HUMANITIES

YEAR 12 LEGAL STUDIES STUDENTS ATTEND BOTH COUNTY & SUPREME COURTS IN MELBOURNE

On the last day of Term 3 of 2018, students undertaking Units 3 and 4 Legal Studies went into the city for an engaging day at the Supreme Court of Victoria as well as the CBD’s County Court, for what promised to be an eye-opening view into the operations of the criminal justice system.

Students were given the opportunity to participate in a short talk with either a County or Supreme Court judge which included a small mock trial in an actual courtroom. The judges were fascinating to listen to and offered insights into courtroom life otherwise unknown to the average person. Additionally, question time proved enlightening for the legal students, who were able to find the answers to specific questions which were unobtainable in the regular classroom setting.

After their talks, students were directed into another room where they witnessed the proceedings of a real trial. Those in the County Court viewed a captivating drug plea whilst the students in the Supreme Court watched an exciting attempted murder case. Both trials gave the McKinnon pupils a hands-on demonstration of the criminal justice system and certainly helped those aspiring to become law students at university.

The outing was conducted smoothly and the McKinnon legal cohort was extremely pleased with all that they had learned and experienced.

Special thanks to Ms D’Ambrosio for organising the event, as well as Mr Jhoomun for accompanying the excursion. In addition, thanks to Ms Kristen Adam for organising Judge O’Connell to address us in the County Court.

Hugo Veselik

Year 12 Legal Studies’ student

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHY COMPETITION BIG WEEK OUT

Geography’s Big Week Out brings together the two Year 11 winners of the Australian Geography Competition from each state/territory for a week of geographic fieldwork on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Throughout the week, we investigated the topic of sustainable tourism on Kangaroo Island, looking at the impacts of increasing tourism on the island’s human and natural features, as well as strategies which have been developed to cope with tourism growth into the future.

Upon arriving at Adelaide Airport, I was quickly introduced to students and teachers from all over Australia; the four hours of bus/ferry travel to Kangaroo Island provided us with plenty of time to get to know each other. After settling into our accommodation at the remote Flinders Chase Farm, we began our fieldwork exercises the next day, travelling to the towns of Kingscote and Penneshaw to observe land uses in these areas. We gathered data using an app called EpiCollect5, which allowed us to record the location and collect photos of our land use surveys.

During our time on Kangaroo Island, we also conducted fieldwork at other iconic attractions, including Seal Bay, Admiral’s Arch and Remarkable Rocks. Quadrat surveys, for example, allowed us to investigate the island’s incredible biodiversity; Kangaroo Island is home to almost 1 million kangaroos and over 60 endemic plant/animal species (found nowhere else in the world). Several guest speakers gave us a greater insight into sustainability on the island, including Peter Clements (Mayor of Kangaroo Island) and Darren Smith (Manager of Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat).

Our final night of the trip was spent in Adelaide, where we presented our findings on sustainable tourism in small groups. The EpiCollect data gathered on the island was uploaded to Google Maps, creating a map of our fieldwork data and showing us how spatial technologies can be utilised to assist with geographical investigation. The night concluded with dinner on the Glenelg waterfront, a fitting celebration of our efforts throughout the week.

Overall, the Big Week Out was a unique, valuable and highly enjoyable learning opportunity. Spending the week with passionate geographers from all over Australia, investigating sustainable tourism in an engaging manner, and having plenty of fun along the way made the trip an unforgettable experience.

Stefan Simic

Year 11 Student

MONASH UNIVERSITY YEAR 11 BUSINESS CHALLENGE DAY

On Tuesday 18 September 2018, eight Year 11 Accounting Students had the privilege to participate in the Monash Business Day at the International Business School in the city.

Immersed with many other students from all over Melbourne who have the shared love for Cash Journals, Income Statements and Balance Sheets as we do, we were able to compete in challenges that forced us to problem solve and learn more about the process involved in accounting. We were also able to listen to many Monash University students who helped us explore different pathways and job opportunities that can come from business degrees.

Finally, after a week’s hard work in our groups, we were able to present our thoughts and ideas about a specific case study which was based off of ethical considerations.

Thanks to Ms McKinlay for providing us with the opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge and a further love for Accounting.

Tess McCartney and Jack McDavitt

Year 11 Accounting Students