Student News

Tatsuya Daniel Orchestra - Wyndham Tech School Excursion 

Suzanne Cory's String Ensemble was given the gracious opportunity to visit the Wyndham Tech School this recent Friday, 21st June, to meet Tatsuya Daniel Orchestra - an international ensemble and organisation with a dream of uniting all and creating international connections with music. 

Our young violinists, viola players, and cellists got to meet and talk with like-minded musicians from the orchestra. They, who also carry our students' dedication for academics and music, shared experiences about growing up as high-achievers, figuring out who you are as you get older, and balancing university with passions such as instruments, arts, and other hobbies. 

Personally, it was super insightful to see myself in those members - to hear about them juggling needing to be a future doctor or lawyer or film maker, or whatever else they're striving to be, while also making time for everything else. Seeing them do well and travelling the world, meeting all these people and experiencing life to the fullest, was incredibly inspiring. It was everything I wish to experience myself one day. And even though we shared our differences between growing up in America, Australia, France, or wherever else, I really liked that, at heart, we weren't as different as we'd first guessed. 

For sure, it was a fun experience for all of us, and a personal, memorable moment as a parting senior musician. 

Zaeena Dimog - YR 12 - R7

Debating and Public Speaking Term 2

This will be my final debating report as I am retiring at the end of Term 2. There are too many students to list here. Nevertheless, I would like to thank all of those who participated in not only the Debaters Association rounds but also a big thank you to the students who took part in the  Middle and Senior Public Speaking competitions at St Kevins. There was also the public speaking competition, Wynspeak, the Monash Asian Studies Debates at the Monash Clayton and the Model UN at Werribee. Last but not least, a big thank you to those who took the stage for the Plain English Speaking Award both in the Werribee heat and the semi finals at the Ministry of Education. We have some amazing debaters and public speakers at Suzanne Cory and a skill such as this will help the students forge their way confidently into the future. I was proud to watch all of the many participating students grow as public speakers and I wish them all the best for the future. 

Meet Thakur, BC,  Salma Hassan and Sahnan Saini at the senior public speaking competition at St Kevins

Aaditya Thakur at the Plain English Speaking Award

Vishesh Manik and Rishit Migliani at the Model UN at Werribee SC. 

Paul Byrne

IB Psychology

The first ever SCHS IB Psychology class has now completed two of the three units for their first year of the course, including a deep dive into the Cognitive and Biological Approaches to understanding psychology and human behaviour. Through regular experiential learning opportunities in the classroom (as seen in the photo below), the students are developing their psychological knowledge and scientific inquiry skills, whilst also engaging in holistic and student-centred learning experiences that are typical in the tertiary system. They are becoming creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, and empathetic global citizens. And they are an absolute delight to work with!

Alex Carroll

IB and VCE Psychology Teacher

Wellbeing Coordinator

Leadership Training at Melbourne High School

Last Friday, ten of our Year 9 students, selected as mentors, attended a one-day leadership training at Melbourne High School. The training focused on developing their mentorship and leadership skills in preparation for the upcoming outreach program in Term 4.

The day included lecture-style sessions and engaging role-play activities, where our students collaborated with peers from three other selective-entry schools. The participants thoroughly enjoyed the activities, gaining valuable insights and practical skills.

In addition to honing their abilities to mentor primary school students, our students also had the opportunity to make new friends and expand their networks. It was a meaningful and enriching experience for all involved!

Chufeng Liu, Chloe Cook, and Michelle Magalona

Outreach Program Coordinator

Berthe Mouchette French Competition

On Friday 24th May, 28 Year 9 students and 16 Year 10 students participated in the annual Berthe Mouchette Competition. This was a great opportunity for students to get out of their comfort zone and showcase their budding French speaking skills. They were required to recite a selected French poem in front of a native speaker and assessor. The Year 9 text chosen this year was in fact lyrics extracted from a song by Les Enfantastiques, titled ‘La vie, c’est comme and match de foot’, and compared life to a soccer game. The Year 10 text was ‘Marathonien’ by Bénabar ( Bruno Nicoli, famous French song writer and singer). The theme of the competition this year is Olympic Games / Les Jeux Olympiques.

Despite the nerve-wracking experience, our students were up to the challenge, showed great resilience, preparation and performed very well overall. Furthermore, we are pleased to announce the following students received a perfect score and will compete in the finals on Sunday 28th July. 

Félicitations à tous et bonne chance aux finalistes! 

The French Team

Humanities Week

As part of Humanities Week , the Year 12 Economics classes organized a budget breakfast. David de Garis (Independent Economist) explained the key elements of the budget to the Economics cohort. David has worked in various area, including as Senior Adviser to the then Prime Minister Bob Hawke in Prime Minister and Cabinet Department in Canberra, also for ANZ as a Senior Economist and recently was working for NAB in London as Director and Senior Economist. 

Students also understood the reasons and the workings of the 2024-25 Federal budget and its implications on key economic issues like housing, inflation and cost of living pressures and the impact on the Australian economy. It gave students a practical understanding of how the budget works and its implications on the economy. 

Psychology Field Trip to Melbourne Zoo

On Wednesday, May 29th, the 3/4 Psych students visited Melbourne Zoo to enhance our study of memory and learning. We met with a zookeeper to discuss research methods and ethical principles, focusing on the repopulation of the endangered Helmeted Honeyeater. 

Following our discussion, we witnessed the keeper feed a spider monkey, showcasing the animal's intelligence in finding food by utilising obstacles to encourage thinking. We then conducted observational research on an Orangutan couple, noting behavioural changes every 30 seconds for 10 minutes. It was fascinating to observe their interactions and connect them to the learning types discussed in class. For instance, watching the monkey follow the keeper purely due to learned behaviour was a clear example of operant learning in action.The butterfly house activity - which involved observing the public’s behaviour within the butterfly enclosure - also highlighted the different influences on human behaviour, especially when it comes to adhering to rules placed within society. 

Overall, it was a delightful and educational day, providing a sense of nostalgia from our primary school field trip days, and one that I’m sure many will fondly remember.

Rhianna Laguesma (R5)   

Winter Concert

In Week 9, we celebrated our annual Winter Concert - a culmination of the hard work and dedication of all the students and teachers in the music department! Featured front and centre on the stage were our largest (and still growing) ensembles like the Orchestra, Concert Band and Suzanne Cory Choir, as well as small groups and a handful of amazingly talented soloists. Every year, we are absolutely blown away by just the quality of the sound the students are able to produce but this year was just something else entirely. 

It’s important to recognise that the concert was an opportunity to showcase not only the final work performed in front of the packed auditorium, rather the product of a whole semester of rehearsals. Many of these ensembles worked tirelessly in and out of school hours to refine their individual parts while practising crucial ensemble skills, not to mention the instrumental teachers who led these and inspired us during lessons and rehearsals. A special shout out to the Training Band, led and conducted by students who took the initiative to show leadership and did it with grace! 

Finally, we cannot go without thanking the very people that made all of this possible - Ms. Dimble, Mr. Hart, Mr. Mulcahy, Ms. Odgers, Ms. Morris, Ms. Washington & Mr. Merrifield. We also thank the student stage crew who were, as always, an immense asset to the smooth running of the event - no one would be able to see or hear the pure talent of our instrumentalists and vocalists without all of you. 

Can’t wait to be back for a music-packed Semester 2!

Keerthana <3

Semester One: A Music Recap!

A ton of music and enjoyment has been spent in just the first half of the school year - made exciting through a myriad of Open Mics, after-school concerts, and inter-house competitions. Here’s a quick reminder of what Suzanne Cory High School has done so far.

So easy it is to forget how much dedication, commitment, and tireless hard work went into this year’s Chorals, happening just barely two months ago. Everything had high stakes and an even higher budget (peep the elevated drumkit and neon lights), as another generation of student musicians took the stage and showed us we’re formidable outside the academic scene, too. Hopefully, our younger year levels took 2024’s amazing performances as inspiration for what they can get into for the future, and that whoever takes up the mantle of music leadership will be encouraged to rock the school and keep the competition fierce.

We’ve had our iconic, annual Open Mics, such as Valentines and LOTE - both of which went super well! Also, we’ve sprinkled some Teacher Open Mics, Disney performances, and many other performing opportunities along the way (maybe in the coming years, we could have more? wink wink).

Besides the wondrous Winter Concert we had just a few weeks ago, SCHS also had the pleasure of flaunting the musical prowess of our talented VCE Music students who gave us a stunning recital this 5th of June. From repertoire pianists and violinists to contemporary bands of all kinds, truly, our school’s musical identity is passionate, diverse, and always striving for excellence (in style!)

Here’s to our thriving music community within the school, and a grateful bow from your proud Whole School Music Captains (Keerthana and I) who are so thankful for having such a motivated, excited, and welcoming community who welcomes our excitement.

Take care!

Zaeena Dimog (R7) (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Sports Update

This term has been jam packed with events, making it an exciting period for all involved. We began with Active April, in which Rothwell emerged victorious, setting a high standard for the term. Following this, we moved onto Cross Country, where the participation was amazing to see, particularly from our VCE and IB students. Kororoit claimed victory in this event.

Throughout the term, we also ran soccer matches on the synthetics every Monday. The grand final for soccer will take place next term, featuring a showdown between Rothwell and Cottrell. In addition, GBA, our Year 12 basketball competition, has been a highlight of this term. The final, happening today, will see Cottrell and Blackwood competing. The last round of the GBA will occur next term, and we can all look forward to an All-Stars game.

On the 25th of June, the physical push-up challenge took place, with Kororoit winning by an impressive margin of 101 more push-ups. The final winner of the push-up challenge will be announced next term. Our next senior sport event is Netball, which will be held on the outdoor courts.

As we approach the announcement of leadership positions, we encourage anyone interested or with questions to reach out to any of us – Alesha, Nathanael, Fredy, Gregor, Sam, or myself.

We also want to take this moment to congratulate all our interschool teams. They’ve all put in an amazing effort, attending all the training sessions and participating to the best of their abilities. 

We are grateful for the immense participation this term and hope to see this enthusiasm carried forward into the next.

Keerat Sidhu R8

SRC Report

Hi everyone! 

Throughout a busy second term, the SRC representatives have been hard at work to create lunchtime competitions, fundraisers and events to make everyday school life a little more exciting!

Our year 11 SRCs have been busy leading the CCC (Cultural Celebrations Committee), who held their mask making competition earlier this term, which saw some truly elaborate designs being created by participants. We love to see so much engagement in these events to help raise cultural awareness at our school! The CCC has not wasted any time moving on to their next event though, with the Henna Stalls running as part of LOTE week for the second year in a row. After its huge success last year among all students, we are sure that it will be a hugely popular event once again.

In week 8 of this term, the year 12s finally had their long-awaited formal, which the year 12 SRCs had been planning for all year. The night was truly spectacular and everyone looked amazing! We had loads of fun on the night with energetic dancing, hundreds of photos and the unforgettable awards presentations. We want to thank everyone who came, both teachers and students, as well as the award nominees for putting themselves out there, you truly made the night a hit! We would also like to thank all students who participated in the formal video which the year 12 SRCs filmed for 2 weeks leading up to formal. We can’t wait to premiere the final video at open forum in week 2 next term.

Earlier this term, our year 10 SRCs took inspiration from last year's highly successful event, the Basketball Fundraiser, where we had 32 students participating in a round robin tournament where teams paid to play in order to raise money. We had immense support from student spectators as well as some very kind student helpers who volunteered to referee the games. As per the donation choice of the winning team, $96 was raised and donated to Cancer Council Australia. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Last but certainly not least, the year 9 SRCs hosted their first independent event this week with the Blindfolded Taste Testing Competition, where teams of year 9s, 10s and 11s put their senses to the test in order to try to guess each food. We were so glad to see such avid engagement from the junior year levels and a huge congratulations to the year 9 SRCs on hosting such a successful first event!

As always, the SRC hopes everyone has a relaxing holiday. Stay safe and can’t wait to see everyone back again next term!

New Writers Collective

New Writers Collective (NWC) is a writing program for live performance program that supports young women, female-identifying, non-binary and trans-people between the ages of 14 to 21. Six of our students, Chloe Wang, Ash Mukherjee, Avani Malali, Namira Aziz, Joann Manoj Jacob and Keerthana Karthik were accepted into the program, which included 5 fortnightly workshops working alongside professional playwrights to write and develop a play. Following the end of their workshops, a professional director and actors performed a public presentation of excerpts of their plays as a moved reading for a live audience at The Channel, Arts Centre Melbourne. Well done to our talented playwrights!

VCE AME Excustion to Blindside Gallery

 Unit 2 & 4 Art Making students visted various galleries to research into thematic exhibitions and the presentation, conservation and care of artworks.

Below are photos of students engaged in the interactive components of the current exhibition at the Blindside Gallery.

Mimmalisa Trifilo

Starcrossed's first ever single

Hey Suzanne Cory!

We’re Starcrossed, and earlier this year we got the opportunity to record some of our original songs at Don’t Poke the Bear Studios with Mr Mulcahy. We’re super excited to announce that our first ever single “Ecstasy” is releasing on the 13th of July. 

It’ll be out on all streaming platforms so check it out!!

For more updates follow our instagram @starxcrssed

Thank you!!

- Starcrossed