Teaching & Learning
Year 8 English - Memoirs
Year 8 English classes have been studying the features of memoir writing in a range of texts and then writing their own. Students brainstormed, drafted, and finally polished their memoirs for publishing, we are please to share some of these with you below:
Drafts:
Luther
Oasis
Lucas P
It was the few days before New Years, 2021, Christmas was over and I had the auspicious opportunity to participate in and perform at a folk music festival and wine tasting at a venue a few hours north of Coburg with my extended family, I was there for 4 days and 3 nights and had travelled with my dad and sister.
I don’t remember the name of the venue we were at, it was a wine vineyard owned by a friend of my grandmother that I had only been to once when I was a very small child. The productions were grand and amazing, I still remember the songs sung by my grandmother’s friends and the notes passing through the air.
The clock ticked past midnight, and there we were, taking in the last of an extraordinary performance. The applause blended seamlessly with the surrounding bush, creating a soundtrack of appreciation. As the final note reverberated through the crowd, a calm settled upon us.
Most people, fueled by the magic of the night, stumbled their way back to their tents, their steps were stumbly and drunk. But for a few of us night owls, including yours truly, the allure of the stage was too strong to resist.
We found ourselves sinking into plastic chairs, determined to prolong the enchantment a little while longer. Soft, warm light gracefully pushed away the darkness, casting a gentle glow upon the scene. Lyrics of sea shanties, sung by old sailors could be heard in the distance.
Accordions wheezed, guitars strummed, and violins soared, engaging in a delightful musical skirmish with the stillness of the forest. Laughter, infectious and carefree, mingled with the tinkling of wine glasses, weaving an atmosphere of comfort and delight.
The weather remained calm, as if Mother Nature herself acknowledged the magical moment. Even the branches of the trees seemed frozen in time, not a single leaf daring to rustle. All that reached our ears were the sweet melodies and the joyous laughter, merging in perfect harmony. It was a symphony of light and dark, sound and silence, evoking an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment.
It painted a picture that warmed the heart and brought an involuntary smile to one's face, taking us back to the carefree days from before the pandemic. In that very moment, as I took in the sights and sounds, a deep tranquillity washed over me.
My thoughts, like gentle whispers, melded harmoniously with the melodic notes of the songs. I felt a respite from the clamour and chaos of our everyday lives, where noise and mundane demands often drown out our inner peace.
So far, this decade, with its unrelenting stream of bad news, has left many of us wanting an oasis of serenity. For a precious few hours, I was blessed to find that oasis. Amidst the tipsy laughter and captivating folk music, time stood still. Worries and burdens faded away, replaced by a renewed sense of hope and tranquillity.
In those moments, I cherished the simple joys that shielded me from the cacophony of life's demands. As the night wore on, etching the memoir of that enchanting evening upon my heart, I couldn't help but appreciate the power of such moments.
The Rocket in my heart
Hana R
It was December 28th 2022, and it was my first trip back to Egypt after covid hit. I had not gone to Egypt in three years and the last time my family saw me I was ten years old. I had many plans for this holiday and one of those was going to Dream park.
The last time I went to the Dream park I was six years old and was not allowed on any rides because of my height, but now I was obviously taller so I was allowed. The car ride was fun but it was two and a half hours long and filled with songs. I went with four of my cousins and my siblings.
As we arrived I was overwhelmed with all the rides, I could probably see more than I could count. The smell of the amusement park food made my tummy grumble. It sounded like a washing machine, but I chose to ignore it because I wanted to get on the rides first.
The first ride I went on was by far my absolute favourite. It was the Rocket. We got into the line where we had to go in groups of four so it was me and my older cousin and two other strangers. As they measured my height I could feel my heart beating like a drum. As I sat down in the chair and put my safety seatbelt on I tried to focus on the positive things and tried to push the butterflies that were in my tummy away.
I could see my mum looking at me with worry in her eyes because she knows I am scared of heights, as I got strapped in I took deep breaths and told myself “you can do this Hana, stop being such a baby.” But I could not take it anymore but my cousin was reassuring me I would be fine.
As I took a deep breath I suddenly felt my body shooting up as if there was a rocket in my heart I could feel that there was no longer gravity and all I saw was bright blue skies and clouds, I could feel myself about to cry but as it went down I was relieved but little did I know that it was not over there was seven more shootings up to go.
As I exhaled thinking it was done my heart shot up again this time I was getting kind of used to it. The burning sensation in my heart had eased down a bit. As I started breathing my nostrils were filled with a sweet fresh scent almost like fresh laundry detergent. I was starting to feel calmer, enjoying the ride to the fullest.
The third time it went up I was not scared anymore and this time I observed every tiny little detail I noticed the sun about to set and how the birds flew over my head. It was almost eerie yet calming, I saw how little the trees looked from above almost like a tree in a lego set.
As it went down the cold breeze cooled down my heated cheeks, it felt as if I was in the car and had my window open. After the eighth time I felt upset that the ride was going to end but I was also relieved because that meant I got to go on more rides. As I unbuckled my seatbelt I thought back to the first time the ride shot up and every time I did, I still felt the rocket in my heart.
As I look back now on this memory, I always laugh at how scared I was even though I had no reason to be scared. I learned that even though you are scared you can still always enjoy the moment, I regret not enjoying it to the fullest because it's always once in a while I get to spend time with my cousins in Egypt and I never know when I can have the chance to see them again.
Lost at the Melbourne Star
Sienna M
The Melbourne Star loomed above us. Its giant wheel slowly turning in the bright blue sky.
It was April 2018 and I was with my twin cousins, Giuseppe and Damiano. They arrived in Australia a couple of days ago. This was the first time my cousin had been to a different country before. They live in Sicily, and don't speak any English.
They all came down here to see my family and I for Easter.
Since they live in Italy they don't really know what it's like here at Easter time. Back at home they don't have Easter hunts, instead they have something called Pasqua, they still like to give Easter eggs but are filled with gifts instead. While they were here, We decided to take them to one of Melbourne's greatest tourist sites, The Melbourne star. We all drove down and grabbed some tickets for us all.
We were waiting in the line for at least an hour but it felt like we were waiting for days. I could see the excitement building up in their eyes, they couldn't wait to see the city from above. I was just as excited even though I live in Melbourne I had never been on the Melbourne star.
When it was time for us to board the wheel, it was going faster than we imagined, and we nearly missed it, but we made it on time. As soon as we boarded the wheel, we all looked out the crystalline window to look at the breathtaking view.
It looked just like a painting, except it didn't for my auntie, who had the biggest fear of heights, and refused to even take a slight glance in that direction. She was sitting down, her knees were trembling, and her face was pale as a ghost. The whole time we were on the wheel, we were just mesmerised by the beautiful view of the city. I felt so high and mighty up in the sky like I could conquer anything, but before we knew it, an hour had already passed already, and it was time to hop off.
As we hopped off the Star, we had a great idea and decided to visit the gift shop to find something to remember this incredible experience. We browsed through the souvenirs one by one, trying to find the perfect one for Guiseppe to take home to Italy. He found a keyring that caught his eye, and he asked me how much it was. Unfortunately, I was still little and had not learned much Italian yet, so I couldn't understand what he was saying.
I went to find my Dad, who could speak fluent Italian since he had lived there for nearly half of his life. However, when I went to find him, my cousin asked me in Italian, "dové es Joe?" That's when I realised that my dad had left my cousin and me behind at the gift shop! We went up to the shop lady to see if she had seen him or the rest of my family, but she said she hadn't. I started to get worried, and my heart was beating out of my chest. My cousin tried to ask her to call him over the speakers to get him to come back to the gift shop, but she couldn't understand him. At this point, I felt like I was going to be left there forever. Finally, my dad walked through the doors of the gift shop. I felt relieved and could finally take in a breath again.
When we got home that day, my Dad told me not to tell my Mum that we lost me, or she would hate him forever. From that day on, I never left my parents' side... or told my Mum about that day.
Lost at Sea
Lyric M
The car pulled up at Eastern View, the beach a few minutes up the great ocean road away from my beach house, and me, Elisa, Sienna, my mum and dad got out of the car. Me, Elisa and Sienna were excited for a day of beach fun to start off our holiday.
We started feeling little things on our arms and legs and saw heaps of black dots all over the car. Bugs. They were yuck and they were all over us like seagulls to a chip. We ran down to the beach to get away from them and left most of them behind but not all of them. We put down all our stuff and me, Elisa and Sienna raced to the water. It was so cold and refreshing. We swam around for a while and had so much fun, then we went back out to the sand and got the boards and had races to see who could ride in the waves the furthest. It was a bit hard because we kept missing waves but it didn’t matter we still had heaps of fun.
After a while we got a bit bored of the boards and we wanted to swim again. Since there was a big undertow and we kept getting swept away, we had to keep on getting out of the water and walking all the way back over which was annoying but we would rather that than drift into the rocks.
We were having so much fun but we must have gotten distracted because the waves were getting bigger and harsher and we looked over to see my parents were pretty far away, like very very far away… We started trying to get back to the sand but realised that I could not touch the seafloor and if I could not touch the floor, then Sienna and Elisa definitely would not be able to touch the floor. Elisa started screaming really, really, really loud. It was not helping the situation and it was making Sienna stress a lot. Sienna began a pretty big downward spiral and thought she was going to die. The tide was quickly coming in and the rip was dragging us out to sea. We were like leaves being drifted in the wind. The waves were getting super ginormous and Sienna, Elisa and I were getting bashed around. My parents were telling us to get our but we were really trying as hard as we could. I am a pretty good swimmer but Elisa and Sienna on the other hand, not so much. In those conditions it would have been hard enough to get myself out, let alone Sienna and Elisa as well.
We had been trying to get out of the raging water for at least 17 minutes and all that was happening was that we were getting tired. All our scrambling had led us to stay still the whole time, which was probably better than getting drifted more. Sienna, Elisa and I were so tired of being in the water and we were extremely exhausted and just wanted to get out of the ocean. Finally the waves started to die down. This was our chance to get out. We swam and swam and swam towards the shore, dodging rocks left and right. And the sand was in sight. We swam and swam and Elisa was about to drown. She could not swim. At all. I was trying to pull Elisa and Sienna out with me as we took the died down waves as an opportunity. We kept going and finally we were out. We ran to my parents and decided maybe that was enough beach for the day. Then we went back to the car and got eaten by billions of bugs.
A Journey of Gratitude
Deniz B
Mountain Biking
Anonymous
Mountain biking (MTB) was something that me and my grandpa had always enjoyed and still enjoy to this day. I started mountain biking when I was 6 years old, and he'd been doing it years before I was born, we both had a passion for it. If I could change anything about my past would I? Yes I wish I enjoyed the memories and time mountain biking I had with him because I took it for granted and now I have to live with it, knowing that the days we spent together are over.
Around 7 years ago today me and grandpa went mountain biking every time he would come to Australia from New Zealand. Spending time with him was something I enjoyed but not enough as I wish I did. We would go mountain biking every day down to the local creek, getting muddy, having fun, creating memories we would have with each other for the rest of our lives. Almost every mountain biking trip we had there was a fun or not so fun experience, such as my brother riding into the creek one time screaming ‘where are the brakes!’ and the time I rode down a set of stairs and ended up with a flare tyre and a sprained wrist from falling off the bike, as a reward for going on rides my grandpa would take us to the local shops to get a drink which was my personal favourite part of our rides. We both rode whenever we could, seeking a new adventureful experience every day and also hoping that we would come home in one piece and we often would, but one day it was different. My grandpa was in the mountains of New Zealand, going on an intense mountain biking Ride with some other mountain bikers, who took MTB very seriously. He was riding down the mountain at blistering speeds on his E-bike, riding through and other runts, rocks and anything that got in his way, when suddenly he hit a rock very unexpectedly, this sent him flying over the handlebars which led to him landing and fracturing his back on a rock, fortunately he was with other caring riders who managed to comfort him and call 000, because of the rough terrain and the general situation he was in emergency services decided to send a helicopter to come collect him, but little did anyone know that fall had forever ended his mountain biking journey.
Lockdown and Tortillas
Anonymous
I knew my dad could see me fraying at the edges and I could see for myself the tole that the lockdowns were taking on him too. This was his way of showing how much he cared - with yummy food, good times and learning something new together. For the first time in a little while a genuine smile crept across my face.
We watched as the tortillas rose like pillows in the frying pan, both running our hands under cold water after burning ourselves on the hot steam that puffed from inside when you tried to pick it up. We laughed and talked and somehow managed to burn the cheese. We stuffed them to the brim so when we picked them up half the filling fell out. It was chaotic and fun and vivid and real. Once we had made ourselves sick on the tasty richness of mexican cuisine we cleaned up and sat on the comfy couches of the back porch. The mild night was alive with the hum of insects and neighbours alike. However, we sat for many moments in comfortable silence, a silence that said without words that everything would be ok. Everything would be ok because we had each other, and that that would never change. My dad finally broke the silence, whispering - ‘are you ok?’
As I think back to that time I know I didn't have the words then to describe how I was feeling, I could barely pick apart the tangle of emotions myself.
‘I’ll be ok.’
Making Changes/Starting Something New
Anonymous
The other big change for me was starting to play basketball. I never really loved basketball but my friends, who were passionate basketballers, played it. I never felt like I needed to play until I found out about the Academy…a place/community where all my friends would go for FOUR extra training sessions per week. This really bothered me through year seven knowing my peers and friends were getting all this extra fitness than me so I decided to start playing basketball. I found a team I could join and went to some training and then played my first game a few weeks later.
At the start of year eight I found out my English and Humanities teacher was one of the coaches of the Academy. This forced me to put my best foot forward and stay consistent. I asked how I could get into the Academy. He managed to let me come to some training sessions and eventually I became a part of the Academy. Everyone was very welcoming but especially one person. They hardly knew me at the time but were still so nice and would make sure I kept my head up in every drill we did and to me that really helped me get over my nerves in the first week. I’m very grateful for that.
The Academy has already taught me so many valuable life lessons like ‘how you do anything is how you do everything’ (Mike Fortune). And ‘everything you want is on the other side of hard’ (Coburg High Basketball Academy). Even though basketball is not my favourite sport, everything I have learnt from it I can see has an impact on the way I train, play, lead and think in AFL.
VCE Vocational Major
Career expo
On the 19th of May, the VCE VM class went to the Melbourne Showgrounds for the 2023 VCE and Careers expo. We went out for the whole day, doing many activities and meeting lots of experienced people in the industries we are interested in. We got the chance to find new opportunities, meet new people and plan things we can do when we graduate. The careers expo had food trucks and stalls and many opportunities to win prizes, sadly none of us won this time.
VET Expo for year 9 and 10
After preparing for the better part of the term on May 29th we had a VET expo that was fun and exciting for the year 11 VCE VM students to display their VET programs. It also gave us a chance to explain the highlights of VET and what jobs it could lead to. It provided information on a future pathway the year 9s and 10s were interested in and the information from the VET programs that were offered.
Structured Workplace Learning
Students in the VCE VM class had to do 9 days structured workplace learning from May 30th-June 9th. We had to find something that was related to our VET courses, like some of us worked at; mechanic shops, retail, veterinarian, child care centres, schools and for electrician companies and plumbing companies. It was a great opportunity to trial the industries we are working towards.
Numeracy- Digital house builds
During term 2 our VCE VM class completed the task of building and designing our own house on the website called “HomeByMe”. It had a large aspect of fun to it as we could just mess around with all its features and make our house our own. There were endless lists of items to furnish your house with to make it as personal as possible and you even had the ability to make the walls whatever size you wanted. Following the fun of our task was to complete a series of calculations that ordinary home owners have to take into consideration. We had to calculate the overall size of the walls in the master bedroom in square metres and translate those calculations to how much paint we would need to paint the room fully.
Helping with the Theatrette
On Friday June 16th Gary Vella had invited the Year 11 VCE VM class and a few Year 10 students to assist with the demolition of the theatrette, which required cooperation, collaboration, and perseverance. The kids helped with a variety of activities, including unscrewing chair backs, removing each seat and bar, and putting up seats. Despite being warned that removing the pre-installed bars would take more than two hours, students and a few others completed the task in an hour and a half and utilised the remaining time to fill with gym seats. We now have a nicer and more pleasant meeting space for assemblies.
We would like to thank all of the students who actively participated over those two times, Gary Vella and Brent Houghton for planning this event, and Paul Arney and Olivia Stray for their contributions to this activity.
Lydia Burns
Dragon Boat Festival
CHS's inaugural "Dragon Boat (HulaHoop) Race" took place on the 21st of June. Like Dragon Boat racing, teams of three needed to work and coordinate together to run a time trial while staying inside a hula hoop! There were trips, there were falls, there was even a lost shoe, but the Year 11 team: Taj 11D, Liam 11A and Archie 11C, emerged victorious with a time of 12.04 seconds!
Our Year 7 Mandarin Chinese classes worked on their poise and patience, learning the ancient art form of 书法 shū fǎ - Chinese ink calligraphy led by our very own Jessica Wang. Students practiced writing basic brush strokes, and also had a go at drawing pandas.
In Year 8 Mandarin classes, students had the chance to try the traditional festival food 粽子 zōngzǐ - sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. Savoury and sweet zongzi were on the tasting menu with many students happily returning for second and third tastings. The Year 9 Mandarin class also enjoyed this opportunity, plus trying out the infamous 皮蛋 pídàn - century egg. Language Lounge on the 22nd of June opened the zōngzǐ tasting up to the whole school and invited students to test their cultural knowledge of the festival in a Kahoot! Quiz, sending off our last Language Lounge for Semester 1 in style!
Simone Laiu