Academic Excellence & Extension @ McClelland College
Visit to Amazon
Earlier this month, a group of Year 9 to 12 students from McClelland College were invited to the Amazon Head Office in Melbourne for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes experience at one of the world’s most influential tech companies.
Hosted by members of Amazon’s corporate team, the visit offered valuable insights into the inner workings of the tech industry—from Data Analytics, Cloud Computing to Innovation, leadership, Software Development and the future of AI. Students participated in interactive sessions, heard from professionals across departments, and learned about the wide range of career paths available at Amazon.
In addition to learning about the industry, students were challenged to solve real-life problems and develop their own innovative solutions. Working in teams alongside industry professionals, they engaged in STEM-related, future-thinking activities that showcased the power of creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in solving global challenges.
We’re incredibly proud of how our students rose to the occasion and represented McClelland College with enthusiasm, curiosity, and professionalism. A huge thank you to Amazon Australia for providing such an inspiring and transformative learning experience.
Ms Richo.
The QV Viral Enigma Excursion
The day was split into 3 sessions, each filled with story based activities that were placed in chronological order. For the first session of the day, everyone paired up and conducted computer generated pandemic simulations, using a zombie virus game. This was the start of the Q virus storyline, when a news reporter described the virus as a flu-like virus. This led into period 2, when it was announced that 90% of the population was infected by the virus, and that it might have been more serious than expected, our job was therefore to research the genetic material of viruses and find a vaccine for the virus. For the last session of the day, we all got into jumpsuits and found a cure for the Q-virus by playing a pattern recognition puzzle game that involved us arranging the positions of cubes to specific stations.
Daniel Brenchley - Year 10
Victorian Institute of Sport Excursion
Our EPP Physical Education students from Year 7 & Year 8 as well as high performing Year 10 students attended the Sports Science Program at the VIS. The students participated in an interactive session about each of the different areas of sport science and how they relate to elite athlete performance, such as physiological, performance analysis, skill acquisition and biomechanical principles.
We learnt about different parts of sport science and how they help elite athletes perform better. I really liked seeing how heat and altitude training works, especially the climate chamber. The live coding for game tactics was also pretty cool.
I enjoyed learning about how the body reacts when we exercise, like how the heart and lungs work harder. The fitness tests were fun and we talked about how they measure things like aerobic power. It was interesting to see how athletes train in different conditions.
The session covered key areas of sport science like biomechanics, skill acquisition and performance analysis. I found the part about using data for game strategies and opposition scouting really useful. The link between fitness testing and athlete performance was clear and relevant to our PE studies.
We had a tour of the VIS and the activity we did I think was related to Biomechanics. We stood on a platform one student at a time and our jump force and height was recorded. I liked learning about the V02 max test. I learnt that the mask helps measure your oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output when you exercise.