Student Musings

 

Year 11 Psychology

Transitioning from face-to-face learning has been quite difficult as we don’t realise how decent school is when it is taken away from us! 

In Year 11 Psychology we have made sure that there are good vibes going around by having a class catch phrase ‘#psychislife’. Keeping our cameras on helps us stay connected to one another and makes it a little bit easier to continue with our work and our classroom motivation. So does the #psychislife background made by one of the students! 

We have stayed connected by doing class Kahoots and making some visual illusion models (and of course doing coursework as well!). 

Online classes include lovely and fun banter, whether we’re learning or just general catch up conversations. It has been pretty difficult without being able to be around people, but it's always lovely to see everyone’s faces and hear their voices. When we get back to school, our fun and bubbly environment will stay the same, because if we can do it over laptops and technology, we can certainly do it in person! 

We can’t imagine how challenging it’s been for the teachers as well, and it’s been amazing to see how both students and teachers have been able to work around this difficult time and still produce different and enticing ways of education. 

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Mikayla Whiten and Charlotte Whelan 

Year 11

Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan Indonesia

Happy Independence Day Indonesia!

Monday 17th August marked 75 years of Indonesian independence from the Netherlands. In their Indonesian lessons this week, Year 7, 8 and 9 Indonesian students reflected on the significance of this event to Indonesia’s history. Despite learning from home, students still managed to participate in a variety of traditional Indonesian games played on this special day. The students learned from these challenges the Indonesian appreciation for equality and humility in life and we loved seeing creative videos of students completing these challenges at home with their families and even their pets! 

Here is an outline of the two main events that students participated in to acknowledge Indonesian Independence Day:

Lomba Makan Kerupuk

Indonesian children love to play this game where crackers are tied on raffia strings then the children try their best to eat the crackers while their hands are tied behind their backs. The child that finishes their cracker first wins! For Indonesians, crackers are a traditional snack that is relished by both poor and rich people. By playing this game, Indonesian people try to appreciate the importance of equality and humility. Furthermore, those hanging crackers and handcuffs remind us that success is accomplished by integrity and patience. 

Lomba Balap Karung 

Sack races are a popular challenge where our bodies are cooped inside rice sacks as we hurtle towards the finishing line. The rice hinders us as we move rapidly towards the finish line. In addition, more than once, we will fall down and we have to get back up and continue hopping to reach the end point. Lomba Balap Karung teaches us a lesson about the importance of perseverance and it reminds Indonesian people of the tremendous efforts our forbearers made to achieve independence. Moreover, it teaches us that in life, we will stumble but we need to get back up and keep fighting to reach our goals. 

Bu Grandis, Bu Irwin, Bu Lundie & Bu Martin

Indonesian Teachers

Year 7I ACE Geography

The Year 7I ACE Geography class were asked to either create a mind map on the uses of water; draw a diagram of the water cycle; or write a poem.

Here are some examples from Hannah Rennick, Campbell Young, Jessica Kim, and Natalie Barr.

Water Poem by Natalie Barr 7I 

In all its glorious beauties,

Water sidles down a mountain.

It travels far and wide,

To the ocean, a creek or decorative fountain.

The sun sparkles off the water,

Radiance takes the ocean.

It evaporates into a sky of diamonds,

Soothing the earth’s hot commotions.

Clouds move together,

Condensing in mounds

Of perfectly imperfect shapes,

So far from the ground.

Water trickles from the sky,

So magical in its state

Of precipitation,

As it falls in crescent sheets so great.

The soil rejoices,

As its rich underground world

Absorbs the water during infiltration.

And roots unravel and uncurl.

Roots begin to grow,

Blooming into natural artworks.

They drink up the water,

As do worms and bugs as they too lurk.

Goodbye goes the water,

As it dribbles in perfectly natural drops,

Rolling off the leaves in transpiration,

The water never stops.

And still it keeps on running its marathon,

Into slates of ice, sheets of rain,

Rivers and creeks bubbling and flowing,

Forever the water remains.

It was used by Romans for washing their clothes,

The First Fleet sailed across it in 1787,

Used to water your garden yesterday,

Or to have a water fight in 2011.

It moves away the earth,

Destroys us in a flood.

Creates land so beautiful,

Shapes our earth with its flowing hugs.

This is our water,

Can you see it’s serenity?

But it won’t last forever so,

Conserve it a plenty.

Annette Niven

ACE Extension Program Leader 

2020 Remote Cross-Country Challenge

WEEK 4 …….this week was always going to be a nail-biter. Frazer entered the week in the lead with Jackman firmly on its tail and gaining on them, especially with some very large kms being submitted by Jackman staff which made for nervous times. Both Freeman and Mabo were displaying signs of appropriate social distancing, fighting for third and fourth place a little further back. Mabo after the excitement of overtaking Freeman during week 3 of the challenge, went back to their sightseeing ways in week 4 and didn’t manage to get out of Queensland!!

Back at the front of the race, during the week there was a huge surge by Frazer to extend their lead over Jackman and give them some breathing space. Over the weekend it became clear that the Frazer students, through a consistent performance across all year levels, were putting their foot down and declaring the arrival of a new sporting powerhouse at Ringwood. 

Congratulations Frazer on winning the 2020 Cross Country Challenge!!

We also had a large number of entries in our Age group race and well done to all those students who sent in their 3km or 5km results. We had some outstanding times and I certainly can’t wait till next year when we can start competing against other schools again and showcase our running talent.

Girls Age Group Champion Medal Winners

Boys Age Group Champion Medal Winners

WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!!!

As a school community we managed to complete an entire lap of Australia and go again. 

A big thank you Ms Mel Muller for putting together the amazing maps of Australia throughout the competition. 

The challenge may be over but keep getting out there for some exercise and fresh air.

Ms B

Director of Sport

Year 12 Art

The theme I chose to explore throughout my studio process is ‘Strength’, with a greater focus on the negative aspects of power (such as ego and narcissism) within my final artwork. The portrait of Yoshikage Kira (from ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) was based on Ted Bundy, and is a paraphilic serial killer with an obsession for young women’s hands. Both fictional character and real inspiration embody the ideas of pride, control and violence – to which I hope to expand into a tryptic series of artworks. I hope to resolve my pieces by increasing their surface size, as well as incorporating vibrant and contrasting colours through Copic markers. 

Henry Miles 12K