Middle School

My Future Excursion

During the term we have been learning about how to write resumes, how to prepare for job interviews, and researching local small businesses among other things.

On Wednesday March 29th the My Future class took part in an excursion to ZERO 95. 

Jess (the manager) spoke to the students about small businesses and her role and rise in the company.

The students were engaged and asked relevant questions before enjoying delicious pizza!

The students demonstrated great resilience, despite the inclement weather, on the walk there and back!

We all learned a very important lesson: “When living in Melbourne: check the rain radar and ALWAYS carry an umbrella!”

Luisa Allen

My Future Teacher

MyOutdoors scale new heights!

On the 29th of March, MyOutdoors went on a trip to Hardrock in Nunawading, an indoor rock-climbing facility. Our class organised the trip, we caught a public bus and had a lunch break.

We then proceeded to walk to the facility and were taught how to set up to climb, this included tying knots and clipping into your harness. We learnt many terms like a figure of eight, bunny ears knot, and how to be a safe belayer. It was difficult to get the rhythm right at first but soon we all understood it and could begin climbing the wall safely.

One thing that we learnt from this excursion, is how important endurance is when climbing a wall. The wall was approximately 15m tall, so you really needed to be able to conserve your energy so that you had enough for the entire climb. To do this, we had to apply different strategies for savoring our energy, like resting on the wall by switching hands until your energy returned, or even just sitting in your harness for a bit while you gained energy. 

However, to be able to do that with confidence you had to communicate with and trust your partner and this sort of forced us to be dependent on the belayer. When you swap roles and your partner is the climber the favor is returned, so paying attention in the practice climbs with the instructors really paid off, when it came to teamwork trust, and the ability to push forward with a difficult climb, knowing your partner knew how to keep you safe. Using these strategies, I was able to climb to the very top of a wall, though it was very demanding.

Climbing these walls was very difficult, the holds were deceiving at times, and I often ended up stuck to the wall tangled, and I needed my teammate to tell me what they could see so I could move to the right holds.

In my opinion, the best thing in our excursion was definitely when you were swinging on a rope high up in the air once you jumped off the wall to abseil down.

Written by Eden M. 9E

Eureka! It's MyCity

On the 22nd of March, the Year 9 students went to the Eureka Skydeck for their MyCity class. This was an experience for all the students, being so high up with 360 degree views of Melbourne. This MyCity excursion was planned and led by the students which helps them gain leadership and planning skills as well as learn how public transport works and the best ways to get to their destination. 

The class caught a bus and then a train to Flinders Street Station and walked to the Eureka Tower, once we arrived everyone got the chance to go on the VR experience. This VR experience is 6D, and included sights such as the Great Ocean Road, a football match in the MCG, the Australian Open, the Luna Park roller coaster, and lots more! 

After this, we all went up 88 floors in a really fast elevator and got to experience the 'Edge'. The Edge is a glass cube that projects out from the building and suspends 300 meters above the ground! Some students faced their fear of heights and then some pushed themselves even further to go on the Edge. 

After the Eureka Tower, we went for lunch at Melbourne Central. The students leading the group decided that it would be quicker to walk to Melbourne Central instead of catching another train. Again showing leadership skills and time management. 

Bev Ward

WPS Social Worker

MyCity: Rain, hail or shine!

For the last excursion for MyCity, we headed down to the Melbourne Sports Museum, MCG despite the very bad weather in the morning. Students braved through the rain on the way to the MCG and once we were there, we were warmly welcomed by the staff and our lovely tour guide, Graeme.

Students were introduced to some interesting facts by Graeme and he brought us to various locations in the MCG that we usually see on TV, such as the change room and press room. Some interesting facts include the maintenance of the field and also the MCG membership that had a long waiting list. The students really enjoyed themselves walking on the grounds. 

We were all very grateful for the tour and it was amazing to see students engaged throughout the entire day.

Simon Tay

Visual Comm. Design & MySelf teacher

As Wednesday approached, the weather forecast was cold and rainy. However, that did not stop the Year 9's from lining up for their exciting excursion to the MCG. 

The tour was planned, and we all ventured on the bus to the stadium, where we were greeted by our Tour Guide. The excitement was clear with students talking about their favourite footy players and asking questions about the stadium. The tour allowed for us all to step onto the MCG grass as well as go 'behind the scenes' to the player locker rooms and media press conference area. 

After this special tour, the students spent time in the Sports Museum, whereby they got to learn significant sporting historical facts and even get physical with the footy kicking games and the indoor basketball hoops. 

As our time at the MCG came to an end, it was time for us as a group to eat some lunch and venture back to school on the local bus. The bus ride back was full of MCG tour highlights, footy talk and some very happy faces. 

Hayley SMITH

Wellbeing Placement Student

Year 9 Zoo Experience

Here are some more photos of last month's Science incursion by Wild Life Encounters. Students enjoyed hands-on learning about the differences between animal kingdoms and how animals adapt to their environment.