Junior School Highlights

Year 7 Highlights

The last few weeks have been very busy for Year 7 with incursions. Last week The Glen Eira City Council was promoting inclusivity for students and people in the community with a disability. This was addressed by having people from the community with disabilities talk to students about how they are treated. This was a great opportunity for them to see how others’ lives are different from their own, how we should treat people with disabilities and how our words and actions affect them.

 

Last week was Science Week in which our Year 7s took advantage of all the exciting experiments that were planned. Lynn Cheong, Ruby Bryant, Poppy Dry and Alyana Burns from 7E had a hair raising experience while doing so.

 

 

Thursday was their Launch to the Future incursion, an act filled theatrical presentation using sketches, comedy and high energy to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. This is a great way for students to broaden their future aspirations.

 

There are so many opportunities that students can take advantage of. Khai Tschuemperlin and Nina Gibbs from 7B attended a Model United Nations Conference around space in Bacchus Marsh on Friday.

 

Last Semester Year 7 had Health classes and this Semester they have Food Technology; these are elective subjects from Year 10. This week in Food Technology students were taught how to use an oven safely, making scones. Here are some pictures of their efforts.

 

 

Sue Rio and Daniel Lake

Year 7 Coordinators

Year 9 Highlights

As always, the Year 9s have been busy with subject selections and investigating their future pathways. In addition to this this, there have been quite a few individual successes from the Year 9 cohort:

 

An outstanding achievement by the Year 9 students in the 2019 Australian Geography Competition with both Troy Gogle and Nat Cosgrave finishing in the top 1%. Also, well done to all Year 9 students who received a high distinction, distinction or credit.

 

Congratulations to Jett Wheildon who recently finished 3rd in the under 17s Australian and Oceania Biathlon Championship. 

 

Well done to Koosha Kayani and George Sempelidis for placing 2nd out of 33 teams at the Melbourne Regional RoboCop Rescue competition.

 

A special mention to Jasmine Korkou whose acting skills and final auditions have landed her a place in a renowned acting school.

 

Congratulations to Haddi El Shorbagy who will be competing in the junior National Athletics Competition for javelin, discus and shot-put.

 

And good luck to Tess Keogh, who will are representing Victoria in Brisbane for the National Womens Indoor Cricket Competition. 

 

And finally a few words from the Year 9 students who are currently attending Alpine School:

 

'It has been an awesome journey so far up here, I feel like a person here, there is no social media which makes everyone be themselves. The teachers up here are great!'

Jett Wheildon

 

'Everything up here at Alpine is going great. We’ve all settled in nicely and we’re enjoying the fresh snow (especially skiing in it during free time!).'

Kate Stamp and Jasmyn Roberts

 

Brenton Hale

Year 9 Coordinator

From the Junior School Captains

It’s amazing how eventful the start of Semester 2 at GEC has been; it’s as if we never even had a break! A quick thank-you to all the school clubs, helping break the monotony that schoolwork can become sometimes.

 

One of the most exciting annual whole school activities for the year literally ‘kick’ started with the Futsal competition beginning. The competition, held in the gym, not only brings warmth to cold winter lunches but also excitement as you are playing with, or cheering on, your fellow peers. It is currently neck and neck, and we are all waiting with anticipation to see who will win the tournament. 

 

On 12th August 2019 GEC’s brand new sensory garden opened. We had the Oakleigh MP Steve Dimopoulos join us in the opening ceremony to cut the ribbon. The garden will be used by the wellbeing team for the rest of the year, before eventually being open to the rest of the school at a later date. The brand new garden even has barbecues! 

 

Our Year 8 and 9 students have also just finished interschool sport, which is a fun way to get out of school grounds and get active with your friends. We’ve had success with many teams all year round as our school continues to get more competitive in sporting events each year. In a few weeks’ time, we will participate in the division athletics carnival. Hopefully, many students will come back wearing ribbons and progress through to the regional competition next term. Year 7 students will be going off to Interschool Sport next week, and we wish all the teams good luck for the competition.

 

At the start of a new semester, students may be overwhelmed with school work. For all students reading this, here’s some tips: You should study in short bursts of 30 minutes, with breaks in between. This will keep your mind active and ready to learn. When trying to remember something, put a little creative spin on it. Flashcards are a great resource; don’t underestimate their power! If your locker or desk at home are getting a bit messy, it’s advised to tidy them up; though you likely won’t consciously acknowledge a stack of scrap paper or an empty cup on your desk, your mind does so subconsciously. A tidy workspace makes a tidy mind.

 

On 1st August, all junior school students competed in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Congratulations to all students for their participation and effort. 

 

Last week was Science Week at GEC, a week celebrating science with fun experiments during lunchtimes. This year, Science Week’s theme was “Destination: Moon,” celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon on July the 20th, 1969. There were a lot of physics and astronomy-based experiments, such as the origami rockets and a paper aeroplane competition. 

 

 

Thanks to the organisers of the Year 9 Program, students will be learning about business and setting up market stalls in a few weeks, with all profits going towards St Vincent de Paul, to help feed and comfort people without a home. We would like to congratulate all students on their effort throughout the semester so far, and wish them good luck for any endeavour they may wish to make.

 

Haddi El Shorbagy and Sebastian Buley-Delanty

Junior School Captains