9-12 Community News

Students have continued working hard over the last two weeks and have their focus on completing the numerous assessment tasks and class activities leading up to the publication of reports and the end of term.

The re-scheduled Year 12 Retreat took place last week. This was a valuable experience for the cohort, helping to draw them closer together and allow time for personal reflection and goal setting. Grace Poole and Renee Batt presented a report on the Retreat at this week’s assembly. Grace’s report is presented below:

Last week myself and my fellow Year 12s embarked on our Year 12 retreat experience at Camp Getaway in Axedale.

Excited to get a break from school, our first day was spent mostly within our small groups. We were introduced to the Harvest theme of our retreat as we took part in a hands on exercise to create gardening tools to “prepare the soil”, representative of the Year 12 journey and the preparation required to reap the benefits of our hard work at the end of the year. The day concluded with the movie “The First Grader,” which sparked conversation about the Resilience Project, particularly the value of perseverance and education. 

We continued to explore the metaphor of harvest the next morning when we created scarecrows, paired with conversations around the strategies we utilise to “keep out the pests” in our daily lives. Our competitive sides were brought out when we later enjoyed a trivia night led by our student leaders and Mrs Sherman. 

On our final morning, the student leaders conducted a liturgy, and each student received a letter from someone important in their life which we spent some time reflecting on. 

On behalf of all the Year 12 students I would like to thank all the teachers for the preparation that had gone into the experience, it’s very much appreciated.

Grace 

The Years 9/10 Outdoor and Environmental Studies and Duke of Edinburgh classes enjoyed their camp at Nagambie, with several experiencing life in a tent for the first time. Isla Carver’s report is below:

On the 16th of March, the Year 9 Outdoor Ed and Duke of Ed group headed down on a bus to Major Creek Reserve, near Nagambie to camp one night and canoe/kayak down the Goulburn River. At the camp, we had to pack things, including our food for the trip, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, clothes and camping chairs. We got to the campsite around 3.00pm and we all unpacked the bus and started setting up our tents. After we set up, we headed down to the boat ramp and put the canoes in the water to have a practice. We all got into partners and canoed around the creek until we were back at the boat ramp. Later, we had some free time and then cooked dinner on the Trangia. Some of the meals we cooked were noodles, pasta, pizza and even a roast. We all had to clean our trangias and put them away. Once it was dark, we went for a walk and looked at the stars. We also talked about Major Mitchell the explorer. When we were back at camp everyone got ready for bed and went into their tents ready for a 6.30 am start.

In the morning everyone eventually woke up and got ready. Before we got on the water ready to canoe for the day we had to pack up our tents and bags and have our breakfast. Once this was all done we carried all of our stuff into the car and made sure the place was clean. After everyone was ready, Rob talked to us about the history and then Barry spoke to us about the safety considerations and tips for our canoe. 

When we were ready it was around 9.00am and we jumped into our kayaks and canoes and started our 13km trip on the water. Our first and only stop was at the Nagambie Winery for a snack and the toilet. Once everyone was ready, we got back into the canoes and slowly rowed down the river. When we finally got to the end we packed our bags on the bus, helped put the canoes/kayaks on the trailer and headed into Nagambie for some afternoon tea. We had 40 minutes to get some food and once we finished we walked to the bus, hopped on and went home. We got home at 4.00pm and put our tents and tarps away in the Outdoor Ed shed and everyone got picked up. 

Overall the trip was amazing. We had a great time with everyone and enjoyed everything we did. It was a great experience and we have learnt a lot about what to bring next time and what not to pack. Thank you to the teachers Mr Martin, Miss Pinnuck, Mrs Ryan and Kasey for a great trip.

Our Years 9/10 debating team competed in Round 1 of the Three Rivers Debating Competition. Gargayee Satish-Gowda’s report is below. 

On the 16th of March Sarah, Sam, Ayden, Xander and I embarked on a journey to SMOTA, each of us eager to participate in the Term 1, 2021 DAV Debating Competition. We set foot in the school and it's fair to say that most of us were filled with nerves. Our first competition was at 10:45.  Xander, Sam and I began to prepare. We decided it was best to try and establish dominance, to make our opposition team feel some sort of fear...but that didn't exactly work. Either way, we began our first debate. It was heated, we were neck to neck. Our first topic was 'Alcohol should not be subject to plain packaging laws in Australia' and we were on the negative. The end results were very close, separated by only one point. Sadly...we lost. But we didn't lose our hopes. We still had one more competition to go to. After a small break, the next team (Sarah, Sam and Ayden) started to get ready. They were up against the famous Notre Dame. This debate was also close. I had the opportunity to watch my teammates perform their speeches, and I can say that without a doubt they were all amazing. So amazing, that they even won! Finally, our school tasted victory!

But unfortunately, after this debate, the day came close to its end. We packed our bags, showed our appreciation and gratefulness towards the DAV members and said our goodbyes. Before we knew it we were back on our way home, singing  'Never Gonna Give You Up' during the car ride. 

I can confidently say that I enjoyed the day very much. If anyone in Years 9-10 is thinking about joining the team, you definitely should. It gave us a great opportunity to try new things, speak publicly and enjoy ourselves. It was a wonderful day and I can't wait for our next debate competition. 

- Gargayee, Year 10

The Year 9/10 Agriculture/Horticulture class enjoyed their visit to Agriculture Victoria’s Smartfarm where they learnt about the many innovations that technology is bringing to the agriculture industry. 

Turning the focus to sporting activities, there have been some commendable efforts from 9-12 students. The Year 11/12 Boys Cricket team played in the finals of the Loddon/Mallee competition. Liam Scopelliti’s (aka Marnus) match reports follow:

In the first round of the competition, the Years 11/12 Senior Cricket team travelled to Kyabram P-12 where we played against Ky P-12, defeating them quite comfortably with a great team effort. We then ventured to Nathalia, where we played Rochester and won very easily, with everyone contributing. We then came across a very strong St Joey’s side in the Grand Final. With a strong bowling effort from the side restricting them to 98 runs we were able to chase their tally down very easily and advanced to the London Mallee stage in Bendigo. This is the furthest any cricket team from St Augustines has ever made it. The chance to become legends lay before us. In our first game we played Swan Hill in the semi final. A brilliant team effort with the bat and ball saw us advance to the Grand Final for the chance to play at State if successful. Unfortunately, in a very tight game in which we fought to the end, BSSC came out the winners. While we did not win this match, overall, it was a great effort by all of the team: Liam S, Ryan H, Blake M, Cooper F, Lachlan T, Darcy B, Kalon R, Tom B, Riley M, Ethan H, Luke S and Marcus B.

Stats from the matches: 

• St Aug's vs Ky P-12: Runs - Blake 25. Wickets - Cooper 2
• St Aug's vs Rochester: Runs - Blake & Ryan 50. Wickets - Cooper 3
• St Aug's vs St Joes: Runs - Liam 35. Wickets - Cooper 3, Liam 4
• St Aug's vs Swan Hill: Runs - Liam 60. Wickets - Shared effort
• St Aug's vs Bendigo SS: Runs - not enough.  Wickets - Cooper 2, Marcus 2, Blake 2,  Liam 2

A big thanks to top class coach, Sean Martin; without him we wouldn’t have made it this far. 

On Thursday, Harry Shortis and Sarah Whelan competed in the Regional Swimming Championships at Swan Hill. Harry came away with five 1st place medallions in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle and 50m butterfly. Sarah placed 4th in the 50m butterfly. Thank you to Mrs Larissa Sherman and Molly Carver for transporting and supporting the team. Congratulations to all of the other members of the College community who competed. And, today, many students competed in the College Cross Country. We look forward to learning the results next week.

As we head towards the end of term, there are still a number of important events coming up. 

School Photos are scheduled in the last week of term, on Monday, 29th March. Students are reminded of the requirement to wear their full academic uniforms (NO SPORTS UNIFORMS TO BE WORN ON THIS DAY). Please also ensure students are wearing the correct socks (white socks with no logos or navy) and school shoes are clean and polished. The emphasis for students is to ensure that their uniform is “Neat, Clean and Complete” and that the uniform is worn with pride. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents in advance for their ongoing support and assistance in ensuring students’ uniforms are of the highest standard.

These photos are wonderful examples of students wearing their full academic uniforms “Neat, Clean and Complete”. We look forward to seeing such great standards of uniform in the 2021 College photos.

And, for a reminder of how good our full Sports uniform looks, please enjoy the fine examples below:

An opportunity that students can take advantage of is the Bishop Joe Grech Scholarship, which has been promoted by Ms Morrisey. Students in Years 10 and 11 are encouraged to read and consider the information below.

Bishop Joe Grech Scholarship - Years 10 and 11 Students

Applications are now open for Years 10 and 11 students to apply for the 2021 Bishop Joe Grech Youth Scholarship. This scholarship (valued up to $1000) is intended to offer opportunities to young people to participate in spirituality or leadership courses and programs. Eligible students must have contributed to leadership initiatives in their schools and/or Diocese and present a detailed proposal for participation in planned or self-designed Spirituality or Leadership program.

Please contact Miss Kylie Morrissey for more information or to obtain a copy of the application form. Students could also speak to Hannah Hocking, Year 12, who was the recipient of this scholarship last year. 

As announced on SIMON, Wednesday 31st March will be a casual dress day in which students are asked to wear appropriate, sunsmart clothing and bring a donation for Caritas. We encourage all students to support this worthy cause with a gold coin donation on the day.

In closing, as we move towards the end of term, we would like to congratulate all of the members of the 9-12 Community on a great Term 1 and we encourage all students to enter Term 2 with purpose and enthusiasm. With that in mind, we particularly commend our VCE students to make the most of their break. While it is important for students to enjoy some rest time, it is vital for VCE students to view this time as a ‘non-instruction period’ - a time in which they can prepare for the up-coming term by doing the pre-reading and activities that their teachers set them, making use of the variety of on-line and textbook resources that staff provide to support their coursework. Also, as highlighted in the Elevate Education seminars presented earlier in the term, students should take the opportunity to develop their revision notes from the course content from Term 1. Revision notes prepared soon after the teaching/learning, which are then revisited on a regular basis, will help with the long term retention of the content.

Michelle Downie                                                Brad Downie

9-12 Community Leader Wellbeing              9-12 Community Leader Student Learning

Introducing our new 9-12 Community staff

Bryana Pogue

PE Teacher

 "I'm a graduate teacher and am excited to be teaching physical and outdoor education at St Augustine’s." 

Nicole James

Maths Teacher 

"This is my first year as a teacher and I am excited to be starting my career in an F-12 College"

Annalese Oliver

 Years 9-12 Teacher

“Almost 20 years on, I still have contact with students and colleagues from my very first year of teaching, testament to that fact that respectful relationships and connection remain so very important.”

Kasey Cooper

Learning Support Officer

"I am very excited to be working at St Augustine’s College this year, having done most of my schooling (Prep-Year 10) at St Augustine’s. It's good to be back."

Rebecca Lowe

Years 9-12 Teacher

“I'm delighted to join the St Augustine's community in 2021 and have a special passion for science.”

Peter Fawcett

Learning Support Officer

“I currently work with the Years 9/10 Partnerships for the Future students and look forward to coordinating youth oriented activities within the school; including the relaunch of the MATES program. “

Year 9 Creative Writing

Red Bull Rampage 

The smell of fresh air after my 480km drive makes me feel even more excited about the new track at Marvel Park. The race is "The Red Bull Rampage". What is the Red Bull Rampage? Well, it is a free-ride mountain bike event held in Marvel Park, Utah, USA, where the best mountain bike athletes in the world try to make it down frightening mountainsides and ridges in one piece. At the same time, they must impress by doing some seemingly unimaginable tricks and carving a line down the mountain. It’s the most spectacular event to participate in as a mountain biker and if you’re lucky, to watch on-site as a spectator. This event has been going on since 2001 and there have been 14 editions since. 

My feet tingle as I walk to the back of my van to get my YT Tues (bike) and get all my padding on for this dangerous track. I'm only here today to ride the track, but in the corner of my eye, I see a blue sign that says "tryouts to race". I always wanted to ride here and now I have a chance to race! This is the best day ever. Of course, I go to tryouts with excitement but when I get to the top of the hill all the people up there are like 18-20 and all with bikes above $10,000, but I keep telling myself it's not about the bike, it depends on the skills of the rider.

All eyes are on me, since I am probably the youngest rider there, but I am still skilled enough to ride at Marvel Park. I am in line to drop in and my heart is pounding but I stay calm even though there is a lot of pressure on me because I am the first 14-year-old to ride such a track. I am up next and ready to go into the 10 ft drop at the first part of the track. I'm up, I'm not in control any more as my body pushes down on the pedals going into a drop. I feel free and I am surprisingly good at the track and now I am about to jump over the canyon but I keep confident and hit the jump. 

By Nathan Oliver