Student Achievements 

Congratulations to The Ahems

Congratulations to The Ahems, one of our Year 11 VET Music bands, who just won the Monash's Got Talent competition!!! 

 CONGRATULATIONS - Victorian Team Selection 

Congratulations to Brady Thomassen (Year 11) who has been selected in the School Sport Victoria 10-19 Years Team Vic Swimming Team. He will compete in the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Brisbane, Queensland in August. We wish him all the best for the National competition and look forward to hearing how he goes.  

State Cross Country 

Congratulations to Eric Trinkle (Year 11) and Jasmine Hamilton (Year 10) who will represent the College at the School Sport Victoria State Cross Country Championships in July. Eric will compete in the 20 Yr 5000m event and Jasmine the 16 Yr 3000m event. We wish them good luck.  

YEAR 8 GIRLS NETBALL and BOYS AFL 

Congratulations to the members of both the Year 8 Girls Netball and Year 8 Boys AFL teams on winning their Monash Division Competition. We wish them all the best for their upcoming EMR Championships. 

NSW Flood Donations Drive Update 

The Student Voice committee would like to thank all of our College Community that donated to the NSW Flood Donation Drive in Term 1. We received a generous volume of goods that will be able to support those in need. 

Due to logistical confinements, we were unable to distribute these to schools in flood-affected areas. We were, however, able to enlist the support of the local Waverly Salvation Army who will distribute these goods to the greatest point of need. These goods will be used to create care packages for school students who will benefit from the additional resources in our local community. 

Thank you to our generous families and the wider community for helping us in our endeavours to make a difference in these communities.   

Mrs. Elisa Baldwin and the Student Voice Team 

Winter Showcase 

The Performing Arts Winter Showcase was held on Monday, June 30th at 7 pm in the Bunjil Centre at Wheelers Hill Secondary College. All music ensembles were performed, as well as numerous other acts. Our amazing students worked so hard and were excited to show off what they have been doing this semester. 

YEAR 10 LEADERSHIP REFLECT ON PEER SUPPORT 

Working with the Year Sevens, throughout the year, for Leadership and Peer Support was an amazing opportunity, especially our lesson on Tuesday 31st May. Not only did the Year 7s have fun, but so did we. As leaders we got involved, participating in activities with them while still providing guidance to certain areas. I believe this is why we performed extremely well with them. We made sure that if they needed anything they could talk to us and that they enjoyed having our company. We significantly reduced our amount of ‘dead time’ which is essentially a period of time where nothing happens. We collaborated with the Year Sevens and created new activities with them, in moments of ‘dead time’. Overall, this Peer Support Session was my favourite one, and the Year Sevens were astounding. 

Alex Petreski (10E) 

During Term 2 we held our third Peer Support class for the Year 7’s. It was good to get to know some more of the Year 7’s, as we had different groups this time. It was definitely a challenge at the start, but we got through it. Working in a group we were able to bounce ideas off each other and improvise when things didn’t go to plan. At the end of the session both the students and the teacher were enjoying themselves and having fun while learning about respect and team bonding. I have grown as a leader because I now know how to get over the obstacles that stand in your way when running group activities.  

Bianca Jorgic (10E) 

Picking the subject Peer Support has allowed me to collaborate and interact with people I have never talked to before. It has helped me gain confidence to reassure the Year 7s that I am are here to help them with anything they are worried about or struggling with. Leadership has been a really great experience for me as it has helped with my Leadership Skills, and I have learnt many different learning strategies to help make the Year 7s feel comfortable.   

Kirah Millar (10C) 

Working with the Year Sevens to guide them into the new year and the new environment, was an invigorating and thrilling experience that I loved. This last Peer Support session we worked with 7D on learning more about teamwork and cooperation through doing activities using partnership and team spirit. Playing games and doing activities that had them working in partners, teams, and had them communicating with each other so they were on the same page. We had an amazing time spending a lesson with the Year Sevens and participating in activities with them. At the start of the year some may have considered me an introvert or very shy and reserved when it comes to public speaking or simply speaking in front of a class, however after the conclusion of our Peer Support sessions, I feel I have become more confident in myself and more self-assured. Being a leader includes being prepared, approachable, organised, assertive, friendly and more. 

Caitlyn Nguyen (10B) 

The Year Seven’s have shown me what it means to be a strong and enthusiastic role model. Working with 7D was a new and different experience for me, but it brought out my best. Year Ten’s were able to help the students when they needed it and reassure them of anything they were unsure of. During our past session we were focusing on “Teamwork”. The students got to work together to solve things and overcome challenges we set for them. We incorporated what they were interested in and found enjoyable, that made our session run smoothly and without any “dead time”. Overall, they have helped me grow as a leader and to understand that even when something goes wrong, there is always a way to fix it. They have helped me to become a more confident leader.   

Shanelle Langford (10E) 

Term 2 Peer Support has proven to be very successful. Not only did my group run smoothly, but also, we managed to improve our efforts in controlling our class. We found this class much easier as we had had experience from past classes. The class we were assigned deserved a lot of credit because they respectfully listened and tried in the activities given. This lesson we worked on teamwork, which we believed was a very valuable topic that the Year 7s enjoyed. 

Jasmine Poole (10A) 

I have grown and learned a lot in Leadership and Peer Support this Semester. I have had to adapt to the different class interests and change slight rules or part of an activity on the spot to suit the class we were working with. Communicating effectively with the supervising teacher and my group members to encourage them to listen to instructions, overcoming any challenges by communicating with my group members and coming up with a solution which involved a lot of trial and error. Overall, I think my ability to think on the spot, adapt to change and make fun out of what we designed for the Year 7 students really helped my group work effectively.  

Charlie Liberati (10B) 

The Peer Support Program this year was different to the other years. The program not only taught the Year 7s important life skills, but it also taught us as Leaders many skills as well. We all had so much fun taking the Year 7s for lessons where they learned things about: Teamwork and Cooperation, Emotional Literacy and how to get to know people and be kind. We enjoyed hearing the feedback that the Year 7s gave us, so we knew what we needed to work on for the next lessons. We have had things that have affected the classes such as having to swap groups, but we worked through it as a team and overall had so much fun. 

Jess Saunders (10C) 

Participating in Peer Support has opened up many opportunities, not only for myself but the whole Peer Support class. It has given me so much confidence and really helped with my public speaking. Having the support from the teachers and my leadership team motivates me to be a role model and influence on the younger year levels of my school. I have enjoyed participating in this amazing experience and having such a positive outcome from all the activities we have run.  

Charlee McCafferty (10E) 

Peer Support with the Year 7s helps you build confidence in leadership and allows you to collaborate with new students. The students get to have fun playing games with senior students they feel comfortable around. Being able to support the Year 7s improves skills and teaches us how to manage the kids better for the future. Seeing the students have fun and tell us they enjoyed the session is rewarding for us as the Peer Support leaders.   

Jordan Gwynne (10C) 

Peer support with the Year 7s has been a valuable and fun experience. It has allowed me to collaborate with new people and gain confidence as a leader and person through new experiences. Running Peer Support sessions with the Year 7s has built my confidence and improved my leadership and preparation skills.  I have enjoyed helping the Year 7s transition into high school while engaging them in games. Seeing the students have fun during the lessons, as I also develop my leadership and confidence is very rewarding.  

James Woodcock (10C) 

This Semester of Peer Support has been a rollercoaster. We have had collapsed classes, the super-flu and covid, changes of groups and classes, but we have managed to push through it, which has helped us as leaders. Although we did not have many classes with the Year 7s we did many other things in class that taught us how to be a leader. Through our lessons we had 3 different Year 7 classes which in a way I think benefited us by showing us that not everyone will listen the same, have the same attention span and how we can use different approaches.  

The people in our group worked very well with the Year 7s, as we made them feel more comfortable with us by working through the activities with them. Each of our classes were very different to work with. Our first class was very easy to work with as they listened very well. There were a few kids that challenged us because they didn’t want to participate, but we learned how to get them to listen to us. Our next class was harder to control, especially noise wise. However, we quickly learned that we just had to have them interested in the activity to get them to listen. Our last class was difficult due to a lot of things such as the location and we couldn’t go outside due to the weather. We managed to work through the lesson very well, especially under the circumstances. As a leader I think that I have acquired many skills through Peer Support classes such as how to take control, how to get people to listen, patience and building my confidence. 

Olivia Kelly (10C) 

This Term my group was lucky enough to be with the same Year 7 class as last time, so we already had the experience with the class that we could use to plan another effective fun lesson. We were able to work together as a group to grow and push each other to excel with leadership skills. The Year 7s have bonded with us as leaders and we were able to give them guidance and experiences that will help them to develop friendships with their peers. I know that I will always benefit from these experiences and the skills I have gained are transferable to many aspects of life and I hope that the Year 7s had as much fun as I did during this program.  

Molly Downie (10B) 

Peer Support has had its positives and negatives, it is the negatives that we learn from and the positives that we celebrate. Our first Peer Support lesson was our best one this semester, we ran through all our activities smoothly and the Year 7’s enjoyed it. The highlight of the first session was when Mr. Gramatakos joined in on the fun. The second and third session was a bit chaotic, however my group members each developed a unique relationship between some of the Year 7s. Our colouring activity was the highlight of these two sessions, it was a calm, relaxing activity which the Year 7’s enjoyed, especially when each of the group members would sit with them and join in the activity.  

As an individual, Leadership and Peer Support has developed my confidence, resilience, and my outlook on teaching younger children. Being a leader, you are always challenged in some way and in those times, you must adapt to those conditions. Leaders cannot have a negative opinion on the outcome of their actions or else the result will be negative. I have learnt that even though we were all leaders in this group, if one leader thinks negatively of the situation's outcome, then everyone will believe that as it is a possibility. If we want a positive outcome of our session, we need to have a positive outlook. Being able to be a Peer Support Leader was a fantastic opportunity and I will never forget this experience as it is the first step to becoming a leader in life after school.  

Kristen Swartz (10A) 

 Peer support might not have been a first option of mine but I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be in this class. I’ve learnt many new leadership skills and have made new friends along the way. While coming up with ideas for the Year 7s it has made me realise how lucky I am to be able to teach these amazing kids. Although I was unfortunately absent for the most recent peer support lesson, the other lessons I’ve participated in were a great opportunity to improve my leadership and social skills which is something I tend to struggle with.  Not only has this class been a great opportunity but it has also taught me many new things including great ways to be a leader.  

Morissa Khun (10E) 

I personally believe the highlights of Peer Support include the connectedness and strong sense of belonging it grants towards everyone involved in it. The most important lesson that Peer Support taught me was that not everything would go to plan. You must be prepared for failures and always have a backup plan. I have grown as a both an individual and leader thanks to the peer support program. It has exposed me and encouraged me to be more initiative and considerate. In conclusion, I’m extremely happy I decided to pick Peer Support for one of my electives this year and am eternally grateful of the positive experiences it has provided. 

Sireen Kaiss (10C)