The Student Chronicles
Meet the Team!
This year the newsletter team will be partnering with the SRC, student leaders and our fellow peers to bring you our student operated, written and lead newsletter! This newsletter, being student run, gives us a great opportunity to express our ideas and thoughts from around the school, from a true student perspective. Our team is made up of the following:
SRC President: Maggie Shores
SRC Publicity & Communications:
Kendra Prothero
Newsletter Coordinator: Destiny Williams
Format Editors: Savannah Lubansky &
Ysobelle Bunsoy
Writing Editors: Hannah Hapuarachchi &
Mia Wettstein
Please feel free to contact the newsletter coordinator WIL0195@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au with any ideas or topics you would like to see promoted, published, or featured in the story of our school, published our way.
Scholar Snippets
Let’s see what the students at Wantirna have been up to!
Senior School
It has been a great start to the year. Seeing your lovely faces during the Easter bunny visits and getting to know you as your college Captains. I’m sure you’ve seen our faces around school or on the Wantirna College socials such as Facebook and Instagram. In Term 1, we ran a student forum alongside the SRC to gather feedback about how people view student leadership at our school. It was a hit, having our stall packed with people from all year levels eager to give their opinions and suggestions.
In Term 2 so far, we ran the ANZAC Day assembly. On the same day, we visited the Salford Park Retirement Village to attend their memorial service and present a wreath to them. It was an incredible experience hearing personal stories from people who have assisted and served time, paying our respects to the amazing people that made such a significant sacrifice.
In Term 2, we are looking into bringing back Teacher Greenies! We’d love to hear your feedback and any improvements you’d like to make to the school. Please feel free to come and chat with us at any time or send us a Teams message!
Harrison Bedford, Fiona Bui,
Phoenix Rigano & Katherine Styles
College Captains
Middle School
Term 1 was full of energy and excitement, with Challenge Week being a definite standout! It was awesome to see so many Year 8s stepping up, showing teamwork and getting out of their comfort zones.
Looking ahead to Term 2, we’re excited to start a project focused on upgrading school facilities, including adding more seating around the school to create better spaces for everyone to chill and connect. We’re also really looking forward to working alongside the SRC executives and Year 7 captains on events and initiatives.
Elizabeth Robertson & Luka Baron
Year 8 Captains
The Local Lowdown
On Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to chat and catch up with the amazing Production Captains of 2025. This includes the lovely William Heron, Stephanie Coffey, and Ashley Robinson. These guys gave me some valuable insights into this year’s production - which happens to be Chicago Teen Edition - as well as some insights into what it’s like to be a part of this community and what they do as Captains.
DW: What is your role as production captains?
A: As production captains, we’re in charge of boosting the morale and making sure everyone’s included and having a good time. We also help organise theme nights at camp, we play music at meals and just make sure everyone’s vibing and having fun!
DW: What is Chicago about?
W: Chicago is about a woman who is having an affair with her husband. She kills the man who she’s having an affair with, and she goes to jail. She wants to become famous, which she succeeds at.
DW: Clearly, it’s a very maturely themed musical, how are you tackling this?
W: Because of that, it is a teen edition. There are a few things that we cut out. Well not ‘cut out’ – but slightly modify. Just a little bit, so it’s all appropriate. And we are also taking away two songs.
DW: How would you describe Chicago, using only one word?
W: Murder.
A: Glamorous.
S: Scandalous.
DW: What are your reasons for being in production and what do you like about it?
W: I really like Chicago; it’s a fun musical. I also really like the community, like I met my best friend through production. And that’s something that I’m forever grateful for. I also feel like the community you get in production is something that you can’t get anywhere else in high school. It feels like an easier place to connect because we’re all here to do theatre.
S: Yeah, I think a lot of it is about the community. You build a whole other kind of relationship with people. Even with the teachers, you have such a good relationship with them. You have an adult to go to because you’ve made a connection with them through production. It’s not just a teacher; it’s someone who’s sharing the same interest as you.
A: Yeah, I think pretty much what Will and Steph said. Just like the community and it’s a chance to make new friends with people from different year levels that you might not be friends with otherwise. And it’s just a really tight-knit community that’s very welcoming and very accepting.
DW: Where’s your progress right now and what are you up to in terms of rehearsing?
A: So, we’ve been a bit scattered. We’ve basically done the big dance numbers that needed to be done. And it’s now more just filling in the blanks of what we need to do. The shows are usually in the start of August, so we should be finished by halfway through the term, hopefully!
And that’s a wrap! If you’re someone that’s interested in joining the production next year, hopefully this interview will influence you to do so. It definitely seems worth it if you’re someone that wants to meet more people at school and build more connections. Also, if you just want to have a bit of fun.
Destiny Williams
Student Newsletter Coordinator