Middle School Report

Message from the 

Director of  Learning - Middle School

- Ms Michelle Collins

I would like to start by introducing myself as the new Middle School Leader.  My name is Michelle Collins, and I look forward to leading the Middle School through 2023!

Firstly, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the Year 9 and 10 students, parents, and guardians to the new school year at Westall Secondary College. I want to thank all of the Middle School students for a wonderful start to the year. It has been great to see the positive attitudes and smiles from everyone. Keep up the great work!

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEADERS

I would also like to warmly welcome Summer Bao and Gowri Nair to Year Level Coordination roles in the Middle School this year. Please don’t hesitate to contact them via email or phone, to help support your child’s education, wellbeing, or attendance.

Michelle Collins

Director of Learning - Middle School

Michelle.Collins@education.vic.gov.au

Gowri Nair

Year 10 Coordinator

Gowri.Nair@education.vic.gov.au

Summer Bao

Year 9 Coordinator

Summer.Bao@education.vic.gov.au

THE WESTALL WAY

It is vital we keep focusing on ‘What Matters Most’, that is, continual improvement. If we continue to maintain our wonderful, supportive and safe environment, as well as, striving for best outcomes, and placing high expectations on everything we do, the results will follow.

We have a ‘Westall Way’ behaviour and learning plan that helps us focus on the right things.

That is:

Come to school prepared! - Homework completed, in full uniform, with all your class materials and  your devices fully charged.

Come to school on time! - This includes getting to every class on time.

Come to school ready to learn! - Going to class with a mindset ready to explore and ask questions, and trying the class tasks.

This is how the best outcomes happen! 😊   

MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP

The camp will run from Monday 5th June – Wednesday 7th June at PGL Camp Rumbug in Foster North. More details will be provided to parents and guardians later this term.

RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

Our Year 9 students have been involved in the ‘Respectful Relationships’ workshops.

These workshops are being conducted by our school nurse, Ms Formoso. Students are provided with valuable understanding and strategies on expecting and reciprocating the characteristics of a respectful relationship. 

Everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and equality are embedded in our education settings.

Respectful Relationships is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields, fetes and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on student’s academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour, and relationships between teachers and students.

Together, we can lead the way in saying yes to respect and equality and creating genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. 

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE

Year 10 students have completed the first of their workshops designed to help them plan their Work Experience placement and they are busy looking for their potential employers. Work Experience will run from Monday 19th June until Friday 23rd June which is the last week of Term 2. Students have been given guidance on where to look for work placements and how to approach potential employers. 

We encourage you to talk with your child and discuss where they might like to experience a workplace for the week. Once students have chosen a workplace, they need to return their completed ‘Work Experience Arrangement Form’ to secure their place.

Ms Michelle Collins

Director of Learning - Middle School

CLASSROOM CORNER

A snapshot of what is happening in our Middle School classrooms:

In Week 1’s Financial Literacy class, we played a “Price is Right” game to make students feel interested and engaged in this course and about dealing with future finance issues. The purpose of this game is to make students feel sensible about price and money and to train their ability to estimate the price. 

To be specific, there were several products on the screen and students will work in groups to guess how much is it and write it down on their whiteboard. The winner group will be the group who got the closest price. There are different items including Nike Air shoes, a Chanel bag, Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, and  a fidget spinner etc. Moreover, students were highly motivated and after several rounds, every group was getting very close to the actual price. 

Well done, Financial Literacy class! I am looking forward to your future progress!

Mr Jeffrey Ji

Financial Literacy Teacher

Our food studies students have been cooking up a storm! Just this week, they have made cookies and hot cross buns! Delicious!

Ms Lee Read

Food Studies Teacher