Secondary Life

Scott Darlow Incursion

Mia Van Wyngaardt - Year 9 Student

On the 17th of May, Scott Darlow, an Aboriginal singer, songwriter, guitarist and didgeridoo player came to share his music and knowledge. 

At the beginning of the day, Scott played songs about Australian history, and everyone enjoyed his humour. I could see how passionate he was about his indigenous heritage and family. When he was sharing about his family's traumatic experiences, things got intense and confronting. Some of the stories he shared about Indigenous Australians' lives were difficult to hear. 

At the end, Scott showed us how we can help not just indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, but also the community. He explained that if we used FLUTE every day, the culture around us would change. 

FLUTE stands for Forgiving, Loving, Understanding, Tolerating, and Empathising. 

I thought this was amazing because it not only aligns with biblical perspectives but also demonstrates the kindness that can come from forgiving, loving, understanding, tolerating and empathising with our neighbours. 

After hearing the interesting and heavy perspective of Scott Darlow, I can say with confidence, my year level and I want to change the unacceptable way that people can be treated. 

This was an incursion I will not forget. 

BizMan Chocolate Tour 2023

Emily Gosbell - VCE Business Management Teacher

On Monday, 34 lucky Year 12 Business Management students attended the inaugural BizMan Chocolate Tour. These students are currently learning about operations management, a large and content heavy area of study. 

The focus of this unit is to look at the many ways businesses strive to enhance their efficiency and the effectiveness of their manufacturing. We had the privilege of hearing from Alberto Bettini and Ratna Bolledu from Darrell Lea, who explained how they apply the theory our students are learning about.

In the afternoon we travelled to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie where we enjoyed hearing from Managing Director, Leanne Neeland. Our students not only learnt more about this business and its operations, but they were also fortunate enough to sample lots of chocolate and produce their very own chocolate lollipops.

In Business Management our students learn to apply their knowledge to real world business case studies, and most would agree this is the sweetest case study to date!

DaVinci Decathlon

Leanne Benson - Year 7 Coordinator

Earlier this week, eight keen Year 7 students ventured to MLC to compete in the DaVinci Decathlon. This year, the competition returned face-to-face and 20 teams competed at State level. 

Disciplines included Art and Poetry, Cartography, Code Breaking, Creative Producers, Engineering, Maths, English, Legacy and Ideation. The theme for 2023 centred around  “Unity in a Sustainable World”.

Whilst academic knowledge was an important attribute for this competition, so was the students' ability to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, listen actively and solve problems together.

The DCC team demonstrated all these qualities and were on par with many higher fee-paying schools. Overall, we placed 14th, with our best individual discipline results including a second place in English Ideation and placing in the top 10 for Maths and Code Breaking.

A great stretching and challenging day was had by all. 

Senior Production - The Comedy of Errors

Kathryn Delaney - Assistant Director

Shakespeare is hard.  There are so many words and some of them sound like a different language to modern ears.  It has been a labour of concentration, persistence, and love to bring The Comedy of Errors to the stage this week. 

The last time DCC was able to present a Senior School Production, another of Shakespeare’s comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was back in 2018. This year the cast of sixteen Year 10, 11 and 12 students, brings the story of a family separated, of two sets of twins with mistaken identities and a stolen chain of gold to the stage: with admirable mastery of the script, much slapstick and physical humour. 

The rivalry between Ephesus, where the play is set, and Syracuse is foundational to the events that ensue, and the audience is immersed in that rivalry from the very outset, invited to taste delicious offerings of food and enjoy pre-show entertainment in the foyer of the Community Hub before the performance.  

The joy of these students as they enthusiastically embrace their passion for the performing arts is heart-warming.  Their competence with the language is inspiring and their energy infectious.  

I hope you enjoy this season of the DCC Senior School Production of The Comedy of Errors!

VCE Legal Studies

Jane Moyle - VCE Legal Studies Teacher

The VCE Legal Studies classes embarked on an exciting excursion to the Melbourne Court precinct and to Parliament House of Victoria last week. The experience directly related to the students VCE studies in Criminal and Civil law and the role of Parliament as law makers. 

We began the excursion at the Supreme Court of Victoria where we had a tour of the stunning Supreme Court library and sat in the old High Court with a past Donvale student who shared about her role as Allocations Officer at the Supreme Court. She then admitted us into a court room to hear a criminal case in action. It was excellent to witness how evidence is used in the court room and how the judge directs the jury on points of law. 

In the afternoon, we travelled to the other end of town where we reconnected with Dr Matthew Bach, the North-eastern Metropolitan Legislative Council member (also shadow Education Minister and Shadow Child Protection Minister). 

Matt assisted us last year at our Donvale Parliamentary Convention where he brilliantly ran a mock parliament as the Speaker of the House. Matt took the students into the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and the Liberal Party room where he answered questions and spoke openly about his role, the challenges, the system and the party.

There were many take-homes for the students and are we are looking forward to finding other ways to connect with Matt in the future to assist all our students in their Civics and Citizenship education. 

The day really enhanced the students understanding of the interactions between law and politics and they should be commended for representing the school so respectfully in such formal settings.