Holocaust Excursion

On Wednesday the 26th of February the Year 11 VCE students visited the Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick to deepen our knowledge of the Holocaust and help understand the book “Night” (a personal story of a young boy who went to Auschwitz) which we are currently studying for English. It was truly an eye opening and life changing experience that I will never forget. We were shown photographs and videos of inside the camps and transportation vehicles and the true horrors that occurred, given a personal tour around the museum by a woman whose father was a holocaust survivor and we were given the opportunity to hear the story of a Holocaust survivor and ask them questions about what actually happened. Around the museum were uniforms worn by prisoners, replicas of the camps and in depth descriptions about all different parts of the Holocaust from before the ghettos to the end of the war. It was a really emotional and jarring day since I had heard about these atrocities in class but never really seen the reality of the situation and how many people actually fell victim to the Holocaust. The survivor I got the chance to speak to was only 3 years old when the war began and faced discrimination within his town from the age of 5. He was a clueless child who managed to survive out of luck and the willingness of an older woman to help protect him and return him to his father. The information and evidence shown at the museum will stick with me forever and has helped me further understand the book and the suffering that not only the author faced, but 6 million other Jewish people.

Ally Nardella, Year 11

Year 12 Extinction Excursion

On Tuesday the 17th of February, the Year 12s took an adventure all the way to Mckinnon Secondary College to watch a production of the play “Extinction” by Hannie Rayson as a part of our VCE English studies. With a play consisting of only four major characters, the script tackles the ideas of the damages of coal mining to the ecosystem. The play explores the ethical dilemma of whether taking “dirty” money from the enemy; in this case a coal miner, to fund a project to help save a species from the jaws of extinction. The play includes the ideas of how relationships can change and how life can change in a matter of second. All students had an amazing time watching the performance as it gave a visual representation of the text we’re currently studying and helped to give us a better insight and understanding of the text. Whilst there were a few scenes that brought out the inner children in us, it was an amazing privilege to be able to see the play. This is a truly an amazing performance to see on stage, and hopefully the future Year 12s will have the same opportunity in years to come. Thank you to Mr Hunt, Ms Xing, Ms Adams and Mr Hemsley for arranging this for us!

By Jordyn McKinnon, Year 12

Year 12 Study Camp

On Thursday 30th January, the Year 12 cohort left McClelland College for the first annual VCE Study Camp at Federation University in Berwick. The aim of the two day camp was to assist students in developing positive, sustainable study habits, providing strategies as to how to maintain strong mental health throughout the year, as well as to help develop friendships and new connections within the year level.

The camp was a resounding success, with the students completing a workshop with renowned Sports Performance Psychologist Anthony Klarica, as well as attending university classes in the fields of Nursing, Science, Psychology, Teaching and Business Management. A number of teachers and university lecturers also ran interactive lectures on study habits and mental health.

Highlights of the trip included the mini-games workshops aimed at developing friendships within the year level, as well as the luxury of students having their own personal rooms and ensuites to relax in after a long day’s work. The talent of the year level was also on display during the down time of the camp, with students displaying their skills at volleyball, table tennis, card games and pool.

A very big thank you to all of the amazing staff that attended, as well as an enormous congratulations to all of the students for their brilliant engagement with the course and their behaviour throughout the event!

Access Monash Induction Day

Access Monash Mentoring provides intensive support to selected Year 11 and 12 students who aspire to university study. The program aims to support students’ decision-making and preparation for university and careers by matching them with high achieving Monash students to work in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.

Mentoring activities may include:

■ Online and face-to-face sessions

■ Exclusive access to Monash University outreach and leadership activities

■ Academic/study assistance

■ Enrichment activities

■ Faculty activities

■ Industry connection opportunities

■ Student and professional shadowing experiences.

On Wednesday February 19, Access Monash students spent the day at Monash University Peninsula Campus. The day started off with an Overview session, including some warm up activities followed by ABC of Access Monash Mentoring and Unpacking your mentoring TOOLKIT. Students then moved off to a workshop where they participated in small groups, discussing the Qualities of a good mentoring relationship workshop followed by a Communications workshop, where student’s role played situations that they may come across in their mentoring relationship.

University of Melbourne excursion

On Wednesday the 11th of March, a group of interested Year 11 students alongside Mrs Andrews and Mr Long, had a briefing and Campus Tour of The University of Melbourne.

The briefing including: Courses offered – depth and breadth subjects, pathways, scholarships, living in, features unique to the university and alternate pathways if the desired ATAR is not reached.

Following this, we were given a tour of the campus, , whilst also letting us in on a little bit visiting many of the buildings. Hearing about the history of the beautiful old buildings, in contrast to the new and extremely modern facilities.

We then had the opportunity to ask questions before heading to the Union building for lunch Overall, the day was beneficial in helping to decide whether or not Melbourne University is an option, and if so, what course options we might consider.

Aspire Higher Panel Discussion

The Aspire Higher students were very lucky to have a number of ex-students return to the college to discuss their VCE experiences and how they navigated through the challenging final years. It was fantastic to hear from individuals that had successfully negotiated their VCE over the past three years and to hear what they were doing now. Most useful were the hints and suggestions from the students as to how to deal with stress, maintain balance between schoolwork and having a social life, as well as how to maximise their results through the utilisation of a range of study tips. The Aspire Higher team are very grateful and thankful to Lachlan Tipping, Anthony Tanevski, Georgia Gourlay, Josh Hughes and Kaitlyn Karadeas for giving up their time to speak to us.

Dates to Remember

April