Teaching and Learning

Thank you to all students for an excellent Term 3. There has been a buzz of learning across the campuses and we commend students and staff for their commitment to learning. Below are some updates across our college from key curriculum leaders, students and staff.

Warm regards,

Sandale Ambegoda- Assistant Principal (Teaching and Learning)

English

A term of events and opportunities:

Term 3 ushered in a range of literacy and English events and opportunities such as Book Week (explored in the Junior School section of this newsletter), the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, our continued participation in the Premier’s Reading Challenge, a Junior public speaking competition (the Great Bemin Speak-Off –explored in the Junior School section of this newsletter) and the formation of Year 7 and Year 8 interschool debating teams.

The Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee:

A whopping 40 students in Year 7 and 8 participated in the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. We are so proud of you all for entering this challenging competition to test your spelling skills and extend your vocabulary! A special congratulations to the following students for making it to the State Finals of this prestigious competition –you represented our school with diligence and pride:

Abdullah Khan of 8B
Nabhy Patel of 8E
Advay Prabhu of 7D

Junior Debating Teams:

We would also like to commend the Year 7 and 8 Bemin Secondary College debating teams for attending their first training session with facilitators from the Debaters Association of Victoria at Werribee Secondary College. It was wonderful to see students learning and working together on the night, and we wish them luck in their future training sessions and upcoming debates against other schools in the Werribee Region!

Book Spine Poetry:

Finally, we would like to share the winning Book Spine Poetry entries in our Book Week Book Spine Poetry competition – we hope you enjoy these words and images that reflect the creativity and insight of some of our students:

Winning entry, Year 8: Ishmay Jewana and Nita Houn:

A twisted tale of

Boys without names

Swerving

to Bedlam

Winning entry: Year 8, by Paarth Mahajan and Elroe Woldemariam:

Tempted

Hunted

Chosen

Untamed

Throne of glass

Lies

Secrets and sisterhood

Girl on fire

Winning entry, Year 7, by Chenul Henasinghe and Vivaan Gandhi:

On a roll

In the zone

Dogzombies rule (for now)

Soon

The ugly truth

Strikes again

This camp is DOOMED

Winning entry, Year 7, by Sahasra Gudala:

The Book of Chance

Found

All the wrong questions

‘Shouldn’t you be in school?’

Lies

Fear

Hunger

When we are invisible

Everything’s amazing

In classrooms:

In classrooms, we had a focus on Book Club discussions and response to text in Year 7, poetry analysis and persuasive analysis and writing in Year 8 and responding to texts in Year 10 and Year 11. At the Junior Campus, we have also continued to build our Independent Reading program by growing our classroom libraries and reading spaces, and by continuing our focus on teaching the knowledge and skills required to boost students’ reading comprehension.

We continue to encourage all students to read for at least 30 minutes a night as not only is it enjoyable, but it is also a way to support and develop vocabulary, reading comprehension and language skills.

How to encourage your child to read at home:

Reading is more than just homework, it’s about enjoyment, building empathy and identity. At the same time, it boosts vocabulary and language skills. Here are five ways to support your teen’s reading at home:

Help them choose reading material they will enjoy: Remind your child that reading isn’t only novels. Articles, sports commentary, graphic novels, fan fiction, recipes — they all count. It also helps if the reading reflects their interests and is connected to the real world, such as sports, art, movies or series they have enjoyed, or games they play. Celebrate the reading they already do or are drawn to, and help them find more reading material that reflects this.

Schedule reading time in advance: Thirty minutes of reading each day is far more powerful than one long weekend session. Try linking it to an existing routine, like just before bed. If your child struggles with thirty minutes, break that up into two fifteen-minute reading segments (eg: before dinner and just before bed).

Model the habit: Let your child see you reading too, whether it’s a book, magazine, or article. Children are more likely to read if the adults around them do. You might even do this together. Instead of saying, ‘Go read,’ you might say, ‘Let’s both sit down with something to read for ten minutes.’ Sometimes young people are more likely to engage with reading if it feels shared, not assigned.

Talk to them about their reading in a curious way: Ask gentle questions like ‘What surprised you?’, ‘What keeps you reading?’, ‘What was your favourite part?’ and ‘Would you recommend this to a friend?’

Pair books with audiobooks: Listening while following along in a print version of a book takes the pressure off and helps your child hear fluent reading. It also makes harder texts more accessible.

Progress over perfection: Acknowledge and celebrate effort. The momentum matters more than length. Even if your child finishes just a few pages or a chapter, it’s still progress. Also celebrate finishing a book, article or series, or even a short story. Every ‘finished’ reading experience builds momentum and confidence.

Help us Grow our Classroom Libraries –Book Donations Welcome!

We are once again reaching out with a simple request that could make a big difference to our school community.

Do you have books or magazines at home that are no longer being read? We would love to give them a new life in our classroom libraries!

We welcome all kinds of books and magazines - fiction, non-fiction, picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, cookbooks, biographies, hobby guides, and more. Our students are readers of all ages and abilities with a wide range of interests, and your donated items could help spark curiosity and a love of reading.

If you’re having a clean-out, we’d be grateful if you could consider donating to our school. Donations can be dropped off at the front office at either campus any time during school hours.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place where stories, knowledge, and imagination are celebrated.

Nicole Marie- Assistant Principal (English/Literacy

Library News:

We’re excited to share some library news with you!

Our Library Catalogue is Live

Our Library Catalogue is now available. Students and staff can:

· Search our collections

· Request books

· Reserve titles in advance

Explore the catalogue here:

Junior campus: https://au.accessit.online/BMN02/#!dashboard

Senior campus: https://au.accessit.online/BMN02/#!dashboard

Requesting Books

For students & staff

1. Request the book you are wanting to borrow from the campus library via the library catalogue.

2. Once you receive your Reserve/Hold notice visit your campus library

3. You can collect your item from the Reservation Shelf

Returning Books

A reminder to students and staff that they can return their items into the return chute at either campus. If library is closed, reception will pass on library books to library staff.

Overdue Books

Students are expected to return library books within two weeks of borrowing.

To help with this process:

· Reminder notices are sent to students, classroom teachers, and parents/guardians.

· If a book is lost or damaged, we kindly ask parents/guardians to either replace the item or cover the cost of replacement.

Returning books on time ensures that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy our growing collection. Thank you for supporting your young person in developing responsibility and helping us keep our library resources available for all students.

Growing Our Collection

Our libraries continue to expand, with new titles being added. We are working closely with staff to:

· Grow our Health and Wellbeing collection

· Support learning across all subject areas

· Provide resources for teacher professional development

This growth reflects and supports the instructional model that Bemin Secondary College follows, aiming to ensure our resources are aligned with teaching and learning priorities. By strengthening our collections in this way, we strive to enrich classroom practice and foster deeper student learning.

Congratulations to students and staff that participated in Book Week activities and Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

Alongside Book Week activities and competitions students at Everton Campus were invited to borrow a mystery book, keeping with the 2025 Book Week Theme “Book An Adventure”.

When is the library open to students?

Junior campus is open during Tuesday lunchtime.

Senior campus is open when Homework Club is operating and Friday lunchtime.

We look forward to increasing opening hours next term.

Krissy Barr (Teacher Librarian) and the library team.

Maths

Hands-On Maths in Action: Year 7–8 Students Explore Beyond the Classroom

From playground designs to real-world challenges, students are discovering maths everywhere.

Year 7–8 students have been engaging in hands-on, collaborative maths tasks, using manipulatives and practical activities to measure, design, and explore ideas in real contexts. Highlights included measuring and planning sections of the playground and investigating everyday objects, helping students see the relevance of maths in their environment.

Many students also participated in Micro Mathematicians, an enrichment program for advanced students in Y5–10, offering free virtual and in-person workshops to extend their mathematical thinking beyond the classroom. These experiences, inspired by Jo Boaler’s work on mathematical mindsets and Bloom’s Taxonomy, have boosted both confidence and creativity, with students tackling challenges enthusiastically and achieving measurable growth.

Anjana Dwivedi- Learning Specialist

Monika Kanwar- Maths PLC Instructional Leader

Lauren Turner- Assistant Principal (Maths/Numeracy

Humanities

County Court Visit, 28th of August

On 28 August, the Year 11 Legal Studies students visited the County Court, where they were able to observe a criminal trial in progress. This gave them a first-hand insight into courtroom procedures, the roles of legal personnel, and how evidence is presented and challenged. Students had the opportunity to reflect on how the principles of justice are upheld in practice, making strong connections to their current studies of the criminal justice system. Students are commended on their behaviour on this day.

Supreme Court Visit, 11th of September

On 11 September, the Year 11 Legal Studies students attended the Supreme Court, where they sat in on a criminal case and heard directly from a judge about their role and experiences in the justice system. Students asked thoughtful questions, gaining valuable insights into sentencing, the responsibilities of the judiciary, and how justice is balanced in complex trials. The excursion deepened their understanding of the legal system and brought to life key concepts from their classroom learning. Students are commended for their behaviour and representing the college values throughout their time in the city.

Amelia Amuso- Humanities PLC Instructional Leader

Science

This term, our school celebrated Science Week with the theme “Decoding the Universe: Exploring the Unknown with Nature’s Hidden Language”. Each day, students were challenged to crack riddles that revealed the location of hidden science challenges around the school. At lunchtime, the excitement continued with an Amazing Race activity that tested problem-solving skills, teamwork and scientific thinking. It was fantastic to see so many students get involved, stretching their minds and celebrating the wonder of science.

Rebecca Cook- Science PLC Instructional Leader

Arts

Year 7 Visual Art

Year 7 Visual Art students took Indigenous artist Sally Gabori as their inspiration to develop abstract landscapes in oil pastels. They have done a great job bringing the art elements of colour, texture and shape together in their compositions

Year 8 VCD

Year 8 Visual Communication Design students have been busy learning about perspective drawings in design and planning a 3D Letter inspired by a character of their choice.

Stay tuned next term for the finished products.

Lights, Camera, Action! Year 8 Digital Media 'Trailer Makers'

This term, Year 8 Digital Media students created their own movie trailers! Working in film crews, they explored genre, camera techniques and acting choices to create meaning and engage audiences. Students demonstrated exceptional creativity and technical skill, showcasing everything from green screen wizardry to powerful performances and sharp editing.

The project culminated with our digital media room transforming into ‘Bemin Cinemas,’ where students enjoyed popcorn and premiered their trailers on the big screen. The standard of work was outstanding, and it was fantastic to celebrate the achievements of our future filmmakers.

Year 10 Art

Year 10 Art students have been exploring ceramics in class. After researching and planning ideas for a coral reef sculpture, students are using handbuilding techniques with clay, exploring textures and new ideas to create wonderful sculptures.

Year 10 Pixels to Production (Media)

This term in Year 10 Media, students have followed the production process to research world cinema and film genres before planning, creating and refining media products that represented reimagined fairytales for a target audience. They designed film posters, billboards and social media posts that reflected the conventions of both their chosen genre and the media form. To achieve this, students ran their own photoshoots, selecting costumes, directing classmates as actors, and operating cameras and lighting to bring their visions to life. From Beauty and the Beast as a romantic horror, The Pied Piper as J-Horror (Japanese Cinema), Little Red Riding Hood as a colourful animation, and The Gingerbread Man as a crime/gangster film – along with many more inventive projects – the unit highlighted both creativity and collaboration. The final work is now proudly displayed in our Media classroom as a celebration of students’ imagination, technical skills and storytelling.

Year 11 Art Making and Exhibiting

Year 11 Art students have been busy in the artwork developing ideas in their folio inspired by the theme of Emotions.

We were able to take a visit to the Heide Museum of Modern Art earlier this term. On the visit, we explored the grounds, sculpture garden and exhibition spaces exploring traditional and contemporary Australian art.

Claudia Khoury- Learning Specialist

Technologies

Year 10 Fabric Finesse

Year 10 students have learned how to operate sewing machines before cutting and sewing their own tote bags. Stay tuned for pyjama shorts next term!

Jeeva Suthananthan- Learning Specialist

Year 10 Trends and Techniques-

In week 5, students made crumpets and learned about yeast as a leavening agent and its role in the recipe. They mixed warm water and sugar with the yeast and let it rest. During this time, the yeast fed on the sugar, producing carbon dioxide bubbles that helped the crumpets rise and created their characteristic holes and light, spongy texture. Students then cooked their crumpets and discussed the golden colour formed through dextrinization. After cooking, each student saved a crumpet to be frozen and used in week 6 for making Eggs Florentine. In this session, students explored functional properties such as emulsion—the process where egg yolks combine with fat and acid to create the hollandaise sauce—and coagulation, which occurs when proteins in eggs denature and change from liquid to semi-solid as poached eggs.

Maddi Croatto and Bryce Baumgarten

Health

Year 7,8 & 10 Health

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 - Health Education (Personal, Social and Community Health) Years 7 - 10 classes have all explored, at their appropriate level, Respectful Relationships and Sexuality Education. This has been a unit that has been thoroughly enjoyed by both teachers and students as what can often be awkward to discuss has been fun and engaging to learn about. Students have explored the influences on the ways in which young people experience puberty and how to manage challenges that arise as young people transition through adolescence. Students have learnt about the positive characteristics of healthy relationships and the number of resources available to young people in the community to seek help and to rely on as a trusted source of health information. Students have also learnt about the importance of consent in all areas of life, particularly in relationships. Students in Years 7 - 10 have been respectful and innovative in their approach to learning in Health classes during Term 3.

Year 10 Students got a more hands on approach to improving their understanding of contraception with the blue Sexual Health Victoria kits introduced in Health classes this year. This was, according to staff and students, “the most fun had in class this year”, as the kits, created and supplied to Victorian schools by Sexual Health Victoria, provide a comprehensive approach to students learning about sexual health and the importance of understanding our bodies.

Year 11 Health and Human Development

Year 11 students are now half way through Unit 2 of VCE Health and Human Development with Area of Study 1 SACs now complete. This Area of Study focused student learning on developmental transitions through the human lifespan with a particular focus on early childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Students explored the role of parents in the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of children (and possibly gained a higher level of respect for their own parents in the process!). Students also explored the ways in which healthy and respectful relationships promote health and wellbeing.

And lastly, students analysed the ways in which early life experiences, including during foetal development, can impact health and wellbeing of an individual throughout their life and the nature of intergenerational health and wellbeing.

This week, students have begun to explore Area of Study 2- Health Literacy, which explores:

On behalf of the Health teachers at Bemin S.C, we wish all students a safe and restful term break and look forward to returning in Term 4 to finish the 2025 Year 7 - 10 Health and Year 11 Health and Human Development teaching and learning programs with positive engagement and prideful achievements.

Jessica D’Lima

Learning Specialist - Instructional Leader and Health Curriculum Leader.

Physical Education

As Term 3 comes to a close, we reflect on an exciting and energetic journey through Physical Education.This term has been filled with high-energy activities, personal growth, and team-building exercises. Our students have engaged in a variety of sports, skill-building activities, and fitness challenges, pushing their physical and mental boundaries.

Year 7 focus this term is on Net Sports. Students' learning intentions were based around improving hand-eye coordination and working in a team to run a student lead tournament. Whether it was badminton, or volleyball, net sports offered the students a fun, challenging environment, and an opportunity for all students to develop new skills.

Year 8 we’re exploring the concept of Active Communities—what it means, why it’s important, and how we can all get involved.

Danni Ryan- Learning Specialist

Building Teacher Capacity

As we continue to build staff capacity across the college, we are excited to launch our professional reading library for staff at the end of this term. With the help of our fantastic librarians, Alex and Krissy, we have been able to curate texts that will support our teaching and learning priorities. As we strengthen our understanding and implementation of the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model in 2028 alongside our Bemin Instructional Model, we can draw on the latest evidence-based research from our collection to support professional learning programs in Term 4 and beyond.

Katherine Phillips- Leading Teacher (Building Teacher Capacity)