Classroom Reports

Foundation and Year 1

Welcome back. This week in Maths we are learning all about volume. We will be reading, 'The Three Little Bears' and working out which containers hold more! Our lunch boxes will be also used to measure how much rice they hold. I wonder if we can predict whose it will be?

Mrs Tanya Chalmers, Teacher

Year 1 & 2

Great to have everyone back at school! Hope you all managed to get some positives out of these times when we must be at home for extended periods of time. Well done if you were able to get through the work that was sent home. Please send along anything that was completed and also return all readers. If nothing else, hopefully you got to do some reading, play some games and complete household jobs!

The next few weeks we will be doing some athletics training in preparation for our college sports, never know, we may have a potential Olympian in our midst!

Also, our own Wedderburn Olympic Games will be held Friday 6th August.

The next week we will be focusing on making predictions with our reading and learning about mass in maths.

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Mrs Deidre McKenzie, Teacher

Year 3 & 4

Grade 3/4 have enjoyed selecting their countries where they will focus on for Term 3. Each student has a different country and aim to focus on their achievements during the Olympic Games. 

Students will be participating in an Integrated Learning this Term where they will self-select tasks to complete from each learning area of Reading, Writing, Comprehension, Maths – Number, Maths – Measurement, Maths – Statistics & Probability, ICT, Humanities, Intercultural and Celebrations. We look forward to seeing the wonderful results displayed by each student during this time. 

Please view as much of the Olympic Highlights as possible on TV to give your child the opportunity to discuss the Olympics with their classmates and share their learning.

The Writer’s Notebook began in Term 3 to accompany the Grade 3/4 Writing program. Students can add anything to their Writers Notebook and are encouraged to draw, write and paste in items as much as possible as part of their holiday, Remote Learning and Homework Program. Students are expected to bring their Writer’s Notebook back to school with them each day.

I hope all families enjoyed time at home with their children and the relaxed approach to the Remote Learning 5.0. While a number of options have been provided, reading was essential during this time and I look forward to adding many students names to the reading tally.

Ms Higgins, Teacher

Year 4 & 5 

Welcome back from Lockdown 5.0

Well done to everyone who completed and returned their classwork. I really appreciate the support you have provided to your child and in turn the classroom teacher. 

This term, we are learning about the Olympics, surroundings countries, continents and cultures. Students will become an expert of a country and sport that is included in the Olympics. 

P -12 Sport 

The College is looking forward to the P-12 Athletics carnival on Friday 13th August. It is hoped that parents will be able to attend. More information to follow. 

Maths Pathway

Thank you to all those students who have been completing Maths Pathway whilst in remote learning. It is fabulous to see so many of you being responsible by staying up to date with your module work. 

Congratulations to this fortnights Maths Pathway champions. 

Just a reminder that students achieving 100% growth rate each cycle is equivalent to one year’s growth achieved in the Mathematics curriculum. 

Remember to make sure you are completing your assigned modules and revising them in preparation for your test. Students can see when their next tests are scheduled by accessing their Maths Pathway timeline. 

Mathletics

In theme with the Olympic Games, we have signed up to compete in the Mathlete Games.

When: The Mathlete Games start the 26th of July and finish on the 8th of August.

How: To participate, students earn points for your class by playing Live Mathletics during the event. 

Watch your class climb up the leaderboard!

Prizes: Your class will compete as a team to score the most Live Mathletics points as possible (the top 3 classes will win a special prize pack!).

Make sure you are all logging on and participating.

Good luck to all classes!

Miss Emma Milne 

Maths Teacher

Year 9 Camp to Bogong

On Monday 12th July, six eager and excited Year 9 students took the long bus journey to Bogong Snow Camp. The six hour trip was shared with students from Donald High School. On arrival, students were able to get themselves settled in their cabins and take a tour of the village, which was approximately 5km from the snowfields. 

Tuesday saw students receive a shock wakeup call at what was considered ‘too early’ for some. The day was packed full of cross country skiing, with the highlight of the day for most being the viewing of snow for the first time. Students showed great enthusiasm throughout the day. 

Wednesday was the day that students gained the opportunity to try some downhill skiing. The conditions were blizzard like with strong winds, rain, snow and temperatures plummeting to -6C. By the end of the day, students had gained enough confidence to complete some beginner ‘ski runs’ with students and teachers alike having a few tumbles along the way. 

Thursday was ‘student choice’ and it was a unanimous vote to continue with downhill skiing. As students had already had the previous day to hone their skills, the ability of all students was very impressive. This resulted in us attempting a few more difficult slopes that were faster with sharper turns. 

With the arrival of another COVID Lockdown, Friday saw us depart earlier than expected.

Other highlights of the trip included:

• The very impressive food that was served during the week, with Mr P having seconds and thirds every evening.
• Junior showing a great willingness to assist others by volunteering to do everybody’s dishes each night after dinner.
• Dylan being given the responsibility to lead the group down the mountain due to his strong skiing ability.
• Danelle showing amazing persistence and resilience to ski every day and involve herself in all aspects of the camp.
• Chelsea completing 2 whole days of downhill skiing in extremely tough conditions and developing a great snow plow.
• Declan achieving a goal he set 3 months to complete the snow camp after seriously injuring his knee.
• Nash displaying some extremely loud ‘natural bodily functions and sounds’
• Miss Graham becoming the ‘president’ by winning our nightly card games.

Students were not only able to build their skiing ability but also build their resilience and confidence to overcome challenges. This is something they will be able to bring back to Wedderburn College and use in future. Well done. Your teachers were very proud of you all. 

Year 8 and 9 English

During Term Three, the Year 8 English class will be completing their own short stories, using the five key features of a short story from Term Two. These features include; plot, character, conflict, theme and setting. Year 8 will then switch focus to novels rather than short stories for the remainder of the Term by participating in Literacy Circles, which will run like how a Book Club works. 

Year 9 have had a delayed start to Term Three due to the Bogong Snow Camp. As Lockdown occurred immediately upon their arrival home. Year 9 will provide a summary of the camp in the next newsletter. In English, Year 9 will complete ‘The Outsiders’ text before commencing the film and making comparisons between the two in an essay analysis. 

Both classes are reminded to be regularly completing SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) at home, to compliment the SSR that is completed in class. 

Their Lockdown Literacy booklets will be collected in their first lesson back (today for Year 8 and Friday for Year 9).

Miss Kirsten Graham

English Teacher

Year 10 Work Experience

Conrad – Wedderburn Hardware

"Work experience was great. It's a great way to get your foot in the door to the working world. Once you've tried it then you'll never forget about it and later on in life if you don't already have a job it will settle your nerves when going to work out getting a new job."

Neve – Be.Bendigo

"I went to Be.Bendigo as I’m interested in Public Relations. I got to have an insight into the Chamber of Commerce. I spent a day with each staff member covering a range of things such as admin, finance, marketing, memberships and being the CEO. I got to go and visit some other local businesses as well as attend a social media training day. I also learnt how much money adults spend on coffee." 

Anna – St Arnaud Veterinary Clinic

"During my work experience I watched as they did surgeries, consultations and did lots of cleaning and looking after the animals that were resting and waiting to go back home. I nearly fainted though on my first day as I was surprised by a needle. I even got an hour lunch break each day which I found amazing. Sadly though in the end I wasn't able to do much as I wasn't trained in giving needles or doing surgeries."

Eliza – Jenny’s Early Learning Centre

"On the last week of term, I was lucky to spend the week working at Jenny’s Early Learning Centre in Maiden Gully! The Friday before I wasn’t too sure whether I’d be able to go due to COVID, but luckily restrictions eased allowing visitors into the facility. For the first four days, I got to spend a day in each room! It was an amazing experience, to see the level of independence and communication skills kids have as the grow older. I was able to interact with the children, and get involved within their learning. During the time there in the Grasshoppers Room (kinder) they had a letter that they focused on each week, which was good! They focused on the sounds and what words start with it. One of my favourite rooms was the baby room. Loved interacting with them and helping with feed, nap time etc. I finished my week off by going on an excursion to FitZ studio for a dancing class with the Kinder students. Overall, it was a good experience and insight into a potential career I could go down! Thankyou, to Jenny’s Early Learning Centre for having me and everyone who helped organise it."

 Year 10 Driver's Ed. Program

Last week the Year 10 students went to Charlton for Drivers Ed. We spent two days there as our last day was cancelled due to lockdown. For some it was their first time driving and for others it was confidence building or changing old habits of cutting laps in the paddock.

We had three theory lessons per day where we learnt a range or road rules and how to do different things on paper before we put them to the test. 

We then had three driving lessons a day where we were in cars with our peers and rotated through. We learnt how to overtake, hill start, park, U turn, conduct a three point turn, reverse in a figure of eight and much more. 

On the Wednesday night we headed back to Charlton for a night drive. Let’s just say some were better than others at putting their lights down from high beam and others preferred not to use lights at all. 

We also had a visit from Louise Staley on Wednesday. I got to take her for a hot lap around the track. 

We were disappointed that we missed the last day but secretly some of us were happy as we didn’t have to do our driving test. Hopefully we get a chance to go back later in the year to finish what we started. 

On behalf of the Year 10s thank you to the teachers for making this happen and to our amazing instructors for putting up with us. 

Report by Neve Nisbet

Year 11 Business Studies 

The E&C’s Pop-Up-Shop has been postponed with a date yet to be determined. It may be later this term.  In the meantime, order forms and money can be returned in an envelope to the front office.

E&C’s Pop-Up-Shop is a short-term business activity being organised by Year 11 Business Management students. It is a fundraising initiative and all profits from the day will be donated to the Parents Association. The theme of the day will be

“D is for Doughnut Day”. Items available to purchase are Krispy Kreme doughnuts (both individually and by the dozen), toasted sandwiches, jelly, hot chocolates and coffee. Krispy Kreme doughnuts and toasted sandwiches will need to be pre-ordered but jelly, hot chocolates and coffee can be bought on the day. Coffee can only be sold to high school students and staff. 

* Pre-ordered boxes of doughnuts can be collected at the end of the day.

Ms Steptoe

Business Management Teacher

Year 11 Camp to Torquay 

On Wednesday the 14th of July, Year 11 students accompanied by Mr. Church and Miss Laura Van De Wetering embarked on an epic journey towards the beautiful seaside town of Torquay, Victoria. The intrepid travellers departed mid-morning from the sleepy town of Wedderburn, excited for the adventure ahead.

After a quick stop in the rustic town of Daylesford – and one muddy pair of pants later – the band of travellers eventually arrived safely in Torquay and gorged themselves on a hearty lunch. After all, laughing at Mr. Church for three hours tends to work up an appetite.

Having been sufficiently fed, the group settled into camp and was soon met by a surprise companion, Miss Hayley Kirk, who greeted the band of adventurers warmly. Together, the troupe rushed off to the township in search of food for the evening’s ‘Dine-in Challenge’. Students from each camp were tasked with organising a 1-2 course meal in their cabins using some clever budgeting and some creative cookery.

Next, the collection of savvy shoppers decided to stretch their legs by heading off on an afternoon walk to Port Danger to take in the awe-inspiring view of our surrounds and pay respects to our Anzacs at the Jan Juc War Memorial. Along the way, students could not help but reward themselves for their efforts by briefly exploring the township and grabbing themselves a well-deserved ice-cream or sorbet.

Later in the evening, once the food was prepared, cooked and devoured, students took some time to relax and enjoy the company of their journeymen before being met by two more welcome visitors, Mr. Forrest and Mr. Lockhart, who had also travelled far.

Before it was time to say goodnight to the first day of this adventure, the group shared stories and reflected on the day’s events, eager for tomorrow’s activities.

Morning greeted the weary travellers warmly with what can only be described as a pristine day full of sunshine and laughter. After a short morning walk, students enjoyed a delicious breakfast before separating into small groups for a photo scavenger hunt. Teams were given precisely one hour and thirty minutes to travel to as many locations around Torquay and snap a photo of themselves visiting this location. Congratulations to Aliza’s team who managed to not only secure photos of all locations, but also some bonus doggo shots as well!

Soon after, students split into two groups: one group went surfing with Mr. Church, while the other went on a jaunt to a rocky outlook with Miss Van De Wetering and Miss Kirk. Mr. Church’s group quickly met with their instructors and squeezed into their wetsuits before grabbing their boards and hitting the surf. After a short lesson that also included some Geography, the team greeted the refreshing water and approached the incoming waves. While some were more successful than others in the attempt, all students managed to accomplish the feat of riding a wave into shore – even Mr. Church, who tasted salty defeat on many occasions. It must be said that there were some standout performances during this trial, including some impressive wave catching by Tyson Woodman and some capable board control by the Lockhart twins. It was truly a terrific time.

A hot shower and change of clothes later and the group was reunited for a trip to the nearby Great Ocean Road Chocolatery and Ice-creamery for a tour of the chocolate making facilities and a hands-on chocolate tasting experience followed by a chocolate-making workshop. The band of artisanal chocolate connoisseurs tasted a range of local flavours before putting their skills to the test and creating a custom, hand-made treat for the journey home. This experience was topped by a free ice-cream and a trip to the gift shop, where the company stocked themselves on all things ranging from watermelon hard candies to metre-long blocks of milk chocolate. Suffice it to say, everyone left with a smile on their face.

Alas, the rest of the trip was not to be as the assortment of wayfarers had their journey unfortunately cut short. However, the band of resilient packers rallied in the face of adversity as they quickly and capably loaded their things and departed camp in a timely fashion. To raise our spirits for the trip back to Wedderburn, the travellers sang songs of inspiration all the way home.

It was late in the evening before the adventurers returned home, but something had changed in the course of this journey. Students and teachers alike had created memories that brought them all closer together and solidified the bonds of friendship. They would all remember this time together, and they would cherish it always.

VCAL & VCE

Hi Everyone and welcome to Week 3. 

GAT postponed:

The GAT has been rescheduled to Thursday 12 August 2021. 

The rescheduling of the GAT allows schools time to organise logistics and put COVID Safe protocols in place, so that students and staff can return onsite to participate safely.

It's important that as many students as possible have the opportunity to sit the GAT. The new date will allow students who may be impacted by school closures, quarantine and the need to self-isolate to participate in the test.  At this stage, the GAT will still take place at the Wedderburn Trotting Pavilion. If this changes, students and families will be notified. Please speak with Mrs Barker or Mrs Woodman if you would like any further information. 

VTAC and SEAS Applications:

VTAC and SEAS Applications are opening next Monday, August 2. If you are in Year 12 and intending to study at a Victorian University, TAFE or independent tertiary college next year, it’s time to ensure that you are prepared to begin your VTAC application preparation.

All applications are made on the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) website (www.vtac.edu.au) as VTAC receives, collates and forwards all student applications to institutions including special consideration (SEAS) requests, scholarship applications and any other relevant information. 

An information session will be held for our Year 12 students on Tuesday 17 August during 3A and 3B. 

REMINDER - Term 3 Career Advisor dates:

Sue Clay, our Career Advisor will be available to meet with students on the following dates this term. Please email or discuss with Mrs Barker if you would like to make an appointment time.

Wednesday 28 July (Year 10 subject selection appointments)

Tuesday 17 August (VTAC session Period 3A and 3B)

Thursday 26 August

Monday 6 September

Additionally, Mrs Barker is available to meet for Career based appointments each fortnight. Please be in touch if you would like to book an appointment. 

Year 10 VCE and VCAL Q & A session and 2022 Subject Expression of Interest forms:

This week, all year 10 students were invited to participate in Q & A information session regarding their 2022 VCE and VCAL options. During this session, students will learn about both VCE and VCAL, discuss their pathway options, identify potential future pathways and work with staff to begin selecting their chosen stream (VCE or VCAL) and specific subjects where applicable. Students and their families were able to ask questions that they may have had around VCE, VCAL, subject selections, pathways, school based apprenticeships etc.

An information package has been provided both on Compass and in hard copy for students containing further information to support them to work alongside their families to make decision about their 2021 education. 

From this Q & A session, all Year 10 students will be required to complete a 2021 Expression of Interest form and submit to both Mrs Barker and Mrs Woodman so that we can begin the process of 2022 planning. Students will then receive an official blocking sheet on which they will elect their chosen VCE and VCAL subjects for 2022. 

Year 11 2022 Subject Expression of Interest forms:

All current Year 11 VCE and VCAL have been asked to complete their 2022 Subject Expression of Interest forms and submit them prior to August 9. Further details and digital copies of the form for download are available for students and their families on Compass.

Have a great week everyone! 

Mrs. Lauren Barker and Mrs. Carol Woodman

VCE & VCAL Coordinators 

Compass

Don't wait for the end of semester to view your child's progress. Log in to Compass and view teacher feedback and feed forward at any time by checking out your child's Learning Tasks. Children also received regular (every 5 weeks) progress reports on their Organisation, Behaviour, Attitude to Learning and Work Completion. Learning Tasks and Reports can be found on you child's profile page.