Chinese heritage.

- Jing Qian He, Year 10G