Secondary News

The 3 R’s

First, the traditional idea of a school education is to learn the ‘3 Rs’ – reading, writing and arithmetic. Second, students and staff have just returned from the mid-year break.  

What’s the connection between these two statements? 

Using the concept of the 3 R’s and applying it to school holidays we can come up with ‘Relaxing, Recharging, and Reflecting’. Each of these terms aptly fits the concept of a holiday. The Collins Dictionary defines a holiday as: “a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation”.  

When I ask Secondary students what they did for their holidays I inevitably get the following common replies: “slept in a lot”, “just hung around with friends”, “went away to …usually a place where it was warmer than Melbourne in winter", “worked”, and “nothing in particular”.  Aligning their responses to the ‘3 R’s’ of school holidays, ‘relaxing’ certainly features, as does ‘recharging’.  

When our time is NOT spent full of the usual routine and perhaps stressful situations, the mind and body both have the opportunity to relax and recharge. But what about ‘reflecting’? None of the student answers above seem to suggest that this type of ‘R’ was relevant to them. Surely a break taken from work or studies provides everyone with the opportunity to undertake some ‘reflecting’, right?  

The ability to reflect involves thinking deeply or carefully about something. It is best done in moments away from the business of life – like during school holidays. At the end of Term 2, students received their mid-year progress report. To what extent did Secondary students ‘reflect’ on their results and feedback from teachers? Did they represent ‘the very best I can do’ (Maximise Learning) or a part of the way there, or even a fairly mediocre effort?  What life lessons can be learnt from this feedback and what can be done to rectify any current weaknesses or lack of effort (Responsibility)? Two components of the Bayside Way that we are all familiar with.

Current Years 8-10 students are spending time reflecting on all 2025 subject course information they received at last Thursday’s Secondary Pathways Expo and during further discussion at the Years 9-10 1:1 Subject Selection Interviews on Wednesday night this week. A part of reflection is to aim to make wise and informed choices about the future whilst learning from the mistakes or experiences of the past. Our hope in Secondary is for all our students to be in the right educational pathway that suits their unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities, as they seek God’s purpose for their lives. We pray for wisdom to make the right decisions before submitting their final subject choices by this Friday 2 August.     

Reflection is an important part of life and is a healthy exercise to undertake on a regular basis, be it to think deeply or carefully about school report results, what school life could look like in 2025, or even ongoing spiritual health. In the Bible, the book of James provides words of wisdom in this regard;

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing”.

James 1:22-25

Now that school holidays are over and Term 3 has already begun, I encourage us all to make it a habit to find time to recharge, relax, and to reflect on what’s important. These are all powerful ‘R’s’.

God Bless,

Mr James Kumnick, Head of Secondary

2025 Year 12 Jackets

Orders Close Thursday 22 August 2024

It is our custom to permit students in Year 12 to wear a Bayside “Bomber” Jacket during non-formal occasions in their final year.  Jackets can be purchased through the “Reform Clothing” website.  

Each jacket is custom made so it is important to check the size guide prior to ordering (see Reform Clothing’s T&Cs on their website).  Some sample sizes are available for you to try on.  These are available in North Reception during recess and lunchtime until Friday 9 August.

Mrs Heather George, Secondary Administration

SIS Teen Chef

On August 1st Bayside was represented by 4 students in Year 10 at the SIS Teen Chef Competition. Joey, Tom, Anabelle and Asha did an incredible job at producing their chosen dishes of 'Salmon and Citrus Salad' and 'Lemon and Passionfruit Torte'. Students received fantastic feedback by the judges from the Australian Culinary Federation. 

Participants are monitored throughout their cooking in the kitchen from their hygiene, bench organisation and teamwork to the balance of flavours and final dish presentation, all while being unable to converse with their school teacher or staff member. A big well done to the students involved.

Indonesian Day 2024

Indonesian Day this year has been made possible with the help of the Indonesian Consulate General, represented by the Indonesian Consul of Information, Education and Culture and its Staff. The day was successful, students enjoyed and immersed themselves in learning the Indonesian culture. Below are a few comments from the Indonesian students.

"Every year, Indonesian Day shows us a small part of the culture that Indonesia has to offer, and it’s always amazing. I would recommend that anyone and everyone join Indonesian and participate in Indonesian Day!" - Jayda Ryall

"Indonesia Day was a great and informative experience about Indonesian culture. It was fun and inclusive, my personal favourite was the Saman dance." - Abbey Calder

"Indonesian Day was an immersive and one-of-a-kind experience. With many new learning opportunities, I enjoyed it. My favourite part of it all was the cooking, it was great." - Sienna Devenish

"Indonesian Day was so amazing we had lots of fun and learnt many new things about the Indonesian culture in dance, music and cooking. we played Waltzing Matilda, Over the Rainbow and Love Story on Angklungs. The pandan cake tasted delicious." - Orielle Anderson

"As someone who has always been interested in language and culture, I thoroughly enjoyed Indonesian Day this year. My favourite activity was angklung, a traditional bamboo instrument." - Ava Harris

"The whole day was filled with fun activities and great cultural learning opportunities. Everyone had a great time trying new things and having a good time!" - Isaac Kidney

"Indonesian Day was a great chance to dive into a different culture, we learned: the Tari Saman dance and  how to play lots of songs on the Angklung." - Lucy Pistone

"I found the Indonesian dance, Tari Saman, fun, interesting, and engaging.  I loved how there was a pattern in the dance, and it all came together wonderfully." - Jasmine Versteegen

The Indonesian Department

SIS Junior Girls Netball 

Congratulations to the junior girl’s netball team, finishing equal 2nd this year in the SIS competition. The girls played a fantastic brand of team orientated netball which helped all players have some fun and success on the court. Team members for the season were: 

Tahlia Curtis Morris

Summer Zwiersen

Brielle Holbrook

Adiel Shelling

Taya Thexton

Tahlia Peel

Emily Buchanan

Amy Jones

Felicity Kinna-Tillbrook

Elise Hallam

Indi Walsh

Maycee Hookem

Marlee Glenton

Rebekah Wilkinson

 Mr Peter Zwiersen, Secondary PE Teacher

Health and Human Development (Unit 1)

The class read and discussed their findings from their 'Youth Health Issue' SACs. The Year 10 students explored a range of important and preventable health concerns such as vaping, alcohol and drug use, overweight and underweight, and gambling. 

Mrs Rachelle Cooper, Secondary Teacher

Year 12 VM Literacy

Senior Literacy students presented entertaining and engaging workshops to their peers to meet an important outcome for their studies. We learnt how to service a car, care for a horse and our own hair, and how to take a professional looking photo - to name a few!

VM Winter Shelter

Our Years 11 & 12 VM students have helped pack up and set up the winter shelter beds this term. This wonderful program gives people a safe and comfortable place to sleep during the winter months and it is an honour for our students to be able to volunteer their time and enthusiasm to bless this sensational initiative of Peninsula City Church.

VM Tree Planting and Plastic Recycling

The Year 12 VM students participate in community engagement projects as a part of their studies. They’re running a food drive later this term for the amazing Pantry Plus program at Peninsula City Church and are also participating in sustainability activities at school. They recently planted local eucalypts in our Indigenous zone and cleaned and sorted plastic lids for our recycling program.

Term 2 Compassion Community Market

Our Years 10, 11 & 12 VM students ran stalls at the ‘Winter Wonderland Community Market’ at the end of last term. They were able to raise just over $600 for our Compassion teenagers, Riri and Anton. 

We are in the process of sponsoring another person from Indonesia after Krisna graduated from the Compassion program earlier this year. A huge thank you goes out to the many people who helped with the market and to Justin Mason for his tireless efforts setting up and packing up.

Mr Ken Berry, VM Coordinator

Weights Shed

In Week 1 of this term after much effort and hard work, Year 10 student Hayden Chester broke the school bench press record with 115KG. The old school bench record for students in the weight shed belonged to Mr Goschnick when he was a Year 12 student at Bayside back in 2015 with 112.5KG. With Hayden still only being in Year 10, he still has years to continue to build on his record and raise the standard for students that follow him to chase. Great effort Hayden!