Middle School News

Middle School Awards

On Wednesday 2nd December, our College livestreamed the Middle School Awards ceremony for all families and middle school classrooms to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of our students.

Ms. Chiuchiarelli opened the proceedings and outlined the areas that teaching staff have considered when assessing students for eligibility to be a DSC Middle School Award recipient:

Obtainment of academic excellence across several subjects.
Personal achievement from the impressive effort that has led to substantial growth across four or more subjects.
Growth in literacy and numeracy skills.
Contribution to the performing arts, sport, science and service.

This year's Middle School Awards hold a special significance as all students and their supportive families have had to persevere through the challenges of remote learning and working through a global pandemic. To the students who sat in front of their computer each day in remote learning and then turned up each day in person; to the parents/carers who supported their students while dealing with their own challenges of working from home; to the teachers who fronted up day after day to teach to black screens while dealing with their own households in lockdown; and to Mr. Morris and the Leadership team for guiding and directing the school through all the highs and lows and eventually welcoming students and staff back onsite - well done!

Never be afraid to ask for help. Speaking up because you can't do something or if you're feeling sad, does not make you weak, in fact it's a sign of strength. Doncaster Secondary College cares. There are so many people here that genuinely care about each and every one of you, so seek them out.

Ms. Vicky Paradisis, College Council President

YEAR 7 MERIT

Jeevessh A

Jordan Y

JIM MITRAKAS AWARD

Maya C-R

YEAR 8 MERIT

Dina

Abbey M

DSC VALUES AWARD: YEAR 8

Sarah C

YEAR 9 MERIT

Patrick M

Ella R

DSC VALUES AWARD: YEAR 9

Menuli P

Congratulations to our Middle School award recipients. Your achievements are not accidental. They are a result of a learning partnership and interaction between yourself, the school, your family and the wider community.

Mr. Glenn Morris, Principal

National Finals Illuminate:NextGen Challenge

Earlier this year, 30 DSC students participated in the illuminate:nextgen Challenge. This challenge was designed by Adam Mostogl (Top 30 Under 30 Australian Entrepreneurs 2017, Finalist for Young Australian of the Year 2015) and is week-long immersive experience that provides an opportunity for students to work in teams to explore what it takes to get a new project or business idea oﬀ the ground. Students develop a business plan, marketing strategy, financial plans and an elevator pitch for a business idea that responds to the local community’s needs.

Last week, the students who had been awarded the first and second places in our school’s competition were invited to participate in the National Finals. They competed in a new high-intensity challenge against the winning and running up teams from schools all around Australia.

Congratulations to Gabby H, Courtney J, Marc M, Amanda M and Patrick M from Year 9 for their participation in this challenge.

In the space of two hours they developed an idea for a business that addressed an issued faced by teenagers in our community. Within this time they developed a business plan, financial plans, a marketing strategy and recoded an elevator pitch for their business idea.

Our DSC team were awarded with the prize for Best Elevator Pitch.

The ‘overall’ Best Business Idea (first place award) was won by Canberra College.

Seeing the amazing ideas, dedication, team-work and business related skills produced by these students was awe-inspiring. They should all be be very proud of their achievement!

Fiona McGowan

High-Ability Practice Leader

MyCity Excursion:

St Kilda Beach excursion in a nutshell

I cannot thank Ms. Cathy Gucciardo and Ms Ning Zhang enough for letting me take part in another MyCity excursion on Wednesday, 24 November, just a few days before my terrific experience as an Italian language assistant at Doncaster Secondary College came to an end.

After days of rain, the weather was perfect for a tour to St Kilda Beach. A private bus brought us to destination comfortably. We started our visit walking through Acland St, admiring the window shops of the traditional patisseries full of any kind of sweets. We continued with a stroll along the promenade to the pier, breathing in the salty air and then enjoyed lunch sitting in O'Donnell Gardens, surrounded by seagulls.

The pupils behaved well throughout following the instructions given, respecting the schedules, and making the whole experience smooth and flawless.

A wonderful memory that I will always carry with me as I am sure it will be for all Y9 students who had the opportunity to participate in another successful My City program excursion, every time they will look back to their years at Doncaster Secondary College.

Maria Cagiati

Italian Language Assistant

Year 8 Italian Cooking Class

This week, my Year 8B and 8I Italian classes had the opportunity to bake a ‘Torta al Cioccolato, an Italian Chocolate cake. We have included the recipe for you all to try at home.

Students completed preparation activities, translating the Italian recipe from their Italian workbook. This activity allowed students to learn new Italian vocabulary related to ingredients and new verbs.

Students were very excited about the opportunity to revisit the Food Tech rooms that they cooked in in Year 7. It was fantastic to see the students working together in pairs, following instructions and successfully making a delicious cake.

Well done to all students!!

Cathy Gucciardo

Teacher of Humanities and Italian

Night at the Museum

Year 7 Humanities continue their work on their final assessment for the year. Students have been researching an Ancient civilisation of their choice, and boy, are we receiving some amazing artefact creations!! The W-Block display cabinets are bursting with colourful productions.