News For Students
Year 7 Camp | Student Reflections
Year 7 Camp is an opportunity for the College's newest student to settle in, make new friends, and above all, create memories that will last the entirety of their time at Wheelers Hill Secondary College. Held at the picturesque Alexandra Adventure Resort, Year 7 students engaged in a range of team-building recreational activities, games, and sports - some of which they've shared in the reflections below...
First High School Camp - Xavier L (7E)
Pew. As I shot the deadly arrow it was hard to strike the target, but it was lots of fun. Soon we went to the giant swing. I went a few times. It was quite a shock. The food was awesome! Time for the pool. Splash! That was great, now let’s have dinner! Ah, it’s so good. Well, goodnight, camp. That was wonderful.
Black Snake Madness - Adam M (7D)
“No Thanks!” Miss Sharpe said when she was asked to hold a snake. Snakes were taken around the room to hold and feel. Soon after that, a baby Freshwater Crocodile was taken around the room and it was placed on Adam’s head! He was calm though. That night, when Black Snake Productions had to go, a lot of people would’ve been a bit sad because shortly after it was bedtime. Some people probably thought “What a great day!” and drifted off to sleep.
Trivia Night -Ellaha R (7D)
At camp we had an interesting but hilarious Trivia Night. Ms Hanley put on a song called “What a Feeling” and got all the male teachers in the middle of the room. I was confused about what was happening. She started dancing and she ran up to them and they lifted her up in the air. It was amazing to watch. It was the best experience ever.
What A Feeling - Bailey T (7D)
When we first arrived at Alexander Adventure Camp, I was filled with excitement, but I have to say Miss Hanley made it even more fun on the Trivia Night. Not only was the Trivia Night fun, but Miss Hanley made it even better. It was absolutely phenomenal to watch Miss Hanley soar through the air. Everyone was screaming and shouting with amazement and it was honestly really cool. I really loved camp and I wish I could do it all again.
Raft Building - Cameron B (7E)
It was finally time to see if our raft functioned, as we brought it toward the water. Our whole team got on. But the barrels started spinning faster and faster and “Oh no!” - my whole team had all fallen off. Splash! I fell in the water, as everyone began to laugh.
The Magnificent Year 7 Camp - Charlie M (7D)
Camp was the bomb. It was a great experience for all of the New Year 7s to meet each other for the first time. There were so many activities, like raft building, rock climbing, giant swing and so much more. Personally my favourite activity was rock climbing. Climbing all the way to the top and looking down was scary but amazing. Before and after your climb you also got to watch everyone else climb as high as they could. Once again, camp was an incredible experience for everyone there, doing all of the activities planned for us to enjoy.
A Day In The Life of a Year 7 | Student Report
Going from Year 6 to Year 7 was a big deal. I was very nervous and definitely not 100 percent prepared. But I had to get a grip, and I did. It all started on Orientation Day. It was awesome. I had heaps of fun and did plenty of good activities. The first day was very nerve-racking. We played a lot of games, then we did some testing, and then played more games. It was good as! On the second week, we all went on Year 7 Camp to the Alexandra Adventure Resort. They had so much to do there. We went canoeing and swimming. We built rafts, we went on the Giant Swing, stacked crates and we played Gaga Ball. I made so many new friends and we all got to know our teachers.
We’ve done a heap of other fun things while we have been at high school, I really enjoyed the College Swimming Carnival. I’m in the best house, Jells, and we won the Swimming Carnival overall. I’m a terrible swimmer but I had a go. I didn’t do all that well in the 25m Freestyle, but my mates and I came first place in the relay, which was really good.
Some of the challenges faced were getting to know the school and making sure to take all the right stuff to the right classes. Overall though, high school has been really good and heaps of fun.
Lochie E (7B)
Year 10 Futures | Dallas Woods Performance
Dallas Woods is a talented Indigenous Australian MC and Rapper from the Kimberly in Western Australia. Dallas came to Wheelers Hill Secondary College to share his experiences and motivate Year 10 Futures students. Dallas spoke to the students in relation to their future. Special shout out to Steven C, who was brave enough to get onto the stage, beatbox and rap with Dallas Woods himself!
Feedback from the students was positive, and they enjoyed the session and the music that he performed: "He spoke the truth about Australian’s past occurrences with Indigenous people." "He showed confidence whilst performing in front of our year level and gave us the motivation stating to never give up." "He proved no matter what background, you can make it - you can achieve so much." "You can come from nothing and still be someone." These are all fantastic sentiments, and great lessons to take away from this inspiring experience.
Ms. Michelle Galea
Leading Teacher / VCAL & Pathways
Peer Support Program | Year 7 Mentorship
The Year 10 Peer Support and Leadership class has made a great start to their classes this term. The Peer Support program at Wheelers Hill is designed to provide leadership training to the Year 10 leaders, who then assist the new Year 7 students in having a positive transition to high school. The Year 10 leaders have been working on team building and leadership skills in their classes, while also contributing to the implementation of peer support sessions for the Year 7s.
The Year 10 leaders have the opportunity to run a number of sessions with the Year 7s, where they decide which topics to focus on, and then plan and run activities with their groups. The sessions that have been run this term have focused on the topics of ‘Getting to Know You’ and ‘Friendship and Trust’, with many more to come throughout the semester!
Ms. Gemma McMahon
Student Leadership Coordinator
Black Ties | Arts Centre Melbourne Excursion
Wheelers Hill Secondary College is proud to be a Partnership School with Arts Centre Melbourne. This partnership provides our students funding and access to state of the art performances, workshops and tours at Arts Centre Melbourne, providing our community with more chances to express their creativity, demonstrate respect and experience excellence in the Arts.
Early in the year our VCE Drama students were privileged to see Ilbijerri Theatre Company's performance of "Black Ties", a story of a First Nation Maori woman marrying a First Nation Indigenous Australian man. The immersive theatre experience placed our students at the heart of the story – as guests at the wedding. The performance was progressive, transformative and important. Our students were blown away by the experience:
"We were so lucky to watch the story unfold of the struggles and triumphs of each character, their ties to their family, culture and the coming together of two First Nation families. The show made us laugh and cry (sometimes both at the same time) and we were lucky enough to have one of the characters sitting amongst us and interacting with us like we were guests at the wedding. We are extremely grateful to Arts Centre Melbourne for providing us with funding to be a part of this immersive theatre experience." - Ayesha S, Year 12
"The performance of Black Ties allowed me to see the very real effects that colonisation has had on both Maori people and the people of First Nation Australia. It turned the genre of romantic comedies on its head as it combined moments of comedy from the over the top (very relatable) families and light hearted cliches, to moments of heartbreak when we saw the trauma caused by colonisation expressed by the characters before our eyes. I was inspired by the moving moments of love, despite the trauma, as it united the families and provides some relief from the pain of suffering. It taught me how often First Nation cultures are ignored in pop culture and media and how it’s important that we, as the next generation, include and represent all walks of life both creatively and in our lives." - Jemma F, Year 12
Ms. Genelle Lentini
Performing Arts Leader
College Musical 2020 | Mary Poppins Jr.
The secret is out! The “Practically Perfect” Mary Poppins is flying into Wheelers Hill Secondary College as students begin preparing for this “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” whole school initiative! The Bunjil Centre has been a hive of activity as students found out the exciting news and prepared for the months to come.
Registrations for Cast and Designers have closed and Auditions and Interviews commence next week. We will be partnering with local primary schools, practicing artists, and the Burrinja Cultural Centre to ensure that our College Production is once again another high quality, special event. We are thrilled to be able to provide such a wonderful opportunity for our students to work collaboratively, respectfully and creatively.
Ms. Genelle Lentini
Performing Arts Leader
Lunar New Year Celebration
Lunar New Year Celebration activates were held on Monday, February 10th. Our international students Amber and Annie gave a speech on the traditional festivity and explained stories about the 12 zodiac signs. Students enjoyed the fun activities such as Lion dancing, the chopstick completion, paper cutting, ink painting, and red pocket making, which were held at lunchtime in school Library.
Ms. Jane Xing
International Program Coordinator
Year 9 | Monash Tech School Excursion
From 17th - 19th of February our 9E and 9F classes had the opportunity to attend the Monash Tech School for the Superhealth Program. Day 1 of the Program involved an industry-based presentation by a representative to Yakult, who spoke of all the factors which must be considered when designing a healthy product for a global market. The day followed on with an opportunity to either experience the use of virtual reality in the healthcare sector, or to take a guided tour of the state-of-the-art facilities at the Monash Children’s Hospital.
From this experience, students used Design Thinking to produce their own solution to an issue faced by the healthcare sector from Days 1 and 2. Students collaborated to learn how to use state-of-the-art technology such as virtual reality, gene editing, automated vehicles, and simulation models, and apply these to their specific problem. Overall, this was a fantastic STEM experience that will further highlight opportunities and real-world learning for our students.
Mr. Pedro Mello
STEM Learning Specialist
Senior School Update | Years 10 - 12
Welcome to the Senior School for 2020. Students from across Year 10 - 12 have settled into the new school year extremely well, and we are sure that it will be a very successful year for all students.
Congratulations to the Year 12 Class of 2019 on achieving some excellent VCE results. We wish you all the best for your future endeavours!
Study Skills Day
On Wednesday, February 5th, our Year 12 students attended the annual Study Skills Day held at the Stirling Theological College in Mulgrave. The morning started with an opening address by Ms. Judy Anderson, our Assistant Principal who oversees the Senior School. This was followed by a group session in which the students, ably guided by Ms. Louise Ford, our Year 12 Coordinator, discussed the Trademark Behaviours that they would like to be defined by throughout the year.
After morning tea, the students moved through two rotations of the three sessions on offer. These were:
Student Elevate: Run by a presenter from Elevate Education, students were shown how to:
Analyse the role of belief as a means to propel them to their personal best in their final years. They also confronted their conditioned beliefs and self-limitations.
Follow through a 4-step goal-setting process that helps them to identify their unique and compelling reasons to drive them through their final years. Goals examined were based on the student’s ambitions and include career path, university and vocational study-based goals.
Use a short-term planning process to help them break their goal into a series of achievable, short term benchmarks.
Relaxation Techniques: Lucky, from The Winged Dragon, showed the students how to use Tai Chi as a method of relaxation. It was very interesting watching the students trying the movements for themselves.
Headspace: Presenters from Headspace looked at resilience and stress management strategies.
The final session of the day was conducted by Voula Jakubicki, the College Pathways Coordinator, who highlighted and discussed many of the resources available to the students to help them make informed decisions about their future pathways. The students also completed their Career Action Plans. Our College Principal, Aaron Smith, presented some concluding remarks to finish off the day.
I would like to thank all those who contributed to the running of the day, especially the Year 12 students who participated fully in all the sessions presented, in spite of the oppressive weather conditions.
Mrs. Judith Riddoch
Senior School Leader
World's Greatest Shave | Friday, March 27th
This year, Wheelers Hill Secondary College will once again take part in the Worlds Greatest Shave! Any donations and support are more than welcome - every little bit adds up to quite a lot! Last year we raised over $6000 for this incredibly worthwhile charity, and we already have some students who have signed up to colour their hair or shave their heads that you can sponsor through our team page here.
The main event will take place outside the College Library at lunch time on Friday, March 27th, so come down and have a great time while we beat blood cancer together!
Athletics Victoria Guest | Ashton MacDonald
Wheelers Hill Secondary College is pleased to welcome Ashton MacDonald from Athletics Victoria, who will be joining us as part of our sports and athletics program. In Ashton's own words:
"Growing up I competed in athletics and cross-country for Knox Athletics Club, going on to represent Victoria in Cross Country and the 1500m. In 2016 my interest turned to coaching and I took on the role as running coach at St Margaret's School in Berwick. I also created my own youth training group - Berwick Cross Country and Track Squad.
Since then my athletes have won multiple state medals in the 800m, 1500m, steeplechase, 3000m and cross country, and many have represented Victoria at nationals. The highlight of my coaching career so far came late last year when one of my athletes won the gold medal at nationals to become the national U17 3000m champion. From absolute beginners to experienced athletes, my favourite part of coaching is helping athletes reach their personal best."
We are pleased to welcome Ashton to Wheelers Hill Secondary College.