Message from the Director of Learning

- Ms. Alice Paget

Congratulations to our Year 7 students who have completed their first year of secondary school and now transitioned into their Year 8 classes. There are some very exciting opportunities for our Year 8 students as they transition into Year 9 and begin their electives.

After meeting our new Year 7 cohort at Orientation Day on the 10th December, I am looking forward to continuing their transition and welcoming them into Westall Secondary College in 2020. We will be running an alternate program for them, as part of the first 3 days of 2020, to allow students to settle in to their new environment, meet new friends and build a rapport with their teachers and other support staff.

I would like to thank our Junior School Coordinators, Rebekah Vass and Annie Papagiannopoulos, on their dedication to their role as year level coordinators this year. They have both been a fabulous support to our students in the Junior School, with all aspects of school life. I would like to welcome Ms Samantha Dewhurst and Mr Sean Fraser into the Year 7 and Year 8 coordinator roles for 2020.

Please take the time over the holidays to ensure you have bought all the required textbooks, exercise books and stationary to ensure your child has the best learning opportunities. On behalf of the Junior School team, we wish you a safe and relaxing holiday!

YEAR 7 COORDINATOR REPORT

180 days of secondary school, and you have all survived! I can’t believe how quickly it has gone and how far you have all come. 2019 – first year of secondary school - a year to remember. It all started out on Orientation Day in December 2018. You will remember some of the highlights were making new friendships, the photo booth, the amazing race and much more! Then we began the school year in February 2019, where you met your fellow classmates, and learnt your way around the school. Many of you also quickly learnt how to open those locks; some of you still are learning how to open them! In the second week, we went out tree surfing on our adventure day; many of you conquering fears of heights and dark rooms. Throughout the year, you got to experience many excursions & incursions in which you all did so well in representing WSC. I congratulate you all on being a fantastic year group, and challenge you all to make sure you are always trying your best. I wish you all the best for 2020 and beyond - keep smiling!

JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS 2019

On Thursday 28th November, we celebrated the achievement of many students at the College and said farewell to our Year 12 students. With only two prestigious awards presented to each year level, it was a very tough choice to nominate the recipients this year. The Academic Excellence Award is presented to a student who had excelled academically in their subjects right across the board and the Personal Best Award goes to a student who strives for excellence in all of their subjects.

Year 8 Academic Excellence: Raymond Dang

Year 8 Personal Best: Olivia Hansen

Year 7 Academic Excellence: Jorden Khauv

Year 7 Personal Best: Yuden Tobgye

We also recently held a whole school assembly, where we recognised academic excellence and personal best in individual subjects.

Congratulations to all the award winners below!

Year 7:

Year 8:

JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS 2020

We are very excited to announce our Junior School Captain appointments for 2020, Zoi Spiliopulou and Larni Fountain. Zoi and Larni went through a written application and interview process to be selected for the position. Both girls are ecstatic to be selected and are looking forward to bringing some great ideas to the Junior School in 2020. Well done girls!

Orientation Day 2019

On Tuesday 10th December, we held our Orientation Day for our new Year 7 students coming into the College. We had a jam-packed day of activities to assist students in getting to know the school, their teachers and other students. The highlight of the day was definitely the Amazing Race, where the students had to discover multiple locations and pass through a couple of roadblocks. The students had a great time in the photo booth, as part of the final destination for the Amazing Race!

The day was filled with opportunities for the students to get to know students from other Primary Schools, including a ‘get to know you’ Bingo and team-building games. They also developed an Identity Puzzle to help decorate the Junior School and provide an opportunity for the teachers and students to get to know each other. Each student decorated a puzzle piece with different aspects that make up their identity, including their talents, hobbies and flag of origin.

They then had a taste of what it is like to be in a secondary school class. Students were able to participate in a class: Food Technology, PE, Art and Sustainability.

We look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students back into the College next year!

Year 8

Access Monash Program

University Discovery Day

As part of the Access Monash Program, Year 8 students were involved in a University Discovery Day at the Caulfield Campus, Monash University, on 22nd November. The Access Monash Program works in partnership with Westall Secondary College, from Year 8 to Year 12, to inform students’ decision-making and support their engagement and knowledge of university and campus life.

The University Discovery Day exposes students to a university campus through fun and interactive challenges. The day aims to help students become familiar with, and feel connected to, a local university campus and to start considering university as an accessible and dynamic environment. It opened up the students' minds to the options available in tertiary education and potential pathways in areas of interest.

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