ACROSS THE COLLEGE

International Students

International Student Forum 2017

On the 16th of May, I and two other students, attended the Victorian Government’s International Students Forum. The event was ultimately a very inclusive, and informative workshop session for domestic and International students from around the state, and allowed all of us to collectively discuss, share, and address issues and experiences relating to international student programs.

The event was a celebration of Victoria’s international student population and was a great experience that aimed was to further improve the experience of international students. I acted as the school’s domestic student representative, and was so happy to participate in the day.

We were split into table groups to brainstorm, the topic our table discussed was “share cultures”. We were tasked to create a small presentation, to explore the topic, and to present to the room at the end of the day.

Later, we were handed applications, to apply for the opportunity to act as a representative of the event, to report on the day to the Department of Education and Training. I applied and was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the ten students from the day to go. The 2017 International Student Forum was such an amazing experience, and I’m grateful I was chosen to go.

On the 31st of May, I went by myself to the Department of Education and Training (DET) in Melbourne to present a Post-Forum Briefing with the other nine selected students from the previous International Students Forum. We all together brainstormed about the day, and paired up into five groups of two, to present on a single individual topic. The style of the presentations was a quick around the table, report, where all of the students and the three DET representatives sat at the table, and spoke in their pairs. The DET senior representatives then asked us all questions, and had a discussion with us. The discussion was very interesting, as we all discussed the international student program, our school experiences, and our personal feelings on the matters. The senior representatives were so interested in our discussion we actually went almost half an hour overtime.

Afterwards, when we were all wanting to say goodbye, there was a feeling of sadness, because in that short day; us ten representatives spent together, we all bonded, and quickly grew close, and for about twenty minutes afterwards were huddled in a circle adding each other on every social media we had.

The Post-Forum briefing was an incredible experience, and I hope to bring my new found knowledge on the international programs of the state back to McClelland and work next term to improve our own program!

Year 12 Health and Wellbeing Captain,

Jack Hawkins

National Science Week

his year, National Science Week will be held from the 12th to the 20th of August. This week is an annual celebration of science and technology and thousands of individuals who work and volunteer in the science industry. In order to participate in this week, we will be holding various workshops and lunchtime activities, including experiments and fundraisers. If you have any suggestions or would like to be involved, feel free to speak to us or any other senior leader.

Chloe Chilvers and Amber Redhead, Year 12 Science Captains

Introduction of Junior School Exams

From November 2017, the College will be introducing Mid Year and End of Year Examinations in English and Mathematics for all our Junior students in Years 7 – 9.

The benefits of this are many:

• It streamlines the Examination process throughout the College as our Senior students already undertake Mid Year and End of Year Examinations
• It will de-mystify the process of sitting an Examination which will aid in reducing the anxiety some students feel when they sit and Exam for the first time in year 10
• It will teach students how to sit an Exam in terms of examination protocols and time management
• Revising for exams is a proven learning strategy which improve students’ memories
• It will further support the work we are doing to raise the academic aspirations of our students.

The first Exams will be held in November 2017 and will then occur every June and November thereafter.

Karin Miller - Assistant Principal

Story Camp

Music Department Term 2 Showcase

It was a Tuesday night and the McClelland College Music Department put on a showcase for their various ensembles from the Flute Group and the Clarinet ensemble to the big bands such as the convert band to the big starts being the Junior Band. The music was really good. Everybody put on a show and everybody had a blast with a few jokes and good song choices and I admit I did the “Can Can” dance while in my seat.

All the students that performed on the night worked had every day, night and after school to get to where they are today. Those people that performed on the night really deserve the huge applause that they get after every song. The students should not get all the credit. Everybody gave their applause to the teachers for all the hard work for all the reasons like any other teacher. Keep up the good work guys and girls!

Michael Ferdinand