College News, 

Sports & Events

SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS

 In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

For further information see below attachment. 

IMMUNISATION CATCH UP SESSION

The City of Greater Dandenong are holding 4 “Mop Up” sessions for students who were either absent, when they attended our school or hadn't returned a consent card, to receive the following immunisations.    

Year 7 

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – Gardisil 9 Vaccine – one dose
• Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (ie whooping cough - DTPa) (Boostrix vaccine) – one dose

Year 10

• Meningococcal ACWY 

Parents or Guardians will need to contact an Immunisation Support Officer on 8571 1477 to book into any of the sessions below:

TATTERSONS PARK PAVILION

Cheltenham Road, Keysborough

Monday 18 November 2024

3:30pm – 5:00pm

PADDY O’DONOGHUE COMMUNITY CENTRE

18-34 Buckley Street, Noble Park

Tuesday 26 November 2024

3:30pm – 5:00pm

SPRINGVALE CITY HALL

18 Grace Park Avenue, Springvale

Monday 2 December 2024

3:30pm – 5:00pm

DANDENONG CIVIC CENTRE

225 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong

Thursday 12 December 2024

3:30pm – 5:00pm

This will be the last opportunity for students to receive this FREE vaccine through the Council.  as it may not be free later through your GP.  

REGIONAL & STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Keysborough College Banksia sent 40 students to the Southern Regional Track and Field Championships at the end of Term 3, our biggest team of athletes ever. They competed in 36 individual events and 6 relays across the day.

Notable achievements were:

Gold Medal         Revival Samaeli – U18G Javelin

Silver Medal       Revival Samaeli – U18G Shot Put and Discus.

                                Sreylin Kea – U18G 400m

                                Savannah Misa – U14G Shot Put

                                Aaaron Tran – U13B Triple Jump

Bronze Medal    Archer Bender – U13B Discus

                                Sreylin Kea – U18G Long Jump

Ryan Kan - Discus

                                William Tran/Aaron Tran/Ethan Chhay/Sokheng Chung – U13B 4 x 100m relay.

All of our athletes did our school proud. Competing at regional finals can be a daunting prospect. Other schools invest great amounts of time and money developing and training their Athletics squads. For some of these students, this is their sport, the one activity that they spend their time on outside of school. None of our Keysborough students are involved in Athletics outside of school so it is often a ‘David versus Goliath’ scenario. Keeping that in mind, to finish 11th as a school overall, out of 63 competing schools, is an incredible result, our best result since the College merger. Our Girls team finished 10th overall, all of our age groups finished in the top 20 and our Under 18 Girls finished 3rd overall. Incredible results everywhere from an outstanding group of students!

As a gold medallist from the Regional finals, Revival Samaeli qualified for the State Track and Field Championships on October 21st. This was the second time Revival has qualified for the State finals, having qualified in 2022 for her favourite event, the Shot Put. At 4.40pm at the State Athletics Centre in Albert Park, Revival competed in the U18 Girls Javelin, throwing a personal best and finishing a very commendable 4th. The 3 girls who claimed the medals were all Javelin throwers with their local Athletics clubs, so finishing 4th was an incredible result. Revival should be proud of her result this year, and over the last six years at the Banksia Campus.

YEAR 11 SOCIOLOGY & LEGAL STUDIES EXCURSION

On Wednesday 9th October our Year 11 Acacia Sociology and Legal Studies students attended Pentridge Prison in Coburg for a prison tour. They explored the grounds and toured the notorious maximum security H Division known to house some famous criminals like Ned Kelly and Mark “Chopper” Read!

Students were given a guided tour of the prison and were then able to engage in a self-guided audio component, listening to stories from ex-prisoners as they entered each of the cells.

This excursion provided students with the opportunity to learn more about the history of crime and punishment in Victoria and the realities of prison life at Pentridge!

Ms Kean & Ms Maxwell-Gould

Our excursion to Pentridge Prison for Sociology was an incredible experience! We went through many fascinating histories of the prison, particularly the notorious "Division H", which housed some of Victoria's most dangerous criminals. Known as the "punishment block", this section was infamous for its harsh conditions and strict regime. Through gripping stories, we learned about the challenges of managing high-risk inmates and the complexities of the penal system. This excursion truly highlighted the prison's legacy and the lives of those who were incarcerated there. 

Julia Ky

VCE VOCATIONAL MAJOR STUDENTS FIND THEIR VOICE!

The Year 11 VCE VM students at Acacia and Banksia participated in workshops, as part of their learning in Literacy, to discuss issues that are of concern to young people in our community.

The workshop session was facilitated by Elvis and Venushi, two Development Officers from the City of Greater Dandenong. 

The students were provided with statistics about the number of young people who reside in The City of Greater Dandenong, the backgrounds of the young people and the most important issues for young Australians. Information was also provided about how students can voice their opinions on issues through local councils, as well as other potential pathways for youth input. 

The VCE VM students participated in a mini youth forum where they worked collaboratively to brainstorm and discuss the causes and effects of the problems that exist for young people. These areas of concern, were identified in a survey by Mission Australia - The environment, Equity and Discrimination, The Economy and Financial Matters, Mental Health.

Students discussed and expressed a point of view on ideas presented and shared these with their peers. 

The presenters also introduced the students to examples of Youth Projects that have been undertaken by Greater Dandenong Youth Services. Students worked in groups to think of a project that could be undertaken, if they had a budget of $1000, for the purpose of highlighting one of the issues in the community.

Providing opportunities for our students to have links with their community is important and invaluable. Developing a strong sense of community will help raise awareness that we can all contribute in some small way and make a difference and be part of something bigger than us. Overall, the incursion was well received by the students.

Some student reflections

• I found this workshop very informative, but also very engaging with the activities we did. I liked doing the brainstorming on ways to fix issues in the community.
• The workshop was good. The presenters told us about what they do and got us involved by running the group activity. It was also a good way so hear everyone’s opinion.
• I think they did a good job. The activities got us involved, leading to better listening skills from the students. I also think that the way they approached us didn’t come off as them trying to rush us, or force us to support what they support, but more about giving us an idea of what their roles are and being able to motivate us to make better decisions in regards of our community.
• The workshop was effective because it allowed us to connect with the community and express an opinion.

SEOND HAND BOOK & UNIFORM SALE

YEAR 11 BUSINESS MARKET DAY

Market Day is a project that students from the three business classes participate in. Year 11 business students at Keysborough Secondary College (Acacia Campus) hosted Market Day in front of the Senior Big Grass area on Monday, 28th October 2024. The profit made from selling the goods will be donated to a charity called “The South East Community Link.” There were many kinds of food stalls set up around the Senior Big Grass. Students sold a variety of foods, including Mochi Ice Cream, Mug Cakes, Vietnamese Rice Paper Mix, Sausages, Milk Tea, Sago Fruit Mix, Dubai Chocolate, Curry with Rice or Bread, Brownies, Chocolate-Covered Strawberries, Mentra, Ramen, and soft drinks. Through these food sales, the students at Keysborough raised about $1,000 in profit for charity.

The business that my group ran was called Mochi Dukie. Our business that sold mochi ice cream. Before successfully selling the mochi ice cream, we had to work through many challenges. First, we had to decide what product we would sell on Market Day. We chose to sell mochi ice cream because the weather was expected to be warm, so we thought a cold dessert would be a good choice. After deciding on mochi ice cream, we named our stall “Mochi Dukie.”

The day before Market Day, we bought the. Initially, we struggled with the process, but after multiple attempts, we finally succeeded. When we finished, my teammate and I almost cried with relief because we thought we might not be able to complete it in time.

On Market Day, we set up our table in front of the senior building and prepared for sales. At lunchtime, we ran to the freezer to get the mochi ice cream. Initially, we were worried that no one would buy it, but within just five minutes of the break starting, we sold out completely. Many people asked for more, but we had already sold everything we had.

From Market Day, we learned about market and marketing strategies, taking risks to achieve success, budgeting, and managing money. Additionally, we gained hands-on experience making mochi ice cream.

By Somalis Sam

LIBRARY NEWS

In the last newsletter, we mentioned the changes that had happened in the senior libraries- new furniture and shelving- and promised you news of the changes that have occurred in the junior libraries! In the last school holidays, the Acacia junior library had a brand new front desk installed, which our fabulous Student Assistants have been enjoying when they come into the library to do their library duty at break times. We have also had a brand new external door installed, so students can now enter the junior library to catch up on their reading and study without having to walk through the building. 

Banksia Junior library has had some changes too. Students may notice there is more natural light in the space to illuminate the books they read, the games they play, and the study they do.

Last week was Halloween! Banksia Junior Library is famous for its fabulous Halloween decorations. And, in 2024, our wonderful Banksia Junior Library did not disappoint. Enjoy these photos- at your own risk! But don’t get too scared! 

YOUNG WOMEN'S GALA DAY 2025  

Year 7 to 9 students from both Keysborough Campuses, Acacia and Banksia, participated in the Young Women's Gala Day event. This event was proudly organised by the City of Greater Dandenong and was held at Dandenong Stadium. The primary objective of this event was to boost girls' participation in sports, since it was observed that there was a concerning trend of declining involvement among girls by the end of Year 9. 

Many of these sports require teamwork, communication with peers and students from other schools, cooperation, risk taking, and most importantly, having fun. The event showcased an exciting array of activities including basketball, soccer, hip-hop dance, aerobics, self-defence, and a comprehensive mental skills workshop. Participants had the opportunity to engage in both physical fitness and personal development, making it a well-rounded experience for all the students.

We were nervous initially as we had to play sports with girls from other schools in the area, including Noble Park Secondary, Killester College and Lyndale Secondary. We were sorted into mixed groups once we arrived so we had to learn to work with our team mates from other schools. Once we got involved in the activities we felt more comfortable and had fun getting competitive with each other. 

Overall we had a great time and were proud of ourselves for getting involved and having a go!

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

We say goodbye and good luck with the exams to our 2024 year 12 Internationals.

Our ELC and mainstream Internationals enjoyed some tricks & treats for Halloween. A fun Halloween themed crossword challenged them to work together to get to the prizes. Thank you to the ELC Manager and teachers for your extra efforts and to the ISC’s for running giving out way too many lolllies.

We also wish to congratulate Lyhok Sen who is currently working as an MEA at Acacia Campus whilst in his last year at university. He is a former International from Acacia Campus and has just completed his Science Degree at Monash University. We thank him for all the support in and out of class Lyhok has offered to all students as well as our current Internationals.

Virginia Vlassopoulos

ISP Manager