Senior School Report

Message from the new Director of Learning - Senior School 

- Ms Anna Papagiannopoulos

I would like to start by introducing myself as the new Senior School Leader.  My name is Anna Papagiannopoulos, and I look forward to leading the Senior School through 2023 and beyond!

What a busy few weeks it has been for our students!

YEAR 12 EXAMS AND GRADUATION 

Congratulations to all Year 12 students on finishing your end-of-year exams! What an amazing achievement, especially after a difficult couple of years. You should all be so proud of yourselves for getting through it.  Well done also to all the staff who supported and nurtured these students throughout this and previous years.

Last Thursday, we had our Year 12 Graduation ceremony.  It was an incredible night of celebration and our Class of 2022 shined bright! Congratulations to all the graduates! YOU DID IT!

Thank you as well to all the students and staff who helped set up that night.

YEAR 11 EXAMS

Well done to Ms Helen Ifandis and all the staff for a successful Year 11 Exam period.  Students were prepared and focused and everything ran smoothly and efficiently. Congratulations to the Year 11 students on completing their Unit 1 and 2 studies.  Onwards and upwards!

HEADSTART

We have officially begun our Headstart program, with students attending their 2023 lessons.  This is a great opportunity for students to begin organising themselves for next year.  Well done to the 2023 Year 11 and 12 cohorts for a great start so far.

This a reminder that senior students will finish school this week at the conclusion of Week 1 of the Headstart program. Enjoy the holidays and stay safe!

Ms Anna Papagiannopoulos

Director of Learning - Senior School

VCAL TAFE Taster Day

Westall VCAL Students were able to recently test their skills in Bricklaying, Carpentry, and Kitchen Operations. With experienced instruction and guidance, students were able to practice their skills with the deft placement of mortar on bricks as they learned the ins and outs of bricklaying. Sawing, chiseling and some fine sanding produced some nicely crafted mobile phone stands, whilst in the commercial kitchen, finely crafted pancakes were also on the go.

Mr Sean Fraser, Ms Paula McIntosh & Mr Gary Bottomley - VCAL Teachers

VCAL Product Design - Unit 2 Collaborative Projects

The VCAL students continued to beautify the school grounds at Westall throughout the semester. Tarnica and Kiara worked on a project for the junior students where they could engage at their leisure with traditional 'hopscotch'. The students developed a variety of 'hopscotch' samples and trials. They engaged with 'Edumarking', an Australian company, to develop their ideas further. The project took time, energy, agony, and sweat to come to life. Lots of phone calls took place and lots of disappointment in working out an end date for the completion. Execution day finally arrived, and the 'hopscotch' evolved on the ground outside C-block. Coloured acrylic was fused onto the concrete floor, and dusted with fine glass particles over the top to give it a gloss finish. 

Tarnica also worked on developing the area outside B-block with coloured 'splats' that would soon turn into vibrant frangipani flowers and other flora using exterior paint.

Jumaed and Vaithesh worked endlessly with Mark, our landscape gardener, to complete the 'Chess board' outside the Year 11 locker bay. After 3 weeks of touch-and-go weather, the project was finally complete. The pattern of large beige and charcoal pavers compliment this area that was in desperate need of development. The gigantic black and white pawns stand tall when not in play. 

The VCAL students should be proud of their accomplishments this year, and most of all, they can now sit back and watch their projects come to life!

Ms Helen Ifandis 

Year 11 Coordinator & Arts Coordinator

Year 11 Monash University Campus Experience 

On Wednesday, 2nd November, Year 10/11 students were bused to Monash University to gain first-hand experience of university life. Our students had the privilege to listen to Monash students from the various faculties talk about areas of study, clubs, living on campus, funding, and career opportunities.

The students were taken on a university walk and tour to see a variety of faculties from the Arts, Engineering, Law, Medicine, and Education. It was unfortunate that on our day of visit it was the examination period, so we couldn't really delve inside. The students enjoyed walking around the campus and really got a sense of what it would be like to be part of the university. We discovered beautiful flora along the way and amazing sculptures and installations.

It was great to see such enthusiasm in the lecture theatre when our students played Uniopoly!

The Monash University organisers did a fabulous job of making the day fun, engaging, and entertaining. Chocolate was the currency for the day!

I would like to thank Ms Geraldine, who is always advocating for giving our students access to university experiences for study and career paths. 

A huge thank you to all the Year 10/11 students, who demonstrated exceptional professional conduct as well as making it a great day. 

Ms Helen Ifandis

Year 11 Coordinator & Arts Coordinator