Junior School Highlights

Year 7 Highlights

And we’re back…! After a quick two week break to recover from the fast paced first semester of high school the Year 7s have hit the ground running. It’s obvious to see that this cohort has already become accustomed to high school life and the friendships they have built are flourishing. These friendships will only get stronger with the Year 7 camp coming up fast.

This semester started with an awards ceremony and we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those students who received an award.

We are also very proud of the significant involvement of the Year 7s in the school production: The Wizard of Oz. It is brilliant to see so many students getting out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves.

Finally, we would like to welcome some new students to our constantly growing cohort:

Josh Marshall

Grace Kim

Kirk Kodre

Parul Hassan Ramakrishna

Arvin Luo

Jian Shi

Sriya Kondhalkar

Steven Xiao

We hope they have settled in and are making some new friends.

Daniel Lake & Sue Rio

Year 7 Coordinators

Year 7 Yarra Trams Incursion

On Wednesday 26th June, Year 7 were fortunate enough to have Yarra Trams come in to teach us all about safety and public transport. I learnt so much about the history of trams, and that trams have been around for quite some time! I discovered that there are quite a few things that you can and can’t do in a tram and that there are hefty fines for violating those rules. The incursion was both fun and informative, which made it more interesting to learn about. Overall, I enjoyed learning about many aspects of tram safety, and how to stay safe.

Alana Smith

Year 7G

Year 7 & 8 Disability Awareness in Schools Incursion

On Friday 2nd August, Year 7 and 8 students were part of a program organised and delivered by the Glen Eira City Council, aimed at promoting inclusivity for students and people in the community with a disability. The Council also provided teachers with additional resources relating to the presentation, which team teachers will utilise over the next few weeks to support the key messages of these sessions.

In this incursion I learnt that strokes aren't what they seem - they are much worse than I thought and they can have a very bad effect on your life. I didn't know strokes would affect you for the rest of your life and I didn’t know that you had to re-learn how to do all the basic things, like walk, talk and other things like that. I learnt that it’s very hard for people like Mark our presenter who have had a stroke to come back from it and recover well. 

Oscar Bongiorno 8A

I understand how important this incursion was. I learnt that a stroke is when you don’t get enough blood to your brain. I understand that people can’t control if they have a disability; our presenter Mark said he felt the best way to think about it was to “play the card that you have been dealt” which means to make the most of what you have (particularly if some things are beyond your control). 

Roanin Jackson 8D

Year 9 Highlights

A big welcome back to all Year 9 students! This term the Year 9s will be working on their subject selections for next year and will be receiving individual course counselling. To assist them in their selections the Year 9s have just completed the Morrisby test to identify subjects that align to their recommended pathways. All Year 9 students are reminded to come to the Junior School office to speak to myself should they have any problems.

Well done to the students who received an award for Academic Excellence and Academic Endeavour at our recent mid year award.

Benton Hale

Year 9 Coordinator

From the Junior School Captains: Reflecting on Semester 1

Last semester was full of highlights for the Junior School from the Year 7s joining us at GEC to Year 9s experiencing a whole new part in their timetables.

The first two terms of the year provided us with copious opportunities to enjoy as we learned, although they went by in a jiffy. In term 1 we were able to play in the water and compete in races at the swimming carnival, which was quite the refreshment under the hot summer sun. All four houses had representatives from all age groups participating in events to earn the most points for their respective houses.

Following the swimming carnival was the Year 9 sleep-out which was organized and run by the students to raise money for St Vincent De Paul. It was an outstanding learning experience about the struggles faced by the homeless community. This sleep-out was supervised by some amazing teachers who were able to combine learning with absolute entertainment. Yet, they got more than they bargained for when they had to wake up early and help “run” cross country with only a few hours of sleep. Cross Country was a breeze for most of us - which then concluded term 1.

Term 2 started off with an ANZAC Day Memorial. We had two special guests for the ceremony. One of them served in the police force then transitioned into a role in the UN peacekeeping mission to Cyprus. Our other guest was an ex-student of Glen Eira College when it was called Caufield High, who had also served in the military and as a police officer.

Following the Anzac Day Memorial, we were able to enjoy our day at the Duncan Mackinnon Reserve on 23rd May for the House Athletics. This was a long day with the running events first, followed by the field events. This day was an all-round success with many junior school faces progressing to the next round. Late in term 2, the Year 7 & 9 had the NAPLAN testing which was good for many of the Year 9s to get ready for exams next year.  earlier in the term, all junior school French classes participated in the Berthe Mouchette Poetry Competition. 

The Year 7 students also had numerous great incursions throughout the semester, including the Yarra Trams incursion and the Indigenous Education sessions - which was then integrated into the schools' learning. To wrap up the semester the Year 8 students were also involved with innumerable excursion and incursions, one such incursion was the Cyber Safety Talk they received. We look forward to enjoying school and various events in the upcoming semester, hoping to see new faces step up and get involved throughout the school and receiving opportunities to guide the Junior School students through this semester.        

Yashasvi Agrawal and Darcy Messenger

Junior School Captains

Year 7 Transition Leaders

Adjusting to a new high school environment may be overwhelming for young people. To aid future Year 7 students transition into Glen Eira College, the school has established new leadership roles; ‘Transition Leaders’. All Year 7 students were invited to apply for this role and were required to submit a written application.

The following people were elected as transition leaders: Alana Smith, Benjamin Howell, Eve Gascoigne, Harshitha Meenakshisundaram and Rayhan Singh. Led by Ms Mathieson, Glen Eira College’s Sub-School Leader, Transition Leaders are aiming to make Glen Eira College even more engaging, and a more welcoming place for all students. The Transition Leaders will visit primary schools to represent GEC, give some background information about what to expect, and take the initiative to talk to students who are planning to make the move to GEC. The Leaders are also developing a website to assist with the transition for prospective students to access. 

All in all, the Transition Leaders and Ms Mathieson are working towards one of the schools aims; To make sure that Glen Eira College can be even more welcoming towards future students. 

Eve Gascoigne and Harshitha Meenakshisundaram

Year 7