Business Management Excursion

In early September, on the Friday of Week 8, we Year 11 Business Management students went on an excursion to Chadstone Shopping Centre to conduct an interview for a business of our own choosing. This was part of our Unit 2, Area of Study 2 SAC, where we had to pick a business at Chadstone and ask them questions about how they operate. Some of the questions we asked were about the business’s target market and the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, to name a few.

My group chose to go to the Legoland Discovery Centre, where we had a really good chat and interview with the friendly staff. They kindly helped us with our questions and gave us a lot of useful information to complete our SAC. While we were there, we also spoke with one of the customers, who later turned out to be the person that contacted Dandenong High School to compliment us.

Overall, the excursion was a really fun and interactive experience. I enjoyed it a lot, and it felt great knowing that we represented our school well. Getting that positive feedback about our behaviour, respect, and pride in our uniform made the day even better.

–Year 11 Business Management

On Friday, 13th September, our VCE Business Management class had the exciting opportunity to visit Chadstone, The Fashion Capital. As part of our SAC focused on marketing, the excursion gave us a first-hand look into how Australian-based businesses apply real-world marketing strategies to attract and retain customers in a competitive retail environment.

Throughout the day, we explored a range of stores from well-known Australian brands. We investigated how each business used the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) to stand out in a competitive shopping centre that sees thousands of visitors daily. Some of us focused on visual production and how shop layouts and displays influence customer behaviour, while others interviewed staff and took notes on promotional strategies such as sales, loyalty programs, and digital advertising.The experience provided valuable insights into how businesses tailor their marketing to different target audiences. It also helped us better understand the importance of branding, customer service, and competitive positioning in a real-world context, all key components of our SAC.

Aside from gathering information, the day also encouraged us to collaborate, think critically, and apply our classroom knowledge to practical situations. Overall, the Chadstone excursion was not only educational but also a fun and interactive way to engage with our studies.

We’d like to thank our school and the Business Management teachers for organising the excursion and giving us the chance to learn outside the classroom. It was an experience that brought marketing theory to life and one we won’t forget! Thank you!

Community feedback:

Hello,

I was at Chadstone Shopping Centre last Friday as were students from your High School who were on an excursion.

I just had to relay to the school that their behaviour was exemplary.

I was admiring their uniform and their behaviour and asked what school they were from. The boys responded with such respect and seemed so proud of their uniform too. I was with two others, and we all agreed how excellent they were.

Those fine, young boys are to be commended for their behaviour whilst out and representing their school in uniform - well done to all at your school!

-Therese A

Kavitha Viswanathan & Prarthana Gamage

Business Management Teachers

A Cultural Workshop at the Japanese Consulate-General, Melbourne

On the 26th of August, the Year 9 & 10 Japanese classes attended a very interesting cultural workshop at the Japanese Consulate-General in Melbourne. The workshop focused on Japanese pop culture and its impact on society, covering areas such as manga, anime, music, cosplay and a mascot known as yurukyara. We learnt about Japan’s unique marketing strategy which is to use mascots, anime and music personalities to promote products.

The workshop was run by Zilla, a cultural officer at the Consulate-General. She put together an engaging and interactive presentation which introduced the unique pop culture of Japan. We started the workshop by playing a game, where we had to write as many Japanese songs, shows and artists we knew. Zilla gave us a thorough run down about Japanese games such as Super Mario, Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda as well as music and anime, explaining how they not only reflect the Japanese society but also shape and inspire people globally.

After the workshop, we visited the Muji store at the Emporium. This gave us a chance to practise reading the Japanese scripts while browsing for authentic Japanese goods. It was exciting to see the blend of minimal design and practicality that Muji is known for.

Without a doubt, lunch was the highlight of the day. A variety of Japanese dishes, along with miso soup, gave us a memorable taste of Japanese cuisine.

Overall, the excursion was both enjoyable and educational. It highlighted the balance between Japan’s traditional and modern culture and shows us how pop culture can reflect deeper aspects of society. We are very grateful to Mr. Yuan for having organised this enriched educational activity for us and to Mr. Li who also accompanied us for the excursion.

Manveer K

Year 10

Callistemon

Japanese Model UN

Everyone is impressed by the high achievements of DHS students who have participated in the Model UN program in the English version so far. However, do you know that the Year 10 Japanese class also attended the Model UN program, in Japanese language!

On 22nd July, the Year 10 Japanese class got up early in the morning and met up with Mr Yuan, then we headed for the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in North Melbourne, where the event was held.

This event was organised by the United Nations Association of Australia (Victorian Division) and the theme was “Hear our voice: Recognising the rights of Indigenous people”. Our school had been assigned to two countries: Brazil and Mongolia. Before we attended the event, we had to do thorough research about the situations of the rights of Indigenous people and prepare the documents of our statements and proposals for these two countries, then translate them into Japanese. This process, along with practice of our presentations, took a lot of time and effort.

On our arrival, the impression of the venue was so formal and authentic, set up with all the countries’ flags and three giant projector screens at the front, making the area look like a real UN conference.

The opening started with the virtual speech delivered by the UN Secretary General, which was followed by each country’s presentation of their statements, all of which were conducted in Japanese.

The second part was Caucus, where we had an informal discussion with the delegates from the other countries (schools). It was a great opportunity to exchange our views and opinions about Indigenous rights within our chosen countries and prepare our arguments in Japanese.

The afternoon session was the debate when we voted for the amendment of the constitution. It was done in a fun but professional way because we had to debate with each other in Japanese and vote by raising our countries’ flags. It was an amazing moment to experience.

Despite it being a long and exhausting day, we gained valuable experience and developed key communication skills in both Japanese and English through this engaging program. It has really helped us experience the procedure of the UN conferences, improved our presentation skills in Japanese, and most importantly, deepened our understanding of the Indigenous peoples’ rights in different countries.

We would like to say thank you to Mr Yuan for organising this valuable activity for us and for guiding and assisting us in the whole process. Through participating in this educational activity, we not only developed effective teamwork, communication, and public speaking skills in both English and Japanese, but also felt a great honour to have experienced the Model UN as delegates representing different countries.

Yuan Sensei, doumo arigatou gozaimashita!

Kira M, Jahnavi N & Pal S

Year 10

Banksia

Learning Japanese in our Local Community

After having completed the unit of work about eating and drinking in the Japanese class, recently the students from 7C, 7G and 7H spent several hours in Dandenong Square. They had an opportunity to sample some Japanese sushi as well as walking around and identify the local shops based on what has been listed in the Japanese scripts in their worksheets. The students all had great fun for this education enriched activity while we used the local facilities for learning the Japanese language.

Below are some of the student reflections:

I saw so many different types of sushi, like salmon and vegetarian rolls. It was interesting to learn about the Japanese food and culture. (Senudi 7C)
Thank you Mr Yuan and Ms Dao for taking us out for this fun excursion. (Xander 7H)
We practiced how to say eating and drinking in Japanese. (Arjon 7C)
We learnt about team work as we had to complete tasks in a team. (Ziyad 7G)
It was really good as we had to find local shops by reading the Japanese Hiragana scripts. (Ali 7C)
We worked so well and together we found shops written in Hiragana in the worksheet. I am so grateful to Mr Yuan and Mis Dao. (Zinat 7H)

Mr Yuan

Japanese Teacher

Banksia House

Meet the Banksia House Leadership Team!