Welcome back Year 9!

Year 9 students were welcomed back to school after the remote learning period with a new currency, a renovated learning space and welcome back packs. Seeking to promote School Wide Positive Behaviour and our College values (Community, Ownership and Growth), the Year 9 Team have been trialling an initiative which provides students with tokens (Year 9 Dollars) when they display behaviours consistent with our values. We have seen a large number of students redeeming their tokens for food items, access to kitchen facilities and accessing other privileges. Over 80 tokens have been redeemed since our return and we look forward to student suggestions regarding other items or activities that can be purchased.

The new flexible learning spaces have been well received by staff and students alike. The Year 9 team are very impressed with the year level for the way they have been respectful of the space and accommodated some of the necessary changes such as locker adjustments. The final works will be completed over the term break including the installation of some more glass panels and retractable partitions.

Whilst remote learning provided a challenge for many students, the Year 9 team would like to pay special acknowledgement to those students who developed their skills in independent learning and improved their communication with teachers. This remote learning period presented many of us with obstacles that we did not anticipate encountering, however, the adaptability and agility of responding to these demands highlights a real strength of our Community. Hosting a footy colours Google Meet assembly certainly presented some questionable footy team alliances from students and staff…

From the Year 9 team, a huge thank you to students, parents and carers during arguably one of the most uncertain times or our era. We encourage you to continue seeking assistance by contacting one of the Year 9 team on any matters that we can provide assistance. We have course counselling coming up and this will have a number of logistical differences to previous years – more information available soon. Take care and thank you again for your support.

Jessica Adams (Year 9 Leader), Annelise Scott (Year 9 Coordinator) & Dylan Johnson-Turner (Year 9 Coordinator)

The following is an excerpt from a remote learning task that reflects the insight offered by our students.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Our postcode, our parents' jobs, whether we attend a public or private school no longer define us. These are just aspects of our life. Just because our parents didn’t finish school or had a family young, or because we live in or near the Frankston area does not mean we give up because people don’t expect us to amount to anything. We are our own people, and therefore decide for ourselves what our interests are and what we pursue. We can be entrepreneurs, academics, scientists - whatever we want to achieve. If we work adamantly toward a goal, we can achieve despite others' doubts. We pave our own path to success; we are responsible for pursuing what we love.

We have all been in a situation where we want to do something and don’t. Why do we hold ourselves back? Because in the back of our minds we say “I am not worth it.” We only see our socio-economic background. Why is that? They are not words of wisdom, I can assure you. It is because we allow our upbringing and the socio-economic elements of our lives dictate how we move forward and allow them to define our abilities. We suppress the urge to break the mould each time an opportunity arises. Our postcode does not, and should never hold us back.

…

We have all developed in different ways over time and our education both at school and through general observations in day to day life shape who we are. We have the ability to learn and we take that opportunity, we have the ability to ask questions and we take that opportunity. So why not take the opportunity to excel? Why not take the opportunity to lead others down a positive path?

At this time in our lives shaping our future is about the person we want to become. Knowing who we are, being emancipated, is an immensely important part of our future. I know that I want to be a positive influence. I know that I want to be a leader. I want to be successful doing what I love. So I will work adamantly towards my goal, because I am the only one who can dictate my future. It doesn’t matter where I live, I can still be an influential force. It doesn’t matter what my parents’ jobs are, I am my own person. I will learn from life itself and those around me, because I am intuitive and insightful and I will persevere. Adversity will not terminate my aptitude, my postcode will not dictate my decisions and prejudice will not control my life.

It is not where we came from, it is what we achieve that people will remember us for. Where we attended school is an aspect of our lives. Our parents teach us skills to set us on a better path. Make them proud, make them laugh or furthermore make them say, “I did not see that coming.” With pride. Be the inspiration for others like you, show them what is possible when you seek opportunities.

Isabella Toffolon – Year 9

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