HUMANITIES

MOCK COURT EXCURSION 

On Wednesday, as part of our Legal Studies unit, the Year 10 commerce classes made their way to the old Magistrates Court in Melbourne, where we had the opportunity to reenact a plea hearing based on a preexisting case. We were each given a dedicated role and a script to read from that ran through what a real plea hearing case would entail, and we were then given the opportunity to decide and justify whether a sentence in prison or juvenile detention was for our accused.

The case we role played was that of culpable driving resulting in death, where the accused had pleaded guilty in trial, thus resulting in a plea hearing to determine the appropriate punishment. We heard from both the prosecution and defending councils, who provided the judge with evidence from either side, and also heard from many witnesses, testimonials, and some outbursts from the public gallery, which all helped to show us what it would be like to be involved in an official court case. We further learned about the variety of factors that could influence the outcome of the accused, which include showing remorse, a lack of a previous criminal record, and age. 

To end, we heard from a few of our classmates and their justifications for certain punishments, which varied from a minimum of 3 years of juvenile detention to a maximum of 20 years in adult prison.

Overall, this excursion gave us a valuable insight into the types of cases and hearings that the Magistrates Court may receive and served as an excellent introduction to our new unit. Having the opportunity to take on key roles and watch them play out was an amazing experience that I know encouraged the idea of taking up VCE Legal Studies next year!

Amelie Hicks

Year 10 student

CITIES OF THE FUTURE: MELBOURNE METRO EXCURSION

We arrived at the Metro Tunnel HQ close to Melbourne Central, to discover some of the fascinating new developments in our city's upcoming metro tunnel train line. We were shown the locations of the five new metro stations by the metro project staff, as well as some of the innovative elements that would ensure everyone's safety and our ultimate comfort inside the stations. The staff members assisted us in creating various employment options for the future. We were given a booklet that combined all our interests together to provide us with some of our future job opportunities.

Anastasia Turner 

On the last day of term 1, I was lucky enough to be a part of the Year 9 Cities of the Future excursion to the Metro Tunnel HQ in Melbourne’s CBD. Not only did we have a great time at the HQ, but we had an adventure getting there! Once we arrived at the HQ, we were greeted by friendly staff and lots of information to look at.

We learnt that multiple new stations were being built around Melbourne to allow for the growing population. These new stations would also be better as they would have gates that would open only when a train was present, allowing for a faster and safer embark and disembark of the trains. Additionally, these new trains will have seven carriages (instead of six), with room for up to ten carriages! 

After having our minds blown about the new stations and trains, we went to the second floor of the HQ to learn about some jobs associated with Metro. We learnt that there are so many different types of jobs needed for Metro to run as smoothly as it does. Of course, engineers and builders are necessary but there are also finance managers, social media operators and so many more! We did a fun activity to see which of these jobs would we be best suited for. 

After a fun and educational visit to the Metro Tunnel HQ, it was time for us to have some lunch and then go back to school! All in all, the Year 9 Cities of the Future class had a great time in the city on our excursion! 

Amelie Ciddor