Senior Secondary

Year 10 Western District Camp

Discovering Country is the Western District (of Victoria) Indigenous Studies camp at MECS. Between Saturday 14 September - Friday 20 September, Year 10 students had a chance to visit Gariwerd (the Grampians) in Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung countries during the first half of the trip. The group also visited Portland, Budj Bim and Tower Hill in Gunditjmara country for the second half of the trip. Through this camp students were able to grow the desire and purpose to listen to Indigenous people, to learn, to respect and to tread lightly on the land.

Our time at Gariwerd (the Grampians) was filled with fun activities including Wurgarri (Mount Sturgeon) and Bainggug (The Piccaninny) hikes, flying fox, a giant swing and archery at the campsite. Students also participated in cultural sessions with Aunty Nerissa (a Jardwadjali Elder) at the campsite as well as visiting Venus Baths, Bunjil’s Shelter and Brambuk Cultural Centre. Many of the Year 10 students had shown deep interest and respect for the culture and Aunty Nerissa as she explained the importance of these sites and the Dreaming connected to the sites.

The second half of our trip involved historically important Gunditjmara sites such as Convincing Ground, Budj Bim National Park (Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, Lake Surprise and Kurtonitj) and Tower Hill Reserve. In each they heard from local Gunditjmara men. From Shea, students had a chance to learn about the conflict between whalers and local Gunditjmara people involving a massacre that occurred in the 1830s at the Convincing Ground. Then, with Reuben, they had a chance to learn about one of the world’s oldest aquaculture systems to farm and raise eels along with Gunditjmara heritage at the Budj Bim. Lastly, students learned about bush tucker and Gunditjmara tools at the Tower Hill, with Uncle Brett.

On our final day, the group drove through beautiful sunshine and intense rainfalls (Yes! They happened at the same time) to see the Great Ocean Road sites like the Grotto and the Twelve Apostles as we drove back to Mount Evelyn.

Jae Park

Secondary Teacher

Student Responses: 

One of the best parts of camp was climbing Mt Sturgeon and taking photos of the scenery. - Bo 

The cave, it was interesting and really beautiful. - Mia

As someone who has never been to the Great Ocean Road, I admired how unforgiving the ocean was. It was a great reminder of God’s power. - Naomi 

Camp was a great way to end the term as a cohort. Learning about other cultures is the best way to create a united world, and this camp gave us a great way to work towards that goal. - Zac

I enjoyed camp. I enjoyed hanging out with friends and participating in the various activities. My favourite cultural experience was Budj Bim as the tour guide was really good. - Sam

Camp was really good, it was both educational and fun. A highlight for me was Monday doing all the different activities and hanging out with friends getting to know people better in my friend group. Another highlight was the smoking ceremony on Tuesday. It was really amazing to see a traditional way of doing things and that it was a matriarchal society meaning that women were the leaders. As a whole being more comfortable within my cohort and getting to know classmates better. - Isabella

Something I enjoyed over camp was exploring the cave at Budj Bim and just taking a break from screens to enjoy nature. - Amelia

Favourites: Shea’s collection from the beach. On the beach with Shea. Shea’s dog. The big flat bit of land to play sports, and the volley trench. Budj Bim, including the tiger snakes. Mount Sturgeon hike. Halls Gap. - Sam & Joshua 

My highlight of camp was learning more about indigenous culture and being able to talk with first nations people first hand and learn about them more. It was very special to me to be opened up to their world, struggles and wishes for the future. - Bianca 

The best part of camp was the balance of scheduled activities and free time. I feel like we had enough space and time to relax in between the activities, but all the activities were really good and informative at the same time. - Euan

Discovering Country Camp was awesome! We had so much fun travelling the Grampians and Portland while hearing from passionate Indigenous people and elders. The best part for me was definitely going to Budj Bim where we learnt about how the Gunditjmara people tended to the land and their creation stories. - Meg 

I enjoyed the giant swing, and just being around my friends overall. - Jamie 

VO2 Max Incursion

On Monday 9 September the Year 12 PE class had the privilege of a session being run by Tyler from METs Performance Consulting. The students were able to participate in and witness two laboratory fitness tests – the VO2 max test, completed by Toby V, and the 30 second Wingate test, completed by Zeph K.  

The VO2 max test is an extremely accurate test of aerobic power that is often used by elite athletes and sporting organisations. It involves the athlete using a bike, treadmill or rowing machine to incrementally increase their intensity until they reach exhaustion and the maximum amount of oxygen that the athlete can take in, transport and use is measured. Toby completed this test on behalf of the class on a bike and achieved a strong result of 53.4 ml/kg/min. This excellent result places him in the top 10% of testing norms for his age and gender.  

Zeph also had an excellent result generating a peak power output of 856 watts in the Wingate test, which was also in the top 10% of norms for age and gender. A great result for both students!

Throughout the testing students were asked questions to link their understanding of the Unit 3 & 4 PE content to the practical experience of these lab tests. It was a very beneficial experience in helping students gain a deeper and more hands-on understanding of the PE content.

Emma Tresidder

​​​​​VCE Coordinator & Secondary Teacher

Year 12 Analytical Chemistry Excursion

At the end of Term 3, our Year 12 Chemistry students had the opportunity to visit the Yarra Ranges Tech School and utilize High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and specialised science equipment to detect and measure paraben levels in commercial cosmetics. They also engaged in discussions about the characteristics of poisonous substances. Parabens, a group of chemicals commonly utilized in various cosmetic products, serve to inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold. Despite their widespread use in Australia, these chemicals have raised concerns due to their potential estrogen-mimicking effects. Our students had a wonderful time analysing the different cosmetics and it was a wonderful way to finish off their Chemistry curriculum before they head into revision for the end of year exams.

Emma Allison

Secondary Teaching & Learning Coordinator & Science Faculty Leader

Year 11 Formal Dance Practice

Over the past few weeks, our Year 11 students have been stepping (pun intended) outside their comfort zones and participating in some professional ballroom dance lessons in preparation for their Formal. 

It has been a delight to watch the students progress so quickly from the early awkward attempts and lots of giggling, to perfecting the moves in unison. They have learned three progressive dance routines which will be performed for family and friends on the evening of the Formal. These dance lessons are always a wonderful opportunity for the students to connect more as a year level as due to the progressive nature of the dances, they are required to dance with everyone in their class. 

Amelia Koole​​​​​

Senior Secondary, VET & Careers Coordinator