Teaching & Learning
Science
A huge round of applause to our Year 8 scientists who survived the kidney and heart dissection during our unit on anatomy. While it might have been a little smelly at times everyone worked their guts out to complete their scientific reports. All students had a great time demonstrating outstanding maturity, curiosity, and attention to laboratory safety during our first kidney dissection.
Their respectful attitude, keen observational skills, and excellent teamwork made the session a fantastic success. Well done to all of our budding scientists.
A massive congratulations to our Year 12 Chemistry students, who have now completed the final practical task on the analysis of vitamin C.
Throughout the task, students demonstrated impressive practical skills and most importantly, their ability to make use of every possible piece of glassware they could get their hands on. While there may have been a few breakages along the way, we certainly had a terrific time.
Best of luck with the upcoming exams.
Gab Warren
VCE Music
The Year 12 Music Contemporary Performance class have been working hard to prepare for their performance exams in early October. They have put together a program of songs that showcases the range of their musical talents and their own personal voices as musicians. At the end of August tour students performed an exceptional gig at The Union Hotel, Brunswick West, where they performed as true musicians for family, friends and the wider community, sharing their music.
In early September, these budding musicians also performed an evening concert, designed as a practice exam, at Coburg High, where they demonstrated their wonderful musical talents and were assessed by instrumental and classroom teachers. This feedback is instrumental for refining their program before their upcoming exam.
Congratulations to our talented student-musicians on their hard work so far and we wish them well for their final performance exam of Year 12!!
School Concert:
Student Photography by Lucas W Year 12:
Local Gig:
Benita Champion
VCD
As part of their design process, our Year 10 VCD students have been diligently building lo fidelity models as part of KLT 1 Designing a Pavilion.
This helps students develop and refine their pavilion designs in 3D before they create a 2 point perspective digital rendering of their final design for their KLT.
Lo fidelity prototyping is a sustainable method that utilises recycled or upcycled materials to convey the form and texture of 3D structures during design development.
Sandra Middleton
Spanish
VCE Spanish Conversation Club
One of the highlights for our senior Spanish students this year has been the VCE Spanish Conversation Club. On Fridays at lunchtime, students from Years 11 and 12 have regularly come together to practise their Spanish in a relaxed and supportive environment. Whether playing Celebrity Heads, creating imaginative stories with story cubes, sharing some snacks, or simply chatting about topics that interest them, students have had plenty of opportunities to use Spanish beyond the classroom. The club has helped students build confidence and fluency in spoken Spanish in a low-stakes environment, while expanding their vocabulary and learning to communicate more spontaneously. It has also been wonderful to see students choosing to give up part of their lunchtime to practise together and support one another. We wish our Year 12 Spanish cohort all the very best as they prepare for their upcoming VCE exams. We hope the Conversation Club has helped you feel more confident and prepared for your speaking exam. ¡Muchísima suerte!
Year 8 Spanish
Term 3 saw Year 8 students took on the challenge of reading the novel El Capibara con botas entirely in Spanish. Through the story, students also learnt about Ecuador and explored some of the animals and environments of the Amazon rainforest and the Galápagos Islands. Throughout the unit, students practised high-frequency verbs, vocabulary and sentence structures through reading, listening, speaking and writing activities. A key message in our classroom has been “Leer es poder” - “Reading is power” or “Reading empowers you.” By learning to use context, familiar vocabulary and illustrations, students are becoming confident readers of Spanish. By the end of the unit, students were able to retell parts of the story, describe and interpret images, and create their own writing using an impressive range of vocabulary and structures. It has been wonderful to see how much our Year 8 students have developed their Spanish and what they are now able to communicate. Rory’s work, featured here, is one example of the creativity and increasingly sophisticated language students demonstrated through this unit.
Lourdes García Larqué
VCE Year 11 Spanish
In our most recent VCE Year 11 Spanish unit in Term 3, students explored migration experiences and the many different reasons why people choose or are forced to leave their countries. Throughout the unit, they expanded their vocabulary and language skills while also making connections between the stories we studied and their own experiences of living in such a culturally diverse country as Australia.
Importantly, students worked exclusively with real stories and authentic voices, drawing on stories from Latin Stories Australia and Refugiado Latinoamericano. They also had the opportunity to interview our preservice teacher from Mexico, Jorge, allowing them to hear about his migration experience firsthand and ask questions about his journey to Australia.
For the attached task, students worked collaboratively to retell an interview as a personal migration story. In groups, they transformed direct speech into indirect speech and carefully selected and manipulated different past tenses to narrate the experience accurately. They then shared their work with their peers and provided feedback to one another.
This collaborative approach allowed students to learn not only from the language itself, but also from each other, developing their ability to communicate, reflect, give feedback and use Spanish to tell meaningful, real-life stories.
With our student-teacher Jorge!
With our student-teacher Jorge!
Maria Barberà Fernández
Psychology
Did you know our minds are both amazingly resilient and hugely influenced by the world around us? This term, our Year 10 Psychology students dove headfirst into the world of mental health. Moving past simple definitions, they explored the mental health continuum, unpacked how different illnesses present in daily life, and examined how external factors shape our wellbeing.
To put their learning into action, students have begun researching a mental illness of their choice. They will create visual infographics, building the real world knowledge needed to understand their own health, support friends in need, and break down stigma around mental health.
Chris Sanding
Year 11 Literature
‘Pride and Prejudice’ - Class Review
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the novel:
Over Term 3, the Year 11 Literature class read and analysed ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen, in which she delves into the complexities of marriage and the expectations placed upon women in the Regency Era. The story follows the Bennett family, with a specific focus on the second eldest daughter; Elizabeth. As her mother pushes her daughters to secure their futures within steady marriages, Austen creates a multi-faceted perspective of female independence and agency, critiquing the social and economic divide of Regency England. Through the character of Elizabeth, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ uses a modern standpoint to highlight the hypocrisy of a materialistic society, showing Jane Austen's unique progressive views for her time.
Literature Tasks:
Essay - Passage Analysis
Creative Response
The Class Reviews:
Madi - I thought the novel was very clever and ahead of its time, offering a diverse range of female perspectives, exploring the intimacy of female relationships while celebrating the assertion of independence and agency within the Regency era. Overall I thought the novel was good although there were a few boring parts.
Samira: I really liked this novel, and I appreciated Austen’s unique portrayal of themes including gossip and female agency and the intersection between the two.
Sadie: I thought it was alright, it reflected similar expectations which are still held in society today, but I found it boring.
Ella A : I enjoyed the novel, and found Jane Austen's exploration of gender roles and marriage a fresh standpoint . Her strong character building makes her a great writer who discusses a mirage of intriguing layers of Regency society , which also spills into modern societal standards .
Freya M: I found ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to be a pretty enjoyable read, despite being quite long and boring at times. Although even through the boring parts, Austen managed to recapture my attention through endlessly witty dialogue and dramatic upper class gossip and scandals. I also think this novel is an important classic which everyone should read, if not for enjoyment, to gain an important perspective of the women’s experience in Regency England and the consequences of prejudice.
Valentine: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was an insightful read with enjoyable characters, although long at times; it allowed me to explore a different style of writing and enjoy a classic writer, that Jane Austen is and explore the expectations of class and women that hold true today
Alex - I enjoyed the storyline and characters, but I found it hard to read occasionally. Normally, I prefer to visualise and know the characters' backgrounds more, and I found it hard to do with the descriptions Jane Austen gives, but I still enjoyed the use of free indirect discourse. I don't normally like the protagonist, but I liked Elizabeth.
Ella T: I found ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to be an interesting critique on the expectations of women that still holds true today. I enjoyed the novel despite it being a genre I typically wouldn’t read, largely because of Austen’s uniquely captivating style of writing.
James Stephens
English
During Term 3, the Year 8s worked on a poetry unit. They studied different types of rhyme schemes, language features and rhythm, and combined these with genres ranging from the Romantic movement, Gothic poetry and poetry written by Indigenous poets.
Students were asked to write a collection of three poems encompassing some of these ideas/ways of writing and choose their favourite to submit with a commentary about its main ideas.
We loved reading these pieces and the variety of themes and ideas students wrote about: from their grandparents’ cooking to the Merri Creek; from a day at the footy with the family to the various natures of Love!
Poetry is truly for everyone and about everything!
Lachlan Gaylard
Student Work:
Zoe
The Figure in the Lea
As I wander to the lea,
I close my eyes furthermore, as a blink,
But when they open, they see
A tall dark figure not moving a wink.
“Hello sir!” I outcry,
Just for an answer that doesn’t come at all,
The Darkness roiling of it - contrasting with the snow of July,
I start to fret, and my feet move towards,
The figure doesn’t move at all.
But then - suddenly - it disappeared
Am I going mad? Is this a dream?
But the next day, out by the lea,
I see it again, and I start to squeam,
As a thought in my mind has reappeared
Otis
Ode To Clouds
A thing of beauty
The endless plain to fill is your duty
Oh bringer of rain
Us creatures too hard on you strain
Oh chameleon of the sky
How high you fly
One minute you are a ball
The next a beautiful goddess stood tall
Your swollen grey belly is a sigh of change
Your complex infrastructure
Is something of the strange
Droughts you will rupture
Oh chameleon of the sky
Brushing against your mountain
We cannot truly appreciate you but we try
The sky fountain
Marianna
Home is where I’ve always been
Even if I’ve moved before
Home is where I enjoy my meals
With my family while we talk
Home is where i smell fresh goods
And souvlaki tastes the best.
Home is where I can be who I am
and no one will ever protest
Home is where I lay my head
And dream of who I strive to be
Home is where I can say what I’m truly feeling,
And no one will ever judge me
Home is where there will be fights
But they’ll be over just as soon
Home is where you can be blessed with a lie
Or broken down by the truth
Home is a place probably not far away,
From where you are now, I’m not wrong,
You know that you are really how
When you feel like you finally belong
Australian Maths Competition
First run in 1978, the Australian Mathematics Competition is Australia’s longest running, largest and most well-known maths competition for school students. This year, we had 62 students compete and we had some outstanding results:
The following students received a Credit Award:
Year 7: Alex A. Reuben B., George D., Nelly F., Kayley H., Doron H., Pascal H., Linus L-H., Remy L-H., Ivan L., Sonia L., Alexander M., Genevieve M., Alannah S., Gus S.
Year 8: Mila K., Jack K., Isaac L., Mason T., Nadine U.
Year 9: Nia F., Mia F., Owen L., Talha U.,
Year 10: Shuaib H
Year 11: Lachlan H.
The following students received a Distinction Award
Aidan W. (Year 7)
Julian L. (Year 8)
Miles M. (Year 8)
Charlie W. (Year 9)
William T. (Year 10)
The following students received a High Distinction Award
Kilian H. (Year 9)
Xavier G. (Year 9)
Finally, one student received a Prize, an award given to the top 0.3% of students in Australia who sit the competition each year. Prize winners receive a voucher from the Australian Maths Trust. This is a fantastic achievement, and our warmest congratulations go to Hamza A. (Year 9)
Liam McMahon
Food Technology
The Year 11 VCE Food Studies classes recently put their food skills to the test by designing a snack suitable for sale from a food truck. Students were provided with a design brief outlining a range of constraints they needed to consider. Their snack had to be healthy, affordable (with a $10 budget), and able to be prepared within 45 minutes. Students also needed to consider the needs of their potential customers, presentation and the practicalities of producing their product for sale.
Students embraced the opportunity and produced a variety of products including cold rolls, cookies, a raspberry and coconut slice, dips with homemade crackers, wraps and many other options. Worth noting some portion sizes were on the generous side providing further opportunities to discuss portion control.
Across both classes, students demonstrated excellent teamwork, creativity and practical food skills. The activity provided a fun and authentic way for students to apply their Food Studies knowledge to a real-world food industry scenario.
Maybe CHS needs a food truck!
The Year 12 VCE Food Studies students are quickly approaching the end of their Food Studies journey. Recently, their focus has been on sustainability in food, the impacts of agriculture, food security and ethics, including animal welfare.
Each topic has been explored through a range of practical dishes, allowing students to connect what they learn in the classroom with real-world food issues.
Recently, students prepared fish tacos, while learning about the declining fish stocks around the world and the growing aquaculture industry as a way of meeting the increasing demand for seafood.
It has been a busy term with students developing their knowledge, practical skills and understanding of the challenges facing our food system.
Deborah Garlick