Senior School Report

Message from the

Director of Learning

- Mr. Jonathan Roberts

Progress reports are now on Compass for you to see. Make sure you view this report and use it to start a conversation with your child about their progress. This is a vital time for students to reflect on their progress and make any minor adjustments as they approach the “business end” of their VCE. Students in Years 7-10 have upcoming parent-teacher interviews next week. Senior students had their interviews earlier in the term, so please contact your child’s Year Level Coordinator directly if you wish to speak about their progress.

Holiday Revision & Practice Exams program

All students who study a Unit 3-4 subject are strongly encouraged to attend practice exams in the first week of the upcoming school holidays. These practice exams, which are offered for majority of Unit 3-4 subjects, will provide students with a real experience of what they will be faced with in the Oct/Nov VCAA examinations. Teachers will provide feedback to students in Week 1 of Term 4. One of the strategies to gain a great study score is to complete as many practice exams as possible in each subject. Students can access past exam papers on the VCAA website; others will be made available through their subject teacher. Students will be given a timetable for the practice exam week over the next couple of days.

Those students that requested revision lecture tickets to be run at Monash University are reminded that your tickets are at the front office to be paid and picked up. All the session details on are each ticket.

Exams

Unit 3-4 students will shortly be entering the exam period, starting with language and performance examinations starting October 7th with English and EAL for everyone on 30th October until 20th November. This is a highly demanding time for many students and your support at home will help them greatly. Students need to be well organised with a solid study plan that has allocated break times in place. Managing your workload is the key and being able to stay focused for longer requires regular short breaks. Parents be sure to ask them regularly how they are going and ask if they would like your support with anything. As much as possible, try to create a calm and organised space at home for students to study. If you have any concerns about your child, please feel free to contact the school.

Mr. Roberts

Year 12 Biology Excursion to Ecolinc

On Wednesday 7th of August, two classes of Year 12 Biology had the opportunity to prepare and use DNA manipulation equipment (that was very expensive!) to test 4 types of food whether it was genetically modified. The corn chips, potato chips, soy flour and polenta were the four types and students used gel electrophoresis machine to observe their DNA samples. One class had the opportunity to experience and discuss some human experimental errors as the data from both classes didn’t match up!

Year 11

Biology Genetics Workshop

Westall Secondary College was lucky enough to have Samuel from Thalassaemia and sickle cell Australia to come to our biology class and explain the inheritance of these genetic inheritance! The students learnt so much and participated in the quiz and were given prizes! Thank you so much Samuel for giving us real life examples of what we just learnt! 

Ms. Loan Luong

Science Coordinator

VCAL Week

On Tuesday, 27th August 2019, a number of students and ex-students lead by Lily Nooroa, Gloria Mautairi and Divine Grace Lemalu represented WSC at the 4Cs Showcase. 4Cs showcase is about kids learning not only about their culture and dance, but also about building stronger communities within the school setting and wider community for our youth. This was WSC's first time in entering a team to perform, and man did they SHINE! I am sure that the teachers who were in the audience have footage of this if you missed it.

Mr Clarke and I were honoured to escort you all and would just like to congratulate and thank all the students that represented WSC at the 4Cs Performance. Your performance was flawless, you owned the stage and sang and danced with so much heart. Your outstanding behaviour backstage and encouragement of other schools and each other, did not go unnoticed by us or other teachers and 4Cs staff. The amount of time and effort you all put into your practices, definitely shone through on the night, and you should all be super proud of the way you represented WSC, and your Cook Island and Samoan culture, to the audience. 

Students that performed on the night were:

Senior School: Rachel Carnahan, Divine Grace Lemalu, Tutu Mani, Tipe Matareka Nooroa, Lily Nooroa, Louisa Nooroa Gloria Mautairi, Tapeta Mautairi, Sione Misiuepa, Jenicor Papatua, Monique Rima, Jamnl Tei and Rebecca Uka.

Middle School: Che Mangi, Danielle Mautairi, Nelia Moeroa, Ana Paniani, Gemasba Paniani and Aliyah Tangata, 

Junior School: Jamel Mani, Tupuna Manico, Xena Mariri, Patrick Mautairi, Jodeci Nicholls, George Paora, Jacob Papatua, Atawai Rima, Jaevan Samuel, Jasmine Singh, Matuyah Tangata, Mithale Tauri, Kura Timiti, Toni Timiti, Edson Tuaine and Jerome William.   

Thank you and Congratulations!

Ms. Gordon

VCAL Coordinator

VCAL Week

by Alijohn

What is VCAL?

VCAL (The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) aims to be a hands-on option for Year 11 and 12 students.  VCAL gives practical work-related experience, as well as literacy and numeracy skills, and the opportunity to build personal skills that are important for life and work.

With that, VCAL students at WSC say that VCAL gives them a lot more opportunities and prepares them for the outside world.

Students learning in VCAL prefer working with their hands, and say that it helps them learn and understand what they are doing better.

Another student said, “It beats stressing out on studying for a test, fearing that they would not get a good ATAR score in VCE.” With VCAL it’s like another path in life, that students can go down without worrying about not finishing school, and getting a job.

VCAL Week at WSC

Year 11 VCAL students have been working on their charity projects to present during VCAL week. Each student selected a charity and activity they needed to run. Some groups hosted a sausage sizzle or a snack stand to raise money, made teddies and bean bags for children or produced awareness boards to show the community what their charity was supporting.

The Year 12 VCAL Students hosted and attended a morning tea, with all the teachers as a thank-you for all their support with VCAL activities throughout the year.