VHAP Masterclass

VHAP Masterclasses

On Thursday April 24th, 75 of our students in Years 7-9 participated in one of two 3 hour Masterclasses, for either Math or English, that were run by the VHAP teachers at Virtual Schools Victoria. This program was offered to students who had been selected to participate in VHAP (the Victorian High Ability Program) in either Semester 2 of 2024 or Term 1 of 2025.

Here are some of our students’ reflections from the day:

What did you do in the workshops?

English:

In the workshop my group learnt about different mediums of writing such as storyboarding and screenwriting. Each student was able to choose their area interest, and we were then spilt into separate groups with some students from other schools to create our own story which we shared with the rest of the workshop once we finished. (Maddy)

Our main focus was on a narrative like activity involving a dystopian genre and the themes within that genre. These ideas were shown through either storyboarding, or screenwriting. These were explored in groups that would branch into different stories. Later they were shown to the rest of the workshop. (Olive)

Maths: 

Firstly, we covered an introduction to time, and time throughout history. We then looked a special relativity, and time and speed, specifically clock differences. We looked at the possibilities of time travel and the ethics of trying it. 

(Henry)

We covered and explored time travel and paradoxes. The workshop pushed our minds to think about paradoxes such as the grandpa paradox and others. We also learnt about casual loops, which means information coming from nowhere. (Jayden)

What was the most interesting part of the workshop?

English:

Hearing different people's ideas and collaborating with others. (Emily)

The breakout rooms and getting to talk to other kids. (Annika)

Working with friends and collecting our ideas to make one storyboard. (Aaliyah)

The best part of today work shop was learning about screen writing. (Ruby) 

Maths: 

Covering casual loops was a new and interesting idea to me. (Jayden) 

The most interesting part was when we talked about all the paradoxes. (Sean) 

The most interesting part of the workshop was the discussion of time travel and if it is ethical or not. I also enjoyed the topic of different paradoxes. (Vivaan)

I think the best part of the workshop was learning about time travel as it was so interesting (Isabel)

What was your overall review of the day?

English:

VHAP Masterclass is cool for honing skills of a craft, or going more into depth of parts of a craft you haven't gone into before! I would recommend doing it if you have the chance. (Noah) 

The VHAP Masterclass was actually really fun. It wasn’t your usual school stuff — we got to do some cool, challenging activities and think outside the box. It was awesome meeting other students who were just as into learning new things. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but I came out of it feeling super inspired and proud of myself. (Ann) 

It was quite interesting and engaging, the activities were really fun and the teachers were really nice. (Gabrielle)

The workshop was entertaining and fun, we worked in groups to create our own ideas and let our imaginations create a world. (Maddy) 

Maths: 

The workshop was a really enjoyable and interesting experience that allowed me to explore topics that I normally would not be able to. It was explained and run well, and in an engaging manner, and if I had the opportunity for another, I would absolutely sign up. (Henry) 

VHAP is a a thing you can rarely get into and when you do it’s a great experience meeting your teachers and making new friends! (Kevin)

The VHAP masterclass was an interactive, eye-opening experience which I enjoyed. (Anay)

It was an interesting experience, learning about different paradoxes and learning about many theories that are yet to be proven. (Iha)