Junior School Report
Message from the
Director of Learning -
Alice Paget
It is wonderful to have all the Year 7 and 8 students and teachers back again for on-site learning. I want to thank all parents and guardians for the support you offered to keep students on track in the remote setting. The students have done an outstanding job with their smooth return to the classroom, getting back into the swing of their regular structure and routines. I would like to especially acknowledge the efforts of our Year 7 students, who not only faced the challenge of transition into secondary education this year but also a large part of their first year of secondary college at home. They have demonstrated an excellent work ethic, ICT skills, resilience and adaptability throughout this year, well done Year 7!
I would like to thank our junior school coordinators, Jarrod Johnstone and Rebecca Tomkins, for their dedication to their role as Year Level Coordinators this year. They have both been a fabulous support to our students in the junior school, with all aspects of school life, both in the remote and on-site learning. I would like to welcome Mr Hugh Robertson into the Year 7 Coordination and Transition role and Pegah Kasiri into the Year 8 Coordinator role for 2022.
We are looking forward to welcoming and transitioning our new Year 7s into the College next year. We are holding our Meet and Greet Night on Thursday 2nd December and are looking forward to meeting with students on the 7th December for Orientation Day.
Lastly, I would like to wish all the Year 8 students the very best with their transition into middle school, as they begin to pursue their interests with their new elective in 2022. I am proud to see how they have all have grown over the last 2 years and I am looking forward to seeing them flourish throughout the remainder of their secondary school education.
JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS 2022
Firstly I would like to thank our Captains of 2021, Louise Espino and Khaing Lin, and Vice-captains, Aaron Gade and Sarah Chea. It was a challenging year for leadership, facing a large part of the year in remote learning. These students managed to show great leadership skills in the Junior School and broader school community throughout the year.
We are very excited to announce our Junior School Captain appointments for 2022:
Captains:
Brighty Wong and Alex Le Acar
Vice Captains:
Valentina Huynh and Israel Moeroa
These students went through a formal application and interview process. Brighty, Alex, Valentina and Israel all demonstrated knowledge and capability of strong leadership in the interview and in the first year as a student at Westall Secondary College. We look forward to seeing them lead the Junior School in 2022. Congratulations!
Miss Paget
Director of Learning: Junior School
Real life statistics workshop in Junior Maths
(by Mr Rahman)
We had started a new topic (statistics) in JMA7 (Junior Maths) and the timeless “When will I ever use this?” questions had arisen again. As most teachers and parents usually do, I was going on a tangent about the various ways statistical analysis impacts our daily life. One student then chimed in, mentioning that his dad actually works as a statistician.
Mr Rahman gracefully joined our lesson, ready to answer all of our questions – the silly ones and the serious ones. We learnt about his experiences growing up in Bangladesh, his education and the various people he has been able to work with. He shared with us how statistics impacts decision making and how that influences the things we do, the things we buy, the places we decide to live, the schools we send our children to and so forth. He also spoke about the importance of statistical analysis within the context of the current pandemic.
Overall, it allowed the students to hear about its implications from another source, while simultaneously strengthening the fabric of our school community.
Ms Pegah Kasiri
Junior School Mathematics Teacher
Visual Arts - Year 8
The students in Year 8 have been studying 'Art and Time' and learning about the historical and cultural context of art works from ancient times to contemporary art today.
Most of the learning occurred online and remotely for a large part of Semester 2. Some very talented students worked incredibly hard to refine their skills using a range of media, techniques and materials.
You could see throughout the studio process that budding artists began to evolve.
The great art works are showcased below and include the following themes: Ancient Greek 'red and black figure vase', indigenous scratchboard technique, Pop Art and Cubism. The students studied the work of famous overseas and Australian artists. Some of the more high-end students experimented with digital media and electronic drawing tools.
Ms Helen Ifandis
Year 10 & Arts Coordinator