Year Seven-Nine
Coaching Parade Campus
Year 7- 9 Update
Celebrating a Great Term of Learning
As we approach the end of the term, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the many achievements of our Secondary students and celebrate the progress they have made in their learning.
Across the term, our students have demonstrated curiosity, creativity and a willingness to challenge themselves across a wide range of learning experiences. We are particularly proud of the way many students have demonstrated the IB Attitudes to Learning in every situation while at school.
Students have shown perseverance when faced with challenges, supported one another during collaborative activities and increasingly taken responsibility for their own learning. These are important skills that will continue to support them throughout their secondary education.
Every Day Counts
As we approach the end of term, we remind families of the importance of regular attendance. Every day at school provides opportunities for students to learn new content, practise skills, build relationships and develop confidence.
Missing just one day of school every fortnight adds up to approximately four weeks of lost learning each year. Over 13 years of schooling, this can equate to your child missing 1.5 years of learning.
With the holidays approaching, we encourage families to prioritise attendance and avoid unnecessary absences where possible. While illness and other circumstances may prevent students from attending, there is still valuable learning taking place right up until the final day of term.
If your child is experiencing difficulties with regular attendance, please reach out to us. We are committed to working with families to understand and support any barriers to attendance.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together to ensure our students finish the term positively and continue to make strong progress in their learning.
Year 9 English Book Week Special: Jane Harrison Brings Becoming Kirrali Lewis to Life
This Book Week, Year 9 English students had the rare privilege of meeting the author behind their class novel in person. Jane Harrison, author of Becoming Kirrali Lewis, visited our school to deliver a whole-cohort talk followed by an intimate workshop with a smaller group of 30 students. The experience gave our students insight into their text that no classroom discussion alone could provide.
The discussion began with a full-group talk where Harrison fielded questions from both students and staff. She responded with generous, honest answers, unpacking the choices behind her storytelling and the world she built for Kirrali.
The smaller workshop turned to a question at the very heart of contemporary Australian literature: who can write First Nations characters, and why is it essential that First Nations people are represented in fiction at all? Jane guided students through this nuanced territory with care, helping them understand: the importance of First Nations representation in Australian storytelling, the concept of First Nations lore and the cultural significance of totems, and which stories are not for non-Indigenous writers to tell, and why that boundary matters
For a group of young writers and readers, this was a powerful lesson in cultural respect, authorial responsibility and the ethics of storytelling.
Jane also pulled back the curtain on her own path to publication, from entering writing competitions to the realities of being edited, to learning how to advocate for her own work as an author. She spoke candidly about the research she undertook to bring authenticity to Becoming Kirrali Lewis, ensuring every historical detail rang true to the novel's era.
To finish the whole-cohort talk, Jane gave students an exciting sneak peek at what she is currently working on, a follow-on story to Becoming Kirrali Lewis, set approximately 20 years after the original novel. The new story will feature Kirrali and Kirk’s son as a protagonist. Stay tuned! For students studying the novel, hearing directly from its author brought the text to life and deepened their understanding of identity, culture, history and the craft of writing. A huge thank you to Jane Harrison for sharing her time, experiences and wisdom with our students this Book Week!
— Year 9 English Team
Science
Science Week 2026
Science Week was an exciting and action-packed week, with students having the opportunity to experience a range of fun, hands-on science demonstrations during lunchtime.
Throughout the week, the Science Labs came alive with spectacular experiments. Students watched the Magic Cup experiment, where a piece of cardboard appeared to defy gravity, and the exciting Whoosh Bottle, which demonstrated combustion in a dramatic way. Our glowing experiments were also a highlight, including the colourful Magic Potion and Glowing Lava Lamp, which looked especially impressive under UV light.
Students also observed the fascinating Iodine Clock Reaction, where clear solutions suddenly changed colour almost instantly, demonstrating the science of chemical reaction rates. Of course, Science Week wouldn't have been complete without the crowd-favourite Mentos and Coke experiment, which produced an impressive eruption and plenty of excitement!
The lunchtime activities ran throughout the week and provided students with an opportunity to explore science outside the classroom in a fun and engaging environment. It was fantastic to see so many students participating, asking questions and sharing their excitement about science.
Overall, Science Week was a wonderful celebration of curiosity, experimentation and discovery, and a great opportunity to show students just how exciting science can be!
Year 7
This term, Year 7 Science students are exploring the fascinating world of ecosystems and classification. Students are learning about how living things interact with each other and their environment, including food chains, food webs, competition, adaptations and the important role of decomposers.
Students are also learning how scientists identify and classify living things. Building on their previous experience with dichotomous keys, students are developing their skills in recognising similarities and differences between organisms and understanding how scientists organise the incredible diversity of life on Earth.
A highlight of the term is our hands-on plant investigations. Classes are growing their own wheatgrass under different light conditions, allowing students to investigate how environmental factors affect plant growth. Students are making observations, collecting data and using their results to learn more about what plants need to grow and survive.
Students are also creating their own carnivorous plant terrariums. This engaging activity gives students the opportunity to observe these fascinating plants while learning about how organisms develop adaptations that help them survive in different environments.
Through these practical activities, students are developing important scientific investigation and observation skills while discovering more about the living world around them. It has been wonderful to see students getting involved, asking questions and showing curiosity about the science behind the organisms they encounter.
Year 8
Year 9
Year 7 - 9 Basketball Academy
Term Three has been all about putting skills into action. Our Year Seven to Nine Basketball Academy students regularly travelled to Altona Sports Stadium to train, scrimmage and apply their skills in real game situations.
Engagement has been outstanding, with plenty of energy and healthy competition. Students have also strengthened their teamwork, communication and leadership, continuing to build a strong sense of community across the Academy.
Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) Experiences
Our Year Nine students stepped inside the high-performance environment at the Victorian Institute of Sport, exploring how sports science supports elite athletes through training, performance and recovery.
Our Year Eight students had the privilege of meeting Australian Olympian Dean Hewitt. Students learnt about his journey in curling and gained valuable insights into resilience, overcoming challenges and competing at the highest level.
Year Four Basketball Clinic
Our Year Nine students stepped into leadership roles by running a basketball clinic for Year Four students. The clinic gave them an opportunity to develop their coaching skills, give back to the Saltwater community and inspire our next generation of Academy players.
Interschool Sports
Students across all year levels proudly represented Saltwater against secondary schools from across Melbourne’s west. Our teams demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship, teamwork and determination, with plenty of success to celebrate!
| Team | Results |
|---|---|
| Year Seven Girls | What a journey! Our girls began the year learning the fundamentals and finished the competition with multiple wins. Firsts: Won their semi-finals and finished third out of ten teams. Seconds: Showed confidence and teamwork against tough competition, developing their own strategies to create scoring opportunities. |
| Year Seven Boys | Firsts: Came out firing and narrowly missed the Grand Final, finishing third out of ten teams. Seconds: Hustled throughout the competition and secured fifth place out of ten teams. |
| Year Eight | Both teams had an impressive competition and even faced each other in the semi-finals! Firsts: Won three of four pool games, narrowly missing the Grand Final on percentage. Seconds: Recorded three big wins and displayed fantastic effort and teamwork throughout the day. |
| Year Nine | Firsts: Went undefeated in their pool before a close semi-final, finishing third out of sixteen teams. Their performance attracted plenty of praise from spectators and umpires. Seconds: Showed huge improvement from their first tournament and finished the day on a high with a win in a friendly match. |
Coming Soon – Term Four
We are excited to finish the year with another fantastic opportunity for our Basketball Academy students!
Selected students have been invited to attend a live NBL game between Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix at John Cain Arena. This will be an exciting opportunity to experience elite basketball firsthand and see some of Australia’s best players in action.
Congratulations to the students who put forth their application and were successfully selected. Keep your eye out on XUNO for event approval and further information will be provided to families in the coming weeks.
We look forward to an exciting final term as the Basketball Academy continues to grow and provide students with opportunities to develop their skills, leadership, teamwork and love of the game.
Year 7 Table Tennis Interschool Sports
Year 7 Boys Table Tennis Champions!
Congratulations to our Year 7 boys, who achieved an outstanding victory at the Year 7 Table Tennis Interschool Sports competition at Altona North Bayside College!
Rishabh Bhaskaracharya - 7A
Yuanzhi Cai - 7B
Ayan Haider - 7A
Aarush Jaini - 7I
Huzaifa Khan - 7C
Karsten Nebre - 7D
Their fantastic skills, teamwork, determination and sportsmanship helped them secure first place.
This incredible result means the boys have qualified for the Western Metropolitan Regional Finals, which will be held on Friday, 23 October at the Geelong Table Tennis Centre.
We are extremely proud of their achievement and wish them the very best of luck at the regional finals. Well done, boys!
Year 7 Girls!
Congratulations to our Year 7 girls, who achieved a fantastic third place finish at the Year 7 Table Tennis competition!
Lara Allen - 7E
Maddy Allen - 7G
Jina Mehta - 7C
Aarohi Singhal - 7C
The girls displayed outstanding teamwork, determination and sportsmanship throughout the day. They represented Saltwater College with pride and should be extremely proud of their wonderful achievement.
Well done, girls!
Division Athletics Carnival - Wednesday the 2nd of September
The following students competed at the Hobsons Bay Division Athletics Carnival and performed extremely well.
Year 7
Evanna Singla – 7A
Lewis Flygenring – 7A
Elina Singla – 7B
Evangeline Botha – 7C
Natalie Chishanga – 7D
Fernando Reyes – 7E
Ariel Adesanya – 7F
Dion Gomez – 7F
Isaac Wilkinson – 7G
Kankhita Bairagi – 7H
Gagan Velkur – 7I
Jordan Campbell - 7C
Year 8
Sasha Rabai – 8B
Shannon Wuttichaitanakorn – 8B
Cyrus Liu – 8C
Miguel Reyes – 8C
Roselyn Kaur - 8C
Sandra Nyase – 8D
Lilly Paczkowski - 8D
Nadia Christian – 8F
Mason Paku – 8F
Anshuman Enukonda – 8G
Aarav Gandhi – 8G
Tirtho Deb – 8G
Noah Gill – 8G
Coco Wu – 8G
Year 9
Jessica Lin – 9A
Nazareth Temesu – 9A
Matheijs McDougall – 9A
Kyra Smith – 9A
James Bushiri – 9A
Lincoln Norgate – 9B
Roxana Mocko – 9B
Tawhiri Gardner – 9C
Lizzie Owen – 9C
Swaraj Pawar – 9D
Raghav Rajaji – 9F
Regional Qualifiers - Wednesday the 7th October
Several of our students have qualified for the Western Metropolitan Regional Athletics Competition following today’s Hobsons Bay Division Athletics Carnival.
All our students performed extremely well and represented our school with outstanding sportsmanship.
We are incredibly proud of their efforts and achievements.
A huge congratulations to the following students who have progressed to the regional competition:
7C - Evangeline Botha – 100m and 200m sprint and Triple Jump
7E - Fernando Reyes – 13 Year Relay
7A - Lewis Flyngenring – 13 Year Relay
8G - Aarav Ghandi – 13 Year Relay
7G - Isaac Wilkinson – 100m and 200m sprint and 13 Year Relay
8G - Noah Gill – 3000m
8F - Mason Paku – Discus and Shotput
8F - Nadia Christian – 3000m
9A - Matheijs McDougall – 800m
9A - James Bushiri – Long Jump and Triple Jump
9F - Raghav Rajaji – 800m and 1500m
We wish these students the very best of luck for the Regional Competition at the Mooney Valley Athletics track on Wednesday the 7th of October!
Wood Technology
Year 7
During Term 3, Year 7 students worked on a design brief for a model aeroplane as a study desktop ornament. Students used their digital portfolios on Google Classroom to develop and document the production process using IB Design Cycle guidelines. Students used both hand and power tools and focused on accurately measuring, marking and cutting skills throughout the manufacturing process.
Year 8
Year 8 students completed a storage case project in Term 3 of Semester 2. Students were given a single length of timber to measure, mark, cut and assemble their product using hand tools, power tools and joinery techniques. Students followed basic construction techniques to develop their skills, with a focus on safety, to produce their case. They documented the process in a digital portfolio using the IB MYP Design Cycle in Google Classroom.
Year 9
Year 9 students completed their handy carry caddy project. These caddies were designed to cart around and safely store items such as cleaning products or shoe polish and brushes. Students worked on their projects both individually and in pairs to construct their carry caddy. They followed guided instruction as well as demonstration models to construct their product using hand tools, power tools and complex machinery. Students used joinery techniques to build their caddy and documented the process in a digital portfolio based on the IB MYP Design Process in Google Classroom.
