Year 7/8 News 

Year 7/8 Assistant Principal News

Linda Buckeridge

What a busy term we have had so far!

With only 5 official weeks left of our current year 7 and 8 classes for 2018, the time is flying by! As you will all be aware, our Step Up program commences in Week 9 and will run for two weeks, enabling our students and their teachers to be prepared for the commencement of the official 2019 year.

There are lots of terrific opportunities ahead for our Year 7 and 8 students, including the Lyndon Williams Memorial Staff vs Student soccer match on Friday 16th November. We also have the Year 7 students attending a whole year level excursion to Healesville Sanctuary on 13th and 14th of November. Our fabulous Mandarin teachers are also organising a day to celebrate the Chinese culture by providing students with immersion activities throughout the day on Friday 16th November.  And of course, End of Year activities week in Week 11 of this term. So much to look forward to!!

However, one of the best experiences I have had so far at Cranbourne East SC has been attending the Year 8 camp last week. What an absolutely wonderful opportunity to get to know our students outside of the school boundaries and watch them conquer a variety of challenges and fears. They participated enthusiastically in the surf lessons and although at times found the coastal hike a challenge, should be very proud of themselves for making it through. Having to cook meals and take on leadership responsibilities was very much out of the comfort zones for some of our students, however it was pleasing to see these comfort zones slowly changing as they tackled new tasks and opportunities in a positive and successful way. I continued to chat with our students about how proud I was of each and every one of them and I cannot wait to see them apply some of their learning and persistence in their everyday tasks at school.

Please don’t forget to remember that summer uniform is in place which includes white socks. As the weather becomes warmer it may also be time to consider using sunscreen throughout the day to provide an extra layer of protection against the sun.

Lastly, a big thank you to our parent community who continue to support the school and our policies ensuring your child is provided with the best possible learning opportunities.

Year 7 News

At their final assembly, the Year 7 Captains presented a heartwarming speech to the year 12’s. The speech consisted of three main points which were congratulating them on success, thanking them for being our role models and wishing them good luck for the near future. The year 12’s weren’t informed about our farewell speech, so it’s safe to say that they were pleasantly surprised. We tried to make our speech as fun and lively as possible with jokes and one of our class captains managed to convert his mess up into a very well-done comedic act which got the year 12 students laughing. Towards the end of our farewell speech, we presented the year 12’s with lovely cupcakes bought in from the teachers and we were able to have conversations with the students individually. Previously the year 7’s had a career assembly guiding us to a better future which also linked into the year 12’s graduation and our fare well speech.  This was a great opportunity to see what the year sevens of the future could do for us when we are in year 12. 

Year 8 News

Hello fellow students

Today I wanted to share with everyone my experience at the year 8 Inverloch surf camp.

On the 24th of October on a sunny Wednesday morning myself and my fellow year 8 peers, plus several staff members met outside the gym before the start of the school day to prepare for Year 8 camp. Students were buzzing talking about the activities and who was in whose tent, and what sweet snacks they had packed in their bags. Parents were chatting away, some worried about first time campers, and others laying bets on who would dominate the surf.

After packing the bus with luggage and students we were off, arriving at Inverloch in what seemed no time.

Shortly after arriving, we were placed in to three groups, Flatheads, Sea Horses and the Stingrays. My group was asked to change into our wetsuits ASAP. For some it was the first time putting on a wet suit, they even had one to fit Mr. Hobba, and this proved to be a struggle for some.

After we were all done changing, we jumped on a bus and headed down to the beach where we were taught a basic beginners lesson on how to surf. The weather was amazing.

After spending approximately 1 hour on dry land, we hit the water and caught the white shallow waves. Some students were standing in no time. Then we had some free time to swim. It was an awesome experience that I’m sure everyone enjoyed.

Once our surf time was up we jumped back on the bus and headed back to the camp where we changed, set up our tents and had some down time. We also discussed our Leadership roles for the camp and assigned our group members a position each.

We then had some free time where you could play music, sport and rest if need be.

After playing a few games waiting for the other groups to get back, we all went for a short hike through the bushland investigating what the region looked like at low tide. Then it was back to camp where we cooked our first meals on the trangia’s. My group had pasta, sauce and veggies, another group had a BBQ. After the feed we were off to bed as everyone was knackered, not too tired to talk and talk and talk until everyone was asleep.

My role on the first day was CEO - this was a very difficult role due to me having to watch times and organize all the activities.

Other roles included CEO assistants, first aid handler, wellbeing manager, journalist and enviro officer just to list a few.

Year 7s if you consider going on this camp next year I advise you try to fit into a role that you know you are good at and will enjoy. Or if you want to work at getting better in a different role put your hand up for it.

These roles play a big part in the organization of the camp.

The place these roles could really be seen was on the second day of camp where everyone went on a massive hike and surfed freely.

Our group hiked for about 12km witnessing some of the most beautiful coastline views in the world. If you want to see some photos check out the monitor in the Year 8 staff window.

Then in the afternoon we headed back to the beach, and even though the Out Beyond instructors were watching in case of emergencies, and if help was required, we were given freedom to surf and put our practice to use.

On our last day we finished by helping the environment and removing foreign weed from the coastal foreshore with a conservation group.

The camp was great and I encourage you all to go if you get the chance. Not only was it a great opportunity to hang and socialize with old friends, but a chance to make new friends, a chance to experience leadership roles and try activities that you have never done before. If you are lucky you might also get to laugh at your favourite teachers falling off a surfboard too.

Baylin

Chess Club

In Cranbourne East Secondary College, we believe that we uphold one of the best chess clubs in Victoria. Our beautiful supervisor, Miss Banaag, encourages us to practice whilst maintaining our genuine enjoyment of the game. Miss Banaag also organizes yearly competitions for us to compete against other students, who we may or may not have played against before. It is a great opportunity for students to get to socialise, experience competitive chess and gain confidence.

At chess club, there are occasional new faces that appear, new to the game and oblivious to the rules of chess. As students that play chess and know the core mechanics of the game, we help them to learn the concept of the game. It is usually the friends of the newcomer that teach the game; however, everyone is willing to help. Newcomers are conventionally taught by the means of a basic game of chess; as well as having the roles of the pieces and the objective kindly explained to them.

During the school year, chess club normally holds a chess tournament to determine the best chess player in the school. This normally lasts around a year, however sometimes longer. This commonly starts with all the participants pairing up with one another to play a game of chess, afterwards, the winner writes their name on a sheet of paper, informing Miss Banaag that they have won. Miss Banaag then randomly pairs us up with other students and place us all on a table to find the winner of another match until there is only one that remains.

At chess club, we have fun and enjoyment throughout our time there, therefore, we all encourage other students start coming to chess club.

Chloe in 8B

Indigenous Art Club

On Thursday 18th October, the Indigenous Art Club and 9D, with Miss Georgiou and Mr. Razaai,  went to the Royal botanical Gardens of Cranbourne and learnt about the local Aboriginal people, the Boon Wurrung country. Including the tools they used for music, collecting food, hunting and cooking. Students made ochre paint and told their story, tasted several edible plants and fruit, drank natural organic Lemon Myrtle tea and brushed their hair with Banksia plants. Overall students enjoyed their day, despite the rainy weather, and learnt a lot about the relationship between Aboriginal people and the environment.