PYP

Melbourne High Selective Entry Gifted Outreach Mentoring Program

The Melbourne High Selective Entry Gifted Outreach Mentoring Program provides academically excelling students with the opportunity to experience life at Melbourne High School and be inspired by its prestigious and diverse history. Throughout the program, students were introduced to many aspects of the school, including its academic achievements, records, and historic school grounds. Melbourne High School is ranked in the top 5% of schools in Australia, reflecting its commitment to excellence and high-quality teaching. The school’s dedicated staff support every student by providing extensive opportunities and resources to help them succeed.

Our school, along with five others, selected eligible Grade 6 students to participate in this program. The students selected were Dhyey D, Vedant A, Suhas S, Rigved G, Krudhav R, and Abhinav A.

Student Reflections

Krudhav: My personal experience at Melbourne High School was absolutely mesmerising. When we first arrived, we were placed into groups of four to five students and assigned two mentors per group. As the school is very large, our Year 10 mentors began by taking us on a tour of the campus. Both the exterior and interior of the school looked truly majestic.

After the tour, we began planning our major project. This work continued during online WebEx sessions, where we further developed our ideas in a digital format. We had two online sessions before returning to the school for our final inquiry day, during which we fully constructed our project. The following Wednesday was presentation night. We arrived at 3:30 pm and presented our project to our parents, Melbourne High teachers, and even the school principal. I am very grateful for this experience, as it significantly improved my understanding of our topic.

Dhyey: My experience at Melbourne High School was truly one to remember. During the online sessions for the selective outreach program, I was placed into Vedant’s group, as I joined a little later. In these sessions, we began planning our project and turning our ideas into reality.

We eventually met in person on the November 26 to build our project, which focused on designing a renewable-energy-powered bus. The bus included features such as a double-decker design, solar-powered batteries, and motion-based technology, all aimed at reducing air pollution. Eli (from another school), Siddarth (our mentor), and I worked on creating the exterior of the bus using cardboard and paper to resemble a real PTV bus. Lawson and Ollie (a mentor) worked on the interior framework that allowed the wheels to move. Jimmy and Vedant designed a fully solar-powered recharging station, similar to a petrol station but completely renewable.

On December 3, we presented our project to everyone. This program greatly improved my communication, collaboration, building, and friendship skills, and I am very grateful to have been chosen to participate.

Suhas: I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Melbourne High School, from learning about its rich heritage to collaborating with intelligent and driven Year 10 mentors. On the first inquiry day, we were placed into groups of six to eight students and met our mentors for the first time. We were then given a tour of the school, which was truly exciting due to its historic architecture and outstanding academic, sporting, and musical facilities.

After the tour, our group was assigned to the Humanities Program, where we selected the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Sustainable Cities and Communities as the focus of our project. Our aim was to design a solution to a global issue connected to this goal. After researching on the United Nations website, we chose Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as our topic.

During two WebEx sessions, we planned and designed our prototype. Our final project involved constructing two model homes: one that demonstrated the effects of natural disasters on poorly built structures, and another reinforced with sustainable, affordable solutions such as mass dampers, bamboo flooring, bioconcrete, and a drainage and filtering system that converts rainwater and hail into renewable energy. On the second inquiry day, we worked collaboratively to bring our prototype to life.

A week later, we returned to Melbourne High School to present our project to parents, teachers, and the principal. Presenting to such a large audience helped me improve my confidence and presentation skills. This program expanded my creative thinking, deepened my understanding of global issues, and inspired me to aim for Melbourne High School in the future. I am extremely thankful to my teachers for selecting me for this incredible opportunity.

Abhinav: My experience at Melbourne High School was highly interactive and enjoyable. We had the opportunity to interact with Year 10 students and experience what daily learning is like at Melbourne High. The school offers a wide range of programs, including arts, media, music, after-school clubs, and unique subjects that engage and inspire students.

For our project, my group chose to build a model city. This was especially meaningful, as many places around the world face environmental damage, corruption, and poor infrastructure. I was amazed on our first day by how large and impressive the school was, from the dining hall and canteen to the swimming pool and multiple buildings. My mentors, Raneth, Colin, and Yujin, encouraged deep thinking and collaboration, making the experience even more enjoyable. I would also like to thank Krish and Louis for their support before we were assigned our official mentors.

Overall Reflection

Overall, we believe the Melbourne High Selective Entry Gifted Outreach Mentoring Program is an outstanding opportunity for students who are eager to broaden their understanding of the world. Some key takeaways from the program included learning about underprivileged countries, collaboration, architectural design, measurement skills, various forms of media, and global subcultures. The learning experiences provided were extremely valuable, and we would highly recommend this program to future students.