VCE-VM Numeracy – Planning a Class Event: Class Picnic

VCE-VM Numeracy students have just completed their first assessment related to their first Area of Study – Number. Students worked together to plan and implement a class picnic. Some of the tasks they completed included creating budgets, organising equipment, calculating different route and location options, preparing food, taking into account food allergies and completing a risk assessment. On the 25th March students participated in the picnic having a picnic of sandwiches, scones and watermelon, followed by some games and activities. Well done to the Year 11 VCE-VM students on their successful completion of the task.

Reflections from the students:-

Ashlee... On the 25th of March the Year 11 VM group made their way from St Mary's College. They went on a walk to Kings Park in Seymour, where they found a comfy and nice spot in the shade and had a nice picnic. This picnic had been planned for a few weeks as this was a part of their assignment to plan a picnic. The day went very well and they got to have some lovely snacks that they made and enjoy some board games as a class.

Thank you to Miss Wood and Miss Hard for all the help and support and helping it all go so well and making it possible.

Michelle... The class picnic was very fun, and I'd love to go again. We got to cook our own sandwiches and chat more with our teachers. It took a few minutes to reach the park, but it was fun walking there - it was worth the time. We got to know our classmates better and did many activities during the picnic, such as ring toss, wooden battle blocks, Scrabble, and Uno, which was very challenging, especially when playing with our teachers. Thanks to Miss Wood and Miss Hard for organising this assessment for us.

Travis... The VM Class Picnic was an activity which taught directions, planning and critical thinking and other important skills which are important in everyday life. These skills are important to learn early in your life when you have the support and guidance of well educated adults to safely and effectively guide you through it.

Ebony... The class picnic was amazing. I really enjoyed it. One of the best things ever. I would definitely want to do something like that again if we get the chance, hopefully we do.

Clean Up Australia Day

Australians annually pull on gloves and gather for the iconic Clean Up Australia Day. On March 18th 2024, Clean Up Australia was celebrated at St Mary’s College as VCE-VM helped tidy our local school grounds whilst seeing first-hand why we need to work together to prevent litter from entering our environment in the first place. Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean Up Australia says: “Clean Up Australia Day is the largest volunteer clean up event across the nation each year and the most practical way to educate and demonstrate waste prevention. By rolling up our sleeves and witnessing the sheer quantity as well as the common types of litter, we can gain a better insight into our own personal or household footprints on the environment. It encourages each of us to consider practical ways we can prevent that litter in the first place. Vapes, cigarette butts, coffee cups and soft plastics are amongst the commonly reported items collected.”

Ethan.... We helped contribute to clean up Australia by picking up rubbish around the school. Technically clean-up Australia day was on the 2nd of March so we were a little late. We first went to the back fence of the school and picked up a lot of rubbish then we walked over to the riverbank and there was a lot less rubbish. All up we picked up 5.7 kgs and I feel that we helped clean up the school a lot, I was also very surprised at the difference we made.

Travis... On March 18th I participated in Clean Up Australia Day around St Mary's College. I was expecting quite a large amount of waste but some of the places were just filled with rubbish, and I was just appalled. The most amount of waste I picked up was near the train line which I wondered how all of that got there. When it was all done, and we dumped all the waste into one singular pile, I was not expecting that much rubbish. I couldn't believe that all that rubbish was purposely dumped, I couldn't fathom how people just don't put their rubbish in a bin. It made me realise just how uncaring and disrespectful some people are to our school and environment. After all the things we have learnt about the consequences of littering and the damage it does to our environment and the large quantity of bins we have, people still lazily dump their rubbish. I have more respect for the primary students now due to the lack of rubbish in their area. It gives me confidence that when their generation is older, they will actually care for the environment, not like the older students now that are worse than people much younger than them.

Angela... Our VM class and the IGNITE kids participated in Clean Up Australia Day. The day was overall enjoyable, I got to hang out with my friends and clean up the school. I noticed something really interesting to make note of, there were so many gelati cups in one area of the school, at the fence on the school oval. And there were also many oak bottles near the basketball court, so this means that it’s the same group of people that are littering. It's not that hard to pick up your trash and dispose of it properly. In the primary school area, everything was pretty much spotless. Once we finished cleaning up the total rubbish collected and weighed which came up to 5700 mgs = 5.7 Kilos. To be honest I expected that number to be a little bit higher.

Bryce...

Waste Type	In Kilos
Foils	0.8 Kilo
General waste	1 Kilo
Oak bottles	1.5 Kilo
Soft plastics	1 Kilo
Tarps, netting	4.600 Kilo
Juice boxes	0.4 Kilo
Gelati cups	0.4 Kilo
paper	0.3 Kilo
Hard plastics	0.8 Kilo
Total weight	5.7 Kilo

Melissa Wood

Amanda Hard

Principal

Mr Wayne Smith