In and around the classroom

Year 10 Health Expo

On Wednesday 31 May, students from Saltwater P-9 joined us at at Homestead to participate in the first-ever Health Expo, organised and run by our amazing Year 10 Health and Human Development students.  

The Health Expo created an engaging and educational platform where students explored various aspects of health, wellbeing, and lifestyle choices. It presented a unique opportunity for our students to collaborate, learn, and share their knowledge. 

Our Year 10 students worked diligently over the term to plan and organise this extraordinary event. They have applied their creativity, leadership skills, and passion for health and well-being to develop an impressive lineup of activities,  presentations, and interactive booths. The expo featured a diverse range of health-related topics, including nutrition, mental health, physical fitness, mindfulness, and much more.  

Students from both schools had the chance to explore these areas through interactive demonstrations, informational presentations, and hands-on workshops. By taking an active role in the planning and execution of this event, our Year 10 students are gaining valuable experience in teamwork, project management, and public speaking. 

It provided a unique chance for students to learn from one another, share their perspectives, and celebrate the diversity of ideas and backgrounds.  

We are extremely proud of the efforts of the Year 10 Health and Human Development students, and how the represented our college. 

Year 11 Legal Studies Excursion

On Friday 26th of May, Year 11 Legal Studies students went on an excursion to the city to participate in a range of law related activities. At 8:45 we visited Victorian Parliament House, from 10:30 to 12:15 we participated in Watchouse experience and a tour of Old Melbourne Goal and concluded our day with a jury program at the County Court. 

Our day started at 7:45am, bright and early, earlier than 7:45am for some of us. First stop was a great start to our day, a tour of Parliament House. Here we learnt where bills are passed and the process that takes place to make law. We sat in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council where we saw lady justice which as legal students we could relate to the concept of the Principles of Justice we had learnt about in class. 

We then moved on to the Old Melbourne Goal and participated in a Watchhouse experience. We were taken in and processed as criminals, lined up along the walls of the facility and were ‘searched’ for contraband. Many of of us had “weapons on our fingers” (acrylic nails) and some of us were allegedly fleeing police or publicly intoxicated according to our charge sheet read out by the sergeant. Here, we saw the holding cells that criminals were remanded in, we saw the wet rooms (where drunk people are held),

 the padded cell (where people who are at risk of harming themselves are kept) as well as the standard cells. We went through the tour and finished with many of us getting our unofficial mugshots taken. We had a 30 minute break until we did the goal tour where we learnt lots about Ned Kelly, and heard many prisoner escape stories. Unfortunately we had to cut these stories short so that we could have a quick look around the Goal facilities before getting out for lunch at Melbourne Central. 

Most of us seemed to have a good lunch, aside from one of us who had an unfortunate encounter with a spider in their sushi! Briefly moving past this, we ended our day on the best foot we could have! We particularly enjoyed the Jury Program at the County Court where we had the opportunity to participate in a courtroom role play and some of us were able to be judges, jurors, charged offenders or court personnel roles. This was the end of our day for most of us, and it can be safely said that we all enjoyed our day and the early start was definitely worth it!

-Pipper Allen - Year 11

Year 11 VCE VM 

Reflections on Term 2 projects

Vegetable Garden project

We worked outside a lot more which boosted our emotions and allowed us to create more happy hormones as we were under the sun. We boosted our physical health as we were shovelling dirt and creating a space to plant the vegetables. -Olivia

What I like about growing food and cooking was that it is peaceful and helps you to better work collaboratively with a team. 

What I learnt about growing food and healthy cooking is that you need patience to help maintain a good and healthy garden in order to cook effectively.

Growing food and cooking together can improve community wellbeing by learning to work with a team and being able to communicate well and get to know your classmates better. -Jaithan

What I like about growing food and cooking food is that it brings everyone together and it’s good to see people enjoying the food that you made. 

What I learnt about growing food and healthy cooking is that you can enjoy the food without even realising that it’s really healthy. 

Growing food and cooking together can improve community wellbeing by ensuring everyone is enjoying themselves and having a good time. -Rose

The emotional and cultural benefits of making a vegetable garden within a community is to help build a connection to not only to the land but to each other. Working with the soil and using teamwork to get jobs done helps build a strong connection between us. 

-Hendrix

Point Cook Community Groups Research Excursion.

The Point Cook Library has free resources for learning it is a safe place for all. The staff are nice and can provide you help with anything you need, and the library is a safe and good place to study. 

-Maverick

Whilst arriving it was cold, but once we got in it was full of people of different backgrounds. There were classes starting and a few kindergarten classes going on. It was really a sight to see. People getting up early hours in the morning to take care of other people was something that sort of sparked interest. It gives the idea of putting people before you, which is selfless and heartfelt. 

With each discussion there was always something they said that involved the community, along the lines of ‘Feeling safe’. And it was true, the feeling of that safety and no judgement was what everyone needed to feel. The feeling of not being left out and the thoughts of positivity towards each other.

We heard that the community centre is for everyone. Within the community, ideas and solutions built with different minds can create something better. -Cedere

The Library & Community Centre has everybody that wants to open up and be open with anyone. Introducing and talking to everyone it’s a safe place for any age groups like mums who are struggling and having tough times in their life. The centre helps them get through it with giving out meals to anyone that needs it.The centre also runs programs such as singing, creative writing, nature walking, cultural groups performing,  and art.

It is a place that brings in the community and makes sure everyone from different cultures is able to communicate and expand their knowledge on different cultures. -Ahdalia

Jess from Werribee River Association talked about native species and habitat/nature. She explained the importance of sustainability and un-sustainability and how to keep our environment safe and clean so that our waterways don't get clogged with random rubbish lying around.

She explained how important volunteers are and how much they help make a difference in our community. Changes that could be made to make our environment sustainable is pickup rubbish and involve everyone to join in. Jess encouraged all, especially young people, to get involved and inquire more about the native plants and animals to help mother nature. -Kevin

VCE VM Reading Nook

The Year 11 and 12 VCE VM students have been working collaboratively to create a ‘Reading nook’ for our students. Led by their PDS teacher, Callan Mc Donald, the Year 12s have designed and crafted the furniture for the space including chairs, a coffee table and a planter box from recycled wooden pallets. The Year 11 PDS students have been

undertaking research on what makes a common space functional for users. This has included a visit to the Community Centre at Point Cook to meet with the Youth Librarians and Centre Managers, to find out about some of the key learnings that they experienced along the way that could influence the way we do things here at Homestead. The next step for the Year 11 students is to start completing the interior design of our nook, as well creating the marketing materials including posters and newsletter articles to promote the space.We will keep the Community updated as this project continues along its journey.