Other School News
News from the Library
Hello, fellow library lovers.
It is getting very close to the end of the year and we really need all our library books back for the next year's students to borrow. If you have a library book, please return it as soon as you can.
In other news, the library has successfully subscribed to an eBook platform. Above is the logo. You would have all been sent a link to log in to the service. If you do not have the link, please contact us in the library.
Your username will be your email address, and your password is Student1. You will be able to change that when you log in for the first time.
There is a huge range of eBooks to borrow, including Animal Farm! Unfortunately, eBooks are just like real books, in that there is only one per borrower and at the return date, the item will just disappear. However, some of you do prefer eBooks, so we have taken this opportunity to support the students at Westall as much as we can.
This will be my last library newsletter to you as I am leaving Westall to go to another school for a year. I have to say that I have loved being your librarian, discussing new books, comparing notes on books, playing games with you, and generally making really great reading friends. Westall is a great community and I believe that the library is at the heart of it. There is nothing as good as seeing students coming to the library at recess and lunch, with smiles on their faces, ready to socialise, play games, talk, read, study or just take some time out. Keep up the good fight by keeping reading alive at Westall.
Ms Sue Stenning
Teacher/Librarian
Remember: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Dr. Seuss
The 2022 Westall Chess Tournament Winner is....
Congratulations to Mr T, the winner of the 2022 Chess Tournament! It was an intense match, and Darren fought valiantly. Well done, Darren, for representing the students and for an excellent game. Thank you to Roni for organising a successful tournament, and we look forward to next year's competition.
Ms Kristina Vasilakis
Student Activities Coordinator
iCreate STEM Science Delivery Incursion
On Wednesday 23rd November, we had a team of 4 science students from Melbourne University visit us to deliver Science Discovery to our Years 7, 8 and 9 students. Our Balook classroom was transformed into a science fair and the students from UniMelb started by discussing different streams of science, followed by a science demonstration. Starting us off, Garred took the drone on a flight, followed by Jess’s video on the EEG test and the results. Some of our students even got to wear the EEG cap, and explore how the nodes and gels work to capture brain activity! We then heard from Brooke about evolution and had a guess about different animal skulls and finished with a bang with Edith conducting flame tests producing pretty colours red, purple, green and more. Students then got a chance to work around four different stations, which included drone programming, exploring a sheep brain and having the opportunity to feel the different parts of the brain. Students also discussed the periodic table and the presence of elements around us from everyday items. Finally, we had real skulls of Australian animals, such as wombats and koalas, and students had a go at touching and guessing which skull belonged to which animal. All students had a fantastic time experiencing the science practicals and hearing about potential careers in science. We want to thank the amazing student volunteers at Melbourne University for their time and look forward to having them back next year!
Ms Fatima Khan (Monash pre-service teacher) & Ms Loan Luong-Nguyen - STEM & Numeracy Specialist
Year 9 and 10 Financial Literacy Excursion
On November 3rd, the Financial Literacy students and their teacher, Ms Stenning, went for a tour of the Victorian Parliament House. The students had some time at the start of the day to play an Amazing Race game. Luckily we had no rain or wind.
We all met up for lunch in the gardens of the State Library at the statue of Governor LaTrobe.
Once everyone was finished, we caught the City Circle tram to the Parliament House. Our tour of the building was amazing and very interesting.
We learned about the origins of the building, and the different sections – the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. We also looked around the Parliamentary library. We also got to observe a primary school practicing their debating skills in the Legislative Assembly. The students and their teacher had a great visit.
Students have the chance to sit in the Legislative Council and experience what it is like to make a law.
Ms Sue Stenning
Teacher/Librarian