Teaching and Learning
Food Technology Spotlight
This term, the second half of our Year 8 classes participated in Food Technology for the first time this year. As always, students were enthusiastic to start cooking and were keen to taste the delicious food they made. Early in the term, the year 8s learned about knife safety and completed a safety module before any cooking. Students made pinwheel pizzas and fluffy pancakes in their first few weeks of cooking.
Our Year 11 students looked at the environmental impacts of meat production and investigated consumer food trends such as eating less meat. We created a ‘meat free’ version of the winter warmer ‘Cottage Pie’. Year 11 students also learned about how the processing and manufacturing industry play a vital role in the Australian food system. Students made a peach pie, demonstrating the benefits of using canned fruit when fresh fruit is not seasonally available.
Humanities Spotlight
In Term 2, the two classes of Year 12 Business Management classes went on an excursion visiting two local businesses for a guided educational tour of the facilities as part of their Operations Management unit. We first visited Alex Fraser Recycled Construction Materials in Epping, which is one of Australia's leading manufacturers of construction materials like cement and bitumen, and the producer of the materials used to build some major roads in our area such as Epping Rd. After lunch at Epping Plaza, we then had another guided tour of the Mantra Hotel in Epping, where we were shown around the different parts of the hotel like the dining and conference areas, as well as the rooms with city views ready for clients to enjoy. We loved spending the day experiencing the daily operations in real world businesses. Some students also enquired about potential future work opportunities at these businesses!
English Spotlight
On the 28th of July, year 10 students attended an incursion to help strengthen their understanding of the play Macbeth, which students are currently studying. The Australian Shakespeare Company performed key scenes from the play, helping to unpack what it meant and why it was so important. They also had student volunteers play the role of key characters like King Duncan and the three witches, creating an engaging atmosphere for students.
Thank you to all students who were present and who showed respect to our guests. And a special thank you to those who performed. Year 10 students will now use this knowledge to help with their analytical essay CAT later in Term 3.
Visual Arts Spotlight
Year 9 - Behind the Lens
The Year 9 Behind the Lens photography classes exploring still life photography. Students experimented with composition, lighting and perspective to create considered photographic studies of everyday objects.
Year 11 - Art Making and Exhibiting
The Year 11 AME class exploring the process of making paper from pulp. Students experimented with handmade paper as a creative surface for their painting and illustration pieces, developing an understanding of how materials and processes can influence their artworks.
Heide Excursion
Our VCE Art students enjoyed an inspiring excursion to Heide Museum of Modern Art! Students explored the Tucker Gallery, Heide Cottage and the Brassaï exhibition through guided tours, asking thoughtful questions and gaining valuable insights into the art of curation. A fantastic day of learning and artistic discovery was had!
National Tree Planting Day
Friday the 24th of July marked National School Tree Day.
Planet Ark's National Tree Day started in 1996 and has grown into Australia's largest community tree planting and nature care event. Led by teacher Grace McKerras, eighteen ECSC students made their way to bunjil nganga Parkland to get their hands dirty and give back to the community, contributing to the goal to plant over 50,000 trees along the hill tops connecting Wollert, Mill Park and Mernda.
With a group of year 7 students utilising their mapping skills, our group made its way through the suburbs of Wollert before arriving at the base of the hill leading up to Historical Trig Point and Eagle Lookout. After a 2 kilometer trek up the hillside, the groups arrived at the site. We were greeted by 3 members of the Whittlesea Council who explained how we were helping to restore forty four hectares of habitat which would provide essential food and shelter for endangered native species including the gang-gang cockatoo and tussock skink. As we began our planting, bunjil - the Wedgetailed Eagle flew overhead, floating on the wind, watching on as we worked to rebuild the habitat once cleared for agriculture.
The project is a three-year effort to restore former farmland to native woodland and grassland, with 50,000 trees to be planted over that time. We planted the trees in, fitted guards around them and watered them before heading back to school. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about local ecosystems, get involved in a community project, and make a real environmental impact.
Thank you to the students who joined us, our Student Curriculum Leaders and those nominated for their hard work in class. A big thank you as well to our year 10 students who joined us, you were a great support.
Student Curriculum Leader Snapshot
Abbie M - Humanities Leader
Abbie is a student in ECSC’s inaugural SEAL class. As one of our Humanities Student Leaders, Abbie was selected to join us on National Tree Planting Day. While the cold and uphill climb were challenging, Abbie believes that excursions such as this help students to understand the topics learnt within our classroom and thinks that these hands-on experiences are important to school life. Alongside her participation in multiple interschool sporting teams, Abbie looks forward to participating in more excursions and extracurricular events that will help her form connections between her interests and the world around her.
PAT Testing
Across week 3 of term 3 our year 7 and 9 students completed PAT testing for both Maths and Reading.
What is the purpose of these tests?
These particular tests are adaptive. Adaptive testing is a type of test that adjusts to each child's level as they go. If a child answers a question correctly, the next question may be a little more challenging. If they find a question difficult, the test gives an easier one. This helps identify what the child knows and what they are ready to learn next, without giving lots of questions that are too easy or too hard.
Because the test adapts to each student, it provides a more accurate picture of their current Maths and Reading skills, including their strengths and gaps. Teachers will work together to use the results to celebrate progress, identify any areas where extra support is needed, and plan learning that best meets each child's needs. For our Year 9 students, we can also measure how much they have grown in the last 12 months.
Hasn’t my child already taken PAT tests this year?
Yes, they have! You may have noticed on their Semester reports that some year levels completed PAT Linear tests at the beginning of the year- these tests are static and help us to see where students are at compared to their age-expected level. We then use this early data to adjust our planning for the cohort. We do provide individual feedback so that students and families understand where each student is beginning the year.
Can my child fail a PAT test?
The test is not about passing or failing. It is simply a tool that helps teachers understand where each student is in their development and how to support their continued growth. All we ask is that every student takes the testing seriously and tries their best, to ensure we have accurate data to work with.
When will I know my child’s results?
Once the results have been analysed, they will be sent home via Compass under your child’s Learning Tasks.
Homework Club
Homework Club offers additional support to students as they revise, catch up on missed learning tasks or seek further help to understand key concepts. It has been fantastic to see an increase in students attending our Homework Club each Monday after school, and we encourage all students across years 7 - 12 to take advantage of this opportunity.
Please see the details in the flyer below.
