Secondary School News
Secondary School News
Term 2
As we near the end of another successful term, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible achievements and events that have taken place at our secondary school. It has been a busy period filled with exciting opportunities and accomplishments for our students. Here are some highlights:
Reclink Community Cup: We were honoured to be a major sponsor of the Reclink Community Cup. A special thanks goes out to Judy for organising the VET hospitality students and supplies, as well as leading the efforts in catering and soup sales. We would also like to express our gratitude to the numerous volunteers from our community, including Robert, Lori, Sormeh, Geoff, Hannah, Steve, Mel, Michael, Tim, Sam, Wayne, Kevin, and Lisa, whose support made this event possible. It was a delight to see the Rock Dogs proudly wearing our logo and witnessing the Collingwood College logo displayed around the ground.
Rotary World Convention: Our Rotary Interact students had the incredible opportunity to serve as flag bearers at the Rotary World Convention held at Rod Laver Arena. We are immensely proud of their community service and their dedication to developing their leadership skills for the future.
Rotary Sailing Trip: Sari from Year 9 and Casey from Year 10 had a memorable experience participating in a sailing trip from Adelaide to Melbourne, with two places sponsored by Collingwood Rotary.
Interschool Sports: We are thrilled to see so many of our secondary students actively involved in interschool sports this term, including soccer, volleyball, tennis, and badminton. Special commendations go to James and the intermediate boys' volleyball team, who made it to the state finals in Dandenong, narrowly missing a place in the state final play-off.
Instrumental Music Concert: Congratulations to all our instrumental music students and their teachers for their outstanding performance at the winter concert. It was a joy to witness their musical talents on display.
Working Bee: We extend our heartfelt thanks to the families who attended and supported our recent working bee on the King's Birthday. The collaborative effort was led by Tom O'Connell, who did an exceptional job organising the group.
Creative Victoria Projection Festival Grant: We are thrilled to announce our participation in the Creative Victoria Projection Festival Grant, involving Grade 5, 6, Year 7, and Year 8 students. We have had the pleasure of working with Photographer James Henry and Animation Artist Rali Beynon throughout Term 2, with support from The Centre of Projection Art. We look forward to an upcoming excursion to celebrate the end of this grant. Special thanks to Angela D for leading this project. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the opening night on Wednesday, 26th July - it's an event not to be missed!
Year 9 & 10 Exams: The examination period for Year 9 and 10 students was a valuable opportunity to practice critical thinking, writing, and problem-solving skills under test conditions. We would like to express our gratitude to Lori and the Year 9 & 10 team for organising a successful examination period. The students demonstrated excellence in completing their exams.
Reports and Staff Appreciation: The mid-year reports have been released, providing insights into your child's learning progress. We kindly request that you take the time to discuss these reports with your child. We extend our gratitude to all our teachers for their timely completion of the reports. Special recognition goes to Ken Watson for his dedication as our reporting master. We also want to acknowledge the exceptional support provided by Krish Soorkia, Annie-Rose Maloney, Kevin Murphy, MJ Jefferies, and Glenda Theys, who stepped in and assisted our students with their learning during staff transitions and periods of illness.
New Merchandise: Exciting news! We have new merchandise available at the front office. Scarves and beanies can be purchased for $25 each, so be sure to stop by and grab yours.
Looking ahead to Term 3, we have several important dates to remember. These include:
- Whole School Professional Development Day: Friday, 28th July
- Three Way Conferences (WURUN only): Monday, 31st July
- Swing into Spring: Friday, 1st September
- Three Way Conferences - Prep - Year 10 at Collingwood College: Tuesday, 5th September
We hope you have a safe and restful winter holiday period. Enjoy the break and return rejuvenated for an exciting Term 3, filled with work experience, subject selections, camps, sports, and much more.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Kind Regards,
Angela Watters
Secondary Assistant Principal
Year 9 & 10 Exam Success
Year 9 and 10 students recently completed exams and are congratulated for their positive efforts. It was wonderful to see students take the exams seriously in order to develop their ability to write, think and solve problems under test conditions.
Year 10 students completed four exams - English, Humanities, Science and Math - while Year 9 had their first experience of completing exams, completing only English and Math.
Very impressive 🙂 and well done!
Reflection and Goal Setting
The end of semester is the perfect time for students (and teachers!) to reflect on their achievements and to identify both successes and areas for improvement. I encourage you to have conversations with your child around these areas based on academic and personal gains. Reflection and goal setting are instrumental elements in developing skills to celebrate strengths/successes and make positive and necessary adjustments as life-long learners. Students will undertake reflection and goal setting activities at the start of next term.
Work Experience and Subject Selection
Term 3 will be a busy time for our Year 10 students who will undertake a work experience placement in Week 2 and 3 in addition to preparing for subject selection interviews. Valuable information was provided at the Senior Information Night this week about subjects, pathways and processes. More information will follow in upcoming weeks.
All the best for a safe and enjoyable break.
Lori Michael Teaching and Learning Lead Teacher
MUNA 2023 United Nations Experience
I signed up to go join the MUNA 2023 assembly. I understood that this Rotary experience would be an interesting adventure. At the beginning, I had signed up with a friend from school to join me as a partner to represent Collingwood College. Until the last couple days, he pulled out, so I got another classmate to join me. On May 20th, I got ready at 6AM with little to no sleep, finding out that my new partner also couldn’t join me because she was sick. Hours prior to waking up I spent half of the night studying Nigeria. I knew I had to fall in love with this country to represent it. On the day, despite the horrible news I understood that I need this experience, I have to do this. I collected myself, felt brave and went alone. In the whole assembly I was the only solo delegate for a country. Teams had mostly two and some had three delegates. This was my first time experiencing an event like this. The whole process felt very real, and it was much like the real United Nations. From 8AM to 5PM I spent my time in the Mercure Hotel event room watching delegate’s debate.
The leader of the event Gary Neville was the Secretary General, he sat in front of the 3 long rows of tables representing the nations. He led the process taking in votes and meetings between countries and finally he introduced the beginning to resolutions. Nations had to speak on resolutions and debate if they agree or disagree with the opinion of the nation. Specific resolutions from the Ukraine war to Cannabis laws to trade with China were discussed. This was how the United Nations was run. Most of the schools in Melbourne represented a country. From grammar schools to Catholic schools, to public schools. The students used very proper language and phrases like “Point of Order!” which I had no clue what it meant. On the first day I looked confident, but on the inside, I was confused and nervous. I didn’t want to speak, but even being solo I didn’t want to be left out of the competition. So at the end of the day, I only did one resolution on Islamic traditions and full face veils. I received a lot of appreciation from other students that were way more prepared than me. On the next day, after seeing how everything was run. I decided that I was going to do most of the resolutions of the day. I made three resolutions on May 21st representing Nigeria. After the event on the second day, Somalia had won with two Year 12 Brighton Grammar School delegates. They were the most well-spoken and they had noticeable experience in this field. After the diplomas all the students gathered to go out to Melbourne Central for fun. We all ate together and spent the afternoon getting to know each other outside of the UN.
I feel extremely proud of myself and my school for giving me this opportunity to try something that can help me achieve my dream future. I am very grateful for Collingwood College providing me with something to try that doesn’t involve regular school curriculum. If I had given up on myself, I would have stayed the same Nerijus. Even after hardship and sacrificing my sleep I have no regrets for that weekend. I had an opportunity to leave my comfort zone and I took it. I made connections with important people; I made friends with promising students and future politicians. If your school is providing you with an opportunity like this, take it because you can reach a different level of self-growth. It also can be a very strong aspect of your resume. I encourage students to step out of comfort and discover who they really are through experiences like this.
Written by Nerijus Vaitiekunas (Year 10)
Rotary International Conference Opening Ceremony
On the 27th of May this year, six Collingwood Colleges' Interact Club High school students got to experience participating in the opening ceremony of the Rotary International Conference. It was the start of an international meeting with 16,000 people from 200 countries.
We carried flags and heard music. Guitarist Simon Croft and the Tenors from Canada played Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and several other songs really well.
We also listened to Jennifer Jones, the president of Rotary. She survived cancer and now works to end cervical cancer in Egypt. She also wants to wipe out polio worldwide. She said things like “you don’t imagine yesterday, you imagine tomorrow” and “we breathe one air and are one people of action”. She inspired us to dream big and do good. She also mentioned the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and how Rotary is helping spread peace and give vital support.
Rotary is more than a club, it’s a movement that changes lives. If you’re interested, you can visit their website https://www.rotarycollingwood.org.au/ We meet every Thursday lunch in room 301 to create projects that inspire and make meaningful change.
Written by Ashanti Joy ( Year 9)
Interschool Soccer
On Thursday the 22nd of June, a small team of 10 year 7 & 8 boys accompanied by Tom and Rachael M went to John Fawkner College to compete in the Interschool Sport competition.
We had the odds stacked against us with three consecutive games, one less player on the field and no substitutes. Still, we had a great time out there and played strongly.
Our first and second games were both lost but Oli Anker scored a wicked goal against JFC which was a highlight. Despite the losses, we were grateful for Percy and Omer in goals who stopped many more than went through. Our final game against AIAM was the most thrilling with a spectacular goal right before final whistle by Farhan.
A great job to the entire team representing us: Oli, Jai, Ethan, Abdul, Elyas, Omer, Khubaib, Farhan, Isha and Percy.
Kind regards,
Tom O'Connell
Teacher & Camps Coordinator
Great Victorian Rail Trail Journey
On the 8th of May the Year 9 steiner cohort left Collingwood for Tallarook. We were prepared to bike 85km. The first day took us along the Great Victorian Rail Trail, and then up into the countryside hills of Tallarook. We had finished the first day, and although many members of the cohort were already tired we were proud of ourselves, and what we had just accomplished. We ate our dinner, and went to bed happy that night. The second day of riding was the biggest by a landslide, and a challenge for many if not all of us. This day was the one that I believe taught us the most resilience building, teamwork, communication and compassion. But the group pulled through together, supporting not so experienced riders, while also letting the faster riders enjoy their time. Near the end of this day everyone was over riding, we arrived at camp in the dark. This was the lowest point in our camp, everyone was irritable.
But we got up the next morning, on the third day of camp things brightened up for the group. Once we hit the road and headed out of Molesworth, we were on a roll. We smashed out 6 km in 20 minutes.
We switched with the other group in Alexandra to continue the last two days and 12 km of the trip on foot. It was only midday by the time we arrived in Alexandra, everyone was excited to have some free time.
We took a well deserved bus ride to Ned’s Gully in the Cathedral Ranges, and had our first proper night relaxing at camp. Over the past three days we had been through a lot as a group. We had the chance to communicate with people we never would have just by going to school everyday. Waking up the next morning we had a 10 km hike ahead of us and we took the Neds Gully Track up to Ned’s Saddle. This was the most challenging part of the hike but we all embraced it and made good time to the top of the mountain. We enjoyed amazing views from the top, looking down
This hike was breathtaking, every moment you looked up, you saw 100km away from the mountain. Once we got to the campsite for that night, our feet were aching but our spirits were heightened. We had accomplished the most difficult parts of the trip and we could all be happy about what we had done. Some of this excitement was taken by Tom running our 10 km hike in 30 minutes to grab the bus, but you win some you lose some.
Our last day of camp took us up one last mountain to seal the deal, and we left with more stories and memories. We jumped on the bus and were taken back to Melbourne, and just like that, we were home.
5 days, 102 km, many friendships, struggles, triumphs and improvised meals. The Steiner Journeys Program is extremely challenging, but that is why it is so beneficial. It shows us how much we can endure, even if we do not think we can.
Written By
Raf Blount
Community Cup Report
On Sunday, the 18th of June, a few students took time out of their Sunday to volunteer at Victoria Park for the 30th year celebrating since it first started in 1993. The VET students had their own stall for hot soup with bread rolls, snack packs, apples, and muffins. There were many performances before, during, and after the footy game. The two teams versus each other were musicians vs radio hosts. Megahertz vs Rock Dogs. Some of us got a photo with the Rock Dogs and their locker room was crazy. There was loud music playing pumping them up, pool floaties, food, and sweets on the middle table. We met several people during the day including the commentators who were very grateful for the food we delivered. We all got put on gate 1 and gate 2 to hand out footy programs for the day. The Megahertz won the game and they went crazy. Most people were going for the Rock Dogs. A trophy was awarded to the winning team and the public was going mad. After the trophy ceremony, the party fully started. The artists were going mental. When it was getting dark, the party really started. It turned into a rave. Everyone was at the stage bobbing their heads to all the music. Crowd surfing started to happen. It was a really good day and I would definitely recommend volunteering next year because it’s a great event and opportunity.
Mackenzie Arnold 9A
INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE (updated 15 February) - Contact Person - Steve Wu
Please click on the attachment below to see a list of Stringed instruments for sale. If you have an instrument for sale please email Steve at: fengchih.09@gmail.com
COLLINGWOOD COLLEGE ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
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Instagram https://www.instagram.com/collingwood.college/ and like us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/collingwood.vic.edu.au/ to keep up to date with everything that our school has to offer our students and the community.