Student Voice / Student News
End of Term 3:
College Captains
As term 3 comes to a close, we’d like to reflect on the incredible events that has highlighted this term. It has been an eventful 10 weeks of energy, achievements, and school community spirit.
A huge congratulations to the entire team behind this year’s successful production of The Wizard of Oz – Youth Edition! It was a spectacular showcase of talent from both the cast and crew working relentlessly for months to orchestrate a magical night. The performance was great success on all three nights, with waves of applauses congratulating each night. It was truly an amazing performance from everyone involved, and a performance enjoyed by the greater school community.
We also celebrated the impressive musical talent of our students during our annual Spring Concert and the VCE Music Showcase. As always, the Spring Concert was a delightful evening filled with exceptional performances from various bands, choirs and ensembles. Additionally, our VCE Music students also had an opportunity to showcase their talents in a dedicated recital, whether it was in a group or a solo performance. Overall, both events served as a vibrant celebration of our students’ dedication and artistic achievements.
Book week also brought a wonderful wave of literary excitement with fantastic activities. On Thursday, 27th August, students gathered at lunchtime to swap, exchange, and recommend books to other readers. Then on the Friday, students and staff stepped into the shoes of their favourite book characters, showcasing creativity and community within the school campus.
Wellfest Week was another highlight of the term, connecting students across year levels through the Krispy Kreme bake sale, MasterChef competition, and sport day. It was wonderful seeing the passion among students in all the activities. We extend our thanks to the S.R.C. for running another successful Welfest Week, promoting student wellbeing, health, and growth.
Last but not least, we would like to congratulate our fellow Year 12s for completing the final round of SACs! It certainly wasn’t easy, but we’re proud of the resilience and dedication every student has shown. With final exams around the corner, we encourage everyone to keep up the inspiring level of effort and energy as we push toward the high school finish line.
Thank you to the South Oakleigh College community for the energy and dedication this term. We hope all staff and students have a delightful holiday. Make sure to rest up and maintain the energy for the last term of the year.
River Zielinski
Abigail Avienna
2026 College Captains
College Vice Captains
The end of Term 3 is here, meaning it is also our last term as SOC's Vice College Captains!
This term was a big one for us, as we celebrated our Year 11 Formal, as well as the Annual Spring Concert, the School Production, The Wizard of Oz, and awaited the SOC's Got Talent!
We want to thank everyone we've worked alongside this year for giving us such an unforgettable experience. Ms. Kosztyi, Ms. Ferguson, Ms. Lucas, Mr. Fernandez, Mr. Picone, Ms. Koziaris, the collection of student leadership including Committees, Prefects and the SRC, as well as Rotary and everyone else who has been at our side throughout the ride.
We wish the upcoming year's Vice Captains the best of luck with elections and their own journeys!
Aryan Bhasin
Abigail Raymer
Vice School Captains 2026
SRC
Dear Students, Staff and Parents/Guardians,
After a successful Term 3 and an overall successful 2026, we are now excited to announce that by Term 4 we will have elected new College, Vice-College, S.R.C. Presidents and Senior House Captains. On Monday September 14th the election committee will be holding our School Election for Round 1 leadership positions. With over 25 Candidates for the 4 positions, we are in for a tight competition. Candidates will deliver their speeches via a livestream to all the students and teachers. Voting will occur throughout the day, and the results will hopefully be announced by the end of Term 3!
Throughout the year we have held multiple events such as: Random Acts of Kindness, Harmony Week, Biggest Morning Tea, House Athletics Canteen, our annual Welfest Week and many Celebratory Breakfast Clubs. Looking back on our time as SRC Presidents, we can’t help but feel a sense of pride in our school community. Throughout the year we have had the honour of working with staff and students throughout our school to make it a happier and healthier place .
Above all, we would like to thank all our hard working members of the SRC for all their dedication into planning and executing the events for the school’s enjoyment. We would also like to especially thank Ms. Lucas for her continuous support as the Student Leadership Coordinator, assisting in organising and planning our SRC events. We also thank our College Captains River Z and Abigail A, alongside our College Vice Captains Aryan B and Abigail R for always being so encouraging and willing to help, we couldn’t have dreamed of a better team than this.
Finally, we would like to thank all the students for electing us and allowing us to experience this opportunity and complete our duties to the best of our abilities.
Soham Dhital
Mai Pandjaputra
S.R.C. Presidents
Year 7 Student Leaders
Year 8 Student Leaders
Year 9 Student Leaders
Term 3 of 2026 has been full of fun events for Year 9, with many more to come in Term 4. Starting off the with the Wizard Of Oz, we would like to congratulate Rubymae Moroni, Lia Barack, Jessie Pavlovic, Rafael Coleman, Taka Bauer, Aletta Kirana, Erin Schorel and Carmel Rom for their incredible dedication to the school’s production and putting on an amazing three performances for three sold out shows.
Recently, one of South Oakleigh’s talented bands, Formerly Known As, which involves Year 9’s very own Rafael Coleman, Ryder Rutledge and Mars Cruickshank, performed Pnuema by Tool at the 2026 Spring Concert and are rumoured to return to SOC’s Got Talent. Much like another band of Year 9’s formed by Aletta Kirana, Zack Carey and Nehemiah Miranda, called Mourn. Special mentions to Ryder Rutledge and Millie Mitchell for receiving the title of 2026 House Athletics Carnival Year Level Champions, Ayman Chutoo, Ali Cutchhi, Dhruvil Chaudhari, Pranav Premnath, Jainil Patel, Revan Patel, Aryan Khanna and Aarav Khanna for participating in Tournament of the Minds at Deakin University, and Aditya Dogra and Zachary Tyapkin for making it through to Regional Athletics
Jessie Pavlovic
Year 10 Student Leaders
The year 10 cohort has been busy throughout term 3. Participating in numerous events and opportunities that we’d like to highlight in this article. Put together by students of year 10 we would like draw attention to some of our successes.
To begin the term, South Oakleigh College was delighted to host a number of international diplomats for an educational presentation and Q and A, discussing their roles and work in a diplomatic field. We were proud to welcome the ambassadors of Latvia, the Netherlands and Estonia in addition to the Chilean Consul-General and ex-ambassador to the UN Amanda Gorley. Organised by the school’s Model United Nations Club, members had the chance to ask ambassadors questions and gain a snapshot into a career in diplomacy.
There were also 2 separate Model United Nations events that Year 10 students attended. The first was a Rotary led conference held at Lynbrook Secondary College where Owen Maisey and Kirrily Renehan from Year 10 along with Soham Dhital from Year 11 participated as the Arab Republic of Egypt and debated on wide ranging issues such as first placement of weapons systems in space and the sustainable development of AI. The second event, held at the Wheelers Hill campus of Caulfield Grammar was a much larger event. Owen Maisey and Caelan Vekas from Year 10 represented the Republic of Costa Rica while Zalia Wright and Kirrily Renehan also from Year 10 represented The Republic of Vanuatu. The day was a massive success with a highlight being the amazing morning tea served by Caulfield Grammar.
This term, Tamsyn Higgins has become involved in a Scholars program located within Monash University. The Monash Scholars program is an exclusive enrichment initiative for high achieving year 10’s from around Victoria, its goal being building leadership and innovative skills, as well as broadening its participants’ academic horizon.
“As a Monash Scholar, I have attended various out-of-school events that speak about different career paths for the future, as well as having the opportunity to speak with past scholars, getting valuable insight for my own studies, specifically for VCE. It has been such a rewarding experience so far, and I have met so many new people, both that I have made friends with, and that I have learnt so much from. I’m looking forward to meeting many more over the next two years in which the program will run.”
This term, the Breakfast Club Committee—led by Kathir Elango Srilath and Ellie Papagiankis—hosted the highly anticipated Wellfest Week MasterChef Competition. Held on Thursday of Week 6, the event brought together talented student chefs from Years 10 through 12, each eager to showcase their culinary skills.
Centred around the comforting theme of "Home-Cooked Meals," the competition sparked an incredible wave of creativity. Contestants put their own unique spin on classic comfort foods, serving up everything from rich pasta dishes, garlic bread to aromatic curries paired with perfectly cooked rice, alongside several other extraordinary creations.
The pressure was on as students were given just two hours to complete their dishes—roughly 80 minutes dedicated to intense cooking and prep, followed by 40 minutes to meticulously plate and serve. The atmosphere in the kitchen was electric as the time ticked down and mouth-watering aromas filled the kitchen.
Once the time expired, it was up to the esteemed judging panel—Mr. Carroll, Miss Dusic, and Mr. Picone—to evaluate the entries. Tasting took place live in front of an enthusiastic crowd of students in the school’s downstairs foyer. After carefully tasting each creation and engaging in a spirited deliberation, the judges reached a consensus and officially crowned this year’s MasterChef champion.
In the 2nd last week of term, we had a strong contingent of Year 10’s participating in South Oakleigh’s annual Spring Concert. The night was a huge success, with students from Year 10 being able to show off their musical skills they had been working on all year. We had students participating across a wide range of ensembles from the school’s Choir to Konstant Microwave (which is even named after a Year 10, Konstance Tsekas) to the Big Band.
In the performing arts space, we also had a number of Year 10’s participates in SOC’s production of the Wizard of Oz Junior on the 27th-29th of August. With students both on stage and backstage, year 10 took a particularly prominent role with Eliza Hoffman, Liam Frisch, Alex Volpert and Zalia Wright playing lead roles as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman and Aunt Em respectively. Additionally, Mika Noyman, Athulya Sivakumar, Hazel Doyle and Kirrily Renehan playing supporting roles. Year 10 had strong representation backstage, with students helping out across set, costumes and makeup.
The Friday before last, the schools’ athletes made their way to Knox Athletics Track to participate in our Divisional competition. The college saw many students participate on the day with some notable mentions in year 10, Kenji Calf (800m), Evangelous Pangiotou (Shotput) and Andrew Macrae (400m, 800m, Triple Jump, Relay) going forth to represent the school at the Eastern Metropolitan Regionals competition.
The final week of term was filled with energy and enthusiasm as the school leadership elections got underway. Students from year 10 were running various positions such as Vice-Captain, SRC President, and House Captain for 2027. They put tremendous effort into their speeches, addressing the entire student body to share their ideas, values, and goals aiming to convince the audience of the best candidate. Their dedication and eloquence in their speeches left a lasting impression on everyone in attendance. Students then, across every year level cast their votes, playing an active role in deciding who will step into these vital leadership positions next year. With candidates and year 10 in anticipation to see who will be our leaders in 2027.
Owen Maisey, Zalia Wright, Kathir Elango Srilatha, Tamsyn Higgins and Hazel Doyle.