Character and Wellbeing Program
Year 7 Character Day - friendships and connections
Sinclair McClimont, Year 7
During Term 1, the Year 7s had their first Character Day.
Throughout the whole day, we had fun listening to talks such as the Toolbox presentation about ‘thinking traps’, doing activities and playing games, making new friends (many of them new to the School), and learning about ourselves.
The presentation on ‘thinking traps’ made me think about my mindset and what I should change about it. I also found the extended time in our mentor groups to be a bonus as it helped us to learn more about the people we would be in a small group with for the next two years.
We also talked about what we would like to see in our year level, and it was interesting to find out that many of the other students thought the same as me.
Overall, I think during the day we learnt things about ourselves and our friends, both old and new.
Year 9 Impact Program - Business Bootcamp
The Year 9 Impact Team
The Year 9 Business Bootcamp, to be held on 26 to 29 April, is a four-day program where students will continue their work with Monash University and develop real-world businesses that address a social issue they're passionate about.
Students will once again get exposed to university campus life, and work in inspirational collaborative spaces on Tuesday 26 April and Wednesday 27 April.
Then on Thursday 28 April and Friday 29 April, the students will travel independently by train into the Melbourne CBD for a 9.30am arrival, and will be dismissed from Flinders Street station at 3.00pm.
On one of the two days in the Melbourne CBD, students will visit and explore successful social business enterprises. Students will have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious lunch at a social enterprise cafe, where funds are used to create a difference in our community.
On the remaining day, students will start their expedition training program with an exciting hike around Melbourne.
Exploring social issues facing Melbourne – homelessness with The Big Issue
As part of the It’s Everyone’s Business Program with Monash University, Year 9 students have been exposed, through immersive workshops each Friday afternoon, to social issues facing our city.
One of these issues - homelessness, involves a powerful session with The Big Issue at their Collins St location.
This workshop begins with a presentation about breaking down the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with homelessness, ultimately revealing that it's far more common that most would realise, and is often occurring in ways which are different to the ‘sleeping-rough’ image that often comes to mind when we think of homelessness.
Students will then be lucky enough to hear the first-hand story of a Big Issue street vendor who has lived as a homeless person for a long period. The raw, powerful and incredible stories leave students with renewed perspective and empathy.
While challenging topics such as mental health and substance abuse arise, each personal story concludes with a happy ending, with themes of resilience, self-discovery and perseverance winning out, inspiring students to create change in this space.
Perseverance pays off – a personal reflection
Henry Kiosoglous, Year 9
For the past few months, I have been struggling to improve my swimming times. I was 0.01seconds off qualifying for the state championships, and I was not able to improve early enough to enter.
This was extremely frustrating as I was so unbelievably close. Not only did I not improve, I also started getting slower.
Instead of giving up, I realised that to get faster, I would need to train harder. I started focusing more on what I did in training, and staying consistent with the frequency of my sessions.
After about a month of training like this, I had the opportunity to race three days in a row. In those three days, I managed to drop enough time to not only qualify for the next state championships, but another one after that.
This experience demonstrated to me the importance of hard work. I am very pleased with the results of my work, but I am proud of my efforts and perseverance to get to this point.