Academic Excellence

Year 7

This term, the Year 7 Academic Excellence students have started their book study on The Hive by Amanda Betts. They have successfully begun unpacking and connecting the underlying concepts in the dystopian novel during an after-school lesson.

Part of the book study has taken us to the Melbourne Aquarium to develop our classification skills through the use of the dichotomous key. Students closely considered the physical and behavioural features of animals on display, then compared similarities and differences to organise species into taxonomic groups. The students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to see the animals up close and ask our tour guide plenty of questions. 

“Sea Life was really cool, I myself learned so many new and interesting facts about reptiles, fish and one of my favourites, penguins!”

Later this term, we look forward to meeting Amanda Betts in an online discussion to hear about her writing process and research behind the scenes.

Year 8

This week, the Year 8 Academic Excellence students started unpacking the complexities of Philosophy through their book study, Sophie’s World. The novel by Jostein Gaarder presents a history of Philosophy through the lens of a “coming of age” story. Students learned how to form arguments by putting forward a claim and backing it with evidence. The Year 8’s engaged in respectful debate, unpacking the nuances of everyday life and the human experience. It was astounding to see such thoughtful debate surround some of the big questions in life with little prompting from the teacher. We look forward to further discussions that raise big questions that students will grapple with. As one of the Year 8’s described it, “brain gymnastics!”

Year 9

We’re pleased to announce that two Year 9 groups are participating in the veski Bionics Institute Girls in STEM Mentoring Program. Over six months, these students will build their understanding of a specific STEM topic—from broad concepts to deeper insights into their mentor’s area of expertise. They receive personalised guidance and feedback throughout, developing skills in scientific thinking, communication, and collaboration. 

We’re excited to see where our students go!