Teaching & Learning
Year 11 VCE VM
Our classes have started the year well with a range of different activities outside of what they are used to.
VM Literacy
On a rather hot day, VCE VM Literacy made their way to the Coburg Cemetery to explore the use of poetry on tombstones, symbols and informational text types. Students found graves dating back to the 1870s and some fascinating history about Coburg locals. Students will now be writing pieces linked to those resting in the Cemetery and researching our local history.
VM PDS (Personal Development Skills)
As a way to start PDS classes students will compete in competitions like paper plane making (pictured in banner) to test emotional intelligence and ability to work as a team in low stakes competitions.
They have also been working together in positive primers to collectively pick up paper cups with string.
Digital Technologies
Classes from 7A to 7E have begun blending critical thinking, teamwork, and technical skills. In Digital Technologies, students use robotics as a tool to help develop the skills to create a digital solution to a problem.
The term has begun with team building activities and lessons on effective algorithms, including a memorable exercise where students wrote instructions for making a Fairy Bread sandwich. This hands-on approach highlighted the importance of clear communication and detailed planning in programming.
The students have now started working with robotics kits, tackling tasks that require coding to solve problems. This experience not only enhances their problem-solving skills but also fosters teamwork and resilience through trial and error.
This program is designed to equip our students with essential skills for the future, including:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Through engaging challenges, students develop these crucial skills.
Collaboration: Team projects promote effective communication and collaboration.
Resilience: Learning from mistakes teaches persistence and adaptability.
Technical Proficiency: Early exposure to coding and robotics prepares students for a technologically advanced world.
We look forward to sharing more updates as the program progresses
Year 7 Digital Team
English Department
What are we reading?
Ever wonder what other people are reading or want a recommendation? Here’s some ideas from what Coburg High’s English teachers are currently reading!
Angela Greet - I found a battered copy of A Passage to India by E.M. Forster at Savers on Sydney Rd over the January holidays, after wanting to read it for several years. My copy has a few ripped pages, but a beautiful watercolour on the front cover art. So far I’m intrigued by the classical style, but reading through a critical 2024 lens I can see so much that still lands in our lives today. What’s true? How do we as individuals grapple with troubling political times? How can we travel to romantic destinations in a respectful way? I haven’t finished yet, but would recommend it.
Alison Godfrey - I’m currently reading ‘A Marriage Portrait’, which is an historical fiction novel about Lucrezia de' Medici, a member of the Tuscan nobility in 16th Century Italy (That’s a real portrait of her on the cover!) Lucrezia is newly married to a man she has only met once, and she suspects her new husband is going to murder her. I’m finding Duchess Lucrezia being a real person has made the story all the more interesting, but I am enjoying the novel’s poetic prose, vivid imagery, and slow reveal through a non-linear narrative. It’s a real page-turner which balances my love of a good story with my interest in the past.
Melanie Buscema-Moore - I’m currently reading ‘The Bee Sting’ by Paul Murray, A birthday present, it’s a weighty book about the Barnes family and how their lives are going wrong. Each character gets a turn at narrating and I’ve found it hardest to read the mother’s section, as it deliberately avoids punctuation which means I have to concentrate harder to know what’s going on. It’s very well written but I’m definitely going to choose something shorter and simpler for my next book - my sister has just recommended a whodunit, so I’m looking forward to it!
Aaron Zampichelli - I’m currently reading ‘Our Oriental Heritage’. It’s a tome, and only one volume in an 11 volume collection. It is written by Will Durant, a famous 20th-century historian. This series represents his chef d’oeuvre, 40 years in the making. A lot of it is a bit dated and weaves a narrative that is not necessarily substantiated by the evidence, but it is beautifully written and is clearly a work that has emerged from a profound mind. It is seriously quotable – I often found myself stopping and considering whether to write a quote down. In saying that, I will attend to some other books before continuing on with volume two of the series.
Liam Culbertson - Over the past 12 months, I have been delving into the Gothic romance genre. The compelling storylines of kind-hearted protagonists facing terrifying events, in the backdrop of a gothic cathedral, or a crumbling parapet really draws me in. I am reading ‘Vindication’ by Mary Wollstencraft in order to understand the context in which these stories were written. The claustrophobia that 18th century women faced as a result of the constrictive patriarchal society comes through clearly in the early gothic romances.
Lachie Gaylard - I’m three quarters through the kaleidoscopic 'Carpentaria’ by Alexis Wright. It was tough going in parts but as a magical realism fan it certainly hit its stride. I try to alternate between the Classics and moderns, and after seeing it mentioned as almost a canon text for some, I thought I’d take a chunk out of it in summer. The strange and eerie mix seamlessly with the everyday reality for the Indigenous residents of Desperance in a landscape I know nothing about; if you’ve got some time to spare, its 500 pages are (so far, and I think will continue to be) well worth the effort, especially after finishing the ‘Three Body Problem’ trilogy. For my non-fiction, I’m also most of the way through a biography of Alfred Wallace, who has just come to the realisation about the theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin, but while in the Malaysian archipelago.
Kelly Harper I’m rereading ‘All Systems Red’, a novella by Martha Wells. This is the first in a series featuring Murderbot, a fusion of biology and android, as a security expert, hired out by the Company. Murderbot is programmed to obey its owners but after hacking itself, rather than going on a murder spree instead pretends to be governed by its governor module and secretly watches dramas; and it is known to its team as SecUnit. However, when the scientific mission its most recent team is on goes awry, Murderbot is going to need to step up and actually put more than the minimum effort into this mission.
Emi Versteegen - I am reading (and have been for a long time), ‘Changing Planes’ by Ursula Le Guin. It’s a collection of short stories, each set on a different fictional world or ‘plane’. I have been slowly making my way through each story, delighted by the different landscapes and beings that populate them. Some stories are cautionary tales that use the novel backdrop of a different reality to bring to light some of the complexities of human life here on Earth while many read like an anthropological journal, noting down fascinating details of societies that are really not so different from our own. Each story is bite-sized enough to keep me interested and I can come back to the book whenever I’m feeling like my own escape from the present plane!
Brigitte Rogan - I recently finished ‘Demon Copperhead’ by Barbara Kingsolver. Based on ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens, it chronicles the harrowing life of a young man growing up in Appalachia amidst the opioid epidemic. It is a tough read for many reasons, but Demon’s voice pulled me through. Kingsolver is such a beautiful writer and actually grew up in Appalachia. Through the book she lays bare the forces that have ravaged her community and chronicles some of the stories of strength that have gone unheard. This book broke my heart and filled me with hope in equal measure.
Gary Vella - The last book I read was ‘Project Hail Mary’ by Andy Weir. I never read ‘The Martian’ but enjoyed the film (which my kids refer to as ‘Matt Damon and his space potatoes’), so I was pleasantly surprised to find this text very similar in style. The major difference to ‘The Martian’ is that while that text is concerned with Earth trying to save a stranded astronaut, this one is a lone astronaut (well almost alone) trying to save the world. There’s currently a film in production starring everyone’s favourite ‘Hey Girl’ meme star, Ryan Gosling. A very easy holiday read with some interesting existential questions.
Scott Dixon - I just finished Werner Herzog’s autobiography, ‘Every Man For Himself and God Against All’. A fascinating insight into the creative processes and rather turbulent life of one of the most important film directors of the last sixty years (and yes, he was also in The Mandalorian.) For someone who has had as much artistic success and critical acclaim as he has, it’s rather arresting to see how dour and bleak his viewpoint on life is. An extremely passionate and driven artist, but perhaps not the cheeriest person to spend time with.
Grace Kiernan - I recently finished Emily Brontë’s gothic novel, ‘Wuthering Heights’ in my recent string of gothic fiction reads. This was a book that I had previously attempted to read in early high school but didn’t engage with and did not finish. This time around, however, I found the dark depictions of human nature and love compelling and completed it before I knew it! Usually shown as a pure and wholesome force for good, this contrasting representation of love shows Heathcliffe and Cathy’s romance as selfish, uncontrollable and, ultimately, fatal. This story led me to question whether such ‘intense’ forms of love that are openly selfish and at times barbaric are a ‘truer’ form of this emotion or whether this is merely a bleak depiction of love twisted by the darker side of human nature. Food for thought!
Elliot Armstrong - I’m currently reading ‘Neuromancer’, a pioneer in the cyberpunk genre. William Gibson’s vision of cyberspace is as quaint as it is unabashedly cool, painting the hackers that navigate ICE as gritty new age cowboys who manipulate a new polygonal frontier. A clear inspiration for later works like The Matrix and Snow Crash, it’s interesting to see ideas like cyberspace and bodily augmentation crystallised here with such clarity. The pace of Gibson’s writing is a particular highlight, tearing you from heist to back alley surgery with an almost dizzying speed. No matter if you’re a Modern, a merc or a console jockey get ready to be pulled back in for one last job.
Megan Thomas - I’m currently re-reading Peter Carey’s ‘Collected Stories’, which I actually studied for VCE Literature when I was in Year 11. Sometimes at the start of a new school year I find it hard to read as consistently as I do for the rest of the year, so I enjoy reading short stories because I can read a story when I have the time and I don’t forget what is happening if I’ve not read for a day or so. Carey’s stories are surreal, often bizarre and never end the way you think they will. Re-reading this has reminded me of my love for short stories and Carey’s ability to create vivid worlds in mere pages is wildly impressive.
VET
Some of our VET students have shared their first day experiences with us.
My first day of year two Early Childhood Care and Education was very exciting as I got to see all the amazing teachers I had and the friends I had made the previous year. Going to Melbourne Polytechnic has really been an fantastic experience as I had never truly thought about teaching as a career, I mean before that I had wanted to be an actor, but seeing what they offered made me reconsider. When doing my first year I was sceptical because working with little kids didn’t really appeal to me but I soon realized that it wasn’t just about that, it was about teaching the next generation and setting them up for the future. The first time going to Polytec was scary as it was huge, with many buildings and different areas.
Lex
For a lot of people going through the whole process of choosing and applying for VET can be pretty nerve-wracking. Luckily for me I already had some experience with it, in Year 10 I chose to undertake an early entry VET course in Community Services here at Coburg, my Community Services course only lasted for a year though (most last for two years) so I always knew I would have to choose another one eventually if I wanted to do VCE VM in Year 11. Initially I thought I would follow in my mum’s footsteps and start an Early Childhood Care and Education course but after looking things over and weighing my interests in both courses I decided to start a Screen and Media (Video) course at NCAT. Going to a new school is always a weird and interesting experience even if it’s just for 4 hours once a week but once you find people that you can at the very least sit with in class it gets a little better.
Cooper
Early on i’ve been interested in roaring zooming cars, some of what include V6’s. Hearing NCAT offers more than a V6 engine to work on was all I needed to hear. Before the first day of VET at the NCAT assembly for Vocational Automotive, it was already beyond intriguing. To hear what was included in the course was really appealing. They offered welding, pulling engines apart and re-assembling them, test driving the cars as well as the technician bits of it. Cars are a big part of my heart and knowing we get to spend more than half of the classes in the workshop with cars is immaculate. The desire to obtain more knowledge on every system in the car is all offered in this course. Mechanisms such as hoists, car jacks and other varied tools are learnt in the process. NCAT has immensely diverse styles of people, making it rather easy to become social and befriend others. Personally my favourite which are manual transmissions are offered as well as automatic transmissions.
Eli
Hi My name is Mossimo, I am I year 11 student at CHS doing VCE VM this year I started a VET course. My first year VET is Electrotechnology at NCAT near the northland shopping centre, My VET is an electrician course to hopefully get into an apprenticeship after school, My first day of vet this year was the most excited I have ever been to go to school although I didn't really do to much It was mainly a introduction to the course and to try to know some of my classmates but something crazy happened while I was in class one of my classmates actually got caught vaping in the toilets by a teacher he ended up getting suspended for 2 weeks, To get to NCAT I catch the 903 or 527 bus on bell street it usually takes around 25-35 minutes depending on the traffic, before I go to class at I usually get some lunch with some mates then go to my class which starts at 1:30 and finishes to 5:30 you will also get a short 20 minute break in between usually around 3:30, I did this course because I have always been indeed in electronics and technology.
Mossimo
Hi my name is Josh and this is the story of my first day at NCAT, I’m just a regular kid at CHS in year 11 but I have a love for music, I would say I’m not the brightest kid in a normal learning environment and I sometimes feel like the lessons are flying over my head like a 747, but I do OK. that’s when I found out about NCATs music sound production program. I thought it would be perfect for me in the way I get to still learn in a normal school environment but on a Wednesday i get to go to NCAT, On my first day I learnt a lot (a lot more than i expected) we got straight into learning by recording our voice on to a music recording app. I was nervous to go to a new school not knowing anyone but i adapted really quickly and made some new friends, I am really excited to go NCAT every Wednesday.
Josh
I like to look my best each day and maybe you do too, so I guess doing a Certificate Three in Make-up , at NCAT was no huge leap of the imagination. I have also completed a whole year and so my first day was no huge surprise either. Last year when I started I thought that the course would be a lot of makeup on your selves but we found out quickly that we would be doing each other’s makeup and that there was a lot of paperwork which was unexpected going in to a beauty course. Some things that have surprised me include how many hours we had to commit to outside of the course and how we are all progressing our skills at a similar rate. There were only 15 people last year and I would have expected that to stay the same, but this year we have 25! So it’s a big course with lots of new people to meet, but the thankfully the girls are all nice and we get along.
Grace