Senior Girls Cricket – Geelong region Friday 10th March 2017

By Mr Dunne

I woke up at 6:50am, a vortexes morning. When I glanced into the cupboard to see what cereal there was, I became slightly disappointed. The reason for my disappointment was that Nutri-Grain appeared to be the only option for breakfast. I was really hoping I would be able to eat 'the game of cricket itself' topped with sugar and beautiful lines and lengths outside off stump. The team made its way to Eastern Gardens, oval number 3. We traversed Geelong in our trusty McHarry’s Bus (we nicknamed him Stumps, after a set of cricket stumps - we love cricket) suitably led by our Captain Emma Semmens and as we approached Oval 3 our minds transcended in to this crescendo of cricketing visuals and complete euphoria. Our love of cricket suddenly compromised our reality on life and we were no longer at Eastern Gardens but instead, immersed in the front row of Lords cricket oval and this was not an senior girls inter-school cricket match, this was war and I was witnessing a battle, a battle that will be spoken about for centuries to come. A battle of courage, determination and pure cricketing skill. As theorists, historians and scholars alike have always stated, 'you can't change the cause of history' and history shows that we won both our games convincingly! We are now through to the Western District final series were I have no doubt the Matthew Flinders girls will continue to ‘knock over castles’ and ‘send bails to NSW’.

Athletics 2017

On Wednesday 3rd March we held our annual school athletics carnival at Landy Field. We were very lucky with some of the best weather of the week as it was not too hot or too cold.

It was great to see so many students in all sorts of costumes as part of the dress up theme for their house and cheering on their teammates.

This year the winning house was Lipson 1518, closely following behind in second place was Beachley 1468, Freeman 1414 coming third and Gilmore 1217 finished fourth.

Our individual age group champions on the day were as follows;

13 Yr Champion- Chloe Visser- Freeman

14 Yr Champion- Karla Beaumont- Gilmore

15 Yr Champion- Lani Puttyfoot- Freeman

16 Yr Champion- Caitlyn Sager- Lipson

17 Yr Champion- Vanessa Marsh- Beachley

20 Yr Champion- Kelsey Bews- Beachley

Well done to all the competitors on the day and best of luck to our qualifiers for the future levels of competition. The Bellarine Division, School Sport Geelong competition will be on Friday 5th May in week 3 of term 2.

Mr Lehmann

Sport Coordinator

2017 MFG Swimming Carnival

On Tuesday 14th of February we walked down to Kardinia Pool for our annual swimming carnival.

It was a colder day than what we were use to, but none the less there were lots of swimmers still trialling for events.

It was fantastic to see the range of costumes on show supporting our ‘love is in the air’ theme and those not swimming, cheering on their fellow housemates.

The winning house this year was once again Lipson. They narrowly defeated Gilmore, closely followed by Freeman and Beachley.

A big thanks goes out to all the MF Staff and this years House Captains on making the day such a success.

Individual Champions were;

13Yr- Olivia Platt (Lipson)

14Yr Cassandra Bassett (Lipson)

15Yr- Jasmine Steen (Gilmore)

16Yr- Caitlyn Sager (Lipson)

17Yr- Shae Straw-McMahon (Gilmore)

20Yr- Shannon Schaeche-Priestly (Gilmore)

The diving champions were;

Junior- Eleni Linou (Lipson)

Intermediate- Caitlyn Sager (Lipson)

Senior- Aimee Smith (Lipson)

Mr Lehmann

Leader of Sport

Year 8 Cycle On

Our Year 8 students have been participating in their Cycle On program during P.E. classes over the last month. The unit finished with students participating in a very successful on-road ride to Rippleside Park. All students should be very proud of their efforts and learning throughout the unit. It has given them more confidence to get on their own bikes and we look forward to hearing about their riding adventures at home.

Year 10 Education & Challenges in the Outdoors

Over term 1, the Year 10 Outdoor Ed class have been having lots of fun learning lots of new skills. They have been participated in Initiative activities, Stand up paddle boarding, Snorkelling, Geocaching, Surfworld Museum tour and Surfing.

Year 11 Outdoor Environmental Studies

The Year 11 OES students have been working hard in classes learning about the motivations for participating in outdoor experiences. As part of the Unit students spent a day snorkelling with the Dolphins in Port Phillip Bay. They learnt about what motivated them to participate in the various activities as well as their personal responses to the activities. The tour allowed students to learn about the industries that use Port Phillip Bay and the environmental impacts these are having on the environment. It was a a cool, windy and choppy day out on the boat, however all students made the most of the experience and were in awe of the marine environment they experienced.

Intermediate Volleyball

On Friday 17th March, eleven determined students ventured to Corio Leisuretime Centre to compete in Volleyball, and hopefully this year, bring the flag to Matthew Flinders Girls. In the tough first game Nakita Williams, Tanayah Karamatic, Lily Brown, Tamika Connelly, Jemma Morrison and Millie Ward soundly defeated Lara two sets to love. In the second game Talisha O’Connor, Claire Rowan, Caitlyn Sager, Sabira Sakhi Dad, Tianna Watt and Nakira Williams easily defeated Bellarine two sets to love. This put the girls through to the Semi Finals where they faced off against North Geelong. All eleven players rotated through, overcame their nerves to play their best game yet and won two sets to love. This put the girls through to the Grand Final against Belmont, the best opposition they had faced on the day. After losing the first set, the girls rallied, displaying amazing team work and tenacity to take the second set. It was all down to this last set. Even with amazing serving from Talisha, the girls unfortunately lost the last set 10-12 and so have to wait until next year for another chance to claim that elusive flag.

Intermediate Softball

The sun shone and the thwap of the softball as it made contact with the bat was soon drowned out by the enthusiastic calls of our softball team. They were fantastic at calling the plays when fielding and vocally supportive of one another as each stood up to the batting plate. We should all be very proud of how this team represented MFG at the Geelong round of games this term.

The team was:

Back row – Kyhanna Tabakovic, Zoe Hotchin, Gemma Williams, Lani Puttyfoot, Skye Marcus and Tequilli McClelland.

Kneeling row – Mia Robertson, Samantha Hovey, Jacqui Miller, Olivia Quarrell

Front & seated – Sarah Garlick & Caitlyn McDonald.

The results were:

MFG defeated Belmont SC

MFG defeated by Oberon SC

Joy Carr - coach

Year 9 Outdoor Adventures

The year nine outdoor adventures class of 2017 have been on amazing excursions through this term. Some of which included snorkelling at Eastern Beach promenade, Indented Head’s ship wreck and Clifton Springs where we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Last week our group had a great time at Bancoora beach where we took a surf lesson. We were given two surf instructors who taught many of us to surf. We all had an amazing time full of laughter and happiness. It was a great and fun session for all no matter what your abilities are. We are looking forward to many more great experiences such as bike riding around Newtown MTB Park and the Barwon River. We are also looking forward to our mountain biking camp, which is coming up early next term where we will put our new skills to the test. Big thanks to My Dyson who gave us all of these amazing opportunities to create new experiences.

Breanna Sharp & Karla Beaumont 9B

International Women's Day Breakfast

On the 8th of March, Ms Mullen-Walsh, Ms Scott, and the Community Captains; Natalie Nguyen, Ashley Langsford, Sinead Hawthorn and I attended an International Women’s Day breakfast.

It was held by Soroptimist International Geelong, which are an organisation of women who aim to Educate, Enable and Empower to improve the lives women and girls worldwide. We heard from the president of Soroptimist Geelong and two girls from North Geelong Secondary College who soroptimist sponsor. The highlight of the breakfast was hearing from Kristi Van Es, the founder of the Offspring Project. Offspring help young women who have been recently saved from sex-trafficking, through giving them a safe space to live and giving them an education that often they have missed out on. They learn literacy, numeracy and life skills that are vital for their future and the prospects of employment.

Learning about these survivors who are learning to become confident and empowered after an experiencing something so unimaginable was so inspiring and moving to us. To find out more about Offspring and how to help see: https://offspringproject.org

Amy Lavelle, 12D

Harmony & Humanities

On Tuesday March 21, the Humanities Learning Area team organised some activities to recognise the importance of Harmony Day, both in our school and in the community as a whole. Harmony Day celebrations are part of Cultural Diversity Week.

Harmony Day celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. It is a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity and to share what we have in common. So, what did we get up to on the day?

Harmony Day Poster Competition: All students were invited to create a poster that celebrated the themes of Harmony Day. A big congratulations goes to the winners:

First Prize – Jasmin Thomas of 7A - $15.00 Voucher for use at our cafe

Second Prize – Shayla Van Der Meulen and Chelsea Warren of 8C - $10.00 Voucher for use at our cafe

Harmony Day Hands: A big thank you to all those students who enthusiastically wrote a message on a Harmony Hand that was then attached to a planting frame in the community garden. 7L helped to add the final touches to the decorations in the garden. Our students had the opportunity to spread messages of peace, joy, acceptance and togetherness, which is evident everyday at our school through our sense of sisterhood.

Year 7 Homegroup: Year 7 classes completed a number of activities focusing on the key themes of ‘everyone belongs’ and ‘cultural diversity’. They were also given some stickers and balloons to celebrate the day.

Harmony Day Ribbons: All students were presented with an orange ribbon to wear on their clothing. Orange is the color used to promote Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Friendship Wall: This was set up outside the library to display photos of students out in the yard, spending time with their friends.

Robyn Myers

Humanities Learning Area Leader

The Hub

This year the Safe and Supportive Team have established The Hub. The Hub is designed to offer a welcoming and supportive area for our students. It is set up in a large classroom in the old building and has an instructional area, kitchen space and a ‘down time’ area which acknowledges the sensory needs of many of our students.

Things that happen in The Hub:

Monday – Gardening - The girls have established a beautiful Café area outside The Hub for the school community to enjoy. They have created a walled garden, hanging baskets and potted plants. The girls have also established a worm farm.

Tuesday – Art Therapy – The major project of this group has been to paint the walls of the outdoor café area and stencil sun flowers randomly on the wall. They brighten up the area and make it more welcoming for all to use.

Wednesday – Life Skills – This group have focused on some basic cooking skills and map reading. We look forward each week to sample the cooking. This is in preparation for the Geelong Show in October as we always entre into the cooking section and over the years we have won many prizes.

Thursday – Out in the Community – The girls in this group have been visiting a local child care facility and have been reading books to the kindergarten aged children. The girls enjoy this outing and have made some great connections with the younger children.

Friday – Craft and Hobbies - This group have had 2 projects this term all based around the skill of tie dying. The girls began by making dream catchers and have now ventured on to dying T Shirts, socks, head bands etc. Once again some of this craft will be entered into the Geelong Show.

Recess/Lunch time- The Hub is always open at recess time and for the second half of lunch time. This enables the girls to come and use the facility with their friends. Some enjoy the peace and quiet, others sit in the Café while some enjoy the banter of the Learning Mentors.

The Hub is a great place to be and is always a hive of activity. Come and visit.

The House Murels

The Four House Murals have been attached to the outside wall between the MPR and the relocated General Office on the Main Campus. The four murals were designed and prepared by Jana van Galen. Students from each of the four houses began painting the designs during MADD Day in August 2016. Mark Sherriff ensured that each mural was completed to a high standard and with his expertise and the assistance of students in his art classes, all contributed to the completion of the works. The collaboration between teachers and students has resulted in artworks that will be a lasting visual representation of the four houses of Matthew Flinders Girls, Beachley, Freeman, Gilmore and Lipson.

Beachley House Yellow Mural

The Beachley House Mural is made up of two large, stylised waves, waves which are typically found at Australian surf beaches, beaches that are close in location to Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College. The motion of the waves is representative of the Beachley connection to water and is ever moving upward and forward, connecting with the endeavours and efforts of students. The cross hatched lines in the background are representative of the markings of the local areas of the Yaawangi and Waduruwung people. The center vertical lines represent the pathways taken by students in their education whilst staying connected to their House. The circular shapes represent the students of different year levels, student interest groups, teams, events, meetings, gatherings and achievements that are individual but collectively come together as one. The striving individual belonging to a greater community is the theme of the Beachley House Mural.

Freeman House Green Mural

The Freeman House Mural depicts an aerial type view of the traditional lands of the Yaawangi and Waduruwung people which includes the location of Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College. The cross hatched lines in the background are representative of the markings of the indigenous Yaawangi and Waduruwung people. The You Yangs and Corio Bay are featured in the top right corner and center respectively. To the North of Corio Bay are the volcanic lava fields dotted in yellow wattle and red, scoria rock. The large round shapes of coloured dots and horseshoes represent the traditional indigenous meeting place at the base of the You Yangs. Geelong’s center, the community south of the Barwon River and the communities of the Bellarine Peninsular are represented by the other large dotted circles and curved shapes. Students of Mathew Flinders come from many locations in the surrounding district. Connection to home, land and environment, its importance to our identity and life is the theme of the Freeman Mural.

Gilmore Blue House Mural

The eight pathways leading from the center are representative of each Learning Area and the education pathways students embark on at Matthew Flinders Girls. The large central, circular shape is the whole school with its many facets like an ever turning wheel. The next sized round shapes represent the four houses of Beachley, Freeman, Gilmore and Lipson which make up the four student groups. Learning Area Teams of the Arts, English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities, Languages, Mathematics, Sciences and Technology who teach, guide and support students in their learning and well being are represented by the mid sized circles. Support staff and parents are represented by the many smaller circles interspersed over the mural. The many people that make up the school community partnership support each other in the successful education of our students; we cannot exist without each other. This is the central theme of the Gilmore Mural.

Lipson Red House Mural

Creativity is represented in the Lipson Mural. Creativity in our school community comes from ideas that are realised through perseverance and commitment. Learning by experience, by doing and making, form an intrinsic component of the educative process. The rounded shapes in this mural are representative of students learning through movement, dance, telling stories, producing sounds, making items of interest, exercising, problem solving, proving, experimenting, trialling, thinking, provoking thought: these shapes are in constant motion as is all that encompasses creativity. The horizontal lines depict the eight learning areas and that striving for creativity is embedded in all. As educators we encourage and promote inventiveness, imagination, innovation and originality all so important in teaching our students and we can be creative as individuals, in pairs, teams and groups. This is the theme of the Lipson Mural.

The Community Garden

The Garden survived well over the summer holidays, thanks to some relatively mild weather and regular watering by staff volunteers. Thank you to all of these wonderful helpers! We arrived back to school at the start of February to find many vegies had gone to seed. These seeds have now been collected and will be used again later in the year.

Currently there are plenty of red tomatoes (and a few yet to ripen). Our beans have really flourished over the past few months, and the strawberry plants still look strong. It’s great to see students and staff regularly search amongst the strawberry patches for the latest offerings.

Students, including many in Year 7 as well as VCE, have made good use of the Garden already this year. It’s a very relaxing and colourful place to hang out during these warmer months.

This year, Ms Mullen-Walsh is running monthly meditation sessions in the Garden. The focus for the February session was on remaining in the present moment. Approximately 12 students attended from across all year levels. The next meditation session will take place on Thursday the 30th of March…everyone is welcome!

If you have any great ideas for how to use this space, please see Mr Dangerfield to discuss! Similarly, any donations are always welcome (ranging from seeds and seedlings through to interesting pots and other garden ornaments).

Miss Kabylakis

Cultural Diversity Week 2017

Cultural Diversity Week began with some rain…and a fantastic henna stall. Henna has been used for centuries for body decoration – did you know that ancient Egyptian mummies have been found with henna on their hands? Henna stalls have become a bit of a tradition at Matthew Flinders Girls during Cultural Diversity Week, and Sona and her group of talented artists painted some beautiful designs.

The inaugural RA Kartini Cup, an inter-school Language Perfect competition also began on Monday morning. There was a bit of a hiccup when the internet didn’t work (and we were outnumbered almost 2-1 by our competitors!), we soon fought back stronger than ever. The competition ends on Monday 27 March...let’s see how we go!

Tuesday was Harmony Day, and we celebrated with a wonderful range of activities all around the school. We got to wear casual or multicultural clothes - with as much orange as we could find - to raise money to support our sponsor child, Misozi. The Diversity Team brought a bit of fun and more orange to the school with orange jelly.

Aline and Francine ran some multicultural games in the hall - apo apo (Swahili for ‘there there’ - it’s kind of like poison ball), kigogo (a game played with marbles) and umugozi (a super-challenging elastics game). It was great fun!

Every year we look forward to our French Cake sale and this year was no exception, with delicious éclairs, chocolate tarts, lemon tarts, raspberry tarts, fruit tarts, mille feuilles (vanilla slices), macarons, meringues and almond and chocolate croissants. Oh là là!! C'est magnifique!

Tanya’s translation wall gave us around twelve different languages, to say ‘Hello’, ‘How are you?’, ‘Thank you’ and ‘I love you’ in. The multi-lingual display is up in the open area so be sure to check it out when you get a chance.. We also learned how to tie kitambaro (African head scarves) and hijabs. We had a great time watching a fun Bollywood movie (if you haven’t seen Bride and Prejudice yet, be sure to give it a watch!).

On Friday, Susan ran a talent show which to showcase the range of multicultural talents at MFG. We had two different singers – Ruby treated us to a great rendition of Valerie and Dona sang a fantastic a capela Filipino song. Our groups of dancers did performances to Indonesian (cape deh!), Afghan and African songs and the audience enthusiastically participated in the mannequin challenge and mass dancing at the end. It was a great display of multiculturalism and a really nice way to finish of the week.

Cultural diversity week was a lot of fun and the Diversity Team did a great job. Thank you to everyone who contributed, helped, and joined in. Hebat! Bon travali! Aferin! Der sha! Bahot ache! Bahot ale! Gut gemacht!

- - Bu Hall and the Diversity Team: Susan Afghan, Tanya Dalton, Aline Furaha and Sona Mohammadi.

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