Suzanne Cory High School

Student News

10 Year Anniversary - Audiovisual piece by Alumni

To commemorate Suzanne Cory High School's 10th anniversary, two alumni students collaborated on an audiovisual piece celebrating school spirit through a retrospective lens. The visual, created by Elizabeth Ta, who is currently studying animation at RMIT, superimposes 2D characters onto recorded footage of locations within and around the school, expressing youth emerging into the wider world and the memories crafted along the way. The score, composed by Harry Tran, who has completed his undergraduate studies in music composition at The University of Melbourne, takes on a slow and reflective feel that evokes a sense of nostalgia for the time spent in high school, and contains references to the school song. 

 

 

We hope you enjoy this beautiful work from our Alumni students. Thank you Elizabeth and Harry for helping us to celebrate our 10 years!

Toni Jordan School Visit

On Wednesday 24 November the new Year 12 cohort were graced with the presence of the one and only Toni Jordan, author of Nine Days. Students eagerly listened to stories about Toni’s own upbringing while exploring the key ideas and issues that shaped the novel.  She also shared some valuable advice on the creative process and tips on how to construct their own stories, focusing on voice, setting and context. The students then had the opportunity to ask a range of insightful and interesting questions to help with their first SAC early next year and some even managed to capture a quick autograph on their way out. From all reports it was another massive success and we’re eternally grateful to Toni for taking the time out of her busy schedule to chat to our students.

 

 

Mr David Juricevich - Assistant Head of House Cottrell.

 

Wyndham Tech School Data For Good Hackathon

On Tuesday 23 November, 9 students visited the Wyndham Tech School to participate in the Data For Good Hackathon. Working in small teams, they created digital solutions to issues in the world. Ideas included:

  • Linking people to mutual friends online, and having AI organised in-person events to help form genuine connections
  • Leaving digital stories on your seat on public transport for others to read and share
  • Teaching students coding skills by connecting them to projects in their passion areas

Students learnt valuable skills in co-design, teamwork, and analytical thinking. They also spoke with industry professionals about how these skills can be applied in careers. Students got to use the computers in the esports arena, and play with robotic arms. 

All students are encouraged to check the Compass Newsfeed regularly for opportunities to visit the Wyndham Tech School in 2022.

Mr Taig - Careers Practitioner

 

One Wyndham

Hello Suzanne Cory!

I’m Aanchal, a year 10 student at SCHS and also the ‘One Wyndham’ October award recipient winner, showcasing young people who are positively contributing and dedicated to the Wyndham community. The winners selected are a positive role model to other young people in the community, who may share similar interests or ambitions!

 

Throughout this year, although SCHS students have been in lockdown for most of the year, I’ve been involved with coordinating and organising events at school earlier this year. It was amazing to see so many students participating to raise money for charities. Some events I coordinated included bake sales and the 40 Hour Famine Fundraiser Challenge earlier this year, in which we raised nearly $1000 this year!

 

I involve myself regularly within the community, and I have been focusing on promoting self-confidence and self-esteem, to encourage youths to believe in themselves.

 

I am also passionate about gender equality and dedicated to raising awareness to break the barriers that exist in today’s society. I believe that everyone should be given an equal opportunity to participate in their hobbies, interests regardless of their gender, ethnicity or sexuality.  When I was younger, I faced gender-based discrimination from students who believed I wasn’t good enough to play table tennis, because I was a girl. I took this as a challenge, and was so determined to prove them wrong. I have trained and worked hard. In 2021, I was selected as part of the Under 17’s President State Team to represent Victoria at Nationals in Brisbane, Queensland. 

 

I was recently interviewed about my community involvement and contributions to the wider community by the Youth Project Officer of Wyndham City Council, which will be available to watch next year! My contributions have also been acknowledged and recognised by Wyndham Mayor Cr Adele Hegedich for contributions.

 

 

Read my full story here

Read the Wyndham News with Wyndham Wyndham Mayor Cr Adele Hegedich here 

Wyndham News on the National Tribune here 

You can also read my article, which was featured on the Star Weekly Newspaper - ‘Promoting Sport For All’ here 

 

I am an enthusiastic and determined individual, keen to advocate to end gender disparity! I encourage you all to participate and get involved within the school community!

 

I am very honoured to receive the One Wyndham award, and can’t wait to be involved with Suzanne Cory High School next year! 

 

Aanchal, R8

Ecocore and Environmental Co-Curricular Groups 

Despite the lockdowns this year  we have still seen many activities that students with a passion for the environment have participated in in both Ecocore and Environmental Co-Curricular Groups. These included fund raising, tree planting, maintaining the veggie and herb garden and a day trip to Jawbone Marine Reserve and Williamstown Botanical gardens. Thank you for your support, especially the Ecoore leaders Charlize, Emily and Ryan.

 

 

Mr Drummond

 

EcoCore

Hey Cory! This is EcoCore- SCHS’ student-led environmental club filled with green-minded individuals :) 

First and foremost, unfortunately due to the unprecedented lockdown(s), we had to adjust and change our original plans for the year.

However the pandemic did not stop Suzanne Cory’s passion for the environment. We have gained many new members, and together we have held a bake sale to raise money for the WWF (which had raised over $200), and even held our own Green Week! Our Green Week was centred around ‘taking a stance’, which involved people writing to members of parliament, and of course our annual Clean Up Cory. Clean Up Cory was a major success, and saw many participants who made a difference within our school. Congratulations to Blackwood who took out the win!

 

At the beginning of Term 2, in June this year, we had received an exciting opportunity to speak at the Global Peace Conference for the Youth Peace Prize. Yuvani, a year 12 graduate and a former EcoCore Captain, was selected to speak due to the 2020 EcoCore team’s efforts in coming first place from a video submission dealing with the how psychology and environmentalism fit together. From Yuvani’s words:

“The Global Peace Conference spanned over the 24 hours and involved people from across the globe and from different time zones. The event was organised by the rotary peace fellows- a group of people of all ethnicities and careers who strive to solve conflict through conversation and confronting issues. Attending the conference was a phenomenal experience. Getting to learn about activism being conducted across the globe in different ways, all from the comfort of my bedroom.”

 

Last but not least, we would like to thank every member of the club, and everyone who participated/contributed in our events this year. Make sure to follow @schsecocore on Instagram for future updates, and to come by to the S-Wing every Friday for our weekly meetings. 2021 has been a great year for EcoCore, and we can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store!

Thanks!

EcoCore captains, Ryan and Charlize.

 

 

SCHS Staff History and Classics Tragics Represent! 

On Thursday 18 November, the University of Melbourne held its famous annual Classics Quiz, with several rounds of questions about ancient Greek and Roman history and classic texts. This year, SCHS’ ancient history experts decided to try their luck against 23 other teams, many including academics. Surprising even itself, the Cult of Dionysus featuring Mr Chris Parkinson, Ms Raquel Fenby and Ms Amanda Green (unfortunately our star Latin and history teacher Ms Emily Gilbert was unable to make the event at the last minute, but was there in spirit!) took out third place, just behind Quiz Pro Quo featuring University of Melbourne Roman History Associate Professor (and our team’s idol) Frederik Vervaet in second, and the Plebeians in first. 

Mr Parkinson jumped in to score with a bonus question about the Persian king who challenged the Greeks in 480 BCE, and Ms Fenby is still salty that she was not awarded the bonus question about the Five Good (Roman) Emperors after naming them properly, when the only person who got in before her wrote ‘Aurelius’ instead of Marcus Aurelius but was acknowledged as correct. The quiz was a lot of fun and the quiz masters provided interesting additional information about each question. The team members were excited to receive their prizes of $10 Readings book vouchers! 

 

10 Year Celebration Picnic

On Wednesday 1 December, our current staff and students celebrated our school's 10 year anniversary. While it wasn't the fete we had planned, we hope that everyone was able to enjoy the fun afternoon with each other. Thank you to all the Staff and Students for participating and putting this event together. And we were lucky the weather held off, despite some marquees trying to escape at the end of the day. 

 

A special thank you to our Year 12 students who returned for the event, we hope you enjoyed your well deserved guard of honour!