Senior School

SHARRON FRAME

Head of Senior School

Teaching in the Senior School moved into a new direction this week. Classes for students undertaking VCE Unit 3/4 sequences moved into virtual classrooms, interacting with their teacher via Microsoft TEAMS. Students have been very proactive and active participants in classes. Looking very comfortable in casual clothes and relaxed in their learning spaces at home, they have adapted well to the new direction in which their learning has gone.

As a Year 12 teacher myself, it was a surreal experience. We are so used to having the face to face interaction, reading and determining their understanding of content by looking at their faces, not having them in front of us in person means that we have had to adjust our delivery, and become more flexible with our teaching. So far it has proven successful with only minor teething issues. Our next hurdle is to apply the same model to the younger year levels, and deal with assessment that can be authenticated. I am proud to say that both students and staff have shown tremendous resilience.

Our staff are here to support and care for the students of the Senior School. Please do not hesitate to contact home group teachers, year level coordinators, or myself if you have concerns or questions.

Staff met on Monday March 23 to discuss and work through plans for remote learning. As you can see from the photos, they role model to all what social distancing means.

Year 12 Coordinator - Andrew Phillips

It is quite interesting sitting here at home reflecting on Term 1, while essentially being isolated from the students. I know there has been so much talk about what is going on at the moment that we’ve probably all had enough, but I wanted to mention one point before I move on. I am amazed at the resilience shown by our Year 12s as we transition into a period of unknown. VCE is hard enough at the best of times, but throw in a full blown global crisis and things get interesting to say the least. However, I don’t want my reflection to be all about the current situation, I want to talk about everything else that happened in Term 1.

Term 1 has certainly been a busy term, getting organised for those first SACs, sorting out the common room, participating in swimming and athletics carnivals, and finally receiving the Year 12 jackets. However, the highlight of the term no doubt, was the Year 12 Camp to Queenscliff. Due to some scheduling difficulties, this year we left one night earlier, but thanks to some serious weather it took us three hours to get there. This year we had some water activities organised: swimming with dolphins and seals on day one, and learning to surf on day two. With high winds gusting to 50kms and rough seas, we had to swap the activities around. Thankfully our tour providers were great, and we were all on the bus down to Point Lonsdale to hit the waves on Wednesday. The surf was pretty big, however, a few of the students managed to stand up in the conditions!

After very little sleep on night one, we had hoped the surfing would tire everyone one out – false hope on our part. Night two was the “Ready-Steady-Cook” competition, with lemons, pancake mix, marshmallows, strawberries and chocolate, the required ingredients, and access to other basics to round the dishes out. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that a generation of students who’ve grown up on Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules could create some amazing dishes. The hand whipped chocolate mousse with lemon tea cake and salted caramel popcorn finished first, just pipping the tiramisu and chocolate coated strawberries. The pictures do not do the dishes justice – I’m pretty happy I got to try them all!

Day three was a busy day, although again due to weather constraints, the swimming with the seals activity was a little shorter than planned. The tour operators were great and we did manage some time in the water with the seals, and plenty of time having fun out on the bay in and off the boat.

I’d like to thank Mr Gobbo, Ms Thomas, Ms Liu and Mrs Frame for all their hard work and lack of sleep on the camp; I know the students really appreciated their efforts and support.

Finally I’d like to wish our Year 12s a rejuvenating break. There’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward, however, one thing that is certain is that there is a team of Year 12 teachers here ready to support our students though these uncertain times.

Year 10 and 11 Coordinator - Manoj Patel

What a start to 2020 it has been! I can safely say that both teachers and students have had a very busy term. Whether it be starting their first year in Senior School or commencing their studies in VCE, students have begun a new journey for the next few years. Tag onto this the emergence and spread of COVID-19 that our students are having to deal with, this term has certainly become novel to all of us.

In this ever changing face of the planet, it is important our students take a moment to pause and reflect on where they have got to in all the years of their learning thus far, and where they see themselves in the coming years; at minimum, where they see themselves at the end of the year. Goals are an important aspect of being successful in life. Whether they be short term or long term, we want our students to have real, tangible goals. I urge parents and guardians to use this extended time at home together, to set and discuss these goals so that students see the importance of this process.

While goals are important, it is also important for students to know that there can be hurdles along the way, and that having setbacks is okay. It is how we react to these setbacks that truly build our character. During this time of online learning, students will be tested and students will have to step outside their comfort zone. However, this is just a small setback which will not stop them from reaching their goals. We are in this together, and we are here to support our students as much as possible.

Early this term our students went on camp to Wombat Corner (Year 10), and Candlebark Farm (Year 11).  Both camps were received well and provided great avenues for students and pastoral staff to spend some quality time together, strengthening teacher - student working relationships. I can comfortably say that the pastoral team I work with are professionals, and do their best to ensure our students’ pastoral needs are met. The coming weeks will be testing for our students but we as a pastoral team will still be available to assist our students the best we can.

For now though, I would like to wish our Year 10 and 11 students a well-deserved relaxing break.