Teaching & Learning

Naplan

This week our Year 7 and Year 9 students at the McGuire Campus and the Mooroopna Campus undertook NAPLAN from Tuesday 11th May until Thursday 13th May. Our students undertook the following National Benchmark Tests:

• Writing: 42 minutes
• Reading: 65 minutes
• Conventions of Language: 45 minutes
• Numeracy: 65 minutes

I would like to thank Assistant Principal Ian Goldrick and Assistant Principal Stacie Lundberg for their leadership organisation of the NAPLAN administration on each Campus. I would also like to thank all of the staff involved in the successful administration during this testing period and thank the students for their concentration, dedication and high aspirations throughout the week.

Staff Professional Learning

On Tuesday 4th May staff undertook a whole-staff professional learning session around Differentiation, an important element of our GSSC Instructional Model. Staff engaged in valuable and collaborative learning around how the environment, content, product and process all play a pivotal role in ensuring that all individual students are engaged with learning at their personal point of need. I would like to thank GSSC Learning Specialists, Carly Bostancioglu, Stephen Elford, Jamason Lopez and Sarah Cameron for facilitating this session. We look forward to continuing this work throughout 2021 and beyond.

This Newsletter edition we take a look at the exciting teaching and learning experiences that have been taking place at the Wanganui Campus and the Mooroopna Campus. In the next Newsletter edition, we will share teaching and learning news from the McGuire Campus.

Megan Michalaidis

Assistant Principal

Teaching & Learning

Mooroopna Campus

YEAR 9 NAPLAN

We congratulate our students on the year 9 campus for their commitment and effort displayed throughout all of the tests this week.  It was fantastic to see the students focused and ready to give the assessment their best effort – we are very proud of them. Students completed the Language & Conventions and Writing test on Tuesday, a Reading test on Wednesday and Numeracy on Thursday.  Students who were absent during this period will have the opportunity to sit the tests on Friday.

ELECTIVE - MY 2040

Recently Galena McKenzie visited our year 9 elective, My 2040.  She is a retired art teacher who is keen on upcycling and was enthusiastic about sharing ways that we can reduce waste.  In this session students participated in a hands-on session where they used old coffee pods and recreated them into earrings.  

Stacie Lundberg

Assistant Principal

Mooroopna Campus                          

At the Wanganui Campus

YEAR 10 CHEMISTRY

Our chemistry students recently completed a class competition 'escape room' activity by using their knowledge of counting atoms and balancing chemical equations. 

They successfully completed the fictitious task of stopping a rogue teacher from creating a new unknown substance and taking over the world! Students appreciated the different way the 'escape room' challenged their problem-solving skills and how they were able to use their knowledge and apply it in an entertaining scenario. 

YEAR 10 STUDIO ARTS

Painting and Drawing 

Year 10 Painting and Drawing is run as a precursor to VCE Art and VCE Studio Art studies. Students are introduced to the concept of the art process by studying artists, artworks, and the materials, techniques and idea’s they use to create work. 

There is an emphasis on skills-based workshops and understanding how the art elements and principles are used to convey messages and meanings in artworks.

Students keep a visual diary to record notes from discussions in class, their own and directed research, and experiments with techniques and materials. They use these observations to create their own artworks.

INTRODUCTION TO PASTEL DRAWING

This term, students have been experimenting with a variety of pastel mediums to create artworks inspired by the art movement known as the Impressionists. Last week, we took the opportunity to work within the courtyards here at the Wanganui Campus. 

This particular lesson was to observe and record the natural world around them, utilising the immediacy of the pastel medium much like the Impressionists capturing a ‘moment’ of time. 

The experience of plein air pastel painting was designed to give the students a real-life experience which reflected that of the artists they are studying. Main image

UNIT 3 VCE ART 

The area of Study 2 for VCE Unit 3 Art focuses on investigation and interpretation through art making. As some students were interested in creating sculptural works, Greg Taylor, a sculptor who specialises in figurative work, was invited in to provide a workshop in mould making and modelling with clay, plaster and wire and alginate. 

VCAL LITERACY

Students have been writing reports as a part of the focus on transactional text types. The following report on the recent win at the regional volleyball finals was written by Year 11 student, Joe Vakasisikakala. We wish the students luck when they compete at the state finals on May 21st!

VAKASISIKAKALA VICTORS

Under the inspirational leadership of Greater Shepparton secondary College volleyball captain Joe Vakasisikakala, the team has reached the final. On Wednesday 28th April the school went to Albury to play volleyball. The first match was against Albury Secondary College.  GSSC won against Albury 21-8 and the best player was Robert Leatuafi. The second match was against Wodonga High School.  GSSC victors won against Wodonga – 21-13 and the best player was captain Joe Vakasisikakala.

The State final will be held at the Dandenong Volleyball centre on Friday 21st May. Captain, Joe Vakasisikakala, is very confident that he can lead his team to victory in the state volleyball final. He has been playing volleyball for two years and likes the sport because it’s a great team sport and good for fitness!

Kirsten Tozer

Assistant Principal

Wanganui Campus