Middle School News
Viewbank College
Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh
On August 2nd and 3rd, the three Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh classes completed their Practice Adventurous Journey, working towards their Bronze Medallion Award. Prior to the Adventurous Journey students prepared in numerous preparation activities such as navigation, equipment and camp cooking on a Trangia. Students completed the 12km hike with packs from Warrandyte to Clifford Park, supporting each other each step of they way. Upon arrival at the Clifford Park students set up camp, ventured into the adventure course, many coming out muddier than when they entered, but with huge smiles of achievement on their faces. The group showcased a range of culinary skills at dinner time and were rewarded with delicious and nutritious meals in the evening. After a good nights sleep the students prepared breakfast and then packed up ready to head up Mt Lofty to see the beautiful views of Warrandyte State Park. A huge thank you to Ms Coghlan and Mr Lyncoln for their support throughout the 2 days. We are looking forward to students leading the Adventurous Journey Camp later on this year. Well done to all the Duke of Edinburgh students for their perseverance and positive attitude throughout the camp.
Year 7 Science
Year 7 Science: Fish Dissection
This week in our Year 7 classification unit, students embarked on an exciting journey through fish dissection as part of their hands-on learning experience. Fuelled by their natural curiosity they explored the adaptations that enable the "Blue Mackerel" fish to thrive in their environment. This immersive activity not only deepened their understanding of biology but also emphasised ethical scientific practices and the continued importance of self-regulation to maintain lab safety. Through this experience, students apply their understanding of essential requirements for living things, binomial names, taxonomy of a bony fish and adaptations as we shift into the Mastery Of Learning phase of the unit. A special thanks to our fantastic Lab technicians for their behind-the-scenes planning to ensure things ran smoothly this week and to our brilliant support staff who were there to assist promptly as required.
Year 7 team
Launch
In Launch, students in Hydra and Ignis are into their third week planning the Passion Projects in small groups. Students in Stella and Terra will begin their planning next week and have been allocated a class based on their project type! Students have been allocated classes to plan in one of these 4 project types!
- Using technology to solve problems
- Sustainability projects at VBC or in the community
- Raising awareness/events/fundraising/education (about an issue)
- Celebrating diversity and culture
Targeted SDGs: (Sustainability Development Goals as developed by the United Nations)
The following were clearly voted as the SDGs that students want to take action on. Students can target one of these SDGs with their project but are not restricted to these!
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
SDG 1: No Poverty
SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Victorian Students' Parliamentary Program
Ivy Kellam, Sarina Shetty and Jules Nguyen in Year 10 participated in the 2 day online conference, together with 10 other private schools across the state. We argued that emissions target should be set in order to target climate change. This 2 day program had many meetings and research in its lead up abd proved successful and thought - provoking.
Our school looks forward to participating next year giving students the experience of debate and 'soap-box' speakers. Well done students! I think we may have some future leaders here.
Stav Mouzakis
