SCHOOL OF POSSIBILITIES

School Leaders, Mez Lia and Sarah Baglin

Welcome to the final SOP update for the term! Students in VCE have now begun their Unit 2 and Unit 4 studies. Year 10 students have also completed their week of work experience, with plenty of success stories being told by the staff completing workplace visits. Well done to our Year 10 students for pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and representing our College so well. We are proud of you all! You can find some photos and an update from the week below. 

The Year 10 students will move into their Semester 2 electives upon their return next term. There will be a two-week period during which subject change forms can be submitted by students who may have changed their mind about their Semester 2 electives. We wish all of our students and their families a restful term break and look forward to seeing the VCE Unit 4 students on Monday 15 July and the VCE-VM Unit 4, VCE and VCE-VM Unit 2 and Year 10 students on Tuesday 16 July. 

Students who are currently in Year 9 and 11 have been given their subject selection forms to complete over the school holidays. Students are encouraged to return this form early in Term 3. Please return subject selection forms to the College reception by: 

• Year 12 in 2025: Friday 2 August 
• Year 11 in 2025: Friday 2 August
• Year 10 in 2025: Friday 9 August

Year 10s will receive their subject selection forms on the first days back of Term 3.

A reminder to all students in the VCE program - there is an opportunity to complete VCE Unit 3 practice exams during the school holidays from Monday 1 July to Thursday 4 July. We highly encourage all students to take advantage of these opportunities. Staff will mark and provide feedback to students on their performance. This feedback will help to guide both students and staff as they prepare for the end of year exams.  

To support students in Unit 4 VCE studies during Term 3, all Unit 4 classes will continue on the three student free days: Monday 15 July, Friday 23 August and Friday 20 September. It is an expectation students studying a Unit 4 class will attend all Unit 4 classes on these days. Students with individual studies first thing in the morning or at the end of the day are permitted to come late or leave early, as long as they sign in and out at the office. Students are permitted to come in casual dress on these days.

Planning has begun for the 2024 Year 10 Formal with the committee gathering to begin organisation of the evening. The main aim of this first meeting was how to make the theme “Secret Garden” come alive in our decoration of the venue. Dance practice will be scheduled during Term 3. Students and families are reminded that this event is a compulsory part of the Year 10 learning program. All students are expected to participate. If there is any reason that a student is not able to participate in this event, parents are asked to contact the College to organise a meeting to discuss any challenges or barriers to participation. 

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧'

Year 10 Product Design students pictured happily showing off the go-kart they have created this term. 

Over a period of about eight weeks they have worked together in class to use reclaimed materials to design, source and build a project of their choice.

In Year 10 Food Studies for the final class of the semester and therefore the last class together, Mez and the students discussed what they wanted to cook. Various suggestions were made, with little consensus, naturally, until one student stated we could never replicate the students' Nonna's recipe anyway.  With that, Cohan asked “can my Nonna come in and teach us to make meatballs with Napoli sauce?” Fast forward two weeks and last week the class welcomed Tina to demonstrate "the old-school way" of cooking as she put it. Tina doesn’t really measure anything but goes by taste and look (the above recipe was created using round-about measurements). The students eagerly watched on as Tina sprung into action. She came complete with pots, herbs and various items she wanted to use. One group of students cooked a sauce at the same time as Tina.  At the end Tina said she thought the boy's sauce was actually better than her own! Great job boys! Tina followed her mother’s recipe but had made some tweaks to make it healthier, for example she didn’t fry the meatballs to begin with, instead she put them straight into the sauce to cook. Tina said it makes no difference really and tastes the same but is quicker.

We are so proud of our Year 10 students who are out on work experience this week at various locations across the Goulburn Valley and even further afield in Melbourne. 

For some students, this is their first exposure to the working world and, for others, it is an opportunity to explore possible future career pathways. We have received some wonderful feedback and have loved seeing some of them in action working on projects. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the local businesses who have generously provided our students the opportunity and invested their time and effort to provide their insight into the industry. Congratulations to those who have completed their week of placement. Take a look at some of the students in action and their various workplaces:

As a Foundation to Year 12 College, our students are fortunate to be able to interact with students of all ages. This week, the PDS students jumped in and interacted with the younger students in SOW while they participated in their PE classes. 

The PDS class supported the students and encouraged them while they tackled practice at running 200m then joined in as team members in a game of Yoshi Tag with the Year 1/2 students.

Well done to the PDS students for being such positive role models for the SOW students and encouraging them to be their best.

Students completed a battery of fitness tests in this week's practical PE session, including the challenging beep test. Students have been studying the Fitness Components, Activity Analysis and Assessment of Fitness in this area of study in Unit 4.  Next term they will be looking at training methods and this will include five sessions at Aquamoves in Term 3.  

A HUGE thank you to Veolia Shepparton for partnering with our Year 11 and 12 VET Volunteering students! Together, the students cleaned up all the rubbish and tackled the overgrown weeds around St. Mel's Parish.

The project would not have been possible without Veolia's support - the amazing students could not have done it without you! The boys are excited to take on more volunteering opportunities!

The Year 11 and 12 VM students visited the Tatura SmartFarm this week which is Australia’s leading horticulture SmartFarm research facility. The SmartFarm enables research and innovation to deliver high-quality fruit from orchard to export market. They develop, use and demonstrate new applications of agricultural technology to achieve increases in marketable yield, product value and production efficiency in pears, apples, stonefruit and almonds. The students received an immersive tour of these innovative facilities.

Families are reminded the OES Mt Stirling Camp which will take place from Tuesday July 23 to Thursday July 25, 2024. Students have will get the chance to participate in cross-country skiing while putting their camp-cooking and camping skills to the test. 

An email has been sent to families with relevant camp information, a packing list and a Medical Information Form which must be completed. 

Please ensure you have completed all relevant forms and return your student’s permission by Friday July 19, 2024.

A huge congratulations to the VCE and VM students who took part in the GAT last week. The GAT assesses the students' skills against literacy and numeracy standards – essential skills that show the students are ready to move on to further study, training or employment. 

Tuesday, August 6 is a Year 12 ONLY pajama dress-up day to celebrate 50 days left of Year 12!

Join in, stay warm and celebrate in comfort!!! You are nearly there.