Grammar News

Senior School

SHARON FRAME

Head of Senior School

 

The Senior School is an extremely quiet place at present. The noise and the energy of its heart is absent. Without its students, the Senior School classrooms are just empty rooms. Teaching and speaking to students via Microsoft Teams provides an opportunity for learning to continue but it does not replace the buzz and warmth of learning in a classroom. After speaking to both staff and students last week, it was obvious that ‘distance had indeed made the heart grow fonder.’

 

The feelings expressed by students, of loneliness and isolation were echoed by staff working from home. Working outside the normal structure of the Senior School is hard, as students must be independent learners. We begin the process to achieve this in Year 10, and we are there to help guide and mentor students to become independent and self-sufficient learners.

 

Sitting in front of a computer for long periods without substantial movement or a simple chat with the person next to you creates an experience some students are finding hard to cope with. The added confinement of being ‘stuck at home’ means they may feel trapped. However, these feelings are normal and the important message to all is, you are not alone. There is, and will always be, support; just ask.

 

So students, how do you become stronger rather than squashed by the situation? Stop what you are doing, walk away from the computer, get out of your room and take a break! Go for a walk, “FaceTime” or phone someone important to you, play games with a sibling, cuddle your pet or do some exercise in the backyard.

 

Look forward and congratulate yourself; you are using this Time to Shine and continue to show us what a brilliant and capable group of students we have in the Senior School.

 

VCE Unit 3 and 4 Subjects

On Friday, the VCAA released adjusted Study Designs for all Unit 4 Studies. Oakleigh Grammar VCE teachers of Unit 3 and 4 subjects spent the weekend reviewing the documents, and will now begin preparations to amend their teaching plans and SACs for Unit 4. The need to amend their teaching plans for Unit 4 means additional work on programs set at the beginning of the year, on top of their ongoing preparation and teaching for remote learning. I wish to commend and thank this group of teachers for their dedication and very evident passion for their subject areas. Further information will be released when programs are finalised.

 

Year 12

I am very pleased to announce that the Year 12 Formal will not be cancelled. Whilst other schools have cancelled this event, we believe it is an important milestone event for our students and have postponed it till later in the year. We are currently finalising a new date with our venue and will provide information shortly.

 

ANDREW PHILLIPS

Year 12 Coordinator

 

Sitting at home, it can seem like an age since we last experienced the laughter and tears of our Year 12’s, as they noisily packed into the Common Room. Each morning, complaining about when they might get their Year 12 Jackets, or that there were too many SAC’s to study for this week, or that the boys hadn’t cleaned up after themselves again! The reality is that we haven’t been away for that long, and there is still a very long way to go until exams take place in December at the earliest.

 

In the time that the students have been physically away from school, our Year 12’s have gone from strength to strength. Proving that this year, regardless of the global crisis, it is still Your Time to Shine. Online remote learning began as soon as we left school, so we’ve now had almost 5 full weeks of online classes, with content covered, formative tasks completed and exam preparation continued. The high levels of engagement and attendance has demonstrated that as a group, the Year 12’s, are still motivated and focused on their goals, and giving themselves every opportunity to achieve their best.

 

I’d like to thank everyone supporting our students, as with the support of their teachers, family and extended support networks, this year can be a positive opportunity for every Year 12 at Oakleigh Grammar.

 

MANOJ PATEL

Year 10 & 11 Coordinator

 

As we get into the full swing of remote learning during these novel times, I would like to take this moment to stop and reflect on some of the experiences shared thus far. When met with adversity, it is always the Community that sticks together and supports one another that makes it through unscathed. As educators we definitely miss seeing our students in person, and having those meaningful interactions in the hallway, classroom, and out in the yard. From my conversations with the Year 10 and 11 cohorts, it is very clear to me that this sentiment is paralleled by our students.

 

In order to uphold these meaningful interactions as best as possible, we have been carrying out Pastoral sessions each Monday during Period 4. These sessions have been created for Home Group teachers, myself, the Career Counsellor and Fiona (our School Counsellor) to catch up with students and check in to see how they are going with this shift in our learning environment.

 

From what we have heard so far, students have taken to remote learning with a resilient attitude and a positive outlook. We started with some stressors but are now seeing some good progress. As students tend to spend most of the school day in front of their screens, it is important that they take some time away from their devices and ensure they are not overworking their eyes.

Here are some useful tips for students:

  1. When you have breaks between classes, take them and go for a walk, move around and stay away from any screens, including phones.
  2. When you have a class and you are simply listening to a teacher talk or you are making notes while the teacher talks, write on paper so that you avoid excess screen time.
  3. If you do have to use the laptop a lot, look up at a distant object at least every half hour to avoid stressing the muscles in your eyes.
  4. Make sure the room you are working in is well lit so that your screen and the room lighting are at similar levels. If your screen is too bright and the room is dark, you will strain your eyes. If the screen is too dark and the room is bright, you will strain your eyes. You can do this by adjusting your screen brightness to the level of the room.
  5. Reduce glare on your screen by placing it on an optimal screen angle.
  6. Where possible, get up and stretch, roll your neck around to avoid a sore neck and stretch your arms and fingers to avoid fatigue.
  7. When you get a chance, rest your eyes by closing them, even for 5 minutes.
  8. Take regular breaks when you are revising or doing homework, this is proven to assist with retaining information too.

We are all on this journey together so remember to reach out to your friends, family and teachers if you need any assistance throughout remote learning.

 

Capturing Success with Artemis Moschoudi

 

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your time at Oakleigh Grammar?

I went to school in Greece until year 2 and my first language was Greek, so I had a bit of an advantage compared to other students, but I still had to try hard in order to achieve my study score. I’ve been at Oakleigh Grammar for over 9 years now and I’ve really enjoyed my time here, creating strong friendships and growing as a person. I’m sad that this is my last year, but I’m looking forward to the future.

 

2. How did it feel getting bestowed the Premier's VCE Award and what does winning the award mean to you?

Winning the Premier’s award means a lot to me, because it showed me that hard work pays off in the end.  It has also motivated me to try my best with all my subjects this year as well.

 

3. Was achieving your study score for Greek something you expected and what preparation went into your study for the subject?

Greek was my strongest subject so I expected I was going to do well but I didn’t think I would achieve a raw 50. Our teacher, Mr. Panagopoulos prepared us really well by giving us a lot of practice exams from previous years. I feel like I couldn’t have been more prepared for this exam because I knew what to expect and how I should manage my time during the examination; this helped a lot with finishing everything on time and to the best of my ability.

 

4. How would you say winning the award has affected your study and motivation for the 2020 school year?

Winning the award has showed me that doing really well in a subject isn’t impossible just as long as you put in the effort required and go beyond what is simply expected of you. I believe it has motivated me to try my best with my 4 subjects this year, and maintain a positive attitude which is essential in Year 12.

 

5. What advice would you give other students in helping them achieve the success you have?

The advice I would give to other students is to use their teachers as a valuable resource and to start doing a lot of practice well before the exam, as this helps you to be prepared and avoid any surprises on the day of the final exam. It also helps you gain an advantage over other students around the state who haven’t started looking at any previous exam papers.

 

6. What do you plan on doing in the future and what career path would you like to follow?

In the future, I plan on going to university but I’m not too sure what I want to do yet. I’m thinking of studying either law or commerce.