Middle School Report
Message from the Director of Learning
- Mr. Tom Tahos
As we approach the end of term 1, I would like to encourage you all to continue focusing on what matters most ‘YOU’. Take time out every day and be mindful and focus on yourself, be grateful for what you have and above all be kind to yourself and others.
Next term students should begin wearing their winter uniform so make sure over the two weeks break you get your uniform sorted.
A few reminders:
- BYOD - students must bring their fully charged devices to school every day to ensure that they are reading to engage in all activities as instructed by their teachers. No charging at school.
- BYOD devices allowed at school include laptops and notebooks; iPads or Samsung tablets are not acceptable.
- Mobile phones - are not to be turned on in class
- Ear plugs/pods - are not to be on during class time
iRead Program
Every day during period 4 (except Wednesdays), Year 9 and 10 students are involved in the i-Read program. This is where students read for 15 minutes. Students are encouraged to bring reading material, school appropriate, of their choice.
The i-Read program is made up of two parts:
- 15 minutes of private reading time
- 1 minute of summarizing what you have read to your peer
Work Experience Program
Students will be involved in the ‘Work Experience Program’ from Monday 17th June until Friday 21st June (week 9, Term 2). This is where they will not be attending school but instead attending a workplace of their choice.
Students must NOW complete and return the ‘safe@work Industry Specific Module’ to Miss Geraldine Borgonha who is located in B26:
Interschool Sports - Volleyball
Our Year 9 and 10 students participated in the Kingston District Volleyball championships.
We had two girl’s teams and one boys’ team compete this year. All teams conducted themselves in an outstanding manner.
The Girls B team won all their matches and went on to win their competition. They improved after each match and had a wonderful time.
Our Girls A team won all their Pool matches to finish first place in their division. They played some amazing volleyball. The girls also won the semi-final convincingly. They ended up playing a powerful McKinnon Girls team who had various Victorian representatives in their team. Our girls put up an amazing effort but at the end were not strong enough and lost in two sets. During the presentation speeches, McKinnon praised our girls.
Our Boys A team also won their Pool convincingly and cruised through the semi final to meet McKinnon in the final. This match was close. It went to three sets with amazing Volleyball from both teams. The crowd was so involved with cheering, unfortunately our boys fell short 15-12 in the third set.
A fantastic effort from all our teams.
Mr. Tom Tahos
Year 10 Science
Year 10 students have been diving into a fascinating new unit on Genetics. We have been unravelling the fascinating world of DNA!
We have examined what DNA and genes are, and how they make us individual. We have also explored how cells divide so that we can grow, repair and reproduce. Our assessment task involved extracting DNA from a strawberry.
The driving question for the next part of our unit is “how can genes increase the risk of cancer?”
I encourage you all to discuss these genetics topic at home. Here are some ways to connect the learning at school to home:
- Compare who in your family has inherited these genetic traits.
- Map your family tree together. Do you see any patterns of the different inherited characteristics?
Don't worry if you have forgotten your knowledge of genetics from high school – your child will enjoy filling you in.
Some of our students' work:
Ms. Amy Kerwick
Learning Specialist Numeracy/STEM