Humanities News
Humanities Awards
National History Challenge – State Finalist
A big congratulations to Wilbur Machado, of S8, who has made it through to the State Finals of the 2023 National History Challenge for their year level. Wilbur presented his Essay entitled Reform and Expansionism: Change and Continuity in the History of Russia on Saturday 16 September at Yarra Valley Grammar College. We wish him all the very best with his Presentation and hope he can progress to the next round. Great job, Wilbur!
Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition – State Finalists
Congratulations to Zainab Ali (X1), Chris Go (S4) & Agam Singh (X7)!
Their entries in the Plan Your Own Enterprise competition have been named as a 2023 Finalist and are now in the Top 5 Individual Entries for Victoria. These students have been invited to attend the Finalist Day on Wednesday 11 October.
Chris Sacco
Senior Business Management Teacher
Global Youth Forum - Intake 2
Day 1
Today we had the opportunity to plunge head-first into the global youth leaders forum. Here is a review of the plethora of skills we have learned throughout today!
Morning session: Developing Public Speaking Skills:
Our day began with a dynamic guest speaker who shared invaluable strategies for honing our public speaking skills. The key takeaways included adding a personal touch, as we learnt to master relating audience-resonating personal experiences to our presentations. Our messages become more captivating when we engage our listeners on a deeper level using relatable experiences and stories. Moreover, the speaker emphasized the value of assuming a powerful, upbeat, and open stance when speaking to the audience. This not only increases our confidence but also forges a bond with the audience, which increases their openness to our message.
Midday Session: Clearing Up Myths About Globalisation and Citizenship
The complex idea of globalisation was covered in detail during our second session. We spoke about what it means to live in a connected society as a global citizen. Being a global citizen essentially means realising that our choices and actions have an impact that goes beyond national boundaries. It involves accepting variety, appreciating many viewpoints, and actively engaging in world concerns.
UN Sustainable Goal: Quality Education Afternoon Session
In our final session of the day, we discussed the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations, which is Quality Education. We talked about the need to give everyone, from all backgrounds, access to inclusive and equitable education.
The inequalities between schooling in Australia and third-world nations were the subject of one of the day's most fascinating talks. The distinctions are obvious. We are fortunate to have access to state-of-the-art materials, highly qualified teachers, and well-funded schools in Australia. On the other hand, children in many third-world countries suffer due to poor infrastructure, few resources, and unqualified teachers. This difference highlights how urgent it is to address SDG 4 and work towards global educational justice.
With this, we cannot wait to see what the next day holds.
Joshua Jansen - Year 9
Day 2
On 5 September, students from Nossal High School participated in Day 2 of the Global Youth Forum. Students were able to embark in and learn about a range of different topics like culture, identity, stereotypes, and artificial intelligence through a series of creative activities. As we delve into the primary concern of representational harms, particularly within the theme of presumptions about identity and culture. Schools from all around Victoria and Asia took part in this event, bring valuable insights into their perspectives of the topics mentioned before. With the aid of guiding questions, genuine and heartfelt conversations were facilitated, enabling students from various parts of the globe to engage in meaningful exchanges.
On Day 1, students acquired knowledge about the design sprint process, while on Day 2 they were required to put this knowledge into practise and come up with the challenge of defining a local problem as well as an appropriate solution. Facilitators from Global Youth Forum were also actively involved in the idea brainstorming with students, leading them to shape an issue that is significant while being complex enough so that on Day 3, they could pitch their solutions to an expert. This mini project has taught Nossal students the importance of a planning procedure, guiding them through each step has been crucial for developing their problem-solving skills and deepening their understanding of project management principles.
Colin Feng - Year 9
Day 3
The final day marked the end of an incredible experience. We commenced with a beautiful acknowledgment of country by our very own Arpita Nayak! Our first task was to start the first minute of our school improvement pitch, incorporating techniques to engage our audience and practising our non-verbal communication skills. My group's introduction was theatrical, to say the least! Guest speaker Julie Spencer continued the forum by talking to us about the Great Barrier Reef while the second speaker, William Stubbs, discussed the ‘Bases of Power’ and how they are applied to different interactions and situations. I want to express a heartfelt appreciation for the insightful knowledge and invaluable experiences of Julie and William that I gained from their speeches.
We resumed the GYF by making a storyboard of our pitch to further enhance the point we are trying to make through visual aids. For our final pitch, we presented to a professional as well as our fellow peers. Today, I was intrigued to find out that students in Malaysia must take a minimum of 8 subjects with a maximum of 22 subjects! I am glad to say that I left the Global Youth Forum with innumerable valuable communication skills as well as the behaviours of a global citizen.
A big thank you on behalf of the GYF participants to Mr. Sacco and Ms. Kamimura for providing us with this enriching experience that we were incredibly grateful to have!
Myla Fedhi - Year 9