SCHOOL NEWS

SUMMER DAYS AND THE SWIMMING CARNIVAL

We have adequate shade available for our students at school, but many will choose to walk around or play sport. Therefore, we encourage our students to wear a school hat if they are in the sun at recess or lunchtime.

All students are aware that they MUST wear a hat during PE and sport lessons.

We also recommend that they bring sunscreen from home and apply it during the summer months.

At McKinnon we aim to encourage our students to be SunSmart so they can reduce their risk of skin cancer later in life. We know that a healthy balance of exposure to the sun’s UV rays is important for everyone. However, the latest information indicates that the information we should be paying particular attention to the UV Index reported by the Bureau of Meteorology. This is a far more accurate way of protecting ourselves against skin damage that can lead to skin cancer.  The predicted temperature for the day, the time of day and the month of the year are also important considerations, but UV radiation can be high even on cool and overcast days.

Our Annual Swimming Carnival is WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY. We encourage students to be responsible by wearing hats, sunscreen and covering up whilst waiting for their events or watching other students participate. It is the students’ responsibility to manage their SunSmart behaviour. At McKinnon Secondary College we do remind them to do this, and encourage this behaviour. If they do happen to forget their Sunscreen on the day, there will be sunscreen lotion available. SPF50+ is the recommended sunscreen and needs to be applied liberally, re-applied every two hours (or after swimming, exercising and towel drying) and used in combination with other sun protection measures including sun protective hats, protective clothing, sunglasses and shade.

It is also important to be mindful that, as we know, Melbourne can have four seasons in one day. In past years it has rained and was a bit cold on our swimming sports day, so be prepared! Leading up to the day, and on the morning of the carnival, check the weather forecast and if it predicts rain or cooler weather then bring raincoat, warm clothes, umbrella etc.   It would be lovely if we have a Goldilocks day – ‘just right’!

Please visit the Cancer Council Australia website for more information including the link to a useful SunSmart App.

http://www.cancer.org.au/preventing-cancer/sun-protection/uv-alert/

Susan Wilken

Community Health

ANTIPODEANS 2018

On Sunday 18 February a group of Year 11 students participating in Antipodeans 2018, headed to the Melbourne CBD for an Antips training day. The day started off receiving our nifty antips hats and proceeded in each group choosing where we would spend the day visiting. Shortly after, we journeyed to our chosen destinations. The MCG, The NGV, a brisk walk around The Tan, The Shrine of Remembrance and finally a food stop along the Yarra River for a well-deserved feed. Finally, after being well fed, we discussed safety procedures, for the unlikely event of someone becoming lost while we were overseas.

The purpose of this training day was for the team to emulate how our trip, held in late June, will be like. We implemented teamwork and problem solving skills as we were required to work as a team to plan where we would go and the route we would travel.

We were also able to become comfortable to use equipment such as hiking boots and backpacks for a long period of time while walking.

The day was overall highly enjoyable, being able to visit some important landmarks in the city, spending time with fellow students and fabulous teachers and getting a taste of the incredibly exciting adventure ahead.

Portia Thorne and Tess Rogers

Year 11 Students

YEAR 12 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

On Thursday 15 February we were visited by a very special guest Kalvin Hart, who is part of a very interesting business known as “ThankYou”. You may have seen their products in stores clearly labelled with their brand “ThankYou”, and from the outside they seem just like any other company selling products such as soap and snack bars just to make a profit. However, they run their company under a very special kind of business model known as a social enterprise. A social enterprise takes what they need from the profits in order to sustain the business and then use the other 50% to reinvest in a mission. “ThankYou” thought that they would differ from this too, deciding that they would invest 100% of profit into their mission. Kalvin explained that this has allowed them to help thousands of individuals access clean water and have proper hygiene.

Things weren't always this successful as Kalvin explained. They had two failed launches. They lost 300 of their 350 distributors at one point due to supply chain failures and they were doing this with the model that they would invest 100% into their mission. So they had very little money to work with.

The next idea was to sell a book. A book that could be bought for any price. 5 dollars all the way up 5000 dollars and beyond. This was a huge success and after gaining both Coles and Woolies as distributors they could finally have a lasting impact on the world.

This incursion was heavily beneficial for all student undertaking Units 3 and 4 Business as we are currently tasked with learning about business structures, management styles and various techniques to make these a success. “ThankYou” used the example that their workplace has a participative management style where employees had a valid input into business decisions. This can make the employees feel valued, leading to a positive corporate culture.

We would just like to thank Kalvin for taking time out of his schedule to come and teach us about the business that so heavily relates to our course.

We would also like to thank Jobbo and Mr Evans for organising the incursion.

Cheers

Jesse Scholz

Year 12 Student