YEAR 10-12 NEWS

Year 12

Year 12 students had a fun, inspiring and reinvigorating day last Friday, taking part in a series of Wellbeing Day activities. To begin the day, they were treated to breakfast at the City of Geelong Bowls Club where they heard from WHC Alumni Michelle Gerdtz (Class of 1997), the general manager of Read The Play Inc. Upon their return back to school, the VCE and VCAL students split up for presentations with Elevate and Victorian Group Training.

They then got stuck into some wellbeing activities, including pickle ball, baking cookies, mindful colouring, dancing, footy and visual boards; which was followed by another inspiring guest speaker - champion boxer Will Tomlinson.

They finished the day with an extra dose of fun, bonding the group together through some games. Thank you to our guest speakers Michelle, Will, Elevate and Victorian Group Training, as well as the staff team, for a great day aimed at preparing our Year 12s for a successful 2023 and beyond.

Brett Bullock, Year 12 LCL

Biology

Y12 Biology students went to BioLAB on Tuesday. They looked at AOS1 and inserted a human insulin gene into a vector called a plasmid and then transformed these into bacteria. Then we cultured these bacteria and selected for them using a green fluorescent protein, as seen in the photos with fluro green colonies that fluoresced with a blue light. 

Ruwani Keyburn

Year 11

The Year 11 community have been working hard across the last few weeks during a very busy time for assessments. I commend them for the hard work they have been putting in and the maturity they have demonstrated. 

Thankfully there has also been time for some fun, with senior sports teams out last week for Baseball and Volleyball. I was lucky enough to take the senior boys' and girls' volleyball teams for the day and was very impressed with the teamwork and effort the students demonstrated. 

Despite all being relatively new to playing volleyball, the girls came away with a win and a draw. Their skills improved dramatically throughout the day and they worked well as a team, all motivating each other. With some experienced volleyball players on the team, the boys were very strong in their games. They won the first few easily with great teamwork and some very tall defence. During one game John Magpayo served an impressive 14 points in a row. Unfortunately they lost in the semi final, however it was a close game and all are motivated to go back next year and get the win. Great work by everyone, they certainly did WHC proud! 

Claire Sullivan, Year 11 LCL

Art Making & Exhibiting

The Year 11 Art Making & Exhibiting students have been doing art form trials:

VCE-VM/VCAL

Pyjama Day

The Year 12 VCE-VM students organised a fundraiser for the 2023 Kokoda trip. Students sourced donations from local businesses to run a BBQ and drinks day at lunchtime. Students were also encouraged to wear their pyjamas for a gold coin donation. 

Brave WHC teachers put their bodies on the line to be pelted with water balloons – all for a good cause! Students raised $1250 towards buying sanitary and school supplies for the students in the Kagi Village, which the Kokoda expedition students will deliver on their trip next week. 

Toastie Challenge

The Year 11 VM students took on the second annual Toastie Challenge, where they split up into teams to see who can make the best toasted sandwich. 

Each team was given a set budget to research, plan and create their menu. Students identified their target audience of selected students and staff as well as Durham Green (WHC alumni) from Maple Bakery. 

Students had to create an advertising campaign, recipe cards and budgeting spreadsheet, as well as complete a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety check of the kitchen and PAF. 

Congratulations to Team BLT Panini who won over the staff and ended with the highest total score, followed closely by Team Chicken Deluxe in second place. Well done to all of the teams for their organisation, creativity and delicious toasties. 

Upcoming VCE-VM Dates

Thursday 23 March – Year 12 Great Melbourne Race

Thursday 30 March – Austin’s Winery Volunteer Day

Early Term 2 – VCE-VM Café to open 

Friday 12 May – Year 12 Mother’s Day Stall 

Tuesday 16 May – Year 11 Port of Geelong Industry Visit

Thursday 18 May – Year 11 Road to Zero excursion

Amanda Dickson

Work Related Skills

We have been working on developing teamwork skills as part of our VM Work Related Skills. The Y11s completed a marshmallow spaghetti challenge recently to build the tallest freestanding structure with great success. Some teams got up around 80cm tall! Well done - a great example of teamwork.

Denise Walker

Year 10

Congratulations to the Year 10 girls who participated in the Women in Trade program on Tuesday 21 March – it was fantastic to see young women applying their trade and relishing the opportunity to learn new skills! If you would like information on how to get involved in future trade events, please see Ms Loe in the Blue Building.

A reminder to Year 10 parents/guardians that parent-student conferences are now available online to book. These will take place on the 5th and 6th of April. We look forward to welcoming you to the College and engaging in conversations about your child’s learning.

Good luck to all Year 10 students who are leaving on Monday 27 March to complete the Kokoda Trail. We are extremely proud of your efforts in training, preparation and fundraising for the trip and look forward to welcoming you back to the College in Term 2.

Lauren Marino, Sub-School Leader Y10-12

Environmental Science Excursion 

Report by Corey Grant

Straight after roll call last Wednesday 15 March, our two classes headed out to the bus stops and went on about an hour drive, past Anglesea to Aireys Inlet. Once we got there, we went for our last toilet breaks and started to head to the track. 

The track was called Currawong falls. It was about 13 kilometres. We started to walk and about every 20-40 minutes we stopped and had a 5-minute rest. On the walk there were many biomes, like grasslands, eucalyptus forests and some swampy sections with ancient tree ferns. 

There were also many excellent views, at one spot we were meant to see the ocean from where we were, but unfortunately it was a bit foggy. So, we couldn't see much. Half way through the walk we came across rocks which in the winter, is meant to be a waterfall. There was no rain, so there wasn't any waterfall. 

At one break we discussed how to be low-impact and the importance of picking up all our rubbish and even other walkers' rubbish. We eventually walked the whole Currawong falls track and once again had time for another ice cream. We were out getting ice cream in Anglesea for about 10 minutes before we had to go. It was about a 45-minute drive back to school where we got back at about 2.50pm. Very well-organised day thanks to Mr Conron and Mr Beasley!