Senior School News

Senior students discover the world of Shakespeare

Year 10 and 11 students have been exploring the world and language of William Shakespeare via the timeless masterpiece Romeo and Juliet and the tragedy of Macbeth. Students are relishing the opportunity to immerse themselves in the plays, taking on the roles of various characters in our circle reading. There have been some very committed and convincing portrayals that would not be out of place on the Globe’s stage! 

Our English teachers are extremely impressed with students challenging themselves with Shakespearean language, and ae immensely proud of their achievements and growing confidence. In the coming weeks, students will engage in close-readings of the plays, and will discuss and analyse the ways in which Shakespeare expertly plays with language for effect. Students will develop their own interpretations of the plays through class discussion, building toward writing their text analysis essays later in Term 3.

Mid-year exam practice for seniors

Our senior students tackled mid-year exams in the College PAC during the second-last week of Term 2. For some students, this was the first experience of exam conditions - and of the nerves that often appear when it's time for official tests. Others were old hands and knew exactly what to do and how to do it. 

But whether first-timers or experienced academic exam takers, we want to congratulate all our seniors who tackled the week-long exam timetable with determination and grit.  It was a good chance for the entire VCE cohort to find out what is expected when end-of-year exams take place in November.

Year 11 student Ashira Oli attends science engineering camp

Year 11 students Ashira Oli (pictured above leftattended a specialist science camp during the recent school holidays designed to inspire a new generation of engineers and inventors. Here's his recount of the event:

On the second week of our two-week holiday, I arrived at Ormond College. I was shown to my bedroom, and after that, the activities began. 

Throughout the camp, we did various activities like Building a Bridge, Marshmallow Problem, Creating a Rocket, Flying Drone and SO MANY fun activities. We interviewed the engineers, consultants, and even learnt a lot about science from the different universities. Did you know that when you boost a rocket in space, you are changing the orbit instead of orbiting faster? 

At Monash, we took a look at Monash's HPR team, blew up bottle rockets, and had a close look at some Rovers. We also had a look at Medical Technology where we designed some crutches for Tim who had problems with them. Other things we looked at was Entrepreneurship, CAD Designing, which was an interesting experience as well. We went to S&C Electric Company where we did some trivia, had a look at different machines like Intelliruptor and got a free water bottle at the end. There were also some Psychological things we learnt like TRIZ. 

At Ernest-Young, we interviewed 6 consultants who had their own experiences. They all recommended a gap year before university to plan out what exactly you want to pursue. At RMIT, we mostly explored the different things RMIT had to offer, but also had a look at a laser that measures distance. We also had a glimpse of exothermic reactions. Other than all the science, there was actually a talent show on the second last day. There is so much I want to say about it, but let's just say it was AWESOME!! 

On the last day, we said goodbye to some of our friends who flew to Melbourne for the camp. Then we went to Melbourne University for the last time where we did the ending ceremony and went home. Some funny memories I made is that I dipped cheese in hot chocolate and ate it. Sure, it sounds weird but it made a good laugh. 

We went to Universities across Victoria, talked to different engineers and made so many life-long memories. The friends I made during the camp and the staff were amazing people. The mind games and the facts I found out are memorable and I am happy that I got to be a part of Spark Engineering Camp.