Secondary

Mr Chris Graham

Assistant Principal (Secondary)

This week I would like to take the time to honour and celebrate four secondary students who are achieving amazing results in their chosen sports.

Julian M

Julian M completed the Oscars Hut2Hut 100km race. At 16, he is the youngest person to ever complete the race. For perspective, Phillip Island to the south, Ballarat to the west and Anglesea to the south west are all 100km from Greenvale. We need to keep in mind that this run definitely wasn’t flat, as can be seen by the pictures: it’s a really rough and undulating terrain. He completed the race over three days (38km on day 1, 38 km on day 2 and 24km on day 3), starting each day at 3.00am. Throughout the race, he ran up a total of ten mountains and crossed eight rivers!

Aitken has a proud history of educating many highly successful sports people at a domestic and even international level. Soccer seems to be our sport of choice, as two past students have played for the Australian men’s team (the Socceroos). We’ll be looking forward to seeing how this current crop of superstars perform in the near future! Good luck!

Kaylin A and Alex M

Both Kaylin and Alex have been at Aitken since they were in Prep. Currently, they are both playing soccer for Western United (an A League team). They are currently playing for their Under 16 MPL team, however have both (on occasions) have been selected to play for their Under 18 MPL team. This is the highest level that a15 year old can play in Australia. In the picture beside, the phone they are holding shows a picture taken when then both started playing together as prep students.

Joshua I

Josh is a current Year 12 student who has been offered a contract with Melbourne Victory. Josh is currently playing for their MPL team (second tier), but training with, and vying for a position in their top tier A League team. Melbourne Victory are heavily investing into Josh, meaning he has huge training commitments; however, he’s doing a great job balancing his training commitments and his VCE studies.

Ms Melissa D'Amico

Deputy Head Secondary (Middle School Culture)

Dunhelen Semester One Student Leaders

I am proud to announce that over the last two weeks, we have presented our student leaders with their badges. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the importance of student leadership and the positive impact it can have on our school community. Student leadership allows students to develop important skills such as communication, decision-making, and teamwork. It also provides students with the opportunity to make a difference in their school and the wider community.

Congratulations to the Dunhelen Student Leaders for Semester One.

FORM	SEMESTER ONE CLASS CAPTAINS	SEMESTER ONE SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS
7C	Laila E and Lauri K	Mia S and Kassi V
7D	Caitlin G and Jannat M	Aarush S and Angel B
7K	Revaan A and Nathan D	Annie D and Nisini D
7M	Moussa H and Rozanne F	James J and Aydin M
7O	Roman P and Finn W	Nonika K and Tim C
7S	Amyra J and Namya M	Jensen M and Kevan R

8C	Lorena V and Rozanne E	Aekam A, Mia P and Divjot S
8F	Advit A and Mantaj U	Mikayla P and Mackenzie S
8G	Devyan A and Eren S	Japhar S and Angus P
8J	Donamaree S and Makayla A	Tuana E and Amber J
8O	Shiloh D and Joel F	Caleb D and Madison R
8S	Abdul A and Dinara K	Luke C and Pasidhu G

9B	Saanvi M and Irmak B	Mehtab L and Mayasurin D
9D	Kusum R and Xavier D	Samuel A and Toby S
9L	Aaron P and Ebonie L	Emma C and Eve P
9K	Joshua B and Anthony S	Alexandra B and Olivia L
9M	Aaliyah A and Ashton R	Violet B and Ella C
9P	Emre Y and Cassidy R	Paige E and Adriana S

I would also like to congratulate Sustainability Captain Divjot S for his outstanding efforts in Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday 5 March. He was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Hume City Council Mayor, Mr Joseph Haweil, and Councillors and met with our local MP, Mr Iwan Walters. It is inspiring to see our students taking initiatives to make a positive impact on the environment and their community.

NAPLAN

In other news, the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is fast approaching. NAPLAN is a national assessment that measures students' literacy and numeracy skills in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. We encourage our students to take this test seriously as it provides valuable feedback to both students and teachers about their progress and areas for improvement.

NAPLAN also serves as a useful tool for schools and education systems to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum and to tailor teaching strategies accordingly. By taking NAPLAN, our students will be better prepared for future academic and career opportunities.

Finally, our Year 7 students received their vaccinations this week. Vaccinations are an important way to protect ourselves and those around us from preventable illnesses. Mr Mackrell and I would like to thank the medical professionals and Aitken College staff who helped to make this vaccination program a success.

Mr Victor Salloum & Mr Dean Taylor

Deputy Head of Secondary (Senior School Pathways) &

Deputy Head of Secondary (Senior School Culture)

Brookhill Swimming Carnival

After a gloomy morning, the sun came out for the Brookhill Swimming Carnival. There was a great turnout of students and the Year 12 students took advantage of dressing up in their House colours and having some fun. The highlight of the day was the staff versus student relay and the staff versus student Volleyball match.

Study Skills

Year 10 and Year 11 students will soon participate in their first study skills sessions. The Homeroom teachers have been hard at work developing a new program to better suit the needs of our students and give them the tips and tools necessary to improve their study habits.

Parent Teacher Interviews

We strongly urge that all families schedule meetings with each of your child's teachers in the upcoming parent-teacher conferences (March 30 / April 5). Even if everything is going smoothly, it's an excellent opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and establish good channels of communication. Parents of Year 12 students in particular should use this occasion to meet with all of their child's teachers as now is the moment to take care of any minor (or major) issues; by Term 3, it will be too late to make any necessary revisions.

Electronic devices in school and SACs

A reminder that phones, smart watches and headphones/airpods are not permitted for use during the school day (8.42am-3.15pm). Students are aware of the rule and should only use them when explicitly instructed by their teacher, or the device will be confiscated for the remainder of the school day. These devices are all prohibited during an assessment task; students caught with these devices will have them confiscated and awarded a 0 score for the task.

Mr Victor Salloum & Mr Dean Taylor

Deputy Head of Secondary (Senior School Pathways) &

Deputy Head of Secondary (Senior School Culture)