HUMANITIES

PHILLIP ISLAND GEOGRAPHY CAMP

As part of the VCE Geography course all students must undertake a day of fieldwork but a day is never long enough to explore the landscapes and tourist offerings of Phillip Island so an overnight stay is the go!

Students were able to explore a range of tourist offerings from the surf beach at Cape Woolamai, to the quiet waters of Rhyll Inlet with its winding boardwalks through the mangroves, allowing the students to get up close to this unique floral species.

Lunch was spent investigating the tourist offerings of Cowes particularly the food outlets and also make an audit of the retail stores attempting to identify a pattern to their distribution. The redevelopment of the foreshore indicated to the students that tourism is thriving in Cowes.

From Cowes the students were given a talk and tour by a ranger at the Phillip Island Nature Park on Summerland Peninsula where they got a first hand look at the peninsula now that all the houses have been removed. This has resulted in the re-establishment of native vegetation and wildlife such as the Little Penguin, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Cape Barren Geese which are all flourishing, particularly the geese!

No trip to Phillip Island is complete without seeing the penguins waddle their way on shore and though the wind was bitterly cold everyone enjoyed this nightly natural event particularly Yonghan Wang  (Year 11) who had not been before.

Our last day was bathed in glorious sunshine again and included a walk around the beautiful and peaceful Churchill Island taking in the magnificent views and a chance to get up close and personal with native fauna at the Phillip Island Wildlife Park, though Ruthie Brown, Matthew Stephens and Ben Howells (Year 11) were very mindful of the emus which seemed to stalk their every move in order to get a feed! 

Finally, I would encourage students to consider Geography as a subject for VCE as it allows you to connect with the world around you and open your eyes to a range of career opportunities.

Marg Bourke

Head of Geography

MONASH COMMERCE SCHOLARS DAY

On Thursday 25 October 2018, a group of fourteen selected students studying Year 11 Commerce subjects attended the Monash Commerce Scholars Day. This day provided students a small taste of university life and the possible paths that are available after high school. We participated in various masterclasses, ranging from Accounting, Economics, Mathematics and Business Management just to name a few. In the masterclasses, we were able to explore subjects specific content with a lecturer in the field.

We were fortunate enough to listen in on current and past students on their experiences at Monash University. The current students informed us about the opportunities to study abroad, whereas, the past students gave an overview of their life after university and the industry they work in.

Monash University provided us an insight into commerce fields that we could potentially go into after schooling and how to prepare for your career with a business or commerce degree. Thank you to Monash University and Ms McKinlay for organising and giving us an opportunity to experience this enjoyable yet educational day.

Erica Chin, Heidi Victoria and Kylie Zhou

Year 11 students