Clyde North Campus News
The month of June heralds the beginning of winter which usually means cold early mornings and shortened periods of daylight, with evenings becoming greyer and darker much earlier than we experience in springtime.
However, the month of June also brings the end of Semester One and the beginning of Semester Two, which provides us with a great opportunity to reset and renew our social and academic goals and ambitions for 2024. Semester Two begins after the King’s Birthday weekend, on Tuesday 11th June for Years 7 -12, and for some year levels this will bring new subjects and classes. For Year 12 students Semester Two signifies their last semester of secondary schooling, which is quite the reality check for them.
So, to ensure Semester Two is successful for all students, teachers will be guiding students in how to reset and renew their learning behaviours and habits to ensure successful outcomes in all aspects of school life. Prior to the new semester all year levels will be involved in targeted wellbeing activities to support the continued development of their social and emotional wellbeing. The wellbeing programs will cover topics such as social media, bullying, driver education and safe partying, all age appropriate and delivered by staff and external providers. Further to these activities staff will also be working with students to remind them of our ROCKS and Routines, which have been critical in resetting all students post COVID and beyond. Routines and the mobile phone ban continue to be very successful initiatives supporting the learning and social needs of our students.
But before Semester Two begins we have seen a number of very exciting activities within and outside the class led by staff and students, some of which are presented below. Our sincere thanks to Mr Woodbridge, Mr O’Hara, Mr Silva, and Mr Samaranakaye and their teams for their investment in these wonderful activities.
The Year 11 VCE Vocational Major Excursion to AVEO Retirement Village
On 4th June, the Year 11 VCE Vocational Major (VM) students were fortunate enough to visit the AVEO Retirement Village in Edrington Park, Berwick. This excursion provided a wonderful opportunity for students to begin their Community Health Project connecting with the elderly residents of the village, fostering intergenerational interaction and community engagement.
Students were introduced to the residents and began by completing an ice breaker activity. This initial interaction helped set a positive tone for the day. Students organised and hosted a morning tea for the residents. The menu included homemade scones, sausage rolls, quiches, chocolate slices, ANZAC biscuits and beverages.
The success of the excursion has paved the way for future activities, where students will return and re-engage with the residents to run a wide range of activities including arts and crafts, exercise and wellness, technology assistance, games/puzzles and entertainment and music.
This excursion was not only a rewarding experience for the residents but also an enriching opportunity for the students, highlighting the importance of community service and the value of connecting with different generations. We thank the management of AVEO in accommodating us for this initiative.
Year 9 Rosemary Graham Shield event: Charades.
The Year 9 student committee hosted a fun game of interhouse Charades at lunchtime this week. It was a great way for students to earn valuable points for their Houses as well as a novel way to keep warm on what was a very cold day. The skills of our students in their quest to be the best at Charades were well displayed making for a tough competition. Round two gets underway later in the week.
Year 8(G) Humanities Shark Tank project
When Mr Silva invited me and Mrs Barrett to be guest panellists to ‘decide the fate’ of his Year 8 Shark Tank group presentations, there was no hesitation from either of us. This is the sort of invitation I love receiving because it allows me great access to engage with our students in their class with their permission. This is a privilege. It was a very impressive set of projects vying for a share in the Sharks (myself and Mrs Barrett) ‘$100,000’ investment fund (all hypothetical of course). Projects included the safety vest, which lights up and sets off a siren should the person feel in danger or need help, a safe and secure letterbox using solar panels to support the access to a unique bar coded lock, crafty boxes delivered to your door, and the multipurpose base shoe, that comes with a variety accessories changing the shoe from a school shoe to a sports or party shoe.
The real joy in this activity is watching the students engage in both peer and self-reflection and evaluation. Educational expert John Hattie’s research found that the effect size on improving student learning outcomes is highest when students can judge their level of understanding and progress in their learning. This certainly happened during the presentations. A fantastic initiative turning Humanities into a real-life experience.
Well, done 8G.
Overall, another great couple of weeks at school.
I wish you all a safe and productive week.
Mrs Julie Banda
Head of Clyde North Campus