VM News
Year 12 VCE VM Students - Leadership Day at St Kilda Football Club
On Monday 29th April, senior VCE VM students caught a train to the RSEA Park in Moorabbin, to experience a day which was hosted by St Kilda Football Club. Our current School and House Captains underwent leadership and teamwork training to assist them with their roles this year.
“On Monday, the 29th of April, The McClelland College leadership team went to the St Kilda Football Club. The opportunity was great, and we learned how to be leaders based on our life experiences. We did interesting quizzes to discover our strengths and weaknesses and found out that my top strength was my love of learning. We were all grateful to the St Kilda FC for giving us a tour of their wonderful facilities, for speaking with us and for giving us leadership advice. We are very excited to share with our school, some new and improved, student VS teacher activities, which were developed by our MCC leaders on the day.”
Ruby G (Yellow House Captain
WHAT HAPPENED IN VM PROGRAM FOR TERM 2…SO far!
FRINGE ARTS FESTIVAL
The VM team hit the ground running in Week 1, kicking off with the opening night of the FRINGE ARTS FESTIVAL. As part of Unit 3, Personal Development Skills, students showcased their interpretations of social awareness through researching and developing creative responses that surrounds diversity, understanding different perspectives, empathy, contributions to society, relationships, and considerations of social, cultural, and ethical norms. The night was symbolic of weeks of hard work which highlighted students’ interpersonal skills to support effective and respectful interactions with each other, which included verbal and non-verbal communication, collaboration, negotiation, conflict resolution, decision making and leadership. The night was a huge success as many parents, friends and teachers made comments around the high quality of work, creative thinking, and abstract interpretations! Well-done to all Year 12 VM students.
“This concept, made us think quite deeply about how technology over the years, have improved and how it has affected people within society. All the artworks took weeks to complete, and the hard work paid off, it was a very successful night! We took this topic to express how we saw the world and the Fringe Festival evening, brought everyone together highlighted that we all had in common. Future generations will be heavily impacted if we continue to behave irresponsibly”
Rylee Young-Mora
BUDDY PROGRAM
In Week 1, 2, and 3 saw the start of the Buddy Program, a program that was first launched in 2023, as part of Unit 1, Personal Development Skills. In response to the VCAA guidelines, students explored concepts of health and wellbeing for individuals and groups, and the factors that affect wellbeing in young people. The Buddy Program embodies the characteristics of an inclusive and cohesive response to how they can contribute to the wider school community. In preparation for the Buddy Program, Year 11 VM students designed, implemented, and evaluated purposeful activities, that their Year 7 buddy would enjoy and hopefully make a friend in Year 11, that would 'have their back' in the future.
VM Success story
Kirsten Caljouw graduated from the VCAL space in 2021. In 2023, she was successful in gaining employment with BlueScope Australia, working as a Process/Machine Operator. Kristen has continued her training and has achieved her heavy vehicle and crane license and is currently the Health Safety Representative for her BlueScope crew. Kristen attributes a lot of success to being able to ‘stick it out’ at McClelland due to the relationships she had with her teachers and the value she gained from the applied approach to her learning. Kristen continues to pop in the VM office to say hello and pickup sister, Jenna, from school in a Hilux Ute, she recently purchased. The VM team absolutely love hearing from past students, it reminds of how the applied learning program, really does make a difference to our students’ futures.
NUMERACY AND HOVVER CRAFTS
On Thursday the 18th of April, Year 12 VM Numeracy class was lucky to have Mrs Spence and Miss Lindemann visit, as students started a Numeracy CAT on hovercrafts. The students had to build a model hovercraft out of a Pop top lid, DVD, balloon, and gaffer tape. The task was to time how long the hovercraft hovered for to 3 decimal places and record their results for 10 attempts. Once completed the students were required to find the average length of time the hovercraft was hovering for, round off to the nearest hole number, find the ration, and complete a graph of results. This was a fun interactive lesson, that was hands on and met a variety of curriculum goals.
“I wish literacy and all other subjects in VM were like Numeracy - Riley N
“It was fun” - Nick A
“In maths we made small hovercrafts out of CDs, pop top lids, and balloons. It was brilliant, my class and I had so much fun making them. We were experimenting with different designs to make our hovercrafts work for longer. At the end of the class, we had a competition on who's hovercraft hovered the longest. - Ruby G
Students went on to make tracks using the exam tables in the PAC, once the track was built students then raced the RC Hovercrafts against each other around the track and record the time taken to 3 decimal places. The class recorded the results and made a bar graph using the data collected.
ADF PRESENTATION
During Week 1, students were visited by members of the Australian Defence Force. Students were engaged in a well-prepared presentation from LT Daniel O’Keeffe and CPL Dorin, who provided information about the Australian Defence Force, educating students on various career opportunities. At the end of session, there was a buzz in the room and many students are now interested in the ADF Gap Year for 2025/26.
On the 30th of April, I attended the DAP (Defence Assistance Program). It was a very exiting day as we got to see around Victoria Barracks and visited places like the officers' mess. On the day, we got a demonstration by some of the personnel such as a digger, food management and Ventia, who provided mailing, the Q store, and maintenance of the grounds of Australian bases. Whilst it will not make sense to many, it was the experience of a lifetime.
It was an awesome day, and I can't wait for next defence placement!
Ryan Mills
TRY A TRADE
On Tuesday 14th May, Year 11 VM students were bussed to South East Career and Try a Trade Expo at KCC Park Skye, which was the largest in Victoria, outside of the CBD. It is a fantastic event that offered young people the chance to explore various careers and training pathways in a fun and interactive way. This major event bought together universities, TAFEs, RTOs, community service organisations and industry to speak with local secondary school students about post school education and employment opportunities. Students engaged in hands-on activities, with an extensive range of exhibitors in attendance, students also learnt about occupations they may never have considered before.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Year 12 Career Expo - Thursday 24th May
VM Celebration Day - Thursday 30th May
End of Semester 1 - Friday 31st May
2 weeks SWL Block - Monday 3rd June - Friday 14th June
Curriculum Day - Tuesday 11th June
GAT Exam (Year 12) - Tuesday 18th June
Senior Formal - Friday 21st June
White Card Training - Thursday 27th June