Secondary School

Head of Secondary

The Heart of Easter

Two weeks ago, our school community gathered for a special Easter-themed whole school worship service. It was a meaningful time of reflection, worship, and unity as we turned our attention to the heart of the Easter story. As we listened, sang, and reflected together, we were reminded that Easter is far more than a cultural celebration—it is central to the Christian faith and carries a message of profound hope for all.

At its core, Easter tells the story of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial love. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fall short of God’s perfect standard, yet in His great love, God made a way for us to be restored to Him. Through His death on the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the consequence of our sin, offering us the gift of salvation. As it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is the incredible truth at the centre of Easter—that through Jesus, we are offered new life.

Easter is also a powerful reminder of forgiveness and grace. Jesus’ death was not the end of the story; His resurrection demonstrates victory over sin and death, and the promise of hope beyond our present circumstances. In Ephesians 1:7 we read, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” This grace is not something we earn, but a gift freely given. It calls us not only to receive forgiveness but also to extend it to others in our daily lives.

For us as a Bayside school community, this message shapes how we live, learn, and relate to one another each day. It encourages us to act with compassion, humility, and kindness, reflecting the love that Christ has shown us.

As we approach the upcoming holiday break, which includes the Easter period, there is a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect on this message. Whether you are spending time with family, connecting with friends, or simply taking time to rest, may this season be one of renewal and gratitude.

However, before we reach the holiday period, there is also great excitement building around our upcoming Secondary camps program at the end of this term. These Year level-based camps provide valuable opportunities for student growth, connection, and shared experiences. We encourage all families to ensure permission has been granted on Sentral via the parent portal for their child to attend, and that all medical and dietary information forms have been completed and returned.

Please take time to review the provided camp itinerary and packing list to help students prepare well. If you have any last-minute questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to the relevant camp leader for support and clarification.

We look forward to all that Term 2 will bring and pray that each member of our community returns refreshed and encouraged, grounded in the hope and grace that Easter proclaims.

God Bless,

Mr James Kumnick, Head of Secondary

Secondary Art Exhibition

Our budding artists in Yr 9/10 have been working on 3D artworks called “Memory Boxes”. Students were asked to bring an object from home that was special to them, and construct a box that evoked certain feelings about that object. They are on display in the P Block corridor on North campus, so students and staff are able to enjoy them until the end of Term 1!

Mr Gabriel Hingley, Secondary Teacher

The Book Nook by Angus Stekar, Yr 10

A Cat’s Playground by Daniel Tischer, Yr 10

Year 8 Medieval Day

Our annual Year 8 Medieval Day is a great opportunity for students to get some hands on learning near the end of their Middle Ages in Europe history unit. Students dressed up in medieval themed costumes, and participated in education and games, a medieval tournament, and educational sessions about crime and punishment, and weapons and armour. After lunch, Bayside Staff ran a feast, where students enjoyed a delicious lunch of roast meats and veg, as well as pastries and fruit for dessert. Students enjoyed learning coming to life!

Mrs Katie McCann, Secondary Teacher

VCE Physics Excursion

Do you know on which ride(s) at Luna Park that centripetal acceleration is directed vertically upwards? Or which ride(s) gives the greatest net force on you? Well, hopefully, our Year 11 and 12 Physics students now do after their visit to Luna Park! 

Organised by the VicPhysics Network, for one week in March, each year Luna Park opens its gates to all VCE Physics students throughout Victoria. The aim of the excursion is to allow students to experience the various forces associated with different types of motion and be able to measure and calculate those forces and other aspects of motion such as velocity and acceleration.

Although some rides were closed due to the wet weather, our students (and staff members) certainly did experience a number of different forces, and an enjoyable day was had by all. 

Mrs Wendy Ritchie, Secondary Teacher

VCE Chemistry 

We are off to a blazing start in chemistry this year! We had our year 11s begin the year looking at different melting points of different types of waxes. We then used our newly acquired knowledge of intermolecular forces to try and explain the differences we saw.

We then moved onto ionic compounds, also known as salts and looked at some of the differences in their electrical conductivity properties.

Our year 12s had one of their first practicals on calorimetry. This is a contraption where you see how much energy is in a particular substance.

The most exciting component for the year 12s were they were asked to develop their own investigation on energy. Each student has investigated something different:

• Some students were looking at energy released from different sugars or electrolyte tablets you can buy from the supermarket by dissolving them in water.
• Some students were looking at different energy released from bread or nuts or corn chips by burning them.
• Some students were looking at the purity of different methods of making biodiesel. 

It has been fascinating to watch the students develop their ideas with their own experiment, which they conducted themselves (under the supervision of Miss P of course). I look forward to hearing what they found through their experiment when they present their findings to the class.

Miss Amy Partridge, Year 10-12 Coordinator

Vetamorphus Retreat

Bayside’s Year 11 peer group participating in Vetamorphus were a part of the first retreat for the year earlier this term. The retreat involved 100 total students from all over Victoria at Discovery Camp in the scenic Mount Evelyn. The theme of the first retreat is about God’s word (the Bible) and how we engage with it. In addition to the two intensive sessions related to exegesis, there was plenty of space for prayer (at times in their randomised prayer triplets), reflection and community. 

One highlight for me as a peer group supervisor was seeing how the Bayside group took the chance to interact with others they had never met over their mutual faith in our Lord. Another personal highlight was the small group discussions and prayer space with our peer group after the Saturday evening worship session. 

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a full group photo at the retreat, but we did get a photo with five of the eight students Sunday morning shown.

Mr Josh Goschnick, Secondary Teacher

VET Cookery

Our Year 2 VET Cookery students proudly hosted the first of their required twelve service periods as part of their Certificate II in Cookery course. They treated staff members to a delicious morning tea that showcased their developing skills, creativity, and professionalism in the kitchen. From presentation to flavour, the spread was a fantastic reflection of their hard work and dedication in the kitchen. Well done to all students - you should be very proud of your efforts so far this year!

Year 9/10 OES Rafting

Years 9/10 OES Surfing

VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies Camp

Miss Amy Patridge and I had a wonderful 4-day camp with the VCE OES class at Wilsons Promontory. The students did a wonderful job day hiking, running environmental theme based activities and camp cooking in challenging weather conditions. 

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Year 10 VM Industry

The multi-talented Mr Justin Mason has been teaching our Year 10 VM class construction skills through the Industry program. They made repairs on an animal shelter and we are looking forward to learning more practical skills with Justin in the future.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

VM Trips to Moonlit Sanctuary

The Years 10/11 students have attended working sessions at the Moonlit Sanctuary, where we have worked in the Wallaby Walk area, cleaning up sticks and branches. The students have enjoyed connecting with the staff and animals at the sanctuary.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Years 9 & 10 Agriculture

The students have been interacting for our farm animals and removing noxious weeds including blackberry and inkweed. The students are enjoying connecting with God’s creation through their time outside on the north campus.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Year 10 VM My Talent Workshop

We had our final workshop with Arabella teaching the class how to make raspberry and white chocolate pancakes, which were sensational. The students loved teaching each other and this was a highly successful program for the group.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

VM Student Community Market Stalls

Year 10, 11 & 12 VM students did a wonderful job creating and running stalls at the Easter community market. They helped raise money for our Compassion sponsor children Aloi, Marvel, Brayen and our newest member, Magdala who had been waiting 425 days to be sponsored. This is a wonderful thing that our students are doing, and we have been able to send $960 to Compassion from this market alone. A huge thank you goes to Justin and Geoff for their support and the VM teaching team who helped make this such a wonderful community event.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Year 12 Jackets

Secondary Swimming Carnival

Secondary Athletics Carnival

Years 7/8 Girls Junior AFL

Our Year 7/8 Girls Junior SIS AFL 9s team has shown fantastic growth and determination throughout the term, competing in five games against a range of strong opposition. Each week, the team continued to build their skills, confidence, and understanding of the game, demonstrating great perseverance and team spirit.

Although the team recorded one win for the term, their improvement from game to game was clear to see. Their developing game sense, positioning, and ability to work together as a team were highlights, and they should be proud of the way they represented the school.

There were some outstanding individual performances across the season. Abby Houben was a standout in front of goal, kicking an incredible five goals in one game. Kailey Nolen led the way with her excellent run and carry, consistently driving the team forward. Reece Canava took some fantastic marks, plucking the ball out of the air like apples from a tree. Frankie Lewis was electric around goal, crumbing and finishing brilliantly—like a seagull at the beach on a sunny day!

A personal highlight of the season was the way the girls would debrief games on the bus ride home. Led by their captain, Kailey, the team consistently reflected on their performances while encouraging and supporting one another. 

It was fantastic to see every player getting around each other, celebrating efforts, and building a strong, positive team culture.

The team’s attitude, willingness to learn, and encouragement of one another made them a pleasure to coach and watch. We look forward to seeing their continued development in future seasons. Well done to all players on a great term of AFL!

Mr Zacc Klan, PE Teacher

Years 9/10 Boys Indoor Cricket

Our Year 9/10 Indoor Cricket team has had an outstanding term, competing in SIS Intermediate Sport every Friday against four other schools. Travelling by minibus to venues such as the Mornington Indoor Sports Centre and Casey Stadium, the team showed great commitment, teamwork, and enthusiasm throughout the season.

Indoor cricket offers a unique twist on the traditional game. Teams consist of eight players, with each player batting in pairs for four overs. The aim is to score as many runs as possible, but with a catch, every dismissal results in a loss of three runs. Each team bats and bowls for 16 overs, and the team with the most runs at the end wins.

Our team performed exceptionally well, winning 4 out of 5 matches. Their only loss was a heartbreaking one-run defeat in an absolute nail-biter that could have gone either way. Despite this, their consistency across the term saw them finish on top of the ladder, earning them the title of Term 1 SIS Intermediate Indoor Cricket Champions. 

There were many standout contributions across the team. Toby De Haan captained superbly, demonstrating excellent communication and tactical awareness. Goch Yoa brought incredible energy and enthusiasm to every game, lifting the team’s spirit. Nevin Jibin impressed with his skilful leg-spin bowling; he was pretty much unplayable, while Zach Hughes showed resilience, despite a few dropped catches, he made up for them with the bat through important batting partnerships with Darcy. Jaiden Webb-Price was a force to be reckoned with, bowling with great pace and accuracy, and both Griffin and Toby batted intelligently, striking impressive shots reminiscent of Glenn Maxwell vs Afghanistan when on offer, and hitting singles when the bowlers bowled well.

The team competed against strong opposition including, St John’s, Padua College Mornington, Tyabb and Rosebud, St Francis Xavier, and Casey Grammar. Their efforts, sportsmanship, and teamwork across the term have been fantastic to see. Congratulations to all players on a successful season! 

Mr Zacc Klan, PE Teacher

The Big Ride

Year 11 student Heath Calder is participating in the Big Ride to help raise awareness and funds for Motor Neurone Disease. The Big Ride 26 is an adventure on the Murray River, travelling over 2000km from Albury NSW to Goolwa SA.

The money raised will help fund support for the families assisting a member with MND. If you would like to support Heath and his dad on this journey you can donate by clicking on Team Insurance Advisernet group via the link below:

Upcoming Dates