School Community

Whole School Assembly

Monday the 9th of September the whole school gathered for an assembly. We heard from School Captains, awards and certificates were presented and we enjoyed a music from number from students.   Will Ellis, a current year 12 student delivered the below speech to the entire school. 

Year 12s were presented with a English)SAC topic of a 2024 news item. 

Will chose to address the self-sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell. 

If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war.”

Ray Bradbury wrote in his 1953 fiction novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’, of a dystopian future surrounding the extreme acceleration of entertainment, illustrating a worrying depiction of a world which strikes similar chords to that of our own. This quote paints a picture which is scarily possible for us to achieve, one in which the NEWS tells us stories of a world completely inaccurate to the one we reside in. The NEWS is merely another tool of the ruling class that’s used to misinform the public, requiring a more actively critical and questioning attitude to consuming what we’re told by the media. Modern day media has a vested interest in viewer retention, this ultimately culminates in an ever-changing news cycle unable to stand still due to transnational corporate funding.  And the story of Aaron Bushnell is one which displays this reality. 

Aaron Bushnell was a serviceman in the United States Air Force, before he took his life via self-immolation on the 25th of February 2024, while protesting the United States’ support for the Palestinian genocide at the hands of their colonizers. Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire, it is one of— if not the most – extreme act of protest that's bound to be cemented in the history books. You may have never heard of this story despite its major cultural significance and you will not be at fault as this story had a shelf life of roughly a week before discussions were focused elsewhere by major NEWS outlets. 

NEWS to the common-folk is gospel; there is often very little analysis of highlighted issues, because, “it’s the news”.  It’s a common adage relying on a socially created false-authority. Simply, the news is not god, or some ever-reliable outlet of information, it’s created, presented— by and for humans; human error will always be a factor at play regardless of how unbiased an outlet may want to present themselves. At the end of the day, the NEWS provides a major platform for a message to be shared; say a large wealthy company had an idea they want shared around the general populus. If you spin a news story to talk about something financially beneficial to a major company, host emotionally charged debate painting the opposite side as a caricature of their true self, you suddenly have a large majority of people advocating for ideas that benefit those who pay.

More importantly than increasing the wealth of the already rich, the presentation in which the news is presented breeds subservience and reduces the ability for people to effectively analyse news. The presentation of the news in most Overton Window channels— that being the window of acceptable discourse— is characterised by: a monotone presentation, a lack of emotions, yet while still overtly biased in only a human way, it is still presented as an unbiased recounting of information. The way in which the news is presented is vital to understanding its critique. In our world of dystopian levels of stimulation, for a channel to stray from the overaggressive attempt to wrestle your attention into submission, the news provides a needed breath of fresh air, formal, serious, holds itself in prestige, it creates its own authority, it shouts to PAY ATTENTION without uttering a sound. This is asking the audience to listen to the news anchor, it’s an ask that actively builds subservience into a population. When you become a slave to your boss and you come home day in, day out, to listen to the “important television person” tell you everything else is bad. They are actively harming you; they are telling you to look away from the real issues, they ask that you ignore the reality of the situation, and care that an “AFL star rocked by devastating family tragedy – 7NEWS”, ignore the climate, ignore the shackles around your wrists and ankles… oh that? It’s nothing, oh but here, ignore all that, did you know “Abraham Lincoln statue melts in Washington DC heat – 9NEWS” … shh, hey its ok, listen up. 

Furthermore, the video format is simply incompatible with the purpose the news attempts and needs to serve. Simplistically the purpose of the news is to transfer information on an event from one brain to another, meaning it is critical to reduce the bias and nuance within the presented news which may inhibit some people being able to understand the information being presented to them. Yet when you add external unnecessary influence that primarily comes with the package of video, your message gets diluted into inefficacy.

CONCERNED CITIZEN LISTENING TO MY SPEECH:

Oh, Will, the wise and great. For if not the channel x NEWS, where shall I go to obtain my information? 

ME:

Oh ‘CONCERNED CITIZEN LISTENING TO MY SPEECH’, why you are so intelligent, not only listening to my sayings but engaging with them in thought too. I’d recommend to find detailed reports on situations from specialists in the field regarding information you find important. 

CC:

But oh, Will, I can’t understand that, for you see I tried to ere the language is too difficult to understand. 

Well, ‘CONCERNED CITIZEN’ that’s an attitude a lot of people approach this issue with, and even becomes the main argument to keep it, being channel news “increases accessibility for people to stay up to date with the world”. Yet— following from before— why does it matter? The idea is that as a participating member of society you MUST engage with topical news segments to effectively engage with society. Why? Small talk has an understandable reason through evolutionary psychology, yet I don’t remember in history class when the cavepeople would talk about Kylie Jenner’s outfit she wore to the Met Gala. Developing your literacy skills beyond schooling is an important skill you’re taught to believe is not, more specialised and revolutionary ideas are not written in laymen’s terms, however in specialised hyper-specific language, thus involving yourself in a field of interest can lead to understanding new concepts that can possibly alter how you perceive the world after taking time to learn the skills needed.

Will Ellis Yr 12. 

Oympic Week - Basketball Shoot out. 

On the Tuesday of the Olympic week at DVC, we had a basketball shootout. It was lots of fun we won chocolates and had a really good time. When it first started, we had a warmup afterwards we played a game of continuous knockout. 

We played against some year twelves; they unfortunately beat us all. At the end when it was a 1v1, the balls were lined up and the year twelves ran from the base line to half court when you run back you shot the ball if you got it in you won.

It was a great activity instead of a normal lunchtime, my friends and I had a great time. I hope we get to do this again soon.

Brodie 7.4

On Monday 5th of August, the SRC held an egg and spoon race to start off the Olympic week full of activities. We had to try to balance a plastic ping pong ball "egg" on a wooden spoon we held in our mouths and race against other students and the prize was some delicious chocolate coins! Emily 74

Library News 

This month, the DVC Library had the fantastic opportunity to present Phillip Gwynne to the Year 8 students. Phillip Gwynne is a prolific Australian author, and the author of Deadly, Unna? This book has been studied in high schools since the early 2000s, and the Year 8 classes studying it this year were fortunate enough to hear the author talk about his life, AFL, and writing. It was such a great experience and I hope everyone enjoyed it and got something valuable out of it!

We’re also coming to the end of the Premier’s Reading Challenge, and it’s been great to see so many students give it a real go! The fun doesn’t end there though; the DVC Library Year 7 and 8 Reading Challenge is running until the end of the year, who’s going to be the student that reads the most books in 2024??

Art Department 

The staff at Diamond Valley College are thrilled to share the vibrant success of the Artsbridge Junior Art Exhibition 2024! This year's exhibition was a dazzling celebration of young artistic talent, showcasing the creativity and imagination of our emerging artists. From innovative paintings to captivating sculptures, the range of works displayed was nothing short of inspiring.

A heartfelt thank you to all the young artists who poured their hearts into their pieces, and to the families and teachers who supported and encouraged them. Your dedication has truly shone through in this year’s exhibition.

We were honoured to witness the incredible range of artistic expression, with each piece reflecting a unique perspective and voice. The judges had a tough job selecting the standout works, but the results were well worth it. Congratulations to Jasmin Dabrowski for winning 2nd Prize in the Upper Secondary, Ashley Fischer for winning 1st Prize in the Middle School & Sophie Hoang for winning 2nd Prize in the Secondary.

Food Donation for Diamond Valley Foodshare

Last week the SRC asked the whole school to bring non-perishable food items. At the end of the week, the SRC would which home group collected the most items of food and they would win a pizza lunch. We gave all the food items to Diamond Valley Foodshare and they were extremely grateful. As a school we collected lots of food items but the home group that raised the most nonperishable food items was 7.4 with an amazing 220 items. Well done 7.4 and a huge thank you to everyone who donated.

 Written by Allira Year 7