Senior School

Plain English Speaking Award 2018 State Finals

The Plain English Speaking Award (PESA) is a public speaking program hosted by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and supported by both the Australia-Britain Society (Victoria) and the English Speaking Union (Victorian Branch).

The award is aimed at secondary students and encourages the use of clear and effective spoken English. Attending state finals was an excellent opportunity for our Year 11 students to see their peers demonstrate public speaking, speechwriting and research skills. The day was extremely beneficial and our students learned a great deal. They are now looking forward to participating in this prestigious public speaking event next year.

Irena Yevlahova

Senior School Teacher

It was an amazing experience to watch and learn from the talented state finalists, to see what a good speech is and how we could implicate the skills and techniques used by the speakers. Being in the audience encouraged me to open my mind to public speaking and made me aware of just how valuable of a skill it is to have. I would absolutely want to go next year, to compete or even just to listen.

Danica Dreyer

I was very inspired by the brilliant and sophisticated way that other students around Victoria, who are my age, presented their views and ideas on important issues that affect our lives. Their speeches were both challenging and encouraging. I found Caitlin Grieve's (Ballarat Grammar) speech particularly interesting because she spoke about two things that are very important. Firstly, the future, and secondly, FOOD! A 3D printed burger topped with bugs, anyone? Thank you so much for organising such a special day for us and providing me with the opportunity to come along to the Plain English Speaking Award finals. Jerry Cheng

Going to the Treasury Theatre to watch the state finals of a persuasive oral English competition was definitely an invaluable experience for me that I enjoyed greatly. Five Year 11s, including myself, got the privilege of going to watch the state finals where competitors performed a speech previously practiced, followed by an impromptu presentation. I gained new insight on what makes a good public speaker and the small details that make up an impressive performance. These speeches inspired us and we are now planning to initiate an event based around public speaking. This may take the form of a competition from Years 7-10 where winners will receive prizes, with the ultimate goal of showing other students that public speaking is not something to be afraid of, but something to enjoy. Thank you again to Mrs Yevlahova for organising this outing for us! Chloe Chandraraj

Senior School Expo

The Senior School Expo was a fantastic night showcasing the outstanding work our teachers do, as well as the opportunity to share what is on offer for Senior School students in 2019. Students and parents were treated to an evening of exciting displays and informative seminars related about what's going on in Senior School. It was pleasing to see students and parents come to the evening with a view to inquire about subjects, and the how-tos of VCE. Having a student go through VCE can be a confusing, difficult, and sometimes a stressful experience. Evenings like the Senior School Expo goes a long way to answer questions and provide clarity. If you have any questions about subjects, or the structure of VCE, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Natalie Farmer (VCE Coordinator).

Thanks to all who attended the evening!

You can access the Senior School Information Booklet for 2019 here: 

John Presant

Head of Senior School

Year 9 Shark Tank Success!

Over the last few weeks the Year 9 students have been working on a major project inspired by social enterprise Thankyou surrounding the theme of 'What is your Why?'

Students participated in a Shark Tank initiative to get them thinking outside the box as to how some types of social enterprises are able to run, but within this create a mindset of making a change or contributing to a social cause they are passionate about!

Friday 29th June was presentation day in front of the Sharks Mr Pardo, Mr Presant and Miss Holland). The students showed so much preparation and effort, leading the sharks to get in many bidding wars - I am so impressed with our wonderful Year 9 students and the initiative they have shown! 

Cailyn Holland

Year 9 Teacher

Theatre Studies Students See Pygmalion

On June 14th the Year 10 and 11 Theatre Studies students attended The Australian Shakespeare Company's production of 'Pygmalion' by George Bernard Shaw. This was compulsory viewing for the students, as they will now analyse the acting and theatrical elements within the production as part of their assessment. It was a bit of a wet and wild evening, and you can see from the photo, but any trip to the theatre is a good night out for these budding young dramatists!

Katie Brown

Drama Teacher

People and Their Life Stories:

9Y English and Community Service Project

In Term 2, 9Y students had a unique opportunity to visit Arcare Aged Care as part of English curriculum and class community service. This project tied in with St Andrews Christian College 2018 theme ‘Love God, Love Others’ and Year 9 English Thematic Unit ‘People and Their Life Stories.’

From April to June, one English lesson was held at Arcare every week. Year 9 students were paired with Arcare residents to interview, record and discuss residents’ life-stories. These weekly meetings resulted in the co-writing of narratives. Writing someone’s life-story requires respect, kindness and gratitude and our students were honoured and humbled by this experience.

There are very few opportunities where young and older people come together to talk about the past. Participation in the ‘life-story project’ provided the opportunity for the students to develop a sense of historical belonging and respectful understanding of older people who have contributed so much to this country and created conditions for all of us to flourish and have a happy life today. Our students have developed an awareness of cross-generational links as a foundation for building one’s sense of responsibility for this country. This experience was unique and rewarding for all.

The presentation of memoirs to Arcare residents marked the culmination of months of hard work. It was a celebration of amazing lives of Arcare residents and the incredible standard of work that St Andrews Year 9 students have produced when they truly served others in the community.

Irena Yevlahova

Year 9Y English Teacher

University Of Melbourne Mathematics Expo

On Wednesday 27th June, some VCE students participated in two maths challenges at Melbourne Uni comprised of a short problem solving competition and the MIT Challenge. The day started off with two speakers who talked about how maths can be used in other areas such as genetics and geology. After the challenges, a few graduates spoke and informed us on where further studies of maths could lead us in the future.

A team of four students participated in the MIT challenge which comprised of a problem solving task called 'The Jolly Baker'. Through the use of excel and various mathematical methods, the St Andrews team solved the problem but sadly did not finish in the top 5 teams. Overall, this was a fun but challenging experience that exposed us to various methods and techniques that could be used to solve many problems.

Those who didn't participate in the MIT challenge completed the short problem solving competition. It consisted of four rounds of questions, each with varying difficulty and appropriate marks allocated. This challenge was fun and forced us to work outside our comfort zones, it also meant we had to work together as a team to better solve the questions.

This was a day which made us think outside our comfort zones and was a fun challenge. Overall it was a really fun day and we would definitely recommend it to any students who are interested in knowing where maths can take you in the future.

Danica Dreyer and Nathaniel Foo

Year 11 Students

Careers News

University Open Days are just around the corner and in the latest Careers Newsletter there is information provided about Open Days  and how to get the most out of this day. Open Day is an awesome opportunity to check out university campuses and all the things students could be doing while studying there. Many universities have established strong partnerships and industry connections in Australia and overseas and offer global opportunities to the students.

Please find attached the recent St Andrews Careers Newsletter.

If you have a question about a topic featured in the Careers Newsletter, please contact Careers Coordinator Mrs Irena Yevlahova

 iyevlahova@standrews.vic.edu.au

Irena Yevlahova

Careers Coordinator