Year 9/10

Message from Assistant Principal

As we near the end of Term 1, I have been thoroughly impressed with the pride students have taken with their learning, attendance, uniform and behaviour. I have enjoyed visiting classes in the past few weeks and found students happily engaged with their education and producing a high standard of work.

This week sees the Year 9 students undertake Mock Interviews as part of their P2S Program. Students have been thoroughly preparing for this experience during Term 1 by looking at employability skills, writing resumes & cover letters as well as looking at interview techniques. I know the interviewers will be impressed by our students. The final week of term sees the Year 9 City Experience commence. Students will attend the Melbourne Magistrates Court and complete activities relating to this followed by a scavenger hunt in the surrounding area. There will be photos and a student reflection in the next newsletter.

The year 10’s have been busy attending numerous excursions and events relating to their selected courses. The STEM students completed a Code Masters competition which further developed their skills in technology and engineering, the VINE students are also continuing to excel in their TAFE Tester program and the Sports Pathway students are enjoying the variety the program offers especially the strength & conditioning coaching. All year 10 students are also busily planning for their up coming work experience early in Term 2.

Key Dates:

Year 10 - Work Experience: 7th – 11th May 2018

Year 9 - NAPLAN Testing: 15th – 17th May 2018

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break and I look forward to seeing you in Term 2.

Penni Roe

Years 9 & 10 Assistant Principal

Year 9 news

Year 9 have had a busy start to the year and it will continue to be very busy until the final day of term! It has been fantastic visiting classes to see the learning in each homeroom and teachers are looking forward to seeing families at interviews.

Students have been preparing for their mock interviews during P2S. At this stage, resumes and cover letters should be completed. All students should be practicing their responses at home to prepare for next week. A letter has been sent home with details for the day. Dates for classes as follows:

HG 9F-I - Tuesday 20th March

HG 9A-E - Wednesday 21st March

Students will be visiting the law courts in the final week of term for Humanities as part of their city experience. With teacher support, students will be traveling by train into the CBD to explore the city centre which will help students gain confidence with public transport and gain an understanding of the legal system. Dates are as follows:

HG 9 D, F, H - Monday 26th March

HG 9 B, G, I - Tuesday 27th March

HG 9 A, C, E - Wednesday 28th March

9B science:

On Tuesday February 20, 9B science students put their knowledge of current circuits to the test. They worked in groups to construct, manipulate and analyse the layout and advantages & disadvantages of series and parallel circuits. Students also had to draw circuit symbol diagrams for each step of the activity as they progressed through the task. All students behaved safely and met the Learning goals and Success criteria of the lesson.

Mrs Kyla Crawford.

Year 10 news

Congratulations Year 10s on a fantastic start to the year. As a cohort we have hit many of our targets regarding uniform, punctuality and learning behaviours and we hope to keep the momentum going in Term 2. Some of the highlights experienced in Term 1 include: Swimming Sports, participating in our branch out programs, the commencement of the Sports Pathways program, the VCE Biology excursion, the Ninja Park excursion for sport elective classes, the organisation of Work Experience for Term 2, VET Hospitality and Catering ‘Finger Food Function’ and announcement of Formal for Term 2!

Key dates to look out for:

Thursday 29th March – Free dress day
Thursday 29th March – Careers Day
Thursday 29th March – Last day of Term 1
Friday 27th April – Keys Please incursion
Monday 7th – Friday 11th May – Work Experience
Wednesday 27th June – Formal

Work Experience

Week 4 of Term 2 marks the commencement of Work Experience week. Students should now have secured their placement and be preparing themselves for their placement in early May. We are hoping that many students have selected their placements for their future dream careers and that they all have a positive experience.

Formal

The long awaited formal is just around the corner and students are already abuzz with excitement! Limo’s have been booked, dresses are on their way and the DJ has been booked for the pinnacle of the Year 10 calendar. The event will take place at Amberlee Receptions in Cranbourne at 7pm where students will enjoy a three course menu and dance the night away.

House keeping

Term 2 means winter uniform. Please ensure that you are up to date with the uniform policy that can be located on the school’s website. The current policy states that incorrect uniform will incur a lunch time detention with the escalation to an after school detention for repeat offenders.

A reminder that the school day starts at 8.50am with Home Group and it is an expectation that all students are in class with their equipment for the morning by this time.

Laura Blackson and Veronica Guthrie

Year 10 Leaders

Yr 10 science - Evolution experiment

On Thursday March 15, 10G science students participated in an experiment called 'Evidence of evolution, Body Chemistry'. Students worked in pairs or groups of 3s to test samples of: sea shell, bones from cuttlefish & chickens and also chicken egg shells for the presence of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is present in hard materials such as teeth, bones and shells. Students made a verbal prediction of their results, and then put a sample of each substance into a side-arm test tube, added 2cm of Hydrochloric acid and stoppered the test tube. The plastic tube from this test tube was then put into another test tube which had water and bromothymol blue indicator in it. If calcium carbonate was present, the solution turned yellow and carbon dioxide gas was created (visible by fizzing of the sample and acid). All 4 samples contain calcium carbonate, indicating that these organisms are related to each other more closely than organisms who do not contain calcium carbonate.

Mrs Crawford - 10G science teacher.

10H science - Evolution

On Wednesday March 21, 10H science students worked together in groups, to measure different features of models of a skull fossil from a particular human species. Students were given information such as the name of the species and when the species was believed to exist. As part of this task, students measured and recorded data such as: cranial length, facial projection and teeth size and then compared their data with their peers, in order to see trends in human skulls through the process of evolution in terms of numerical values. They then graphed their work and analysed what this data tells us about the skulls of modern humans and our ancestors. Students will commence a new unit of work in Term 2 in science: Chemistry.

Mrs Crawford

Year 10 English Spotlight

We have had a terrific start to the year in English. All students have jumped straight into exploring their creative side, working with both classic and contemporary texts, poems, songs and images to prompt their own narratives. Some students even developed writing from a guided meditation. We are gearing up for our first CAT beginning next week when the students will be able to showcase all the creative writing skills they have been perfecting during the term. We cannot wait to read what they create!

-Mrs Grady

Year 10 English Spotlight

-Mrs Grady

Teenage School Holiday Programs

The City of Casey Youth Services run Teenage School Holiday Programs for ages 10-17. See the Community Events and News section of this Newsletter for more information.