9-12 Community News
As we enter the early days of August, we find ourselves experiencing some glorious winter days; a mix of frosty mornings and sunny afternoons.
We have welcomed a number of new students to the 9-12 Community, including our Italian Exchange student, Mavy Gaspardo, who has joined the Year 9 cohort. Ciao e Benvenuto, Mavy!
The Year 11 Unit 4 Outdoor Environmental Studies class participated in their Alpine Experience on Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th of July. This trip allowed students to have a hands on experience with the Alpine environment that they will then write about when they complete SACs and end of year exams.
Report by students Isla C and Nathan O.
6:00am on Wednesday the Year 11 Units 3/4 Outdoor Education class hopped on the bus and departed from McCormick Road to drive to the alpine environment of Falls Creek Resort and the Alpine National Park. Our accommodation for the two nights was Howmans Gap YMCA. We didn't waste any time doing our first activity which was cross-country skiing. We had three instructors (Luca, Bree and Nicko) to teach us how to be safe and have fun while cross country skiing. We had a lesson at the beginning and ended with a tour around the Nordic Bowl and the Rocky Valley Dam. Our half-day of cross-country skiing was a whole lot of fun with many many falls from every student. Mr Lewis was a cross-country professional and he taught us many tricks to stay standing as well as our instructors. The day came to a close with shepherd's pie for dinner, an in-depth talk from the teachers about how we went for our day and what to expect for our downhill skiing day.
Thursday was another early start to make sure we were on top of the mountain for our 8:30am downhill skiing lesson. Noel and Euon were our instructors. They were extremely helpful and at 10am all of us, including the teachers, were very excited to complete our first run together. As a group we began on Panorama which is a green run but proved to be harder than we thought. We all had our falls while learning how to turn and get down the slopes safely and stay in control so that we didn't wipe out ourselves or others. Mrs Darling also shared many tips throughout the day to help us continue learning this new skill. Most of us ended the day completing the blue run of ‘Highway 83’ with a few of us going down ‘Main Street’. We had many laughs throughout the day as people fell over getting off the ski lift and forced the ‘lifties’ to stop the lift while they were picked up and moved clear of the lift. We had lots of stacks on the slopes but also lots of achievements which we celebrated together. We had roast chicken and veggies for dinner with a few games of ‘mafia’ to end another great day.
On Friday we woke to rain and were happy to be heading to the Mount Beauty Information Centre to speak with Rich from Parks Victoria. Rich spoke to us about the beauty of the Alpine National Park and all of the ways that park rangers maintain and manage the land. Once our talk was over we ate our lunch and headed home. We all looked forward to a hot shower and a good sleep. We thank Mrs McIntosh for organising the camp and Mr Lewis and Mrs Darling for teaching us how to ski.
In the classroom, Year 12 Biology students have been working on their poster presentation SAC studying the effects on photosynthesis. They have designed their own practical experiments and presented and analysed these results in a poster format. This format is also used at university level.
Being engaged in sport and connecting with the natural environment is something which helps our students develop their fitness and positive self-image as they challenge themselves on a number of levels. Another way in which the school helps students to develop a positive self-image is to help our students to understand the world in which they live, their place in it and the ways in which they see themselves and others. This week, as part of our Religious Education, Health and Personal Development curriculums, the Years 9 and 10 students participated in reflective and thought provoking seminars. The Year 9 ‘Real Talk’ seminar helped students to consider the factors that influence the way they see themselves in society and to help them make good choices as they face the challenges of their teenage years. The Year 10 ‘Your Choicez’ seminar focussed on understanding and developing respectful relationships. Led by engaging and insightful presenters, the students joined in discussions on topics such as respectful relationships, love and dealing with the pressures that the world places upon young people.
As we continue through Term 3, our Year 12 students are beginning to look towards the end of the year and considering their plans for the future. For those who are considering tertiary study, the recent Tertiary Information Service excursion provided insights into the many tertiary institutions and pathways available to students. We encourage all senior students to investigate the many tertiary institutions and career pathways that are available. Across Victoria, metropolitan and regional universities will be opening their doors for prospective students to visit on campus, as well as continuing their online presentations which have been developed over the last three years. Through the next few months, many universities will be holding Open Days. The link below provides the dates and times for a range of Open Days at the different institutions across Victoria.
We encourage all of our students in Years 11 and 12 to consider attending these days to explore the many opportunities that they have available to them beyond secondary school.
Soon, Year 11 students will be looking to next year, with the students meeting with our Careers Practitioner, Cath Anderson, to finalise their 2024 subject selections.
Michelle Downie Brad Downie
9-12 Community Leader 9-12 Community Leader
Wellbeing Student Learning and Professional Practice