Secondary News

Optimist, Pessimist or Realist

There are various definitions one can use to discover the meaning of these three terms. To put it simply, the optimist looks at situations positively, the pessimist negatively and the realist just sees things as they really are.

People believe that an optimist is a person who always thinks positively. However, this is not strictly correct. An optimist is a ‘first time’ thinker – a positive view of situations where a decision, response or reaction is viewed as a ‘first time’ event. Positivity is the key but not the entire solution – the response to the situation is. A pessimist, on the other hand views the situation negatively and so the situation drives their reaction, which is not the key.  

To use a real-life example. A former colleague when greeted each day with “Good morning, how are you?”, he would respond by asking a question back: ‘Is the sun shining?” Initially surprised by this unusual reply - especially on cold, cloudy and raining mornings, over time I realised his intention behind it. You see those who respond back with comments such as, “not in Melbourne'', “can’t you see it's miserable” or ‘it might be somewhere else, but not here’ are missing the intended point. The positive or optimistic view of the situation is that the sun is always shining! 

When God created the world, he created the sun to give it light and warmth for all times, whether we see its rays during the day or whether in our part of the world it is dark. Without the sun there would be no life. So, positivity is the key and the response to the question ‘is the sun shining?’ is the solution. We should have an optimistic view of each and every day we live – giving thanks to God for this next day of life here on earth, the wonderful opportunities that exist at Bayside and how the decisions I make and the responses I give craft how my day will turn out.

That is not to say that an optimist is not a realist. Sure, no one is perfect, our world is not perfect and temptations, trials and tragedies are faced by us all. As Christians, the Bible encourages us to take a positive view of situations which often seem to defy justification – pain, suffering, significant emotional distress. In 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 we read “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”

In other words, Christians believe that whatever comes their way, God will not allow them to face something that is beyond what they can bear. Christians, therefore, are optimists – believing that God will only ask of us what he knows we can handle. So, by the grace of God, we are able to cope - with the stresses of the forthcoming Year 9-11 mid-year exams, the Year 12’s completing final SAC’s to pass Unit 3 in each of their subjects, or some of life’s bigger challenges such as a broken relationship or dealing with loss. In these situations, it’s comforting to know that God is always by our side and the sun is always shining as intended!

God Bless,

Mr James Kumnick, Head of Secondary

Year 9 Service Week

We are pleased to once again partner with Blessing Bags in 2024. This organisation is a not-for-profit, run by volunteers and seeks to support and empower people currently experiencing homelessness and those at risk or experiencing homelessness. Their vision is to see people experiencing homelessness treated with compassion while receiving the appropriate support, and for these individuals to have access to safe, affordable and secure housing. 

The mission? To provide people experiencing homelessness with essential items that we often take for granted. We aim for a judgement-free approach to our work to ensure our services are accessible. Since its founding in 2015, Blessing Bags has distributed more than 17, 000 hygiene bags. Providing a little bit of relief and a message of hope to those who need it. We hope that through our efforts we can help the mission of helping those in need.  The founder of Blessing Bags said about her inspiration to help those in need, ‘Now that I have Seen, I am Responsible’. 

Blessing Bag Day is Wednesday 26 June. Our goal is to exceed 600 bags for the day.

Over the coming weeks please drop off any donations to the Blessing Bag collection point at the reception:

•  Deodorant (roll on)
• Shampoo (300ml is preferred)
• Conditioner (300ml is preferred)
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Muesli bar
• Soap or shower gel
• Pads (for female bags)
• An extra item (this can be anything from a razor, sunscreen, lip balm, makeup wipes, lotion, etc.)
• A handwritten note of love, hope or positivity you would like to share 

Mr Jay Johnstone, Years 7-9 Coordinator

Legal Excursion

Years 11 and 12 Legal Studies students visited the Supreme Court in the city. They took part in a session with Justice Tim Ginnane who sits in the Common Law division of the Supreme Court where they were able to find out more about the roles of a judge, court operations and the legal profession. They then sat in on courtroom proceedings of a highly publicised criminal murder trial, followed by a tour of the historic Supreme Court Library.

Unit 3 Business Excursion

As part of their studies of operations management, Unit 3 Business Management students took part in a tour of the Yakult factory in Dandenong South. They experienced first-hand what they have been learning in class about the operations process, including aspects of materials management, automated production lines, quality management and corporate social responsibility. It was very helpful that the tour guide had knowledge of the VCE curriculum, making specific links with the Study Design. At the end of the tour, students got to taste a bottle of Yakult, some for the first time. 

Mrs Sonja Campbell, Secondary Teacher

Year 12 VM Pantry Plus Working Session

Our Year 12 students spent half a day at Peninsula City Church working on the following projects:

• Finish construction and weeding in the herb and vegetable gardens
• Checking Bayside tents about to be used at State Youth Games
• Moving furniture for the upcoming Winter Shelter program
• Helping the Pantry Plus team get ready for the food hampers 

We had fabulous feedback from the team at Peninsula and the students did a brilliant job. A huge thank you goes to Grace Gaskell who helped make this such a wonderful experience for our students.

Year 11 & 12 Moonlit Sanctuary Working Session

Year 11 & 12 VM students attended working sessions at the Moonlit Sanctuary in spectacular May weather. The students helped to clear dead timber from the Wallaby Walk area and created a much safer space for the animals to roam in and rest. We also had some students working in the Café and very much appreciate the real life work experience our students get when they visit the Moonlit Sanctuary.

MTB Track Community Group

Years 7&8 students have done a brilliant job yet again work on the mountain bike track. They’ve been having a blast clearing the track and riding. Thanks to Mr Nigel Kuipers for helping to run this wonderful community group. 

Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Year 12 Chemistry

In year 12 Chemistry, we have been looking at the topic of electrolysis, which is essentially how you recharge batteries or how you coat metals with a protective metal layer of choice.

We set up electrochemical cells in U-tubes to see how the chemical reactions were different on each side of the cell.

We also have been completing our investigations, where students design their own experiments on electroplating, changing one variable in the system and seeing how that change affects the amount of copper plated onto a nickel strip. 

It has been interesting to see how the results of these experiments differ from what they expected, at both the copper and the nickel.

Miss Amy Partridge, Secondary Teacher

SIS Cross Country

Well done to all involved in the recent SIS cross-country carnival. It was great to see so many running and giving it their all. Below are the place getters for each age-group. As a school we finished 6th overall. Congratulations to our podium winners Nathan Williams, Mitch Hooper, Alex Cardona and Amaris White.  Also well done to Amaris who broke the record for the open girls. She now holds the record for the U17 and Open events, well done. 

U13 Girls 

U13 Boys 

U14 Girls 

U14 Boys 

U15 Girls 

U15 Boys 

U16 Girls 

U16 Boys 

U17 Girls 

U17 Boys 

OPEN Girls 

OPEN Boys