AROUND THE COLLEGE

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ANZAC Display 

LEST WE FORGET

Year 7 

Camp reflection

Wednesday morning some people woke up with energy and some were anxious, but everyone was eager to know which cabins each of us had been assigned too and what types of activities we would be involved in over the three days we were at camp…… but there was a twist, our teachers were keeping cabin assignments a secret until that evening, so we focused on our first day of fun! The First activity of the day was a round robin of Initiatives, which was challenging but so much fun. The first challenge was hilarious, people were trying their hardest to work together in teams to work to get to the other side of our pretend lava river by using 5 square mats to work our way across, we had 30 seconds to work out our strategy and the fastest team across become the winners. There were 3 different initiative challenges that made us use our strategy and brains to come up with fun and creative ways to get through the different games. It was a great start to the day!! 

We then moved onto the challenge course, we had to walk through muddy water, it was so gross pulling our feet out of the water and watching the mud slide off our shoes. For us shorties the muddy water came all the way up to our knees. Then we made our way to the rope swing where we had to hold onto the knots on the rope and make funny poses without falling off and try to get to the other side, once we made it through, we supported and cheered on the others in our group. There were many other challenges to get through and after we finished them all it was time to move on and get into our cabins and settle in for dinner time. 

Our first meal on our camp was Spaghetti Bolognese or Carbonara pasta. Dinner was met with mixed reviews, but desert made up for it with a yummy mini pav cake. Before bedtime we went on a night-time hunt, we had a blast trying to photo bomb people and get in pictures with other groups and pgl staff. We had a lot of laughs and then it was time for bed, little did we know not all of us would get sleep. 

Day two was hard for some. Some of us struggled to get a good night’s sleep, many of us excited to be with our friends and chatted away the night. But that wasn’t going to stop us from having a good day. We started off the morning with eggs and baked beans and then got onto first activity of canoeing, some of us ended falling out in the lake and getting drenched, some of us deliberately worked to tip the canoes over. We were given challenges to try and jump and swap positions with our partners without falling out or tipping over the canoes, we had to try and jump and do a 360 spin without falling over or out and we tried to connect the canoes and try and paddle together. Next up after canoeing was THE BIG SWING, we were harnessed up and hooked up to a cable, everyone pulled you up to the top of the swing and then you pulled a string at the top to get dropped to swing back and forward, which felt like we were swinging for ages. Even a few teachers got up and had a go which was so awesome to see. It was funny watching people scream at the top of their lungs and freaking out and watching people having fun and challenge themselves. After lunch we went on a sensitivity challenge, where we had blackout goggles on and had to try and find our way through obstacles, metal walls with cut-outs, army mesh and crawl through dirt to make your way to the other side. A few of our heads still hurts from running into the metal walls. Some of us snuck our goggles off and made it through uninjured. 

Next up was LEAP OF FAITH and by far one of my favourite activities of all camp, you were connected to a harness and a guide rope, the aim was to climb up a giant pole with metal feet pegs all the way to the top, once you got to the top we stood on the plank and then try to jump off the plank into the air and try and hit the ball above your head hanging from another rope and then lowered to the ground. I was so proud to see Mr Erwin give it a go even though he was afraid of heights, he even managed to grab the ball. After we finished, we had 1hr until we had dinner so everyone went to the gym for free time on the basketball courts and play table tennis, but the time went so fast and in no time we were lining up for dinner, that nights meal was chicken Parmi and chocolate mousse. After we had dinner, we had a quiz night where we had to guess what the answer to trivia questions it was so much fun, but everyone was so tired and ready for bed after a long and exciting day. Day three started with a bright and happy morning after a good night sleep, For Breakfast we had hash browns and toast it was the best meal yet, but we had to get the activities started so we could get home.

 The last day activities were Low ropes challenge and it was full of fun and surprises, we had to try and get through a rope course while wearing helmets , we had a cup of water attached to our head and needed to keep our balance or else we would be drenched in water, it was loads of laughs but short as we had to move onto Laser Tag, which was the best way to finish of our 2022 year 7 camp. The goal was to try and shoot as many people as possible from the enemy teams without getting shot yourself, we had five lives before we were killed and had to return to our team box and wait to be reactivated and return to battle. We finished off our last meal of sausage rolls and then we gathered all our bags and belongings into the barn and waited for our buses to start the journey home. Even though we had a blast we were excited and sad to go home. 

We had three special days of bonding with our new friends, teachers and making fun memories. After 2hrs in a bus we finally made it home and our special days were over, everyone had the time of their lives and I know we are excited for next year’s adventures…… until then!!!!! Thank you for listening to our excellent adventures. 

- Emmalee Gray, Eliza Connolley and Mikaylah Shanks

Year 9 Science

Students in Year 9 finished off the Chemical Reactions unit with an investigation into slime. There was a vast assortment of colours and textures including glitter slime and fluffy shaving cream slime.

Year 10

Congratulations to year 10 students who have now completed their first term of learning! You have established an understanding of the requirements of being successful as a learning and community member in year 10. 

This term has been busy with excursions AND sport days. We congratulate all year 10 students for taking these opportunities to develop their skills, meet new people and have some fun. We also congratulate the appointed 2022 year 10 student leaders and look forward to their input at year 10 and whole school. Our leaders are:

• Harshit Bhatia
• Alex Mostert
• Chloe Baldock
• Steph Whatley

Special thanks to Ms Hurley for organising our Hot Cross bun breakfast.

Year 10 P.E.

Year 10 P.E. classes finished the term last week with a trip to Eastern Beach where students played a variety sports and leisure activities. The general public were impressed with the Volleyball skills session on display by students. All students had great afternoon thank you Mr Beasley.

Term two will see all year 10 students commence Health as their topic in HRC. We look forward to the students expanding their knowledge and skills to support their own physical health and their peer group. 

The year 10 teaching team hopes that all students have a fantastic holiday and return rested for term two.

Earlier this term a group of year 10 students were lucky enough to attend an event held at GMHBA stadium for young women called “Be Bold Be Heard”. This was an amazing opportunity to come together and have discussions with girls from different schools in our local area. We could all relate on issues that affect us at school. We discussed many solutions and action plans for these problems and how we are going to solve them. Throughout the day we had many inspiring guest speakers, took part in an interactive self-defense class, team bonding activities including opportunities to mix and meet new people and got to voice our opinions and be heard. Our guest speakers were all women who defined the normality for women in their careers and persisted to empower themselves through using their voice and sticking up for their rights in the workplace. Overall the day was so much fun and we met so many new girls and got to learn the stories of many strong women who inspire us to achieve great things and put ourselves out there. We would like to thank Ms Sullivan for supporting during this event.

By Izzy Triaca and Amber Towart

On Friday the 1st of April a group of Year 10 students attended the Careers that Care seminar at Newcomb Secondary College. The Careers that Care seminar focused on careers such as mental health work, teaching, youth work and trauma management. The guest speakers at the seminar were past alumni from Victorian schools, including our very own Nicole Scott from the class of 2013. The speakers discussed a range of topics including; their experiences at high school, what their day-to-day life looks like in their profession, and the skills they need to be successful. Students had the opportunity to ask the alumni questions and discuss their careers further after the seminar.

Year 10 Multimedia

A past Western Heights Student – Ric Gentiluomo gave up his time from his Professional Photography practice in Geelong to visit our classroom during the week.

“Ric not only showed us how to take Portrait Photos, he showed us the business and psychology side of being a photographer”

- Y10 Hudson Maddalena

VCE/VCAL

Studio Arts - Top Arts Excursion

Y11 and 12 Studio Arts students visited the TOP ARTS exhibition at Federation square at the end of March. We had the unique opportunity of seeing ‘behind the scenes ‘ of some of the TOP VCE art students’ work by viewing their Folios. A quick trip to see the famous Hosier Lane street art also made our day.