Outside the Classroom

Year 12 Graduation

We were so happy to celebrate the Class of '22 at our recent graduation ceremony. Congratulations to our Valedictorian Mia E, and to her fellow graduates, you have shown such determination in your journey and we have enjoyed our time with such a friendly and positive group. We look forward to hearing about your future adventures!

Coburg on the Green

Finally, after seemingly months of rain, our first beautiful sunny afternoon coincided with our second ever Coburg On The Green. With musical acts during the day in front of student audiences and then with the full event taking place in the evening, the Instrumental Music Team and CHS staff had their hands full with planning and preparations for this mammoth event, but it was a stunning success!  

Coburg High School students staffed the Gourmet BBQ, serving delicious bratwursts and other fine sausages, and parents ran the bar for that authentic festival vibe. 

Events such as these take considerable planning and our thanks go to Mandy Cooney, president of the Parents’ Association, for driving this event, as well as Luke McIvor and Anna Berlingeri for organising the musical performances. Our greatest appreciation goes to our fabulously talented students who all appear to have particularly good taste in music, coincidentally most of which their parents listened to in the 90s. 

As a school fundraising event, COTG raised approximately $4000, which will be reinvested into the performing arts at CHS.

Student Achievement

On Sunday 4th of December, Jessie C & Willow K's original songs "Small" & "Hero to Her Own Crimes" were chosen to be performed at the Kool Skools Awards Night at Studio 52/ Empire Music Studios. Willow's band, also including Che S & Izzy B, won the award for Best Indie Band! Well done to everyone involved in Kool Skools 2022! 

Blue Edge

Students in year 8 were given the opportunity to participate in the Blue Edge  program, in conjunction with Victoria Police. Students met twice a week in term 4 and participated in a half hour fitness class, followed by breakfast and a 45 minute session based on leadership and life skills. They then finished the term off with a full day excursion to Lady Northcote, where they participated in the giant swing, initiative activities and a high ropes course. Students also had a graduation where they were presented with certificates and a new Garmin watch to congratulate them on their efforts throughout the program. Nice work team!

Unit 2 Biology

For the final assessment of the year our Unit 2 Biology students were fortunate enough to put their experience into practice at the Melbourne Zoo! 

The budding biologists participated in some key data collection in the Butterfly House and learned all about the captive breeding program for one of Australia’s most critically endangered species - the Southern Corroboree Frog.

Although it was a cloudy & slightly rainy day, it was great to get out of the classroom and learn all about the importance of genetic diversity and adaptations in the real world. Big thank you to all the students for being so engaged and well behaved all day! - The VCE Biology Team (Callum, Donna & Jess) 

Southern Corroboree Frog Facts:

• Their attractive and bright colours signal their poisonous trait (a key structural adaptation which protects them from predators)
• The Corroboree frog is the only frog which can produce its own poison (all other poisonous frogs consume poisonous things for this trait!)
• They are inactive during the winter, remaining under logs or litter on the woodland floor (known as winter torpor, a physiological adaptation)
• Sadly, there are approximately only 50 Southern Corroboree Frogs left in their native habitat, Mt. Kosciuszko National Park
• A key threat to their survival is the impact of the Chytrid Fungus, an invasive pathogen which affects their cell membranes (salt channels) and causes heart attacks
• The Melbourne Zoo breeding program has been making important contributions to the survival of the Southern Corroboree Frog since 2001. If you are interested in knowing more (or donating to this cause) please read the attached Melbourne Zoo fact sheet.

Financial Wellbeing Program

Throughout Term 3 and 4 some of our students in Year 9 and 10 have participated in the Financial Wellbeing Program. They have then created a series of podcasts showcasing what they have learnt, which are well worth listening to!

Geography

One Friday, the Year 11 Geography class managed to avoid being washed into the Yarra while collecting fieldwork data in city laneways for their unit on Tourism. The class is to be congratulated for their adventurous attitude during what was a spectacular downpour, and their resilience in resuming data collection once the sun (and tourists) emerged.

Young Carer Ambassador Training 

Did you know that 1 in 10 young people are Carers in Australia?

Young Carers (under the ages of 25 years) learn compassion, kindness and empathy from having a caring role and they develop an incredible attachment with the person they care for. But being a Young Carer can also significantly affect one's education, social life, employment, emotional and physical health. 

We recognise that Young Carers face a number of challenges, with school disengagement being one of them. That is why CHS have partnered with Little Dreamers to offer Ambassador Training for students. Five young people, from diverse caring roles, such as playing with their neuro- diverse siblings to cooking dinner for their family, completed the training. 

Hanna and Romi facilitated icebreaker activities to build trust and rapport among students which helped them to share their caring journey and the effects it has had on their lives. For example, a young carer reported feeling stressed and worried that they don't have free time to hang out with their friends. Another student highlighted that caring has increased the amount of time they spend as a family.  

The group also discussed how they can work to identify the unmet needs of other Young Carers and develop solutions, such as notifying the Student Support Team that they were late because they dropped their sister at school. Other ideas include having a safe and supportive space for Young Carers to share and connect with each other on a regular basis. 

A big thank you to our Young Carer Ambassadors who demonstrate remarkable resilience and compassion. 

If you would like more information on how the school or Little Dreamers can support you in your caring role please see Pek Lin at Student Wellbeing or email peklin.cerase@coburg.vic.edu.au

Homegroup Days Out

One of the highlights of our end of year program is taking our amazing junior years out for the day! Students choose an activity with their homegroup teacher, and they are always action-packed days. We would like to share a gallery of this year's days out with you:

Year 9 Celebration Day

On the 6th of December, the Year 9 cohort went on a trip to the Coburg Olympic Pool. The day started with everyone being allowed out to Sydney Road or Pentridge to look for food to bring to the pool for a nice picnic. Everyone then met together at the pool for two hours of swimming and assorted activities. The day finished with “The Silly Awards”, where the students voted on people most likely to do something (Become Prime Minister, Win the Hunger Games etc) or have something (Best Attitude, Best All Rounder etc). “Best Hair” was awarded to Clifford Johnson of 9B with an amazing Edgar bowl cut. Our whole year level is very thankful and appreciative of the teachers who came along and put this day together to end the year on such a fun note.

By Saleh (9A) and Kestrel (9D)