Department News  

Music

The Music department has seen a flurry of concerts over the last couple of weeks. Firstly we featured our Year 7 and 8 classroom Music students, showing off what they have achieved on their instruments this semester. From Taylor Swift to James Brown, it was a great fun night. 

This week it's been the turn of students who learn an instrument privately at the school, with 80 students playing solos over three nights of soirees. It's wonderful to see so many individual journeys, from the first-timers to the more experienced musicians. 

Congratulations to all our performers. 

Ms Katy Addis

Music Leader

Maths

2023 Australian Maths Competition Results

Congratulations to all students who voluntarily competed in this year's Australian Maths Competition. This is a significant competition that attracted close to 200,000 students this year from over 2,000 schools.

All participants are not only given very interesting ranking data and certificates but are also awarded with best in-school performances.

Congratulations to the following students who placed at the top three in their year level.

I would encourage all students to consider entering this excellent competition in 2024 as the benefits are numerous! Not only will you be able to track your progress in this competition over the years but the problem-solving skills you acquire will come in handy for the rest of your life!

Humanities

As another school year draws to a close, we reflect on all the excitement, engagement and learning that has occurred in the Humanities classroom.  Students have dug deep, developing insight into human cultures and fostered a genuine and deep understanding of individual and social justice and an authentic appreciation and admiration for difference. Whilst they may have learnt about the courageous efforts of Viking raids, civil right demonstrations, court cases for equality amongst all and young soldiers enlisting in the world wars, it is our students who have been courageous in voicing their opinions, questioning sources and listening to varying perspectives. 

Humanities subjects continue to be popular choices for our students at VCE and with their selection of tertiary studies pathways. It is welcoming to see our young generation engaged with the world around them, valuing the importance of humanity and developing their critical thinking and questioning skills. 

From excursions to the Shrine of Remembrance, guest speakers, market week and our inaugural Humanities week, students have embraced the Humanities both in and out of the classroom. I would like to congratulate the students for embracing the Humanities and finding connections between their classroom learnings and the outside world. They have embraced the Humanities beyond the four walls of the classroom and we applaud them for this. 

A big thank you to the Humanities teachers who continue to create meaningful lessons and experiences for students. It is their passion and dedication to the Humanities that results in an enriching education for Killester students. 

Miss Isabelle Maroun 

Humanities Learning Area Leader 

Student Reflections 

“Humanities has been a blast this year! Not only have we learned topics we have eagerly been waiting for, but we have had the opportunity to go on an excursion to The Shrine which has been an intriguing, educating experience! Humanities has been amazing” 

Rushana S

Year 9 St Francis 

“Studying Humanities can help us develop critical thinking skills and empathy for others, which are essential skills to have in both our personal and professional lives. By engaging with different perspectives and ideas, we can learn to think more critically and develop a greater sense of empathy for those around us.”

Peyton H

Year 7 St Rafka

Careers

This year has been a delightful blend of individual careers counselling and new and exciting program development. Students have shown a keen interest in participating in a number of the programs on offer this year including (but not limited to) the following:

- Resume writing

- Cover letter writing

- Access Monash mentoring program 

- Gems in STEM work experience

- Dare to Dream week

- Arrive and Thrive workshop

- Defence Force workshop

- Mock interviews

- Morrisby testing and analysis

- Job analysis research task (Wonder Program)

- Day in Her Boots (Fulton Hogan industry partnership)

- Monash University campus experience day (Clayton and Peninsula)

- Individual career counselling

- Careers Expo

- Vocational Education and Training (VET) Expo

- TAFE campus tours and program tasters

- Industry work experience

- Structured Workplace Learning

- Careers in Local Government Breakfast (City of Greater Dandenong)

- Introduction of Ponder and Study, Work, Grow program 

Benefits of students participating in career guidance programs such as the ones listed above:

- more positive attitudes towards school

- better motivation and higher attainment

- wage premiums of 10-20% for young adults have been linked to teenage participation in career guidance, especially if the young people found the activities helpful at the time they were undertaken (Cedefop et al, 2019, p.7)

We experience many many students telling us they don't know what to do when they finish school. It would be remiss of us not to mention that this is so, so normal. There are a number of tools, resources and strategies we make use of in order to help our students navigate their career pathway. One simple set of questions we use include those listed below. These can be thought provoking and encourage students to think more about their personal skills, attributes and what they want to achieve more so than simply the very next step beyond their final year of secondary schooling.

• What is the world you want to live in?
• What are the global problems that need your attention?
• What are your talents and experiences that may help address these problems and in turn improve the condition of our world?

Recently at the ACCE (Australian Centre for Careers Education) Conference, we heard from some Vocational Education and Training champions who highlighted how they were provided with a single experience throughout their schooling; one doing work experience as a diesel mechanic. She went on to receive an ATAR of 95. She spoke of her journey and how work experience helped expose her to an industry that she never even considered. Yet, that was the biggest influence on her career and the industry she ended up in.

Behind the scenes, we have been establishing key industry partnerships with a wide range of employers to create school leaver programs, work experience opportunities, student workshops and training programs. 

We're excited for the programs and support we can provide our students in 2024 and beyond.

Ms Rachel Meyer and Ms Loretta McKail

Careers Team

Wonder 

From our humble beginnings in 2022, the Wonder program has gone on to even bigger things in 2023.  

In Term 2 we hosted a showcase of projects for town planners, architects, and those working with the disadvantaged in our community.  Our guests came away amazed at the work being undertaken in the classroom.  

The Year 9s hosted a Parent Information which delivered important messages about safe partying and informed consent.  

Across different subjects in the curriculum, staff have reported that engagement, creativity, independence, and problem-solving skills have improved - all of which have been the focus of the different Wonder projects across Years 7-9.  

In recognition of the work undertaken in Wonder, two Year 8 Killester students - Thalia N and Alexa D - were invited to present their project on Diversity in the Beauty Industry at an international student conference at Melbourne University.  

Wonder continues to encourage students to inquire into big questions and work collaboratively with their peers.  Bring on 2024!

Ms Jacqui Dunstan

HEPE/Sport

The year 2023 was very successful for Sport and HEPE at Killester College. 

The opening of the refurbished Kennedy Hall Gymnasium and Fitness Centre has provided students with increased opportunities for physical activity and created a vibrant hub of physical health, fitness and wellbeing. This addition of this modern space reflects the commitment to promoting health, well-being and Physical Education made by Killester College. 

Brigid House emerged victorious in both the Athletics and Swimming carnivals, showcasing their prowess and team spirit leading to Brigid House winning the House Cup. Congratulations Brigid House!

Throughout the year, the HEPE department actively engaged students in a variety of sports and explored a range of Health-related subjects and topics. Killester College had a very successful year participating in the Catholic Girl’s Sports Association Victoria (CGSAV) inter-school sports competition, with 41 teams competing in a range of sports and Killester claiming 11 Championship Titles across all sports. 

We thank and congratulate all students who represented Killester College, tried out for a sports team and participated in physical activity opportunities in 2023. We thank the staff members and coaches for their ongoing commitment and support of all sports teams.

We look forward to an even bigger and better 2024!

Mr Troy Brodie

HEPE Learning Leader 

Visual Arts

VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN UNIT 2 AOS 3: APPLYING the DESIGN PROCESS

Congratulations to our talented Year 11 VCD students who studied the Design Process to research, generate, develop and refine their ideas into fabulous final presentations. Most students chose to work in the design field of Communication Design to design book jackets or LP album covers. Two students chose architecture in the field of Environmental Design. 

I am very proud of every student for their application to this outcome to complete such professional Final Presentations.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN

Year 12 VCD ‘SAT’ Final Presentations. 

In celebration of my wonderful, creative and talented Year 12 VCD class of 2023. Their achievements this year speak volumes about their talent, skill, dedication and application to their work. They should all be very proud of their achievements. In May this year each Year 12 VCD students completed their final SAC for 2023 in writing their Brief for their SAT folio. This was the beginning of each student's journey to follow the design process culminating in their two Final Presentations. Each Final Presentation can result in a number of pieces of work, what you see in this newsletter is only a small part of each student's body of work. Their Final Presentations came from all three fields of design, ranging from logo design and branding, brochures, an LP album cover, architectural designs, packaging and large-scale promotion posters. Each student demonstrated a high level of technical skill in their two Final Presentations.

Ms De Leggo

Visual Arts Learning Leader and VCD teacher