Senior School News
Congratulations to our Year 12 Class of 2025!
Term 4 has seen a lot of ‘lasts’ for this cohort as they celebrate their final weeks of schooling.
Their last First Day of Term, their last Staff vs Students competition, their last day of classes and, of course, their last whole school assembly where they were clapped out by the entire school and staffing body. It has been a pleasure to celebrate these milestones with this cohort and reflect on how far they’ve come in their schooling journeys.
Now, it is time for those doing exams to face that final challenge, while others are stepping into the workforce or further study.
We congratulate the Class of 2025 on a wonderful year and wish them all the best.
Year 12 Celebration Day
VCE VM Year in Review
The VCE VM students had an extremely successful year in 2025 within the applied learning space. Year 11 and 12 students participated in a number of engaging activities throughout the year, which included:
-Self-defence lessons
-The very successful and ever growing “Market Day”
-Contribution to the success of Swimming & Athletics carnivals
-RSA & Food Handling certificates
- First Aid certificates
- Building water rockets and model F1 cars & tracks
- Careers Expo
- Community projects
- Excursions to the:
o F1 Grand Prix
o Queen Victoria Markets
o Trade and Tech Fit expo
o Victoria Trades Hall Council
o Wetlands walks
o Industry Visits
o Frankston Courts
o Frankston Art Tour
o Melbourne Scavenger Hunt
o 1000 Steps Kokoda Trail
o Local Primary School
o Movies
Several of our students were successful in obtaining school-based apprenticeships (SBAT) through Head Start with some moving into full-time apprenticeships to pursue their passions. With a successful completion rate of 100% from our graduating Year 12 cohort it is fantastic to see that the success of the Patterson River Secondary College VCE VM program is producing positive outcomes for our students. The number of students in the VCE VM program for 2026 is at a record high and we can’t wait to pursue even more engaging activities throughout the year ahead!
Mr Cashmore
VCE VM Coordinator
Year 10 Individualised Health
Over the past two months, Year 10 Individualised Health students have explored shopping and cooking on a budget as part of their Consumer Science unit. Armed with a $50 weekly grocery limit, students navigated the aisles of Aldi, Coles and Woolworths in search of the best deals, quickly realising that sticking to a budget is tougher than it looks! Most agreed that Aldi offered the best value overall.
After gaining insight into smart shopping and the true cost of food, students took part in a healthy cooking on a budget session. In the Food Studies kitchen, they prepared a delicious spaghetti bolognaise and apple crumble, with each serve costing $2.50 or less.
As we all sat down to enjoy their creations, students reflected on the valuable life skills they have gained that will serve them well in the future.
World Challenge Sri Lanka
Last term a group of 16 of us, as well as Ms Blackburne and Mr Walton, were lucky enough to go on World Challenge to Sri Lanka. World Challenge aims to provide young people with opportunities to develop leadership, become global citizens by contributing to a community and challenging us via trekking and leading the trip. Our journey started in Negombo, but we later travelled all around the country to Kandy and Galle.
Getting to work within a local community was engaging and rewarding experience. We helped by planting trees to assist with the reforestation of the area which was important to the Sri Lankan people. We learnt about how they are self-sufficient, growing much of their food and only using seasonal produce. This allowed us to help in their community gardens, planting different vegetables. Some of us even got really muddy and experienced what it is like to plant rice in a paddy field. Despite the heat and what seemed like a never-ending trail of bugs and leeches, we made sure to make the most of our once in a lifetime experience in the community.
During this time in the community, we also engaged in both a volleyball and cricket match amongst the locals. There was plenty of banter from both sides and despite the language barrier, the smiles and laughter from both sides made the final results of both games irrelevant, it was about being one community.
Seeing Sri Lankan culture up close was amazing. It was interesting exploring the city and participating in activities such as cultural dance night, river cruise, markets, try our hand at stilt fishing and visiting sacred temples. It allowed us to all get closer as a team and fully immerse ourselves in their incredible culture. We were also fortunate enough to visit a local school. We had a blast interacting with the kids and through our fundraising efforts here at school, we were able to provide them with school supplies and a large portable speaker for their assemblies. The kids welcomed us with open arms, sung us songs and some of us were even lucky enough to be given drawings from the students. This was a highlight for many and made us realise how lucky we are here in Australia.
The trek phases were challenging on a variety of levels. For some it was the physical nature whilst for others it was the endless leech hunt. Adams Peak was our first challenge which was a climb of over 5000 steps to the summit. This required a 5am start in the dark while the rain continued to fall. After 5hours of climbing with the last kilometre of steep narrow steps, we were literally in the clouds. As they cleared for a few minutes, the sense of achievement was felt by looking at the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. Waterfalls running down the side of rock faces and views of the amazing mountains.
Our second trek was in Knuckles National Park which once again provided us with challenging moments. We headed off from the starting point to an amazing view point of the national park where, of course, we stopped for photos before headed on the journey to our camping spot. Lots of conversations occurred on the walk as it passed the time. Arriving at our camp site we were greeted by some lovely Sri Lankan people who later that night taught us traditional Sri Lankan stories through songs and dance. Day two saw us walk through a variety of terrains and villages, battling the leeches once again but once again seeing some breath-taking views.
We would recommend this journey of World Challenge to anyone who wants to grow and develop as a person, build your leadership and experience the world. It is one of the best things we have ever done in our lives and showed us how lucky we are to love where we live and have what we have. We will never forget all the amazing memories and laughs we shared as a team. If the opportunity comes your way, step out of your comfort zone and apply. You will have the time of your life and you don’t know what you are missing out on.
~ 2025 World Challenge Team
