Aitken College Newsletter

Extension Programs

Young Writers Program

2022 was another outstanding year for NaNoWriMo at Aitken College. Twenty students from Years 2 to 10 accepted the month-long creative writing challenge of drafting a novel as part of National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo as it has become known).

 

This online program helped students develop a deeper understanding of the practice of writing (including setting word count goals), and gave them all access to a community of writers—in both the physical and virtual classroom. Students set individualised goals ranging from 1600 to 10,300 words and wrote directly on their Young Writers on-site program, using progress tracking tools to remain on task. It was a pleasure to watch these students grow and develop as writers, thinkers and creators over the month of November. Many were excited to do it again this year and engage further in developing their own stories about their world.

 

We recognise the following students who embraced this challenge. Congratulations! This would have been no easy feat! 

 

Stella L (2H), Charlie D (5M), Mia P (5M), Shubani A (5M), Thisumi A (5M), Thenumi S (5M), Revaan A (6P), Alana O (6B), Idil K (6P), Archer H (6P ) Kisali P (7S), Rafael B (7B), Ronan K (7B), Anushka S (7S), Caprice M (7K), Olivia H (8J), Harry D (8J), Hirundi I (8O), Aoide A (10M), Devmi P (10H)

Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO)

Congratulations to all Year 7 and Year 8 students who participated in the 2022 Maths Olympiad Senior Division. The Maths Olympiad is a program where students use and develop their problem-solving skills and applied mathematics. Special awards were given to the following team members for their high individual achievement.  We recognise the following students:

 

Alex G (8F) and Kisali (7S) who both achieved the highest score in the team and scored in the top 25% of all participating schools; and Ronan K (7B), Xavier D (8O), and Sienna D (8F) who achieved equal third place in the team and scored in the top 25% of all participating schools.

 

All students of the 2022 Maths Olympiad team were awarded a certificate for their involvement in the tournament this year. What fantastic results!

University of Melbourne: Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition

Congratulations to six Dunhelen students who were awarded High Commendation certificates for performing in the top 10-15% of all projects in their age category in this research-based competition. Our Year 7 team was comprised of Kisali P (7S), Rafael B (7B) and Ronan K (7B), and our Year 9 team members were Alexander H (9P), Manaan B (9H) and Suveer C (9K). Working together closely during Terms 2 and 3, they chose an open-ended question and then used some of the methods used by mathematical researchers to investigate their problem, including gathering data, simplifying the problem, visualizing and forming hypotheses. We are all proud of the dedication and commitment these students displayed in completing this challenging project outside of class time, and on their ability to use creativity and problem-solving skills to make choices about how to best solve their problem. A fine achievement!

Ethics Olympiad – Honourable Mention for our Middle School Team

Our College is a member and participant in the Australian Ethics Olympiad and we had one team compete in the Annual Middle School Ethics Olympiad on Friday 4 November. During the day, our team of Year 7 and Year 8 students participated online in a series of four Ethics Olympiad heats competing against different schools across Melbourne. They worked as a team to respond to questions while building and critiquing their own and others’ philosophical arguments on the following cases:

  • Case 1 – Coach Carter 
  • Case 2 - Citizenship Status at Birth 
  • Case 3 – Silkwood Energy production 
  • Case 4 – Paralympic Pay Parity 
  • Case 5 - Clothing of Calamity 
  • Case 6 – Cutting the Cord 
  • Case 7 – Jaws- Who’s responsible? 
  • Case 8 – The Social Network- Bullying?

This event required a steadfast commitment and dedication from these students as they trained weekly over 10 weeks to build on their skills and their understanding of the process for the event. 

 

Our team was comprised of Rafael B (7B), Christina M (8H), Darcy M (8J), Ogechi B (8H), Olivia H (8J) and Tamsyn H (8O), and they achieved an Honourable Mention from the judges. All the students involved are to be congratulated on their maturity and self-discipline, and their outstanding performance on the day! We are proud that our students are developing their critical thinking and engaging in important discussions with each other and with students from other schools. A special thanks to Ms Phoebe Oti for her assistance in coaching the students and Amy G (10W) for supporting the team.

Year 6 Literacy Extension

The Extension Programs Faculty wishes to thank Aine O’Neill for teaching the Literacy Extension Program to select Year 6 students this term. The students enjoyed learning about the mystery genre and extending and developing their analytical reading skills to create their very own mystery stories.

Australian Maths Trust - Maths Enrichment 

This year, the College offered select students in Years 6-10 the opportunity to participate in the Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT) Enrichment Program. The program involved the students completing either the Newton (Year 6), Euler (Year 7- 8) or, Noether (Year 9-10) enrichment modules developed by the AMT.  During Terms 2, 3 and 4, our students needed to work their way through a student handbook, which provided background information and practice questions, before attempting a series of problems aimed at encouraging mathematical thinking and problem-solving ability.

 

All students were awarded their certificates this week and we recognise their success.

 

Newton (Year 6) Stage:

Certificate of High Distinction: Alana O (6B), Revaan A (6P)

Certificate of Distinction: Tim C (6A), Akshara (6B)

Certificate of Credit: Namya M (6A), Avani K (6A), Darsh C (6B), Archer H (6P), Kimaya A (6P), Trisha J (6P)

Certificate of Participation:David C (6A), Max E (6B)

 

Euler (Years7-8):

Certificate of Distinction: Kisali P (7S), Ronan K (7B)

Certificate of Participation: Lachlan R (7S), Lucas D (7S)

 

Noether (Years 9-10):

Certificate of Participation: Tahlia F (9D), Manaan B (9H), Zakea J (9K), Ceejay C (10H)

 

It gives me great pleasure once again to recognise the achievements of our students. They displayed a maturity and commitment beyond their years, and they were certainly fine role models and ambassadors for the College. I look forward to more challenges in 2023.

 

 

 

Mrs Mary Ann Di Martino

Head of Faculty – Extension Programs