Junior School Report
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