The Falcon Newsletter

Teaching and Learning

STUDENT REPORTS AND PARENT CONFERENCES

It was wonderful to see so many parents and students attend the Parent Student Teacher Conferences on 25th July 2024. These conferences are invaluable for families to meet their child’s new Semester 2 teachers (where applicable) and to gather feedback about how students can improve in their learning for the rest of this year.

If you were unable to attend and would like to contact one of your child’s teachers, please feel free to email any teacher via the Compass app or website.

In addition, if you are yet to have a look at your child’s Semester 1 Report, please go to Compass and download a copy to read. 

 

NAPLAN RESULTS 2024

By now all Year 7 and 9 students should have received their NAPLAN results via mail.  If you have not received these results, please contact Jessica Quinn and I can send these to you. 

We are very proud of the growth our students demonstrated in all areas of the NAPLAN this year. A higher proportion of our students moved into the ‘Strong’ and ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels for Numeracy, Reading, Writing and Spelling and Grammar, than ever before. This is an achievement that should be widely celebrated amongst our school community. 

 

COMPETITIONS: DO YOU WANT TO WIN PRIZE MONEY & SHOW HOW SMART YOU ARE?

The World History Encyclopedia offers an incredible website that aims to engage people of all ages with cultural heritage and improved historical education and resources.  This website is certainly worth visiting if you are a history buff! 

The World History Encyclopedia is also running its annual historical short story competition called Ink of Ages: Ink of Ages Fiction Prize with World History Encyclopedia

If you write historical or mythology-inspired short fiction set at least 50 years ago, and are 13 years or above, you can enter your story to win some great prizes from World History Encyclopedia and Oxford University Press!

  • For adult entrants aged 18+ submissions must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words long.
  • For youth entrants aged 13 to 17 submissions must be between 800 and 1,000 words long.
  • The contest is free to enter between 1 August 2024 to 15 September 2024. 
  • Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is run by World History Encyclopedia and generously sponsored by Oxford University Press.

 

LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM

 

Maths News:

On Wednesday 7th August, 67 of our high performing Year7-10 students participated in the Australian Maths Competition.

This competition challenges students to face a future full of real-world problems and it measures the persistence, confidence, and creative thinking skills in our Maths students. 

We are very excited to celebrate our students’ success after the results of the Australian Maths Competition are shared. Regardless of their outcome, we would like to acknowledge all the students that participated in the competition – well done!

 

Languages News:

We are coming to the time of the year where Year 7 and 8 students need to begin thinking about whether they want to pursue Mandarin or Japanese in the higher year levels as they progress through their schooling.  The Department of Education has various resources about the benefits of studying a foreign language at school on their website and I have attached some of this information below:

 

How languages can boost your child's brainpower

Learning another language is an exciting experience for young children. While they have fun discovering new and unique ways of expressing themselves, they also exercise and strengthen their brains. 

 

No matter what your child's ability, research shows that learning another language can:

Stimulate brain development

Learning another language helps develop essential areas of children's brains. It also helps them to think more creatively, connect ideas and solve problems more easily. 

Significantly enhance English literacy skills

 

Learning another language means more than just memorising lists of words. Languages all use different 'systems'. Children automatically compare and contrast the system of the new language they are learning with English. 

This gives them an insight to how English works, which accelerates their ability to read and write.

 

Improve memory, concentration and numeracy skills

Learning another language strengthens children's memory for sequences and their ability to concentrate and build connections.

 

Encourage respect and understanding of other cultures

Learning another language sparks children's curiosity for other cultures. It opens their minds to different ways of living and promotes harmony and respect in the schoolyard and beyond.

Learning another language is crucial to preparing children for our increasingly globalised and multilingual jobs market.

 

 

STAFFING CHANGES FOR SEMESTER 2: 

This semester we are very lucky to have new teaching staff join our team.  They all have a variety of teaching experiences, and we want to take this opportunity to welcome them to our college. 

 

New teaching staff for Semester 2:

  • Catherine Teng – EAL and Language School
  • Peter Zerna – Maths, STEM and systems engineering
  • Man Lam – Physics and Maths
  • Shumiya Haider – English and Humanities
  • Daniel Rapson – Media Studies
  • Jiameng Wei – Maths
  • Ash Rook – Health & PE
  • Trevor Davis - Technology

 

We also have 3 staff members returning from family leave:

  • Allegra Blain – Humanities
  • Rosie Cassell – Food Studies
  • Rachel Seaton – Arts

 

INTRODUCING OUR NEW TEACHERS:

Man Lam

My name is Man Lam, and I am excited to join the Lyndale community as a new teacher of science and mathematics. This year, I will be teaching Year 12 Physics, Year 11 Methods, Year 9 Science, and Year 7 Maths.

I was born in Hong Kong and completed my first degree in England, where I worked as a research assistant on a mathematical model of filter cake formation. I then returned to Hong Kong to build statistical models for predicting hurricanes and ozone depletion. In 1997, I moved to Melbourne, where I pursued studies in Chemical Engineering and conducted research on droplet generation in metal/slag systems at high temperatures.

After completing my education diploma, I worked as a CRT and contract teacher at various schools, followed by a role as a laboratory technician and tutor at Mount Alexander College. During this time, I developed a range of innovative physics demonstrations and experiments, which have been presented at conferences to inspire other teachers.

I am a lifelong learner, committed to bringing this philosophy to our students at Lyndale. I have found Lyndale to be uniquely dedicated to protecting teaching time, and I have observed the positive impact of this commitment in our NAPLAN results from Year 7 to Year 9.

I look forward to a great year ahead and to working with you all.

 

Jiameng Wei

My teaching philosophy is centred around creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment where students feel confident to explore and ask questions. I aim to make mathematics relatable by connecting it to real-world applications. 

What excites me about being at Lyndale is the school's multicultural environment and the supportive colleagues, which foster different perspectives and ideas, making it a dynamic and inclusive community.

Thanks a lot!

 

Trevor Davis

Hello everyone, I’m Trevor Davis and my role is to teach Design Technology to our students. 

I have come back to teaching from a long time in the corporate world with years of Enterprise IT experience in Fujitsu, Toyota, and Telstra. 

My philosophy for teaching is to keep information as simple as possible so that students might get to understand and experience something currently unfamiliar. I’m glad to be at Lyndale as the students here attend class with a sense of excitement.

 

Peter Zerna

Hi. I am Peter Zerna and I am teaching Year 10 Maths, Year 9 Maths, Year 10 Systems Engineering and Year 9 STEM at Lyndale.

I am an Electronic Engineer by degree with Grad Diplomas in Applied Computing (Software Development) and Education. I have a TAE ticket for VET teaching as well as a Cisco CCNP. 

I have worked in numerous Telecoms and IT / Software Development roles before coming to teaching in 2016, including designing and project managing the building of mobile networks for Telstra in SA and NT, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and for Vodafone in VIC and TAS. I also managed the national IT infrastructure of Air Liquide for 3 years.

I have a reinvigorated passion for Control Systems Engineering, especially now that I get to access so many numerical analysis and data science tools to complement the mathematical modelling. I am keen to show these concepts to students.

My Philosophy on Teaching: Provide every student, every opportunity to find and succeed in a pathway that is rewarding both financially and with respect to job satisfaction. I want to assist in providing the educational and motivational foundations for this.

What brings me to Lyndale SC: The opportunity to advance students in Maths and Technology toward professional careers in Engineering, Data Science. I see that this is very achievable at LSC because of the programs available and the organisational structure that will support me and students in doing so.

 

Shumiya Haider

I am Shumiya Haider, an English and Humanities teacher with a deep passion for empowering students to express themselves clearly, think critically, and engage with diverse perspectives. It brings me immense joy and excitement to join Lyndale Secondary College right after completing my master’s degree. During my study, I worked at Keysborough College.

With a strong educational foundation in business, including both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, I initially began my teaching journey as a business teacher overseas in Bangladesh. My experience there, combined with my work on children’s well-being with the Red Cross in South Africa, has provided me with a deep understanding of how to effectively engage with multicultural students. These experiences have shaped my belief that every student has the potential to succeed and have equipped me with the skills to help them reach their full potential.

My teaching philosophy centres on inclusivity, fostering curiosity, and creating learning experiences that promote growth. What excites me most about being at Lyndale is the opportunity to work in a vibrant and diverse community where I can continue to learn and inspire my students to achieve their best.

 

Catherine Teng

My Role is EAL teaching at Lyndale. I have nearly 15 years of teaching experience. Before moving to Australia about 10 years ago, I was a self-employed principal in China. I completed my Master’s degree in Teaching six years ago and have since worked at Noble Park Language School and the Victorian School of Languages as an EAL teacher. Additionally, I have taught Year 7-12 EAL and VCE EAL in a tutoring school.

My teaching philosophy is grounded in the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach, which promotes learning subject matter and language skills simultaneously. Key principles of my teaching include:

  1. Dual-Focused Education: Balancing content and language learning.
  2. Cognitive Engagement: Encouraging higher-order thinking.
  3. Scaffolding: Providing language support to bridge learning gaps.
  4. Cultural Awareness: Promoting understanding of different cultures.
  5. Authentic Learning Contexts: Using real-life situations to make learning meaningful.

I am excited to be at Lyndale because of the supportive colleagues and the students’ strong desire to learn. The positive school environment and respectful, motivated students ignite my passion for teaching.

I am dedicated to my role and committed to helping students learn as much as possible. I aim to create an engaging and supportive learning environment where students can thrive academically and personally.

Literacy Club Excursion 

The Student Literacy Leaders enjoyed a day of art and culture on Wednesday, 7th August,  starting with the whimsical ‘BEINGS’ exhibition at ACMI. The display, featuring computer-generated imagery, physics simulations, and real-time gaming graphics, offered a seamless sensory experience filled with joy, curiosity, and simplicity. The dynamic, dancing shapes were a favourite, bringing ‘soulful technology’ to life in a way that felt alive and empathetic.

 

After lunch at Melbourne Central, the group attended the highly anticipated ‘Beauty and the Beast’ musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

 

Student Reflections:

Mahnoor: ‘BEINGS’ at ACMI showcased Universal Everything's latest work, blending art and technology in an interactive, surreal experience. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was a vibrant reimagining of the Disney classic, with standout performances in ‘Be Our Guest’ and ‘Gaston.’

Seyara enjoyed interacting with the fantastical creatures in ‘BEINGS’ and loved the ‘Be Our Guest’ scene, especially Belle's stunning gown.

Liv found the ‘BEINGS’ exhibition mesmerizing and highlighted ‘Be Our Guest’ as the best part of the musical.

 

HUMANITIES Term 3 

This term Year 7 and 8 Humanities students are focussing on the topics of Economics and Business. 

On the 30th of July, Year 7 and 8 Humanities students were involved in an Economics Incursion presented by Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation. The Talk money program is designed to help Australian school students learn money lessons for life, to be confident talking about money and to make informed financial decisions. 

During the workshop students gained knowledge on spending and saving choices, how decisions now can affect future finances and strategies to achieve financial goals. Students also had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss ideas in Economics.

 

“It really helped me know more about money and how to use it wisely” (Aden)

“The task we did during the Talk money incursion was very helpful for understanding opportunity cost” (Kharlitah)

“I learnt a lot about Economics and money and I would like to know more about how to save and spend money” (Vannika)

“How and what should we invest money into?” (Disas)

Jessica McKEAN

Humanities Subject area leader