Student Voice
S.R.C. Update – Wellfest Week:
The S.R.C. (Student Representative Council), SOC Wellbeing Team and Student Leaders hosted South Oakleigh’s 2022 Wellfest Week focusing on all dimensions of health including physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing for students and staff.
We would like to thank our special guest speakers, Mark Lumley - a Koorie Engagement Coordinator and Arbup Peters - a Koorie Engagement Officer for their Welcome to Country to start our 2022 program.
The week involved a variety of exciting activities unique to each day.
On Mindfulness Monday, students were encouraged to participate in several positive activities to promote mindfulness, including positive chalk messages, the Mandala activity, and a MasterChef competition.
On Keep Learning Tuesday, the College Community had the opportunity to explore the services available beyond the College through information sessions from various providers through the Community Expo. We also hosted a virtual reality careers session and job interview skills workshop.
For Self-Care Wednesday, staff and students were encouraged to participate in organised activities that were designed to help relieve stress and promote the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Our Year 7 students’ workshop assisted in elevating confidence and resilience to take positive action at school and in the wider world, through exploration of leadership values. We hosted the Bad Science Show by Nicolas J. Johnson which encouraged students to think critically about who they can believe and what science they can trust. Our senior students also presented a ‘Self Care Workshops’ to junior students on the importance of self-care on a variety of topics.
For Active Thursday, students had the opportunity to participate in physical activities to promote the importance of maintaining their physical health, the day started with a Celebratory Breakfast Club in the morning as well as the Yoga/Meditation, Zumba Dance and Personal training.
On Celebration Friday, students had a Winter-Cosy theme Out of Uniform day to raise funds for the organization StreetSmart Australia, as well as the Krispy Kreme doughnuts fundraiser and a lunchtime performance for students during lunchtime.
Our favourite activity for the week was the Self-Care Workshops presented by senior students in Year 8s and 9s regarding the importance of one’s physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. We had a lovely experience working with senior students to develop unique presentations about the importance of wellbeing to engage with junior year levels. We also enjoyed the Krispy Kreme Fundraiser as the College Community interacted and enjoyed the sweet treats. It was a perfect way to end off the successful week!
We would like to thank all our organizations, guest speakers and Wellfest Week committee for organizing an amazing 2022 program for all students and staff.
Esther Walker and Sylvia Krozian
Your Student Representative Council Presidents
SRC Curriculum Portfolio Update
The S.R.C.’s Curriculum Portfolio has returned for Term 3, continuing to ensure that we have student voice and agency in the classroom as well as contributing ways to help shape planning in the curriculum.
During these first 4 weeks of term, we have been working non-stop on our LADDER Model initiative as well as our year-long program, VicSRC’s Teach the Teacher Workshop. On Wednesday the 20th of August, our Portfolio was invited into a meeting with the KLA (Key Learning Area) Leaders where we launched and presented the LADDER Model in full detail.
The meeting was very insightful and helped to set out the next steps for our portfolio on this initiative. We have currently been in the process of refining and aim to release this initiative in the next week. We have created a form for students to complete about the LADDER initiative. Our Portfolio aims to collect data on how students are learning in a classroom environment as well as find out what we can do to improve in this area. The data we collect will contribute to the focus groups that we have been organising in collaboration with the S.R.C.’s Co-Presidents and Outreach Portfolio.
These focus groups have been arranged to help us in collecting data to contribute to VicSRC’s Teach the Teacher Workshop as well as to present to our teachers. Our topic is based on teacher-student relationships as well as learning in the classroom. We will be taking the data we collect from the LADDER initiative and combining it with our year-long program. We look forward to collaborating with students and teachers on these initiatives during this term.
Greg Acciarito
Your Leading Curriculum Representative
Student Representative Council
Wellfest Week
Last week the S.R.C. facilitated school-wide activities in celebration of Wellfest Week. The purpose of this week was to recognise the importance of maintaining all dimensions of health such as physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual health. To begin the week, we were visited by Mark Lumley - a Koorie Engagement Coordinator and Arbup Peters - a Koorie Engagement Officer from the Department of Education and Training, who performed a Welcome to Country for our school.
If you’d like to rewatch the live stream, please visit https://youtu.be/IKvQiag35YE
During the week, all Year Levels from 7-12 took part in activities such as the MasterChef Competition and our Winter/Cozy-themed out-of-uniform day to end the week. Overall, we believe the week was a great success. Thank you to all the students, staff and College Community who supported the initiative.
Kyriakos Emmanouilidis and Maple La
Your College Captains
Mindfulness Monday
Chalk Positivity
Some of our senior students had the opportunity to express their artistic skills and spread encouraging words across the school on Monday the 25th of July as part of Wellfest Week.
They enjoyed it greatly and were able to relax from the pressures of senior school! Chalk, imaginative ideas, and a lot of fun were all part of this exercise. It was wonderful to see everyone’s participation and the kindness they showed to one another. It was a fantastic way to kick off Wellfest Week and to demonstrate to other students that optimism is all around them!
Iliana Derzotis
Your Peer Support Mentor
MasterChef Competition
Thank you to all the students and staff who participated and supported the Wellfest Week MasterChef Competition. If you’d like to rewatch the live stream, please visit https://youtu.be/rRiw8ajhBg8
Congratulations to our winning team who made chocolate brownies:
- Olly Harrison
- Arc Woodfield
- Genna Windsor
- Hayley Owen-Johnston
The Student Leadership Team look forward to hosting similar competitions in the future.
Andrew Leap
Student Leadership Facilitator
MasterChef Competition – Student Judge Perspective
As a judge for the MasterChef Competition, I had a great experience tasting all the marvellous dishes that the chefs made for us! I enjoyed critiquing with my fellow colleagues, Maple, Kyriakos, Mr Knox and Mr Fernandes on judging the variety of foods. Thank you to all the teams for making the MasterChef Competition fun and having me as a judge.
Eleni Stamatiou
Your Waratah House Captain
Keep Learning Tuesday
Community Expo
Last week the S.R.C. hosted Wellfest Week, organising many different activities for student and staff to participate in throughout all year levels, promoting the different dimensions of health and wellbeing. On Tuesday the 28th of July, the Wellbeing Team had organised a Community Expo with many external organisations coming into our school to showcase what they do and how they impact young people. These organisations included Headspace Syndal, Sexual Health Victoria, Monash Youth Serves, Salvation Army, Fusion, Rotaract, Scripture Union and Mission Australia.
The S.R.C would like to thank our School Nurse Penny who had organised and facilitated this great opportunity for all students and staff to explore local community organisations.
Meghal Patel
Your General Secretary & Leading Health and Wellbeing Representative
Student Representative Council
Self-Care Wednesday
Year 7 Project ROCKIT Incursion – Level Up: Leadership through Positive Action
On Self Care Wednesday (the 27th of July), the Year 7s had an incursion for Wellfest Week about resilience from an amazing group called Project ROCKIT. They are an Australian youth-driven movement against, bullying, cyberbullying, prejudice and more. In our session with Project ROCKIT, we learnt about resilience and how bouncing back from setbacks is a very effective way to be resilient.
We also got to really think about our values and which of them we couldn’t live without. We really enjoyed the part where we got to talk within our group about what our community would look like if we were the only people left. South Oakleigh really thanks you Project ROCKIT for coming out and presenting to us.
Soham Dhital
Your Year 7 Leader and Campaigns Representative
Student Representative Council
Year 9 – The Bad Science Show
A show full of lies, tricks and surprises! On Wednesday the 27th of July, the Year 9s took a seat in the Theatre during Period 3 unaware of the show they were about to witness. The Bad Science Show (Honest Conman) was a show that included five acts with five stories. The subject of the show was to teach us about how there is such a thing as “bad science” that is full of holes and questions.
The first act had the performer hammering a nail into his nose. Second involved bending a spoon using the power of your mind. Third was mind-control and mind-manipulation. Fourth contained mind reading. Lastly, a stunt was performed when the host walked on a mixture of Lego, glass, nails and more. With the story that was connected to each stunt, we were left to wonder if they were true stories or simply, just another lie. Big thank you to the host for giving the Year 9’s such a memorable show!
Mackenzie Dickson
Your Enrichment Secretary
Student Representative Council
Year 8 & 9 Self Care Workshops – Facilitator Perspective
During Wellfest Week, the Student Leadership Team organised activities to promote the importance of all aspects of wellbeing for both students and teachers. During this time, our mission was to build and maintain a welcoming environment for students of all ages and backgrounds. With the number of activities throughout the week, the atmosphere quickly became increasingly busy, but remained fun for us, nonetheless. Overall, it was an incredible experience, and we can say with confidence that it won’t be the last.
The House Leaders alongside other senior students were picked to present a topic about self-care and wellbeing to Year 8 and 9 classes. For our topic, we talked about the importance of setting healthy habits but also the importance of being aware of your bad habits and working towards getting over them. We focused on letting the students come up with their solutions on their own and had a lot of brainstorming activities for them to discuss. By choosing this topic, we hoped that the class would realize the importance of all habits, good or bad, and how they can affect our day-to-day lives, especially when considering how intertwined self-care and personal relationships have become for the modern person.
Just like any workshop facilitator, we were nervous about our performance. Before the workshop, we were very much entertained by the idea of running our own little class, but just as worried about how we were going to conduct a workshop where all students can get something out of and add it to their current routines. However, those worries flew by the moment we saw the enthusiastic speakers in our workshop. The majority of students participated in the brainstorms and shared with the class examples their team thought of. A lot of common ones were “maintaining a healthy sleep schedule” and “actively engaging in sport” as well as “creating a work-life balance”. After we finished the presentation, students engaged in word searching puzzles as a brain break. It was impressive to see students who sped through the sheet within 5 minutes! We consider the workshop to be a sweet success and hope that all students from both junior and senior years learned something that they will add (and keep) within their lifestyles and routines for years to come during Wellfest Week.
Mollie Pham and Jason Pouliezos
Your Banksia House Captains
Year 8 & 9 Self Care Workshops – Facilitator Perspective
On Wednesday the 27th of July, we spoke with a Year 8 Food Technology class to talk about the benefits of healthy eating for our Wellfest Week Self-Care Workshop. During this workshop, we spoke about changing eating habits and replacing certain ingredients with healthier ones. We provided the Year 8 students with a self-care word search which they all greatly participated in.
Ava-Lily Bakas and Sabrina Koltsidas
Your Sports Prefects
Year 8 & 9 Self Care Workshops – Student Perspective
As part of Wellfest Week’s Self-Care Wednesday, all Year 8 and 9 classes participated in self-care workshops facilitated by senior students. We learnt about the importance of staying active and limiting sedentary behaviour, getting enough sleep as well as having a positive mindset among other ideas. We also participated in group games. My personal favourite was a team-building activity where we had to all stand on a tarp and flip it over to the other side without any of us stepping off of it. I found this workshop overall very beneficial and extremely enjoyable.
Lauren Olver
Your Curriculum Secretary
Student Representative Council
Active Thursday
Celebratory Breakfast Club
Every Thursday student leaders across the college have continued to host a weekly Breakfast Club, giving a nutritious breakfast to all students and staff. Last Thursday the 28th of July, the entire Student Leadership Team organised a Wellfest Week Celebratory Breakfast Club, with an extended menu of pancakes, bacon and waffles with the regular menu.
The S.R.C would like to thank all the Student Leaders, fellow students and staff who volunteered to come and help. Breakfast Club will continue throughout this term every Thursday from 8:00am in the Canteen and we encourage everyone to come down, say hello and grab something to eat!
If you have any questions, concerns, feedback or would like to volunteer, please reach out to myself (mpat1p@schools.vic.edu.au) or Genna Windsor (gmwin1@schools.vic.edu.au) via email or Microsoft Teams.
Meghal Patel
Your General Secretary & Leading Health and Wellbeing Representative
Student Representative Council
Zumba Session
Zumba was super fun! We had a great time dancing to the cool songs and laughed a lot. We really enjoyed learning new moves and also seeing Mrs. Marlborough’s fresh moves along the way. I also enjoyed doing the arm rolls, I could really feel the burn in my arms. This activity really made us "Shake it Off". Zumba was a great way to get ourselves motivated and pumped up! We intend to participate in this excellent activity in the future.
Shantelle Cardenas
Year 8 Student
Celebration Friday
Cosy Day Krispy Kreme Fundraiser
On Friday the 29th of July, the S.R.C. hosted Cosy Day and the Krispy Kreme Fundraiser as part of the Welfest Week program. It was great to see students and staff alike embracing the theme, coming into school wearing pyjamas and large hoodies with their $2.00 contribution.
During recess and lunch, fresh Krispy Kreme donuts were sold to the College Community and pre-ordered dozens were collected at the end of the school day. The day was wrapped up with a lunch time concert in the Theatre. Great job to Sophia Donnellon, Mollie Pham and the VCE music class for their stellar performances! All money raised on the day went towards StreetSmart Australia, a fantastic charity that supports a community response to homelessness.
Cosy Day was a great way to wrap up the successful Welfest Week program. Thank you for all of your support, we loved to see the College Community getting behind us and celebrating Wellfest.
Genna Windsor
Your General Secretary & Leading Campaigns Representative
Student Representative Council
Lunch Time Concert
Thank you all who attended the lunchtime concert on Friday – it was great to see so many students and staff attend. A huge thanks to everyone who performed, Hector Rivas Turner, the VCE music class, Mr Bennett, Mr Kuruc, Mr Prewett and Phil! It’s great to see the enthusiasm from everyone, and it's great to be back in the Theatre. Our next concert will be Friday the 12th of August. Sophia Donnellon and Julia Creeley Your Performing Arts Prefects
Masterchef Competition – Student Perspective
On Monday the 25th of July, the S.R.C. hosted their very first MasterChef competition as part of Welfest Week. This was a great way to kick off the week, and it was such a privilege to get to compete. Cayla Kingsley and Andre De Vries hosted this, and they did a great job providing commentary and encouraging all teams on the floor.
I competed with Arcturus Woodfield, Olly Harrison and Hayley Owen Johnston, and we baked up chocolate chip brownies. It was really fun to bake alongside my friends and other talented chefs in the room. My favourite dish of the day would have to be the Chilli Con Carne, made by Luke Marlow, Charlie Donaldson, A.J. Mariona and Marissa Marcos. It was so spicy, and yet so delicious! The Dolly Varden cake was also such a highlight because although it didn't go exactly to plan, the team still managed to put together an appealing and tasty dish.
When it came to judging, all the teams waited in nervous anticipation, as the judges gave out their feedback. The judges were Mr Knox, Mr Fernandes, Eleni Stamatiou, Maple La, and Kyriakos Emmanouilidis, and their feedback was well received by everyone. Our team received really positive feedback, and it was such an honour to be named the winners!
I really enjoyed the experience, it was so much fun and was a great way to kick off the week!
On behalf of the 2022 SOC Wellfest Week MasterChef Competition winners,
Genna Windsor
Sustainability Club: Update
The Sustainability Club bread tag initiative continues. Over Term 2, as a College we have collected over 2 kilograms of bread tags!
The results were as follows:
In 4th place is Grevillea with 183g of bread tags;
In 3rd place is Banksia with 306g of bread tags;
In 2nd place is Acacia with 355g of bread tags; and
In 1st place once again is Waratah, with 1.162kg of bread tags!!!!!!!
Points will be allocated towards the 2022 House Cup, accordingly.
Thank you to everyone in the College community for collecting bread tags. The competition has already restarted for Term 3 - so PLEASE KEEP COLLECTING! Ask your friends, family and neighbours to collect them too. Just drop tags into the colour-coded collection containers outside the House Leaders' office. A reminder to please only collect plastic tags (the cardboard ones can be recycled or composted at home).
We are now busily sorting the tags into different colours before sending off to "Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs" - a charity that recycles the tags locally to make items such as bowls. The funds raised from sales of these items are used to make wheelchairs for those in need. It's a win/win/win/win situation :-)
For more information see: https://ozbreadtagsforwheelchairs.org.au/
Sustainability Club – shrub and grass planting
On a delightful mild winter's day, at our first meeting for term 3, members of the sustainability club planted a variety of shrubs and grasses at the front of the school. Students were engaged with every aspect of the panting: digging the space, separating the roots of pot-bound plants, fertilizing the hole, planting the shrub, then watering the plant. We look forward to watching our plants grow over the coming months.
This planting will not only beautify our school, but help mitigate some of the destructive effects of rising temperatures and climate change.
Alison Jones
Sustainability Club Facilitator
Lego Club
Lego Club started up this week on Wednesday lunchtime.
Our students really enjoyed sorting through all of the LEGO to see what they could create. They also had discussions about how they want the Club to run. They decided that it would become a chill space to free-build with LEGO, with an optional “Challenge Task” each session.
The students were explaining that challenges need to be judged by aesthetics, story-telling and technical ability.
All students are welcome to come along to LEGO Club in C10 on Wednesday lunchtimes.
A huge thank you to the families of Lauren Olver, Mai Pandjaputra and Sam Gleeson for donating LEGO to our school.
Sarah Crespo-Liu
House Leader: Banksia
Debating News
Year 7-8 Debating
Our Year 7-8 Debating Club is traveling along well. Members include Aryan, Fern, Hannah, Madison, Pranshu, Taylor.
They have been mock-debating some interesting topics, including ‘You should have a right to remain anonymous online’, ‘All students should have to study art or drama until Year 12’, ‘School should only run four days a week’, etc.
The students have learned some really useful skills, such as how to come up with arguments for something you don’t necessarily agree with and how to debate respectfully.
The interschool debates for Year 7s and 8s (combined) will begin this term, with our school competing against 10 other schools.
The dates are below:
Training night: Thursday September 1st, 2022
Round 1: Thursday October 13th, 2022
Round 2: Thursday October 27th, 2022
Round 3: Thursday November 10th, 2022
Year 9-11 Debating
Our Year 9-11 Interschool Debating Competition ended last week, but our team are already very busy planning the Students vs. Teachers debate. Well done to our Debating Captain, Charli (year 11), for recruiting students and staff for the event!
Year 9-11 Debating Competition, Round 5 Summary
Our Year 9-11 Debating Teams had their final round of interschool debating on Thursday the 28th of July.
Our Year 11s won their debate and our Year 9s made a very good effort!
Our Year 11 team was Charli Donaldon, Jason Pouliezos, Sophie Donnellon and Elsie Shaddick. They debated against Avila College, their secret topic was "The age of unsupervised driving should be increased to 25 years of age". Congratulations again, Year 11s!
Some of our Year 9s decided to debate at the Year 10 level this round, giving our Year 10s a well-earned break. Our “Year 10” team was Denis Del Castillo Delgadillo, Eli Storey, J.J. Syer and Ana Donnellon. They debated against Glen Waverley Secondary College, their topic was "That crops that require substantial environmental altering (irrigation, fertilizers, etc.) should not be allowed to be grown in Australia".
Our Year 9s debate got cancelled, due to forfeit, but a massive round of applause for Anna Alexopoulou and Isavella Dimopoulos is in order, as the speeches they constructed were awesome and packed with evidence. Their topic was “That we regret the rise of social media in fighting crime”.
A big thank you to Curtis Du Buisson-Fraser for helping the other teams out with their debates this round.
Sarah Crespo-Liu
House Leader: Banksia