Year 8 News

Hello everyone, 

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope everyone enjoyed the break and is ready to get into another Term. I have had the chance to catch up with a lot of our students and they have shared many highlights from their holidays which is always awesome to hear. Our Year 8 cohort has had a strong start to Term 2, this has been reflected in our highest number of KPA scores in week 1, reaching over 660 KPA’s for the week. 

It’s great to see our students come back from the break and make this positive start. At assembly I have challenged them to keep up the good work and try to beat our weekly top score. Beyond the benefits of helping our students learning, there is now further incentive for students to strive to demonstrate positive learning behaviours and receive KPA’s.

KPA Shop

There has been a lot of positivity around the KPA shop which has opened this term. Students who receive a KPA also get 1 point which they can spend at the KPA shop. These points can be saved up to buy a variety of different prizes. This has been really well received by our students and provides further acknowledgement for the effort they are putting into their learning. It’s been really good hearing our students take extra note of their KPA scores and working towards those positive learning behaviours which help them to be the best learner they can be.

Live4Life Program

Year 8 students across Kurnai College will take part in the Live4Life program. This will involve an initial pre-participation survey and followed by learning about mental health and wellbeing. Below is a short descriptor of the program, as well as information regarding the initial survey students will be asked to complete.

Youth Live4Life is a health promotion charity, using the Live4Life model to support rural and regional communities and their young people. Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities.

Live4Life communities deliver Mental Health First Aid Australia® Teen and accredited Youth Mental Health First Aid training in schools and the wider community, create local partnerships to lead conversations about mental health that reduce stigma, and promote young leaders as mental health ambassadors.

Further information can be found at https://www.live4life.org.au/ 

Pre program survey information

All Live4Life Latrobe Valley schools have been invited to participate in routine program feedback from 2024. Through routine monitoring we can ensure that intended program outcomes are being achieved, and that Live4Life continues to improve and benefit those involved. 

In the coming fortnight Year 8 students will be invited to complete brief online pre/post feedback surveys in a classroom setting. The questions cover standard Live4Life topics such as mental health knowledge, literacy, and stigma, help-seeking preferences and actions taken post-program, and perceived value and importance. Student participation is both voluntary and anonymous. Data will be stored securely at Youth Live4Life, and findings will be reported at the community level only.

If you have any questions or would prefer your child not participate in this feedback process please contact Matthew Suter (Year 8 team leader) at matthew.suter@education.vic.gov.au before Friday 10/05.  

LBU Reward Lunch

At the end of Term 1 the second round of LBU scores were released. We acknowledged those students who had showed sustained positive learning behaviour in their classrooms by giving students who achieved an LBU of above 3.5 a certificate at assembly. 

We had many students across the year level get above a 3.5, or get very close to, which is amazing to see. As well as receiving a certificate for their professional portfolio they also were invited to a hot chip lunch, held at the end of week 2 this term. While ultimately the reward for our students achieving these LBU scores is that they give themselves the best opportunity to learn at school, the hot chip lunch is definitely a nice bonus which they always enjoy.

Art

Students have begun to work in pairs to design and paint a skateboard deck around the theme of life and death. They have planned and designed both sides before painting sections of colours onto the board. 

Concerns or queries

If you have any concerns or queries about any of the items mentioned above, Year 8 student matters, or just general inquiries, please do not hesitate to give the year 8 team a call on 51323700 or email Matthew Suter.         

Matthew.Suter@education.vic.gov.au

Matt Suter

Year 8 Team Leader