VCE News

VCE Philosophy Excursion

The Year 11 VCE Philosophy Class visited the National Gallery of Victoria (Ian Potter Centre) to attend an event hosted by The Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS). Students collaborated in mixed-school groups, discussing and evaluating Philosophical Ideas in Communities of Inquiry. Schools in attendance included McClelland College, Melton Secondary College, Ivanhoe Grammar, Virtual Schools Victoria and Preshil College. We viewed artworks and discussed ideas related to “community, culture and place” as a way to increase the discussion of Philosophy in public spaces. At the end of the day, Angus Archard and Lachlan Canepa represented our school, presenting our ideas and favourite artwork to the other schools. They had the whole auditorium laughing alongwith their witty jokes. Overall, the experience was informative and enjoyable. We would like to thank VAPS, the Ian Potter Centre, Ms White and Nicole Jeffries for organising the event.

- By Lachlan Canepa and Cathay Ye

AFLW Lightning Premiership

On 18th August, McClelland College was lucky enough to participate in the AFLW Lightning Premiership Competition through our partnership with St Kilda Football Club. The day consisted of the girls playing in three different matches against other schools in the region. Watched on by talent scouts from the Club, the girls put in a tremendous effort in what were some extremely wet andwindy conditions. Some standout performers on the day included the hard running of Mikayla Williamson, Jacinta Reid and Meg Bown in the centre, the toughness of Madi Barnett and Carla Azzopardi in the backline, and the creativity and flair of Emily Smith and Jackie Redfern-Hosking upforward. Well done to all of the students that got involved on the day! Looking forward to taking home the premiership in season 2023!

General Achievement Test (GAT)

This year, all VCE and VCAL students enrolled in Year 12 or completing a Unit 3 / 4 sequence were required to sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) which took place on Wednesday 7th September. All students who undertook the GAT were commended by the senior school team and the exam supervisors on how they conducted themselves in the lead up and during the task itself. We’re all very proud of our senior students as they build towards the end of year examinations.

Melbourne University Law Program

A select group of Year 11 students were invited to participate in an online program run by theMelbourne University Law faculty on Wednesday 24th August. The focus of the session was to mentor McClelland students in terms of their aspirations over the coming years, as well as to provide them with strategies for thriving under the pressure of VCE and university. McClelland is extremely thankful to the students from Melbourne University for running the session, and will take up the offer to attend the city campus early next year.

Staff v Student Debate

After the students drew ahead 5-4, the staff have tied things back up again with a comprehensivevictory in the Staff v Student Debate during book week. The debate topic was ‘Everyone needs a fictional world in their lives’ with the students arguing for the affirmative and staff the negative. The students were well represented by Alex Gardner, Rohan Pettigrove and Sanjana Ajjampur but they were no match for the staff team of Anthony Joy, Brenton Foley and Jess Adams.The competition next moves on to AFL to finish term 3 before a dodgeball match on Celebration day.

SEAMS camp

During the Term Two holidays, Year 12 students from regional and rural areas attended the Monash and Melbourne University Strengthening Engagement and Achievement in Mathematics and Science(SEAMS) three day camp at the Melbourne University Parkville Campus to meet like minded individuals and prepare for the commencement of Unit 4. SEAMS has two camp programs that run every year for Years 11 and 12 each at either Monash or Melbourne University. Aaron Stevenson andI, Sanjana Ajjampur, represented McClelland College at the camp, and stayed in the UniversityCollege residential accommodation. Each day we had two scheduled classes; one dedicated to Methods 3/4 content, and one for either Chemistry or Physics—we chose our preference before the camp. I chose Chemistry and Aaron chose Physics. Each lecture was headed by a senior VCE teacher, and for me, the Chemistry lectures were an incredibly valuable introduction to Unit 4 content. After our scheduled classes, we were able to tour the university campus, do a scavenger hunt, and attend a lecture where we learnt about applying to university. We also had a science trivia night, and during our free time at the end of the day, made friends with those on camp with us. On the final day of our stay, we attended a science gallery, where we learnt about the environmental impacts of food production and the move to create more insect-based proteins,where we made insect flour waffles. We also saw a show by magician Nicholas J. Johnson titled“Deceptology” on the science behind tricking a magician’s audience. The perfect blend of illusion and science, it was an apt end to a wonderful experience. I highly recommend the SEAMS camp toany Year 11s and 12 that are interested in the sciences!

Sanjana Ajjampur

[Pictured: Aaron Stevenson and Sanjana Ajjampur with other students from the SEAMS camp]