Senior School

DAV Debating

The final round of the DAV Debating season took place on Wednesday evening, 13 August, at Haileybury City Campus in West Melbourne.  With several teams in finals contention, the debaters competed courageously. 

The Year 12 A-Grade Team represented by Alisa Sanelli, Olivia Leahy and Alice Portz, lost their final debate to Fitzroy High School (Wurun) by one point; however, Alice Portz, a star all season claimed Best Speaker.  Well done to our Year 12 team, who despite the rigours of Year 12 and SAC’s attended every single one of their debates and even managed to make a VCE Literature reference in their final debate. 

The Year 11 B-Grade finished the season with a competitive win and a couple of close losses; they should be proud of their efforts in 2025. 

Mr Stefan Odachowski

English Learning Leader

Homelessness

This semester, the Personal Development Skills class has been working on a group project focused on homelessness.  As part of this project, we have been actively engaged in a range of meaningful activities.

In Week 3, we participated in National Homelessness Week, held from the 4 - 10 August. The purpose of Homelessness Week is to raise awareness about homelessness in our communities and to encourage the government to develop effective solutions to address and ultimately end homelessness.

We created an origami paper house display, which was exhibited in the Whyte Building. Each paper house symbolised a person or family experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.  The display provided a powerful visual representation of current statistics, highlighting that on any given night, around 30,000 Victorians are without safe housing.

Our participation sends a clear message to our government that more must be done to provide safe and secure housing for vulnerable people in our communities.  At the same time, we wanted to raise awareness of homelessness within the Academy.  We strongly believe that everyone deserves a home — it is a fundamental human right.

Over the last two Wednesday mornings, we have taken on volunteer opportunities as part of our learning and assisted at St Mary’s House of Welcome.   Volunteering at St Mary’s House of Welcome in Fitzroy was a chance to help people in our local community who are experiencing homelessness.  We were able to learn new skills like working as a team, helping prepare and serve food and talking with people from different backgrounds.  It also helped us build empathy and understanding about the challenges others face, such as poverty and not having a safe place to live.  Most importantly, we learned that small actions (like volunteering) can make a big difference in supporting people who need it.

This week, we were fortunate to participate in the Salvos School City Tour in Melbourne. The tour provided a unique opportunity to learn about homelessness and social disadvantage firsthand.  By visiting the Salvation Army Community Hub on Bourke Street, engaging with staff and hearing the stories of people affected, we gained a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable individuals.  This experience helped us develop empathy, compassion and social awareness, encouraging us to reflect on our role in supporting others and contributing positively to our community.

In Week 7, we will be running a sausage sizzle to help raise funds for a homelessness charity. More information about this will be coming shortly.  

The Personal Development Skills Class

Mr Steve Kapsalis

Teacher

Visit to Supreme Court

On Monday, our Year 11 Legal Studies class had the exciting opportunity to visit The Supreme Court of Victoria, where we had an insightful talk with Justice Kevin Lyons, who is a judge for the Court of Appeals. 

Justice Lyons thoroughly explained different processes of the justice system, whilst answering our numerous questions, including “Any advice for students wanting to pursue a legal career?” and “What was his longest case?” 

We were able to sit in on a manslaughter trial, where we witnessed the testimony of a police officer and heard the recordings from an undercover officer speaking to the accused. 

The morning ended by visiting the Supreme Court Library, where we were spoken to by Supreme Court staff on the history of the courts and the library.  They allowed us to browse the shelves, in which we found books dating back to the 19th century.

- Chiara Patruno 11 Blue

Mr Joe Natoli

Teacher