Senior School Report

Message from the 

Director of  Learning - Senior School

Anna Papagiannopoulos

Welcome to Week 5! We are officially halfway through Term 3. Our Year 12 students and their families have entered the final few weeks of their schooling. As we gear up towards the end of Unit 4, Trial Exams and the study period, make sure to stop and take note of how you are feeling during this very stressful and exciting time.

It has been a busy term so far in the Senior Sub-School.

We have had several events take place, including the school Athletics Carnival, where the Year 12s took on their teachers and fellow students in games of tug of war as well as partaking in the various track and field events on offer.

Our Year 12s also took part in a workshop run by Success Integrated on Exam Success Strategies. These workshops are crucial now in the lead up to their end-of-year exams.

Finally, all Year 12 students were riveted by a performance of their English/EAL texts ‘7 Stages of Grieving’ and ‘The Longest Memory’ by the Complete Works Theatre Company. As English/EAL is the only compulsory subject in VCE, these incursions are a valuable resource from which students can gain knowledge, understanding and analytical interpretation of the texts they must write on.

Our Year 11s have been taking part in their final round of Course Counselling interviews. As they prepare to finish their Unit 2 studies and enter their final year, these interviews are incredibly important to ensure that students go in with the best possible program to maximise their learning and results. Thank you to all the staff that gave up their time to counsel our students.

As we head into this stressful period, please remember to take care of yourself and follow these simple steps.

I would also like to remind parents to consistently check Compass and their emails for any communications from teachers. If you have any issues login in, please do not hesitate to contact the school and request IT assistance. 

Thank you. 

Ms Anna Papagiannopoulos

Director of  Learning - Senior School

VCE AME EXCURSION

August 8 Units 2 and 4

The VCE Art Making and Exhibiting students visited MUMA and Duldig Studios this week, where they explored exhibition spaces that house a range of artworks from past and contemporary artists. The students examined conservation and presentation techniques, display and care of artworks. 

They explored thematic connections between artworks as well as curatorial considerations in these gallery spaces. The students compared commercial galleries versus private galleries, promotion considerations and the organisations of the exhibition spaces. 

The students had the pleasure in participating in an artists’ workshop with renowned indigenous artist Mia Boe. The artworks produced explored the theme if ‘dreams’ and ‘surrealism’. Incredible colours, shapes, ideas and themes birthed on each canvas.

The students were immersed in a day of creating artworks, exploring painting, sculpture, unpacking historical times and contexts.

Duldig studios took us all back into the life and times of Karl Duldig and his wife Slava, who migrated to Australia from Vienna. At MUMA gallery the students ventured on a journey of contemporary art and the lives of the traditional owners of today, past and present.

A big thank you to TJ who accompanied the group on this big day out!

Ms Ifandis

 Arts Coordinator

VCE AME EXCURSION – INTERNATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

The VCE Art Making and Exhibiting students visited the NGV International gallery this term to view the collection of Australian and international art. The students explored artworks in a thematic context and the connection between a range of artworks in that context.

The students experienced art from the artists’ perspective through interactive workshops. The image below is the exhibition of renowned designer Daniel To and Emma Aiston’s work ‘Up, down and all around’. Jihan and Veronika are immersed in looking again and everyday objects to create their own challenging designs.

The students explored art from inside the gallery’s walls and the great outdoors of the gallery’s wonderful ‘Sculpture Garden’. Below the students are immersed in the incredible installation commission of Kelvin Tsang’s and Adam Newman’s Temple of Boom’ 2022 Architecture. This unique work based on the ‘Acropolis’ explores the many changes it has undergone throughout the generations.

Thank you to Michiko who accompanied the group on their artistic journey, she too was an inspiration!!

Ms Ifandis 

Arts Coordinator

Year 11 and 12 Biology Excursion

Both Year 11 and Year 12 biology classes had an opportunity to attend an excursion at GTAC! GTAC stands for Gene Technology Access Centre and we looked at real life case studies and became the scientists that uses scientific techniques to produced results. 

The Year 11 biology students went on Friday 21st of July and their workshop was based on prenatal predictive genetic testing. We used scientific techniques and knowledge to link how genetics play a role in genetic diseases. Our case study was observing how newborn babies are tested for PKU and as a scientist, how this would be test in a laboratory. The students learnt that babies that test positive for PKU must have low protein diet as their bodies are unable to digest the phenylalanine protein

The year 12 biology students went on Tuesday 1st of August and their workshop was based on responding to pathogens and generating immunity.  We used multiple scientific techniques such as modelling and ELISA test to observe and identify the pathogens and their infectious period until antibodies have been developed. The students learnt that certain bacteria are resistant to certain antibiotics. 

Overall it was fantastic for our students to see what equipment that some of the science research laboratories have as well as have small group mentors that discussed about their experience of their PhD research is about. 

Loan Luong-Nguyen

Numeracy/ STEM Learning Specialist

Cooking classes VCE

Joey Dai in VCE Food Studies shows his impressive stir fry skills.

Lee Read

Food Technology Coordinator