Around The College
VCE: Vocational Major (VM) Garden Space Renovations
In Term 2 Brentwood’s Year 11 VM students developed a proposal to renovate the weathered picnic tables in the Garden Space. Through their Personal Development Skills subject, they interviewed members of Brentwood’s Green Team to determine the needs of the space and the benefits to the community. They applied their Numeracy skills to determine the surface area of each table and the required litres of paint needed, they budgeted the projects expenses and submitted two-dimensional sketches of their design ideas. Within the Work-related Skills subject they assessed the potential risks of working in the space and ways to mitigate these, they also evaluated their own employability skills and how working through the Garden Space Renovations could help them develop these skills further. For Literacy, their persuasive writing skills were tested as they formulated the proposal for the Garden Space Renovations Project. The project proposal was approved and the renovations were completed early Term 3.
Congratulations to the Year 11 VM students for their exceptional dedication to this project. Your teamwork, proactive approach, and meticulous attention to detail are truly commendable. We greatly appreciate your patience in overcoming the challenges posed by unfavorable weather conditions to launch this project, as well as your dedication to enriching the Brentwood community.
Nicole Green
Head of Vocational Major
House Day
On Tuesday the 1st of August, the year 12 House captains with the help of their assistant captains facilitated a myriad of activities to celebrate house day for term 3! House day commemorates the house culture that has been created by all the previous house leaders that came before us. This day normally consists of several opportunities to earn points for your house, in order to win (or retain) the house cup!
This year, the activities that were ran in the aspire period were "human knot" and "four corners". Two incredibly fun activities that each Aspire group played to induce a sense of togetherness within in each, one of the core values of House Day. Additionally, during lunchtime, Brentwood's First "Amazing race" was run. This was a total hit, especially with the younger year levels. We had approximately, 200 - 250 students participate, which was amazing! The Amazing race comprised of four activities in different locations around the school; a riddle competition in the library, bean bag toss near the canteen, an obstacle course in the gym and trivia in the TLC. When completion of these four activities were achieved, each student was awarded with a prize by the college captains at the final location! This truly demonstrated each individuals house spirit as each activity had points to be won. We were extremely happy with the amount of participation and engagement as a result of House Day and hope for the future captains to continue this tradition!
Anesshae Prekkash
Banksia House Captain
Year 10 Enrichment Science
After learning about titrations in class for the past term, on Monday 7th August, the year 10 Science Enrichment class competed in the annual RACI (Royal Australian Chemical Institute) Titration Competition. The competition is designed to encourage secondary students who enjoy chemistry, particularly its practical side, to develop their scientific skills and understanding. How it works is each team member performs two sets of acid-base titrations in order to determine the unknown concentration of a weak acid in a solution that is supplied to them. A solution of the strong base sodium hydroxide is standardised against the standard acid provided, before being used to determine the concentration of the unknown acid.
In groups of 3 and 4, for 100 minutes during periods 1 and 2, we hectically scrambled to carry out our titrations and figure out calculations, before entering our results onto a form to be sent to be judged. Teams will be ranked on how close they get to the actual concentration for each acid. Overall the morning can certainly be described as stressful, nerve-wracking and a lot of pressure, but it was a lot of fun and we're all very glad we were given this amazing experience.
Michiko Versluis
Year 10 Student
Student Merits Morning Tea
Student Merits are awarded by teachers to students who go above and beyond to demonstrate the Brentwood values for learning and community. Each teacher can give out two merits every week to two students across all their classes. Every term ten students from each year level who received a Merit are randomly selected to receive a special prize in the form of a gift voucher. The more Merits students receive each term, the more chances they have to receive a gift voucher.
To celebrate the students from each year level and House who received the most Merits in Semester One, a celebratory morning tea was held on the 25th July. Parents and guardians were invited to join the celebration with the Heads of House and Principal Class. Another morning tea will be held in Term 4 to celebrate the recipients of the most Merits for Semester Two.
The teaching staff, Principal Class, and House Hub Team would like to offer a huge congratulations to all students who have received Merits this year, and have been actively upholding and demonstrating the Brentwood values for learning and community.
Tim Columbus
Banksia Head of House
German Immersion Camp
What I (incorrectly) expected from a three-day German camp was an acute inability to pronounce lengthy German words, difficult workshops and, essentially, three days of school… away from school. Instead, I was gifted laughter, beautiful, familial moments, purple-pink skies, and warm gingerbread.
The ‘Schnitzeljagd’ – which unfortunately doesn’t have anything to do with schnitzels; it’s the German word for scavenger hunt – was a wonderful opportunity to connect with people from all three year levels. The scavenger hunt allowed us to exercise our translation skills, puzzle solving and physical capabilities with the way we were sent on wild goose chases around the camp. It also allowed for us year twelves to be severely humbled by the younger year levels undeniable brilliance.
‘Lebkuchen backen’, or gingerbread baking, with the recipe strictly in German was certainly the most chaotic but fun time a person could have in a kitchen. The stress of not being entirely sure of measurements, mixed with the joy of baking with friends leave a warm feeling that cannot be denied. Better yet, the gingerbread decorating provided great (albeit, sticky) artistry!
The game time allowed for us to grow even closer as friends, not just classmates. German twister was a particular favourite, despite majority of my class being terrible at it. Where they fall short in twister, however, they make up for in the great joy and comfort they brought during the German film nights. The second night, we watched the movie ‘Ballon’, was a fascinating thriller, relevant to the year 11 course where we discussed the separation of Berlin.
There’s a certain level of fear in language learning that I believe restricts us from embracing it. Fear of getting things wrong and subsequent judgement, fear of miscommunication and not being able to understand even the most basic conversation. In three days, not only were these fears entirely eradicated, but replaced with a visceral and undying love for German, and the people with whom I get to learn such a wonderful language. This camp must become a tradition, and anyone who has the fortune to go on it will most definitely find it to be rewarding for their German and tightening the closeness of their class. It will certainly be some of the high school memories I cherish the most.
Owini Wijayasekara
Student, 12G1
Year 11 Visual Perceptions Excursion
In Unit 2 Psychology, VCE students need to consider how perception is influenced by cultural norms and historical experiences.
Students explore the influence of biological, psychological and social factors on visual and gustatory perception. Perceptual distortions of vision and taste are explored when looking at the fallibility of perceptual systems. Students may choose to explore a range of different visual illusions to understand how individuals misinterpret real sensory stimuli. Different forms of agnosia may be investigated by students to understand issues with sensory processing areas within the brain.
The NGV facilitates tours for our students to learn, revise and articulate the principles of visual perception. Using original artworks to identify and describe gestalt principles, pictorial depth cues, constancies and optical illusion. Students get to find out how artists manipulate visual perception to inform our experience and understanding of art.
Here is what two of our students had to say about their experience:
Last Friday on August 11th the year 11 psychology students went on an excursion to the NGV to learn about visual perception. This was the first time we were able to do this excursion since 2016 so we were extremely grateful to be able to attend. We were shown around the gallery while looking at different artworks and analysing each of them. We furthered our knowledge about pictorial depth cues and gestalt principles by applying that to different paintings and real-life scenarios. Overall, this excursion really strengthened and feel more confident in our knowledge/understanding of visual perception/gestalt principles and had an amazing time.
Sura & Livia
Year 11 Psychology
