Senior School Report
Message from the Director of Learning
- Mrs. Hari Nikolaou
The senior school is busy at this time of the year. It is when the so called "pointy end" of the semester occurs. Students and teachers are bringing together a semester's worth of learning and ensuring that all the key assessments have occurred.
Students may feel as though they need to work harder and be more focused to avoid a sense of chaos. For Year 11 students, the exams are nearly upon them, and for Year 12 students, it is all about maximising their study scores.
Enjoy the little comic that has been developed especially for the class of 2018.
Ms. Hari Nikolaou
Important Note:
Years 9-12 Careers Expo
Monday, 18th June
11.30pm to 3pm
Open to parents and guardians!
Please contact out office on 9546 3233 for further details.
VCAL Update
VCAL students have had a very busy few weeks. Here are a couple of things they have been up to.
Westall PS Reading Program
Every day, about 5 VCAL students go over to the primary school and listen to the younger children read. The feedback from the little ones has been very positive. They look forward to seeing our VCAL students, and find reading time much more enjoyable.
First Aid Training
Over two Mondays, VCAL students have been completing their First Aid Training Certificate. This has involved theory and many practical activities. Some of the topics they have covered include, administering CPR, basic life support, infection control, stress management and basic emergencies.
Ms. Carole McMahon
VCAL Coordinator
News from the Chemistry Classroom
Constructing a ‘Buckminsterfullerene’:
This term, the year 11 students have learnt about the ‘types of Bonding’ and the various ‘allotropes’ (forms) of Carbon. They have explored the concept of Covalent bonding using molecular modelling kits at the school. One of the practical activities was constructing an allotrope of carbon, the ‘Buckminsterfullerene’ commonly known as a ‘Bucky Ball’. The students worked in groups and deliberated the different ways to configure the 12:20 pentagon to hexagon ratio in the structure. All groups were successful in building the structure.
Chemistry Excursion to Ecolinc:
On 28th of March, the Year 11 students went on an excursion to Ecolinc, a science educational centre at Bacchus Marsh. The purpose of the excursion was to enhance their learning experience by participating in practical activities, some of which require specialised equipment/resources. Students were engaged in various activities such as: examining the properties of Ionic compounds using models, examining some of the properties of water by simple experiments, and producing ‘Gold’ nanoparticles.
Tao & Daniel have summed up the student experience:
“The teachers at Ecolinc explained new interesting concepts, through the use of molecular models. We performed an experiment to produce gold nanoparticles (where there was none originally) by combining different compounds and boiling over a long period. The lattice structure building activity made learning more understandable and interactive. Excursion to Ecolinc was overall a positive learning experience”–Tao
“On the day, our lessons were very interactive and helped us gain a better understanding of the types of bonding which we learned in class. Another interesting activity was preparing gold nanoparticles (‘nano’ scale) which we later tested by shining laser through the prepared colloidal solution (Tyndall effect). This excursion has been a very valuable learning experience for us” - Daniel
Ms. Smrithi Buyya
Maths & Science Teacher