Secondary News

From the desk of Nicholas Simons

Excursions

During Week 8 the Year 5 and 7 classes, along with the Year 10 Photography class had the opportunity to visit the Adelaide Zoo. During the term the Year 5’s have been learning about adaptations whilst the Year 7’s have been exploring classification.

The visit was a great opportunity to put into practice what they have been learning and apply it to the wonderful variety of animals they saw. It also allowed them to have a greater appreciation of God’s creation and appreciate the great variety and varied assortment of God’s animals.

Got a Concern?

This is a good opportunity to remind parents of the procedures to follow if there are any concerns. The first step is to contact the relevant teacher. Please feel free to give them a ring. If they are not available, they will endeavour to get back to you at the earliest possible opportunity. If you do not feel your concerns are being met, then you may choose to talk to one of the coordinators, depending on the issue. If it relates to subject issues you can talk to Mrs Farnell or Mrs Kluge. If it is a behavioural matter, please feel free to contact me. We will endeavour to resolve your concern. As a final resort you can request to see the Principal, Mr Croser. Within our community we always endeavour to uphold the RISE principles – (Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence).

God bless,

Nicholas Simons

Secondary Coordinator

Rite Journey - Boys

On 13 June 2018 the Year 9 Boys Rite Journey class took on Mount Lofty. With temperatures below zero

(temperature estimates may or may not be accurate) and visibility at an all-time low, the boys conquered the mountain. Their can-do spirit and willingness to knuckle down despite the tough conditions were inspirational.

Ryan McGowan

Secondary Teacher

Rite Journey - Girls

Last week both our Rite Journey classes went on excursions to challenge them individually and grow them as a team. The girls went to Bounce and then completed a scavenger hunt around Strathalbyn. Everyone did their best and had a great day.

Christina Lewis

Secondary Teacher

Year 8 English

In English this term we have been studying ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar. The novel tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, a teen wrongly convicted of stealing some sneakers. Stanley gets sent to Camp Green Lake where The Warden believes digging holes all day is a suitable punishment for boys and helps ‘build character’. After working hard writing our essays, we pondered how we could make the book seem more realistic to us. How about we dig a really big hole? We had a lot more fun that the boys in the book did!

Below is an example of one of the many high-quality essays I received. I’m very proud of the hard work this class has put in this term to produce such outstanding results!

Christina Lewis

Secondary Teacher

HOLES ESSAY by Angelica Rivera

Question:

How does Stanley change over the course of the novel? What causes him to change? Use quotes as examples from the novel.

The book Holes, written by Louis Sachar is a realistic fiction about Camp Green Lake (a camp for troubled boys), it leads us into the main character’s life. Stanley has been involved in a journey that changes both his physical appearance and his mental choices (attitude). This change is shown throughout the book by some of his reflective statements he has made about himself. Furthermore, he has made these changes prominent by comparing his past self to his present self.

After Stanley Yelnats find himself being accused of robbery, he had to face the inequitable consequence of choosing between jail or going to Camp Green Lake. As he made his final decision to unwillingly continue to the camp, in his mind remained his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-grandfather. He carelessly blames his great grandfather for his unluckiness. “He was overweight and the kids at his middle school often teased him about his size” (Page 7) it states clarity about Stanley’s and his peers’ reflection about his appearance. The first impression made about this quote is that Stanley has very minimal confidence and finds himself doubting his abilities. He is used to negative judgement and Stanley seems to be careless of the critiques.

In middle of the book (page 59) it states, ‘He guessed he’d lost five pounds. He figured than in a year and a half he’d be either in a great physical condition”. Stanley was an overweighed boy and that was known to him by his friends teasing and his consistent doubts about his ability. The quote symbolises the change in Stanley’s attitude. His reflection towards himself are now positive and motivational. By comparing the statements he’s made about his appearance from the start of the book to the middle of his journey, it shows a great difference between his judgement and how he treats himself in a positive way.

Towards the ending of the book it states “he’d been unhappy at school, where he had no friends, and bullies like Derrick Dunne picked on him. No one liked him, and the truth was, he didn’t especially like himself…. He liked himself now.” At the beginning of Stanley’s journey, he was careless of his body and hated his appearance, however, his behaviour and perception changes majorly as he starts to admit proudly on how he is starting like himself. The camp’s odd ways of straightening out troubled boys has majorly affected Stanley’s weight in a positive way. It has been made clear that the physical activity he has done (digging holes) decreased his weight and made him for confident in his own skin.

To conclude, the main character Stanley, has been involved in a journey that changes both his physical appearance and his mental choices. This change is shown throughout the book by some of his reflective statements (quotes) he or his peers has made about himself. Stanley went from negative to a little bit motivational and now a positive being.

Julius Caesar Excursion: A valuable experience

English and Drama students who were identified as benefiting from extended learning attended the Adelaide College of the Arts production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar this week.

The performance was a challenging interpretation of Shakespeare's play, utilising a variety of artistic modes to enhance the language of the play. The opportunity for higher order thinking and critical analysis were invaluable for the students.

Narelle Kluge

Secondary Curriculum Leader 

"It was fascinating to see a portrayal of one of Shakespeare's most well known plays. It was a good chance to learn about Shakespearean language and what goes into a production like this."

Kody Robertson - Year 11

Girls Leadership Defence Force

On Friday 15 June 2018, the Women in Defence team hosted the School Girls Leadership Breakfast at Keswick Barracks. The breakfast gave any teenage female interested in joining the defence force the opportunity to talk to women who work in the air force, navy, and army. Each speaker spoke of how they joined, what it took, and how they kept going even when they felt like giving up. We were able to ask questions about what they do and how their area of school study influenced them to go for their positions.

Overall it was an enjoyable event, besides the 5:30am wake up to get there for the 7:00am start. Even though I’m not sure that I’m interested in joining the defence force, I walked out with a full stomach and the knowledge that my internal thoughts are what shape my decisions.