Classroom Reports

Foundation & One

For our Inquiry topic on 'Celebrations' we were very lucky to have Ziad's mum, Miriam and his sister, Aliana visit to share information about Lebanon. Miriam wrote the alphabet in Arabic and our names. This was so interesting. We asked her lots of questions. We were then treated to some delicious Lebanese food. We especially loved the sweets! Thank-you so much for this informative session.

Last week we  have started to learn how various countries celebrate Christmas. This will be the focus in the next few weeks.

Mrs Chalmers, Classroom Teacher

Year 1 & 2

In P.E we have been playing Newcombe and it’s really fun! It’s like volleyball but you can catch the ball. I strongly believe that you should try it at home! I wish I could play it every day. Belle

In Literacy we’ve been learning comprehension strategies such as monitoring, summarising and inferring. Lucas

In Art we are doing so much fun stuff. Last week we were making tie dye library bags. Before that we were learning to weave and sew.  Lara

Every Monday we have a practise singing Christmas songs like Aussie Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The rest will be a surprise at “Christmas on High”. It is at Jacka Park. Sahara

In writing we have been learning different ways to spell sounds like or, ore, ch and tch. We have also learnt a new tricky word “believe”.  Jordan

Mrs McKenzie, Classroom Teacher

Year 3

Greetings Year 3 Parents, Carers and Community.

This week we also had lots of sticky fun making 3D Shapes with toothpicks and marshmallows.

This has been a sad week as we farewelled our valued class member Jax. We wished him well on his new adventure and thanked him for his friendship

Camp is only five days away. I’m sure we will have so much fun. Please remember that we will be representing Wedderburn College and need to display our values and our SWPBS Expected Behaviours.

Charlotte’s Web Novel Reading is continuing. The discussions about the vocabulary and scene descriptions have been thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Our Class Focuses Include

Maths- 3D Shapes

Reading – Visualising/ Vocab/

Comprehension

Writing- Tightening Tension and 

Character backfill

Dates to Remember

Monday 27th-29th 

Malmsbury Doxa Camp

Talk Soon. 

Mrs Torney, Classroom Teacher.

Year 5 & 6 

As the grade 6 students are about to start a new chapter, so are the grade 5 and foundation students for 2024. 

This week the grade 5 students enjoyed meeting their future buddy for 2024. In a couple of weeks the grade 6 students will have their final transition day. We hope everyone has saved the date for the grade 6 graduation night. More information will be provided shortly.  

Obviously, the year is coming to an end but we still have so much to learn, so please keep on having a red hot go. 

Mrs Turnbull and Miss Douglas, Classroom Teachers

Year 7 & 8 Halls Gap Camp

Day 1:

After a long bus trip, we arrived at the camp in Halls Gap. We got assigned to our rooms and went to settle in, whilst also getting ready for our first activities of canoeing and Mini Golf. At canoeing after a quick session of theory with our instructors, we went out into the water to paddle and learnt some skills. Although there were a few close calls no one fell in. In Mini Golf we went around an 18-hole course. The course had lots of tricks and it was fun. When we got back to camp, some relaxed in their rooms, whilst others played some of the games including table tennis and bop ball, that the camp offered. Then it was dinner time. We had delicious pasta and then dessert which was a creation of Mr Forrest’s involving a lot of sugar! After we went for a night walk close to camp that took up to a waterfall before heading to bed, to be well rested for a big Day 2!

Day 2:

Ms Graham woke us at 7:00 for breakfast and to get ready for rock climbing and the pinnacle hike. The Year 7s went rock climbing first, which involved climbing up rock faces and having other people as belays. Some of us reached the top but some people preferred to keep their feet on solid ground. We also got to do abseiling which most people preferred, although some made the mistake of looking down! The Year 8s completed the pinnacle hike first, which was hard work, however very rewarding as there where many good views. After lunch we swapped activities. We were rewarded for our efforts with a trip to the ice cream shop where we befriended some cockatoos. When we got back, we had free time again and then it was dinner time. On this night we were treated to a three-course feast! An entrée of barbecued Dim Sims, main course was build-your-own burgers, and dessert was another sugary creation which included a surprising amount of Ice Magic that seemed to end up arms - I wonder how that happened… Then we went and burnt off some energy at the oval, played a few rounds of hot potato and returned to have showers and get ready for our Halloween movie night where we watched ‘Ghostbusters’.

Day 3:

We again woke early, had breakfast and packed up camp, before taking a short drive to the Halls Gap Zoo. When we arrived, we were greeted by a rather large snake which some of us got to hold. Then we took a tour around the zoo ground, getting to see countless animals. Some animals included; monkeys, a crocodile, countless birds, meerkats, red pandas, giraffes, cheetahs, and a Rhino. When the tour finished, we had a quick buy-up in the gift shop. Then it was time to come home.

Thank you to all the staff (Mr Forrest, Mr Fowles, Mr Monaco, Mr Pettifer, Daniel and Ms Graham) who made this experience possible. We all learnt something, whether it be that we have a skill set that we didn’t know about - or that you should never trust Mr Forrest with Ice Magic!

Report by Violet Stephenson

Year 9 Alpine Leadership Camp Update

Within the last fortnight our students had their second Expo with Orbost Secondary, Kew High School and Elwood. This involved more hiking along Mount Loch, two nights camping, practicing their navigation and cooking in their Trangia’s. Upon reading our students’ SWAYs; they were proud of walking approximately 25km across the three days and their growth from Expo 1 to 2 such as complaining less and the hikes being a little easier. The uphill walking continued to test our student’s resilience. 

Other highlights of the past fortnight included:

• Hiking 
• Dibbins Hut
• Making new friends on the Expo
• The views

As I continue to read their SWAY’s, what I am most impressed with is their self-reflections and how our students are looking for self-improvement. One student mentioned they wanted to work on their patience and is looking into their triggers. They have been reflecting using the curriculum at the camp to evaluate themselves from ‘Emerging’ to ‘Excelling’. 

Our students continue to develop their leadership skills through different roles they take on each day. Some of which include navigator, student leader as part of their different committees.  

Mr Forrest, Miss Milne and Miss Van De Wetering are looking forward to visiting our students at the Alpine Campus this week. It will be great to catch up, enjoy lunch together and witness their Community Learning Project presentation. We will share more details on this when we return. 

Miss Milne 

Year 10 

Exams

To all Year 10s completing class exams this week, please take this opportunity to practice revision and study skills. Extra good luck to those Year 10 students completing VCE exams this week!

Congratulations Lillian!

A huge well done to Lillian Stephenson who was  accepted into the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program at the University of Melbourne. Over the next two years she'll be offered programs during the school holidays, revision lectures, and a potential place at the University. This is fantastic recognition of Lillian's hard work and dedication to her studies. We're very excited to hear about her experience of the program in years to come. 

Camp

Preparations for our Year 10 City Experience camp are ramping up. Students will be tasked with planning transport around the city and budgeting for transport, food, and entertainment. Watch this space and email for more information.  

Mr Iser, Mrs Barker and Mr Merritt, Homeroom Teachers

VET Community Services - NCTTC

Excursion to Tafe and Scope

Prior to finishing, the VET Community Services class participated in a range of fun and  interesting activities which extended their learning.

The class and their teacher, Jan Miletic, headed to Bendigo for a tour of Tafe and Scope.

At Bendigo Tafe they were met by Vince Murtagh (Schools Relationship Partner) who took them on a tour of the facilities. They briefly saw the bakery and back of house in the hospitality section and visited the Community Service area of Early Childhood Learning. Vince explained the courses, enrolment and facilities offered by Tafe for Early Childhood. They also went to the Allied Health and Community Service areas of Pathology, Nursing and Aged Care and Rehabilitative services.

The students visited Scope in Long Gully, one of Victoria’s largest disability service providers. Kylie Rowe (Lifestyle Options Co-ordinator) and Alison Woods (Team Leader), led a tour of the facilities and explained the clientele that Scope works with and the programs developed for day activities/programs. Kylie and Alison also explained the different careers involved in disability care and the pathways they took to be in their positions. Discussion of communication and interpersonal skills were discussed, as were other transferable skills.

Food Share Cooking project

For the final project of the year, the class were tasked with providing 10 – 15 meals per group for Food Share. Each group were allowed $15 to complete their task and the aim of the project was sustainability, in terms of catering for as many people as possible on a budget. 

The groups did a great job preparing curried sausages with rice, chicken and pasta, tofu with rice, honey soy vegetables and rice with honey mustard chicken.

Each group realised the financial potential of having raw ingredients to work with instead of packaged/processed ingredients, as the benefit was healthier food and a much larger bulk of food for the cost. The students made a total of 39 meal containers which were frozen and delivered to Food Share.

Big thanks to Jan Miletic for organising such rich learning experiences for our VET students.

PE News - Mr P and Miss Milne

Mr P’s Secondary Student of the Fortnight

This fortnight, the award goes to Dakota Martin. Dakota is consistently demonstrating expected behaviours in practical PE classes, in particular actively participating. She has shown a high level of resilience in improving her digging setting and serving techniques for volleyball. Dakota has transitioned really well into the Year 9 classroom and is a positive member in PE. Well done Dakota. 

Miss M’s Primary PE Student of the Fortnight 

The award goes to Aliana Zeini, for always following the expected behaviours and being inclusive of all students within each lesson. Aliana is a fantastic role model, who others always look to within class. Well done, Aliana!

Week 10 Swimming Program

As an enjoyable way to end the school year, Wedderburn College will be running an intensive 5-day swim program during week 10 for students in Foundation through to Year 8. This program is vital for students in understanding safety, dangers and risks associated with aquatic environments. It will also aid with water familiarisation and help develop a skill that may save a life one day. This is a great way to boost confidence heading into the summer month. 

A form has been sent home with each student today , Wednesday 22 Nov. The first page outlines details of the week, what each child will be required to bring and a timetable for each year level. Page 2 is a form that needs to be filled out with student name, year level they are in and their swimming ability level. If you do not know what level your child is, please read pages 3 & 4 to help with this. 

Can you please ensure that page 2 is completed and returned for each child by Monday 27th November at the latest. 

All students from Foundation – Year 8 are expected to participate in this week fully but if for some reason they will not be swimming, they will be required to bring a note which is signed by the parent/guardian/caregiver.

Well Done Oliver Huismann

Oliver Huismann, who plays for the Maryborough Blazers under 18 boys representative basketball team, travelled to Horsham over the weekend of 11th and 12th of November 2023, competing in the Horsham Intersport Basketball Tournament. Ollie and his team won the Division 2 Championship. Defeating Portland in the final. Congratulations to Ollie and his Maryborough Blazers u18 teammates.

OSHC Program

To Parent/Carers, 

Please be aware, if your child/children has a booking to attend Wedderburn OSHC Program ensure that you inform the College of any changes which may arise. This needs to done only by the Parent/Carer and not by the student. This will avoid any confusion. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Trina Vaughan, Melinda Springthorpe, Annette Hunt.

OSHC Coordinators.

Homework Club

Homework Club is held each Tuesday and Thursday at lunchtime in Room 11, students can drop in and work in a quiet, warm space. They can work independently or get help as required. As this is a voluntary program designed to give students an opportunity to catch up, own their learning, or get ahead, Homework Club is a chance for students to demonstrate our core values of Responsibility and Resilience. 

Compass

Don't wait for the end of semester to view your child's progress. Log in to Compass and view teacher feedback and feed forward at any time by checking out your child's Learning Tasks. Children also receive regular (every 5 weeks) progress reports on their Organisation, Behaviour, Attitude to Learning and Work Completion. Learning Tasks and Reports can be found on you child's profile page.