Students have earned a well- deserved break for the end of their first Semester.

They have been busy completing work for assessments in preparation for their reports.

Reports will be available the end of this term on Compass. Next term will provide a few very interesting programs for the Junior’s to attend and Year 8 Class Camps will commence.

We wish everyone a nice restful semester break.

Walk It Out Program contributed by Owen McIntyre

Since the beginning of the year a selection of Year 7 and 8 students from St Albans Secondary College have participated in the Walk it Out program. ‘Walk it Out’ is a mentoring program that is designed to support Pasifika students in their school learning environment by using the strength of the Pasifika Cultures to build character and help make positive choices within differing environments and towards their career choices and dreams.

Our students have embraced the program, which has introduced them to the idea of a school community. The sessions often involve a summary of how the week has been, followed by some goal setting both short and long term. This includes both academic and extra-curricular goals that any of the students may be aiming for. One great example is the desire of many of our students to undertake further study through University or TAFE. The sessions help to break down these long-term goals into easier, achievable short term goals thus providing stepping stones for our students to follow.

Another aspect of the sessions has been to explore the student’s background to see common links in family trees, the meaning of a student’s name, from what region a family resides or what customs this heritage brings with it. The students have grown to really value the sessions and have shown an increased maturity and connectedness to the school since the commencement of the year.

We thank the mentors for helping with the organisation and the weekly running of the sessions. Without their tremendous support the sessions would not run. We will continue to run these sessions through Semester 2 and we look forward to the continued student involvement in this program.

State Library Victoria

Next term the Year 7 students will be attending the State Library to participate in the Research Launchpad Program. We are very privileged to be participating in this Program.

Research Launch Pad is a free full-day excursion at State Library Victoria for Year 7 students from eligible schools in greater Melbourne.

In this interactive program, students will:

go on a guided tour, getting to know the Library and discovering its amazing historic spaces, including the iconic domed reading room
be introduced to special collection items, choosing one to explore in-depth
go on a research quest in pairs, asking exploratory questions and capturing their journey in photos along the way
create and share their research journey via a digital narrative using Animoto, an easy-to-use video-creation platform.

Digital Thumb Print

All Year 7 and Year 8 classes will participate in a workshop about online presence and safety in September. Digital Thumbprint seeks to develop savvy, proactive members of Australia’s online community, now and in the future.

Student Reflections for Semester 1

“ We love maths and Sport! We enjoyed camp and when we arrived there we went to the rock pool. It was very funny as five or six people fell in the water. We are kept busy with homework but overall we are having a great time!”

Gurang Maror and Kim Vuong 7J

“The first semester of our Year 7 trajectory has been filled with exciting events and daily classes. A ‘few’ of the awesome experiences we’ve been through are: Camp, Sports Carnivals, Our Subjects, The Year 7 Expo., and Year 7 Assemblies.

The camp was one of the major parts of the first semester which most of us looked forward to. The camp consisted of many enjoyable activities including a visit to the rock pools, swimming, locating landmarks in Benalla (Team Building), night walk, the talent show (Team building?), and EATING (BEST PART!). We went to a set of rock pools with a stream running next to it. During swimming, we played a game of volleyball. Our class also played a game of finding the most graffitied art professional art pieces located across Benalla. Night walk was astounding as we on the mountaintop we got a tonne of reception great view of the surrounding area. Most importantly though WE ATE! The food was incredibly de-li-ci-ous! Like we mean it!

Along with the other kids, we enjoyed both the swimming and athletics carnival. There were many different sporting activities and we loved them all! Many people challenged their limits in fitness and participation.

Our learning in all our subjects has played a huge role in our semester and the very dreadful important and crucial EXAMS. English, one of the most vital subjects, has helped us develop crucial literacy skills. Another subject that has helped us develop as students is Maths, which has helped us through the difficulties of mathematical problems. As part of History, we visited the NGV on behalf of our studies.

The main part of Year 7 so far, is the expo. We could show our parents (and get them thinking and solving equations instead of us) what we were learning, and participate in activities about our work. The subjects that were covered on the night were Science, Maths, English, and Japanese.

For the Year 7s, an assembly is held every once in a while. These help us catch up on upcoming events and information about what’s happening. At the start of an assembly, there are a group of students who play some music. It gets us all in the mood! After that, some teachers and coordinators give us some information on some important points.

The first semester of Year 7 was truly spectacular. There has been so much homework much fun and many interesting events to take part in. There was so much that happened and so much to look forward to!”

Dragon Fan and Preet Trivedi 7F

Absences

We require attendance of 90% in order to pass subjects.

If your child is absent we require either a note signed by the parent or guardian explaining the reason for the absence. The note needs to include your child’s name, their class and the date of the absence. If your child has attended a doctor or dentist please ask for a medical certificate as that will not count as an absence.

You may also ring a leave a message explaining your child’s absence. The phone call or note need to be brought to the coordinator on the day the student returns to school.

Uniform

Now that winter has approached please ensure your child has a jumper and or wet weather jacket. Only white or black scarves are permitted. Please don’t leave shoes outside overnight and your child’s name should be written on all articles of clothing. Hoodies, canvas shoes and coloured t-shirts are not permitted. Please ensure all clothing is labelled.

10 Ideas for the Holidays

Go to a local bike track and go bike riding or rollerblading. A great way to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine and exercise.
Have a movie afternoon great for a rainy day. Rent a couple of good movies, make some popcorn and snuggle up with blankets and enjoy the movies.
Cook some special treats or family favourites
Smile! Get the camera out and take some photos, download them on the computer and create a slide show.
Do some Gardening or make a herb garden pot, they are fantastic and useful too
Write and create a play or short story, see who is great at drama, acting and writing.
Play board games Monopoly, Scrabble, Hungry Hippos, and more if there are a few of you have a tournament.
Do a Jigsaw, set up a special area and let everyone help - the harder the better.
Lots of Local Libraries hold story-telling/writing workshops during school holidays, and then you can borrow some new books to read
Have Fun!

Happy Holidays from the Junior School Team

Lauren Honeycombe

Junior Sub School leader

Woodwork News

Spice Up Your World!