STUDENT VOICE AND LEADERSHIP

Parliament House Tour

Last Tuesday, Annabel, Mr Gardiner and I attended an event at the Parliament House in which we took a tour around the prestigious building and interacted with other School Captains and local Members of Parliament. Mary Wooldridge, Opposition Leader of the Legislative council provided us with insights into the structure and pivotal role state government bodies play in improving Victorian living standards and overall quality of life. We were then introduced to the Hon. Matthew Guy MP in which we discussed our future aspirations, and hopes for Australia. Concluding the night, we had the privilege of sitting in on a Legislative Council Assembly. Overall, we went away inspired and well informed. Soon our cohort will be included in the voting demographic and being educated on the policies and changes each party can offer to society is pivotal when choosing a government. Hence, I employ my peers to  educate themselves on politics and realise the responsibility we have as voters.

Dylan C. 12I

School Captain

Donny's Legal Experts

In this segment, the students of Year 11 Legal Studies (also known as Legal Eagles) will be answering any of your burning questions about rules not only within the school, but also in the wider community. The reason we have decided to do this to provide our students with a voice and apply the content from VCE Legal Studies, to the real world. It also provides students with the opportunity to be the real life version of Harvey Specter. 

If you have a question that you would like to have answered, write it down and drop it in the C Block staffroom, or come and see Ms Dulger who is also in the C Block staffroom. We have had two questions come through already, and the fellow Legal Eagles have answered them for you!

If I take a photo of a friend on Snapchat or Instagram and post it without asking, can I still get in trouble?

In response to the commonly asked question of a fellow Doncaster Secondary College student “If I take a photo of a friend on Snapchat or Instagram and post it without asking, can I still get in trouble?” the short answer is yes. Although smartphones have been brought into the scene for convenience and amusement, smartphones have become a gateway for exploiting the rights of individuals, an action as simple as taking photos of one of your ‘friends’ and publishing without their consent can not only break their trust but may result in your friend taking legal action against you. The Law states that you cannot take photos and send them to other people, without their permission. Look at what happened to Dane Swan.  

Why am I not allowed to go to my locker between period 1 and 2?

As this new policy has been introduced into the school, many students have asked why?

There are legal reasons behind this. Teachers and staff of the school have a responsibility or duty of care, meaning they must keep students safe and ensure they do not get injured. If they fail to do so, they have breached this duty of care which has legal consequences. To ensure that you do not get injured, this new policy ensures that students are not out of sight and that the duty of care can be ensured. That’s why teachers are on yard duty with the fluro vests. It’s so if anything happens, we can identify where the teacher is and ask them for assistance. As teachers are teaching between periods 1 and 2, they cannot supervise us.

Asli Dulger

Legal Studies Teacher

The Alpine School

The Alpine School is an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone! At first, I was unsure about going because it was for 10 weeks which is a really long time and I thought I would miss my family and friends a lot but the friends you make up here become your family. Everyone here is so nice and I have made lifelong friends. I have had so much support from my family and teachers to come here and I’m so glad they have. Already, I have done so many things with amazing people like hiking, mountain bike riding and playing around in the snow with my new best friends. It’s a 10-week experience and one day feels like it goes for a year. So much happens in one day up here. Five weeks to go and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Hamish Y. 9D