WELC Report

Message from the 

International and WELC Coordinator 

- Ms Debby Morgan

We are quickly coming to the end of the year. It has been a busy term and we are in the final weeks. Students have almost finished their assessments, and teachers are writing Exit Reports. These reports will be sent to families at the end of Week 10.

Language Centre students enjoyed a walking tour of the city centre in Week 7. Students explored a few small laneways close to Flinders Street station and had fun taking photos near the graffiti there. They also walked down Bourke Street Mall and viewed the famous Myer Windows. This year, the windows were designed based on a Disney theme. It brought back memories of everyone’s childhood. We also went to the Old Melbourne Gaol, which is now a museum. Here, the students went on a tour and learned more about Australian history, including Ned Kelly, an infamous bushranger.

We held an early Graduation ceremony for the 35 students, who will exit our Language Centre at the end of this term. It was lovely to see our students reflect on the friendships they have formed and the personal development they have made during the last few terms. We also enjoyed violin, piano, dance and singing performances from many of our students. Well done for putting your hand up and performing at our Graduation!

Some of our students have moved to their mainstream schools to complete Transition classes. They will meet their new teachers and classmates and get an introduction to next year’s subjects. We wish all our students the best when they start at their new schools and hope they come back to visit us again!

This Friday, all Language Centre students will go to Bonbeach Life Saving Club and participate in a Beach program. This will teach them valuable water safety skills, which are important skills to have here in Australia. Next Wednesday, students will go to Scienceworks, where they will have the opportunity to participate in many fun activities. They will also observe a show in the Planetarium, which will supplement their learning from their Science classes.

We want to congratulate all our students for working very hard this term. The last day of classes will be 16 December. We wish all students a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing them back at Westall on Monday 30 January 2023!

Ms Debby Morgan

International Student & WELC Coordinator

Old Melbourne Gaol Excursion

Old Melbourne Gaol is a famous place in Melbourne. It was opened on 1st January 1845 and closed in July 1924. It reopened in 1972 as a museum and is located on Russell Street, Melbourne. If you want to visit the Gaol, it opens from 9:30 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon.

Old Melbourne Gaol has three floors. Can you imagine it was the tallest building in Melbourne at that time? On the first floor, there are many cells. The cells are very dark and small. It’s wet and cold inside. It only has four walls and nothing else. The prisoners spent 23 hours in their cells, facing four walls. Isn’t that crazy? When you walk up to the second floor, you will see the gallows where the prisoners were hanged and Ned Kelly’s mask. Ned Kelly was the most infamous prisoner, and he was a bushranger. You can also see the lashing triangle. It was used to punish the prisoners. There are many death masks on the second floor cells. When you go up to the third floor, you will see the cells are bigger than the first and second floors. Unlike the first and second floors, the third floor's cells can hold eight prisoners at a time.

The prisoners had one hour each day for exercise in the yard. They wore silence masks when they came out of their cells so they don’t communicate with each other. The male prisoners broke rocks and the female prisoners sewed, cleaned and cooked. They also made prisoner clothing for male prisoners.

Old Melbourne Gaol is a good place to visit. You can learn some of Melbourne’s history. Enjoy your visit to the Old Melbourne Gaol!

Ashley - Group 2