YEAR 10-12 NEWS

Kokoda

Our Kokoda group of students and staff have completed their challenging trek and have just returned to Australia. Congratulations to the team - we are so proud of you all! Enjoy putting your feet up for a well-earned break.

Year 12

Term 1 is done in a flash and it's time for a well-deserved break.

We have had a relatively full Term 1: Athletics, Swimming, Wellbeing Day and so forth. The Year 12 team must congratulate the students in VCE, VCAL and Academy for the way they have generally thrown themselves into their work.

Over the next couple of weeks, it will be important for the students to get a good mix of rest and work in. Not completing hundreds of hours of paid work is imperative to returning for the big push to the end of Unit 3 subjects. Also, spending some time catching up on work missed, completing summaries and doing set work is important to remain on top of things.

Also, save the date: Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 May (week 3 of next term), the VCE students are lucky enough to have a futures camp at Fed Uni in Ballarat, with accommodation provided by the university. All Year 12 VCE students are required to attend the overnight stay, as the camp is designed to give the students an insight into life at uni, with classes and sessions provided by Fed Uni. Thanks to College Pathways Coordinator Brenna Loe for planning this session.

So, as we prepare for Term 2, remember to rest up – and don’t eat too much chocolate!

Brett Bullock and the Year 12 team

Workshop with VCE English expert

On 28 March, the Year 12 English students attended a VCE English workshop in the PAF with Ross Huggard, a former Chief VCAA English Examiner. 

Ross's presentation equipped our students with important tips to help them tackle their English studies this year.

Year 11

The Year 11 community celebrated the end of a great term with a pancake brunch on Monday. The students all completed a survey to find their favourite toppings (ice cream obviously the first choice) and a group of students spent session 2 cooking up a storm in the kitchen. We then took the food back to our learning community to share. It was great to have the VCE, VM and Academy students come together for something fun. 

Thank you to the student helpers who cooked all the food, it was a massive effort to cater for so many. And a special thank you to Ramzy who helped clean the kitchen and wash all the dishes. Enjoy your well-deserved break, I look forward to seeing you all next term.

Claire Sullivan, Year 11 LCL

Biology

In Year 11 Biology, we are learning about biological systems in plants. In our practical activity we investigated the rate of transpiration in celery, placing two beakers containing food dye in two different environments. The results we achieved were that the rate of transpiration in a humid environment were a lot lower than the rate of transpiration in a room-temperature environment. We believe science practicals engages students, helping them to develop important skills, understand the process of scientific investigation and develop understanding of scientific concepts.

Modern History

The Year 11 Modern History students (pictured) have enjoyed watching the Taika Waititi comedy-drama Jojo Rabbit to support their studies of Nazi Germany.

Art Making & Exhibiting

The Year 11 Art Making & Exhibiting students were treated to an alumni talk on Tuesday. Jack Herd is a young artist who held his first solo exhibition last year, showcasing the works that he's created since graduating from WHC in 2014. See the Alumni section of this newsletter for more about the session.

VCE-VM/VCAL

Viticulture excursion

Some of our VCAL/VM students spent last Thursday afternoon at Austin's Wines. In a 20-minute competition, they picked a massive 174kg of fruit which they then stomped, and learned about the process to turn it into wine.

Another highlight of the day was tasting unfermented grape juice and weighing our class on the winery scale. Together they weighed just over 1 tonne! A big thank-you to Vineyard Manager Alex and Winemaker Dwayne for taking time out of their very busy period to teach us about viticulture and talk about working in the industry. 

The students will return in Term 2 to do some problem-solving around issues in the vineyard for a work related skills project.

Shona Scorringe

Upcoming VCE-VM Dates

Early Term 2 – VCE-VM Café to open 

Friday 12 May – Year 12 Mother’s Day Stall 

Tuesday 16 May – Year 11 Port of Geelong Industry Visit

Thursday 18 May – Year 11 Road to Zero excursion

Year 10

Environmental Science

Year 10 Environmental Science students have completed a practice “camp cook” on Trangia stoves. The students have completed Learning Tasks investigating bush walking equipment, types of cooking stoves and safe cooking practice. Students will have the opportunity to put their skills into practice on a overnight camp during Term 4.

Year 10 Lockers

Year 10 students have emptied their lockers this week. Students need to clear out their lockers, taking all equipment home including their lock. Lockers will be moved, and students will change lockers in Week 1 of Term 2.

Roger Conron, Year 10 LCL