Message from the Director of Learning

- Ms. Alice Paget

Term 4 is well and truly underway and we are almost to the end of the 2019 school year. Well done to our Year 7s on their first year at Westall Secondary College; we look forward to you supporting our new Year 7s of 2020, in the upcoming Orientation Day. It is important that all students continue striving for excellence as the 2019 school year comes to a close.

We started off Term 4 with Mental Health Week, where we raised awareness about the importance of Mental Health. The aim of this week was to empower the students with strategies and skills they can use if they see somebody, or are themselves, experiencing some Mental Health symptoms.

All Year 7 and 8 students listened to a guest speaker from Black Dog Institute where they had the opportunity to learn from a real-life story. The Black Dog Institute is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness. Their aim is to create a world where mental illness is treated with the same level of concern, immediacy and seriousness as physical illness.

Upcoming events in Term 4:

Grade 6 ’Meet and Greet’ Night: on the 3rd December at 6pm, new students, parents and guardian will have the opportunity to meet the teachers and begin their transition into Westall Secondary College.
Grade 6 Orientation Day will take place on the 10th December. I would like to extend a warm welcome to the new students and parents of the college and we look forward to making the transition for your son/daughter a positive and supportive experience.
Selection of our Junior School Captains for 2020: All Year 7 students, going into Year 8 next year, will have the opportunity to apply for this leadership role. The 2 selected captains for 2020 will have an array of leadership opportunities, including public speaking, promotion of the college, assistance with the transition of our new Year 7s into the college and input into the running of the junior school at Westall Secondary College. Good luck to all applicants! I would also like to thank Zaima Syed and Kellana Carnahan for their outstanding role as Junior School Captains this year!
Year 8 Monash Discovery Excursion: all Year 8 students will be visiting Monash University (Caulfield Campus) in Week 7, to discover the opportunities available in University education.

Headstart will begin in Week 9 (2nd December). Year 7 students will transition into their new Year 8 timetable and Year 8s into their Year 9 timetable for 2020, commencing their first electives. Please make sure students have new exercise books / folders by Monday, 2nd December, so they can make an organised start to their 2020 study!

Swimming Lessons

This term during Sport classes, all Year 7 and 8 students will be taking part in 6 swimming lessons at Noble Park Aquatic Centre. This will enable the students to develop healthy habits and safe water practices that they will carry with them for life.

A range of skills will be taught, based on their base level of swimming experience, including personal survival skills, that can improve safety, not only in the pool, but also in other waterways.

Ms Alice Paget

2019 Yishu Festival Chinese workshops

Chinese animals mask making workshop:

During the Yishu Festival (our Arts and LOTE week), Junior Chinese classes participated in mask making workshops to create colourful animals. We learnt that different animals symbolize different meanings, like lions represent strength, stability and superiority, while tigers portrays bravery and power, and dragons mean excellence, generosity and powers over water and fire. We designed and cut colour paper to produce plate masks that exhibited our individual creativity and uniqueness.

By Thu and Sunny (Year 8)

Peer Support

Over the years, the Peer Support program has been an on-going series of monthly workshops designed to help the new Year 7 students of Westall smoothly transition into high school. A group of Year 10 Peer Support volunteers are assigned to help manage and present concepts and ideas to the Year 7s in a way that is interesting and hands-on, and develops connections between the year levels.

This year, the program predominantly ensures that the youngest sector of Westall students are able to comfortably approach teachers and seek help when needed, while having the awareness of their overall well-being. We cover the importance of developing qualities such as having good communication and constant resilience in high school. In addition to that, we also covered various techniques touching on enhancing personal hygiene, meeting sleep and nutritional requirements and the importance of exercise. A majority of the program is carried out by initiating group discussions and conducting team-building activities.

Along the way, we formed connections and friendships with our fellow Year 7 students as they successfully learnt to adapt to their new schooling environment.

The Year 10 Peer Support Team

Year 7 and 8 Visual Arts

Michelangelo Caravaggio 1595 canvas

The Year 7 and 8 students analysed the work of the famous Michelangelo's 'Medusa' made in 1595. The students used a literacy strategy, 'writing to learn', to begin their writing in the form of a poem or 'rap' song.

They were given a list of key descriptive art words as the main ingredients to the written work.

This was their take on the art work below:

Ms Helen Ifandis

Arts Coordinator

My Medusa Poem

Round and Round the shield goes

To those, who dare?

To get a mighty scare

Rich red blood dripping in love

Stay forever divine

Frozen in time

Chopped Head

What the boyfriend did

Scales on snake

That makes my eyes break

Look into my eye

Soon you will be stone

by Nane

Medusa Poem

His head on display

Snakes as his mane

Crimson red drips, this was his demise

Only to be Perseus’ prize

Head on a shield, mouth agape

Eyes blown wide, there was no escape

Background of olive green

Tainted by crimson sheen

A manly face, skin beige and fair

Eyebrows furrowed eyes a glare

Once a beautiful face

Now an ugly disgrace

by Sunny

Medusa Rap

Medusa, a beautiful maiden with golden hair,

But then she was cursed to her underground lair.

Athena, Goddess of War and really a accuser,

Who really wanted the hair of the beautiful Medusa.

Medusa, painted in red to green,

Queen of ugly and really mean.

Medusa, with the hair of snakes,

If you’ve seen her eyes it's already too late.

Seriphus wanted Medusa dead,

So he sent Perseus to claim her head.

So he took a mirror shield,

And had Medusa killed!

Within a night she got a fright,

As she laid down dead with no head.

by Ethan

Medusa Rap

Medusa with hair of living snakes

Her beauty only portrayed on her face

Athena did her a great curse

That sent her to live under earth

The circular portrait painted with olive green

Gushing red blood from her neck

Perseus was to execute her

And he was very keen

Medusa caused Athena a lot of pain

For that reason she was slain

The painting done in oil on canvas

Her face expresses great madness

by Brandon

Michelangelo Caravaggio (Poem)

A round shield

Being ready to be revealed

With a sight of gushing olive green

Hoping that the snakes can be set free

Thinly dropped blood

Once hurt Medusa’s heart

Seeing her go through pain

May the gaze on her face go away

You couldn't resist the temptation to stare

The dreadful thought right through her head

The stony gush along your arm

Feeling the pain while you run

The thought through your head

May curse you while Medusa’s stare !

by Kim Lee & Atawai

Medusa Poem

Medusa is bad

That’s why she is sad

Her snakes are just green

Unlike his red fresh blood.

His face is screaming in pain

Inside her big deadly brain

Perseus brought back justice from the shiny light

From a very powerful, brave knight.

The snakes are dying inside

Saying goodbye to the sunlight

To meet Satan from hell

The cruel beast within.

by Peter & Tom

Medusa Poem

Looking at a body less mess

Thick red blood gushing down like a waterfall

As messy as it looks it comes with a slight twist

A circular olive shield to keep the danger sealed

To bring to focus this unbearable sight

Which could bring so much fright

Often interpreted with a sight confusion

Glare or stare will put you in a deep illusion

Body made of flesh and bones just look in my eyes will turn you into stone

The deaths I have caused go without a care

So just beware I’m a deathly scare

by Ciarra & Agatha

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