As we approach the end of the third term already, it’s good to take a moment to reflect on some of the more recent events and activities that our secondary staff and students have been involved in over the past few weeks.

Book Week (Week 6)

On Friday 23 August, we were privileged to have our guest Adam Gomolinski come to share about his journey to becoming an author. Through overcoming learning difficulties and the dealing with impact of the Covid lockdown on Adam’s life, he emerged with a positive mindset to produce his outstanding story of ‘This is Curtis’. During the workshop sessions, Adam’s passion, creativity, and sense of freedom inspired our years 7 to 9 students in their creative writing tasks and were challenged with future possibilities.

Toolbox Education Workshops (Week 8)

It was wonderful to have our two presenters from Toolbox come and lead some mental health workshops for secondary students on Emotional regulation (Y7), Meant Movies (Y8), and Thinking traps (Y9). The sessions were interactive, challenging, and thought-provoking. It is so good that students can discuss these issues that impact our youth, in such a safe environment.

Oliver Musical at Christway Kingston (Week 9)

It was such an exciting time to travel together over the West Gate bridge, to visit our ‘cousins’ at Kingston Campus. We were all taken aback by the incredible talent displayed by the Oliver cast. It was an inspiration for many students who have expressed interest in being involved in similar performances at Christway College in the future. We loved being able to share some time exploring the Kingston campus over lunch, before our return.

Careers - The Careers Department (www.thecareersdepartment.com)

One focus during Study Skills sessions this term for our Years 7 to 9 students this term has been getting more engaged in exploring the ‘The Careers Department’ website. The year 8s and 9s were inspired by the interactive video clips, to do some online skills training sessions that are saved and recorded as qualifications on their accounts. Students explored university Open Days and produced a summary of the 2024 dates in poster format. In our Year 9 Careers classes, students have just completed sharing their PowerPoint presentations to the class on ‘2 Jobs that I am Interested in the Future’.

We have invested in the product as we strive to inspire and empower our students to make informed career decisions. The digital program is a touchpoint for our students to not only experience different industries but also to see these industries in action and to learn from their professionals. It includes over 800 pieces of industry content, including virtual tours, videos, podcasts, career timelines, and more. Content examples include, ‘How to Get a Job at a Big 4 Accounting Firm’, ‘The Truth about Studying Exercise Science,’ ‘The Job Prospects for a Future Lawyer,’ ‘What to Expect Inside an Engineering Degree,’ ‘Site Tour with a residential builder’. As we progress through the website, students can access Virtual Work Experience - where students receive a certificate upon completion

• A job finder

• A course finder

• A resume builder

• An e-Portfolio builder

• Scholarship finder

• Profiling assessment

• Career goal tracking

As a parent/carer, you are also entitled to your parent account! Your child can either invite you from their account, or you can visit www.thecareersdepartment.com and follow the prompts as a parent to set it up yourself. If you would like guidance on how to navigate the platform, you can view a demonstration on this link or send me an email so I can assist you further.

Looking ahead at some Term 4 events.

Interschool Debating

In Term 4, Christway College is competing in an interschool Debating competition, run by DAV (Debaters Association of Victoria). The four Wednesday evening competitions will be held throughout October and November. This is a great opportunity for students to develop important skills such as confidence, structured argumentation and analysis, and teamwork. Unfortunately, there were limited places available, so we look forward to offering more of these opportunities in the future.

Secondary Information Evening for New Students in 2025

Next term in week 2, on Wednesday 16 October, we will be holding an Information evening for all Year 7 2025 students and parents to present an overview of the proposed Secondary program at Christway College for next year. Any additional new students commencing in our secondary school in 2025, will also have an opportunity to meet for some fun interactive team-building activities together.

Semester 2 Exam week (Term 4 week 6)

In week 6, from Monday 11 to Friday 15 November, our secondary students will be sitting exams for their four core subjects: English, Math, Science, and Humanities. One exam will be conducted each day during periods 3 and 4 for a total of 100 minutes. The purpose of these exams is to provide our students with the familiarity and nature of examination assessments, in preparation for VCE exams in the senior years. Studies have shown that the more experience and practice students have in sitting exams, the less anxious they are when major exams take place. Subject teachers will be providing students with clear content guidelines and expectations, as well as revision and sample questions in the week before Exam week. This is the first semester that we have conducted these assessments at the Christway Wyndham campus. More information will be provided to parents early next term.

Should you have any further queries about any of these matters, please feel free to contact me via email, steve.sobey@christway.vic.edu.au, or our College office, wyndham@christway.vic.edu.au , if you would like to make an appointment or phone call.

Warm regards

Steve Sobey

Head of Secondary

Community

\