NGSC Newsletter

OTHER SCHOOL NEWS 

Hannah Valmadre

Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator

Debating

The debating season for 2022 has begun and we have had an impressive and enthusiastic turn out for student participation. On May 5th Mrs Hannah Valmadre and Ms Georgie Barker attended Geelong Grammar School with the debating students and parents from our A and C Grade teams. Our C Grade debaters bravely went forward with two speakers due to an unfortunate late absence, and despite needing to forfeit we won based on points, with Dean Smilevski speaking twice for the team and receiving best speaker for the debate. Paris-Junnoel Mina should also be commended for coming on board earlier in the week to help the team. For our A Grade team, Abby D'Andria did an exceptional job as she also spoke twice during the debate and Angelle Mackay solidified our stance with compelling rebuttals as third speaker. Unfortunately, this was also a forfeit and we narrowly lost by a few points, but overall it was an exceptional debate. 

We are currently looking to add more students to our C Grade team, so if you are in year 9 or 10 and are interested or have questions about debating, please see Mrs Valmadre.

Amy King

Science Manager

 

Scotdesco Camp - Welcome & Wombats - Part 1

We would like to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people, the traditional owners of the land on which our school is located and the Wirangu people, the traditional owners of the land that we visited. We pay respect to their elders past, present and emerging. 

Darcy Cropp and I recently travelled approximately 1,600 km with 17 students to the Scotdesco Aboriginal Community in Bookabie, South Australia - and boy did we have a great time. Our adventure will be outlined across four parts in our school newsletter over the coming weeks, where we will share highlights, reflections and some pictures of our trip.

We had students from Years 9, 10 and 11 attending this camp, led by Camps International, offering a unique experience to visit and work with the Aboriginal Community living at Scotdesco. Students signed up for this camp back in 2021 and we have been eagerly planning, preparing and awaiting our trip. 

We left Geelong on a chilly morning (at 3am) full of excitement and anticipation, with a few groans as parents took our first group photo (with many more to come). We flew from Melbourne to Adelaide and then travelled by bus to Scotdesco. It was a long bus ride - but was a great way to see South Australia - passing the Loch Ness monster at Lochiel and the Big Galah in Kimba along the way. After 17 hours of travel our first Sunset in Ceduna was a beautiful sight.

Our first morning of camp began with a Welcome to Country by two of the community elders, Wanda and Neville. As the week progressed these two people shared details of their lives and their culture with us - a true privilege. Scotdesco is a 25,000 acres of property approximately 100 kilometres west of Ceduna on the Great Australian Bight. 

The property is home to many wardu (wombats) whose holes and burrows can be seen scattered across the property. The students conducted group work, learning about wombats - everything from their square droppings, the different species found in the local area as well as across Australia and their upside down pouches. We also learnt that wardu is a traditional food source by the community; Wanda shared that her favourite part to eat was the fat and liver. The students also understood how the community cares for the wombats, doesn’t over-hunt and ensures the population stays healthy.  

In the afternoon of our first day we split into two groups to conduct women’s business and men’s business. The men walked the property and uncovered the wombat holes up close - learning how they extend underground and offer protection. With the guidance and knowledge of community members Lester and Tyrell, the boys found a suitable tree to harvest wood for boomerangs. The boys spent the afternoon learning to carve and shape a boomerang from a branch and how to throw.  

The women spent the afternoon travelling further into the property to collect bush medicine with Wanda, Glennetta and Kiya. We learnt about other plants found in the local area that are valuable to the community. It was incredibly insightful and valuable for the students to experience the connection the community members have to their land and the importance of living on Country and passing down knowledge of the land and culture. 

We went on a night walk in search of wardu, but these animals proved to be more elusive than first thought. We saw two gleaming eyes staring at us at one point, but no close encounters. We had experienced so much - and this was only our first day at camp. Look out for the next newsletter issue where we will discuss our experience working with saltbush, creating artwork and what we learnt about living on Country. 

Sophia Harris

Teacher

Mother’s Day3D printing, our future programmers and the FUSE cup

Mother’s Day 3D printing

With Mother’s Day just last week, we had a few successful printouts created as presents for some of our wonderful student’s amazing mothers. Here’s an example of one of them.

Digital Literacy and our Future programmers

In school one of the most important responsibilities we have is cultivating our learners into capable, discerning and critical digital thinkers. Digital literacy helps a person access future employment. Here at North Geelong Secondary College our goal is to help students to be able to locate information, consume it thoughtfully and evaluate its credibility. In Year 7 students have been creating digital documents to evaluate online risks and cybersecurity. Now our students have started programming, part of the programming is that they have “Winston” our NAO robot visit them and then they program the mBots.

Our Year 9 and 10 students are participating in Lunch time trials to represent North Geelong Secondary College in the FUSE cup. FUSE cup is designed along the same lines as eSports. In this case the students will be competing against other students from other schools online, using the school’s switch and playing the game Rocket League.

Martin Salazar

School Captain

Cultural Appreciation Club

DID YOU KNOW that 55+ different nationalities make up our school?

I know right, it's amazing! As our school is one of the most culturally diverse, we’re inviting you to the Cultural Appreciation Club.

This is a space where students can come together to celebrate our multiculturalism and form a deeper understanding of the cultures that shape North Geelong Secondary College.

The club includes fun games, speakers, simple catch ups and the chance to try food from different parts of the world! Come join us for a lit time.

 

‘I enjoy the different religions, languages, foods and traditions that come together every session!’ - Paris Mina (Year 10)

 

'The Cultural Appreciation Club has the warmth of a family.' - Gloria Baraka (Year 9)

Vera Dudas

Multicultural Community Liaison Officer

MULTICULTURAL COMMITTEE NEWS

Welcome back to a new term.  

The Multicultural Committee’s second meeting for this year was on Monday 2 May at lunchtime in the Conference Room with refreshments on offer and a special community guest presentation with about 20 members in attendance. 

Present were Cloverdale Community Centre guests: Deb Pollitt (Team Leader), Issara Saeyim (Wellbeing facilitator/Multicultural Officer) and Nitaya McDougall (Volunteer). These special ladies delighted us with a presentation on the latest social - cultural programs, health - wellbeing activities, skills and festive events on offer and taking place in the Cloverdale Centre, catering for the needs of the diverse local community.

 

Here is what Deb Pollitt had to say:

  • “Issara Saeyim is a member of the Thai community who brings culture and life experience to her role as a Multicultural Officer and Well-Being Facilitator at Cloverdale Community Centre
  • Cloverdale partners with Neighbourhood Houses Victoria (NHVic) to provide courses, programs, projects and creative learning opportunities to members of our community
  • Issara began at Cloverdale as a student on placement. Issara was studying a Diploma of Community Services through Diversitat (now Cultura) and had to be creative in reaching out to the community when COVID first struck and everything was locked down. Identifying her strengths was the first step and, with a small group of willing helpers, Issara started Lotus Kitchen, providing inexpensive, healthy take-away Thai meals to the community. 
  • Lotus Kitchen grew from 50 meals every Thursday evening to a maximum of 600 meals (on two occasions). Issara oversees this with a regular contingent of volunteers from different cultural backgrounds such as Italian, Austrian, Thailand, Karen, Chinese, Australian, Afghanistan, Indian, Sri Lankan, Maltese and many more.
  • Cloverdale Community Centre offers education through Learn Local programs providing pre-accredited courses in automotive, woodwork, metalwork, Intro to Community Services, Intro to computers among others. The centre hosts English classes, exercise and fitness, art, sewing, Cooking for Blokes, Barista Coffee making and more.

Issara and I co-ordinate the Wellbeing Team, linking with members of the community who need assistance, whether it be to access specific service providers or establishing MyGov and Centrelink accounts. Many of Issara's clients are victims of family violence and, under her leadership, the Wellbeing Team provides a bridging service to whatever the next step in their journey may be. We listen, we care, we validate and we support everyone in need and Cloverdale is encouraged as a safe place to come to.

Cloverdale Community Centre strives to be an all-inclusive learning and social space, where diverse culture is respected and multicultural members are warmly welcomed.

Our contact details are as follows: Cloverdale Community Centre,167-169 Purnell Road Corio, Vic 3214, phone: 03 5275 4415.

 

We  also had the great delight of our VCE and VCAL students leaders : Yatana, Atable, Nages, Noora and Gloria reporting on activities and voicing wellbeing issues in order to address needs for culturally diverse students.

The next meeting for term two is on Monday 6 June at lunch time 12:45 pm in the conference room. 

For more information to be on the Multicultural  Committee or to keep up to date, feel free to contact Vera Dudas via the school’s Administration Office.