Around the School

Year 7 English

Earlier this term in Year 7 English students were required to interview somebody who they considered to be a good leader. Somebody who they valued as making a difference in the world.

Students submitted a magazine article about this person and all of the Year 7 English teachers were impressed with the high quality of student work. Each teacher however, was required to submit their top two submissions from each class. From there, all of the Year 7 English teachers met together, read through all of the work and voted for the top three across the year level. It was a very hard task. We did not necessarily choose the submissions that achieved a High Distinction. The criteria we used to measure student work against was the following:

·         Interesting to read – submission showed evidence of human appeal

·         Visual appeal – submission included photos, colour, headings and a magazine style layout

·         Quality and control of writing

·         Flow of narrative

·         Selection of interviewee – the selected person is an impressive leader and contributor to society

It is with great excitement that we announce the top 3 winners and award them with an iTunes voucher each.

First place – Aidan Maher 7I

Aidan interviewed one of his primary school teachers Sheryl Taylor who commits to charity work in Tanzania. Aidan’s submission caught our eye as it was very well presented and looked as if it had come straight from a magazine!

Second place – Mylee James 7B

Mylee interviewed James Clarke who led the ‘Up The Gut’s Tour’ a music festival inspiring young people. We were impressed by Mylee’s ability to integrate into her presentation the key character strengths needed to make a difference on others.

 Third place – Lachlan Moroney 7A

Lachlan interviewed his mother who is an oncologist working with cancer patients in Ringwood. The Year 7 English teachers were blown away by Lachlan’s level of detail included in his presentation and the sophisticated vocabulary that he used!

Congratulations to our winners! We would like to also acknowledge the hard work that each and every student put towards this task. Well done!

Jessica Lundie

Year 7 English Teacher

2018 VCE Season of Excellence

It is with great pride that we announce Elysia Bovill’s print Media product, a magazine titled Inflorescence, has been selected for display at the prestigious 2018 VCE Season of Excellence Top Designs exhibition. The VCE Season of Excellence board receives over 1500 applications each year, of which only a handful of works make the final selection.

Elysia, who studied Units 3 and 4 Media as a Year 11 student in 2017, created a 12-page magazine featuring a collection of poetic musings, original sketches and photography. We are very proud of Elysia’s determination to achieve at the highest possible level, and see her selection in Top Designs as recognition of her diligent work.

Top Designs 2018 will take place at the Melbourne Museum between Saturday 17 March and Sunday 15 July 2018. Entry to Top Designs is free with museum entry, and students can enter the museum for free. For further information, please go to: https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whats-on/top-designs

Samantha Asbury

Ringwood Training

Christmas decorating activity with Technology staff.

Bont Pops in for a Visit

It WAS a normal Friday afternoon. The year 8’s were gathered in the new junior school building, some not even knowing what was going on. One girl asked me if I knew why they were there. I told her there was a guest speaker coming. But as the minutes ticked on, there was still no guest speaker. The audience waited in anticipation as to who the ‘mystery’ guest speaker would be. I’m sure that none of them would have guessed it.

It was finally announced that he had arrived, and as he walked into the room, an entire year level was sent into a state of excitement and disbelief. The guest speaker was none other than Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli.

I’ve always dreamed of interviewing an AFL footballer, and I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview the man known as “The Bont” in person last Friday.

He began by talking a little bit about himself, explaining how he had grown up in Eltham playing football and basketball. He talked about how having a cousin (Nick Dal Santo) already playing AFL helped him to realise his dream and motivate him to become just like his cousin. He moved on to answering some questions, and there was certainly no shortage of questions from the audience.

When asked by an audience member what his favourite nickname is, Bontempelli said it was “an honour” to have ‘the’ in front of his nickname.

He spoke about the importance of being organised, balancing time and commitments and having a clear goal about what you want to achieve. Bontempelli also discussed some thorny issues such as the implications of being a role model for young people, and of having you work constantly scrutinised by many who know little about your work. However, he also spoke about the extraordinary privilege of being able to play in a highly motivated premiership team.

One of the main things that Bontempelli said he had learnt so far throughout his life was that you only get back what you put in, and that hard workers are the ones who put in the extra effort away from the spotlight.

One quality that he said he values the most is resilience. Talking about the Bulldogs’ failure to make finals this year after their grand final triumph in 2016, he said resilience is one of the main things that won them a premiership, and one of the things that is going to get them back to their best.

Mr Rogers asked an interesting question about how Bontempelli would control himself from retaliating if a player were to lash out at him. He said “You just have to think to yourself–what am I achieving by retaliating?” Bontempelli then went on to talk about the importance of personal leadership and control and those being two things that will get you to where you want to be.

Bontempelli was also asked about his coach at the Western Bulldogs, Luke Beveridge, and how he contributed to their premiership win. He replied saying that ‘Bevo’ is always trying to help you develop as person, not just as a player.

Bontempelli said one of the toughest things for an AFL footballer is training in the off-season. “It can be hard to find motivation when all you have to look at is the grass in front of you.”

One of the most relatable things about Bontempelli for students that he spoke about is he only graduated year 12 a few years ago. He certainly hasn’t been out of school long, but he has certainly made a name for himself as one of the best players in the AFL.

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Helen Doherty

Careers