Senior School
A Successful Term of Textiles
What a successful term we have had in Textiles! The students have worked incredibly hard throughout the term, developing new skills while also having plenty of opportunities to show their creativity and individuality.
We began the term by constructing our own sweet treats, learning and practising important sewing skills along the way. We then moved on to making reusable cutlery wraps for all of our Year 9 trekkers, creating something practical that will be used on their upcoming trek.
To finish the term, students put their creativity on display by designing and constructing a statement banner, incorporating their own ideas, messages and unique styles. It has been fantastic to see the students becoming more confident with their skills and putting their own personal touches into their work.
I am very proud of the effort, creativity and enthusiasm the students have shown this term and look forward to seeing what they create next term!
Donated textiles and fabric are always very welcome in our Textiles room, particularly pieces of cotton, linen, denim, patterned fabrics and other interesting textiles that students can use in their projects. If you have any unwanted fabric or textiles at home, we would be very grateful for your donations.
Ally Robinson
Teacher
Year 8 Food Tech
We have been taking it slow in our last week after all the excitement of the musical. Baking gingerbread hearts! How sweet are they!
Rose Pritchard
Teacher
VM
With a smaller class due to the production rest day on Friday, we spent the morning helping with the changing rooms and production set-up. We then headed to the library, where the students helped Mrs Nield put books away on the shelves before entertaining the Kinder students and telling them all about their driving lessons.
It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to demonstrate teamwork, responsibility, communication and confidence in a real workplace environment.
A huge thank you to Matisse at the Warrnambool Animal Shelter for showing our VM crew the amazing and meaningful work that takes place at the shelter.
The students learnt about the range of careers available in animal care, as well as the many volunteer opportunities that are needed to support the shelter and the animals in their care.
We all fell a little bit in love with the cats and dogs during our visit, and it was certainly an emotional experience... especially for Mrs Robinson! It was wonderful to see the students develop an appreciation for the compassion, patience and commitment required to work with animals and to hear about the difference volunteers and staff make every day.
Thank you again to Matisse for giving our students such a valuable insight into the important work of the Warrnambool Animal Shelter.
Ally Robinson
Teacher
VCE Unit 1&2 Outdoor Education Grampians Camp.
As part of classroom learning the class explored multiple aspects of the Grampians and how they are used and appreciated. Looking at everything from indigenous connection, environmental management through to recreational use. We started the camp traveling through Halls Gap, going for a short walk to Venus Baths and some rock climbing next to Delley's Bridge. From here we went to base ourselves in the northern end of the Gampians at Stapylton Campground.
Day 2 was a huge day beginning with an early start and a hike to the top of Mt Zero to see the sunrise and multiple hikes throughout the day of varying lengths and difficulties seeing indigenous sacred sites and artwork, waterfalls, and other important geological and environmental locations.
On the way back to base camp we had a flat tyre on the bus which produced a practical lesson for life on changing a tyre. Our last day took us to Horsham to repair the tyre and then travel back into Heatherlie Quarry to see a heritage building stone suuply of Grampians stone. From here it was back home to unpack and sleep in our own beds.
Marko Wakim, Greg Bond, Sarah Bond
Teachers
Chess Competition
Matthew Philpot (Year 12) and Danny Aitken (Year 11) recently represented our school at the Northern Star Chess Secondary Open Regional Finals. Both students earned their places following strong performances at the local Secondary Open Zonal Tournament in July. On the day of the Regional Finals, they had to wake before 6am to make the early drive to Werribee, demonstrating their commitment.
The competition was played over seven rounds using a Swiss format. This meant that students were paired against opponents with similar scores as the competition progressed, allowing them to play against others of comparable ability. Each win earned 1 point, a draw earned 0.5 points and a loss earned zero points, with students’ scores determining their pairings for the next round.
These tournaments provide students with a great opportunity to develop their chess skills, compete against students from other schools, and experience tournament play in a friendly but challenging environment. The standard of competition at the Regional Finals was particularly high, and both Matthew and Danny represented our school admirably against some very strong opponents.
Congratulations to both students on reaching the Regional Finals and representing our school so well. A special congratulations goes to Matthew, whose strong performance has earned him a place at the NSC Victorian Schools State Finals next month.
We wish him all the best!
“I enjoyed playing against opponents who thought and played the same way as me. It was very different and very challenging, so winning my games felt extra rewarding!” - Danny
Stacey Philpot
Teacher
King's at the state final!!
On Friday the 4th of September, 28 students from Year 9 and 10 caught the 6.27 am train from Warrnambool Station to compete in the State Championships of the Science and Engineering Challenge at Deakin University at Waurn Ponds. They were accompanied by Mr. Robertson, Mr. Wakim and Miss O’Brien.
We earnt the privilege by winning the South-West region competition last month. The students competed against students from seven other schools from Sale, Horsham, St. Leonards in Brighton, Auburn High in Hawthorn, Geelong, Ballarat Grammar and Girton Grammar in Bendigo. It was pretty daunting experience arriving among these schools and not knowing what to expect as the activities are randomised.
As the day began the students found themselves working together with their team (up to 4 members) to solve or engineer solutions to various situations. Activities included bridge building with straws, paddle pop sticks and balsa wood, creating a wind turbine using skewers and cardboard, creating a plane from balsa wood and making it fly a long distance, also to land on a point and hit a target. Some needed to create a code and then send messages using that code, while others had to determine the most effective way to power a city. The other activities included designing and constructing a house that was eco friendly, using marbles to resemble fish and you had to catch a certain amount of some marbles but not others - they had three different sizes and various scenarios, and the final activity was creating a hand that could grab a ball and move it, throw it and place it accurately down!
The bridge builders and ecohabitech teams worked all day on their activities whereas the others did one activity in the morning and a different one in the afternoon.
We were all extremely pleased with the attitude and dedication the teams brought to the activites. They ALL worked together as teams and listened to each other. They all contributed to the final product. This teamwork was essential, as the teams that couldn’t work together were the ones that were not successful.
We came second in five of the activities. This showed great teamwork.
As the day was coming to an end, the bridge builders were trying to engineer a way to complete their bridge. It was still in two pieces with half an hour to go! The team really considered what they could do and managed to complete the construction in time for the final testing.
The testing of the bridges is the highlight of the day and Henry, Zainab and Lottie were prepared to test theirs when the time came. They test them on the heaviest first down to the lightest. The lighter the bridge, if successful, scores higher than a heavier bridge that carries the same mass. Our bridge was the second lightest so we went second last. For the first few trials, our bridge was solid and didn’t move under the mass going across it. It managed to be in tact up to the stage where it had to carry 9kgs across it. This is called the bridge buster! The trolley was released, crossed the bridge, but broke it just before it got to the other side!
It was a sensational effort!
Once all the scores were accumulated they told the order from eighth to first. We were so proud of the efforts, we didn’t care where they finished. They read out a different school for eighth, so we were pleased we didn’t finish last. They kept reading out other teams names. The look on the students was priceless as they realised how well they had done. They named the school that came fourth, and it wasn’t King’s! We finished in the top 3 in the State! What an amazing feat!! They announced the third place getter … it wasn’t us!
We were in the top 2 and we are now thinking “do we get to go to Canberra in a month for the Nationals?” They announced the team that came second and it was King’s!!! We erupted in sheer joy at the accomplishment of these fantastic students.
This was truly memorable effort by all the students whether they attended only Warrnambool, Geelong or both events. Although we have been to Nationals twice before, we have never made it from State Finals. This was certainly our best result in the State Finals and the students should be so proud of themselves. I know we are just amazed at their commitment, teamwork and perseverance.
Congratulations!!
Duncan Robertson & Marko Wakim
Teachers
Year 11 VCE PE – Learning Beyond the Classroom
Over the past two weeks, our Year 11 VCE Physical Education students have had the opportunity to take their learning beyond the classroom through sessions with the South West Academy of Sport (SWAS) and MINT PT Studio.
Our work with SWAS gave students a first-hand look at how athletes are assessed, profiled and supported within a high-performance sporting environment. Students participated in a range of fitness and functional movement tests, including measures of power, agility, core endurance and mobility, before exploring how testing results can be used to identify individual strengths and areas for development.
Importantly, the session went beyond simply collecting results. Students explored how factors such as the demands of a sport, age, fitness testing results and functional movement can influence the design of an individualised training program. They also considered training load, progression, recovery and injury prevention, as well as the importance of motivation, goal setting and discipline in sporting performance. The SWAS Athlete Diary further highlighted the importance of periodisation; planning training around competition, school, work and other life stresses to help improve performance while reducing the risk of overtraining and injury.
Students then visited MINT PT Studio, where they were able to see how many of these same concepts are applied in a real-world fitness setting. The boys spoke with the trainers about pathways into personal training, how clients are initially assessed, and how programs are developed to suit different goals, fitness levels, movement abilities and injuries. They also discussed how exercises can be progressed or regressed, how trainers monitor improvement over time, and the strategies used to help clients remain motivated and accountable.
The visit finished with a practical training session, giving students the opportunity to experience exercise technique, coaching cues and safe movement firsthand while seeing how exercises can be adapted to suit the individual.
These experiences have been a fantastic way for students to connect the theory studied in VCE Physical Education with its practical application in high-performance sport, personal training, rehabilitation and athlete development.
A big thank you to South West Academy of Sport and MINT PT Studio for giving their time and expertise to support our students’ learning.
James Priebbenow
Teacher